Not Much Progress

Yesterday I finished a block from last week's Friday Block Party.  It is called, "Friendship Scrap Block" and is made out of triangles.  It's a 12inch block.  Although it was not terribly hard, some of the pieces didn't line up as I would have liked them to.  I don't think I will make any more of these.  This one will be added to the 12inch blocks and hopefully one day I will make a quilt out of them.

This morning I just couldn't get myself started.  It was dark and gloomy outside and I had been out late on Friday evening.  I took a short nap and then decided to 'make' some fabric.  I got a few pieces sewn together. but it just wasn't doing anything for me.  So I changed directions and made some small 9-patch blocks.  That is the block which is featured on the Block Party this week.  (see my sidebar) These little blocks measure 3inches when completed.  They are for my 'Oh My Gosh' quilt.  The original OMG quilt uses even smaller blocks, but my fingers and eyes don't like to work with blocks that small.  This quilt is fun, but it will not be done for a long time!

I also want to work on a UFO quilt that I started three years ago.  If I can get it done by August I will enter it into our guild's Quilt Show in the fall.  I hope I will feel in the mood for that tomorrow.  Have a great weekend everyone!

A Finish

After a week of procrastinating, I have finally finished another Beach Party quilt.   I love this pattern because I can use a lot of scraps.   This one measures about 41in. by 57in. (105cm by 145cm) and is a good size for the couch or even a baby quilt.   I never know how big these quilts are going to be until they are finished...  and they are finished when I hear them speak to me. 

The blocks for this quilt were made by using 2 1/2in. square scraps and bigger pieces for the triangle blocks.  At the moment I am cutting out more scraps using smaller pieces, (2in. and 1 1/2in.) but those are ongoing projects and I probably won't be finished them until the end of the summer.

Now, what else can I show you?  Oh, I know.  Here is a favourite perennial of mine!  It's called Cranesbill or Geranium.  I have another Cranesbill in another part of the garden.  It is a pink one, but I think I love these blue flowers the best. 

And here is a photo of Mimi, wedged in behind a chair in the solarium.  She is trying to soak up every ray of sunshine she can get.  Our heatwave is over and it is going to be a very comfortable 20C today. 

Just a Few of my Perennials

It's a hot one today.  Can't concentrate on quilting, so I thought you might like to see some of my perennials.  This first one is a Columbine.  It is very similar to the wild columbine that is our city's (Scarborough) official flower.

When I looked out this morning I noticed that a few of my Oriental Poppies have opened up.  With all the rain and heat I don't expect these to last too long.  But they are beautiful right now.

And here is a shot of that blue and white Iris I showed a couple of days ago.  It is in full bloom now!  I love this thing!  Oh, yeah, I said that already.

Flowers and a Kitchen Update

I am sure many of you are wondering about my kitchen, so I thought I'd give you an update.  Not much has been going on lately.  But the door handles have been installed and the fan is now in place over the stove.    This week the counter top is to be delivered and installed.  The sink and taps will also be added at that time.  Then it will just be a matter of the back splash and some final work and my kitchen will be done!  Ohhhhh!  I can hardly wait!

Our weather has become hot and humid.  But that is much better than the rain we had for the month of May - twice as much as normal - 140mm of the wet stuff!  I bought this beautiful basket of begonias yesterday.  They are a new species, blooming all summer long, and come in salmon and red.  I think I might go back to the garden centre and buy myself a red one! 

And last, but not least, my blue iris has started to bloom.  Isn't it fantastic?

And now I am going to sit outside in the shade and do some crocheting.  I started an afghan last summer, but never got it finished.  Maybe that will happen this year!

Wednesday Stuff and Give Away

Summer has arrived - finally!  It seems like we only have two seasons, winter and summer.  We had record setting temperatures yesterday.  The humidex went up to 39C.  I kept busy watering my garden.   It was too hot to sleep.  I had the air conditioner on, but it didn't seem to be working.  It turned out that someone had turned the A/C off at the furnace.  Once my DH turned it back on the air became cooler and I was able to get a couple of hours of sleep.  Today it is a lot cooler, but the winds are strong and everything in the garden is dried out again.  Guess I will have to go and water again.  Here is a lovely, colourful basket.

On Monday evening we had our last quilt meeting for this year.  It seemed hard to believe that another year has gone by.  We are now off until September, but that won't stop me from working on a few more charity quilts over the summer.  Here is the top of one I made on Monday night, after our meeting.  I couldn't sleep anyway so I figured I'd use the time productively.  It's a DNP.

And today was the day I promised to pick a winner in my give away. 

The winner is Nynke from the Dutch Purple Rabbit.

Here is your mini quilt!

Please send me your snail mail address, Nynke and I will mail it out as soon as possible.

We are expecting a mail strike starting at 11:59pm on Thursday.  If they reach an agreement before that I will mail it out on Friday.  If they go on strike I will hold onto it until the strike is over.

Working on my Blocks of the Week

I am trying to catch up on the Friday Block Party.  I still have several blocks to make.  Today I finished the birds for week 20.  If you like these blocks and would like to make your own, just go to the Friday Block Party link on my sidebar.  There are lots of really nice blocks there.  And if you should want to join us in making these blocks, just let me know and I will send you an invitation so that you can post and show your work.

Here are my Blue Birds of Happiness.

This was the first one I tried.  It's not quite perfect, but it will do.

This second one was much easier.  Since this bird is done on a 5 by 5 grid, I decided to make mine 10 1/2 inches square without having to add any strips on the outside.  The 5 by 5 grid means that you can divide this block into five by five sections.  If you make each section 1.5inches (including the seam allowance) the block will be 5 inches finished.  If you make each section 2 inches (including the seam allowance) the block will be 7 1/2 inches and if you make each section (like I did) 2 1/2inches, the block will be 10inches.  Hope this makes sense.

A Completed Section on Wednesday

We've been having a few nice days.  I was able to get a few things planted.  Today is again a wonderful, cool, sunny day.  Ideal for putting some colour into my garden.

My hexagon 'wannabe quilt' is getting bigger. I have finished another section.  This adds some nice colour to my garden.  Don't you agree?  The yellow 'flowers' in the background are Euphorbia.  I put 'flowers' in quotation marks because they are not real flowers, but in fact are bracts - leaves that are yellow. 

Now I am off to the garden centre on my scooter.  I want to buy some geraniums (Pelargonium) for the pots by my front door.

Flowers on Wednesday

I am still working on my hexagon flowers.  I made 6 of them yesterday.  I still have to attach them to my wannabe quilt.  I'll show that when I have the section I am currently working on done.

I took this photo outside at around 4:30pm today.  It was really windy.  But, what is that?  A ray of sunshine?  OMG!  I had forgotten what sunshine is.  So many rain days!  And more to come.  This is just a little tease from Mother Nature.

 I have decided what I am going to give away.  It's this little miniature quilt.  The blocks are 3in. square when finished.  Each block has 21 pieced in it.  It is paper pieced.  I have not sewn the block together.  I will do that tomorrow.  If you want to take part in my give away, just leave a comment on this or yesterday's post.  If you are a follower of this blog or of my blog 2, let me know and I will give you another entry. I will draw the winner on June 1st.  Good Luck everybody!

My Blog Returns Home

Smile Mimi!  I have terrific news!  My blog has been returned.  I turned my computer on yesterday and out of habit went to my Crafts and Stuff blog.  At first I didn't believe what I was seeing!  My name was on the blog, along with the 'howto-think' character who had stolen it.  I quickly went to the 'permissions' section on the blog and erased the hijacker's name.  My profile came up immediately and I was once again the owner and operator of my blog.  It was a time of dancing and singing!  I have no idea how this happened, just as I didn't have any idea how it was stolen in the first place.  I did contact blogger and I think they are the ones who fixed this.  Whoever it was, I am grateful!

Now I have the problem of having two blogs.  I think I am going to continue to post on this, my first blog, and use Crafts and Stuff 2 for my own record of my quilts as I make them.  You, my faithful readers, can go to either one and see my progress. 

And now I should announce my give away.  I want to thank everyone who came over to my new blog and read my post, left a comment and became a follower.  I have not done a give away in a very long time, so I am a bit rusty.  I will have to think a bit about this.  Just leave me a comment that you would like to be included in the draw.  I am working on a miniature for the give away.  Will post it as soon as it is done - probably a few days or so.  I will pick a winner on June 1st.  I know that is a long way off, but I am not organized right now.  Too much is going on right now.  Hopefully the kitchen will be done soon and I will feel more relaxed.

I have been busy though.  Here is a quilt I have been working on.  I think the pattern is called 'Beach Party'.  It's 40 inches square.  I was able to use a lot of scraps in this one.  I will probably donate this one to Quilts from the Heart.

Flowers on..What Day is this Anyway?

I had no energy today.  We have had so much rain lately.  I feel dull and sluggish and just not much like doing anything.  The sun tries its best to come out, but with no luck.  So I needed something to get me started today.  I took the 15-minute challenge that whoever is doing in blogland and I made 10 tiny 9-patch blocks.  That's Felix's tail so you can see how small they are.  Thanks for being there for me Felix!

 

 I have also been working on my hexies.  This section will have a lot of yellow flowers in it.  I guess the hope of spring is on my mind.

Even though it has been dark and gloomy, there is lots of colour in my real garden.  Besides the hyacinth I showed you a couple of days ago, I have Scilla Siberica, violets , early tulips, Hellebores, pansies and daffodills.

Oscar is also feeling lazy this morning. 

It's Beginning to Look Like Spring!

An update on my kitchen:  It now has lights - pot lights in the ceiling, lights under the top cabinets and lights in the cabinet that will have the stained glass fronts.  The stove and dishwasher were delivered last Saturday.  The sink and faucet have been purchased.  Now we just have to decide what we want for our counter top and get that ordered.  Things are moving along nicely.

Since I haven't had much time for quilty things, I thought I would show you the colours in my garden.  These are my hyacinth.  I never realized how many colours these things come in until I started to plant them in my garden.  Here is a nice blue one.  (Sorry, some of the pics are a bit blurry, but you get the idea.)

 And a nice pink one.  I have several bunches of these.

A dark purple one.  I really love this colour!

 A pretty white one.

This one is a light blue one.  I don't know what it will look like when it is in full bloom, because I just bought it last weekend.  But I think it will be pretty.  As I was scootering around the neighbourhood this afternoon (to get to the voting station - Canada is electing a new prime minister or maybe not), I noticed some pretty light salmon ones.  They will be my mission for next year. 

Sitting in the Dark

It was raining very hard this morning.  I could hear the wind blowing things around out in the backyard.   It was because of all that wind and rain (I guess) that our power went out.  I was composing some emails on my computer when there was a huge 'boom' and everything went black.  It was only around 8:00am.  But without power there is not much I can do. So I cut some little scraps for my OMG quilt. 

And when the power did not come back on, I went back to bed and fell asleep.  Kind of like Oscar here.  But he is faking it.  He's awake. Really he is! He just doesn't want to get up.  Kind of like me. 
But now I am going to do some kind of quilt-related activity.  Otherwise it would be a waste of a day. Wouldn't it?

Keeping Busy on a Rainy Wednesday

A busy Wednesday.   I spent the first 15 minutes of today doing one block of this Disappearing Nine Patch.  It is a kit from our guild and is intended to be donated to a long-term care facility.  I am planning on making one of these nine patch block every day, so that I can have it done by the end of May.  I am cutting the blocks and sewing them together as I go, because these are the only fabrics in this quilt and I don't have to worry about the layout.

I am also working on the next section of my hexie Wannabe Quilt.  Haven't worked much on this quilt over the past few days.  There just seems to be too much happening around here.  I'll show you what I mean........

My kitchen got worked on yesterday.  The guys were here for 13 hours!  But look at how much is done!  I love it.  My nephew is doing an amazing job!  Hopefully we will get a few more rain days and he will come back and finish the cabinets.

Then the counter people will have to come and take measurements for the counter top.  That blue on my fridge is just the plastic protection.  I haven't removed it yet.  I want to wait until all the work is done so that the fridge won't get damaged.

Two of the cupboards on the top don't have doors.  We ordered this cabinet without the wood panels  so that I can make a couple of stained glass inserts for them.  They will have glass shelves and a couple of lights so that the stained glass will 'light up'.

And last but not least is my Thimbleberries project for today.  It is Thimbleberries Sew Day and I am joining Barb so that I can finish this one.  The entire centre is done in rail fence blocks.  The blocks are set on point and there are triangles along the sides with appliqued apples.  Right now I have nowhere to put this quilt so that you can see it all.  When I have more space I will take a better photo.

10-Minute Block

I apologize for the bad photo.  We have rain, lots of rain, for probably the rest of the week.  It is dark, even in my solarium.  I actually needed my flash.  This is a 10-minute block which Barb of Bejeweled Quilts showed on her blog a few days ago.   I really liked it and wanted to try it.  I made my blocks with 8-inch pieces because that is what I had in my stash.  There are 4 blocks in this top.   I put one of the 'on point' pieces in the centre of the 4 blocks.  It was very easy, but I had a lot of interruptions today. I plan to make this a bit bigger when I have time.

My second set of kitchen cabinets finally arrived.  We were told they were being delivered today between 8:00am and 1:00pm, but they didn't get here until 3:30pm.  Now my whole house is filled with boxes of cabinets because the guys who delivered them would not take the first set back.  I have no idea what is going to happen now.  And frankly Scarlet, I don't give a damn.  Now I just want my kitchen installed so that things can get back to normal.  Yeah, okay, semi-normal.

Happy, Hoppy Easter

I waited all day for the sun to come out.  But it never did before we had to leave to go over to my DD's house for Easter dinner.  So I took the picture anyway because  my little bunny just wanted to wish you all a Happy, Hoppy Easter!    

Journal Quilt

This is a journal quilt which I started several weeks ago, before all the problems with my sewing machine and computer.  It was back when the crocuses were just coming up and there was still snow on the ground.  All the snow is gone now, but it is still cold, wet and windy.  We are patiently waiting for spring and wondering if it will ever get here. This quilt measures 8 1/2 by 11 inches.  

Creativity out of Chaos

The computer guy came at noon today. He played around with my machine and then went on the internet to find the download for my printer. Apparently my printer had not been downloaded correctly by the store. Then he played around with my camera. He had to go to the internet for that too. It seems that my beautiful camera is 'old'. What's up with that? At least the fact that my computer wasn't working had nothing to do with my computer skills.

When the computer guy left I tried to blog about my predicament. I couldn't get blogger to work. And even though my computer's problems had nothing to do with my skills, I was feeling very computer illiterate by that time. I felt tired and fed up. My bed looked very inviting. I could have slept all day. Then my sister phoned me. She convinced me to leave the computer for awhile and try my sewing machine.

So I didn't go back to bed. I went to my sewing machine instead.

It seemed to work okay. It was greasy and dripping oil, but I wiped it clean and started putting some little scraps together - my favourite past time. And I came up with this little journal quilt. It measures 8 1/2 by 11 inches. It represents the chaos in my life over the past couple of weeks. But out of chaos comes creativity. And I found it. I also found this catnip plant. It's just starting to grow. Spring is taking a long time to get here. But this little plant will grow and grow as the weather gets warmer. Mimi will be happy!

My Favourite Toys are Broken

Edit - This is the post I wrote yesterday. Blogger wouldn't let me post it. I had the computer guy here last night, but he couldn't get my new computer to do what I want it to. Another guy is coming today. I hope he can fix it. I want my old computer back!

The birds are singing in my backyard so I thought I would put a photo of them on this post. But I can't download them from my camera. So these will have to do. These are my indoor birds. They don't sing, but they provide hours of entertainment for my fur babies.I haven't posted in a long time. My computer was giving me headaches. It sparked and zapped me each time I turned it on. So I just left it on for several weeks because I was afraid if I turned it off I wouldn't be able to turn it back on. But that idea backfired on me. After an extremely heavy rain storm last week, the power went out in my area. My computer turned itself off and I could not restart it. I took it to the shop. They said that they could fix it, but it would cost me a lot of money and since it was an old machine, I decided to put the money towards a new computer. Trust me, this new computer is great, but now I have a new problem. This computer does not recognize my camera. So I can't download shots from my camera. I can't post any new shots.

Not that there are any. My sewing machine was in the shop last week too. They tell me it's fixed, but I wonder for how long. This weekend I am going to go to the Creative Festival. My DD is taking me. I hope to check out all or many of the brand names that will be there. I hope I will find a nice new machine that doesn't put me in the poorhouse. I want to get back to my TAW!

Please be patient with me. I will return as soon as possible. Oh, yeah. I almost forgot. My scooter is not working either. I am under house arrest.

Blocks of the Week

Just wanted to show you some of my latest Block Party blocks. This first one is 'Honey Bee'. It is a 10in. block and it was last week's block. This week's block is called 'Pieced Tulips'. These are very easy to make. The instructions make a 9in. block. Because most of the blocks that folks are making are 10inches, I changed the centre strips and made a 10in. block. The centre strips are cut 2 1/2in. by 4 1/2in. The centre square is 2 1/2in.

Now it is a 10inch block.

I was having some more problems with my sewing machine. I couldn't figure out how come my pieced units were too big for the straight un-pieced strips. I measured several times and just couldn't figure it out. Until I looked at the needle. It was in the centre position, but in my machine that was a little to the right of centre. So I moved the needle position to the left of centre and got a better seam allowance. But it still isn't perfect. I am not going to take my machine in to have it fixed any more. Ever since the top jammed, I have been having problems. I think they are unfixable. Maybe I should be looking out for a new machine. Any suggestions?