Progress

It's Tuesday and although it is mighty cold outside, in my sewing room things have been cooking. This past week I've managed to start assembling my 2018 blocks from Cindy Staub's BOM, all the embroidery embellishment is complete, the sashing and cornerstones added, and perhaps today, the final border will be added. Then I will post it here on the blog. I need to think about the quilting for this one. not sure at present where that will go.
I 'm preparing to send a small gift box to Victoria for our granddaughters, but had a last minute project I just had to add. One of the girls plays in her Jr. High school band, so I made a small zippered pouch she can carry some of her small bits along with her, and our 7 year old informed me last week, that foxes are now her very favourite animal, so I've made a foxy pouch for her.

Music Girl Karolyn

Foxy Penny

My summer quilting group,(when I'm at the cottage) is planning a show and sale for spring, and each member is to make 3 blocks to make a sampler quilt that can be raffled at the event. I'm adding these blocks to my post today. Every block must have a piece of one of the blues that can be found in mine.

 It is not always easy to plan this type of quilt as we all know. Why is the 1/4 inch seam so different for quilters? It is surprising, and perhaps baffling, but it is ever present. Recently our Sew and Sews group, (my winter group), used blocks made by 20 different individuals in making a gift quilt or someone who has been always so helpful to the group. Now these blocks were made using the same pattern, but there were significant variations in size when it came to preparing to assemble the quilt. Each one was trimmed to a median size, and a sweet quilt emerged. Again, the difference in either cutting, or piecing.It is possible that it was both,
I've been following the Island Batik Getaway Blog hop with great interest. There are such beautiful fabrics made into great projects by very creative quilters. It's definitely inspiring, and makes me want to dive into almost every project I see.

Last week our Cumberland Quilt guild had a pineapple workshop, one where a specialty ruler was used. I made 4 small blocks using the ruler, and because I don't have it, with the help of another guild member, figured out how to reach the same end using just our regular squares.  I used some reproduction 30's scraps for mine. They will eventually become part of a long standing wip. which I hope to finish within three years.

6 inch pineapples

Well I guess that is it for now. I'm hungry, and the clock says it's lunch time. This is indeed a good day.
Lynn

Sharing day with 2018 Quilt Doodle BOM

January 21 will be a red letter day. Why? Well today Cindy Staub of Quilt Doodle Doodle is having a blog sharing day when all those who have been participating in her 2018 BOM can post pictures of their results(if finished), and their progress if(like me) , they are still working along to a slower finish.
This is my first BOM with Cindy, but it will not be my last. Her patterns are doable, and fun. This was my very first attempt at working with flannel as a background for applique, and then using flannel for the appliques was another adventure. Of course I got sidetracked from time to time, especially during those summer months when I am at the cottage, and the summer lazy periods become important . I realized in late fall, that I had misplaced one of the patterns, but decided just to "wing it". My final snowman block will not be as nice as Cindy's but who will notice amongst all the other snowman hunks. Here are my blocks, and top and bottom rows. I will finish the last man applique,(buttonhole stitch), today, and start the embroidery embellishments. I don't have any of the sweet buttons some have used, but we'll make do. I'm working strictly from my stash, happily so, but it does require a willingness to accomodate. I'll post a pic when I have completed the top, and then again after the quilting is completed. I've chosen a 2004 Thimbleberries red print for my sashings(must have been on sale, I have a good bit of it), and for my borders this Benartex Christmas print,(again an oldie but goodie).

Cindy, thanks for getting this day organized. It lights a bit of a fire for me to get going and finish, as well as encouraging me to become more active with my blog postings. I do hope everyone has a wonderful day. 

Lynn

Trumpeting out the old, and welcoming 2019

It's New Years Eve, and in this house we are cosy and warm finishing our last day of 2018. Omer and I went out to the local restaurant for supper, and saw a few of the other early night folks there as well. I'm not one to go out too far when it is cold and dark. Funny how I love the dark in summer months when I can sit out on the deck at my little cottage and take pictures of the stars and moon, or just watch the jets pass in the night sky. When the moon is bright, I will sit and watch it shine over the ever changing tide. But tonight it not about my summer moons and tides, it is about the finish of one period, and the beginning of a brand new year, an opportunity to write our stories in a new 365 page book.  What will we write?
Will you set new goals for 2019? I don't set resolutions as it will almost certainly be doomed to fail. Instead, I choose a word to work on each year. This new year, the word in my house will be kindness. .each of us can choose to be kind in our everyday activities regardless of our situation. It will not always be easy. today as we were trying to set up our new smart tv, I was extremely frustrated, tired, and wanting to get on with something I wanted to do. I was snappy, and didn't really like the person I was being. I decided to choose to be kind to both myself and my husband, and the outcome is that we are both happier tonight. I apologized for my snippiness, and we got on with the chore. We don't have tv reception at our house, but my husband watches Netflix and you tube using the tv screen as a monitor for his laptop. For him, the hookup is important.
I don't know exactly what I hope to accomplish in 2019, but I want to continue to have fun, and share my quilting with others. There are a couple of New Years Day mysteries if you are interested. One is with Merry Mayhem. I can't remember the other. I'm working on a couple of pillow cases for two of my Aussie Great nieces who are here in Canada as their parents fulfill a job contract for a couple of years. Darlene D'eon from Nova Scotia Online Quilters plans to post the new 52 week challenge for us tomorrow, and Patterns by Jen will announce her new colour challenge tomorrow. There is always something fun to follow in the world of quilting. I'll still be following Dione Gardener-Stephens on her blog The Clever Chameleon.Her series of bear patterns finished up in December with a sweet panda. It is this little guy who will lead my parade as we enter the new year. Ta Da! Here he is

I hope this new year will find him joining his 11 bear buddies in a quilt at my house. Now from this fellow, Lucy, Omer and me, our biggest wishes for s 2019 filled with Peace, Joy, and Love.

Lynn

Wow, it's Friday again, and Christmas is just round the corner.I guess we all become a bit busier this time of year. I'm wanting to stay connected to our grand nieces and nephew as they continue to grow and develop lives of their own. I attended a musical performed by members of the Atlantic ballet and dance Company. Our great niece Elle performed an amazing job of acting and singing playing the part of The Ghost of Christmas Present as well as three other roles in the rendition of A Christmas Carol. Then a few days later Another 9 year old great niece performed in several dance demonstrations as part of the Christmas dance demo. It was sweet and Grace showed her athleticism, as well as her skill and grace in the dance.
On the 16th the youngest great nieces will perform with their company. I'm anxious to watch these girls too.
I have not forgotten Bonnie Hunter's Good Fortune Mystery. I haven't finished the required number for each of the three clues, but have completed some of each. The half chevrons from clue three created a small problem for me. When I started them, I didn't think of them being half chevrons, hence I would only be making them in one direction, so I made 15 or so going the wrong way. I've put those aside now and will deal with them when an opportunity presents. Tomorrow is another release day, so clue #4 will be ready to make. I'm a little bit nervous about colour as I don't have much orange in my stash, and have been toying with the idea of substituting golds for the orange. I'm trying to stick with my stash whenever possible.  Here is a picture of my clue bits and the candy box where I store them. I have been using the little Clover clips to keep them in groups of 10. When I get the totl number done, I'll remove the clips, and put them into a plastic bag. I'm enjoying the journey.

I noticed today that beginning in 2019, Canadian Quilters Association,(CQA), will be hosting a free project, 50 blocks in 50 weeks. It will be something to check out. As well, Lynne at Quilt Doodle. Doodle will host a 12 month BOM on her blog. There are so many opportunities to be at our machines, or sitting with our needle stitching,
Nova Scotia Online Quilters administrator, Darlene D'Eon, has announced that she will host another 52 week challenge in 2019. This year's challenge has only two more weeks before we finish. This is my week 50 block.

A few more HST's and 4 patches

Friday morning, and all is well with my world. It's still cold outside, but I don't plan to venture out until late afternoon when I will join family members attending a musical "A Christmas Carol" where my great niece will play the role of the Ghost of Christmas Present..I am so looking forward to this outing. The sun is shining this morning, and my husband is home to help with Lucy when she needs to go out  to P.  Yesterday I got so cold during one of her longer outings, that it took over two hours wrapped in a fleece blanket for my hands to move freely again. Brrr!
We made pancakes and sausage with Cumberland County maple syrup for breakfast. They were scrumptious. I prefer to make my batter from scratch. It's so easy, and definitely a great flavour. For two of us I mix together 1 cup all purpose flour, 1 tbsp sugar, 2 tsp. baking powder, and 1/4 tsp. salt. Next I whisk together 1 egg, 1 cup buttermilk(preferably at room temp), 1 tbsp melted butter (cooled a bit). Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and stir until mixed by leave a lumpy consistency. I let the batter rest for 10 to 15 minutes before using. 
Once water sprinkled on the pan I'm using starts to dance, we start the cooking. I know this is habit, but using a bit of shortening on the frying pan is part of our process too. I wonder what others do?
I'm still working away at the HST's and 4 patches from Bonnie Hunter's weeks 1 and 2 of her Good Fortune mystery. This morning is is the step of sewing strips together, and doing the sewing for the HST's I really like the red and blue scraps I've chosen from the scrap baskets.

 While I was cutting sewing and trimming, I watched a Hallmark Christmas movie on YouTube. We don't have regular television service here,(our choice), but depend on the internet for that type of media play.

Here is Lucy keeping me company each and every step of the way. She might be small,slightly less than 8 pounds, but she sees herself as a big dog and is plenty smart.









Early in the week I started making by December blocks for Darlene D'Eon's 52 week challenge. Since the colour being celebrated by Jen at Patterns by Jen is black for December, I decided to go it my own for the last month. With the season of sharing and giving with us, I opted to use scraps of fabric gifted to me by other quilting friends.  This is my first block for December

Well it's been great having this short blog time, but whenever I sit for too long, I fall asleep, so up I get again
Lynn

December delights

It's December, and Christmas will soon be in full swing. The colour challenge from Patterns by Jen has black as the choice for December, and Dione at The Clever Chameleon has released her December bear. This Panda is a definite keeper. Marian Pena at Seams to Be Sew is celebrating the 12 Days of Christmas with a pattern gift each day for 12 days. Today's block is a  nine inch penguin on skates.
Bonnie Hunter at Quiltville Quips and Snips is running her yearly mystery. Clue two was released last Friday. I'll share what I have finished to this point.

This is the short link to Bonnie's post.

Or Short Link: https://bit.ly/2FXaVZH

 I'm in awe of those quilters who complete each clue within a few days.My aim is to complete the top in time for next years mystery, and I know I'm not alone in this endeavour.
Bonnie's inclusion of the colour block tool was great for me, as I don't often get to places where the paint chips are available. There are oodles of possibilities on each of the cards identified. This makes shopping from my scrap baskets so much more fun. I felt a sense of joy when the first clue was released, and I could go to my red basket. There is a long road ahead, but it will be in the company of many other quilters who feel the thrill of sewing with scraps and finishing with a thing of beauty, something like Jacob's Coat of Many Colours.
Nova Scotia Online quilters group is finishing it's last 4 weeks of the 52 week challenge offered by Darlene D'Eon, and it has been a fun one.This group is very inspiring whit it's many talented members sharing their projects on line.
We have been dragged into winter early this year, with snowfall more reminiscent of February than November, but maybe that means spring will appear early as well. The day with the shortest amount of sunlight December 21st, will soon be here, and then we will start to see a few extra minutes of daylight each day as we make our way to spring once again
I'm hoping to grow some this year as a journal keeper with my blog. Wish me well.
Wishing everyone love and good health as we enter this season of Christmas.
Lynn

It's a new month November

The colour for November is teal, a blue/green colour, one I love. In anticipation of this colour I spent time sorting through my many scraps and some yardage to fins pieces I liked. It was a more difficult job than I envisioned, Why? Well some pieces were too green, others too blue, some too dark, and so on. This scrap is one of the ones that made the cut.

This is the main body fabric  for my Colour Challenge bear. The free pattern is available on Dione Gardner -Stephens blog, the Clever Chameleon.  https://www.cleverchameleon.com.au/colour-party/

I'm also trying to stay current with Darlene D'Eon's 52 week challenge. I have been choosing the colour challenge monthly colours for these blocks.We're fast coming to the end of this year's challenge. This will be either week 44 or 45. Time flies.
This is my first November block and there will be 3 more, one each Monday if I keep current.

This is a pretty fabric, with it's blues and greens little swirls.
This is the weekend of the Canadian Women's University Rugby Championships this year held at Acadia University in Wolfville N.S. Tomorrow, St Francis Xavier women will play in the gold medal game against the Guelph women. The weather has been tough, not cold, but oh so wet. Today as Acadia played in a try for consolation final, it was wet and windy. Hopefully tomorrow, the weather will be a bit easier. I'll be watching on Usport.ca with my subscription.
That's my note for today
Lynn