an extra day off

The office is being painted today so I had a day at home.   As the gym is off limits  due to my recent butt injury the only other thing I could do was spend the day sewing.   I am resisting the temptation to begin any new projects, despite the long running list I have in my head.

I spent most of the day working on this project which I originally started quite a few years ago after taking a class on paper piecing. I love the secondary block pattern it makes with the border.

Vintage sheets

Like I needed another quilt to ponder.   In my mind I am working on Julia`s winter blues quilt and a green quilt for my niece Becky.  In my sewing room, I have the blue quilt, a huge pile of strings, one pink baby quilt and a bunch of  string blocks to finish.

To drive myself even crazier, I bought these beauties awhile back  when we visited the local St. Vincent de Paul thrift shop at St. Michaels.  I promised myself I would not get even consider another quilt, but these were too pretty to leave behind. For a lovely example of vintage sheet quilts, go here.

Vintage sheets would be perfect for a memory quilt for someone going into a nursing home, or moving away from home (because there is no place left to store her fabric).

Spring magic

The March wind roars
Like a lion in the sky,
And makes us shiver
As he passes by.

When winds are soft,
And the days are warm and clear,
Just like a gentle lamb,
Then spring is here.”
-   Author Unknown

The storm continued today punctuated with winds, sleet, rain, and snow.    Despite the nasty weather outside, in my sewing room it is spring, thanks to the beautiful April Cornell charm pack which arrived on Friday in the order I placed at Sew Sisters

I also ordered the 20 Fat quarters for $25.00.  Unfortunately this special is no longer available.  The quarters I received included cuts from the Rock-n-Roses collection,  Sweet briar, Recollections by Deborah Roberts, the Polly goes to Paris line and Robert Kaufman, to name a few.  I have been too busy fondling these beauties to even consider cutting them.

Some day I intend to make a trip around the world quilt using reproduction 1930 prints, The two packs of Scrap Block Mania is a start collecting fabric.

I an very pleased with Sew Sisters excellent service.

Well the weather outstide is frightful

The fog rolled  in this morning, layering the trees with even more ice.   We can hear the trees crackle as the breeze hits their limbs.  Being surrounded by trees is great in the summer, but causes concern on winter days. 2600 homes in our area are without power, luckily we are not one of them.   My DH is clearing off  the deck and getting the generator ready just in case. Over the next two day the weather forecast is calling for snow, freezing rain, gusting winds, followed by more snow and high winds.  Sounds like quilting weather to me.

Yesterday I worked on a string quilt which I started a long time ago.  String quilts are a great way to use up those small bits of fabrics (strings).  This is  an excellent project for a beginner quilter, or when you want to do mindless not fussy sewing.  If you are interested in knowing more about this method check out Bonnie`s  at Quiltville  String Quilting Primer.   Check out the many different patterns and ideas for the string quilt at the end of the primer.   The only limitation on this fun to make  quilt is your fabric stash.

By mid afternoon I had most of the blocks and the borders  sewn together.   My DH is my quilt layout foreman.    I place the blocks on the bed in a pattern I think looks good.  Then he comes in and gives it the thumbs up or thumbs down.  When he makes a suggestion it oftens works better than my original idea.

The foundation of my string blocks is  9 inch squares of cotton. To match the thickness of the blocks  I decided to use denim for the borders  and crumb blocks on the corners.  This will be a  very heavy cover as the flannel back will add to the weight.  The perfect winter weather quilt.

Snow Day

According to my DH,  shoveling out from this storm is as bad as  shoveling sh*t.   He was  raised on a farm, so he knows his sh*t.  The snow is wet, heavy and difficult to move.  For the past hour he has been out in the yard shoveling as the snow is too heavy for the snow blower.  He punctuates his labour  with short breaks to bring me the status of the storm.   Everything is covered with a thin layer of ice, topped with a thick layer of snow, and we are not out of the woods yet.   Parts of the province are without power, and might be so until 6:00 o`clock tonight.  The storm will combine with a another storm front tomorrow, so we will have nasty weather until Tuesday.

While my DH is out in the cold, wet, snow I am indoor fondling fabric.  I intend to spend the rest of the day sewing, with brief intervals of cooking.  Sounds fair to me.

Today`s menu will be made from recipes I found on the web. Chili and southwestern drop biscuits from Yes, we cook!  for lunch.    Saturday nights` dinner and a movie will be baked egg rolls from Under a Blue and Moon and our all time favourite carrot and pork dumplings from Retorte, and chicken and pork lettuce wraps, thanks again to Yes, we cook!

So if you`re hungry come on over, my DH should have the driveway shoveled by then.

Oh Canada

One of the reason I love  my husband is his complete disinterest in sports.  It matches mine.  We don`t see the purpose of golf, football is completing baffling and curling leaves us cold.

This week, we have watched more moments in sports then we have during our 14 years together.  It started with  Alexandre Bilodeau.   While recuperating from my cold, laying on the chesterfield, mindlessly watching television, I was moved to tears when Alex tour down the hill and right into the everyone `s heart.   To me he is everything I love about being a Canadian.   He is the best in the world, but still he is humble, loving, kind, and has an accent second to none.   He holds family above all things.    Can`t get much better than that.

Thursday morning at the gym I was beaming when I heard Canada had won the game against Switzerland.   I did not watch the full game,  just the highlights.    But I was as happy as someone who had first row seats!

Patrick Chan, said it best “The best part was not the marks, it was just the crowd, the Canadian crowd and the passion that they show for their athletes,” Chan said. “Makes me realize how proud I am to be Canadian. Before the marks came up, I felt like I let the audience down because I didn’t give a great performance that they would have enjoyed. But in the end, they still loved me as much as they would if I had done a great program…..”

Even though I am completely gaga over Canadian athletes this week, I am still loving the sewing.   Sew Sister Quilt shop has combined my two loves into the incredible Olympic Celebration Surprise Bundle give away.   Each time a Canadian athlete wins a medal another item goes into the basket!

They are also the creator of the Canadian Flag table runner shown at the top of this post.  For the pattern, click here.   Pretty cool, eh!

How could I refuse?

In addition to going to the gym each morning, I have been exercising during my lunch hour.   Each day along with a few co-workers I hit the gym at work for a high impact  aerobic workout.    We began our routine just after the new year, encouraging each other along.   Rarely do we miss a day, except for illness or meetings.   Not only am I gaining stronger muscles, I am saving money by not shopping on my lunch hour.

Today was an exception.   An outside group organized a basketball game with the inmates in our gym.  So I went shopping for the first time in awhile.   And boy did I hit the mother lode!   My favourite thrift shop had a stock of fabric, how could I refuse?

I bought plaids.

I bought gingham.

I bought florals.

And I bought fabric just because it was pretty.

But best of all………..for 25 cents a piece.   That`s right.  I spent a total of $5.54 for this pile of fabric.  How could I refuse?

February block

Isn`t this a sweet block, such a perfect Valentine! The February block was created by the very talented Pat of A Little of  This and A Little of Pat

I am  happy to say that I mailed the March blocks away today.   There is only one more block to receive, the one for April.  Boy did this past year fly by.

The members of the Cottage Block Swap live from the east coast (New Brunswick) to the west (California).  Knowing Canada Post, it will probably take a week or two before the blocks arrive at their destinations.

Due to being stricken with a cold, there wasn`t much sewing done this past weekend.   The weatherman is predicting a mighty nasty snow storm starting late tonight.   Maybe I will get a storm day tomorrow.  And there is no better way to spend a day then sewing!  Wish me luck!

Peroxide saves the day

I pricked my finger with a straight pin while working on the blue quilt.  Quickly I dropped the quilt to avoid any blood spots on the fabric.   Most of my quilts have enough DNA to duplicate me at any time.  More than once  I have run  the sewing needle through my finger or  had a mishap with the cutting blade.  Although I checked the quilt when it happened, it was not until the next day that I noticed this.   My DH thinks I should be outfitted with safety goggles, steel toed boots, a hard hat and work gloves each time I enter my sewing room.

Of course, the stain was on a white block.   Heaven knows it could not land on a dark blue block.   I remember reading peroxide could be used to remove blood stains from fabric.  As I was not in the mood to undo the block, it was worth a try.  I placed the stained block over a tall glass,  poured a teaspoon of water on the spot, followed with a capful of peroxide.  Instant bubbles.   Then I gently blotted the block with a dry cloth and repeated the capful of peroxide.   After three applications of peroxide, I rinsed the block throughly with warm running water.   I placed the quilt on the drying rack as I did not want to use the dryer  as the heat could set the stain.

The peroxide did the trick! No more stain.    The blue quilt is almost finished.   At first considered a border of bricks, one of each of the fabrics used in the quilt.  I have now decided to finish the quilt with a small white border and a binding of all the blues.  That at least is today`s plan.

Sewing is a family thing

Sarah is recovering nicely although the nurse visits daily to change the dressing.  Her next doctor`s appointment is in two days time, hopefully she will get the okay to return to school.   This past weekend there was a whole lot of sewing going on in both households.  While I worked on the bunny blocks and the blue quilt, my daughter and grand-daughter worked on their own projects. There is nothing like sewing on a Saturday to bring joy to a house.   Compliments of my daughter`s Flickr site,  here are a couple of photos .

Sarah sewing a teeny case for her teeny MP3 player.  Plus she will get bonus points for school.

Thank goodness my grandchildren are blessed with the sewing gene.  I know my daughter Andrea definitely has it.   Whenever she needs a new purse or when the mood strikes, she simply sews one.  This is Andrea`s latest creations.   Doesn`t it make  you think of  the sunny days ahead.    This would also make a lovely Mother`s Day gift ….HINT, HINT!