Hello...
This past month has been filled with all things spring. I have planted my gardens...such as they are when you live in a condo. I have a rock garden below my deck and a small garden in the front...everything else is in pots. The squirrel is busy trying to dig up one of my containers on the rail of the deck...every morning! Dirt everywhere...cheeky little thing! And when he is finished doing that he swings over to a branch in the tree and eats birdseed. I have two feeders...one is new and not accessible to the squirrel, so he gets into the other one. I had to get a new feeder, because I had deer coming up and banging the old feeder to get the seed out. Didn't think they would do that...but I saw it happen before my sleepy eyes at 3:00am one morning. I could hear things banging away...and thought it was the wind. Silly me!
I am finally going to do the last bit of embroidery and sewing up the border on my wall quilt this week. And I have decided to finish a project I haven't done for 6 or so years. I usually don't let things go for so long...but I guess I got busy and put it away.
Barb Irwin was a wonderful bear maker years ago...she lives in British Columbia, but doesn't make bears anymore. I took a class she presented here in Calgary about 6 years ago only because she wasn't putting the pattern out right away and I loved the bear. And so it is time to sew up this wonderful panda.
It is a bigger bear than I usually do...but I love it.

SWEET PANDA

PRETTY SPRING POT

Enjoy your week!

  

Hello...
I'm sure that if you follow me at all here, you are getting tired of looking at Lego! I know I am!!
The weekend promises to be beautiful with warm temps and not too much wind. The rhubarb is coming up now and we are all anxious here in the city to get at our gardens, such as it is in a condo...we have a rock garden below the deck and a lot of pots on the deck that I am wanting to fill with herbs and flowers...can't wait! Unfortunately in Calgary we really can't plant anything until mid-May because of the risk of a frost or heavy spring snow. And so, I am continuing to lose weight, going to exercise 4-5 times a week and feeling better about me. I never thought I would like the exercise at this stage of my life as much as I do...I am getting help from a trainer, but my real motivation comes from within. I am being selfish right now...something I am generally not! All in the interest of having fun and getting healthier. And...
I really have been working on other things...I haven't quite finished the quilt I was working on...still need to do a little work on it...but I will post soon on that. Magazine work has taken some of my time of late...deadlines are looming. Here is a picture of one of the projects...a little tease until the fall issue.

Wishing you all a lovely weekend!

Hello...
I've been away from you, my friends long enough! A kind of sad day today...my doctor of 30+ years has decided to retire...and so we had a short visit. I will miss him...he was a kind, caring doctor who provided the best of care to me and my family. The happy part of this is that I was fortunate to be able to find another physician right away. The two doctors know each other and so I feel good about that! And the new one is closer to home...bonus!

I am sure you must be sick of quilt pictures...but I do have a few more. I will start with something else though. A couple of posts ago, I mentioned that I like to do something that doesn't involve glue and paint...did you guess? Well, a couple of weeks ago a new set came out and I just had to get it...I really enjoy this little sideline. I don't have a lot of it...and I don't intend to! The architecture series and this town block have been fun. I will be building "London Bridge" and "Big Ben" soon, just in time for the Summer Olympics. And that will be it for awhile.
 Here are a couple of pics of what I 've been up to when I haven't been sewing...

THE MAIN FLOOR

TWO FLOORS COMPLETE

THE TOWN BLOCK COMPLETED

And now a couple of pictures of the quilt in progress...I am nearing completion and will post the finishing process in the next week or so. For now, I am showing you the next phases...
As you can see, I have filled in a lot since the last post. I have added fabric, trees, shadows, ground cover, rocks, and more sky.

FILLED IN MORE GROUND, TREES AND SKY

THE CUTS VARY IN SIZE, BUT ARE GENERALLY FAIRLY SMALL

THE FIRST TULLE LAYER IS ADDED

I use a charcoal/black fine, soft tulle. Covering the quilt is a little tricky initially. You have to make
sure it is wide enough and long enough because once you place it on the fabric, you can't move it easily. The little fabric pieces like to stick to the tulle and believe me when I say it is a pain to re-position those pieces. There is another layer of tulle to go and I will show you that in the finishing post.

PIN! PIN! PIN!!

This step is not unlike a pieced quilt at this stage. You need to pin the tulle and fabric in place. I do not close my pins, because I am about to quilt with monofilament thread and because this is free motion quilting, I want to be able to move the pins quickly. This is the first phase of the finishing stage of the quilt.

Hope you are enjoying your week!

Hello...
Working away on 4 different projects...trying to give each a little time. An almost impossible task! And so, I am going to complete the first project over the weekend...that being the quilt from the previous posts. I have been sick for a few days (a nasty cold) and so had to leave everything to feel better. I am almost finished...a little more fabric scattering, a bit of machine quilting with colored threads and the process to completion will be posted next week. In the meantime, here are a couple of photos of fabric placement in the early going. This is a challenging quilt...you think you have a section of color just right and then you throw in an additional color...and you have to change your thought process again. In the original drawing, I didn't have a path...I added a path to the drawing and have developed the quilt around it...I have also added birch trees. I will show how I finished them in the next post. At this stage, it is a long way from finished, but it has progressed a lot from these photos and I can hardly wait to show you the finished piece! Until next week...

ADDING TREES AND WATER

CREATING A PATH

BIRCH TREES AND NEW GROUND COLOR

PATHWAY DEFINED, BIRCH TREES, DEFINITION NEAR WATER

Enjoy the weekend!

Hello...
A few more colors to add to my latest quilt project. When choosing fabrics, whether they be cottons, silks, combinations of several different kinds such as batiks...try to use fabrics that can utilize both sides. I have used a few that don't...and it is a pain to turn over all of those toothpick-size pieces. It is a learning process and I am enjoying every minute of it...I will post my progress next week.

More Fabric for Nature Quilt

Batik-Using both sides

We also celebrated a birthday this week...my oldest son is 36 years young...
I can hardly believe it!
The cake...a lovely light banana cake with a yummy icing which definitely tastes better than it looks. The cakes were still warm and so the icing was melting a bit..

Chris's Cake

What do you do when you don't want to do housework, or get crafty? I'll give you a hint at what I do...I'll show you more of what I did this past fall in an upcoming post! Can you guess?

The Farnsworth House in Plano, Illinois

Better get back at it!
Have a happy day!

Hello...
February is upon us already! The weather is mild and tempting spring into coming early...maybe a little wishful thinking. We will enjoy while we can!
I have embarked on a quilting project that I am anxious to share in stages. I was in a quilting store a couple of weeks ago and picked up a lovely book called "Confetti Naturescapes" by Noriko Endo. Her quilts are so pretty. I was curious...and so decided to try the technique. She bases her quilts on photographs and if I make another one after this...I might too. My quilt is going to based on a drawing I did a while back. My grandson was drawing dinosaurs and Nana was drawing trees!
And so I will show you in phases how this quilt is coming along. I want to finish this fairly quickly...
The quilts in the book use leftover fabrics from sewing projects and include a variety of fabrics. My quilt will be based on pieces of fabric in my stash...and I am going for a fall-like look. I love fall and water...and am going to incorporate both. Here is where I am at in pics...

The Backing and Batting

Lots of Fabrics For This Quilt

Cut Into Little Pieces And Even Smaller In Various Places

 

 

 

The Rough Drawing

The Beginning of the Quilt

I will update in a few days with my progress. I love the technique!
Have a happy day!

Hello...
It is cold here...we have been in a deep freeze for almost a week now, and honestly, if it weren't for the sun, it would be depressing. But there is moderation coming. Over the weekend it is supposed to climb to a "balmy" +1C! I'll take it!!
I have decided I am in love with milk glass. I have had vases over the years...but have never kept them. So, over the past few weeks, I have noticed several pieces on Etsy. And so I am going to collect a few...only about 6...but I want a compote style and each one a little different. I have acquired my first piece from "Sweet Magnolias Farm"
I just love it! I also purchased a most unique piece of jewelry from Sara. They have a wonderful Etsy shop full of treasures.

Do you collect milk glass?
Enjoy your day!