Crazy Quilting Friday

I think I told you I love to work with wool , well this weeks crazy quilt block is this wool crazy patch pincushion , I fell in love with the pattern over at Kaaren's blog thepaintedquilt.blogspot.com and although she added more embellishments to her work I am happy with mine for now I can always add more embroidery later on . This also gives me another finish for Dec. and that is a good thing ;-)
Thanks for stopping by,
Sheila

Redwork

December is almost over so it is time I posted some of my finishes that I couldn't do earlier as they were gifts . All of these little stitcheries have now found new homes and I hope the recipients like them .
The pillow is a pattern by Slly Giblin and was in the Australian Country threads Vol.9 -no.7. The Bee it ever so Humble stitchery is by Kaaren Johnston of thepaintedquilt.blogspot.com  . I am sorry I don't have the designers for the other two but if I find the patterns I will share that with you .
 I do have one more to share but it has yet to go to its new home so I will wait until that happens . Time to update my finishes for Dec. Thanks for stopping by. Sheila

One Flower Wednesday

I am cheating somewhat today as I personally didn't complete any hexies this week , however my friend Lynda sent me this gorgeous English Paper piecing tote so I wanted to share it with you , she also included some hexie templates in two sizes which will really come in handy . I simply love it and the colors are so perfect not to mention her amazing workmanship. Here is a view of the inside . Thanks Lynda.

My friend Dianne gave me this  lovely little hexie with wool on the back  ,isn't it sweet .Now Dianne knows how much I also love working with wool so she also included this little bundle of wool in great colors, I was so pleased as  I didn't have any left in these shades so I will now be able to start a new wool project ,yippee ! Thanks Dianne .

 My friend Linda gave me this simply beautiful star ornament for the tree so I  placed it in a prominent spot on the tree ,the detail on this is amazing .She also gave me a gift certificate to a local fabric shop which I know I will love using .Thanks Linda .

Then I also received a great package from Jeanette with a lovely calendar of Australia , what gorgeous pictures and some fat quarters of Australian fabrics , how sweet of you Jeanette , they are so different and I will have fun making something special with them . Thanks Jeanette .

Christmas around my house

Today I thought I would share a few pictures of my house for the Christmas season . I am not quite finished decorating but this will give you some idea of what it looks like . First off I love to decorate many areas of the house including the kitchen so this first picture is off a small display on my island

Next I love the nativity set we purchased many years ago from a local artistan and each year it brings joy into my heart to bring it out on display . You will of course see our tree in this picture as well . The tree skirt was a gift from my SIL a number of years ago .

 This picture is to the left of the tree and shows a favorite ornament of ours , the handcarved wooden ornament that has a place for candles that when lite makes the fan turn , it is very beautiful and maybe later I will take a closer shot of this so you can see the incredible work . This was a gift to us in 1983 from the parents of our exchange student from Germany ,Nona , it has been on display every year since that time .I must remember to buy some candles to make it complete.

Next we have our small fireplace which is a new addition since last year and above the fireplace is a BOM wall hanging I made from the patterns by Gail Pan of Gail Pan designs . Thanks Terry I had that wrong .

This next picture is not that clear but hopefully you can see what is in it , this Santa collection was a gift from my Mom a few years back ,they are really quite special with Santa's as they would be known in different parts of the world .On the window are some paper ornaments that my dear friend from Denmark Susanne has sent to me over the years and I love them so much but felt they would get lost in the tree so decided they would go on my window above my sink where I can see them everytime I work there .You can see out the window that we have no snow infact the field is still quite green .

Finally this last picture is in my entry and is a little display on my husband's grandmothers sewing machine ,a real treasure for me to own .Above the machine is a wall hanging that took me years to complete and was a BOM on the internet but I am sorry I have forgotten the designer but I really love this pattern .

So I hope you enjoyed your visit and I hope each and everyone of you have a very Merry Christmas and  Happy New Year .

 Today is also a special day for me I am celebrating a birthday I won't tell you which one but it is a significant number ;-0 but then aren't they all .

Thanks so much for stopping by.

hugs Sheila

A stormy Monday but the postman delivers a special package

Here in Nova Scotia today it is rather nasty with high winds and rain but very mild for this time of year at +12 C. I would hate to think what it would look like if the temperatures were colder , nothing would be moving .
Yesterday my DH and I went to an art show that took place at St. FX university and the artist having the show was my brother Bill .He is a talented artist and has been drawing and painting ever since I can remember  ,if you would care to read a little about him and see a few of his paintings check out this website  Can you tell I am a proud sister!

Even in all this nasty weather the postman delivered a parcel just for me from my dear friend Susanne in Denmark , she is such a sweet friend and spoils me every year and this year was no exception . This is what was in my parcel . A beautiful silk scarf from Thailand , she visited there earlier this year along with a key chain which also came from Thailand and this great book of quilt patterns for cups and saucers , she knows I love tea !

Crazy Quilting Friday

It's a blue day today , I have used prints with lots of blue with a Christmas feeling or a winter theme at least .Yesterday I was really busy and thought I don't have time to make a crazy block this week and then I changed my mind at the last minute thinking it won't take that long and I find them fun to do and I needed a little distraction so to the machine I went . Thanks to Betsy of Quilting Fiesta for hosting this fun event each week.

Look what the postman left for me :-)

I just arrived home from my day of quilting and was pleasntly surprised to see a package address to me .Oh what can it be , well I won the prize for Oct .for OPAM and it arrived today from Kris of Tag Along Teddies .The pretty little package with the pretty ribbon was almost too pretty to open ,almost but hey I needed to know what was inside and just look at all these goodies , I am totally spoiled , some pretty Christmas fabrics , a lovely pattern by Natalie Lymer of Cinderberry Stitches ,a mini sharpie which I thought was a fantastic idea , I never saw one before and a cute little note pad .So a huge thank you to Kris it sure has brightened my day :-)

My Mg project

Now that the gifts have been recieved I can share what I made for my partner Terri . This pattern is by Nancy Halvorsen and from the book Star of Wonder .In the book it is part of a large table runner but I like it as a wall hanging so added some borders and voila! I was very pleased with the results and hope that Terri liked it as well .
hugs Sheila

MG Christmas Swap

For many years I have had the good fortune to be part of a group of quilters from all over the US and one other Canadian , we call ourselves the Material Girls and the past couple of years we have participated in a Christmas exchange and today I received my parcel in the mail and I knew when I seen the name on the package that I would be very pleased with the contents . My friend Cyndi is an excellent seamstress and has recently taken up long arm quilting and has her own business ,if you look closely you will see she is very talented , it must have been difficult to make those designs so small . Thanks so much Cyndi I truly love it , the colors are perfect as well as the work . Now I will have to find just the perfect spot to display it . What do you think , gorgeous isn't it?

Thanks for stopping by .

Sheila

Tuesdays Treasures

Todays treasure is very special to me , when my granddaugther Aylssa was only eight years old she drew this Santa on a piece of construction paper with chalk and her Dad allowed me to take it home and trace it off and I made this wall hanging from her sketch . Alyssa was not aware that I was doing this . Every line on this Santa was hers , if you click on the picture to make it larger you will see some stitches I did around the eyes , she had those in her drawing as well as all the lines in the beard which I made individual pieces for .The only thing that is not in the original drawing is the holly leaves I placed on his hat . Oh she also had added the snowflakes on the side so I embroidered those in . I think it is awesome not my work but her work , she has a lot of talent for eight years old don't you think ? She is now 15 and a musically talented young lady but I know deep inside is an artist just waiting for another opportunity to show the world .Love you Alyssa!
Thanks to Melody for hosting Tuesdays Treasures and to see more treasures go here .
Have a great Tuesday.
Sheila

Crazy Quilting Friday

Todays block has a lighthouse in the center a common site here in Nova Scotia ,the rest of the block is a miss match of whatever I had on hand ;-0
The little Christmas wall hanging is a pattern I won at the retreat I attended in Oct . It is designed by 2 Easy Designs and is called Santa Came . It is only small measuring less than 8"across and 18"down , so perfect for that little narrow space . I uesed mostly brushed cottons or flannels for this , scraps I had on hand and guess what it didn't even make a dent . I think my scraps are playing tricks on me the more I use the more I seem to have :-D
Have a super Friday .
Sheila

Sewing basket

Are any of you familiar with designs by Nancy Halvorsen , well I love her work and when my friend showed me an Art to Heart book with lots of neat sewing items in it I knew I just had to own that one, so the first time I seen it I bought it .This basket was my first project from that book , it is huge ,much bigger than I had anticipated but then I guess I didn't take the time to read the dimensions . I also learned that a heavier interfacing would have been better but overall I really like the pattern , it would be perfect for beside your sewing machine with the project you are presently working on inside ready to sew along with all the tools you will need for that project .There are pockets for scissors, thread ,rotary cutter as well as miscellanous items . Then of course there is the pincushion and small scissor holder that can either hang on the outside or the inside . The name of the book is "Sew Necessary "by Art to Heart and as I said the designer is Nancy Halvorsen . I also made a needlecase which I will show you all later .
Have yourself a Sew Happy Day:-)
Sheila

Wednesdays Flowers

Surprise !! I have finally made some hexagon flowers , it has been weeks since I made any but on my flight to Saskatchewan I had a stop over that lasted  a few hours so I sat in the airport and made these flowers , I may have gotten more made if I had been smart enough to prepare more but at least there are five new flowers in my garden now ;-)
To see even more beautiful flowers why not hop on over to visit Karen and see what others have added to their gardens this week . Happy Gardening !
Sheila

Tuesday's Treasures

Thanks to Melody Tuesdays Treasures continues for our enjoyment and interest .This week I wanted to share this very special tea set that my oldest grandson Christopher gave to me ,I use the tea pot everyday and love it .To see more treasures be sure to stop by and visit Melody .
Thanks for stopping by and have a great day .
Sheila

Cesar

I had the very good fortune to attend the Dog Whisperer show while visiting my son .It was truly amazing , he is so talented , humorous and informative . We had great seats just two rows from the stage which made the experience special . Our seats allowed us to stay after the show and there was a 30minute question and answer session but unfortunately our questions were not among those asked . However it was interesting. and I learned a few things as well. If you ever have the opportunity to see him in person I highly recommmend going.
Have a great day .
Sheila

Home again!

I had a wonderful visit with my son and his family and really enjoyed my time with these adorable grandchildren , Sophia and Isaac ,so much fun and so smart . I think they make them smarter these days :-0
I did miss blogging and you will also note a name change for my blog , I guess I wasn't suppose to use the title Quilters World as there is a quilt magazine with that name which i knew but honestly didn't think about that when chosing a name , just used the first thing that came into my head .
Time to get back to some stitching now too , sure missed Bernice my sewing machine so must dust off the cobwebs and get something made ;-) Great to be back .Have yourself a  wonderful day .
Sheila

Crazy Quilting Friday

Since I am participating in Colourful Fridays and this weeks colour is pink I thought a pink crazy block was the perfect solution. Now I did cheat a bit here as I had this small logcabin block left over from a pink log cabin quilt I made for my granddaughter Nila a couple of years ago so I just added a few more strips around it and voila ! I am a little pressed for time right now so any embellishment will have to wait until later .  Betsy is host to Crazy Quilting Fridays and to visit her blog go here ,I am sure she will have a beautiful block to see today .
Have yourself a great Friday.
Sheila

November finish

Last Saturday I attended a workshop with our local quilt guild and this is the bag I made during that class . The pattern was designed by one of our guild members Wilma and she gave us instructions for various sizes of this style bag and there were some really stunning results
. My computer crashed last week and we just purchased this new one and I am trying to get use to it plus all my files etc. are still on the old PC :-( I downloaded picasa to use for posting pictures as it seems to be the easiest way I have found . I didn't think to take pictures of the inside of the bag but there are two sets of pockets , with divided sections in each , really nice bag style ,thanks Wilma!

Bursting Buds Runner

I have finally finished this runner , as you can see it is quite large and it was far more work than I had expected but then again I didn't know what to expect ;-) It was my first time doing rectrangles and most likely my last , just a little too much work involved for me but the outcome is quite nice so I suppose I should never say never , more like not right now .This is a Pam Bono design and her patterns are gorgeous . It sure is a great feeling to have this completed and I think the colours will be nice for Christmas which makes the finish very timely . Thanks as always for stopping by .
Sheila

Two finishes

As you know I am taking part in OPAM and the reason I signed up was to try to finish some UFO's that linger around here , sometimes I wonder where they have been all these years but suddenly they appear like this little tea pot , I had appliqued this a long.... time ago at least two years and it just sat as I had no idea what to do with it , the pattern and fabrics were from a shop hop I had taken part in while visiting Seattle , sorry have no idea what shop it was but they are all very nice there . Anyway as I was starting to say I came across this applique last week and thought I should do something with it so went with the easy route and made a potholder ,even found some left over binding to use so it really took no time at all and now I can say it is no longer a UFO ;-)
The second picture is not the best but it is of a second costume I made this one is also a dog but made with very stretchy polar fleece , I thought the polar fleece would be easier to work with and I guess in many ways it was ,certainly not messy like the fluffy dog but the stretch was not fun to work with . Now we have to get it to Elise by Sat. :-(
Also if you were to look at my OPAM finishes on my sidebar you would see a Christmas exchange listed , well I can't show you that project as it has to travel a long distance and can't be opened until Nov.29th so I won't be posting a picture until after that date .

Fractured Landscape

I thought the best way to show you the Fractured landscape was to first show you the photo which I used to make the landscape , it is a picture I took in Mabou Mines a week or so ago and this is my interpretation of that picture . I did some thread painting and may have gone a little over board with that but I will have to live with it . It was a fun process and I learned a few things NOT to do so overall it was a great workshop .
Thanks for stopping by.
Sheila