WIP Wednesday

Good morning , it feels like spring here with temperatures that will rise to +14 by this afternoon , rather odd after all that snow we had this time last week but hey I will gladly take this and the snow is now completely gone :-)
 I am linking up today to Monika on the Needle and Thread Network   for WIP  Wednesday . My  progress for this week was not bad but I wish I could say I have completed Isaac's quilt but that did not happen .Here is where I am right now .

I have the binding sewn on and the label sewn into the binding but the binding is yet to be sewn down on the back , I had hoped to get at that in the evening but we had company two nights in a row so no sewing .I think I needed a break anyway ;-0  I know this may sound strange but it seems like I am wasting time if I sit in the afternoon and hand stitch so I had a few minutes yesterday , very few but ok I was bad I started something new . Aweful aren't I but this next project just spoke to me whenever I seen it in the Fons and Porter magazine "Quilting Celebrations " I love the shape of this little table topper so just had to make it and actually wanted to do this last year as they had a similar one in their magazine for 2010 .I  had been on the look out for a background fabric but couldn't find just what I wanted UNTIL I  was in the fabric store last week buying a batting for Isaac's quilt ,oh my intention was to just buy the batting and come home but I had to look around ,I mean we all need some fabric therapy now and then ,just touch and feel but this neutral beige fabric was just what I was looking for so I picked that up along with the sweet plaid , I probably have some red fabric that would have worked but that was just too sweet to leave behind and it will really show up nicely as the binding .

I will just pick away at this but still concentrate on getting those quilts complete . Oh talking about quilts I have made a decision for Christopher and also found the perfect backing at a wonderful price of just $2.99 a mt. ,amazing huh . Now to get started , that won't happen today as I am volunteering to teach some Christmas decorations at our guild sewing session this afternoon, that should be fun .
 Our quilt guild is taking part in a postcard exchange with the quilt guild in Saskatoon Saskatchewan and yesterday I received my really sweet card .I see Monika has posted pictures of the cards she received as well so be sure to check them out , you will love her work so be sure to scroll down and check it out. Here is the card I received from Brenda T.,isn't it just so cute !

This has nothing to do with my progress but I wanted to share this amazing sunrise with you , I just caught it the other morning and grabbed my camera and snapped this shot . I love to look at the sky and am constantly snapping photos , sometimes they look great but other times it doesn't come out in the photo the way it looked in real life but this shot is almost bang on.

I best get going and get things together for this afternoon but I really appreciate you stopping by for a visit ,have a great day .
hugs Sheila

40 Years ago today

What were you doing 40 years ago today , oh I know some of you weren't even born , well I was just barely born , haha ,no in reality I was getting married on a day much the same as this one, mild and sunny . I married my soul mate and have been so fortunate to have found the perfect partner and my wish for today is that we have many more wonderful years together . I know you wonder how we will celebrate this milestone, well first off we are not really partiers so we will celebrate with a lovely meal out this evening and just spend the day together .  Bill was so sweet this morning as he knows I am under a crunch to get these quilts done for Christmas , he suggested I work on that for the morning so that is exactly what I did and here is a picture of my progress on Isaac's quilt.

I have been machine quilting and have now completed that but this morning was finishing up with some squares within the smaller squares just to be sure it is well anchored. I went simple with the quilting just stitching in the ditch around each block and between the borders , still takes a long time to get even that done but now I only need to make the binding , whew that feels good. I flipped up the back to show you the cool flannel I used for the backing , this is fabric I bought when I was visiting some quilting buddies in Seattle ,do any of you Material Girls remember this fabric , it is Laurel Burch and is such lovely quality and oh so soft , this quilt is super cuddly.
Did you happen to notice the new icon in the upper left hand corner , well I took on  the challenge for 2012 for learning machine free motion quilting , I sure need some help and when I seen this icon  on this  blog , thanks Bente  , I decided I should sign up as well . Check it out if you think you would also like to learn some new techniques .
 I'm off now to enjoy a little drive in the country side one of my all time favorite things to do , what better way to celebrate 40 years together :-0 Thanks for stopping by and hope you also have a special day .
 hugs Sheila

Cuddle Quilt #2

The crunch is on so I was sewing today as well and here is the result , another cuddle quilt , this one for my grandson .It is also flannels , I have to say that sewing with flannels is not that easy , it loves to stretch but it is lovely and warm and so cosy . I wasn 't quite sure what to do with these flannels when I first started then felt simple was best so here is what I did . I must add these flannels were also in the bag from Linda , isn't she the greatest.

 Sorry the light is poor so this is bit fuzzy , anyway you get the idea , looks rather Christmassy doesn't it . I'll show you a close up of a block so you can see the fabrics a little better , they are so cute and I know he will love them.

To think when I started looking through my stash the other day I was looking for something to make a quilt for my oldest grandson and I ended up making these two for my youngest grandchildren instead . Still need to think of  a plan for Christopher , it was a request to have a quilt for Christmas so I don't want to disappoint him but it will also need to be simple ,time is going fast. Thanks for stopping by and hope you are having a terrific day .
 Hugs Sheila

Our first storm

The weatherman got it right , we got dumped on big time ,wet heavy snow and lots of it . Here is the view from our deck this morning . You can actually see it is still snowing off in the distance and we have had some flurries off an on all morning and schools have been cancelled ,the roads are very treacherous.

This is the view from my bedroom window , you can see where Bill has been snowblowing the driveway , can you see the depth of the snow in places , it is bad to drift on that turn in our driveway . I think he will be out there for a while yet :-(  If you can see the little checks in the photo it is because it is because I took the photo through a screen .






I finished machine quilting the little Sudoku quilt yesterday afternoon and sewed the binding on , then last night I started the process of sewing it down on the back , here is a little picture of that so you can see the bright cherrful fabric I used on the back , this just may be her favorite side  ;-)

I know a little on the wild side but I love it, my friend Linda was generous enough to give me a bag of flannels a couple of years ago and this was one of them , I just love it so thanks Linda you are a sweetie :-)
 Today I think I will start cutting a quilt for Isaac , something  simple as time is running out .
I'd like to wish all my American friends a Happy Thanksgiving as well as everyone else , we all have plenty to be thankful for and today I am thankful for my blogging friends , you are the best.
 Hugs Sheila

WIP Wednesday

It's Wednesday already so what do I have to report this week , well I sandwiched my Sudoku Quilt this morning and will get some of the quilting done today. I also have the Stay at Home RR waiting to be added to but that will have to wait along with the backing and quilting for my Crazy patch quilt . I really must concentrate on finishing my crazy patch block for a RR  I am taking part in , that is coming along slowly and I can't show you an updates on that as it is a secret . I am linking up today to the Needle and Thread Network with Monika , be sure to check out what everyone has been up to this week .
 Our area is expecting a snow storm later today , up to 30cm. yikes , we have a sewing session this afternoon and at this point I am hoping they cancel as it is not my desire to get stuck in the community center during a storm . The snow has not started yet but you can sure see it in the air , it won't be around long though as it is going to warm up to +8 by the weekend.  Thanks for stopping by and hope your day is extra special.
 hugs Sheila

Tuesdays Treasures and Sudoku

Since I was a very young girl I have been sewing , my Mom was always sewing and passed on her love of the craft and taught myself and my two sisters to sew , so I have many fond memories of sewing doll clothes etc. and as a teenager made my own clothes because I didn't want to wear the same things everyone else did , a rebel  I guess I was . Anyway my treasures today are things I remember using in those days , such as these great wooden spools of thread , Mom still has some but these I bought from an old country store when they were going to tear it down . The thread holder which is also old I bought at a yard sale a long time ago for no more than $1 and I love it .

Notice the black spool on the bottom of this rack , it is a different shape and is heavier weight thread too . The green spool next to that is really lovely thread and I have actually used that for thread painting at one time , lovely feel to that . Here is a side view of this cute little thread rack .

I just have to share this little scotty dog too , I pulled the tongue out just a little to show you it is a tape measure , Mom also had one very similar to this not sure if she still has it and I don't remember where I picked this up but it is rather cute . Next to it is a leather sewing case , quite old and again I don't remember where I got it but likely in a box of items at an auction , I use to go all the time and bid on anything relating to sewing ;-) My treasures today are old sewing notions I just love them .  To see more treasures be sure to stop off and visit with Melody at
The house on the Side of the Hill 

Now to show you what a Sudoku Quilt looks like , well first I will say that no two would be a like as each puzzle is different and each person would likely use different fabrics and colours but this is how mine turned out , now to get it quilted in time for Christmas , think I can do it?

 It is 52.5" square and is made entirely with flannel and of course I will use flannel on the back as well . Take note that no block is the same , each color lands in a different spot in each block , not sure I have explained that well but if you take your solved puzzle and assign each colour a number and place that number in the appropriate place in each block you will have solved the sudoku quilt puzzle .It would be fun to make these for friends and as was suggested at our meeting you could make the puzzle that was in the newspaper on the day of the persons birthday or anniversary or whatever and I think this would also be fun baby quilt or even an I spy type of quilt . Lots of possibilities and really easy to make , it is basically a nine patch the only difference is you are following a grid with more colors than is usually in a nine patch . Hope this inspires others to try this out I know you will enjoy making it!
Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your day . Hugs Sheila

The challenge Landscape

I'd like to tell you a little about this challenge before I show you the finished project. I am a member of Valerie Hearders Landscape group on yahoo and she sent out the invitation to sign up for this challenge , she showed us a picture of a piece of fabric she would send each person who was up for the challenge and the rules were simple , we had to make a landscape using at least part of this fabric for the sky and or water and we had to change the look of that fabric with the use of coloured pencils .Sounded easy enough so even though my cup runnith over I did sign up and did receive that fabric in a very short time .Here is that fabric .

I placed it on my design wall for a while and tried to think how I was going to use it and where ,the piece of fabric was not real big so I also knew I could not afford to make a mistake as there was no more to work with so I planned and planned some more .I then went into Picasa where I store all my photos and in doing so there it was the perfect inspiration for this piece of fabric , I knew immediately this was the one .Now to actually decide how to interpret that onto fabric is a totally different thing and I don't ever try to do it exact that would be impossible so this is a loose interpretation of this picture , do you want to see it , if not look away now .

Showing this may not be a good idea as my landscape is not a match just a slight interpretation .I used coloured pencils in shades of three different browns, orange , peach ,yellow and greens along with some thread work which I wish I could have done more of but again I didn't want to risk ruining it and not have any fabric to start over .So here is my finished landscape , I also hummed and hawed over what to do for a border and after trying out different fabrics this was my final choice and I think it works .

 So another challenge is complete and now I must really concentrate on both Christmas and the crazy patch block challenge ,so much to do and so little time ,story of my life . Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful Sunday . Hugs Sheila

An update

I am happy to report that Louisa is officially finished , I sewed down the binding and label last evening ,what a great feeling to do that last stitch .

Louisa is a pattern by  Lisa Christensen  and fabric designed by Terry Clothier Thompson for  Moda , beautiful fabrics and lovely to work with .
I was busy yesterday cooking up a pumpkin so no further work on the landscape but perhaps today I will get back at that until then have a wonderful day and thanks so much for stopping by.
hugs Sheila

A Sneak Peak

In my post yesterday I showed you a piece of fabric that was to be used in a landscape challenge , well today I decided this was the day to get that done or at least started . I am not quite finished and I do need to add a border so I will just share a small corner to show you my progress so far .This was such fun , you know when you are in your happy place when your heart is beating just a little faster and the creative juices are just flowing so fast and furious ,ok I am no Picasa but I sure do love doing landscapes , I kind of forget just how much until I get started , that first piece of fabric is the hardest to choose but once that is accomplished the rest seems to go together with ease .
So here is the sneak peak , remember I had to use coloured pencils , did I ever tell you I love to colour ,even won a prize in first grade for my colouring and that was not yesterday , anyway I am babbling  again so here you go , what do you think?

 I guess now it is time to make supper , almost forgot I need to eat ;-0 Thanks for the visit.
 hugs Sheila

WIP Wednesday

Have you ever noticed how quickly the weeks fly by these days or is it just me , seems like I just posted WIP and here it is Wed. again. So what have I been up to this week , well not a lot really , I already posted some finishes I had last week and because of my busy weekend not much stitching of any kind got done , BUT yesterday at the church we finished my quilt Louisa ,oh Happy Day ! It turned out lovely and now I have to add the binding and the label but for now I will share a peak , I just trimmed off the extra batting and fabric so it is already to bind and the binding is cut just need to get busy and do it :-)

 This quilt was a kit by Moda that my dear Hubby bought for me a few years back , we won't try to figure out exactly how many that might be depressing but at least now it is getting much closer to a finish and I really love it.
 The other thing I have in the works , not that I needed anything else to keep me occupied , is a little landscape challenge with a yahoo group I am a member of , I have to use part of the fabric below for the sky or water or both and I must use colored pencils to enhance or change the colors . I love doing landscapes as you might already know so when this challenge was announced I just could not resist and the fabric arrived a week or so ago and so far that is as far as I have gotten , I do have a plan in my head so perhaps that counts but the deadline is getting closer so I am going to start this like now . Watch for updates ;-0

 I have other works in progress but for now this is my report for this week , I am linking up to Monika at the Needle and Thread Network and if you are a Canadian quilter , weaver , artist or whatever craft be sure to link up as well . Enjoy your day , I have to go make a Christmas ornament for the meeting tonight  :-)
Thanks for stopping by . Hugs Sheila

Tuesdays Treasures

 My treasure for today is a new treasure but I really wanted to share it with you as it was a gift from our son Rob and his family. Rob just returned from a month in Nunavut  relieving one of the officers , Rob is an RCMP officer and this was his first time in the north and he loved the experience . Every night there was a local artist at his door trying to sell him a carving they had done and he did buy a few and this is the one he bought for us . I love it!

I have always been fascinated by Inukshuk's  ,anyway this is carved from one rock and you will notice at the very bottom some markings , well that is Nunavut in their language .Rob said there are large Inukshuk's  everywhere as they guide the local people to find their way home , each one has a special meaning . Rob really enjoyed learning about the ways of these fascinating people and found them to be very friendly .

 We had a really wonderful visit this past weekend , a short one but still so nice and the great part was our youngest son Chad and his family also arrived on Sat. so we had a house full and it was truly wonderful. They are also my treasures today , my son's , their wife's and my wonderful grandchildren , we had five of them here  .

 Enjoy your Tuesday and if you have a special treasure you would like to share or just to see what others are sharing , hop on over to visit with sweet Melody at The house on the side of the Hill  and thanks so much for stopping by.

 Hugs Sheila

A change in plans

I have a couple of more finishes to share and I also wanted to tell you there is  a change in plans I will not be taking part in the sale afterall . Why you ask well , we are having some special visitors , my oldest son Rob and  his family are arriving this afternoon from Ontario and will be staying overnight so needless to say they have top priority as I do not see them very often .

First I made this Christmas stocking after seeing the cute one that Annette made , it seemed like a perfect plan and to make it even better when I was searching through my Christmas fabrics I found a whole lot of strips I had cut for something previously , great I thought , half the work is done.As  I was digging in this same container I came across this fabric with some cute little Christmassy items printed on it so I immediately thought oh another mug rug , it had to be a bit larger than a regular mug rug but hey at Christmas we like to have lots of treats right ;-) So this little mug rug was born from that idea .

 So on this blustery wet and wild Friday I am busy preparing for Rob , have a great day and thanks for stopping by and Lest We Forget on this Remembrance Day.

hugs Sheila

Mug Rugs

I finished off the apron and well you know me I had some fabric left over so decided to make a mug rug , my first thought was to fussy cut the wreaths so I thought about this cute house pattern that I have been wanting to try out for quite a while ,the first one I made is on the left , cute but then I had cut two triangles so of course I had to make a second one and this time added some fancy trim that sweet Betsy of Quilting Fiesta  had so generously sent to me a while back and I think this really sets it off perfectly. You will have to check them out here at Fashioned by Meg  as they are really quick and you can doll them up as little or as much as you want .Thanks for stopping by I have to get back to my sewing machine ,Saturday is coming quick.:-0
hugs Sheila

WIP Wednesday

I am linking up today to the Needle and Thread Network   , if you have never checked it out I would suggest you do as there is lots of talent linking up here .
 So what do I have to report for this week , well a few things ,First off I have finished the hand quilting on the Row by Row quilt , it still needs to be bound but that will have to wait just a bit. I have been busy making a few things for a sale this weekend. My friend Sharon asked me to take part in a house sale along with another friend of hers ,this is my first time doing this so not quite sure what to expect or even what to bring . I have made a couple of aprons ,one I already showed and one I just finished and a third one is in the works .

This one is complete , some pretty reproduction prints ,really love these fabrics , they remind me of my aunt.
Then this Christmas one is almost complete ,it is referred to as a one hour apron , well maybe for some people :-0

I made this same pattern way back in the spring and it is a cute but simple pattern which can be found here .The pattern doesn't call for a pocket but I think an apron needs a pocket so I added one.
 I have a meeting in a little while so not much more sewing will get done this afternoon , I should be able to finish this off before I head out though. Thanks for stopping by and be sure to head on over to the Needle and Thread network , you won't be disappointed. hugs Sheila

 ps. check out the cute snowman you can win here  ,I'm sure when you see it you will want to win , oh dear I just ruined my chances ;-)

Tuesdays Treasures

I was finishing up a little project that needed buttons and when I reached for my button jar I thought , here is the perfect thing for Tuesdays Treasures .I  LOVE buttons  , I have several containers with buttons of all kinds and shapes so this is a sampling only of my button collection , what are you treasuring today ?

 To see more wonderful treasures be sure to visit with Melody at The House on the Side of the Hill
 Thanks for stopping by .Hugs Sheila

A couple of small finishes

Sometimes I just like to make something quick for a change , you feel like you have accomplished something so I made this apron and had a few scraps left over and made a mug rug and a hot pad . Kind of fun and I love this fabric with the kitchen wares on it . I bought it a while back , it was just a remnant at my favorite fabric location , Avonport Discount ,since it is a bit of a drive I rarely get there but when I do have the opportunity I always find some treasures .

This is only a half apron as I didn't have enough fabric for anything else but it is nice and full as I used the entire width of the fabric .
 I'll show you a close up of the mug rug and hot pad now.

It was fun to think of something to use these scraps for . Hope you are enjoying your day , it is a lovely sunny day here , started out rather cool but is a very comfortable temperature now and I have my laundry blowing in the breeze and I know they will dry just perfect and smell divine :-)
Thanks for stopping by. Hugs Sheila

SAHRR update

When I signed up for the SAHRR with  Sunny of Quilting Dreams  guess I wasn't prepared for a challenge , I have taken part in many RR's over the years and yes I have been stumped before but not quite to this extent it was usually a matter of what will I add to this person's project ,however this time we are working on just our own quilt and each month adding a new border , seemed easy enough but somewhere between grade 12 and now I lost my ability to do math and the sad part is I was at the top of my class in math , just loved it . I guess the saying "Use it or lose it " is true :-) Now the wonderful thing is that here in Blogland there are always those who are willing to help in anyway they can so I asked for help with my little dilemma and I received a few suggestions  from Fiona  of Bubzrugz  ,then I asked my friend Annette of In Stitches and Seams  and she was a tremendous help . Annette has the EQ program and I sent her a picture of my project which she put into the program and added some log cabin blocks and sent me a picture  to me to show me what it would look like . I had in my mind what I wanted and somehow couldn't get that quite worked out but with a little help from a friend I am proud to share this addition to my SAHRR block , I am really pleased so a big thanks to Fiona and  especially Annette as I am very much a visual person and seeing it helped so much.. Eventually I will add some applique in the space between the green border and the log cabin blocks . What do you think?

Thanks for stopping by and hope your day is filled with some stitching fun. Hugs Sheila

An update

I just finished sewing the two borders on the crazy patch quilt so thought I would share , I had a very difficult time choosing a border , spent quite a while at the fabric store and had my top with me to make that decision. When there is so much going on as in this quilt it is hard to pick something that won't clash too much so in the end I chose the pink solid for the narrow border and a multi color batik with all the same colors that are in the quilt for the outside border and I am pleased ,it is not a large quilt just lap size and since there is so much lace and some small pieces of fabrics from my Aunt Mammie this is a special memory quilt for me. I made a quilt a few years back with fabrics that were my aunts and gave it to my parents so I think this one I will keep just for me .
I also took the narrow border off my SAHRR and made that a tad wider to make the overall block an even number which will make my log cabin construction much easier so I suspect you will see an update on that real soon.
Thanks for stopping by and I hope you are having a wonderful day . Hugs Sheila

Tuesdays Treasures

I know I have been among the missing lately , I went to visit my parents for a few days and they have no internet access so I have missed you all . My treasure for today is my Island home , I love Cape Breton , nothing quite like it really . When I left here on Friday it was a sunny afternoon but the night before was a rather nasty rain storm so I waited until I felt it had passed over the whole province so I wouldn't be driving in the rain .
 Here is a question for you , Is The Sky Blue ? Have you ever thought about that , well here is a picture to show it is far from blue at times.

 This is far from blue infact it is even lighter in this picture than it was in real life , the sky was a wall of black as I was driving toward it , and yes I snapped this picture as I was driving along but as you can see there was no traffic at the time so I just held the camera to the window and clicked .Just a short distance from here I was in some heavy rain , sheets of rain but thankfully it didn't last real long . I spent a great weekend with my parents and helped my Mom at a Church Bazaar on Sat. of course I found a few treasures that I may share later . Saturday night a nor easter came through and lasted all day Sunday , it was a wild day , lots of rain and wind , gusts to 100 km. My plan was to return home on Sunday but when I got up in the morning I knew I was staying put , I don't like driving alone for one thing but in nasty weather , no thanks , the road in the above picture is what the highways look like to the Island no divided highways and lots of large trucks to meet so I felt it was safer to remain for another day and spend that extra time with my parents and I am glad I did . My Dad can tell the most amazing stories , I should be writing them down . My Mom had me busy hemming pants and well we just had a nice time together and I  really don't get to visit all that often so it was a special time.
 Yesterday when I left the storm had subsided , at least the winds had died down to 20 kms rather than the 80-100 we experienced the day before , oh and yes we did loose power for 11 hours. The sun was shining and it was quite cold at just 2C but when I arrived at the top of the mountain I stopped to take a picture and also to remove my jacket as the car had warmed up enough and it is more comfortable without it . So this is the scene from the top of this mountain and I am not so sure you can see it that plainly but across the water there is snow on the mountain , I believe this would be Smokey but not sure , I was just thankful it was over there and not where I was ;-)

 I wanted to stop and take pictures along the Bras'dor lakes but it was raining by that time and rained the rest of the way home with the except of one area where I did have some snow and rain mixed ,sure glad I didn't have that the whole distance it was blinding.  So my treasure for today is my Island home Cape Breton , a little piece of Heaven on Earth :-0
To see even more wonderful treasures be sure to stop by and visit with Melody at The house on the side of the Hill  and thanks so much for stopping by for a visit . hugs Sheila

ps. I just discovered a great giveaway and wonderful tutorial over here at Connie's blog  , be sure to check it out .