A Christmas Tea and Quilt show

Good morning , I must apologize again for being absent but this is a busy time of year and I just can't seem to fit everything in . On Saturday I attended a wonderful quilt show at a local church and what a fabulous display they had . Here are just a few photos I took , I do find it difficult to get good pictures when the quilts are displayed this way but I still think a quilt show in a church is a beautiful thing :-)

This is a fairly large church and they have the advantage of having an area to display a few large quilts hanging full length .

The nine patch was made by one of my friends , not sure which one but a group of us exchanged nine patch blocks and this was one of the quilts that resulted from that exchange .

A nice large sampler 

Appropriate for the season .

another lovely sampler 

I remember helping to quilt this at Holy Name 

This one belongs to Joan , she just recently completed this quilt .

There were lots of smaller quilted items on display as well 

Nice display of poinsettas .

a cute tree skirt

Now this is not the best picture and doesn't give this wonderful display  the credit it deserves . Can you tell what is hanging from the branches of this tree ? They are china cups , Michelle I thought of you and Jeanette and your love of pretty china when I seen this display . The saucers were around the base of the tree , it was so pretty . They also had this wonderful display ...

I had to reach over some ladies to take this photo , the dolls were incredible and those christening gowns which were all handmade just made me smile , The hooked rug was over 100 years old and was in immaculate condition ,  If you look closely there is a photo in the left hand corner of the display and at least one of those ladies is responsible for some of this work . I really enjoyed seeing this display and wished I could take one of those gowns home ;-)

 So that is just a small overview of the quilts and other displays , what a perfect way to kick off the holiday season with colourful quilts and some yummy food , I didn't mention the tea and goodies that came with the ticket to attend . I had a lovely time sharing tea with Kate , Donna and her friend .

On a different topic last week our guild had their Christmas party after our general meeting .which was preceded by a hot turkey supper with all the trimmings , it is a wonder we didn't all fall asleep our bellies were so full .  Each year we have a gift exchange , it is optional but always such fun with Joan as Santa and Gloria as her helper , they make our sides weak from laughter . Santa has a long list  and several bags from which he chooses the gifts and this year my gift was ....

There is a really sweet panel with snowmen , I love snowmen , a very cute pincushion with embroidery scissors set securely in the center , how convenient is that for someone like me who is constantly loosing her scissors and some yummy Lindt chocolate for nourishment when I am stitching . You know this is a secret exchange , we don't know who the gifts are from but this one was just perfect for me , so thank you to whomever brought this gift :-) The gift I brought was this quilters journal and pincushion 

I forgot to take a picture so I asked Rita who received this gift to take the picture . At the top I freemotion wrote Quilters Diary . 

This was the pincushion . That is an antique little coaster that I stitched on top of some linen type fabric . 

 Yesterday I turned one year older and I want to share what Karen sent to me , this adorable little lapel pin .

Isn't it sweet . Thanks so much Karen , 

I also received this lovely package just a day or so before my birthday .

Some gorgeous fabric that will make a pretty attic windows project and some handmade soap in two different lavendar scents , this lovely gift was from my long time friend Marg (no Blog) 

My friend Linda (no blog) gave me this great pattern for an apron , she knows how much I love aprons :-) Thanks Linda :-)

And my friend Dianne gave me these very unique wooded farm scenes .

Thanks Dianne :-)

 Now not to keep you much longer but I also received my postcard from Leah in the snowflake exchange through Brandy Lynn and it came on my birthday so that makes it special .

This little snowman came blowing in with his snowflakes from BC , thanks for exchanging with me Leah . 

 Hope I haven't worn you out , whew , thats it for me today and just incase I don't get a chance to get back here before Christmas I want to thank all my wonderful followers for another great year and I hope your holidays are filled with love and peace and joy . God Bless .

 Hugs Sheila 

Some fun mail

I love mail and squishy mail is even more fun so I was delighted yesterday to open a package from Annette , an early birthday present .

 I love handmade socks and when a friend makes them in your favorite colour what a nice combination . Thanks so much Annette , they will keep me toasty warm this winter . I REALLY want to learn how to make socks and have the wool and the needles now I just need to get started , this has spurred me on to do just that :-) Thanks again dear friend .

 This afternoon I received another early Birthday/ Christmas present from a long time friend Susanne in Denmark ,(no blog) 

Wish Upon a Star, hmm , okay I will do just that I will wish with all my might that someday Susanne and I will meet in person . Thanks so much Susanne for the many years of friendship . I love this little wall hanging , so sweet . 

 Along with this package there was an adorable postcard from my friend Linda  , the jolly old man himself :-)

Thanks so much Linda , I love how you added the dimension with your wonderful quilting !!

 Talking about postcards , I hope all postcards in the postcard exchange have been sent and most likely received by now . I received word that my postcard arrived safely in the UK to Pauline so I can now show you what I sent .

I seen this as a tree ornament on pinterest and decided it would make a great postcard and it was pretty much the correct size , here is where I found it .

I am BUSY BUSY with sewing which is why you haven't seen or heard from me lately , hopefully that trend will change very soon . Thanks for stopping by today and have yourself a wonderful day .

 hugs Sheila 

43 years today

On this day 43 years ago I married my best friend and after 43 years we are still best friends what more can anyone wish for  Thanks for the best years of my life Bill .

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends , I hope you have a wonderful celebration of thanks with your friends and families :-)

I have some mail to share , as some of you know I organized a Christmas postcard exchange , well my partner was really on the ball and I already have received her beautiful postcard in the mail .

 Isn't it pretty a lovely embroidered snowflake to bring in the holiday season , thanks so much Pauline ! I also got a surprise today with another postcard from Lin ...

Lovely candles in a very artistic setting , they are wonderful Lin , thanks so much !! I will share the postcard I sent off to Pauline once it is received but right now I can share the postcard I have made for Brandy Lynn's snowflake exchange .

I had this snowflake fabric in my stash and added some small snowflakes and an applique snowflake with a little sparkle to add some pizzazz :-)  I don't have my partner for this swap just yet . 

 I have been doing some other stitching but the only thing I can share just now is this wool stocking which is a pattern by Primitve Gatherings .

It is only tiny being approximately 9" long , it was fun to stitch . I really enjoy having some wool projects to stitch during the evenings , and I am sure enjoying the Valdani Threads I won a while ago from Kaaren of the Painted Quilt  , they are such a joy to work with . 

Before I head off to my sewing space I want to gently remind those who are taking part in the postcard exchange to please have them posted no later than Dec. 1st which is fast approaching , yikes that means Christmas is right around the corner , sorry I have to run . Thanks for stopping by .

 hugs Sheila

Canadian Quilters Connect

                                                

Hi there , if you are visiting via the Canadian Quilters Connect Sew Sisters blogathon welcome to my blog , to my wonderful followers thanks for stopping by . It is indeed a pleasure to be part of the Canadian blogathon   Thanks to our hostess Linda of Scrapmaster and Linda of Stitch Lines , stop by their blogs to find a list of blogs in the Maritimes to check out and a special thanks to Sew Sisters for arranging this blogathon . Be sure to visit Sew Sisters as well as both Linda's as they have giveaways I know you would love to win .  Don't limit your blog hopping to today , there are blogs to visit all  week long you can get that list by clicking on the icon at the top of my blog .

 As for what I am working on right now , I am busy sewing Christmas gifts . I just completed three little owl purses for my young granddaughters . What fun to create , colourful and I do think they will like them . Only have a picture of two so far but I finished number three yesterday .

 I am also trying to catch up on BOM blocks , you can see the three I made for our guild BOM in the previous post and my Aurifil block is now completed too , just one more of those to make . 

I won't keep you any longer , you have a lot more stops to make but I hope you will stop by again real soon .

 Hugs Sheila 

It has been a while ....

I know I have been missing from the blogging world lately , I have been sewing some but having a few issues with my joints , it is that time of year , November is never an easy month for me . Anyway onward and upward , sorry if I have not visited your blog lately I will try to catch up or maybe just start over .
 I started this project about a month or so ago but it has sat idle and I need to get back at it .

I seen this little project in the  new Fons and Porter Christmas Celebration magazine and JUST had to make it , so darn cute . I now need to start the applique process .
 On Wednesday I attended a workshop at our guild and Janice taught us the attic window method using a panel . I had done attic windows many years ago but the fact we were using a panel really intriqued me so I signed up and was so glad I did , I really enjoyed the class . Thanks Janice !

 Can you tell what this was? A fall wreath , I still need to add borders but I am loving it so far . There was some beautiful panels used so these will be a lovely addition to our quilt show . 

 I also made my three blocks for the BOM for our guild , the last block I did was called Grandmothers Favorite , I wonder which grandmother because it sure wasn't this one lol . Why you ask , well it was partly PP and I am not a fan of PP but I am sure not a fan of PP that does not fit . Now it could be my printer but the pattern was way too big but I adjusted the best I could and made the block and it isn't perfect but it will do ;-) In the picture below it is the one on the upper left , next to that is Fancy Stripes then the lower one is called Four Corners , all came from the Quilters Cache website .

This is going to be a scrappy Christmas quilt :-) 

Today I am finishing off the Aurifil BOM for November then back to Christmas sewing . 

 Hope all is well in your world , we are going to get some of the white stuff today , they say we could receive 10 cm. , I am not ready for that but it does make for a good day to sew . 

 Thanks so much for stopping by today and hope you have a great day .

 hugs Sheila 

What I am working on today :-)

I love fabric no two ways about it , however I also love wool and the last few days I have been crafting with wool and today I started this little candle mat  , want to see ?

 I found an image on Pinterest , I am not sure who contributed it as there was no link but I downsized the image and came up with this candle mat and I am loving it . I still have to stitch around the green but that is fun so off I go to do that just wanted to share :-)
Hope you are having a lovely day , it is super mild here but the wind is not pleasant and do you know we had SNOW yesterday as well as the day before , yeah isn't that just aweful , well at least it didn't stay on the ground ;-)
 Before I head off to my comfy chair I want to ask if everyone who signed up for the postcard exchange received their partners , if not please let me know as soon as possible , thanks .
 Thanks for stopping by today , love your visits .
 Hugs Sheila

This little piggy came to my house :-)

On Friday the postman delivered this adorable postcard from New Zealand , Max who is a nephew of Raewyn has taken a real liking to making postcards and we have exchanged once before so I was delighted when Raewyn asked if I would like to do another exchange with Max . He wanted to show off his improved sewing skills and indeed they are improved .

Isn't it adorable , who wouldn't love this little piggy , he has so much character . Thanks so much Max it is fun swapping with you :-) 

 While on the subject of postcards , I have approximately 16 particpants in the Christmas swap , any more takers ? Sign up by November 1st , mail out by Nov. 30th . Thanks in advance. You are swapping just one postcard and receiving one postcard unless you request more . So come on send me your info , your email address , blog address and your mailing address so I can just copy and paste , I appreciate this bit of help .

On the weekend hubby and I along with another couple headed over to the eastern shore to the town of Guysborough then on to a little rural area just a few kms. away , we were checking out a property that is for sale . I think you may have noticed I love the woods , the smell , the fauna and just being in there makes me feel good  so I have to share what I found .

The road way in , the trees have lost a lot of their leaves now and are making a nice bed along the road , so pretty .

Moss covered large rocks and as you can see even ferns grow in this rich moss , oh I love it !

The trees were also covered , obviously a very healthy forest .

A dead tree giving new life to some fungus .

I couldn't resist this little heart shaped leaf amongst the fallen leaves , so cute .

I am not sure what this is but it is was so lovely and green, teaming with life . I enjoyed this little stroll through nature so much , it truly is good for the soul , you come away feeling refreshed . Of course the air was incredibly clean so that helped too ;-) We enjoyed a delicious chower at a local cafe , I will be going back again , their biscuits were great too :-)

 I have been busy sewing but nothing to show right now , maybe in a day or so until then hope life treats you right . Thanks for stopping by and welcome to my new followers it is so nice to have you .

 hugs Sheila 

Some Christmas sewing and some mail and a postcard exchange :-)

Oh I know you are probably cringing when you hear the word Christmas but the reality is it is not that far off so a person needs to start  preparing .  I have been a  busy little beaver these days with the peddle to the metal and I will share just a few things here as some need to be kept secret if you know what I mean .
 First off I will share some Christmas postcards I have made which reminds me I think a postcard exchange with a Christmas theme would be fun ,what do you think . I would like all the names no later than November 1st with names assigned a few days later depending on how fast I can get it done and then mail out no later than the end of November but preferrably sooner so they will arrive well before the holiday season and we can then enjoy them for a longer time .  The same as before if you are interested please email all your info to me regardless if you have take part before , this saves me oddles of time and also a little easier on my hand . So what info you ask, well ,your full name , email address , blog address if you have one , and of course your mailing address ,thanks for your help.
 Now back to my postcards .,

                                                           A little snow scene

                                                     another one ,even simpler

                                                 Holly leaves that I did some stitching on .

 A christmas tree with some presents , Eglea , you might recognize the background , it is the vintage fabric you sent me :-) Thanks I love it .

                                And just because I could I did another blueberry field scene :-)
 Now for other stitching , some simple little wallets , a pattern by Valorie Wells

                                        How about a Christmas pillow

I even practiced some FMQ on this and was quite pleased with my results .

                                                   Finally a little candle mat

 I also wanted to mention that I had won a giveaway on Carries blog a little while back and I should have shared this sweet pattern earlier but it just slipped my mind . It is just adorable and I hope to make a dress or two for my granddaughters .

The great thing about this pattern is the range of sizes from 4-8 yrs. Thanks so much Carrie , I look forward to making this pattern .
 Thats it for me today , I am off to start stitching again , times a wasting . Take care and thanks for stopping by .

 As a side note I have just created a flicker page where we can add photos of our postcards , those we have made as well as those we have received , I have added just one photo so far to make sure it works but will add more later . Here is the link and it is open for all to view .
here is the link , hope this works .https://www.flickr.com/groups/2785330@N22/
 Hugs Sheila