More blocks and some wonderful mail

I was away for a few days visiting with my Mom , I had a lovely visit and now am happy to be back home . I have made the other two blocks for the Bom with our quilt guild , both a little more challenging than the first block but I love a challenge :-)
 

The names of these blocks are Denise's Star, Crosses and Losses and Double Aster , they can all be found on Quilters cache  . I also worked on some more shirt blocks and have a total of eight now , yippe . I plan on working on these as leaders and enders , it will make the work go faster .  

My veterans quilt is now quilted and I sewed the binding on but need to sew it down on the back , even sewed the label in as I sewed the binding on so getting closer to a finish :-) I will share a photo once it is completed .

 Now for the great mail I received today , a lovely creative postcard from Judy , a surprise for sure but a very nice one too .

Isn't this fantastic , some birch trees in their fall colours , just gorgeous . Thank so much Judy , it was so thoughtful of you , I just love it !! 

I am on the run today so I hope you are doing something fun and creative and thanks so much for stopping by.

 hugs Sheila 

Some lovely mail and a new BOM

On Monday I opened my rural mailbox to find a package addressed to me , I couldn't wait to open it as I knew what was inside . You see I had won a giveaway from Kaaren of the Painted Quilt and my prize had arrived  :-) I know you want to see what I received so here you are....

These gorgeous Valdani threads designed by Kaaren in the most beautiful colours , this photo does not do them justice at all . I love them and can't wait to start a wool project to try them out . Thanks so much Kaaren , they are truly wonderful .
 I also received a very cute postcard in the mail yesterday from Susan for the fall postcard exchange I had arranged here on my blog .

Isn't it just the cutest " Be True to who you are" what a great statement Mr. Owl . Thanks so much Susan I love it !! 

 I hope those taking part in the postcard exchange have gotten their cards made and even posted , it is such fun to receive these works of art in the mail . I sent off two this week for my partners so be on the look out , they should land before too long .

 Our guild the Thistle Quilt Guild had their first meeting for this year on Wednesday and Anne our program director introduced us to a BOM which we have the option of taking part in . I of course signed up , can't resist a BOM such a great way to learn new blocks , new techniques and make a great quilt all at the same time . Our blocks will all come from the public domain and this months blocks are from the Quilters Cache a great site for free patterns . We have the choice of making three blocks this month,, we can do all three or we can do just one or two , the choice is ours so I think I will try all three and see how that goes . Yesterday I made my first block ,here it is " Crosses and Losses "

It might be difficult to tell from this photo but the fabric is Christmas , not a traditional colour but I just fell in love with these FQ's and I am hoping I have enough to make a decent size quilt . We will see . I have the second block Denise's Star cut and ready to assemble .

I now have seven Charm Star shirt blocks completed which gives me 14 tiny pinwheels :-)  I didn't take a photo so will do that later on .  I am off now to get that second block made for our BOM , wish me luck.

 Thanks for stopping by today and enjoy this beautiful fall day , it is a cool one here on the east coast but so lovely .

 Hugs Sheila 

Worldwide Bloghop

Today it is my turn to participate in the Worldwide Bloghop , I was nominated by Jo of Explorations in Stitch . Jo is a talented multi crafter tackling such things as making dolls , beading , journaling and of course quilting . She is well read in many crafts and is not afraid to try new techniques and share her process with us . It has been wonderful to get to know Jo over the past while and I know you will also enjoy visiting her blog .
A recent photo I borrowed from her blog shows her wool felting projects .
                                  
 As part of this hop I am to answer some questions , the first being .
1. What am I working on now ?
Oh my , you don't have time  for me to list all I have on the go but recently I started the Charm square star quilt as a QAL with Terry of Terry's Treasures and I am combining this QAL with another challenge by Tracee of Farm Gate Creations , the shirt challenge , using six shirts to create a quilt . My star blocks are being created using shirts and so far I am loving this process .

 I am also taking part in a free online class to learn crazy quilting , however due to the fact I broke my wrist in April this became  more of a challenge than I thought it would be as I still find handwork a little challenging but I am plugging along and here is where I am right now . Since this photo I have added my first ribbon embroidery , not my best work but really want to learn .

 I also have a postcard exchange on the go and have assigned names to have their postcards sent out by Oct. 15th . If you have followed me for a while you know I have a love for postcards :-) Just a few of the many postcards I have made and sent .

2. How does my work differ from others ?
 I don't think it does , I may put my own twist on things  but overall I am pretty traditional . I usually choose my own Colors rather than follow suggested colours unless I really love what is used . I love the process of choosing colour , it is one of my favorite parts of making a project .

3. Why do I create what I do ?
 That is an easy one , it is simply  who I am , I need to create , I have always created , I can't remember ever not creating something . As a young child I made my own doll clothes by hand , drew my own paper dolls with clothes to wear and in high school made my own clothes .  I started quilting about 14 years ago and love what I do . When I am creating I can leave the world behind , forget all the so call problems and feel totally involved and time stands still .

4. How does my creative process work ?
 Well I am usually inspired by something I see , sometimes in nature , sometimes a project made by a friend or fellow blogger and quite often these days by Pinterest . Inspiration is everywhere , sometimes that can be my downfall , I am so easily inspired and want to jump in with both feet for every project I see :-) I really enjoy landscape quilting and most often will take a photo then crop it and possibly enlarge it and prepare it for my project . I have a special container for landscape fabrics and will spend hours finding just the right fabric to fit the various components to make up the picture , sometimes that is easy other times it can be challenging but I can get totally lost in that process and loose complete track of time . The same thing often happens when making fabric postcards , they are just so much fun and coming up with a design is half the fun , the other half is finding that perfect fabric to make it work  and so the process goes for most of my work . I love to take part in challenges and was an active member of the Valerie Hearder yahoo group a couple of years ago and one challenge I took part in was the rain , drizzle fog challenge , tricky for sure , how do you portray fog , well it took some thinking but I finally came up with a solution and was pleased with my results .

                         
Not the best photo but I used netting to give the look of fog .  I have taken part in lots of BOM's over the years and really enjoy that process as well . I guess you could say I simply love to be creative , it make my heart sing :-)

  I am nominating Annette of In Stitches and Seams , a dear friend who I had the chance to meet a few years ago while visiting in Saskatchewan . Annette creates many beautiful projects many of which are  her own design and does workshops and classes in her local area and always finds time to make things for charity . She also makes incredible postcards ;-)
                                   
 This sweet garden flag is one of Annette's own designs ( I borrowed this photo from her blog ), she has many more to her credit including lovely totes . Be sure to stop by and say hello and give her some cyber hugs .

My second nomination is Lin of St, Victor Quilts , such a wonderfully creative person , she does techniques I have never heard of and certainly have never tried so it is always a pleasure to visit and see what she is up to . She does amazing crazy patch work , oh you just will have to go over and visit , you will be glad you did . She also makes beautiful postcards , very unique and lovely .

                                    

 Thanks to everyone for taking the time to read this lengthy post , I hope you enjoyed seeing a small portion of what I do and what makes me tick . Annette and Lin will post their blog hop post next Monday Sept. 22 . be sure to stop by and say hello .
 Hugs Sheila

My September blocks

I have completed four blocks now for the Charm Square Star QAL with Terry  plus some bonus pinwheels which really is a wonderful idea , thanks for that Terry .

I am still loving this quilt , will now need to cut some more white and a few more shirt charms too then I will be ready for my next sewing session ;-)
 I am busy today doing laundry , such a gorgeous fall day , the sun is shining and the breeze is blowing , couldnt ask for more . Sure hope this weather continues :-)
 Thanks for stopping by today , hope you are enjoying a creative day .
 hugs Sheila

My first shirt block for the charm square star quilt ..

Oh I am so pleased with my decision to make my Charm Star Quilt with shirts , I love this block !!

 Don't ask me why but this reminds me of summer , the ocean and blue skies , these shirts never looked so good and little bonus pinwheels since I was stitching anyway , aren't they cute .  I know I am going to love this quilt already and can't wait to start the next block . I do have lots of blocks cut and ready now, so they go together quite quickly once you have the squares cut and of course had I done as the pattern suggested and used charms it would have been even faster but you know me I love a challenge ;-() 

  I have to share this sky with you , I ran to get the camera a few evenings ago when a storm was brewing , strange as it might sound I love this type of sky , yeah I know weird .

 This dark looming sky was heading to Sunnybrae , they seem to get some of the worst of the storms which makes me wonder why it ever got that name ;-) 

I love horses and had to stop by this electric fence to take this photo , Bill had to keep reminding me to not get too close to the fence .

My dream property with my dream horses ;-) and then I would want these too ...

I love donkeys  , they make me smile for some reason . 

 Well thanks for stopping by today , hope you are being creative .

 hugs Sheila

Aurifil BOM /September and some baby things

Good morning from the East Coast , hope your day is going well , it is threatening rain here at the moment and I wish it would to help reduce the humidity . Have you ever had a block that just wouldn't do what you wanted it to do , well that was the case for me yesterday as I tackled this months block for Aurifil , it is not that it is all that difficult it was just a matter of me not paying attention until it was too late. This block has four 3" friendship star blocks , that took me a while and I was putting the outer strips onand actually had most of them on when I noticed one of the points in one of the stars was not in the correct position , uggh , it was of course not the one on the outer edge , nope it was the third one in so I had to disassemble and reassemble the block again and here it is .

I again used those reproduction prints and I have to say I am not too crazy about this block but it is done so that is that ;-)  I have also been busy sewing up baby things , you see my niece had a baby boy a month ago and the plan was to make her a quilt but since she received two gorgeous quilts at her shower I thought I would sew something a little different and this is what I made .

 The first thing I made was the little flannel jacket , I love this pattern and bought it many years ago when visiting in Seattle , it is by why not collections , I still need buttons . Then I made the flannel blanket which has two layers with the bottom one folding over to form the border , so soft and cuddly . Next came the little basket made with the scraps from the jacket with a few additions , you can find the tutorial here and finally the monster bib , this pattern I came across on pinterest and you can find it here  . So that has been my sewing the last couple of days , now it is time to start my stars but first I will need to cut up those shirts into squares ;-) 

 Any more takers on the postcard exchange , details in the previous post , please let me know as soon as possible so I can assign partners , thanks .

 Have a great day and thanks for stopping by , do something creative today , you will be glad you did .

 hugs Sheila 

Are you ready for a postcard exchange and I am doing some challenges ..

It has been quite a while since I have made a postcard and I am biting at the bit to make one and exchange so why not have a postcard exchange , they seem to be well received so...... if you are up to the challenge of making and sending a fall themed postcard please email me the following information , this is very important . First your full name and snail mail address , your blog address if you have one , your email address as well . Since typing is a bit challenging for me it is very important you send me this info so I can copy and paste to your partner rather than type each one , this will save me countless hours and stress on my hand , even if you have taken part before I will still need this info , thanks so much .

Here is one I actually sent for the CQ exchange but I figured I needed a photo to show you . Fall can mean many things other than leaves so use your imagination and lets play !! Feel free to pass this on the more the merrier . Opps I almost forgot to give you a date for this exchange , how about Oct 15th all postcards must be in the mail or already received .
 I recently signed up for Terry's new QAL the Charm Square Stars and I also signed up for a shirt challenge with Tracee of Farm Gate Creations  so I have decided I will combine these challenges and make my stars from shirts rather than charm squares , killing two birds with one stone , sounds like a plan to me , anyone want to join in just click on the links for either one . Tracee's shirt challenge is going to be fun as I get to disassemble six shirts and cut them into charms and start making stars . You are permitted to add one fabric other than the shirts , here are my shirts , some have been already cut apart .

My dear hubby was kind enough to donate these shirts to my cause ;-)
 Ok I best get my act together and start cutting shirts into useable pieces , wish me luck . Enjoy your day and thanks for stopping by .
 Hugs Sheila

It's a Flimsy :-)

Today as you all know is Labour Day, a holiday here in Canada , well many moons ago on this day I gave a new meaning to the word Labour Day as I gave birth to our oldest son Robert . My life was forever changed by this event in the best way possible ,  Happy Birthday Rob !!

 Yesterday I completed my Goodnight Irene top , it has taken me a while but so glad to have this to share . 

This quilt was the result of a QAL with Terry of Terry's Treasures  . I really enjoyed making this quilt , it was a great scrap buster and I love the result . Once this is quilted it will be presented to a veteran in November as part of our guild's effort to show respect and appreciation for what they have done for our country and  each veteran in the veteran unit  will be presented  their own quilt to cherish . Thanks to Joyce for organizing this effort .

I also have caught up on my Aurifil BOM blocks and here they are as a group so far.

This months block will be available today . Again I have enjoyed these blocks and a great way to use up some fabrics I have had for a long time .

 I also finished off a ufo that has been sitting since before April , a small one but a ufo all the same .

This wool pincushion was a freebie from Kaaren of the Painted Quilt , such a fun spring design and sadly only needed to be sewn together . Thanks Kaaren for this great pattern .

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

 Hugs Sheila