It started with a bang !!

Oh I know that tomorrow is the New Year and it usually starts off with a bang but hey I didn't wait for New Years , I did it on Christmas day and not in the best way . Let me explain , I had a fall early Christmas morning that resulted in a mild compression fracture of my spine , yep , you read that right , I fell that hard . I went to the emergency department of the local hospital where they asked questions and concluded that since I walked in I mostly likely just had a broken rib so they gave me a little pain killer and sent me home . I actually managed quite well on Christmas day , cooked our turkey and all the trimmings and then on Boxing day had my son and his family here for dinner and supper and again cooked the meals . Mind you I was hurting but didn't complain and enjoyed the visit very much . By the next morning however things were getting a bit much so I figured I had to have things checked out , the pain when I lay down was not good and movement was slow at best . So I had an Xray of my spine and yesterday the doctor called to confirm what I was already pretty sure of , the compression fracture ,which explains my discomfort  . So this means that there will not likely be much happening here on the sewing front for a little while and not likely much in the way of blogging , who wants to hear about my aching body :-(  I will try to do a little handwork to pass the time and have been slowly working on this little wool piece while I sit and dream of all the things I would like to be doing .

This project was a free pattern by the Wooden Spool during a blog hop , hope I have that link correct . We had a green Christmas but Mother Nature has made up for that since then with not one but two storms , looks beautiful out there actually . Our little feathered friends have been very busy at the feeders and are a delight to watch .

These are mostly Goldfinch , I was so happy to see them as I thought they had gone away for the winter .
 We also have these visitors to our property and I never tire of seeing them either .

They were digging up the snow to get at the grass below and you can see we definitely have snow .
 I will leave you with my sincere wishes for  a Very Happy New year and all the best for 2016 , I hope it is your best yet .
 Thanks for stopping by and if so inclined please say some healing prayers for me , they would be greatly appreciated .
hugs Sheila

Postcards and birthday mail

I received my postcard from Carin  this week and it is so cute , I know you will agree .

Frosty looks quite happy , it must be snowing and cold and he doesn't need to worry about melting anytime soon . Thanks so much Carin , I love it :-) 

Here is the postcard I created for Carin and I know she has already received it so I will share it now with all of you .

A little redwork elf which was a free pattern but for the life of me I can't remember who the designer was , someone help me , maybe Gail Pan ? I love to do redwork so this was a fun little project to do . Hmm seems I like to photograph my postcards in front of my vintage machines , I have a love affair with both :-) 

Yesterday was my birthday and how nice it was to open a parcel addressed to me from Annette my good friend from Saskatchewan . Inside was a Christmas package nicely wrapped with my birthday gift hugging it as Annette said . I was a really good girl and resisted the urge to open both presents but I will share the lovely tote Annette made for me .

It is a really nice large tote with inserts of quilting sayings like "Quilting is my cup of Tea", Celebrate Quilting Friendships ", "See all the colours of the world through Quilts" and "Don't worry it'll quilt out " , aren't they just perfect for a quilters tote . Nice sturdy handles too to carry all the necessities . Thanks so much Annette . 

 I got an early birthday gift from my friend Linda last week and it is so sweet and so festive , I love it .

                     Thanks so much Linda , I think it looks so pretty on my little mantel .

A little update on my Temecula blocks , I did complete them all but so far haven't had a chance to arrange them into anything . I seen two runners over on Joanne's blog and they are stunning so my plan is to eventually get them made into a runner . For now here is what they look like ....

Other sewing going on but this is all I can share at the moment but I do appreciate you stopping by during this very busy season . I hope your day is blessed in some special day and thanks for stopping by .

 hugs Sheila

Going Mini and some more mail

Hi there , did you happen to see the little mini that is being offered by Temecula Quilt Co. at the moment , it is just too cute not to make .  There are twelve blocks and eleven have now been posted but even if you haven't started it isn't too late as they take so little time to make .  Want to see my tiny squares ?

The finished size of each block is just 2.75" but honest they are not hard to deal with . The thing is I had other things  I needed to get done but these were just calling my name and I just had to make them , you know how it is right ;-)

  I received the most creative postcard from Eglea yesterday , it was for the fall postcard exchange , it take a very long time for the cards to come from Brazil but it is so worth the wait .

I should have taken these pictures in the daylight rather than now but you can still see how neat this card is with the pounded leaf design and all the stitching surrounding the leaves . Thanks so much Eglea .
 Here is the card I sent to Eglea , it arrived just a short time ago as well .

                                             I was trying to depict the colours of fall here in NS. .
Time to get back to the sewing machine , things to finish and the time is getting short , why do I do this every year , I can't answer that unfortunately . Enjoy your day and thanks for stopping by .
 hugs Sheila

Some mail and some finishes

It is such fun to receive mail and my box had two surprises on Monday , first off a postcard from Lin , a delightful little Christmas Tree .

Thanks so much Lin  ,  so thoughtful of you , I love it !!

I also received a Christmas card from Michelle with a little surprise inside , her pocket Minis . 

I have already traced off a little snowman and I know I will enjoy stitching this cute design . Thanks so much Michelle , it was very thoughtful of you . 

 I had signed up for Friday Night with Friends and I did stitch along but I am rather late in reporting , I had a busy weekend and just didn't find the time to do that , sorry Cheryll . So what did I stitch , well I had made a few small things for my grandchildren , two little mugrugs first off .

These were part of a panel that I thought was so darn cute I just had to buy it .  The last time I gave the girls a mug rug Elise wrapped up her stuffy in it so I thought I best make him a proper quilt , poor little Rocko needs to be completely covered .

Nothing fancy just some 2.5"squares sewn together with a puppy dog border and cross hatched  but it should keep him nice and snuggly and Elise will be happy too .
  On Sunday evening I finished up this stitchery I had traced off before my trip to Ireland with great plans to stitch it while over there , haha , great plans don't always work out , never took one stitch .

This is a pattern by Kaaren Johnston of the Painted Quilt  , thanks Kaaren for a great stitchery . I plan on making this into a pillow top eventually .

I best run I have a hair appointment this morning that I really need , the locks are getting pretty shaggy . Thanks for stopping by today and have yourself a creative day in someway .
 hugs Sheila

A little mail to share

A wet and dreary day here on the east coast , the snow we had earlier is now gone and it is quite mild but that is not expected to last , we may get more snow tomorrow . Well here we are into December , this year has just flown by , my Mom always said that as we get older the years go quicker and she is so right .  Since December is here I hope that all those taking part in the postcard swap have now mailed their cards and I see some have already received theirs. Remember to post pictures of the cards you receive and those you have mailed , thanks .  If you haven't mailed your cards yet please do so as soon as possible so they will arrive before Christmas :-)

 Talking about postcards I have received two recently both were a surprise to me , first off was this quite unique card all the way from New Zealand . Max who happens to be Raewyn's nephew has developed a love for making postcards and he recently was visiting with Raewyn and they made some more cards and I was the lucky recipient of a card which he made totally by hand .

 Gilbert , a name brand in his area and one I was not familiar with but he obviously loves this brand and also sports , thanks so much Max that was so sweet of you . I have mailed off a Christmas postcard to Max as a thank you .

A little snowman , I don't think it has arrived just yet but I thought I would share it as I am quite sure he doesn't read my blog ;-)

I also received a beautiful postcard from my friend Annette , it was really nice surprise .

Isn't it beautiful , thanks so much Annette :-) I love it !!

 

 I have been super busy lately but as I am sure you will understand some of what I have been doing can't be shared just now , they are for gifts . However I can share this BOM I have done for Buttermilk Basin , these have been such fun to do each month and she is giving us one more ,yeah .

 

 

 I did decorate a multitude of tea towels lately and sorry for the horrid picture but it is the only one I have .

 

 I also made a pillowcase for my grandson who loves Star Wars .

I think he will like it , or I hope he does .

 One more little wool  work to share , another project from Buttermilk Basin  .

 A cute little snowman stocking . thanks Stacy .

 So folks that is all from me today, thanks so much for taking the time to stop by . Have a great day .

 hug Sheila

What I am working on now

Good afternoon friends . I have been busy behind the scenes these days , nothing major but plugging along just the same . Recently there was a Christmas  mystery blog hop and this pattern was provided by Kathi from Heart to Hand  . I do love snowmen so just had to get busy with my wooly bits and create this project . I like to have something I can sit and stitch on those days that my body does not want me sitting at a machine .

 The lighting is not the greatest , it is a dull dreary day outside with showers plus the snowman does kind  of blend in a little too well , looks better in person  . Although this was meant to be a quilt block I thought a nice pillow that can be around all winter is best for me . Thanks Kathi for this adorable snowman .
 My next project also includes a snowman , this time the pattern came from the Winter issue of Primitive Quilts and is called Snow Days by  Gail Pan . I knew I had to make this one too , so sweet .

I should have had better contrast with my homespuns but I used what I had on hand and I am happy with it . Now to quilt it :-)
 I am working on a runner at the moment but no pictures to share just now . That's all from me today , thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a great day :-)
 hugs Sheila

Meet Bert

Good afternoon dear friends , and a fine day it is , what glorious weather we are enjoying on this November day , feels more like summer !!  I have a little finish to share today , our guild has a library with magazines and patterns we are permitted to borrow and I came across this little fellow and just had to make him , his name is Bert . The pattern is by Hooper Creek .

I will say the pattern was rather odd in the way it explained how to make this and the layout for the snowman was super confusing at least to this ol gal ,but we got through it and I think he is rather cute . I used Aurifil embroidery #12 thread for the blanket stitch and was able to do it by machine by simply using a #100 needle , so much faster .
 I am also thrilled to say my pinwheel quilt is now on the frames at the church and we made two turns on Tuesday so the picture I am about to share is rather inaccurate as it looks much smaller now . This was taken when we first put it on a few weeks ago . It reminds me of those little garden whirlygigs , so colorful and fun .

You can see the chalk marks on the pinwheels , we are stitching 1/4" inside the pinwheels and it really makes them pop .

Did everyone that is taking part in the postcard exchange get their partners??? I sure hope so , I think I handled them all but if you did not receive an email please email me asap and we will get that all ironed out . We have 26 participants this time , isn't that just wonderful , thank you all so much .
 Off to the sewing machine now , have a runner I want to make so times a wasting . Thanks for stopping by today and hope the sun is shining where ever you are .
 hugs Sheila

FNWF'S

I stitched along with my friends across the ocean last night for FNWF's hosted by Cheryll  , thanks Cheryll , it is always fun to have others to sew along with . So what did I do you ask , well I hand stitched down the binding on a table topper I just finished , I like to save those jobs for the evening while I sit and relax in my comfy chair . As I look at this I may go back and do a little more quilting :-)

This is a pattern from a Fons and Porter magazine a couple of years back , a special Christmas edition . Now from that same comfy chair a few nights before I finished this cute little ornament which is the OOM for November from a FB wool applique group, thanks to Trish for the cute ornaments each month .

I have had great response on the Postcard exchange and need a couple of addresses before I can send out names, I will start the process though as it may take me a while but if you haven't heard from me by Monday please email me and let me know , I don't want to miss anyone . Still time to join in but will cut that off before Monday , thanks .

 Thanks for stopping by today , hope you are doing something fun .

 hugs Sheila

Ok so I don't read rules very well :-(

Over a year ago I read about a shirt challenge that was happening on Tracee of Farm Gate creations and decided I would join in , well at the same time Terry of Terry's Treasures also announced a challenge and it was the Charming Stars challenge and I combined the two challenges and made a quilt . The shirt challenge involved using six shirts and one other fabric , no problem , my DH was more than willing to give up a few shirts and I added some white fabric to the mix and happily  stitched away .Here are my shirts that I used .

All yellows and blues , the first shirt doesn't look that yellow but it is the poor lighting . So now I will share what I had made for this challenge

This is the charming stars quilt I made using just those shirts , I was getting a little nervous when it came time to create a border as I knew there was no adding another fabric if I followed the rules so I started cutting up what was left of the shirts and started randomly sewing them together and I couldn't be happier with how this looks and the best part is my grandson who adores his grandfather is absolutely thrilled to own this quilt made from his shirts . Now here is my dilemma , I didn't read the rules that Tracee set out for us and I shouldn't have shared this quilt until the end of Oct. but I have already done so in an earlier post , however I thought it might be nice to share it again  .  Thanks Tracee  for this great challenge and be sure to hop on over to visit Tracee's blog to see some other wonderful quilts !       

Thanks to everyone who has shown interest in the postcard exchange  , I am really pleased with the fact we have some new people signing up and hope a few more will join us as well.  I have a tutorial on making postcards in a post in 2011 , couldn't believe it was that long ago .  check it out here 

http://sheilasquiltworld.blogspot.ca/2011/08/postcard-tutorial-and-swap-sign-up.html

Thanks for stopping by today , hope you have a very creative day .

 hugs Sheila 

How about a Christmas Exchange ?

 First off I will share my finish ,a pattern by Winter Wonderland called Seasonal Skinnies .

The snowman was fun to create with his strip pieced hat , a little challenging too as I do not have many fabrics in black . Had a little fun with some swirly free motion quilting too :-)
 
SO my big question for today is are you interested in doing a Christmas postcard exchange ? I have had a couple of requests so putting this out there with the hopes of getting some interest so we can get this set up . Of all the themes for postcards I would say Christmas is the simplest as there are so many things you can do , be as creative as you wish and for those who have never made a postcard before but have thought it was something they might like to try here is your big chance , come on you know you want to so just do it !! As before if you are interested please let me know as soon as possible , we will set December 1st as the latest a card can be mailed out but if you are speedy you can mail it anytime so your partner will have it around to admire over the holiday season . I will need your email address, home address and blog address if you have one although that isn't necessary . Once you receive your postcard let your partner know and post it on your blog or send me a photo and I will share it for you if you do not have a blog .  I will assign names as soon as possible but in the mean time you can start creating those cards so you will be all set to mail it out . Thanking you in advance for your interest , making and receiving these little art pieces is such fun and it will make your day when you open your mail box to see one inside so get off the fence and join us !!! Lets see if I can find some samples from last year , hey I know just go to the flicker page and there should be a few there for inspiration .
I nabbed this one from the flicker page , made by Linda of Scrapmaster 

I mailed off my postcard to Eglea today for the November swap so watch your mailbox , it will likely take a couple of weeks . I hope everyone is well on there way to mailing out there postcards or if you received them we would love to see them :-) 

I am off  now to do some Christmas sewing , the days are getting closer .   Take care and enjoy your day , thanks for stopping by it is always a pleasure to see you .
 hugs Sheila

A Finish and some postcards to share

Hello from the sunny but cool east coast , it is actually a gorgeous fall day , the calm before the storm that is to hit the province tonight into tomorrow . First off I will share the Skater , all finished thanks to some suggestions from Karen  who by the way you should go visit as she is having a giveaway right now .  Thanks Karen for your suggestions to finish off the skater , I am so pleased with how she looks .

 As I think I mentioned before this pattern was in a Fons and Porter special edition magazine , not sure if it was last year or not , I simply can't find my magazine , very sad face here as there were other things in there that I had wanted to make . 

Here is a close up of my quilting , some echo quilting around the skater .

 I also finished off the OOM for this month a pattern given on a FB group by Trish 

Oops I see I forgot to add a snowflake for his tassel , must remember to do that . 

 Now for some postcards , one of my partners for this swap was Virginia , no blog who is leaving for Florida soon so I sent off her postcard early and it has already arrived but before I show you what I sent her I will share what she has sent to me , it has just arrived and I love it .

A three dimensional leaf postcard , lovely colors and a great job . I was amazed this came without an envelope and was in perfect shape even though those leaves are protruding over the edges . The little pumpkin pincushion was part of my program for the guild this month , I found the instructions here . 

Thanks Virginia !

I was a little off season with my postcard , I guess part of me wishes it was going to be summer rather than heading into winter so I did a little beach scene .

I forgot to take a photo so had to ask Virginia to take one for me .  

 So how is everyone getting along making their postcards ? I still have one to make and I know it should have been in the mail but life got in the way and I will get it done and off in the mail real quick . Remember the due date is November 15th so you still have a couple of weeks to create and send that postcard , thanks .

 Thanks for stopping by today  hope you are having a great day .

 hugs Sheila 

A little more Ireland and what I am working on ..

I guess you thought I had disappeared but you know that darn virus just kept on keeping on and I didn't feel much like being on the computer at all so I must apologize again for not visiting or commenting , hopefully I am on the mend now . So just a few more pictures of the beautiful country of Ireland .

After visiting the Ross Castle in the above post we had a carriage ride back to the hotel , this was really great fun .

one of our views along the way , love those mountains in the background .

            See the thatched roof on this charming little building , it was cut real fancy .

A large church in the distance , There are lots of stone churches .

The three sisters in front of the mountain view plus there were some gorgeous horses in this field .

We stopped at a museum which depicts life as it was in Ireland many years ago ,however this peat is still used in some parts of the country for fuel . It is similar to coal , not quite as hard as coal but the next step would be coal .The bus driver explained the process of gathering the peat and today their methods are much different than when he was a young boy helping his dad in the peat bogs , it was very hard work . They also use the peat for peat moss which is used in gardens .

Donna warming her toes in front of the peat fire , I regretted going in there , it was so smoky and I was already congested , but it was worth it as I love antiques , after all I am almost one myself lol.

Couldn't resist taking a picture of this poor old machine , it has seen better days for sure .

Each of the homes that were open to us had old hutches for their dishes , I have one very similar to this but mine has doors on top ,

These items were under glass , isn't that little dress just precious ..

A couple of beds with quilts , not sure how old they are but it was neat to see and just look at the cradle and the baby carriage , probably a doll carriage ,

A little further on up the road we stopped for a photo shoot and this character was busy creating a Celtic cross of sorts and he had his donkeys and one of them had a dog on for a ride :-)

                                                         A better view of the artist .

                           Some heather , isn't it pretty . I brought a few sprigs home with me .

This was along the Kerry Ring , a beautiful drive with the combination of mountains and the ocean , reminded me of the Cabot Trail a little , not quite as beautiful in my opinion but then I am a bit bias .

A peat bog , you can see it in a pile and out in the field you can see where they have been cutting it . There was a group of school aged teens obviously on a school outing walking out to view the bogs.

A beach in Waterville , quite nice and it was a warm day which made for a nice stop for photos .

                                         Donna and I arm and arm with Charlie Chaplan .

This is Grafton Street in Dublin , our last full day in Ireland and a really fun time was had by all . The street is closed off to traffic , at least the vehicle traffic  lots of two legged traffic . This the only time we were warned to mind our bags as Paddy our bus driver told us . Great shopping here and lots of street vendors as well as shops . There were some buskers as well , great entertainment .

Believe it or not this statue is real , yes those are real people who stay perfectly still and my Mom swore they were not real until someone threw some coins in their pot and they waved , I thought poor Mom would faint .
So that is my quick overview of Ireland and a wee bit of Scotland , maybe some day I will go back , that would be a very good thing .
Now for what I have been working on , a few things I can't share but I will share some wool work I have been doing .

I just finished this penny rug which is a pattern by Primitive Gatherings , it was a fun one to do , lots of work but so worth it !

September BOM for Buttermilk Basin , got caught up on them this week .

                                                    Octobers BOM for Buttermilk Basin
 And finally I have dug out this UFO to get a little work done .

This little Skater has been on the shelf for far too long so I did the applique this week and have now started on the quilting , I wish I had the skill that others have for FM , I have no clue what to do here . So far I have just stitched in the ditch around the applique but not sure what to add to the background , any suggestions ?? Oh this is from a Fons  and Porter special issue Celebration issue maybe last year ? For the life of me I can't find my magazine anywhere .
 Thanks for hanging around to read this lengthy post and hope you have a fantastic and creative day .
 Hugs Sheila