Looks like I made it :-)

 Tomorrow is the big day at the Thistle Quilt guild, our annual show will take place from 10-4 pm at the civic building in Westville and I hope to see a few of you there . As you can imagine , it has been a super busy week for me , I had last minute things to finish up to be ready for this evening when I take my items over to set up the hall for the morning .  I am ahead of myself compared to other years , I have my tote packed and everything labeled , a pure miracle . I made a cherry,pineapple loaf this morning for the tea room , we serve a lovely little lunch of breads and cookies and of course tea served in nothing other than china cups , too bad you can't come Michelle , you would love our pretty cups ;-)
 As I said I have been busy and yesterday I finally finished up Darlene's mystery quilt ,(Darlene is the owner of the quilt shop in Digby called A Needle Pulling Thread ),  started in 2013 and quilted by Holy Name Quilters , of which I am a member but did very little on my quilt as a few weeks into the quilting was when I broke my wrist . So it sat for a while after I did get it back as hand stitching was still not possible and then when I finally did get around to it , the fibers of the real alpaca wool really did a number on my sinuses so it sat half finished . I sat outside on the deck with the  quilt on a chair in front of me and began sewing but then the farmer decided it was a great day to plant the field which they had prepared a few days before hand and the dust was too much for me so back in the house and I nearly roasted trying to get this sewn down , think I deserve a prize just for persisting lol . Anyhow , it is done , complete , all finished !!! I did take it back out and hung it over the railing for a photo shoot , want to see , you might be sick of seeing this one,

 Then I hung it over the chair I started stitching at , too bad that didn't work out as it was so pleasant there until the dust came .

So I will have five quilts in the show , pretty happy about that and the best part is finishing up quilts that have been around for a while . 

Oh you know how much I love to go for country drives , well Bill had to go out to a property and I went along for the drive as I knew it involved some back roads . I spotted this very interesting spot and asked him to stop so I could take a picture , well being the sweet guy that he is he offered to take some for me , the black flies were really bad , better he get bitten than me lol .

I just have a thing for moss and lichen , something very interesting in their appearance to me . Love this picture , you did a great job Bill !! 

Sorry I haven't been around visiting blogs lately , next week I should be back on schedule . Wish us luck for a successful show tomorrow , oh and we will have two vendors as well , keep forgetting to mention that , Mira  Stitchin Post will be with us as well as a new shop in Halifax called Patch , should be fun to see what Chris has to offer ,so bring along some cash, I am sure you will be tempted by something , I know I will .

 Thanks for stopping by today and hope to see you tomorrow , I will be the silver haired lady selling magazines for just $.50 each between 2-4 pm.

hugs Sheila 

The little reveal

Good morning , a lovely day here on the east coast , the sun is shining and the breeze is just right . First off I want to ask did everyone who signed up for the postcard swap receive a partner ?? I think I got everyone but don't want to miss anyone either and it still isn't too late to sign up I will find a partner for you :-)
 Last evening was the monthly meeting of the Thistle Quilt Guild and we finally showed our birthday projects , there were some real fun projects displayed and if you remember I gave you a sneak peak a while back .

Looks like a starry night right , well that is because it is or I hoped it would look like that and you will now see why .

Sagittarius , the Archer , I was born in December so my sign is Sagittarius .The colour is Turquoise which is why I did the Archer in that colour , the element is fire so I used this fabric for the binding which looked a bit like soft flames to me  and then I added the constellation for this sign and used beads to represent the stars  and of course I embroidered the word Sagittarius . Pretty simple little design and just 12" , it was a fun challenge .
 I'd like to mention that our guild is having their annual show next Saturday in Westville , it would be wonderful to have you join us , I know it will be a great show , we had a tremendous show and tell last night , lots of people finishing up projects so you won't be disppointed .

We are selling tickets on this quilt as well , this picture does not do it justice , it is simply beautiful , they did an amazing job on the hand quilting . Hope to see you there and for those much too far away I will share photos later .
 Thanks for stopping by today and have a wonderful day , enjoy the little things in life .
 Hugs Sheila

Another Finish , my Charm Square Star Quilt

Good morning , it is a dark and dreary morning here with some brisk winds and the possibility of rain which we actually need . I have been on a bit of a roll finishing off projects lately , feels so good . I wanted to prepare things for our upcoming quilt show on the 30th of this month so the pressure was on and I work better under pressure , guess I need that push .

Here you can see I was sewing down the binding using my walking foot , much easier that way and another little trick I learned a few years back from Luann at  May your bobbin always be full  , using a coffee can or in my case a little beach pail to put your binding in . The trick is to just let it accordion fold into the can and it will come out smooth and no issues when applying that binding .

Last night as I was watching the final episode of the Voice I sewed down the rest of the binding . I am super happy that Sawyer won this competition although the other competitors were also excellent performers , he just somehow spoke to my heart . I wasn't quite sure who his music reminded me of until he performed a song written for him by Ray LaMontagne who I really love and Sawyers music style is very similar , I find it relaxing . This was my first year watching all of the shows , really enjoyed it ! Anyway back to my quilt , want to see the finished project ?

Due to the windy and wet conditions I have taken this photo in the house . I am really happy with how this has turned out , my machine quilting is not the best but it was the best I could do and therefore I am happy . I will openly admit that machine quilting is not for me , I don't mind doing it on a small art quilt or even a baby size quilt but anything larger is just too hard on my body and not worth the pain it causes .

A picture on the bed , you can see my attempt at machine quilting a little more in this one , just went around the stars and blocks .
This quilt will be gifted to my grandson Christopher since he fell in love with it when I had it on my design wall , a perfect young mans quilt and he will always be wrapped in love from me and from his grandfathers shirts , what could be better than that ! I can tell you it is super warm , I nearly roasted sewing down that binding lol. Thanks to Terry for hosting this QAL , it was so much fun , took me a while to complete it but better late than never .

 All the sun and now the rain has finally made things pop around here , the trees are starting to show leaves and this morning I spotted some blooms on one of my Rhododendrons , a very welcoming sign to spring .

This poor plant had been buried with at least 7' of snow so I really had my doubts it would survive let alone bloom !
 Oops , I almost forgot again , the date for the postcard exchange mailout will be one month from today June 20th , thanks to everyone who has signed up , do we have any more takers , we sure would love to have you join us and you have a whole month to make and send that postcard !! They aren't difficult so please don't be shy .
 I am linking up today to the Needle and Thread Network for WIP Wednesday , be sure to stop by and see what others are up to this week .
  Thanks for taking the time to stop by today , hope your day is extra special .
 Hugs Sheila

The year was 1999

The year was 1999 when I was first introduced to the Internet and the website Sewing World , You might want to make yourself a cuppa something this may be long winded . It was on this site that I first exchanged 10" squares of fabric in various themes , great fun , then in that same year I signed up for an 18 month exchange of quilt blocks with a group know as the Friendship Quilters , each month was a different block and a different partner .If my memory is correct we each had a turn at choosing the block for that month . This all went along very well for a while and I did receive many of the blocks that were suppose to arrive but as in all things in life there were a few glitches and some blocks never did arrive . Those blocks sat idle in a box for many years and every once in a while I would take them out and tell myself you really should sew these together . Well about six years ago I was going to a woman's retreat with the church and I was asked if I had a quilt I could bring along so the women could learn to hand quilt and we would eventually form a group to quilt at church . SO...... I quickly pieced together those blocks with whatever fabric I had on hand and to make up for those missing blocks I added some blocks I had made as practise blocks , I always did that when I exchanged , I wanted the best block to be sent out . I wasn't all that happy with the way it looked but hey this was for practise, right ,so off I went with batting and backing to put this quilt on a frame at the camp . The retreat was wonderful but I think we spent less than one hour on the quilt and that group never did form . The strange thing is my quilt went home with someone else that day , it was her frame and I wasn't too concerned as I figured that we would soon be quilting as a group. After several years of wondering why this never happened I called the gal who I thought had my quilt and left messages which were never answered ,so one day we were out driving and I stopped in and asked her for it . That was a couple of years ago now and last year I finally put this on the frame at home and started to quilt it then as you may remember I broke my wrist so again it sat idle only this time taking up room on my frame . This winter I decided I was ready to tackle it again and finally it is done !!!! I sat last evening during FNSI (thanks to everyone who sewed along with me ) and sewed down two and a half sides and just now finished the rest while enjoying the sunshine and warm air on my deck .

As soon as I finished I draped it over the railing to take this picture . Then I did the clothesline ..

So there you have it , I am sure I could have arranged those blocks much better had I put some thought into it but it is what it is and I am so pleased that I was able to hand quilt this myself . Oh I must tell you we each had chosen a colour scheme and mine was sage green and pink , obviously many people have different views of sage green lol . I do love pink and green together , something calming about that colour combo . I am going to confess here too , I would not have remembered that the group was called the Friendship Quilters had I not made a label way back when and eventually sewed them as part of the backing when I took it to the retreat .

Here are some of the labels sent ..

and here are the rest which makes 12 labels that I have attached so the rest of those blocks were made by myself . Carrie Ingram is the only person here that I still have contact with .One more picture ,on the bed .

 Now  about the postcard exchange , I think by majority rules the theme for our upcoming postcard exchange will be the beach / sun , essentially summer !

For a little inspiration here are three I did for an exchange a few years ago with a yahoo group .Thanks to everyone who has signed up and still lots of room so don't be shy . 

 Thanks for stopping by today and taking the time to read my ramblings .

 Hugs Sheila 

Are you ready for another Postcard swap??

The sun is shining and the temperatures are rising so I figured it was a perfect time to have another postcard swap , what do you think ? I am a little stumped as to a theme so give me some ideas and we will decide in a day or so  , in the mean time , you know the drill , send me your info by email , include your full name , address , blog address as well as your email in a format that I can just copy and paste to your partner . This saves me oodles of time so I would really appreciate your help . For those who have never made a postcard before but would like to join in , the size is 4"x6" finished , the front as well as the back must be fabric and it should be stiff enough to stand up . I find peltex works best for this purpose . If anyone has any questions please feel free to ask . For inspiration go to Pinterest and search fabric postcards or quilted postcards and you will have plenty to see , the link to my pinterest page is in the sidebar and I do have a postcard section .

   Guess what ? I put the last stitches in my  sampler quilt a couple of days ago and this is what it looks like right now .

 I am only showing you a little piece of it , I would rather have the full reveal once I get this binding stitched down . See any similarities to my spool quilt ? Yes similar colours , you can assume I like pink and green together lol . This quilt has quite a history which I will tell you all about when I finish it . I didn't leave my frame empty for long , I put my Henrietta Whiskers quilt on , remember that one ? Well it was in the hoop for a while and I did have a little quilting done on it but very little . This frame is not suppose to be used this way but rules can be broken and I just find it so much easier to quilt on a frame so what the heck it is worth a try , at least it might get quilted . This has been spray basted as well as pin basted and I left the pins for extra security ,so far so good .

Can you see the acorn and oak leaf I drew to use as templates in the border , hmm , this is more work than I first thought but the theme is fall so seemed like a good idea at the time ;-) I love this little quilt so will be happy to have it finished as well , I won't be pushing to have this one for the show , no hope of that , now if I was Marjorie it wouldn't be a problem , she would likely have it finished by next week , that lady can quilt !!
 I have a small finish to show too . Do you often find things tucked away that you completely forgot about ,well such was the case this afternoon when I was looking for a piece of fabric , didn't find the fabric but did find this almost finished project so I decided this was the day to finish it off .

A thread catcher , the fabric is so cute and perfect for this project , I filled the pincushion with rice to add weight , I made an extra little bag to put that in so it is enclosed inside the pincushion . I put a yogurt container inside the bag to give stability but also makes it so much easier to empty those threads .

 So that is it for me right now , I think I am going to go sit on the deck and stitch that binding down , can't think of a better way to spend a lovely afternoon  and I can finish it up tonight for FNSI .
 Thanks for stopping by and I hope everyone is enjoying a great day . Lets see how many participants we can get for the swap , come on , you know you want to do this :-)
 Hugs Sheila

Aurifil BOM , Spool Quilt

Can you hear me yipping it up , I am so ..... happy I have my Aurifil BOM 2014 , Spool Quilt completed , even a label has been attached !! I absolutely loved doing this quilt, I think it was the fabrics , I love these little 30's reproduction prints and I  JUST  had enough to complete it . As you may remember Tuesdays is quilting day for me at the church , well yesterday I was somewhat under the weather so didn't go , however the girls worked on my quilt and finished it up and then Gerrie dropped it off to me on her way home , yeah :-) Thanks Gerrie for dropping it off , I sure appreciated it .  I immediately cut some fabric for binding , had just enough of the fabric I had used for the narrow border and absolutely nothing else to use, so thankfully it was plenty with an inch to spare .
 I sewed the binding on then last night while watching a movie and The Voice  I hand sewed the binding down to the back of the quilt and voila , here is what it looks like .  Before you look don't you think that young Sawyer Fredricks has a lot of talent , I could listen to him all day .

Doesn't the quilting look wonderful . Those spools now pop right out , what a great way to showcase a block , I may use this again sometime . I braved the cold and went out to take a picture , it is only 5 C here today and the feel like temperature is only 1 C . so not exactly balmy and it is overcast, we had rain overnight . 

The grass is turning green , and things are improving , the snow is gone !! 

Here is a picture of the back , I don't normally share the back but since I pieced it with some extra blocks I thought it was worth sharing .

Two reasons for doing this , first I didn't have quite enough of the backing fabric , a piece that has been in my stash forever , and secondly I wanted to use these blocks , two of them were part of the Aurifil blocks for the year , the one on the top I just didn't care for and the one on the bottom was too big so I cut it down to fit here . The middle one was a basket block I made with the intention of using it on the front but once I made the embroidered block I didn't need it . 

Some other good news is my sampler quilt that is on my rack here at home is almost done too , just the top border to quilt now , should finish that up real soon . I best get the binding fabric cut for that one too .

 I must tell you I had a lovely day with my Mom , she was super surprised to see me and we enjoyed a beautiful meal at a local restaurant , so yummy . I gave her a large hanging basket of flowers to brighten up her area outside her apartment and my sister Jacqueline also gave her a beautiful basket so things are very bright and pretty . I was happy that Jacqueline and her daughter Danielle and Emma , Danielles daughter ,also arrived while I was there , we often miss each other on these quick trips . I will show you the passport wallet I made for mom along with some luggage tags .

I should have taken a picture of the wallet opened but sorry I forgot to do that . It has a few pockets and also a zippered pocket . We aren't going to Paris ,although that would be nice ,but I figured it was still great fabric for this use and she loved it .

I am linking up today to the Needle and Thread Network , been a while and just realized this is Wednesday .

 I better get back to quilting , our quilt show is coming up very soon and the pressure is on ;-) Thanks so much for stopping by today , hope you have a creative day .

 hugs Sheila  

Happy Mothers Day to all mothers

Today I would like to wish all the mothers a very Happy Mothers Day . I am a mother to three sons and grandmother to seven , two boys and five girls ,so this is a special day for me . I am also fortunate to still have my own mother and I will be spending the day with her .

Here is my beautiful Mom with one of her great granddaughters ,love you Mom!! I love surprises so she doesn't know I will be there to attend church with her ;-)
 I hope all the mothers out there will have a wonderful day and will be pampered and loved for all they have done over the years . Being a mother is not an easy job but one I loved more than anything in the world , I love my boys !!!
 Not much to share on the sewing front , oh I have been sewing but nothing to share just now . I made my Mom a passport wallet and some luggage tags but have not taken a photo so you will get to see those later . Mom is planning a trip in the fall and the best part is I am going with her along with my two sisters . Where are we going you ask ? Well , across the ocean to Scotland and Ireland , a dream of mine since I was a young thing and I still can't believe we are going . I renewed my own passport this week in preparation for the big day . My mom also has always wanted to take this trip and as she said , now she will have three girls to help her should she need any assistance . My mom is 85 and going strong , she has more energy than me lol ! She is never home and lives a busy life . It has been tough for her since my Dad passed away but she is bouncing back and trying to make the best of each day and I think this trip has given her something to think about and plan and she doesn't have as much time to think about missing Dad .
 Well I think I will go for now , hope everyone enjoys a wonderful weekend and if you still have your mom be sure to give her a big hug and tell her how much you love her !! Thanks for stopping by .
 Hugs Sheila

FNWF Report

Good morning from the East Coast , another dull day here but they promise us sunshine and warmer temperatures , so looking forward to that . This morning I thought I would tell you how I spent Friday night stitching with friends , first off it started off a little late as I attended a church yard sale , I can't resist finding a treasure . Now I know you want to know if I found any so I won't keep you wondering , first off I found quite a large selection of little doilies and coasters which I grabbed a few of since they were very cheap , you will see the price tags still on a few of them .

Only $.25 each , what do you think ? I will use these on bags and other crafty items . The next item my dear hubby found for me .

A collection of thimbles from various places this person visited and the little showcase came with it . I am not a collector of thimbles , maybe I should say I wasn't lol , but they are rather special and a couple really caught my eye , the one on the top first off .

Obviously this one came from Scotland , there is a piper on top and then the Thistle , which is so appropriate as I am a member of the Thistle Quilt Guild , so cool . Next is the pewter thimble from Niagara Falls .

I'd like to know who owned these little treasures but I think her last name was Fraser as one is the tartan for the Fraser clan .
 Once I got home and settled into my cosy chair I started stitching on this little wool ornament , the pattern is by Trish Harriman and is a free OOM on a FB Wool applique group .

An adorable little chickadee , how did she know they are my favorite bird , this was such fun to stitch . Trish had suggested beads for the flowers and leaves but since I didn't have any on hand I just embroidered some and I think it works just fine . I am really enjoying these monthly ornaments , they are so quick to make . The wool I used for the background was once a scarf and oh wow it is so soft to stitch with , just love it !!
 Thanks to Cheryll for hosting the FNWF's I always enjoy stitching along , oh and on Thursday which would be the Australian Friday I knitted some more on my sock ;-)
 Thanks for stopping by today , hope you have a fun day and get a little creativity in as well .
 Hugs Sheila