A little catch up

It has been a while and I won't guarantee I will be posting again real soon as life has a  mind of its own at the moment .  I will say life isn't always fair , far from it and I am going through a tough time at the moment so don't give up on me , I see I've lost some followers , who can blame them 😊
  Even when the chips are down I try to continue to create , otherwise I'd be a total loss .
I guess since I was last here I haven't shared the fact my quilt The Splendid Sampler won the only award given at our quilt guild show , the viewers choice award, which to me is the most important as those who visited vote on their favorite quilt.

 I have also finished the flimsy for On Ringo Lake a QAL with Bonnie Hunter as her mystery quilt . This was a lot of work and my first Bonnie mystery but I doubt it will be my last , it was really a lot of fun to make. The good news is it is now on the frames to start quilting next Tuesday,  yeah .

While on the topic of finishes I also finished the checkerboard quilt designed by Darlene of a Needle Pulling Thread.  This was to be a block of the week but I loved making them so much on my vintage Singer I kept right on going and then had it quilted by Lynda Campbell at Fiddle Stitches in Mabou . I really love how this turned out,  it is back in her shop now hoping someone will love it enough to buy it.

 I've decided to join in the Moda Blockheads BOW , here are a few of my blocks so far .

I've made a few more since this photo was taken.  I am loving this so far . 

 I could show you more of  what I've been up to but I think that is enough for now.  

 Thanks for stopping by , I appreciate your visit . 

Hugs Sheila 

Finishing school in session

I have come to realize that I work quite well under pressure . Yep our quilt show is coming up on the 26th of this month so I have been pushing myself to finish off a few projects that have been in the works for quite some time . One such project is the Quilt I mentioned in the previous post , my Henrietta whiskers quilt and I am happy to say it is complete , even has a label , amazed to say the least .

I am super happy as I love this design , BunnyHill designs have such adorable patterns . I don't even want to guess at how many years ago I started this I'm just happy to say it is done . 

 My second finish is the Let it Snow BOM by Buttermilk Basin  , another really fun project which started in 2016 . I have had the top done for a while so had been picking away at the quilting which probably should be a little more than I actually did but it is what it is .

My next finish has been sitting on my cabinet for a couple of months now , just waiting for inspiration as to how to finish it off and today I did the leap of faith and just added some birch trees and I am pleased .

 I need a frame for it now 😊

One more for today , this pillow started taking form before Christmas,  if you look closely those are Christmas fabrics . This is a design by my friend Linda Smith of Scrapmaster fame . I had the top completed but just ran out of time to get it quilted so I  took this along to our retreat and I used my walking foot to quilt curves using a stencil my friend Sharon shared with me , it onky marked the corner so I used my trusty quilt bar attached to my walking foot as I was instructed by Linda Hubbard at a recent class . It was great fun once I got started . 

This is just resting over a pillow as it is Very large at 20" square .I have since made a pillow form for it but hadn't done another photo . Thanks Linda for a great pattern. 

 Well that's it for me today , thanks as always for taking the time to stop by , it is a pleasure to have you visit .

 Hugs Sheila 

FNWF'S Report

It is time to report on FNWF hosted by Cheryl . I did something a little different this time round , I spent my time handquilting a very old UFO that sadly has been on my quilt frame for over a year , I am almost afraid to  see what it will be like when it is removed . I love this little quilt Henrietta whiskers , such a fun quilt , designed by BunnyHill . I'd love to finish it for our upcoming quilt show but not sure that is possible but i will give it a whirl and see how it goes .

 Last week this time I was at our guild retreat,  what a fabulous time we had , there were just 13 of us that took part and we each just worked on our own thing which I quite enjoy doing . Classes are nice but I really needed the unstructured do as I please time away . So what did I work on , well I didn't want to go unprepared so I took along a few projects . My initial plan was to work on the Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt but I changed my mind , just felt it would be a little too stressful . I chose a log cabin runner pattern that I have made a few times and quite like and I need a new runner for my hutch so I got busy and cut all the components needed . Next was a kit I was so generously given by Annette  two years ago , it is a row by row from a quilt store called Haus of Stitches in Humboldt Saskatchewan . I also got this all cut and ready to stitch but couldn't wait to start so actually did all the stitching at home and only needed to quilt it and bind it . Another kit followed me there , a rather  old one , it is at least ten years old and is for a wall hanging . I traced off all the applique bits and got those ironed on but left the rest for the retreat . Now I know you are wondering if I actually finished anything , well yes I did finish the log cabin runner , even the binding got sewn down .

This is a very large runner so I had to use the floor trick to get it all in the photo . The row by row was almost completed , I had three quarters of the quilting done and obviously ran out of steam as I started sewing down the backing onto itself 😥

 

I finished it when I got home 😁

And here is the applique project which isn't finished , I have all the applique stitched on and the borders added but just haven't gotten back to it yet . 

I did change the background fabric for this project , the fabric included was a deep beige with tiny flowers which I just didn't care for . 

 So overall I feel I was pretty productive along with lots of talking and laughing and good food and a little sleeping too . 

 Thanks for stopping by today , so nice to see you .

 Hugs Sheila 

Postcards and a flimsy

Good evening ,it was a gorgeous spring day today , sunny and very comfortable temperatures . Early this morning it was a spectacular frost covered scene out the window,  everything just sparkled .
  I recently taught a postcard workshop in Tatamagouche a lovely town about an hour from here . It wasn't a big class but those present were very enthusiastic and raring to make some creative cards .

  

This is Carol and myself at the end of the day. 

Here is the class minus a couple who had to leave early.  Such a lovely group of ladies and very creative too . 

 I brought along lots of postcards I have received over the years in swaps which they really loved and It was the perfect inspiration . 

A few of the postcards created 

I have been working on some scrappy checkerboard blocks that were inspired by a weekly challenge by Darlene of a Needle Pulling Thread Quilt Shop .  I enjoyed making these blocks so much I kept right on going and made this quilt top . It still needs some borders which I am still thinking on .

I am proud to say this was completely sewn on my vintage Singer machine which I just love to use .  

I could share some postcards I have made recently but will save them for another post.  

Thanks for stopping by it is always a pleasure to have tour visit . 

 Hugs Sheila 

FNSI Report

Well I know I have been missing for quite some time and sometimes life just gets in the way but let's not dwell on the negative . I decided to join in on FNSI hosted by Wendy
 At our guild we have a UFO challenge and each year we sign up and pay $1 for each item we would like to finish up ,so this year I have three to try to finish before our deadline . When we finish an item we must share it at our show and tell at the  meeting then it is checked off our list and our name then goes in the hat to win all the money collected from those participating . I have never won the money but it has been a great incentive to finish up some long overdue projects . I am sure my list could have been longer but i think at this point I will do well to  finish the three on my list.  So what does that have to do with FNSI , that is simple , I worked on the oldest of those three projects a crazy quilt that I started at least 7 but probably closer to 8 years ago . I had the top in one of my drawers and each time I would come across it I would say to myself you really must get this finished . I took it out the other day and decided in order to finish it I would need to add another row to make it a little larger , I wanted it to be lap size. This meant I would need an extra six blocks so I got busy and made them then attached that new row to the existing rows and a quilt top was born 😊

 I used a very thick flannel backing to make it extra cosy then simply stitched in the ditch between the blocks . I sewed the binding on Friday  and that  evening I sat and sewed it down to the back . I am quite pleased with how it turned out and I know it will get plenty of use . 

 In January I taught a class at our guild on curved piecing , this is my second time doing this workshop and it is always popular especially once the others see the masterpieces created by the students . I had a full class so it was a busy time but I really enjoyed it even if I am not a born teacher .  Of course when you teach you must have samples and ways to explain the process so I brought along a piece I prepared especially for this class and I just recently finished it .

Sorry for the not so great picture , the sun was streaming in and I couldn't get a decent picture without the reflection showing up on the picture . I have another one that was also started for this class but I have a little more I'd like to add then I can share it .

 There is probably lots more I could share but I think that is it for today . Thanks to those who have stuck by me even in my absence . 

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

 Hugs Sheila