What I am working on today

I bet I am the only one who hadn't heard of Minecraft , well until I asked my son what quilt I could make for my  grandson and he suggested Minecraft I hadn't heard of it nor had I seen any that I remembered.  I looked on Pinterest and came across a few photos so went to work cutting and sewing blocks . Pretty simple construction which is really good when you don't have a lot of time . This has to be finished and off to Saskatoon  for Christmas , oh but I work well under pressure lol .

 Not much of a picture but I will share more once I get it quilted . The quilting like the quilt will be very simple just a simple x through the blocks .  Oh I know it isn't all that exciting but I know Isaac won't care and it will be very washable which is important .  I am now all caught up on the Splendid Sampler blocks ,  finished the latest one yesterday , whew , that felt good , didn't want to get behind as I tend to leave things once I get behind and after all this work is didn't want that to happen .  I will show you the latest ones I have done .

So as you see I had fallen behind . 

 Okay , break is over , time to tackle that quilt again , oops before I go I want to mention to those taking part in the postcard exchange to get those cards made and in the mail before December 1st , thanks so much . One of mine arrived yesterday,  yeah . 

 Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your day , it is a wet cold one here but no snow yet 😉

Hugs Sheila  

Improv piecing

I just had to share my little adventure today , our guild had an improv piecing class with Valerie Levy as the instructor .  It was awesome ,  so much fun and well I felt like a kid  again with no rules just cut and sew and if it wasn't straight then I got it right lol . Valerie was such a fabulous teacher , and it was so nice to meet her after following her blog for a while . purplebootsandpigtails.blogspot.ca
I had to leave before  I got to start my house but quickly got to my machine at home while it was fresh on my mind . My house should have  had a bigger roof but there you go it isn't perfect just like me . I  like it anyway .

 My letters are rather big I suppose , they were great fun , heck it was all fun . So that was my day filled with colour and play what more can a Girl ask for,  right . Thanks Valerie for this great class .

 Any more interest in the postcard swap ? I would like to assign names as quickly as possible so if you are on the fence hop off and join us , we would love to have you .

 Thanks in advance .

 That's it for me , thanks for stopping by and hope you also had a fun day .

 hugs Sheila 

The Quilting is finished and who is ready for a postcard swap ?

Good morning from a dreary East Coast , grey skies are dominant today and it is a little cool but still a nice fall day . Before I start I want to say hello to my friend Joyce , hope you are reading today 😉
 I have been trying to find time to post a postcard swap , a Christmas themed swap this time since it is getting ever so close.  Our mail out date should be no later than December 1st but preferably sooner to avoid the Christmas rush especially if your partner is overseas . So who is interested ? You all know the drill by now but incase we have some new readers here , the postcards are to be 4"×6" , fabric on front and back with a stiffener such a timetex or similar product,  they should be fairly stiff . It is up to you if you would prefer to mail it in an envelope or clear plastic covering .  I hope we get lots of interest , it is always such fun to get a postcard in the mail and they make a nice decoration for the tree too. If you want to take part this is your next step , send me an email with your complete name ,  address  and email and if you have a blog please include  this as well .  I would realllllllly appreciate it if this is send so I can simply copy and paste to your partner , this saves me hours of work , thanks in advance .
 Now for some news , yesterday I traveled to Antigonish for an appointment but while there I picked up two of my quilts from Lynda Campbell of Fiddle Stitches who does a fantastic job on quilting . since I have only taken a picture of one of them I will share just one for now .

 I think you can guess this is for my granddaughter Elise , I already gifted one like this to Sophia .  Now to get the binding cut and sewn on as I need this for Christmas .  Thanks to Lynda for the quick job and a fantastic job too .
 Now I need to run and finish making lunch so thanks for taking the time to stop in and remember to send me those emails , I'd love to have you all join the swap .
 hugs Sheila

A win and some hand quilting

I really think I should start buying lotto tickets as I am fairly lucky . I recently won these gorgeous solid coloured strips of Free Spirit fabrics from Karen of KaHolly . I am looking forward to using these pretty colours as I tend to stick mostly with darker colours and a change is always a good thing .

 Thanks so much Karen,  I was thrilled to win them and  more thrilled you delivered them to me , it was so nice to see you .
 Our guild is doing a BOM this year and for the most part we are following along with Barbara Brackman of civil war quilts , with her permission.  Since our quilt will be a little larger I will add more blocks that i feel will fit the theme . One of our members showed us how to quilt as you go which I thought would be brilliant as I just might finish it a little quicker.  I can also handle a 12"block far easier than a large quilt . So......I started hand quilting a block a couple of nights ago and have two almost done . I don't use a hoop , so I basted it and hoping this is enough to keep it flat without wrinkles underneath. Here is one block that just needs a little more work . The basting looks a little wrinkly here .

This is called Sweet Gum Leaf and I substituted a block from Quilters cache rather than the original block from Barbara as that block used Y seams and we have a lot of new quilters doing this quilt and I didn't want to discourage them .
I have lots on the go at the moment and trying to keep up but some days my joints say not today.  I have managed to keep on track with the SS which reminds me i didn't take a picture of the last one I made but here is one of the two I did before that.

 I have no idea what I plan on doing with this quilt when it is finished but so far am enjoying the process .

 Well that's it for me today just thought it was past time to share my win with you . Thanks  for stopping by today and do something creative , it is good for your soul . 

 Hugs Sheila 

A trunkshow and a little finish

This has been a very busy week , on Tuesday evening our guild hosted a dessert party and trunkshow with Kathy Tidswell as our special guest . Kathy is from New Brunswick and is a very talented fibre artist creating some amazing work . There were lots of Wows from those in attendance.  I am sure you would like to see a few things she shared with us . I will warn you my photos are not the best as they were taken with my phone and I have to admit I find this thing challenging.

 So this is just a small taste of what we saw , as you can see Kathy is talented and has a wide range of talents, even making her own garments adorned with thread painting.
 Our workshop on Wednesday with Kathy was so interesting,  she gave us instructions on making grasses and weeds, flowers and trees . Sorry I don't have anything to share at this time from the workshop , I will need a lot more practice before I can share any 😉
 However I do have one little art piece to share . On saturday of last week our guild took a trip to Amherst to a Fibre Arts Festival which was just fantastic.  We viewed three quilt shows and various displays as well as a Zonta fair.  I will share those photos at a later date now that I have figured out how to get them off my phone.
So here's my story , there was a lady at the Zonta fair selling her hand dyed fabrics and in a basket on her table was bags of her scraps.  Be still my heart , I quickly dug through the pile and found three bags to call my own at only  $5 per bag.  Seemed like a real bargain to me since I had purchased from her before so knew what to expect , well sort of as you never quite know what is in those bags.  I was willing to chance it and I wasn't disappointed,  they were filled with lovely shades of fabrics perfect for landscape art . Now I had bought a bag or maybe two from her a couple of years ago and I decided to combine my treasure but before doing so felt I should at least take the time to iron them all . That's when inspiration struck . In my original bag I had some very narrow strips that i am sure most people would have tossed in the garbage but I just had to find a way to use them so here is what I came up with.

Notice the raw edges , these scraps were so narrow some as little as 1/2" and they were frayed like this which was perfect for what I had in mind . I proceeded to lay out the pieces and started stitching them down . I am really loving this and it was such fun to do plus I saved some scraps from the landfill 😉

 I will let you go for now but I thank you for stopping by and I hope to see you soon. 

 Hugs Sheila