Using up scraps time!

Since I’m drowning in scraps ….. what is a gal to do …… but start a new Hexie quilt.  I needed a project to keep my hands moving and this is perfect.

There will be a blue border all around and all other colours inside.  I’m still designing as I go along and the inside could change.

I’m staying warm and cosy inside while we have sleet and a flash freeze happening outside.

So, I think I will just pull out my 37 pencils and sharpen them up ….. because I can and don’t have an orange clown telling me I need only one.   BTW, can a person buy just one pencil?  Nah, they come in a box of 10 at least.  What an idiot.  While your economy is going down, down, down, our Canadian economy is doing ok.  Our BUY CANADIAN is strong and growing.  How lovely to see more and more Canadian products on the store shelves these days.  Oh and there is a FB site to warn us of products that were made in USA but labelled to make us think it was made in Canada.  We’re on to your scam!  We have moved on and won’t be back because there are a lot of American idiots waiting in the wings and we have learned our lesson.

Today, I bought a dark fruit cake that has been soaked in brandy.  Does anyone else eat fruit cake?  We grew up eating it at Xmas time and I’m always looking for different brands in search of finding the version that my Mom used to make.

Cherish your day, cherish your life and cherish your country!  My country will always be CANADA!  Elbows up, Canada!

Hamster stockings

My great nieces got new hamsters this year (their old hamsters passed on) and with Xmas coming ….. well they needed new stockings.  Luckily, I kept the pattern from the previous stockings and gave them the fronts and let them design what they wanted.  

Here they are hanging up with their other stockings that I have made over the years.

In other news, my knitted leg warmers are coming along slowly, but not when this little guy is awake and alert.  He has already chewed my yarn up in two places, so they stay safely hidden until he goes for a nap in his cubby hole.

 

 The next quilt up for binding is this one.

As I’m sitting here, a snow plow just went by and plowed the street leaving a ridge at the bottom of our driveway.  I was looking at it and saw its name ….. Catch My Drift ….. we have been naming our snow plows here for a few years now.  Not sure where the tradition started but it sure made me chuckle.  LOL. I was just too slow in getting a photo.  Next time, I’ll be ready.

Cherish your day, cherish your life and cherish your country.  My country will always be CANADA!  Elbows up!

Binding time

It is snowing outside and binding this quilt is keeping me nice and warm and Ridley is keeping me company.  He is anchoring me to my chair to make sure this quilt gets finished for December display.  This quilt will be shown soon!

Cherish your day, cherish your life and cherish your country.  My country will always be CANADA!  Elbows up!

A bit of progress

Not much getting finished, but projects have progressed along.

Rows are starting to be sewn together for this project.

Flying geese blocks have been made, but a lot more are needed.

Binding is finally being sewn onto this Xmas quilt.  

Lastly, leg warmers are being knitted.  With the loss of muscle in my lower legs, I’m finding the cold weather harder to take and the cold affects me when outside.  These warmers are nice and thick and will help me a lot.

Last week, my sister and I took a trip to Ottawa for a few days of Xmas shopping.  We both got a lot of gifts and even indulged ourselves for a few extra purchases.

Cherish your day, cherish your life and cherish your country.  My country will always be Canada!  Elbows up!

More Rail Fence Blocks

This is not my idea …. saw a photo on Pinterest and it caught my attention.  That photo had me going through my scraps, my stash for darks and begging more darks from a friend and viola …… another top in the works.  

How happy this makes me!

Cherish your day, cherish your life and cherish your country and my country will always be CANADA!  Elbows up, Canada!

Too many irons in the fire ….

Speaking of irons, mine died and I bought a new one.  Black and Decker is my go to and that is what I have again.  Now, I’m back to sewing and making blocks and more blocks.

The squirrels have been busy again and I’ve started a few new projects.  Oh no ……..

More rail fence blocks were made.  Just 18 more blocks and I can start laying out.  These blocks were made from my stash and scraps.  

Then, this Xmas quilt has been one that I have wanted to make for years and now is a good time to start.  It is in the December 2008 edition of American Patchwork and Quilting.

With my night guild, we are making a Xmas quilt.  This is my first block.  Not all the blocks appeal to me, so there will be changes and I will be using brighter Xmas fabrics.

 

There is also a hexagon project started.  No pattern as I’m winging it.  No photos yet as it is early stages.

These projects should keep me busy for a while.

Cherish your day, cherish your life and cherish your country.  My country will always be Canada.  Elbows up!

Oh Look, Another Rail Fence!

Yep, another Rail Fence quilt!  This time I used 1-1/2" strips with 2-1/2" strips in the middle with the block finishing at 4" square.  Mostly scraps and some charms were used to make this quilt.

The binding was sewn while babysitting my two young great nephews and they had fun playing underneath it.  I had a binding clip in my mouth as well as trying not to laugh as I could hear them playing.  The quilt made a great tent!

Quilt Details:

Source:  my go-to block these days .... Rail Fence

Quilt started:  March 2025

Top finished:  March 2025

Quilt finished:  September 2025

Quilt size:  49-1/2" x 70-1/2" (top size before quilting, washing & drying:  53" x 73-1/2")

Batting:  80/20 Hobbs

Quilted by:  Kathy Wareham using Squig by T.J. Speiser Stitch Happy

More strips have been cut out and kitted up waiting for their turn as leaders and enders while I sew up other blocks.  There will definitely be more Rail Fence quilts coming up.

Cherish your day, cherish your life and cherish your country!  My country will always be CANADA!

Elbows Up, Canada!