Start of a new section

Here is the start of the next section on my Hexie quilt.  The blue borders will go on first and then as hexies become complete, they will get pinned in the center and probably moved around and around many times until I’m satisfied.

We have found out that Ridley loves playing in the snow.  He loves to chase snowflakes but can't find them when they land.  LOL  All of the paw prints in the snow are from him chasing the flakes.  We laugh each time we see him doing this but never have a camera on hand to catch him in the act.  Oh well, it just makes us happy to see him play and have such fun.

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

Elbows up, eh!

Longing for Spring!

Oh yes,  I'm so looking forward to spring.  We are supposed to get some more snow for the next couple of days.  There is still about 2' of snow in our backyard and more where the sun doesn't shine.  But, enough about that.

My hexie project is moving along.  Since this photo was taken, all the fabrics for the next three sections have been cut and placed in their separate baggies.  My plan is to have the same fabrics in each section.  As each fabric was found and cut out, a blank hexie was pinned to the fabric and onto the next one I went.  That is why you are seeing a lot of white.  Now, the hexies can be basted for the next section.   The blue hexies for the border are all ready, so I'm thinking of pinning those on the design wall.

Since today is also Caturday .... how about a photo of Ridley.  Some mornings, he just doesn't want me to get out of bed and he just wants to cuddle and snooze.

This is the quilt he is laying on and the quilt on my bed for the month of March.  This quilt was finished back in 2022.

Cherish your day, cherish your life, cherish your freedom and cherish your country.  My country will always, always be CANADA regardless of what chaos the orange clown will create next!  After he is done with Cuba, he will go back to Greenland and then Canada.  It so saddens me to see how he and his cronies are destroying the USA from within.  Canada has moved on and so has the rest of the world and we are not going to get sucked into his madness.  Remember to cherish, cherish, cherish and cherish!

Elbows up!

Spring Ahead

Well, I didn't get the memo and forgot to change the clocks before heading to bed.  Luckily my ipad is programmed to change and it did and when my alarm went off at 8:30 a.m., I thought it was 7:30 a.m. because that is what my beside clock said.   Nope.  No problem, I can have a nap later to make up for the lost hour.

Yesterday afternoon, I went to my niece's hockey game.  The calibre of play was incredible for under 11 yr. old girls.  They lost their game but improved for their next game this morning which they won and then won a shootout to determine who was going to the playoffs.   They are now off to the playoffs.  Woohoo!

What did I accomplish this past week?  Well, more than I first thought.

My four corner blocks are done for my Down Home Christmas project.  This is a night guild challenge and I want to get it done to show at our Xmas meeting in December.  There will be about six applique blocks to be done and they will get prepped and ready to sew while hubby and I sit in our new gazebo this coming spring.  Spring is definitely coming as the temps are hovering above zero for the next few days.  Such a nice, lovely change.

I've also been busy prepping for the next three sections on my hexie project.  See all the paper hexies pinned in place?  That means that the fabric has been cut out for the next three sections.  The blue borders are already all prepped, so I can start on the next border any time now.

These are my three little piles of fabric cut for the next three sections (there are lots more in their section baggie).  It feels so good to make a start on the cutting.  I could have cut all the fabric at one time, but I didn't know how it would look and instead decided to concentrate on just the first section.  Now, it is full steam ahead.

I was looking for another UFO project and will be doing a clean up on a few shelves in my studio.  I also found a pattern that I have been wanting to make for about a decade.  Some fabric had already been pulled to help me make a start anytime now.  I need to resist until a few other projects have been dealt with first .... unless a squirrel happens to drop by ...... LOL!

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

Elbows up!

February and March goals

Well, I actually had a good month .... watching the Olympics and hand sewing.  Yep, many hours were enjoyed by me!

First off, this quilt got it's binding on.  It has been added to the donation pile.  I'm doing more and more donations quilts lately.

This section of my hexie project is completely sewn together.  Lots of prep work for the next section is happening now.  The blue border hexies are all prepped, just need to concentrate on the other hexies.  When I prep for that section, the rest of the hexie pieces will be cut out at the same time.

Now for March .... what shall I feel like working on?  For this Chookshed Stitchers 2026 Challenge, I don't have anything written down.  I just go with what I feel could be accomplished.

So, I really, really need to get going on Charlotte's quilt!  I've been peeking at the instructions, but haven't gotten any further.

If I can get a few blocks laid out ready for sewing, some more Flying Geese blocks might get done.  Flour blocks at a time per week .... they add up quickly.

My 1-1/2" squares bin is overflowing.  Time to make some Waffle blocks.  If I lay a couple blocks out per night before going to bed, they will get sewn together the next day.

For my Down Home Christmas pattern, one block is done and another is laid out ready for sewing.  There will be applique and those I will keep for later this spring when hubby and I sit in our new gazebo.  We will be adding screen to keep out the mosquitoes and this is something we will be enjoying. 

So, a little peek at what I'm playing with.  

There are a few more scrappy projects that may have been started, but that can wait for another post.

What a crazy, crazy world we are living in right now.  The wrong First Lady was grilled for the Epstein saga.  Duh .... anyone seeing the photos know that the current First Lady should be front and center and grilled to exhaustion about what she knows.  What is wrong with the Republican Army?  I say Army because there is a history of a Republican President starting wars for no legal reason.  No war can make the rest of the world want to know who in power truly is involved with Epstein.

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

One quarter done

Well, I’ve been busy sitting in my chair watching the Olympics.  Nice and cozy warm under a quilt just hand sewing my hexies.

Before I knew it .... my hexie project is one quarter done!  I'm in love with it.  I'm now starting the prep work for the next quarter.  Lots and lots of hexies to prep.  That will be good for evening work.

We are in a bit of a warm spell for now.  So nice after the bitter, bitter cold.  Yep, so nice!  The cold weather was especially hard for both hubby and myself this winter.  Heading to warmer places is not an option, so we just stay indoors and stay warm.  Spring will be here in a few months and we can get outside then.

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

Elbows up, eh!

Scrappy Bargello

The Olympics started on Friday and by Saturday night, this quilt was finished.  Ye Gods ….. there is still another week to go!  Don’t worry, I have projects to keep me busy!  LOL

This quilt was made mostly from stash with a few scrap fabrics thrown in.

Quilt Details:

Pattern source:  Bonnie Hunter's "Scrappy Bargello" with a twist.  I had my fabrics carry completely from left to right side.  The method used was the same.  I just had to ensure there was enough fabric to do it this way.

Quilt Started:  January 2025

Top Done:  Feb. 19, 2025

Quilt Finished:  February 7, 2026

Quilt Size:  55" x 75-1\2" (top size before quilting, washing and drying:  59-1/4" x 80-3/4")

Batting:  Hobbs poly

Machine quilted by:  Kathy Wareham using Baptist Fan Curl by Nancy Haacke Designs".  I have used this quilting design in a number of my old fashioned looking quilts.  It just suits the look.bit

The weather has finally warmed up a bit and will stay in the minus single digits for the next week.  This was a break we really needed after the bitter, bitter cold.

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

Elbows up!

January doings and February maybe’s

January was a good month to sit and sew and sew and sew.  The weather was very cold.  It got down to -38C (-36F) for a few days.  I needed to stay bundled up and warm.  A quilt over my legs and a cat on my lap kept me toasty.  So, let's see what I did for the Chookshed Stitchers 2026 Challenge.

Finally got this top done!  Can cross that off my list.   Top size:  54-1/2” x 73”

Next on my doings is this hexie project.  Got lots done as you can see.  The bottom left section will get sewn together during the Olympics.  Yeah .... so excited to watch the events!

Also, for February, the binding will get sewn down onto this quilt.

Finally, if there is time, this quilt needs to be started and ready for gifting in May.  It has to be enlarged to double size and I'm hoping there is enough fabric to do that.  If not, I will have to improvise.  

On a political note, our Prime Minister Carney announced that in 6 months, Canada has made 12 deals/agreements with countries on 4 continents.  Now, that is quite an achievement.  As you see, Canada has moved on.  We just got tired of the orange clown's threats and decided enough was enough.  We are no longer attached to the hip with the USA and we can't go back.  There are way too many crazies ready to step in and do the same once the clown is gone.  We learned our lesson.  As one country amongst others in the middle power, we can achieve lots.

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

Elbows up!

A Hexie we will go ….

I’ve had a great week ….. got to work on my hexies.  I could just work constantly on this project and not do anything else, but I have a few goals to try to achieve this month.

This is 1/4 of the top.  

The top section is all sewn together as you can see by the white part showing between the sections.  Oh yes, I could easily just work on this.  This will be handy to work on while watching the Olympics next month.

Mr. Ridley is quite comfy to stay indoors these days.  It is -17C this morning and he just sniffed the air and walked away from the open door.  He remembers that was the temperature when we rescued him nearly two years ago and he doesn’t want to go back into that temperature again.  Here he is in his cat tree.  I bought a wicker basket for him to sleep in instead of the flimsy bed that came with the tree.  I had to cover the wicker because he started to chew on it.  The basket is screwed onto the tree so that it will not fall off.  Do you not think he looks like a prince surveying his territory?  He likes to watch the humans walking their dogs.  I wonder what he thinks of the coats and booties that the dogs are wearing?

Deer are back eating the leaves off of this shrub.  There were a total of four that came that day.

Freedom ….. I see the American freedom disappearing daily.  Is this what you really want?  What will you do when you are ordered to show up for an event and clap and cheer like crazy?  Wake up before it is too late.  

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

Rail Fence Delight

Looking over my photos of finished quilts, here is one that was never shown.  My “Rail Fence Delight”.

Ridley had to photo bomb my set up.  What a guy!  Thing is …. he wants to play and thinks this will make me stop …..

It all started with a small salad container and some pre-cut neutral strips that I bought from a lady that was moving (Wendy in Barrie as I know she reads my blog).  The Rail Fence block was the way to go!  The center was done quite some time ago, but the border stumped me and the project was shelved for many years.  Oh, what to do, what to do?  Stars!  They were in the center panels as flowers and that was my final decision and I’m so happy now!  Circles were added to break the stars up and make it even more interesting.

Remaining extra Rail Fence blocks were put onto the backing and they make quite the impact.

Quilt Details:

Pattern Source:  this is my design and no pattern is available.

Rail Fence Block size:  3-3/4” square finished.

Started:  March 2015

Top finished:  May 2024

Quilt finished:  November 2024

Quilt size:  73” x 88”  (size before quilting, washing and drying:  76” x 91-1/2”)

Batting:  Hobbs poly

Machine quilted by:  Kathy Wareham using Stars at the Gate by Christy Dillon

 

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

2026 Chookshed Stitching Challenge

This will be the third year participating in this 10 month challenge.  I always seem to do well as the rules are vague and flexible and that makes it so easy to accomplish something.  

For the month of January ….. I will try to get a binding onto one of these quilts:

For my next round of hopeful accomplishments (but not assign a number),  I will work on the following when it feels right.  That is what I love about the challenge…..it is so flexible and that helps keep me motivated!

Adding more flying geese blocks to this Xmas project.

This EPP will be worked on for most of the months of the challenge.  There is no pattern for this …. I’m just winging it and so far, I love it.  I do need to get all those hexies transferred to another portable design wall to help free up my main design wall.

Assemble the remaining blocks (that are in a stack at the bottom of this photo) into a top.

I will just start with these for now.  More projects will be added as the months go by and I can assess my progress.  With my condition, my abilities to do things are slowing me down and that is why I need to be realistic and see what I can actually achieve.

With the new year, I don’t generally make resolutions …. exception this year is exercise more as that will keep me from using a walker or a cane in our home.  My cane is my companion outdoors and a walker allows me to zip around in a shopping mall.  The stair lift in our home is very helpful on those days when my legs feel weak or for when I need to save my strength to go on errands or appointments.  It seems to be when there is a weather change coming my muscles are affected.

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