Obstacles and Life

August has been a very busy month with life getting in the way of my quilting!  Darn ...

First off .... what are the obstacles?  This little guy keeps sleeping on my arm and preventing me from working on anything.  He recently had a bout of seizures again and I just don't have the heart to move him off of me.  I have come to the understanding that he won't have a long life, but he will have his best life ever!  Poor little guy!

Still .... here and there another row of these hexies got made.  This is the back view.  I think I like it but not totally sure yet.  Maybe down the road when more rows are made and the pattern evolving, I might change my mind.  Anyway, too late now to change it as too much work has gone into this project so far.  The bottom row needs to be sewn to the top rows.

Now, the life bit.  Next week I will be helping out looking after two wee littles boys and none of my work that I want to take along can have too many pins.  So, what can be done?

Binding got sewn onto two quilts.  They should keep me busy for a few days or the whole week.  It depends on the little boys and if they agree to get along and play well together.  LOL  Who am I kidding!   I was going to take a break from doing bindings, but they will come in handy after all.

This row can be added to the other two rows already assembled.  It feels good to see progress on something!  This can be done while babysitting.

These two hexies have the bindings all pinned and ready to be sewn and then hand quilted.  This is the start of Row 4.  Happy, happy!  These will not come with me for babysitting at this stage.  They can come for hand quilting instead if needed.

Now, for other things that got accomplished.  Batting hexies have now been all cut out.  A huge dent was made with the bin that the batting pieces were hiding in.  Great to see them being used up and the bin almost empty.  The reason for cutting out all the batting now was that I got a tad anxious that there would not be enough of this particular poly batting.  No problem. There was enough with a bit to spare.

Some of the batting pieces will need to be frankenpieced in order to use up even the smallest pieces of scrap batting.  Waste not, want not.

Then, to keep me from getting bored .... there are two junior bridesmaids dresses that need minor alternations plus pants for the little boys to be hemmed up.  Yep, those items will round out my sewing for the rest of the month and into September.

There are meetings for me and hubby to attend with the ALS (Alzheimer's Society) for September and October.  They should be interesting and very informative.

Then, school pick-ups will start and life will get busy once again.

Cherish your day, cherish your life!

July Challenges

For July, the Chookshed Stitchers 2024 Challenge, the number to work on is #1 and this is it:

Alas, that project will be NOT be worked on after all.  There is a wedding quilt that needs to be started and made this month and that is what will be worked on instead.  My niece already knows about this quilt, so the pattern can be shown.

My Chevron Log blocks will continue to be worked on.  I try to get at least 2 blocks done per day.  The QAYG bit will be done later.  

If time permits .... perhaps this fabric might be used for another gift quilt .... but that is probably wishful thinking.

I will try and get the binding on this quilt ....

No-blog Mary did a great job in restoring this quilt back to life.  She had to put on a new backing plus new binding.  She did better than me last month.  She said the job was tedious, hot and heavy.  Her daughter will be delighted her quilt will be usable once again.

Ridley is back to have seizures again.  The meds are helping.  They are not daily (last ones were a month ago) and I'm wracking my brains trying to think of the trigger.

Cherish your day, cherish your life!

June Challenges

For the Chookshed Stitchers 2024 Challenge, #10 was pulled.

For #10, this is what I can work on:

NICU baby blankets

Gift or donation quilts or tops

Adult bibs

Adding hanging sleeves onto quilts

Frankenpiecing batting

QAYG Log Cabin blocks

I have chosen to work on my QAYG Log Cabin blocks and this is where I'm at right now.  There are 7 more blocks ready to work on.  All the strips and triangles have been cut out and ready to for paper piecing.  The quilting bit will be worked on later as I do want those for take along projects.

Then, I will get sleeves and labels onto these two quilts and have them ready for hanging at any time.

There is a gift quilt that I need to start working on ..... so that may or may not get started.  We'll see as time goes on.

For my binding challenge with no-blog Mary, this is what we are working on:

Mary's quilt to bind and repair.  Mary made this quilt for her daughter many, many years ago.  The backing needs replacing as well as the binding.  Her daughter doesn't want to give up on this quilt and I can understand why!  Mary said it probably would be easier to just make a new quilt .... but no way says the daughter.

My quilt will be this one.  It has been waiting in the closet for many years now and it is time to finish it.

My time has been busy dealing with Ridley.  He now has meds to help control his seizures.  There seems to be a pattern for the seizures.  One day he had 3 seizures and they started about 2 hrs. after he ate.  The vet did some tests and the results will be ready in about a week as the samples had to be sent away for analysis.  At least now with the meds, I can control the seizures.

Cherish your day, cherish your life!

May Challenges

Oh, what a month May has been for me.  Busy, busy, busy with appointments for hubby.

So, did anything get accomplished?  For the Chookshed Stitchers 2024 Challenge, nothing got done on this star project.  I did find the book (which was in the bottom of the bin), read through the next round of instructions and just put the book back in the bin with the project and closed the lid.  Oh dear!  That doesn't sound like a good start on getting this ufo worked on.

So, what did I do?

I worked on finishing this ufo instead and so, so happy that it is finally a top.  There was a lot of hand stitching those stars and circles and bit by bit one border got done and then another and so on until ..... DONE!  My Rail Fence Delight and how delightful it turned out.  The size is 75-1/2" x 91-1/4"

Then, the days slipped by in a blur and the binding was not on my quilt yet.  Finally, with one day to spare it got done.  I just love the backing fabric which came from a duvet cover from Ikea.

So, here is my quilt done and ticked off for my May Binding Challenge with no-blog Mary.  There will be a separate post about our challenge and about this quilt.

Even though #5 of the Chookshed Stitchers 2024 Challenge did not get worked on, I'm very happy with what did get accomplished.  Don't worry, that star project has not been shelved, it is still around my cutting table, so it will get worked on at some point.

Cherish your day, cherish your life!

May Challenges

May has come ..... the grass is green ..... things are starting to sprout up in the garden.

With May comes new challenges.

For the Chookshed Stitchers Challenge 2024, this is my UFO to work on.  This project dates back to 2014.  I took a class when my friend Debra came up to our guild and taught us this pattern.   The book is someplace and I will need to find it to figure out how to do the rest.  If not, then I will need to put on my thinking cap and figure it out!  

I will also still work on my Rail Fence Delight.  I do want to get this project moved along more.  It will take another month or so because there is still a lot of applique to do.

Also for May, no-blog Mary and I are still doing our monthly binding challenge.  This is Mary's quilt to bind.  Cute, eh!

This will be my quilt to bind. 

Cherish your day, cherish your life!

February and March Binding Challenge

Another month and another quilt done for both no-blog Mary and myself.

This is Mary's (before on the left and after with the binding) February quilt:

This is my quilt (more on this in another post):

For March, we have chosen our quilts.

These are Mary's.  Aren't those penguins adorable?   She is going to do these three small mini quilts for her challenge. 

This will be my quilt:

Mary mentioned to me that she is still pulling quilts from her closet and she still has bins in the basement with quilts to bind.  Holy Moly ..... just how many quilts does she have?????  She won't tell me and I'm kinda thinking she is too scared to start counting!  LOL  At least with this challenge, she is getting quilts finished, which is such a good thing for both of us!

Cherish your day, cherish your life!

Summer Picnic

There, my January binding challenge is done.  Yeah me!

This was a LOT of hand stitching, but, so worth it in the end.  Whenever this quilt is shown, everyone remarks at all the embroidery that I did.  Nooooo ...... those images that you see are all from a pre-printed panel.  All I did was fussy cut them down to size and appliqued them onto a hexagon frame.

A mix of white, cream and off-white fabrics have been used throughout.  Below, it looks more beige on the right hand side, but it is just a shadow.

Then, I've also been asked about the hexie border.  Was that a printed panel also?  Nope, that is all hand pieced.  It was remarked that I have a lot of red fabrics.  Oh yes, I do!  LOL   The hexie border was a lot of work, but so worth it in the end!

I do like how the vertical diamonds in the the centre gets carried onto the top and bottom border.  Had to do a bit of thinking on how to bring everything together.  That happens when I come up with my own design.  Sometimes, that is the reason for a project to sit on the shelf for a long time until a light bulb moment happens.

Every time I look at the quilt and the images, it reminds me of summer and a picnic blanket .... thus the name.

Quilt Details:

Hexie size:  1-1/8" on the edge

Started:  July 2020

Top Finished:  August 2023

Quilt Finished:  January 2024

Quilt Size:  55-1/2" x 62-1/2" (top size before quilting, washing & drying:  57" x 64")

Batting:  Hobbs 80/20 

Machine Quilted by:  Kathy Wareham using Gothic Vine by Willow Leaf Stufios

This quilt is now hanging along with all my other red/neutral quilts for February and then it will hang again in June.

Cherish your day, cherish your life!

February Binding Challenge

No-blog Mary and I have pulled out our quits to bind this month.

Mary pulled out this sweet child's quilt:

My quilt will be this one:

This one might be a 'maybe' if a certain little boy gets moved to a big boy bed.

Cherish your day, cherish your life!

#6 for the Challenge

The Chookshed Stitchers Challenge is off to a good start.  Well, for me anyway!

#6 was pulled for January.

Now, I could choose what I like and have chosen to work on a donation quilt.  There will be a drop-off date in May and this is a good start.  I would like to have two to donate, but if only one gets done, I'm good with that.  These blocks don't look like much, but they will make up a lap size quilt.  You will just have to wait and see!  LOL

Next, some frankenpiecing of batting pieces for future NICU baby blankets.  One got done so far and yes, it looks wonky on the left hand side .... it just needs to be trimmed to 24" x 24".

Then, this quilt is to have a hanging sleeve added.

Then for my January binding challenge, this quilt is it!  No blog-Mary has opted to finish knitting a sweater that she started in December.  The repeat row is quite nice to do and she has made great progress so far.  A new sweater for our winter will be welcome.  She did send a photo, but it was hard to see the sweater.

Lastly, I would like to finish adding borders to this Xmas top.

So, that will be my month challenges and they will help to keep me busy.

I did complete my December binding challenge and photos and a post to follow soonish.

Soup is simmering on the stove and it is snowing outside.  Has our winter finally arrived and is it here to stay for the next 3-4 months?

Cherish your day, cherish your life!

November Binding Challenge

Well, both no-blog Mary and I met our monthly challenge.

Mary hand quilted her small piece and then bound it.  You can see the before and after.

Then, she outdid herself and made a diaper changing pad and bound that one too!  Bravo Mary!

For me, both these quilts were done and donated.  These were shown in this November 6th post with more details.

Life is busy for both of us right now and we may just skip the December challenge.  If by chance, I do find time, then this is the quilt that I will bind.

Cherish your day, cherish your life!

Binding Challenge and a Bit of This and That

October was a good month for me and no-blog Mary.

Mary finished her quilt as well as adding some big stitch quilting to it.  I'm so glad the heat of the summer is over and Mary was able to resume her binding challenge with me.

Mary reached into a bag and viola .... this is her quilt to bind for November.

My October binding challenge quilt will be shown in a later post ..... so stay tuned for that reveal.

But, for November, these are the quilts that I will be doing.  For sure, the first two (they are for donation) and then possibly my log cabin.  Hubby really likes that quilt, so it just may get done and hung up on the wall this month.  All these quilts went to the LAer and were all back a week later.  I love that.  Instant gratification!

October saw me quite busy finishing up a few more tops.  I don't know where I found the time to do these, but they got done and off to the LAer they went.  In fact, this top is now one of the above quilts that will get done this month.

Remember this pile of blocks that was shown in a post last month?

Well, here they are in a top!  This is the second top that I have made using this pattern by Villa Rosa called "Berry Smoothie" and I will be making more of them.

Now, onto the topic of our cottage.  It is now closed for the season.  During our driving in and out of the cottage road all summer long, my sister and I always stopped at this bridge to look at the be.a.ve.r dam.  This last trip, we stopped and just had to take these photos.  It was overflowing big time all along the rim and we actually think that it has broken naturally because of the amount of rainfall we have had recently.

The stream on the other side of the bridge was flowing quite a lot!  All summer, it has just been a slow fall of water, but with the breakdown of the dam, it is flowing wildly now.

Back in the city, below are a couple of deer spotted just a few days ago on our neighbours lawn.  They were munching on all the fallen crab apples and they had a feast.

Halloween night .... it snowed big time.  Still, 32 brave kids came and picked up their treats from us.  The next morning, this is what we woke up to.  Four inches of snow had fallen.  Most of it is gone now, but there is still snow on the ground.  This snow fall is quite early for us.  So glad that my winter tires are already installed on the car.

So, that is me all caught up now.  Whew ..... October was quite a busy month!

Cherish your day, cherish your life!