Elf on the Shelf...Shark Attack

They said it would be safe to snorkel...they lied

Elf on the Shelf...Footprints in the sand

Went for a long walk today...It was hard for me to keep up with Leslie and the dog.....

Elf on the Shelf...Siesta Time

Siesta Time in Grand Cayman... trying to catch up on my shut eye...lots of late nights partying lately.

Elf on the Shelf....Taking a quick dip

The ocean is lovely this time of year.

Elf on the Shelf...Quick Sand

Come on guys...this isn't funny anymore...get me out of here

Elf on the Shelf...Keep your eye on the ball

Have been playing a few games of tennis while I'm here.

Elf on the Shelf....Lounging on the beach

At Spott's Beach, Grand Cayman

Elf on the Shelf....On vacation

I'm on vacation for the next few weeks and I hope that you will enjoy Elf on the Shelf's photo album of his vacation with me. We are visiting Grand Cayman together.See you when we get back!

Thanksgiving fun

Our family was invited to my sister in law's for Thanksgiving and although she always says not to bring anything, I don't like to go empty handed. I took this little cheese mice platter and a turkey veggie plate. The kids all thought it was great and everyone had fun with it.

Creative Sewing Festival

 This was a fun day. My mom and I signed up at Kindred Spirits Quilt Co. for the bus trip on October 22nd to the Creative Sewing Festival in Toronto. We had such a good time that day. Michelle who owns the store offered the bus trip into Toronto and the price included your bus trip , your entry fee and loads of fun and draws on the
bus. There was a 80/20 draw.....you bought an arm's length of tickets for $5.00... 80% of the tally went to the winner and 20% went to the bus driver.....and my Mom won. It was $170.00 which was a wonderful treat for her. She insisted she pay for lunch....and I let her.

Dresden Girls...before and after

 

These are the ladies in my Black Magic Dresden class. They are making great headway on their quilts. Thank god for strip sewing as there were many, many Dresden plates to make. All their choices in fabric look wonderful and I can't wait to see them all complete. It's a nice pattern that teaches Dresden, some applique, setting blocks on point and sashings. Lots to learn.    

Autumn House groupies

These are the ladies in my Autumn House BOM quilting class. We meet the 4th Saturday of the month at Kindred Spirits Quilt Co. to work on Bunny Hill's BOM called Autumn House. What a great group of ladies, we have so much fun. By the time the quilt is complete they will all be sick of applique ha ha experts in applique.

Anything to save a buck

I'd thought I'd seen it all...that was until Elaine brought her crazy 8 block into the store. Crazy 8's is a BOM whereby if you come on your scheduled Saturday with your completed block, you get the next one free. If by chance you don't get it done, you pay $8.00. I laughed my ass off sides sore when Elaine brought her completed block in. It wasn't sewn, but pinned very carefully to resemble the month's block...she tried to tell Michelle that the power had been out and she wasn't able to sew it and it wasn't really her fault and could she forgo the $8.00 fee as she would have had it done....ya da, yada, yada.....I think  Michelle just let it go as it was just so damn funny.   She did do a really good job of pinning though.

An apple a day keeps the Doctor away

This was fun to make. It's the pattern from Heather Bailey called Fresh Picked. It called for interfacing so that the bias pieces don't stretch, but it allowed me to try out Sulky's Sticky Fabri-Solvy. I just stuck the stabilizer to the fabric, cut out the pattern and  sewed. Worked wonderfully. I like to do give-a-ways at my quilt classes and this little beauty was won by Kathie at my Farmer's Wife class.

Farmer's Wife Block 25

I'm not really a purple or mauve kind of person, but I'm liking this block even though it's all in those shades. In the scheme of things, when all the sashings and borders are attached, it will blend right in. It's called Cups and Saucers. 

It's a zoo in here

This is an amazing quilt. Linda made this quilt for her sister and it is awesome. I love the animal prints and I don't know how she was able to collect so many. It's just wild...excuse the pun. The backing was a perfect match for the quilt as well.

Dragonfly Quilt

Mary brought me this lovely dragonfly panel quilt to long arm. Isn't it stunning. I love the colortones and the wonderful panel prints. It was quilted in the pattern called Seaside.

Gobble Gobble watch me Wobble

I had been doing alot of quilts lately using the Dresden Plate technique and started playing with half a Dresden for this cute Turkey Mini Hang Up. I think he turned out cute and right in time for Thanksgiving. The pattern is available at Kindred Spirits Quilt Co.

Where did this come from?

I was sorting some bins and boxes out when I was totally shocked to find this UFO. It was the most ghastly fabric and pattern imaginable and as I looked at it I thought...What the hell was I thinking?...Well this might be salvageable. In the same bin was coloring and work pages of our youngest son Nick from when he was in grade 1. This dates this UFO back about 12 years.  I looked at the pattern and decided I just couldn't continue on that path. I found a picture of a nice maple leaf quilt  by Loft Creations which kind of resembled what I had going on. Most of the leaves were complete in the bin, and there was plenty of  more ugly fabric, so I managed to make a few more leaves, and fill in the rest with plain fabric. I used a variegated thread and quilted the hell out of it  pattern Plumage to try and hide the fabric. Turned out rather well considering that I was thinking of just pitching the whole thing.  

Haute Couture

I love a fashionable dressed dish soap, don't you. These are the cutest little quilted aprons for your kitchen counter dish soap. It was featured on the Moda Country Fair Hop by Camille Roskelley on her blog Simplify. I've made a few and they are all just the sweetest. I've given a few as giveaway gifts at some of the classes I teach. So fun to make, more fun to give.

Three colorways for Ewe!

These are the finished Shop Hop quilts in their various colorways. I designed the pattern for the Kindred Spirits Quilt Co. Shop Hop. The pattern was a free giveaway to each participant at the store. I started with the centre quilt as my original, then at an evening at the shop, the "Sew Sisters" whipped together the boy and girl versions. I'm really happy with how it turned out...in all the color choices. 

Plain and Simple

Sometimes plain and simple works best. This is Maureen's daughter, Karen's quilt that was brought for longarming. Just a simple patchwork but the black just makes it pop. We chose the pantograph, stars and lops and it really looked amazing when finished.

Feels like Fall

Doesn't this quilt feel like fall. I love the color tones, so rich and warm. Rene made this stunning quilt and brought it to be quilted. It was quilted in the pattern Happy Times. Beautiful Rene. 

Farmer's Wife Block 24

I'm not leading you down a country path when I say these blocks are turning out amazing with the paper piecing....That's the name of the block...Country Path. I've been using up all my scraps with these blocks, but quite frankly am not making much of a dent. I'd have to make a few of these quilts to make some headway with my scrap stash. That's sad isn't it.

Christmas is just around the corner

Linda will be right in season with this adorable table topper. She ordered it as a kit and it turned out perfect. It looks almost vintage. She had this wonderful red, spotted with gold flecks, fabric for the backing with is delightful. It was quilted in the pantograph called Treetop which was really cute as it matched the tree shapes on the front.

Pretty Pinwheel

Carol Anne made this lovely pinwheel quilt. Isn't it pretty. I love the fabric and the pattern. This pattern is from the book Scrap Basket Surprises by Kim Brackett and is called Summer Breeze. It looks like a summer breeze...how perfect. Love it!

I wish I was getting married

Pam made this fabulous quilt as a wedding gift. If I recall, it is her daughter's best friend that is getting married. Isn't it gorgeous. I quilted it in the pantograph called Country Rose. I wish I was getting married...I would love to have received this as a wedding gift. What a wonderful legacy to give newlyweds.

Farmer's Wife Block 23

These blocks are going fabulously...I love the paper piecing, so precise. This block is called Country Farm. Finally, perfect points!

It's Pure Bliss

This quilt was completed by Rene for her new niece Megan. It is totally girly, girly. The Bliss line has always been one of my favorite. Rene had picked a lovely matching flannel to go on the back . It will be a lovely cuddly gift for this new baby.        

Start your engines!

My grandson Ayden absolutely adores Cars. When I was at the Sonoma Williams store last time they had these amazing Cars cookie cutters. Of course I had to pick them up. Last time Ayden was over we made a batch of sugar cookies. He was great at pushing the button to press the design into the cookie, considering he is not quite two yet. Needless to say, cookies just taste better in the shape of cars!