Owl be done in a while

Three blocks together and 13 more to go. These are the first three blocks completed and together in the BOM  offered by Fat Cat Patterns called Whoo Knows. You can find it here
http://www.fatcatpatterns.com/boms.html
I think there are 16 blocks in total, and it runs til August 2014. This will take a while but will be so worth it when it’s all complete. I’m just loving it so far and have been keeping up with the monthly blocks….well so far anyway.  I have been using up scraps and stash to make the blocks which is a bonus.
Each month seems to be more exciting than the last and the owls seem to get so much cuter as I go along……Whoo Knew?

Love these mice's to pieces

Oldest daughter’s birthday was celebrated with these adorable Minnie Mouse Cupcakes. They have a special meaning for my daughter as she worked at Walt Disney World in Florida for a year and absolutely loves anything Minnie or Mickey Mouse.

Simple to make, adorable to look at, delicious to Nom Nom.

Make you cupcakes, ice them with a star tip,  add mini Oreo cookies for the ears, shape the bow out of  fruit rollups and ENJOY!

Here she is enjoying the moment with my grandson Ayden.

Beginner Bliss

Don’t they look so happy?…..yeah, but it’s only the first week of the beginner class offered at Kindred Spirits Quilt Co. You should see what they’ll look like by class 7…LOL

No really, they will look much the same…happy smiles plus a quilt top completed as well.

These lovely ladies are Karen…got to watch out for her, she’s friends with the boss lady…..Trish, Gloria, Ann and Monica.

You should see their fabric choices…..all different and all amazing. Stay tuned for their progress.

Hey Margy…thanks for helping me out with fabric choices and cutting…puts a whole new meaning to quilt til’ you wilt.

Pondering

There is nothing quite like it…pond…ering that is. Tis the season to open up the pond, hook up all the lines, filters and pumps and get the water flowing again. I love this time of year when my backyard comes alive with water, plants plus the birds and the bees.

There is nothing quite like sitting out on the deck hearing the waterfall splash into the pond. It’s so relaxing and tranquil and inspiring. I wish we lived in an area whereby we could enjoy this year round, alas we do not.

Gotta go now to enjoy it while I can.

No memory like a vintage one

This is Debbie’s Vintage Memories quilt that was offered at Kindred Spirits Quilt Co. It turned out absolutely gorgeous! The French General fabric line looks stunning in this BOM originally taught by Gloria at the store. Debbie did a fabulous job of the piecing and I longarmed it with the pattern Mandarin Lace which is perfect for it.

I don’t want to give it back…..but I think Debbie will make me.

 

Finally gave Winter the Boot

I love that winter has taken a hike! Let’s get on with summer.

This is the best time of the year, when things are turning green, the heat is on, flowers are starting to bloom and summer is well on it’s way. It’s a great time to get the garden in order and plant some fun stuff. I love funky stuff in my garden like these recycled garden boots.  Only have six months to enjoy them until the snow starts flying again.

Greatest Couples of All Time

My niece Candice is marrying her fiancé Ivan in August and a shower is being held on Sunday. I found this wonderful site on Pinterest that had the template for this cute framed print to do yourself. You can find the site here  http://popsiclesandpinatas.com/2012/09/05/printable-wedding-shower-gift-idea/

It turned out wonderfully and was super easy to do.  Just type in the names you want, print out, put in a frame with a mat and it looks like a million bucks……Cute little gift to give.

Three Sisters Quilt

Lori had brought me this wonderful Three Sisters fabric quilt to longarm. This fabric line is one of my all time favourites….the colors go beautifully together. Lori chose to have the quilt longarmed with the pattern Seaside and it turned out wonderfully.

Topsy Turvey

I’m so happy summer is just around the corner….it seemed like such a long winter. I love when the better weather starts and I can get out into my garden to create special spaces like my topsy turvey creation. Easy peasy to do and it adds a special impact to our deck.  There are lots of sites on the internet that show you how to create these so get out there and create your  own.

They take relatively no time and effort to create and has a major impact.

My glass is always half full

And so is my plate…..I always seem to have a million things on the go. Whether it’s quilting, or teaching or babysitting, or baking, or gardening…..oh I’m exhausted already!

My niece’s wedding shower is on Sunday and I hand painted these wine glasses and tray for her shower. I have a few other things wrapped up for her as well,  but hope she really likes this set.  She loves wine so she should.

Her colors are ice blue and grey and the glasses are painted with these colors. I had the galvanized tray stashed away and it works really well to compliment the gray in the glasses.

I used Martha Stewart’s craft paint line and the glasses are dishwasher safe on the top rack, which is awesome. I’ve wrapped it all up with a great bottle of wine …which is also awesome.

I’m having a hoot sewing these

This has to be my favourite BOM ever! I absolutely love it, and it has been so much fun to create. You can find the free pattern here http://www.fatcatpatterns.com/whooknows.html. It is from Fat Cat patterns and is called Whoo Knows.

This is block 3 in the series and is called Renshaws. I cheat and cut the circles for the eyes with my Cuttlebug and a Sizzix circle die. It lets me have perfectly round circles without the scissor cutting.

Wonderful Motherhood

Mother’s Day was a great day spent with my four children and family. I can’t believe how the years have passed so quickly, where did all those years go? It just seems like yesterday I was celebrating my first Mother’s Day over 30 years ago.  My youngest daughter who is a mother herself, held a wonderful celebration for myself and her mother in law and our families. My mother who is 87 also came and it was a great evening of fun with everyone.

I have two daughters and two sons, 31, 29, 25 and 19. They were all able to attend other than the youngest who has a part time job at Tim Horton's and had to work 2-10. They all got together and gave me this wonderful stitch clock…it’s so cute and already hanging in my sewing room. I love the little scissors hanging as the pendulum.

The youngest son who missed the festivities, had a lovely bouquet of tulips for me earlier in the day before he went to work. How sweet was that…..I’m thinking I did ok raising them as they seem to appreciate me.

Either that or they’re fearful I’ll tell the 3 that still live at home that the hotel is closing and they have to find a new place to stay.   My girls are always teasing, saying that the youngest gets away with everything and is the favourite. He doesn’t and he isn’t, it’s just that after 3 children and having him later at 38, we were just to tired to focus on all the little things that we did with the others.  He’s turned out quite nicely…they all have.

I mentioned to my girls about the tulips as it was so sweet of him. The girls immediately said that he was just buttering me up before he tells us he’s knocked some girl up.  LOL, got to love that sibling rivalry.

Morley J. Moose III

This fellow turned out awesome. The original pattern is designed for a funky crazy colourful quilt look, but I opted for a more subtle look with greys, golds and  blacks. I opted to have the piece framed as well. It’s still quilted, but rather than have it hang, I stretched it onto a stretcher bar frame, then had it framed into a floating frame.

Morley will be offered as a class at Kindred Spirits Quilt Co.

Mysterious beginnings

We are off to a good start with the Mystery Quilt Class at Kindred Spirits Quilt Co. Mary, Pat and Lorna have their fabric choices picked and have started with the first instalment of 9 months….to give birth to a fabulous quilt and they have no idea what it will look like.

We started cutting strips, then strips to triangles with the Tri Recs ruler and then added pieces to the triangles…who knows what is next?

I’ll never tell… Trust me ladies…you will love this one.

Good Morning Sunshine

I finally got the outer borders on and I just love this quilt. It’s amazing what a couple of borders can do to finish a quilt off.

I love the funky outer border fabric. Just have to finish the pattern details and print the patterns off.

Monkey business

I had bought about 4 pairs of these socks when my daughter was expecting my first grandson. She wanted the baby’s room to be a sock monkey theme.

I started collecting anything I could get my hands on that was a sock monkey theme.

I bought these socks and a book on line that designed sock monkey animals from the socks………I had good intentions, but by the time I had finished a sock monkey quilt,  lamp and shade, mobile and memory board I was socked out….quite frankly if I had seen another sock monkey I would have gone ape shit…..

So these socks plus the book have been stashed away for the last four years…..I knew I would find another use for them and  did when I saw a sample at Chapters for this cute wine sock. 

Makes a cute gift to take along!

When in doubt….add yellow

I had strips leftover from my Cabin in the City jacket…enough 2.5 inch strips to make good use of…

So what can I put with the black and white strips that will work….how about a wonderful sunny yellow.

How about confusing everyone and taking just one block and switching it out …a yellow oddball block…just to keep everyone on their toes.

Not quite finished but well on it’s way.

Blue Batik Twister

I really love the twister technique….I’ve done a few myself and haven’t tired of them yet. Everyone’s is different and unique and Rita’s is no different. It’s a blue jewel toned beauty and is just stunning.

We quilted it with the pattern happy times and Rita will be adding a flange and outer border using the flip and quilt method.

Birds of a Feather Flock Together

Geese, ducks and chicks oh my!

Look at the size of these eggs…One goose egg equals about a half dozen chicken eggs…..plus they taste the same.

I took these pics on a recent visit to my sister's farm. I had a great visit and we did a little of bit of everything…quilting, cooking, visiting , shopping and a whole lot of laughing.

Susie Q Quilt Studio

This is my sister Susan’s sewing studio…..cute eh?

My sister lives between Roslin and Tweed on a farm and her husband built her this sewing studio. Nice hubby!

It is very peacepieceful, lots of room and storage and we spent several hours there on my recent visit while I finished my jacket sample for  Kindred Spirits Quilt Co.

My sister does quilt but spends most of her time as a seamstress, making drapes, sheers, altering clothes and making crafty things to sell at  bazaars.  She is very well organized and and everything has a place and there is a place for everything.