Quilt Show Favorites

These were a few of my favorite things from the Niagara Heritage Quilt Guild Show held a few weeks back at Niagara College. The first is the beautiful quilt called Prairie Bound. I love that quilt and I'm going to attempt to make it soon.
The second was the amazing quilting that Carol Cunningham did on the star block quilt. I love it, I wish I could do that. I love the braid border on the sampler quilt...I'll have to try that. Lastly is this gorgeous, paper pieced blue and yellow beauty called Freedom 55. Don't think I'd try one, but do love the look.

What's Black and White and Red all over?

Not a newspaper silly!....Linda's phenomenal quilt. Isn't it gorgeous. I love it, as I do all her quilts. She averages about one every two weeks I'd say...that's 108 quilts a year by my math. They are all fabulous. I don't know how she finds the time as she is still working. Keep em coming Linda, they're amazing.

Garden Makeover

I can't believe how much difference a little elbow grease and hard work can make. We redid the majority of our gardens this spring. I have no idea now, what would have ever possessed me to put in some of the plants I had originally. Before is an UG!, now I'm actually happy with them. We redid this by taking out these awful prickly wine colored bushes and adding in spirea, grasses and a few filler plants. We removed all the mulch and added new topsoil. We redid all the slate border and added some larger stones for visual effects.

Niagara's Best in Show

It was wonderful attending the Niagara Heritage Quilt Guild Show a few weeks back held at Niagara College. There were some wonderful quilts on display. I love the feedsack one...it has little pieces appliqued to it ...so cute. My sister would love the barn quilt as she lives on a farm up near Tweed. I'm partial to chickens ..so it was one of my favourite. Have a look at the floral applique quilt....OMG can you imagine the work!

Niagara's Got Talent

I was truly inspired a few weekends ago when I attended the Niagara Heritage Quilt Guild Show at Niagara College. We really have some talented quilters in this area. It made me want to rush right home and start quilting. I love the way these quilts are set.  The pumpkin quilt would be so much fun during the Halloween season.

Niagara Talent Show

  A few weekends ago I attended the Niagara Heritage Quilt Guild Show at Niagara College. There were some beautiful quilts on display, and such talented quilters here in Niagara. These were a few of my favorites. I have always loved the spool quilt and have good intentions to make one for myself .Oh...I need to find some time!

Pretty in Pink

Another lovely "Little Twister" quilt by one of the students in my class. Jane opted for a small version of the class project, using the small "Lil Twister" tool. She was making this for her friend's daughter's baby girl. It turned out so cute in the pink and brown. Jane did a lovely job of it We did have a few laughs as it was suppose to be a baby quilt( and it is), however when she completed the quilt without the borders it was so small that Jane laughed and said it would be appropriate for the little girl's doll. We added a few borders and now it is just the perfect size for this little girl's "blankie". Even more of a coincidence...when I called Jane to tell her it was finished being longarmed...she said she had just gotten off the phone and the baby had just been born that day...perfect timing!

Surprise, Surprise

 I was completely shocked when I attended the local Quilt Show ( Niagara Heritage Quilt Guild) a few weekends ago. I was surprised to find that customers of mine had entered their quilts into the show and low and behold there was my name on the entries as well for quilting! I just never expected that some of my work would ever be displayed. They all looked really great. Some of them were done a while back and I had forgotten. It was like seeing an old friend again when I came upon them as we had spent quite a bit of time together as they got quilted on the machine.   

Summer's almost over?

Just kidding.....I'm just in a hurry for September to come as this is the new BOM that will be starting a Kindred Spirits Quilt Co. This is the sample partly finished on the design wall at the shop. It's gorgeous, so rich in color and the design is so fabulous. I love all the little pumpkins, crows and birdhouses. It's Bunny Hill's Autumn House. I can't wait to have it all finished ,quilted and at the store so students are smitten and sign up.   

Before and After Garden

 Ta Da!

This was the garden from hell before, and this is the garden now...We've lived here about seven years and when we first moved in I planted stuff, then planted some more, and planted some more until the whole garden was just a mismatch of stuff all over the place. I really didn't know where to begin, but knew I had to make headway somewhere. Dear hubby and I cleared all the old mulch out, dug up the majority of the plants, put all new top soil in, replanted the plants in some resemblance of order, added new rock and re did the border stones. It was a ton of work, back breaking to be exact, but we're really pleased with the look.  

W is for Wisteria

I love this time of year. We have this fabulous Wisteria vine that covers the overhangs of our side garden. The fragrance that it gives off is phenomenal. The blossoms are a beautiful violet color and they just hang in bunches. Alas, it lasts for such a short time. It took forever for the plant to establish itself and to actually flower. It wasn't till I read an article that suggested you needed to prune it back so that it would bloom did we actually have any. I only wish it lasted all summer.

Dresden Girls

These are the Dresden Girls....dolls and class participants...There's Barb, Andrea, Gladys and Barb with their completed sweethearts. See the eyelashes all sewn by hand. So sweet and we had so much fun during class. I was astonished to learn that Barb was a glue gun "virgin"...oh the things you learn at class.

Mascara would have been so much easier

These are the ladies in my "Dresden Girl "doll class, tediously sewing individual false eyelashes onto their Dresden Girl's sculpted face. Each eye gets a total of five eyelashes which are each sewn on one at a time. Do you know how tiny those things are!  She is lovely when she's all complete, and I promise to show you all their final girls complete. I am really inspired at how well they have done with creating the doll as they are all new to doll making , except Barb who is an avid bear maker. She has also taken another doll class with me. I think they have all done fabulously!

I could handle a "trip around the world"

This is Donna's "Trip around the world" quilt...I want to try one of these, she says it was fairly easy. She brought it to have quilted and it's so neat to look at it from a distance. I had a perfect place for it, alas, she came and picked it up.

Love at first block

Look at these amazing ladies and their first "blocks"....perfect!  Here are Linda, Shelly and Anne...the ladies in my beginner class at Kindred Spirits Quilt Co. You can see how pleased they all were to have the block finish to a perfect 12.5 inch square. They have been having so much fun and so have I, watching them learn to love the art of quilting.

7 fat quarters to the gallon

 How cool is this! This is the "Quilt Car"... a custom  car quilt  designed and made by the members of the Niagara Heritage Quilt Guild. It was on display last weekend at their annual quilt show held at Niagara College. It was amazing to see all the unique blocks and fabric that went into the making of it...truly a work of art.

Here's more pics including my friend Sue having a good look. We had a fun afternoon at the show and just hanging out together.

I have the Blues

This is Carol Ann's lovely Scrap Basket Blues quilt that she made for her son. She brought it to me to have quilted and I can tell you that I didn't want to give it back. It's from the book Scrap Basket Surprises by Kim Brackett. Carol Ann chose civil war prints and it looks amazing. I just have one question....I have this book...how is it everyone but me is getting their quilts completed? I have yet to get mine started...I have the fabric for about 4 of them, and not one done yet or even cut. &*$!)&!$)(&$

City planning at it's best

Just love the way this tiny town has come together. It's a BOM offered at Kindred Spirits Quilt Co. and it;s just so sweet. My samples are all complete and the ladies in the class are doing well with theirs too. It should be fabulous when it's all complete.  I must try and get one of these design walls at home. This is the one that is at the store and it's so useful and handy and great to see everything together in once spot, rather than on the floor .

"I'm an empty nester"

Well, they finally flew the coop. My little newborn morning doves, grew like weeds, and before I knew it they were out of the nest. It was fun to watch them grow ...close up.  They have continued to grace our presence in the front yard and now my dear hubby is getting pissed   annoyed because they are crapping all over the brick on the front of the house.

Summer's almost here

I can't wait...we've been working on the garden, getting our weeding done, putting out the deck furniture and trying to dress up the ugly shed. What can you really do to make your Costco special garden shed more presentable. God I hate this shed. These little wreaths help a bit... I was over the river with my mom a few weeks ago...we do the rounds at TJMax and Homegoods, Michaels, Joanns, AC crafts and my favorite...Christmas Tree Stores. This is where I picked these up for $5.99 each and they do make the shed look more homey and inviting so I'm happy!

Waste not, Want not Lil Twister Table Runner

This is Kathie, writing down the final instructions for the Waste not Want not Table runner. It's made from all the scraps you have left over from your Lil Twister Layer Cake quilt, once you have cut it completely. There are square shapes left in between each cut and triangle shaped  pieces from the outside cuts....it would be a waste not to utilize them. I came up with this runner to use all the leftovers. You cut 42 -4.5 inch squares, 20 setting triangles, 4 corner triangles, set them all on point, add a 2.5 inch border and you have a really nice size table runner.

"Howdy Neighbour...feel like twisting"

This is Kathie, she's always camera shy and in a secret life played Wilson on the TV show 'Home Improvement'. Ok...she's just short and has to hold it that high to get the whole quilt in the picture. She is a quilting wizard...finished the final borders, had her backing sewn and started on the matching table runner...all in one night's class. This little Twister quilt is wonderful, I love the colors. It's the new line Dragonfly Summer. It's from a layer cake and you use the Lil Twister ruler to cut your blocks once you have all your layer cakes sewn together. Really stunning..great job Kathie.

Mystery Quilt coming together

We are finally starting to see the quilts take shape at the Mystery Quilt Class at Kindred Spirits Quilt Co. It's been a long seven months to get here, but they are really taking shape. I love Audrey's quilt for her niece...the colors are wonderful together. Barb is making hers for her grandson in flannel and is picking out perfecting her seam joins. This is Border Creek Station's Mystery Quilt..Travel by Day/Night. Only one more month till we have all our clues and the final quilt is revealed...so exciting!

Measure Twice, cut once

That's one of the first tips I teach to my beginner class.... Measure twice, cut once. Here are Linda and Shelly concentrating on getting their cutting down pat. We are teaching the beginner class with Eleanor Burns Beginner book. Linda is working with batiks and Shelly chose wonderful spring fabric just new at the store. Look at the concentration in these ladies faces. So fun teaching beginners...they are like sponges... and haven't developed any bad habits yet...either.

If you think no one cares you're alive, miss a couple of mortgage payments

This is Block 4 from House Hunting. I know it's month 5, but it was done in month 4...I am keeping up. I opted to use juvenile fabric in vibrant colors rather than the country look that the pattern uses. I thought it would look great in a child's room and that they could have lots of fun with all the prints and house shapes. It's turning out really sweet and it's been so much fun each month putting the houses together with different prints to give them each there own "curb appeal"

Knock Knock...who's there

Look at this little bastard guy...the nerve! Chewed his way into what's suppose to be a birds house. This is a bird house at my mom's and the other day I was over and noticed this little guy peering out of a larger than normal bird's entrance. Look how big he made the hole to get his nuts in. Then he had the nerve to stare me down while I was taking photos!

Betcha it's warm and cosy in there. I left him a note that the rent is due.

It's not hard to twist, it's all in the wrist

These are my Lil Twister quilt ladies....the Twister Sisters. Look how hard they are concentrating with their Lil Twister Rulers. There's Liz, Jane and Kathie focused on getting the job done. These are such fun quilts to make and the class is being offered thru Kindred Spirits Quilt Co. I'll share the students' next steps with you after next class.

Thank heaven for little boys

I have a wonderful little grandson named Ayden who is just about 18 months. They've just moved into a new house and my daughter wanted a quilt for his new "big boy bed". She picked up the fabric at Ikea when they were picking out his bedroom set. It's so cute with the cars and trucks on it. I picked up fabric to go with it at Joann's and I can't believe what a good match I got. I put a border in the blue, all they way around and made him 2 matching pillow cases to go with it. I used the pantograph Seaside to quilt it.  The room looks so sweet...now if they could only get him to sleep in it!

Come on let's twist again like we did last summer...

Here's the Twister Sisters again with their blocks and borders together. Looking good. There's Kathie, Jane, Liz and Linda, and they are such good girls to have their homework complete for class. These Lil Twister quilts will look fabulous when complete. I'll keep you posted with pictures from our next class.  Liz is too funny, she said she couldn't be photographed cause she was in the witness protection program.....too bad Liz, looks like they're comin after you.

Town Center Star

This is another nice BOM club at Kindred Spirits Quilt Co. It's such a great deal. You pay 30.00 to start and that gets you a wonderful Quilters BOM calendar, a fabulous fabric Kindred Spirits bag and the first month's block fabric. You pick your Saturday of the month, complete the block and come back and you get the next month's block fabric free.  You could potentially get a 12 block quilt for $30.00. Wow! If by chance you don't get your block done, you would have to pay $8.00 for the next month's block fabric, so there is incentive for getting it done in the time allotted AND staying on track. The club is called Crazy 8's.

"Home is where the dog hair sticks to everything but the dog!"

My little Tiny Town by Bunny Hill is almost complete. This is block eight of nine. This is the sweetest of all quilts, with each block representing something you see around town, across the street or in your neighbourhood. Bunny Hill Designs has put so much detail into this pattern that you just gravitate to it and you feel at "home" with it. It's a BOM offered at Kindred Spirits Quilt Co. and the ladies in my group are so much fun...I'll miss them as we are almost done, just a few more blocks to go.

Bird's eye view

It's amazing how quickly these guys have grown. The mom must feel more comfortable leaving them, as today when I went to take a picture, she wasn't home. They're not all downy anymore and their feathers are well developed . When I took the picture, one even raised his wing and gave me a disgusting look like....Take a flying leap will you...excuse the pun

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's day to all those moms out there. My mom is 85 and will be coming to have dinner with us this Sunday. I'm a mom and all four of my children will be coming to dinner as well, along with my daughter who is a mom to my first grandchild and another on the way. It doesn't get any better than that does it?  Thought I'd share this about mothers....

Real Mothers don't eat quiche;
They don't have time to make it.
Real Mothers know that their kitchen utensils
Are probably in the sandbox.
Real Mothers often have sticky floors,
Filthy ovens and happy kids.
Real Mothers know that dried play dough
Doesn't come out of carpets.
Real Mothers don't want to know what
The vacuum just sucked up...
Real Mothers sometimes ask 'Why me?'
And get their answer when a little
Voice says, 'Because I love you best.'
Real Mothers know that a child's growth
Is not measured by height or years or grade...
It is marked by the progression of Mommy to Mom to Mother.....

"If you run you'll only go to jail tired"

Every town needs a police station, even Tiny Town. This is block is number seven in the series. My youngest daughter has already spoken for the quilt, the minute she saw the pattern. Originally this block has a fire station as apposed to a police station, however my daughter asked if I could adjust the pattern to the latter. She's a police officer, as is her husband, so it was only fitting that we try and tie that in. Didn't really take much adjustment, just the bars on the window and Police as apposed to Fire, embroidered.

Before and After ..from Frumpy to Fab

A little fabric goes a long way! What a difference a little paint and fabric can make. I'm lovin these and wish I had scooped them up myself. My daughter salvaged them from her sister and asked that I reupholster them. We tracked off to Ikea and bought this fabulous fabric...only $5.99 per yard so that in itself was a steal as it was 60 inches wide and wonderful upholstery fabric. First I repainted the legs black, put extra batting around the seat to cover the piping and measured it up. I bought a power staple gun as well so it would be easier  and quicker to get the staples in. I managed to pick up black upholstery tacks at Home Depot and used them to finish off the backs of the chairs. They look great and match perfectly. Took a little bit of work to figure out when to tuck and turn,but overall they look quite smart. My youngest daughter loves them and they look like she spent a fortune on them. Funny eh...everything that goes around comes around...those old chairs from the 50's are right back in style now.

World's Ugliest Chairs

These are by far the world's ugliest chairs. My daughter however sees life in them, and has asked me to reupholster them for her. These were my mother in law's 100 years ago some time back. Probably from the 50's I would think? They were passed to her daughter then to my one daughter who had slipcovers over them. Then salvaged from one sister to another and have been sitting in our garage for the last six months as our youngest daughter wanted them redone for her new house. I said I would try, but I'm not a miracle worker  professional upholsterer. I'll share the finished project tomorrow.

Bird's eye view

Amazing how quickly mother nature does her work. Just a few days ago, these were two tiny white eggs. Now they look like twins. The mother morning dove was out of the nest and I was fortunate to get this birds eye view of the new additions.  I'll keep you posted as they become feathered friends.



Taking shape

We are finally making headway on the Quilter's Journey Mystery Quilt class. Kindred Spirits Quilt Co. is offering the monthly class this year and it's starting to take shape. We are at month 6 and this is Audrey's quilt in the making. No one knows what the quilt will look like when it's finished until the very last month, which is half the fun. The mystery quilt is offered by Border Creek Station Pattern Company. By the looks of things, it should be quite pretty.

Nesting

This is the newest picture from my bird's eye view...remember that morning dove that had set up nest in my winter basket arrangement. She and her nest, along with eggs got gently transferred to the spring basket arrangement. Nothing seems to bother this little mother. You can go right up to her and have a look and she doesn't move a muscle
feather. I don't bother her, other than to get a new pic to see how things are progressing. I'll keep you posted, cause the eggs are still just eggs.

Chicago is not the only windy city

We had a terrible windstorm in Niagara Thursday with winds at 100km. Highways and bridges were closed, power was out for hours and much damage. This is our next door neighbour's house with the siding ripped off and my poor Mom's front yard with her beloved tree destroyed. We count our blessings here as nothing can compare to the horrific weather and loss of life which has affected our neighbours to the south. Our little damage here, even though upsetting, pales in comparison. We can't imagine how awful it must have been for families in the states.