Life is "ruff"

I get lots of company when I long arm quilt. Our 9 year old Westie " Jock" loves to sit on top of the sofa and watch. I'm at the machine most days so I guess he figures it's the best way to get some attention. He''s the type of dog that needs to be close to his family. Where ever you are, Jock is too. If I'm sitting at my sewing machine, he's at my feet. If my husband is on the computer, Jock's there too. He has a "ruff" life just lazing around all day, but he's good company.

Susie Q Quilts

This is my friend Susan's first quilt. I think she did amazing. What is even more amazing is that Sue struggles with MS so quilting can be a challenge. The funny thing is that I tried to get Sue to quilt months before she accomplished this beauty. I took her to a class with me and she was very frustrated and just couldn't grasp the cutting or piecing. I felt really bad and encouraged her to try again, but she just wouldn't agree. Months went by when she finally said "come over and see my quilt". I was shocked...she had on her own, signed up for a beginners class, gone faithfully and completed, with precision, her first quilt. There is no stopping her now. I have recently long armed 4 more for her and they are all beautiful. Her points are perfect and they are wonderfully square. The quilting has been great therapy for her as she battles her MS and

I am so proud of what she has accomplished.

Beginner Bliss

This is the sample I made for the beginners class at Kindred Spirit Quilt Co. I taught a lovely group of students this project over a 6 week period and they all did amazing. The quilt is from It's Elementary by Eleanor Burns. The students made a slightly smaller quilt with just 5 blocks as apposed to my 8. I had extra fabric left that was enough to squeeze out a couple more. Their quilts were a very nice table top size. I was amazed to see the progress they all made and how wonderful each and every one turned out.

Bird Brain Idea

I had this bird brain idea to do another pincushion using a vintage find from a thrift store. I love the way the mother hen is chasing her little chicks around the egg. I think it turned out cute and I'm having a blast making them. I have a feeling that the sister who lives on the farm and raises hens that lay eggs will be begging for this little number as well.

Kindred Spirits Quilt Co. Store

If you haven't ventured into Kindred Spirits Quilt Co. Store in St.Catharines, Ontario, it's worth the trip. I'm very lucky to be able to work with Michelle the owner (that's her cutting fabric)and teach at the store. She's encouraged me to design dolls for the store classes and you can see Garden Annie hanging around. The store is fabulous with a great selection of fabric, patterns and books plus an array of classes to choose from. I am very fortunate to be a part of it. The unfortunate piece is that as a teacher, you are at the store quite frequently, and everytime I'm there I see another project I want to do, or fabric I can't live without. I have to use all my will power to resist the temptation and believe me it doesn't always work!

Scrumptious Saturday

These were fun to bake and make and so scrumptious. The flowers on top are a simple trick with marshmallows. You simply take a large marshmallow, cut it in 5 slices with scissors, lay the pieces out on a plate and dust with sugar crystals. Once they dry a bit you arrange them on your cupcake in a circle slightly overlapping them a bit, then put more sprinkles on. Looks like you fussed all day.....just don't tell anyone you simple secret!

The little monkey turns one

I can't believe that the little monkey turns one in a month. Our grandson Ayden is having his first birthday...where did that year go. My daughter asked me to make his invitations as she couldn't find anything she really liked at the stores. His parents decided that his birthday party would be a Halloween theme as it's so close to the 31st.

I used my new Stampin Up Sock Monkey set and hand colored the wagon, hat and monkey. I had to use my "stamp a ma jig" to get the monkey lined up properly in the wagon. I even stamped a little banana on the envelopes. We are rather partial to the sock monkey as Ayden's nursery was all done in the sock monkey theme. Everything from the quilt, to the change table cover to the pictures on the wall were sock monkeys, so it seems natural that his invitations would be that theme as well. Can't wait it should be so much fun!

The mystery continues

The mystery continues with the Mystery Quilt Club at Kindred Spirits Quilt Co. shop. Next month is the last class and all the clues will be revealed. The ladies in the class are slowly putting together their pieces and have "uncovered" the mystery of the center blocks which are placed on point and added to appliqued pieces. Carol in the picture shows off one of her center blocks...hers will look amazing when finished and will be perfect for a young lady. Next month we will have the final reveal and I'll make sure I show you how we have solved the mystery.

Never trust a skinny chef

Never trust a skinny chef, and no chef will be skinnier than this 5 year old. One of my best friends' granddaughter just celebrated her 5th birthday. Her gift was an assortment of crafty things like markers, crayons, sidewalk chalk, super bubbles, animal scissors and an apron specifically made with her in mind. This little apron was purchased at Joann's, but then personalized with her name and some flower trim compliments of my embroidery machine. Her grandma loved it and tells me that Makayla will use it when they cook together. I can't wait to see her in it and taste some of the creations she'll come up with, maybe someday she'll be a master chef.

Let's get cracking

I made this for my sister's up and coming birthday. She celebrates her birthday on Halloween, how fun is that. The cute thing about this pin cushion is that my sister also lives on a farm and raises chickens that lay eggs. When I saw this little treasure at a local thrift shop I had to get it. I felted wool for the main rounded pincushion shape, but before I stuffed it I appliqued the yolk onto the top. I think it turned out perfectly and she will get a laugh out of it...she will get the yolk ...joke.

Cold and rainy camping trip, but worth it

Last week we travelled to Watkins Glen, camping. Usually the first week of September is warm and camping would be good, however last week was quite a bit cooler with rain and drizzle. Needless to say, less than perfect camping conditions. We stayed at Watkins Glen KOA, a very nice campground with an indoor pool and hot tub, so we were able to make use of that. We did get to sit out and have a few campfires before the rain started each evening. Even though it was not the best camping trip we've had, it was worth it, because dear hubby took me into town to O'Susannah's Quilt Shop and I was able to pick up a few new patterns. It's a very nice shop, well stocked with a good selection of fabric lines. They have a nice selection of felted wool as well. I was really good, just purchased patterns and no fabric, even though I really really wanted to. It took all my will power just to buy the patterns and not fabric. I just kept telling myself how much stash and UFO projects I had at home. It was really really tough though! We had dinner one night at a lovely restaurant called Seneca Harbour Station that over looked the harbour and lake. It was very pretty and I had the most amazing spinach and feta cream soup. I asked the waitress if the chef would give the recipe out and she said she would ask....it was quite comical when she came back told us the chef indicated it was from a dry mix package they order in. I'll just have to try and duplicate it on my own, because it was amazing.

Ladder Safety?

Did you know that there are actual safety rules for the use of ladders? I thought that I should make sure my ladder fit the bill, can never be too careful you know....so I went through the ladder safety checklist

•Make sure the ladder is suited for the type of job you plan to do. Household ladders are for light-duty with a load capacity of 200 pounds -Yes it's suited, quilt only weights at the max 20 pounds
•Before using a ladder, especially a ladder that has been stored in the garage for a while, inspect it for cracks or broken joints - Yep did that, it painted up beautifully
•Place your ladder on a stable, even, flat surface. Never place a ladder on top of another object -Yes, it's on a flat surface, how much flatter can you get than a wall?
•Use the 1:4 ratio to ensure a stable working platform. Place the base of the ladder 1 foot away of whatever it leans against for every 4 feet of height to the point where the ladder contacts at the top -yada, yada, yada, 4 to 1, it's gonna look great
•If climbing onto another surface, make sure the ladder extends at least three feet past the platform you're climbing onto -Sounds like you have to be a math whiz, so obviously that won't apply
•Secure tall ladders by lashing or fastening the ladder to prevent movement -Yep, secured with plugs and hooks
•Always face the ladder when climbing or descending -you bet ya, every time I go up or down the stairs I take a peak at that beauty
•Keep both feet on the ladder - never put one foot on a rung and the other foot on a different surface - not feet but eyes, so I guess that applies
•Never leave ladders unattended - kids love them... I have a small sign posted that says "unattended children will be eaten" so that should cover that!

I found this old wooden ladder at a barn sale when I was visiting my sister up near Tweed, she lives on a farm in the country. I think I paid about $15 for it. Brought it home, painted it barn red and found the perfect place to hang it and one of my favorite quilts.

Tiny Town....so Tweet!

This quilt has been so much fun to do......and it is so tweet. The fabrics just make the quilt and Bunny Hill's attention to detail in the pattern is incredible. This is block three and completes the top row of the quilt. I'm already starting on four as we speak, I can't seem to put it down.

This is a BOM offer at Kindred Spirits Quilt Co. store starting this fall....Mary needs to make this for her new grandbaby that's on the way!

You know when autumn is on it's way when...

Customers start bringing you their fall quilts! This is a lovely quilt of my customer Carol Ann. The pattern is from the book Thimbleberries Collection of Classic quilts and is called Midnight Sky. We quilted it in the panto pattern Lush Leaves. I think she did a great job of it and it will look wonderful this fall in her home.

Storybrook farm-fall edition

This is McKenna Ryan's Storybook Farm. The original was mostly in purple tones, however since fall is my favorite season I opted to change the colors of the leaves to oranges and browns. I also changed the color of the cows and the fields. It was a great deal of fun to long arm quilt because you could just go crazy with freehand. My goal is to make one of Mckenna Ryan's patterns for each of my four children as a legacy quilt. This one is complete and I'm still working on two others and a fourth I have to choose yet.

It reads like a murder mystery

These are the ladies from the mystery class at Kindred Spirits Quilt Co. They meet the first Friday of the month and are working on their mystery quilts with the pattern design from Border Creek Station Pattern Co. When you start the project you have no idea what your quilt will look like and each month you get clues for cutting and sewing and the mystery soon reveals itself. These are what they are starting to see come to fruition. It is starting to feel like a murder mystery because at this point we want to kill ourselves due to the fact that we have made a total of 384 half square triangles. It's sort of like playing clue, because you just don't know what it will turn out to be in the end. Is it Pat in the kitchen with the meat cleaver, Debbie in the library with the candlestick, Mary in the bedroom with the rope, Barb in the bathroom with the lead pipe, Kathleen in the garden with the revolver or Carol in her sewing room with a rotary cutter!
Keep posted to the blog to see the final episode unfold.

Herbs in the burbs

With summer coming to an end, I'll no longer
be able to go out onto our back deck to pick my fresh herbs....

Now that's sad....I grew thyme, basil , chives and parsley in old clay wine coolers. Each had it's own marker which was a silver spoon, banged flat then marked with permanent marker. I forget what book or where I saw the idea now, but I really liked it and they turned out ok. I wish we could have this kind of weather all year long that allows for such luxury as fresh herbs daily, but alas we live above the 46th parallel.

Felt like fall today

It felt like fall today... cool , windy and a bit of a drizzle throughout the day. You can see the corn in the fields ready to be harvested. There's a change that signals summer is almost over and the next season is on it's way.
Today reminded me of this paper piece pattern I did a few years back. It reminds me of today, flowers still blooming, but the fields are ready for harvest...hard to believe that winter is just around the corner...summer went awfully quick this year.

Teacup fun stuff

I made this little teacup as a giveaway for my Mystery Quilt Club ladies. The class is held at Kindred Spirits Quilt Co. store the first Friday of every month. The idea behind mystery club is that you come and quilt each month and you have no idea what quilt you are making. The store helps you select your fabric as they know what the final quilt will look like. Each month you come and sew from a new set of clues you get. As the months progress you see your mystery quilt coming alive. The last month all the clues have been handed out and the final quilt is revealed. The Mystery quilt is designed by Border Creek Station. I have the best group of ladies in my class and we have so much fun each month. Each month I draw names to see who will win that months' giveaway and this is the giveaway for September. I really love the little tag which reads " In the crazy quilt of life, I'm glad you're in my block of friends". The stamp is a collection from Stampin Up.

On the street where you live

This is Block Two of Tiny Town by Bunny Hill Designs.
It's turning out so wonderfully and is so much fun to see the little houses and sheds take shape. This is the sample for Kindred Spirits Co. Quilt Shop. The quilt will be offered as a BOM.
I'm pretty sure that it will find a loving home in a little granddaughter's room one day. We have a grandson, but I'm sure he will have a sister soon and this will be a perfect wall hanging for a girly, girly room.