The Cuddle Quilter

Lots of Finishes

2012-03-04T16:11:00.000-08:00

What a wonderful month of quilting and sewing it has been. I have a few projects that are finished, so I want to share them with you. Hope you enjoy my little show and tell.

1) Take a Heart!
This is the small quilt, Broken Dishes, that was designed by Kathleen Tracey of A Sentimental Quilter.

I had almost as much fun with the back, making a label with matching fabric, and also adding "The Cuddle Quilter" tag on the side.

I decided to donate this small quilt to a silent auction that was being held as a fundraiser in the community. However, the quilt just seemed too tiny by itself so I made a little bag for it.

Every month, Kathleen reveals the next quilt we'll be making in the 2012 Small Quilt Along. She revealed recently that the March quilt will be her Civil War Baskets. This quilt is in her book, "Remembering Adelia". The quilt is just too cute!

2) The Canton Village Quilt Works Bloggers Block of the Month.
This month the block was designed by Amy at Diary of a Quilter. Yes, this is the BOM that I'm making with my wild and crazy fabrics. Love this block!

I have six blocks made so far. Should I paint my walls lime green to match?

3. Block 11 and Block 12 of the Fat Quarter Stars Quilt Along.
Hosted by Konda at Moose on the Porch Quilts, this quiltalong has been so great. We received instructions for a new block every two weeks, so there was always time to get it done before the next one. Block 11 was designed by Nancy Miller at Life Takes a Turn. I adore this block and think a quilt using just this block would be stunning.

While I was laying out the pieces to sew, I made a mistake in the placement, but took a picture to show you another possibility. Gee, have I just become a designer? Nope...

Block 12 was designed by our wonderful hostess, Konda. She has been terrific, introducing us to some wonderful quilt block designers, sharing words of praise and displaying an astounding generosity with her prizes and her time! She calls her block "Faceted Friendship"...gotta love this one!

So now I have all the blocks completed, but I am tempted to make a few more blocks to enlarge the quilt. Stay tuned!

4. Last but not least, my newest favorite little quilt, Frontier Foundations, designed by Pam Buda at Heartspun Quilts. It is quilted and hanging in a special place.

Ok, I will admit I didn't leave it in the snow on the deck. I did bring it in and it really is hanging in a special place...in the kitchen. I just couldn't resist showing you more snow. Spring is on its way, right?

I'm looking forward to the week ahead with lots of projects. And of course, next Saturday is the second Saturday of the month and you know what that means? The 2012 Christmas Quiltalong. This year we are making a Festive Mystery Quilt and it's not too late to join us as we create a Christmas quilt in our sewing rooms across the world. Check it out at Quilt Sue's Quilt Times and join us on Saturday, won't you?

Thanks so much for coming by and visiting today. It's a great day for quilting!

And the Winner is...

2012-03-02T05:37:00.000-08:00

Yes, today is the day I announce the winner of my giveaway.

Congratulations to Linda whose comment was:
Congrats on the award! I like visiting your blog and love everything you are doing...I only found you was it just last month???? Anyway, congrats and I'm looking forward to seeing lots more from you.

The little quilt is great. Thanks for having the giveaway!

A sincere thank you to all who visit my blog. I wish everyone could be a winner of this little Christmas quilt top. You know I love Christmas, so this is just another way I get to share my excitement. I have already promised my Mom and my sisters that I will make them something because I wouldn't allow them to enter the draw. It's going to be a busy year, chuckle!

I will be in touch with Linda by email to get her mailing information. She will be receiving this Christmas Schnibbles quilt top, Hot Cross. The pattern is by Carrie Nelson of Miss Rosie's Quilt Co. and the piecing was done by Moi using Jovial charm packs by Moda.

I'll also include 1.5 metres of backing fabric:

And of course there will be fabric for binding and making a label.

And maybe a little something else!

Speaking of Schnibbles, I missed the "Another Year of Schnibbles" parade of quilts yesterday. I sewed, and sewed, and sewed the last few days but just wasn't able to finish my February I.S.T.H. quilt top in time for the parade. But I'm really close and will "parade" my quilt here in a day or two. Here is a sneak preview of my star blocks!

In the meantime, for a quilt parade to inspire you and make you smile, check out the parade at the two host sites, Pink Pincushion and A Quilting Life. Thank you Sinta and Sherri for hosting. And it's not too late to join. The pattern for the March Schnibble will be Bibelot, and I've already placed my order. Please hope the mail will be fast so I can get this one finished in time!

Thanks so much for coming by today. It's going to be another great day for quilting!

Wednesday is Thimbleberries Sew Day

2012-02-29T04:42:00.003-08:00

Happy Day! We have an extra day in February, thanks to Leap Year. And today is even more special because it's the last Wednesday of the month so it's Thimbleberries Sew Day. Visit Bejeweledquilts by Barb by clicking here and scroll down her sidebar to see who else is participating. Why not join us? All you have to do is sew today at your leisure on a Thimbleberries project of your choosing. If you want to register so we'll know who is sewing today, just contact Barb at her blog.

I found another Thimbleberries project in the house that I made years ago. It's a small table runner I adapted from a wall hanging pattern called "Home for the Holidays". It's showing its wear, but I still love it!

I started my new Thimbleberries project last month. I chose the Flying Geese Charm Quilt from Lynette Jensen's free patterns listed on her Thimbleberries web site.

I printed the pattern off and started looking through my stash for some fabrics. The quilt is nice and tiny, 31"x39", so only needs some charm squares and a few coordinating fabrics. I found a charm pack in my stash to use and started cutting squares and rectangles. The multi-colored fabric is primarily floral in greys, tans, roses, and some black.

Lynette's directions are excellent so in no time at all, I had completed the first 6 of the forty flying geese I need.

Today, I'll continue sewing the geese. If I finish them today, I'll choose the fabric for the binding and borders. I guess I should call them Canada Geese?

So you know what I'll be doing. What should you be doing? If you haven't already entered my GIVEAWAY for a little Schnibbles quilt top, backing, and binding, then please do it quickly! The deadline is tomorrow, Thursday, March 1 at midnight Atlantic Standard Time. To enter, you must go to my last blog dated February 26 by clicking HERE and leave a comment on that post. You'll see a picture of the quilt top and you'll get all the info you need. One comment per person please. Good luck!

I'm off to my sewing corner. It's a great day for quilting!

Who Needs an Oscar?

2012-02-26T04:03:00.002-08:00

Not me, because I am the proud recipient of The Versatile Blogger award.

A huge "Thank You" to Snoodles of Lily Pad Quilting for choosing me and my little blog as one of 15 blogs that was honored on her blog of February 8. I am so very humbled by her recognition. My apologies for not sharing my award 'till now, but I was a little busy golfing! Or was it shopping?

When you receive this recognition, there are some rules to follow:

1. Add the award to your blog.
2. Thank the blogger who gave it to you.
3. Mention seven random things about yourself.
4. List the rules.
5. Award to15 bloggers.
6. Inform each of those 15 by leaving a comment.

As you have probably figured out by now, this blog world has been a wonderful experience for me. Since I published my first post of The Cuddle Quilter in October, I have been overwhelmed with the support, enthusiasm, and sharing of resources for which this blog community is known.

I have found people just like me in every corner of the world who share my love of quilting, piecing, and all things related, like applique, paper-piecing, working with wool, stitcheries, and even quilties! I have also come to realize that many blog friends are the real deal and I thank you for embracing me as a newbie!

Now back to the award. Rule #3 says to share seven random things. Here goes:

1. I am the third of four girls in our family and grew up in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada.

2. I graduated with a degree in Physical Education from St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, also where I met my wonderful Woodworker Hubby. We will celebrate 33 years of marriage this summer. We have two children, now young adults, who bring us joy each and every day.

3. I played varsity field hockey for one year in university and junior varsity for two years.

3. I will be officially retired as of March 8, with most of my work experience over the years literacy-related. In addition to Physical Education, I taught and substituted in the classroom, taught and coordinated adult literacy programs, and just finished up 11 years as a manager at a regional library.

4. I love books and fabrics. Just as I love to open a new book, I love to unfold a piece of fabric. Just as I love reading a page-turner, I love being in my sewing corner cutting, sewing, piecing, and just handling quilting fabrics, like these blues. I'm going to combine some shades of reds on white backgrounds for my next Schnibbles quilt called I.S.T.H.

Who is my favorite author? Jodi Picoult. There is always a surprise in her books and she deals with issues that are very timely. She has a new book coming out that I can't wait to read!

5. I love chocolate chip cookies. But they have to be home-made, fairly soft, with lots of chocolate chips!

I also love Christmas. You'll see what I mean if you keep reading.

6. I follow rules. I like structure. I can't lie. I don't cheat. Ok, someone out there who knows me is probably saying, "Wait now...that's not true", but generally, this is me and how I try to live my life. This leads me to #7.

7. I said I always follow the rules. Oh, oh. I am supposed to list 15 blogs that I like. But I'm a rule follower! I can not tell a lie.

There are so many more than 15 blogs that I adore! Every day, I choose a few more to follow. Every day I bookmark a few more pages, a few more patterns, a few more quilts. Every day I add something to my to-do list. So I just can't make the list.

So what do I do? Well, because I follow the rules, and because I can't follow the rules, I won't add the The Versatile Blogger award button on my sidebar. But I will enjoy the knowledge that Miss Snoodles thought of me!

So my sincere thanks again to you, Miss Snoodles for honoring me. You are a sweetie and I hope you'll have lots of visitors checking you out at Lilypad Quilting. And another thank you to all my fellow bloggers for making this such a generous community of which to be involved.

If you've read this post, you deserve a medal, or at least a chance to win a giveaway! This will be my first giveaway, in honor of my wonderful friends and followers and all those who drop by to see what I'm doing.

My giveaway is a little Schnibbles quilt top that I made before Christmas. The pattern is called Hot Cross by Carrie Nelson of Miss Rosie's Quilt Co. and I used Jovial fabrics by Moda. In addition to receiving the quilt top, the winner will also receive enough coordinating fabric for the binding and backing. Just think...if you are the winner, you have almost ten months to quilt it before Christmas for yourself or a friend. And I know there are so many out there who would machine quilt it in a mad minute. This could be yours! Here is a picture of the quilt top. It measures 31" x 31".

You can see how I started the quilt by clicking HERE. For a chance to win, leave a comment on this post by midnight Atlantic Standard Time on Thursday, March 1. That's it. One comment per person for a chance to win. If you are not a blogger, you can still qualify to win. Just send a comment to me by email to lcarruthers3@gmail.com by the March 1 deadline with the subject line "Giveaway".

Before I go I have to give a huge heartfelt hug to Madame Samm at Sew I Quilt for helping me and so many others learn how to turn off the word verification program. Check out her blog for the directions.You can now leave a comment pain-free. Those letters were getting smaller every day.

That's it. Thanks so much for coming by. It's a great day for quilting!

I'm Back!

2012-02-23T14:12:00.004-08:00

I just returned from a wonderful week-long holiday in Clearwater, Florida visiting my mom and sister. They were the bestest hosts a person could ask for, and I felt like the Queen Bee for a week! Woodworker Hubby wasn't able to come with me, but did paint the ceiling while I was away, so hopefully wasn't too bored without me.

It was a girls' week and what fun we had! Golfing, shopping, eating, and lots of white sand, blue skies, and blue water. Here is a view of the palm trees I enjoyed at Clearwater Beach:

And here is what I enjoyed when I drove into the driveway on Tuesday of this week:

Woodworker Hubby became Shoveller Hubby while I was away and shovelled, and shovelled, and shovelled some more.

So let`s go back to Clearwater. I found two wonderful quilt shops within twenty minutes of where I was staying. And of course, since this is a blog about quilting, I have to share them with you.

Country Quilts, formerly Country Bears and Quilts, is in a big red cabin located in Clearwater. The web site is currently under construction to reflect the new name, but you can find a little more information about the shop by reading their latest newsletter.

It's a wonderful quilt shop that was bustling with activity the day I popped in. There were two classes going on and the hub bub and excitement just added to my own enthusiasm. I didn't know what CW fabric was a month ago, (Thanks, Kaaren, now I know it's Civil War fabric). Now all I want to do is add CW fabrics to my fabric collection. This shop was perfect for me because they had an entire wall of CW fabrics. On display was a small sampler quilt that is now on my to-do list.

I purchased the pattern, Windham Sampler designed by Clothesline Quilts, and chose some wonderful fabrics to use. Of course I looked around at everything else too!

And naturally I made a few more small purchases before I left, but I kept gravitating towards the CW corner.

The we had another day of golf. To answer your question, yes, my mother and sister regularly have much lower golf scores than me, but I still have fun! Only in Florida would I have to avoid this kind of hazard on the course, just a few feet away from me. I think they said it was a Sand Crane.

Next we were off to the second shop, Rainbow's End Quilt Shoppe in Dunedin. This is a huge, huge quilt shop. I actually didn't see any CW fabric, but I saw everything else.

Lots of color!

They have a small separate room for woolens and a huge warehouse room filled to the rafters with Christmas fabrics, samples, quilt kits, and everything related to Christmas and the other seasons.

My pictures do not do justice to Rainbow's End. However, they do have a Flickr link and you can see a slide show of the shop by clicking here. Then you may find yourself hopping on the next plane to Florida!

The day I visited, there was a workshop being offered in what I call "The Christmas Room". The only sounds I heard were sewing machines whirring and the giggling and laughter of a lot of happy sewers!

And by the way, there is a "Sale" room, so of course I found some treasures there. Unfortunately, my treasures couldn't fit into my suitcase, so I "had" to buy a little rolling carry-on bag to fly home with.

After arriving back in Nova Scotia at 2 am, I spent the night in an airport hotel and travelled home the next morning. But I still had one more stop to make, at Harbour Quilt Company in Antigonish, my LQS (Local Quilt Shop), about 40 minutes from home. Owner Kim was on hand, there was a workshop going on in the back, and I quickly added to my treasure trove!

The shop may be small but it is overflowing with amazing fabrics, samples, and a variety of popular quilt kits, many designed by Kim.

Kim is wonderful to find what you`re looking for and order it if it`s not in her shop.

So that was my week in a nutshell. Believe it or not, I still haven`t unpacked my carry-on. When I went through customs coming back, the agent did ask what I spent my exemption on, and in a little voice, I said "I'm a quilter and I bought fabrics and some small gifts for my family". Now that I'm home, I want to organize my cupboards a little bit better before I pet my fabrics and put them away.

Thanks for dropping by. I have no projects to show you now, but I've got a lot of works in progress. I brought three projects to Florida to work on but didn't get a lot done. I was just too busy having a fantastic time!

Hope you know that it`s a great day for quilting!

Little Wallets

2012-02-20T02:00:00.000-08:00

In a past post, I showed you a little gift card wallet from a kit I had purchased from Quilt Taffy. It was just too cute so I decided to make more. The little wallets are a perfect size for credit cards, paper money, and especially the gift cards that you can purchase from well-known coffee shops.

My plan was to make a whole bunch of these little wallets to use as parting gifts for my colleagues at work. I'm on vacation time now and officially retired as of March 8. This will give me much more time for sewing and quilting!

I wanted to use coffee-themed fabric for the little wallets so I scoured some online fabric shops and my LQS (local quilt shop) and found some great fabrics adorned with coffee beans, "coffee" words, and even some fabric printed with those old-fashioned coffee percolators! Here is how things went.

My first batch of browns/beiges:

I added them to my batik blues and Ta Da! I now have 13 little wallets.

An inside look:

And a closer look:

See my new labels? Thanks so much to Kaaren at The Painted Quilt for sharing her label source. I bought two kinds of twill labels from the Mommie Made It Etsy shop. The picture above shows my love and hugs labels, and the picture below shows the label that includes my blog site.

Hope you are now inspired to make lots of little gifts. Thanks so much for coming by and I hope you get to your sewing room soon. It's another great day for quilting!

A Week of Hugs

2012-02-17T02:00:00.000-08:00

Couldn't resist sharing with you another fabric valentine I made for my table stand for the month of February.

I used some wonderful fabrics from the Chemistry layer cake by Moda that I won from Green Fairy Quilts before Christmas. I love the combination of pinks and chocolates...yummy!

I found the pattern here while I was searching the web for valentine quilts. The block was designed to be a pillow, but I made a few small changes and it fits perfectly on my table stand.

Now I am off to eat more chocolates!

It's a great day for quilting!

Happy Valentine's Day

2012-02-14T02:00:00.000-08:00

Wishing you all a day of love, hugs, and chocolates!

Here is my Valentine's card to you all.

It is a little quilt I made for my table stand and will replace Mr. Blueman for February. I used red stitches to outline the block and white for a narrow row of stitching on the red border. Love using utility stitches!

"Be Mine" is a wonderful stitchery designed by Kaaren at The Painted Quilt. Her First Friday Freebies are marvelous...free patterns offered on her blog site on the first Friday of the month. Kaaren is undergoing intensive cancer treatment at this time. Please join me in offering silent prayers and positive thoughts for Kaaren as she takes the journey to recovery.

I will keep this short as I have to go eat some chocolate. And those who know me, know that I really mean this!

It's a great day for quilting!

Updated: Christmas Quiltalong Day In Progress

2012-02-11T06:09:00.000-08:00

Update: Please see the update below with pictures of my fabric choices. Just scroll down to the end of this post.

Today is the day I will be in Christmas mode as I participate in Quilt Sue's 2012 Christmas Quiltalong. It's being hosted by Hazel at Hazel's Quilts and throughout the day you might see some updates, inspiration and surprises at Hazel's so make sure you visit her.

Before I head to my sewing corner, I wanted to get some Christmas spirit flowing. I started by having my morning coffee in a Christmas mug, a mug that is still hidden in the back of the cupboard. My "coffee" is made with hot chocolate, butterscotch flavored coffee and Irish Creme creamer...it is so yummy!

As I sipped my coffee and waited for the sun to come up, I watched an episode of "Castle" and put a few quilting stitches in my Frontier Foundations quilt.

For more Christmas inspiration, I had a good long look at my Santa plant, a gift from a friend. The plant is still gracing my kitchen table and the Santa always makes me smile! Thank you, friend!

For even more inspiration, I admired the flowers and card that I received yesterday at my retirement lunch. OK, this isn't about Christmas, but it is about starting a new chapter in my life and having the time to embrace family, friends, sewing, quilting, the wonderful blog community we share and especially the 2012 Christmas Quiltalong!

For a brief moment, I viewed the snow melting on the back deck, anticipating more rain and a possible change over to snow later. Gotta love winter in Nova Scotia!

So now I am ready to head to my sewing corner. I'm going to make Quilt Sue's Festive Mystery quilt and will decide on my fabrics today. If I'm quick to decide, I may have time to cut my fabrics. The instructions for Part 1 are posted on Hazel's blog here. I better get to it, 'cause it looks like I may be late to the gate!

UPDATE: 12:15 pm AST
Hi folks! I did it...I chose my fabrics for the Festive Mystery Quilt. Background is is a solid white, dark is a multi-colored Christmas print on a black background, medium is red with white medallions, and the light is white with red polkadots.

I started to cut my strips, and thought it would be fun to have two darks (of course, if you can read between the lines, that means that I didn't have enough fabric), so I now have two darks, both with a black background that I hope will make the quilt more interesting!

I didn't cut the white strips yet, but that will be next. Then I'll cut the squares and be ready for next month! If you're interested in joining us, it's never too late. Go here and scroll past the Mr. Linky names, and there you'll see the directions.

It's still a wonderful day for quilting!

What are you doing on Saturday?

2012-02-10T07:21:00.000-08:00

Want to have some fun with some folks that love Christmas as much as I do? Then join the gang for the first 2012 Christmas Quiltalong on Saturday, February 11. This is the second Christmas Quiltalong being coordinated by Quilt Sue at Quilt Times.

From now until December, on the second Saturday of the month, Christmas Quiltalongers will set up shop in their sewing room, studio, sewing corner, in the spare room, or at the kitchen table to sew on a Christmas-related project. You'll be able to join with Quilters from around the world that day and see what Christmas project they're working on through the Mr. Linky tool which will be provided at the guest host's blog site.

You can choose to do your own project, or the Festive Mystery Quilt designed by Quilt Sue. There will be six installments, so tomorrow we'll get to see what fabrics we'll need and from there it's full speed ahead. I'm definitely in it for the mystery. I've actually been collecting red fabrics so my quilt may become a Festive Mystery in Red!

Quilt Sue has some Christmas elves all set up this year to guest host. Tomorrow, the guest host is going to be Hazel at Hazel's Quilts and she's all ready to roll out the welcome wagon. I'm going to be the host for the month of April and I'm already thinking of some fun activities for blog visitors that day. Mmmm, maybe that might be the time for my very first giveaway?

Won't you join us? You can never be too ready for Christmas! By the way, there are no quilt police looking over our shoulders. Sew for five minutes, or the whole day. Whatever you want to do is fine with us. We love Christmas!

Santa says it's a great day for sewing!

A Very Blue Finish

2012-02-08T04:30:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I put the final stitch in my Delft China tumbler quilt. It's a small quilt, 33" x 35", but the layers and the quilting make it so cozy. It's not quite big enough for a cuddle quilt, but could certainly keep my knees warm on a cold morning!

I recently won a charm pack from Quilt Taffy. The sisters, Corrie and Des, have a wonderful blog, a great place to visit for ideas and inspiration. They also have a weekly Thursday giveaway which I was fortunate to win. Their Etsy shop is filled to the rafters with a wonderful assortment of fabric treasures, patterns, kits and quilts.

The charm pack is called "A Walk in the Woods" by Aneela Hoey for Moda. It's a collection of pinks, aquas, reds, and greys, perfect colors to chase away these gloomy winter days!

When the gals notified me that I had won, I decided it would be much more beneficial to me (chuckle) if I added a few things to the order. So my little win, thanks to Corrie and Des, became a little bigger, thanks to me!

I'm planning to try my new Lil Twister ruler with the charm packs. I've seen several tutorials by quilters in blogland that are sure to be of help, including Corrie's at Quilt Taffy, Connie's at Quilting By The River, and Paulette's at Sweet P Quilting and Creations. All these ladies have made gorgeous creations using the Lil Twister ruler.

When I'm ready to start, I'll be sure to share my progress with you!

Have you seen the free Block of the Month over at The Raspberry Rabbits? Michelle puts out a new block on the 15th of every month...a little wool applique, fabrics, and bunnies...what's not to love? I also fell in love with a pattern she created called Little Houses No. 1. You can see it here. It has a little bit of everything I like, including embroidery, quilting, houses and hearts. And a bonus is that the pattern arrived wrapped like a present with a lollypop attached. I love presents! Thanks Michelle and the Bunnies!

And thanks to you for coming by. It's a great day for quilting!

A Block or Two

2012-02-04T18:07:00.000-08:00

I'm fairly new to the blogging world, and as many of you can attest to, when you first discover this quilt blog community, it's like a candy store where all the treats are there for the taking.

One of the most wonderful treats for me is participating in block of the month clubs. I signed up for several and have kept up with "almost" all of them. This week I finished Block 5 in the Canton Village Works Bloggers Block of the Month.

If you're taking part in the club, you're wondering where I went astray! You see, this isn't the block that was featured. The block you see here is the Dutchman's Puzzle.

This is what happened. I had a few problems with the featured block from the BBOM and it just wasn't working for me. The block was a very creative design, the instructions were excellent, and, in hindsight, I realize I just didn't take the time to read the instructions properly. Rather than trying again, I decided that the quilt police would not track me down if I chose to do another block.

So, what did I do? I used my new super duper quilting tool...my iPad, a wonderful gift from Woodworker Hubby for Christmas. (And yes, I am a spoiled girl.) I recently downloaded an App called "Block Tool" for an affordable price of $3.99.

The App lists 102 blocks, dividing them into blocks with grids of 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, and 9. I knew the past month's blocks were 4-grid, so I went looking through the 4-grid blocks.

I decided on the Dutchman's Puzzle. I liked the "flying geese" and the way a pinwheel kind of appears in the centre. I clicked on the picture of the block and it took me to the next page which displays the cutting instructions for four sizes of blocks. I clicked on the 8" block, followed the instructions, and completed a block that I think will fit in very nicely with my other blocks. I do have hundreds of quilt magazines and quilt books and patterns in the house, so I could have gone through them to choose a new block, but this was sure easy to do in a pinch!

I also finished the latest block of the Fat Quarter Stars Quiltalong hosted by Moose on the Porch Quilts. I loved doing this block and had lots of success with it. I must have slowed down a little and read the instructions!

So that's my news for today. My sewing machine continues to whirrrr, my fingers continue to quilt, and my "quilts to do" list continues to grow. I love it all!

Thanks for coming by and I hope you are all enjoying the weekend. As always, it's a great day for quilting!

Another Small Quilt

2012-02-01T03:35:00.000-08:00

Four things that I really love:

putting the final border on a quilt top
putting the final stitch in the quilt sandwich
tying off the last stitch of the quilt binding, and
attaching the quilt label.

Of course, you know that once I attach a quilt label, I 'm ready to start another quilt!

So what did I do this week? I put the final border on a quilt top. But not just any quilt top. It is the little "mourning" quilt I made as part of Kathleen Tracy's One Small Quilt a Month project.

The pattern for this Crosses Mourning Quilt is in Kathleen's second book, "Prairie Children and Their Quilts". Every month, Kathleen will feature on her blog a small quilt from one of her books. She'll inspire us with samples and encouragement, giving us suggestions so that by the end of the month, we'll have completed a small quilt.

I also bought Kathleen's "Civil War Sewing Circle, Quilts and Sewing Accessories Inspired by the Era". Both books offer a look back in time with some wonderful patterns for small quilts, doll quilts, pin cushions, needle cases, and many more quilted treasures. The beauty of participating is that by the end of the year I'll have a dozen small quilts that are perfect as take-along hand quilting projects for sewing nights with friends or a trip to visit family. Make sure you check it all out at Kathleen's blog.

Before I go, I have to show you another way I try to make my sewing corner a little more useful. I don't have the space for a design wall, but I like to see my finished blocks as samples. If I put the finished blocks on my sewing table, in no time at all, they're covered with rulers, rotary cutters, fabrics, books, etc. I want to be able to look at them while I sew and the only space I could find was the space above the ironing board/table.

Ta da! A dowel and some clips and I am the proud owner of a miniature design wall, or at least, a miniature clothesline. It sure works for me!

A closer look:

If my daughter reads this blog, she'll recognize the clips as what she used to fashion "economical" curtains while in university. Thanks, kiddo!

It's February 1st already. Where has the time gone? It's gone into little quilts, cuddle quilts, Schnibble quilts, stitcheries, mug rugs, table runners, blocks of the month, and so on, and so on, and so on. If you want to see some amazing January Full House Schnibble quilts, visit Sinta or Sherri for the parades of quilts! You might just see mine in Sherri's parade!

Thank you so much for taking the time to visit.

It's a great day for quilting!

Small Quilts are Great!

2012-01-28T18:04:00.000-08:00

This was a wonderful week of sewing. I just finished piecing together Frontier Foundations, a quilt pattern and kit that I won in a giveaway sponsored in November by Pam of Heartspun Quilts. I love my new quilt. The pattern is part of the Journey Three collection in the "Prairie Women's Sewing Circle...journey the threads of time".

The instructions were so clear and the fabrics were so beautiful that it took me no time at all to complete.Thanks, Pam, I love it!

The twenty-eight blocks are just 2" big (or small?). The size of the finished quilt is about 20" x 24", with alternate information included if I want to make a larger quilt. I plan to hand quilt it. It's a perfect size to take with me if I happen to be travelling to a warmer climate some time this winter, just saying.

I was so taken with Pam's patterns that I signed up to participate in Journey Two of the Prairie Women's Sewing Circle Club. It is a monthly club held at participating quilt shops. If you can't find a quilt shop close to you, you can sign up to receive the patterns and kits through the mail. I contacted Pam and she emailed me with the names of a couple of shops that offer the Sewing Circle by mail. A couple of clicks and presto...I'm in! My Journey Two starts in April and I can't wait.

I love finishing a quilt top so I can start another. Here is my version of Pink Lemonade, another small quilt that I put together this week. This was a 3-part quilt tutorial hosted by Lori at Humble Quilts. My version of Pink Lemonade has become Cherry Blossom, thanks to my good friend for helping with choosing the name. After I shared the photo of the quilt top with her, we both agreed the colors reminded us of those Cherry Blossom chocolate bars. How yummy!

I'm seeing lots of versions of Pink Lemonade popping up in blog land, and it's not too late to make your own. Lori is planning to have a parade of Pink Lemonade quilts on her blog with Mr.Linky around the first of February. Thanks, Lori, it was a lot of fun to put together!

Thanks to you all for coming by and visiting my blog. And remember, it's a great day for quilting!

Thimbleberries Wednesday

2012-01-25T07:19:00.000-08:00

Today is the last Wednesday of the month. And for those lovers of
Thimbleberries patterns, this means this could be your day to join us as we sew a project as part of the Thimbleberries Sew Day.

I've made many Thimbleberries quilts, wall hangings, and table runners over the years. Most have been gifted to family and friends. But I do still have a favorite Thimbleberries cuddle quilt in the house. This one is called Picnic Potluck from the book, Laura's Garden. I did the piecing, and my mother-in-law, an avid quilter for years, did the hand quilting for me as a Christmas gift!

So, what's this Sew Day all about! On the last Wednesday of each month, we work on a Thimbleberries project of our own choice. There is absolutely no pressure to participate. For example, I joined the growing group of Thimbleberries folks about six weeks ago, and forgot all about it last month! No hate mail arrived...no "naughty you" emails. We are a happy group and all we want to do is share the love of Thimbleberries for one day a month, because, if you are like me, you are a little bit eclectic...you love it all!

How to join? Just do it! Click on the button that looks like this on the sidebar:

You'll be transported to Bejeweled Quilts by Barb. Send her an email and she'll add your name to the list of participants posted on her blog. Just scroll down on her sidebar and you'll see the list of quilters who may be in their sewing rooms right now working on a Thimbleberries quilt. Check them out and get your sewing machine whirring.

What am I going to work on today? I have lots of books and patterns to choose from. Here is a pic of my collection that I just gathered together in the last few minutes.

Plus, there are some beautiful free patterns on Lynette Jensen`s Thimbleberries web site that may be calling my name. One in particular is the Flying Geese Charm Quilt. It could be a perfect size to start today, so my plan is to go through my fabrics and start cutting. Maybe on the next Thimbleberries Sew Day, I'll start to actually sew it. No pressure!

If you`ve been following my blog, you know I get so excited about quilts, fabrics, patterns, etc. Thimbleberries is just one of so many quilting companies that give me inspiration and fuel my passion for quilting.

And today is definitely a great day for quilting!

Meet Mr. Blueman

2012-01-23T03:59:00.000-08:00

I've just finished a winter stitchery in bluework. It's just like redwork, but instead of using red thread, I used a beautiful shade of perriwinkle blue. I now have a new block to hang on my table stand for the month of January. Mr. Ho! Ho! Ho! has gone away for a year and I've replaced him with Mr. Blueman!

The pattern for the block is by Sherri Falls of This and That Pattern Company. I used some blue scraps I had left from my Delft China quilt for the border and there you see it...a blue January block which of course will be replaced by a red February block in the not too distant future.

I now love to press. I can't get enough of pressing! I know you're wondering if I've gone bonkers, but seriously, I am now in love with using my iron because I have a new and improved ironing board!

The idea for this super-duper ironing board came from Christine who blogs at Quilt Monster in My Closet. Christine was a special guest at Madame Samm`s Sew We Quilt blog which, for the entire month of January, is featuring guests with their favorite quilting tools.

I took Christine's idea to Woodworker Hubby, and in no time at all, he had made me my own super duper ironing board! We decided to adapt the directions and attach the ironing board to the wall so it could fold down.

Of course, it will probably be set up most of the time.

And then, because there are no table legs to get in the way, the space underneath becomes the perfect place to store my fabric totes!

Having a larger ironing board is a real treat. My work space seems to have exploded in size. I can spread things out and still have lots of room left to sort and to iron. Because the board is attached to the wall, there is no overhang space for larger projects, but the old ironing board is close enough if I need it, and these days I tend to be making more smaller projects.

Like this little gift card wallet for an example. I purchased the little kit and pattern through Quilt Taffy from their Etsy store. I sewed it up in a jiffy, and I can see down the road that there may be many more of these made!

It`s a great day for sewing and a great day for ironing! Thanks for coming by!

Wonky Houses, Stars,and Gifts

2012-01-19T15:46:00.000-08:00

I've been a busy little bee lately, so I'm glad you dropped by to see what's new! I finished all my twelve blocks for the Wonky House Block Swap. I had set a self-imposed deadline for February 1st to have them in the mail, so I have met my deadline with time to spare. Whew and a sigh of relief! Here's one of the blocks...

Another...

And another...

Now that I have your interest, here is a picture of all twelve wonky house blocks. I will admit, I'm not too wonky. Making wonky house blocks was a huge challenge for me. I'm a little too organized and structured, so I chose to make crooked houses with beautiful fabrics and had a huge amount of support from all the other wonky participants. We have a Flickr page set up for the Wonky House Block Swap and have had a chance to participate in some lively discussions, encourage one another to get down and wonky, and post pictures as we finish our blocks.

I will keep one block and mail the other eleven away to Jane who is coordinating the Wonky House Block Swap. In addition to the blocks, each of us is to attach a signature (siggy) block. I had a lot of fun with these! Several of the other quilters had mentioned making house blocks for the signature, so I used scraps from my wonky houses and came up with these:

Here's a close-up of one block. I framed each siggy block with one of the green fabrics I used for the grass. Each wonky house block will have a coordinated siggy house block attached to it.

I'll iron freezer paper on the back of the white fabric to make the fabric easier to write on, mark lines with one of the new frixion pens, use a micron permanent pen to write my name, province, and my blog URL, press it to remove the lines and set the signature, and presto, the siggy blocks will be ready to send along with the wonky house blocks. If you'd like the instructions/dimensions for the signature block, just let me know in the comments and I'll get back to you. Finished size is 4.5 inches x 6.5 inches.

Another fun event for me happened on Tuesday when Block Nine of the Fat Quarter Stars Quilt Along was posted on Moose on the Porch Quilts. The new block, designed by Jovita Goldschmidt, is called Make Mine a Double. Here's my rendition- I just love it! I think using this block for an entire quilt would be stunning, and you could even play around with the centre blocks to add some interest.

I decided to lay out the nine blocks I have completed so far. Each block is 12.5 inches square. I have used a variety of cream fabrics for the backgrounds and shades of red, blue, yellow, and green to make the blocks. Hope they work...I have no idea yet of how I will sash it all together.

And yet another series of happy events occurred when I went to the post office. I received a couple of giveaway prizes that I had won in November and December.

One prize was a package that contained volumes 2, 3 & 4 of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks. The sponsor was Lynne Hagmeier at Kansas Troubles Quilters. I was particularly pleased to be the winner of this set from Lynne since I have been an admirer and loyal user of many of her fabrics and patterns over the years. In fact, you'll see the magazines below sitting on a small basket quilt, one of Lynne's patterns that I made a few years back.

My second wonderful giveaway that arrived recently was a 40-piece pack of 2 1/2 in. strips of batiks. I won this through a giveaway sponsored by The Material Girls.

The Island Batik fabrics are really wonderful, from a dark rich blue to lighter shades of lilac. I know there is a pattern calling my new batik's name!

So, time to sign a few siggy blocks and then it's a great day for sewing!

January Schnibbles Quilt

2012-01-17T02:46:00.000-08:00

I love house quilts! One of my very first quilted wall hangings that I made so many years ago was a large house block. I pieced it with coordinating burgundy and cream fabrics, added wide borders, and stretched and stapled it over a pine frame. It hung in our house for years before it moved on to quilt heaven, which means I have no idea where it is now!

Since then, I have made several "house" wall hangings using a variety of sizes, fabrics, and themes. And now there seems to be a huge resurgence of interest in house quilts. A few minutes in blog land will give you ample opportunity to make a house of any size, color, or theme. Just have a look at my sidebar and you'll see a few quick links to making houses!

So when I joined Another Year of Schnibbles, hosted by Sherri at A Quilting Life and Sinta at Pink Pincushion, I was thrilled that the first Schnibbles of the year, the January quilt, was none other than Full House, a quilt using one house block to make eighteen houses. Creator Carrie Nelson of Miss Rosie's Quilt Company, sure knows her stuff! The quilt was a lot of fun to put together using a couple of charm packs and some yardage for the sashing and borders. I finished the quilt top on the weekend.

I used Sandy Gervais' Grand Finale fabrics by Moda, and will hand quilt sometime in the future! They say that taking a picture of a quilt in natural sunlight is the best way to do it, so I headed outside on a really cold day and managed to take the picture. This is what you didn't see!

Today, the deck is totally covered with snow, so no outdoor pics for awhile!

Thanks so much for dropping by. There's still lots of time to participate in Another Year of Schnibbles. We make one Schnibbles quilt a month, so why not join us? Just touch base with Sherri or Sinta.

It's a great day for quilting!

I Love My Sewing Corner

2012-01-13T18:31:00.000-08:00

Winter is here. Snow, rain, snow, and so on. It's a perfect time for The Cuddle Quilter to get busy making a cuddle quilt!

I finished this quilt top right before Christmas, adapting Terry Atkinson's Lucky Star design. I used a variety of cozy, warm, flannels that are ideal for Nova Scotian winters! This flimsy will go on the frame this week and I'll use those lovely large utility stitches and perle cotton to quickly (?) get this quilt ready to use.

This has been a great sewing week for me, with several "almost finished" projects on the go. One project is my snowman "bluework" stitchery...a few more stitches and I'll be ready to frame the snowman with a piano-key border which I plan to sew together using a variety of blue fabrics.

What else is in the works? My January Full House Schnibbles quilt sewn with charm packs of browns, beiges, teals and oranges that make me smile as I sew them together. One more sashing row to add, a few borders, and hopefully the big reveal in the next post. Want to join in? Check it out at Another Year of Schnibbles.

I'm also almost finished hand quilting my 12 Days of Christmas sampler, a free pattern from Temecula Quilts. I'm using an all-over crosshatch quilting design. It's a perfect project to work on in the early morning hours as I sit in the comfy chair in the livingroom, sipping my coffee, and waiting for the sun to come up.

After my day begins with some hand quilting, I run down to my beloved Sewing Corner (SC!).

I love my sewing corner. (And yes, I cleaned it up for this picture). My entire corner has been custom made by Woodworker Hubby. He made the desk, drawers and cupboards exactly to my specifications many years ago. And it's still a work in progress! For example, this Christmas he added a cupboard for me on the opposite wall to store some of my quilting books and some supplies. I just didn't have enough space!

Now he is crafting me a specially-made quilter's ironing board. I am so spoiled! I got the great idea from Christine's blog and WH went to work. The plywood was purchased and cut to size and the next step is to prepare the plywood by covering it with batting and fabric. We have decided to adapt Christine's idea a little so the ironing board will better fit our small space. Thanks to a great idea from a quilting friend who dropped by (Thank you, Miss A!), we decided to make the ironing board into a "drop-down" ironing board/table. That way, I can drop it down when not needed and I can use the wall space for a design wall. When you live in a small house, but you have big quilting plans, you have to make the most of your small spaces!

This weekend will be a "Wonky Weekend" for me as I continue making my wonky houses for the Wonky House Block Swap. Here is block two and three....only nine more to go!

As you can see, it is really hard for an organized, structured gal like me to get down and wonky, so my wonkiness is in my choice of bright fabrics!

Stay tuned for my reveals in the next post and many thanks for dropping by. It's a great day for quilting!

It's a Quiltie Day!

2012-01-10T07:58:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, the mail held a treasure trove of gifts in the form of little quilties. I had participated in a fun December quiltie trade hosted by Sandie. This was a perfect project for me because the quilties are only 4" x 6". The deal was that we would make three quilties, send them off to Sandie by the December deadline, and receive three quilties back from the other participants.

Here are the three quilties that I sent along for the exchange.

Believe it or not, I forgot to take a picture before I mailed them, so this picture is thanks to wonderful host Sandie who took pics of all the quilties.

The December quiltie trade was the perfect opportunity for me to try out some of the "Sew Small" blocks featured in "Sew Scrappy", Volume Two.

So, now you know what a quiltie trade is all about. So when I received my quilties yesterday, you can imagine how pleased and tickled pink I was! And because I love structure, I will show them to you in alphabetical order. Some of the participants do not have their own blog, but I hope they will visit me here and know how much I appreciate their quilties.

From Lori:

How cute is this door? Lori, thank you so much. Your wintry door makes me smile so much as I know there will be lots of shovelling snow in the next month or two in Nova Scotia! The ceramic tree button is wonderful and certainly compliments that wonderful window. Gotta love that snow...the fake kind!

From Marguerite:

I'm all about Christmas, Marguerite, so thank you so much for this tribute to Christmas! Love the fabric you chose, the sweet Christmas Blessings ribbon which sparkles, and that cute tiny button atop the tree! Just a sweet reminder of a wonderful Christmas day!

And from Sandie, our very special host:

Sandi, your quiltie is so special! That little snowman makes me smile as he sits atop a snowflake on that lovely plaid fabric. I love the little extras you used like the tiny little tree and the tiny little Christmas light, and of course, the lace trim, Hmmm, are you trying to tell me something? (Sandie tells me there is a new quiltie trade coming up soon with a theme of lace).

Today Sandie has a Quiltie Trade Show and Tell. You'll see some wonderful creations by some wonderful ladies! And if you're interested in the next trade, touch base with her soon to let her know and the fun will begin! You don't have to be a blogger to participate.

Thanks for dropping by. It's a great day for quilting!

The Mini Mystery Sampler Reveal!

2012-01-08T03:47:00.000-08:00

Don't you find that when you are busy, you decide to get busier? When the 12 Days of Christmas Mini Mystery Sampler was first posted on Christmas Day by the Temecula Quilt Company, it looked very interesting, but I had lots of other projects that I was working on. But with each day's reveal of a new little block, my interest grew and grew, so that by day six, I was hooked. I played catch-up pretty quickly since, after all, they are pretty small blocks.

Every day I would await the newest mystery block. It didn't take long to see the mystery pattern unfold. Day one had one piece, day two had two pieces, and so on. The last block was revealed a few days ago and by late last night, my sampler was pieced, sandwiched, and ready to quilt. I did make a few small changes to the sashing and borders and my finished quilt measures 19" x 22". It was so much fun to do, I may just have to make a few more.

"Easy Spinning Star", the newest block in the Fat Quarter Stars Quilt Along, was also a lot of fun to put together. This block's designer, Colleen Lunt, used a very creative method to "show" us how to assemble the blocks. It was like putting together a puzzle, but having someone show you where each piece would go!

It's January and I couldn't wait to start Another Year of Schnibbles, a quilt a month sponsored by hosts Sherri at A Quilting Life, and Sinta at The Pink Pincushion. When I first started reading blogs last summer, I kept hearing about Schnibble quilts...the word itself is just so much fun to say! Then when I read up on Carrie Nelson's Schnibble quilts, I fell in love with the little quilts, purchased two of Carrie's books, "Schnibbles Times Two" and "Another Bite of Schnibbles", and I was ready to roll!

I put together two little quilts using Christmas fabrics "last year", and this weekend am working on the January "Full House" pattern. These little houses may become addictive! I'm using Grand Finale charm packs designed by Sandy Gervais with lots of teals, greens, and oranges. It sure is fun to make these bright little houses!

Just a quick "thanks to you all" for following me to my new site! If you are a former follower, remember that you will have to register again on this site as a new follower. Welcome to all new and former followers!

It's a dark dreary day in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, but it sure is sunny in my sewing corner!

It's a great day for quilting!

Welcome Back and Welcome To!

2012-01-04T12:14:00.000-08:00

It's only January 4th and already this month has been huge for this fairly new blogger. I have a new look to my blog, complete with a banner that just invites you to cuddle up with a quilt. Many of you have already sent wonderful compliments about the new look...you make me blush with your compliments. The credit for the new banner goes to Madame Samm who takes a few tidbits of information about me and turns them into a banner that is truly me! Check out her blog at Sew We Quilt and learn about some wonderful quilting tools during the month of January. I've already put in an order to woodworker hubby to adapt my regular ironing board into a quilter's ironing board that may change my life! I learned this from yesterday's guest Christine, who can be found at Quilt Monster in my Closet.

And today, after a few months of unresolved issues with my blog page, I have made the decision to move to a new site, thanks again to Madame Samm. How do you like me now?

Actually, you should be able to find me very easily and the transition for my followers should be easy and painless. If you were a follower, please rejoin me. That is one little down side to this move. Followers aren't moved automatically. I will appreciate it so much if you click and follow me once more! If you haven't been a follower, today is a perfect day to start. If you are an email subscriber, you may also have to subscribe again. I also may have to play a bit with my buttons on the sidebar, adding a few that may have been lost in the shuffle...but please be patient while I try to put them back! I thank you in advance for your continued support and encouragement as I cruise the seas of this wonderful quilt blog community of ours.

In the midst of all this excitement, I have been busier than ever and loving it! I have started my Wonky House Blocks. This is an exchange, hosted by Jane at Jane's Fabrics and Quilts where each of us makes twelve blocks, exchanging eleven of them by March 1, 2012, so that we will end up with twelve wonky house blocks, a great start to my first wonky house quilt!

I used a tutorial posted by Sophie on how to draw a liberated house (who knew a house could be liberated?) and the rest is history. This block will probably be my keeper because I learned a lot and my next eleven blocks should be much better! And remember, a wonky house block is all about being wonky, so ta da...

Click on the photo to see the flock of birds in the window. Why not? Chuckle!

And for another bright light,I finished block 4 of the Blogger's Block of the Month hosted by Jackie at Canton Village Quilt Works.

Here are all four blocks together, so you'll see there is a method to my madness with these fabrics!

Now, for those of you who know me well, and are wondering what happened to traditional Lesley...well, I'm still here! It's just good for me to get out of the box once in awhile. And I'm not that far out of the box. A few years ago, I had some extra tiny little squares left from a project, and being very frugal (at times, I really am frugal!), I refused to throw them out, instead opting to sew together more little squares together, and so on, and so on. I used scraps of deep greens, burgundies, blues, and a few golds with fillers of similar fabrics of beige.

The blocks are 6.25 inches square(kind of square?). I have a total of 20 blocks: 5 blue, 7 red, 7 green, and 1 lonely gold. I laid them out on the kitchen floor for a better look:

So now what do I do? Any suggestions? I suppose there is a computer program that could tell me what I should do, but all I know is that I have lots more fabrics similar in color so I could make more blocks, add filler blocks of a coordinating fabric, or just sew it all together now with a few small borders and that would be it...a little quilt! Any and all input will be greatly appreciated!

So, as you can see, I'm busy as a bee!
Thanks for visiting today, and remember that it's always a great day for quilting!

test

2012-01-04T06:43:00.001-08:00

just testing

A New Year's Day of Finishes and Starts!

2012-01-01T10:02:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year and may you all begin a fantastic year of family, friends, and fabric!

And speaking of fabric, I have had so much enjoyment lately with the blues! Not "the blues", but blue fabrics! I mentioned in the last post how much fun I had cutting the tumbler blocks out with my Go! Baby fabric cutter that I won in a giveaway. Well, the blue fabrics were just so pretty and bright that making the quilt top became my obsession for a few days. So here it is, my little "Delft China Quilt", all finished and ready for quilting.

Even more special for me is that I asked a few friends for their opinions for the borders. I loved receiving their input and I combined their suggestions to create the border. I used folded white and blue floral piping for the inside edge, and framed this with a solid blue. The binding will be blue print. Thank you, friends, you are wonderful! The fabrics are from the Blue Danube collection designed by Fabric Freedom and the size is about 34" x 36". I have no idea what I'm going to do with the quilt, but it was fun making!

I also worked on the newest block from the Fat Quarter Stars Quilt Along hosted by Moose on the Porch. The new block was posted last week, but finding it a little too challenging for me (my limited skills with templates came to the forefront), I decided to do the right thing for the sake of the quilt and make a substitute block. I was inspired by "Kansas Home", a beautiful block designed by Lynne Hagmeier, of Kansas Trouble Quilters, block # 340 in Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks magazine,volume 4. Lynne's block uses applique, so I did adapt the block somewhat from the original to change from applique to piecing techniques. This is what I came up with as my substitute block:

Another project I worked on this week that is getting more interesting each day is the Twelve Days of Christmas mini-mystery sampler quilt hosted by the Temecula Quilt Company. I read about it for a few days, then started to see more of the finished blocks, and that was it. I had to do it! Although this could be made entirely from the scrap pile without making a dent, and I wanted to try out a fat quarter collection that has been sitting in my cupboard. So my little sampler blocks are being made of Lilac Hill fabric by Brannock and Patek by Moda that I purchased at The Fabric Cupboard awhile back. Here is what I have so far:

A new block is posted every day for twelve days, and you can see there is already a pattern developing. Today's block may possibly have eight pieces...all I know is that I have to be very precise with my 1/4 inch seams!

Before I leave you, you may have noticed a few new buttons on my sidebar that I haven't had a chance to mention. The new year will bring lots of quilting fun and a few challenges to me! I have registered for the 2012 Free-Motion Quilting Challenge hosted by Sew Cal Gal. Every month, a guest expert on FMQ will present a tutorial. I've already peeked at the January gal, Frances Moore, and viewed her video tutorial. I am pumped and am looking forward to making a practice sandwich with her hearts!

Building Houses From Scraps, hosted by Jeanneke, is really neat! The whole idea is to make a 3 inch block every day and at the end of the year, use them to surround a large centre house block and you have a quilt! There are about 1100 quilters from across the world who have already registered. The little house patterns are on her blog and are written in four languages for both piecing and paper-piecing. The blocks can be made by hand sewing or by machine. I've decided to make mine by machine using the paper piecing method. I've made a couple of samples and I'm pleased with them, so I'm ready to start. I'll probably do them in batches...every few days I'll make a few more!

And the newest button is from Madame Samm at Sew We Quilt. As I was writing this post, her new post arrived in my blog list. So check it out and meet the January winners whose quilts are posted on her banner. Their quilts are amazing! And this month will be Tool Time January at Sew We Quilt where quilters will share their favorite tools. I plan on learning a lot!

Thanks for coming by today. I always enjoy your company and am so pleased to be making new quilting friends. It's a great day for quilting!

A New Look for a New Year!

2011-12-28T17:02:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! Christmas was, and still is, an amazing and very special time for me. Yes, I know it is now December 28th, but the spirit and the ambiance of the season will last in this house a lot longer! We spent time with family and friends, did lots of visiting, ate (too much) wonderful food, and celebrated Christmas in many ways. When there were some quiet times, I did head to my sewing corner to piece a few seams and read a few blogs. And some extra special treats awaited me at the post office even before Christmas- several giveaway prizes I had won in December managed to arrive before Santa!

But before I tell you about that, did you notice my new look? I absolutely adore what my creative genius (aka Madame Samm) did for my blog. Do you recognize the background? It's from The Wooden Quilt. Madame Samm doesn't ask for public accolades, but I am so thrilled with the new design, that I just have to thank her again within the lines of this post. Hasn't she chosen a wonderful way to tell you about me- a quilter who loves to make cuddle quilts and even loves to cuddle up with a quilt? I Believe...that every chair and sofa needs a cuddle quilt on it!

And I even have my own button! It's located on the sidebar and you can take it with you to your blog! Madame Samm, you are amazing. And for those of you who don't know Madame Samm yet, she has an extraordinary blog which is all about quilters and for quilters called Sew We Quilt! Check it out here! It is a blog overflowing with guest hosts and tutorials that will keep your sewing machines whirring and your fingers quilting! And don't forget to visit Madame Samm's own blog at Sew I Quilt to see what she does in her spare time(chuckle!).

Now to thank some other wonderful and generous folks who held giveaways that I was so fortunate enough to win! Since I'm too organized for my own good, I'll number them:

1) My new Go! Baby Fabric Cutter arrived last week, complete with three dies and three cutting mats.

This was the grand prize in a giveaway hosted by Jacque at Lilypad Quilting and sponsored by Accuquilt. All of this was in addition to a Moda Layer Cake, Chemistry Cosmo Cricket, that I already received from Green Fairy Quilts. I'll share the completed project that I made with some of the fabric next year!

So of course I had to try out the Go! Baby. I found it to be so much fun, easy to use, and slightly addictive. All I want to do is cut out tumblers! Within a short time, I had cut all the tumblers I needed for a small quilt that I will call "The Delft China Quilt".

And of course I had to see how well the tumblers would sew together...so off I went to the machine and started chain piecing:

And then I just had to sew a few rows together to see how it would look:

I have seven more rows to add and then the borders. I think I'll hand quilt this one. I just love it and will show you the finished project...next year!

2) I was also the winner of a copy of Amanda Murphy's Bejewelled pattern sponsored by Laurie Wisbrun. It's a really interesting pattern that is modern, trendy, and uses yoyo's...can't wait to make this one! Laurie is a very talented fabric designer for Robert Kaufman and her designs are amazing! She is also one amazing lady, because she didn't just send me the pattern, she asked me to pick some fabrics from her shop, and this is what I received from Laurie, a huge supply of bright, bold, and stunning fat quarters, all her own design!

Make sure you visit her Etsy shop too...you'll see her selection of fabrics and some finished projects that are just beautiful!

3) Kaaren, of The Painted Quilt, held a giveaway of a book and autumn-themed fat quarters, and I was the lucky winner of that giveaway! I have followed Kaaren's blog since I started following blogs earlier this year. I just love her blog...she is multi-talented, a whiz at decorating her beautiful home with her creations and the creations of others, and loves to share! Her First Friday Freebie Free Patterns are wonderful! I have done several already and particularly love the stitchery designs. She also has an Etsy shop ...make sure you drop by to check it out. Kaaren is just so creative and sweet. So when the giveaway package arrived, I was thrilled anyway. But inside the package was not only the book, "Fig Tree Quilts Fresh Vintage Sewing" by Joanna Figueroa, (another favorite blogger) and a wonderful selection of fabric, but a special needle case "custom-made" by Kaaren, just for me! I love the way she used the selvages and have already started saving mine.

Her accompanying card once again proved to me that real and genuine friendships can be developed through this quilt blog community. I've been very fortunate to have met many, many wonderful, caring people who share the same interests in quilting and fabrics as I do.

So all these wonderful things happened in a week, in and around Christmas, my most favorite time of the year. I am so grateful for all that I have...family, friends, and of course fabrics. What a wonderful life!

It's a great day for quilting!

Merry Christmas to All

2011-12-19T13:47:00.000-08:00

With Christmas day less than a week away, it's time for me to change my focus from family, friends, and fabrics, to just family and friends! My sewing machine is now ready for a rest. It has done its duty and now will have plenty of time to rejuvenate its engines and be ready for me to put the pedal to the medal in the new year.

By now you know how much I love Christmas, everything about it! I love the anticipation, the planning, and the spirit of the season. I love the visits from family and friends, love the phone calls to keep in touch with those that can't make it home, and particularly love all the hugs! (I am a hugger and proud of it!).

The Christmas music is playing, the baking is being done, the gifts are being wrapped, and the visiting of family and friends has begun.

And of course you know I love Santas! Years ago, even while still quilting, I was also a pretty busy tole painter. I would register for classes offered in the community and Woodworker Hubby would cut the shapes and make the furniture for me to paint. I tole painted trays, clocks, shelves, ornaments, cabinets and more. But my favorite items were always the Santas. So I share some of them here with you.

I think my computer will also take a rest for the next week or so. So at this time, I wish you all the Merriest of Christmases and hope that you will enjoy the comfort of friends and family during this most precious of times.

It's a great day for quilting!
Santa Hugs,
Lesley

A Handmade Challenge

2011-12-15T13:16:00.000-08:00

Our house is like Santa's workshop at Christmas! My sewing machine is on full tilt, my fingers are busy quilting and stitching, and I love it! Even Woodworker Hubby joins in with the excitement. Every Christmas, he creates a wonderful surprise for me, made of oak, pine, or something in between. On Christmas morning, I have been surprised and have been overcome with his custom-made gifts of hutches, shelves, tables, quilt hangers, frames and more! In preparation, he hides away in his workshop for the month of December and tells me I am not allowed in. And because the laundry room is accessed through his workshop, he does the laundry every December (to be honest, he does the laundry most of the time!) Mmm, I hear those machines whirring...

But I digress. A huge part of Christmas spirit for me is actually in the sewing of the Christmas projects, whether being made for friends, family, or just little ole me! Sometimes the projects are ready in time for this Christmas, and sometimes they'll be ready for next Christmas, but I'm OK with that!

I've just finished a couple of projects and have decided to enter them in the December Stitch and Share Challenge hosted by the mother-daughter team of Linda and Chrissy at Sew Lux Fabrics and Gifts. They have a challenge every month and December's theme is "Handmade Holiday". A random winner will be chosen from the entries which are posted at their site to win a $20 gift certificate from their shop. Come along and join the fun! I know a lot of you have been sewing up a storm, and if you win, I know you will be impressed by the wonderful personal service and gift-wrapped packages!

I'm entering two projects for the December challenge. The first is a little Christmas embroidery number that hangs on my table stand. I purchased the stitchery pattern from Cedarberry Stitches
and used it as the centre of the block pattern, "Snow Much Fun" by This and That Patterns.

Here's a little close-up. Isn't he a cutie!

This is the second block I've done for the table stand. My first was "Mr. Ho Ho Ho" and you can see him in my last post.

My second project is a pillow I just finished stuffing. "Woodland Santa" is a favorite with me already. The stitchery pattern was a free pattern designed by Kaaren and posted on her blog, The Painted Quilt, as a First Friday Freebie. Her blog and patterns are amazing and you'll find there's something for everyone in her freebie tutorials.

I hope you're enjoying these pre-Christmas days and you'll remember to check out the challenge at Sew Lux and link up with your entries.

I still plan to do a little more sewing before Christmas, especially with all the inspiration I'm getting on a daily basis from the wonderful tutorials that are being offered by guest hosts of Madame Samm at Sew We Quilt. Every day of the month, there are new guests, with Christmas project tutorials that can be made quickly and easily. I have lots of fabric waiting in my sewing corner, and I still have ten more days 'till Christmas, so I'm definitely checking out those projects!

Thanks for dropping by today. I know your days are really busy at this time of year, and when you take a minute to visit me and read my blog, I get such a warm, cuddly feeling!

It's a great day for quilting!
Santa Hugs to all,
Lesley

Show and Tell from the Christmas Quiltalong!

2011-12-10T02:37:00.000-08:00

Today is Christmas project Show and Tell for me and everyone else who participated in the 2011 Christmas Quiltalong. I was a little late starting, and only joined hosts Sue, at Quilt Sue and Cathi, at Shakerwood Quilts, in September. Since then, I've joined them and quilters across the blog community on the second Saturday of the month to work on a Christmas project.

Because I was late starting, instead of trying to catch up by making the Scatty Christmas Stars quilt that some of the quilters were working on, I decided to work on Christmas-themed projects of my own choosing. This quiltalong was a perfect fit for me, 'cause I love Christmas and every year I sew and quilt a few new Christmas items.

And today is the day of our quilt show: the day that we all show you the quilts we worked on. Some will be finished, and some may still be a work in progress. So have a peek at my quilts below, and make sure you head on over to visit Sue's and Cathi's blogs when you're done. There you'll see links to all the participants' blogs so you'll be able to visit them all and see the quilt show, a great way to celebrate the season!

Drum roll please...and apologies to my loyal followers, friends, and family who may have already seen some of these quilts.

1. Bennington: a Schnibbles quilt designed by Carrie Nelson. I chose Countdown to Christmas charm packs by Moda and just finished quilting it by hand this week.

2. Hot Cross: a Schnibbles quilt designed by Carrie Nelson. I chose Jovial by Basic Grey charm packs by Moda and plan to hand quilt it over the holidays.

3 and 4. Sew Happy Me Christmas Sew Along Banner, designed by Lesley Boost. This was an eight-week sew-along. Each week we received a new stitchery pattern, and on the eighth and final week we received the instructions to put it together in a banner. Since I don't have a mantle, I decided to make two projects: a three-block table runner, and a four-block wall hanging.

5. Mr. Ho Ho Ho: I adapted a pattern designed by Sherri Falls, of This and That, by using one of Lesley's embroidery patterns as the centre of the block. Mr. Ho Ho Ho was stitched on linen, framed with piano keys piecing, and now sits in my living room hanging from a cute little table screen. This project didn't call for much fabric, so I was able to dig into my Christmas stash and use what was available.

So this brings you pretty well up to date, except for the Christmas projects I'll be working on today. Perhaps they'll be ready for Christmas 2012! Here's what's in the works:

a) A gorgeous "Woodland Santa:, a First Friday Freebie pattern by Kaaren at The Painted Quilt. He is a wonderful Santa, and once I realised I needed to use magnifying glasses while doing the backstitch, he started to look much better in my hoop!

b) I'm quilting the Bows and Boughs wall hanging, a pattern by McCalls Quilting. And to make it more festive (and also quicker to quilt), I'm using red perle cotton thread to make longer stitches. I love it!

c) And I can't forget my version of a Wonky Christmas house block! (I guess you'd have to say that it was designed by me since there can't be another one quite like it!) I still have to sew on the star and tree buttons, bind it, and hand quilt it.

d) Last, but not least, a little mug rug using the linen again for the stitchery of the tree and some stamped fabric. A little hand quilting, a few inches of binding, and that will be it!

Thanks so much for dropping by. Hope you enjoyed the quilt show!

And some great news is that there will be another Christmas Quiltalong for 2012, with some guest hosts helping out Sue and Cathi. Another drum roll please. I will be one of the guest hosts in the new year. So please plan on joining us. It's never too late to get a head start on Christmas 2012 and keep the spirit of Christmas alive in our sewing rooms for the whole year.

It's a great day for quilting.
Cheers and Santa Hugs,
Lesley

A Wonky Christmas House

2011-12-08T20:16:00.000-08:00

Another day, another quilting challenge. And this is the kind of challenge I can't wait to do! I'm going to participate in the 2012 Wonky House Block Swap hosted by Jane at Jane's Fabrics and Quilts. It sounds like so much fun and a bit out of the box for a traditional quilter like myself. All the more reason to try it, right? And I love Jane's wonky house button, Bring it Home.

Use the button on the sidebar to register or get more information.

For the swap, I have to make 12 wonky house blocks. I keep one block for myself and mail the rest to Jane, who coordinates the swap. Jane only has room in the swap for 60 people, and it's filling up fast, so make sure you visit her blog and register soon. We'll be divided into groups of twelve, and all blocks have to be in Jane's hands by March 1. Then she mails eleven blocks back to us, so I'll have a total of twelve blocks to make a Wonky House quilt. This is going to be fun!

So what did I do today? I decided to practise making a wonky house before the exchange. After all, my blocks have to be good enough so that eleven other people will be happy when they arrive!

First, I did my research. I googled "wonky houses" and found a couple of great tutorials that had been posted in the past by fellow quilters.

Next I chose some Christmas fabrics of reds and greens. Ok, I realise these colors are very traditional, and a genuine wonky house probably wouldn't use traditional colors, but for a practise wonky house block, I figured it would be alright.

I used the tutorials to get on track, and quickly realized that every wonky house becomes quite unique! With a tilt to the windows and a slant to the door, I was on a roll to wonkiness. Then I got a little more creative and stamped the outer border. I see and hear that stamping on fabric is going to be big this year, so I just had to try it out.

And then I just had to embellish the block with a star, house number, and a few trees! I plan to sandwich the block, hand quilt it with red perle cotton thread, and use it as a mini-table topper or a giant mug rug!

Now the question for you... is my Christmas house block wonky enough? Is there a way to improve wonkiness? Is wonkiness even a word? (chuckle, chuckle)

Before I leave you, I want to share a few pictures of some beautiful quilts done by a very good friend of mine. Last weekend, a quilt sale and display was held at the local museum. My friend had several quilts there and was kind enough to allow me to take some pictures so that I could share them with you.

Each block has a fussy-cut centre.

As you can see, my good friend is a very talented quilter, quite an inspiration to me when some days I struggle to sew a 1/4 inch seam!

It's a great day for quilting.
Cheers and Santa Hugs,
Lesley

My Wooden Quilt

2011-12-04T18:31:00.000-08:00

Here is the story of My Wooden Quilt.

Once upon a time, on an island in a far off land (Cape Breton, Nova Scotia), two hockey moms met every weekend in cold hockey rinks to watch their children play hockey. These two moms had much in common. Their children were the same age, their children played on the same hockey team, and their children went to the same school. The two moms loved watching their children play hockey and would often drink coffee together, especially flavored coffee!

These two moms soon found out that they had something more in common. They both loved Christmas, and in particular, they loved Santas! They both collected Santas long before everyone else started to collect Santas. And when they found out they both loved Christmas and collected Santas, they became even better friends.

Every year since they became friends, they would meet before Christmas to exchange Christmas presents with each other. The Christmas presents were always special, and hubbies and children would laugh in glee at the excitement and antics of these two moms as they opened their treasures.

One mom was called Quilter Mom, and would surprise the other mom with Santas that were small and chubby

long and skinny,

or even embroidered!

Sometimes, Quilter Mom would make a Christmas tree

and sometimes, she would just make something cosy!

The other mom, Shopper Mom, would scour the globe to find the most special and unique Santas to give to Quilter Mom for her growing collection of Santas. Over the years, Shopper Mom gave all kinds of Santas to Quilter Mom, including a tall, skinny Santa,

a fireman Santa,

a Santa wearing funny long underwear,

and an elf Santa.

One Christmas, Shopper Mom gave Quilter Mom a Santa to hang a stocking from.

And the next year, she gave her a stocking with a beautiful wool Santa on it!

Now on this island of Cape Breton lived Woodworker Lady who was famous for creating wooden Santas. In fact, Woodworker Lady had created so many wonderful Santas that an author decided to write a special Christmas story using her wooden Santas in the book.

Woodworker Lady had made many Santas over the years for Shopper Mom, but Quilter Mom used all her extra money for quilting fabrics and had no money left to buy a wooden Santa.

So one Christmas, as the two moms were exchanging presents, Quilter Mom opened a special Santa box from Shopper Mom.

In the box was $3.85 and a hand-written note. The note said, "This money is the first payment towards the cost of a wooden Santa. If you save $3.85 each week, you will have enough money to buy a wood Santa." Quilter Mom was so happy! She knew she could save this money every week and that someday she too would own a wooden Santa.

So for 52 weeks, Quilter Mom saved $3.85 each week and put it in the special Santa box. At the end of the year, Quilter Mom and Shopper Mom went for a trip to visit Woodworker Lady.

Woodworker Lady asked Quilter Mom, "What do you want your Santa to look like?" Quilter Mom showed Woodworker Lady a picture of a Christmas cuddle quilt that she had just finished making, made of cosy flannels in shades of red and green.

She asked Woodworker Lady if Santa could have a quilt like the one she had just made. And before you could say "Merry Christmas", Woodworker Lady had carved the Santa, with a quilt!

This was no ordinary Santa. This was Santa, standing in front of a Christmas tree, with his bag of toys and his hand on a quilt rack. And carved on the quilt rack was a perfect copy of Quilter Mom's quilt. She was so happy she cried!

And this is the story of "My Wooden Quilt".

The End.

With many apologies to accomplished authors everywhere!

Hope you enjoyed the story. It's a true story, and every year, a smile comes on my face when I unpack this special Santa. I unpacked him today and wanted to share the story with you. My flannel quilt is my favorite cuddle quilt, well used, year round!

And of course, Quilter Mom and Shopper Mom will once again meet in the next few weeks to again exchange their annual Christmas gifts

It's a great day for quilting!
Cheers and Hugs,
Quilter Mom (aka Lesley)

Christmas Starts Early!

2011-12-01T13:29:00.000-08:00

Christmas started early for me! I received an email the other day from Snoodles at Lily Pad Quilting to say that I was the winner of their giveaway! I'm still blushing and am so humbled by this quilt blog community that is so very generous. What did I win? A a Go! Baby Accuquilt fabric cutter and three dies of my choice to use with the cutter, sponsored by Accuquilt.

And to go along with the cutter is a layer cake of gorgeous fabric called "Chemistry" sponsored by Green Fairy Quilts. I peeked through the layer cake fabrics online...luscious shades of pinks and browns...reminds me of the colors of cherries and chocolates...sounds like good chemistry to me!

I have been intrigued by these fabric cutters for awhile so can't wait to try it out. Huge thanks to the host of the giveaway, Snoodles at Lily Pad Quilting and to the sponsors, Accuquilt and Green Fairy Quilts. I am a lucky lady!

Did I mention I love Christmas! I love every kind of Santa you can imagine, I love Christmas trees (pine or fabric!), I love listening to Christmas music from sun-up `till sun down, and I love the general feeling of well-being that comes this month. Family, friends, and fabric continue to make me smile on a daily basis, but the month of December is even more special.

To celebrate the season, you'll notice that I have a new blog banner, thanks to a precious and special blog guru who is amazing! Don't you just love the way my title, The Cuddle Quilter, is wrapped in a ribbon? Again, I am a lucky lady. This creative genius knows me so well...as you can see, my love of Santas is very obvious, from the vintage old-world Santa who is peeking through the banner, to the quilted skinny Santas that adorn the sidebars. Thank you, Ms. Creative Genious!

The skinny Santa is one of my entries in the SewCalGal's 2011 Christmas Quilt Show. Make sure you visit the show. The quilts are stunning! And try to pop over to the show to vote for your favorite quilt on Saturday and Sunday.

So, it`s December 1st and what do I have to show for it? I have a Christmas table runner and wall hanging that I just finished. The project was a result of the Sew Happy Christmas Sew Along that was hosted by Lesley Boost at Sew Happy Me.

Although the Christmas-themed embroidery blocks were designed to use as a banner for a mantel, since I don't have a mantel, I decided to use them in a different way to make two projects! I used a richly colored burgundy fabric as sashing, and used the same fabric for the binding.

I even managed to do some hand quilting on my Christmas Schnibbles quilt this week. Remember this small quilt, called Bennington, from the book "Schnibbles Times Two" by Carrie Nelson at Miss Rosie's Quilt Company? I love to do my hand quilting in the early morning when the sun is just coming up, drinking my flavored coffee, and watching a romantic comedy on DVD while the rest of the house is asleep!

But what I am really excited about today is that I have started "Ornamentally Fun", a table runner from the book, "My Runners" by Disa Designs. I'm using some greens, reds, and roses from the line of Nancy Halvorsen fabrics. Here is just a tease showing one end of the runner.

Pretty modern for me!

I will be sandwiching the runner and using my sewing machine to do a blanket stitch using matching thread. I can't wait to get it ready and then put the pedal to the metal! Will keep you posted

December 1 is also the start of Madame Samm's December tutorials. We are going to learn so much! And there will be days when the house is quiet, the gifts are wrapped, the cookies are baked, and we'll want to treat ourselves with an hour in the sewing room. Click on the Comfort and Joy link on my sidebar and you'll find yourself in a wonderful place!

And another wonderful thing just happened: The Fabric Cupboard posted a picture of my Courageous Quilt on their blog. An exciting day for this quilter.

It's a great day for quilting!

Cheers and Hugs,

Lesley

2011 Christmas Quilt Show

2011-11-29T05:54:00.000-08:00

What an exciting week for quilters and those who love quilts! From November 28-December 2, Darlene, at Sew Cal Gal is hosting a Christmas Quilt Show! Anyone can enter a Christmas or Winter-themed quilt. If you're interested, all you have to do is take a picture of your treasure(s) and post on your blog this week. For more specific rules, check out Darlene's blog...the more the merrier! It's pretty amazing when you can submit a quilt and attend a quilt show while still in your jammies and at any time of the day. Especially perfect for women of a certain age who don't sleep much...chuckle, chuckle!

It was a tough decision for me as to decide what to submit. I do love Christmas and have lots of quilted items that come out of hiding for the month of December. I eventually narrowed my list down to two of my favorites.

The first is Jolly Days, a Santa wall hanging sewn with a combination of cottons, brushed cottons, homespun checks and plaids, and wool. Many of my blogging friends will appreciate that I used wool in the project and it may be time to use more since it's a very forgiving fabric! Machine applique and a little hand quilting completes the project.

A little close-up. I love Santa!

Don't you just love his mittens?

The pattern and kit was created by Kim at Harbour Quilt Company in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. I really like the fact that it is narrow (11 inches x 36 inches) so fits pretty well anywhere.

My second entry for the show is Christmas Cheer.

This was so much fun to make! The pattern is in the book "Cabin Fever" by Whimsicals. The pattern actually called for painting on the letters, but I chose to use fusible applique. I did some machine applique and hand quilting to put my own slant on it.

So there you have it. Just a couple of projects to enter this year. Maybe next year I'll have a full-size quilt to show! I've already peeked at some of the entries, and there are some beautiful larger quilts that would sure look nice on the bed next Christmas!

The entries are already pouring in to Darlene's site and you'll fine lots of stunning quilts there to admire and be inspired by! On her site, you'll see a listing of all the entries and all you have to do is click on a name and you'll be taken immediately to that person's blog to see their Christmas or Winter entries.

You can even get a little more involved 'cause there is voting for a Viewer's Choice Award on Saturday and Sunday. Darlene has more specifics about this, but essentially, you look, you choose your favorite, and you leave a comment. So you can be a quilt judge! How neat is that? So don't delay...hop on over to SewCalGal and start the show!

Thanks for dropping by. It's a great day for quilting!
Cheers and Hugs,
Lesley

I Made it to the Finish Line!

2011-11-27T13:13:00.000-08:00

The Courageous Quilt is finished! If you recall, this was one of four cuddle quilts I made for the "Mom, Me, and Sisters Three" reunion weekend in mid-October.

This quilt was the last of the four to be put together and I just wasn't able to quilt it in time. But my quilting fingers have been busy lately and the quilt is now finished. I had never used batiks before and the needle would slide so easily through the fabrics, it was a joy to quilt. I found the pattern for the quilt in the Better Homes and Gardens Spring/Summer issue of Quilt Sampler 2011, designed by Rebecca Weber and Anne Hunter. I reduced the size of the quilt, chose a package of bright and bold batiks from The Fabric Cupboard and was on my way! As you can see, I used shades of blue and burgundy with a punch of gold and yellow for the centers. Piecing was pretty easy using log cabin techniques and I chose to hand quilt to emphasize the rectangular shapes.

Actually, The Courageous Quilt wasn't my only finish this week. I put together a couple of mug mats. But don't ask me to put a cup of coffee on them, 'cause I doubt if coffee stains would come out. Maybe I'll use them for a glass of water, or turn them over and use the backs!

I found the free patterns for the embroidery designs at Jennie Baer's freebies link at Homeberries. She has patterns for every season and every size. I embroidered the designs on linen and sandwiched them with fusible fleece.

I also finished Block 3 in the Blogger's Block of the Month. Now you have to admit, this is an interesting block! Designed by Stephanie Dunphy of Loft Creations, it is called the November Split Star. I enjoyed playing with the fabrics for this block and am really happy with the result. My lime greens and blues aren't going to match a thing, but the colors sure make me smile. And from what I see in Blog Land, quilts don't have to match your furniture any more. Oops, that's dating me...enough said...

What's waiting for me in my sewing corner? Bows and Boughs, the Christmas wall hanging I started last week. I've finished all my trees and three of the ten presents. The quilt is paper pieced...please tell me I'm not the only one who has finished a block and turned it over only to find the fabric doesn't reach all the corners? So after some trial and error, I have figured out my problem. I was missing a pretty important step. Now I'm on track and they should go together smoothly. It was really helpful of the kit people to put in extra fabric!

It's a great day for quilting!
Cheers and Hugs,
Lesley

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T01:59:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to wish all my friends across the border a wonderful holiday weekend, filled with family, friends, and fabric. Oops, you might not have time for the fabric part of it 'cause you'll be so busy entertaining or being entertained, so I'll do my part to play with fabric while you're celebrating!

In order to help you out, I played with lots of fabric tonight and finished the fifth block in the Fat Quarter Star Quilt Along. The guest host, Machelle, named her block Strawberry Star, but I think mine is a little more like a Plum Star! The colors are much brighter than they appear here.

I've read that one of the the best ways to take a photograph of a quilt is outside. Well, we had our first snow storm of the season today and there has to be almost two feet of snow in the backyard.

At least three feet of snow now has to be shovelled off the back deck, so all photographs of quilts will have to be inside shots for now. Just use your imagination and make the quilt any color you want!

I have a little blogger problem. Some of you may have my link on your sidebar but it may not be changing with the new posts. Not sure how to correct this, but if you click on the old post, it should bring you to the newest one.

For those without a blog, just submit your email on this page and you'll receive new postings through email whenever they become available. To do this, scroll all the way to the bottom of this page and you'll see the email box. That seems to be working very well!

Thanks for visiting today, and a special welcome to my new followers. It's so much fun to share our excitement and passion about quilting. And you know, "It's a great day for quilting!"

Cheers and Hugs,

Lesley

A Christmas Elf Arrived Early

2011-11-20T14:21:00.000-08:00

I had a visit from a Christmas elf today! Although the elf wasn't actually in my home, this little elf was hidden away in a little corner in front of a computer screen far away and worked diligently on improving the look of my blog, and helped answer a few of my blogger questions. The elf tidied up a few things to make it much prettier for my visitors and much more efficient. Thank you so much, Christmas elf--- you know who you are!.

A lot of good things happen in my life (ie Christmas elf). This past week another good thing happened. I received a huge package of fat quarters, some patterns, threads, and a new ruler. Just like Christmas! The fat quarters are so yummy, lots of colors and lots of variety, perfect to use in some upcoming projects. I have a terrible habit of starting a quilted project and using only fabrics from my stash rather than using the new fabrics sitting in my cupboard. I think the new ones are just too pretty to use! Now, I am going to break my habit and find a really fun and exciting project to make with some of these perfectly pink, gorgeous green, and sky-blue fabrics!

But I might have to wait for a sunshiny day! So on a cold dreary Fall day, what did I do? I started a Christmas project called "Boughs and Bows", a wall hanging pattern that's in the November-December issue of McCall's Quilting magazine. The pattern of Christmas trees and Christmas presents called my name last month and said, "Come get me!".

And here are the fabrics I'll use. Aren't they just perfect?

The pattern calls for nine Christmas tree blocks and my goal is to finish them today. The first four are finished, five left to do. Don't you love points that really are points? All thanks to doing the blocks by paper piecing. Haven't done this technique in awhile, but it's like riding a bike and comes back pretty easily.

By the way, I'm making lots of progress on the "Courageous Quilt". Remember that "Mom, Me, and Sisters Three Reunion" ? This was the quilt that I hadn't quite finished. Well, I'm almost done...just putting on the binding tonight!

It's a great day for quilting. Thanks for dropping by!
Cheers and Hugs,
Lesley

I Have My Very Own Quiltie!

2011-11-20T08:25:00.000-08:00

You might remember that I decided to participate in the October Quiltie Trade hosted by Sandie. It was a perfect project: make 3 quilties, each one 4 x 6 inches, with a theme of buttons and send to Sandie by October 15.

I had a lot of fun "creating" my little quilties and sent them off. Unfortunately, almost four weeks later, my quilties arrived back to me...thank goodness for my return address! I had not included the house number in the address (sad face), and they were returned to me. So I missed the opportunity to take part in the trade. But being one who believes "better late than never", I repackaged and sent again to Sandie with the correct address this time and instructions for her to enjoy the "late" quilties or share them with her friends.

But Sandie, being the doll that she is, sensed my disappointment of missing the first trade and guess what arrived in the mail this week ? A quiltie just for me created by friend Sandie. I am a lucky girl! And I love anything to do with the artwork of Mary Englebreit, so the greeting card was a bonus. Thank you, Sandie!

Sandie is having another quiltie trade with a Christmas theme. The deadline to get your quilties in the mail is December 15, so don't be late! Find out more about the trade at Sandie's blog. And guess what? My Christmas quilties are in the mail as I write this. I am not going to be late for the December trade!

And I continue to be a lucky girl! I was notified by Pam Buda at Heartspun Quilts that I was the winner of the Frontier Foundations Kit. The kit is in the mail to me and I can't wait! You can tell by my banner that many of my quilts use this color scheme and are more traditional. So this will be a great fit...maybe a new banner down the road?

Thanks so much, Pam. The generosity of the quilt blogging community continues to amaze me!

Thanks to you all for coming by today. It's a great day for quilting!
Cheers and Hugs!
Lesley

Christmas Quiltalong a Good Thing!

2011-11-12T21:19:00.000-08:00

Quilt Sue hosts a great gathering of like-minded ladies who love quilting and love Christmas! When I discovered the Christmas Quilt Along, I knew it was for me! I joined up only a few months ago, and on the second Saturday of each month, would work on my Christmas-related projects in my sewing corner, with my laptop beside me so I could follow along with the QAL hosts and be inspired with their Christmas projects, Christmas music, and their Christmas baking...I could swear the house smelled like cinnamon on those days!

Most of the QAL folks are working on a specific quilt, Scatty Christmas Stars, but since I was a little late to start that project, I was welcomed into the fold to work on anything with a Christmas theme.

Today my time with the QAL was a little shorter than normal, but I love what I made!

Mr. Ho Ho Ho ( my pet name for this pattern) was created for the Sew Happy Christmas Sew Along hosted by Lesley Boost at Sew Happy Me. I'm also participating in that project, having a wonderful time embroidering the seven Christmas-themed blocks. I'm actually in the midst of doing the seventh and last block, but ran out of embroidery thread. So while I wait for the right color thread to arrive, I decided to do this project with one of the blocks designed by Lesley.

I substituted Mr. Ho Ho Ho in a pattern from This and That (Snow Much Fun) and this was the result. I embroidered Mr. Ho Ho Ho on taupe linen, though you can't really tell from the picture. I'll sandwich it another day, do a little quilting, bind it, and then Mr. Ho Ho Ho will be ready for Christmas. Can you tell I love Santa?

It's a great day for quilting,
Cheers and Hugs,
Lesley

PS Another year of the Christmas Quiltalong will start in the New Year. And I'm going to be a guest host for one of the QAL Saturdays. How exciting is that? Christmas all year long! Stay tuned...

It's Another Day of Good Things!

2011-11-10T02:59:00.000-08:00

Good thing # 1.
The good things actually started a few days ago. When I arrived home from my weekend in the city, hubby met me with chocolates, a red rose, and this:

My very own, hand-crafted, custom-made light box!

My frustration was growing every week, trying to find a sunny day to trace embroidery designs using the picture window, so my new light box will now solve those problems. I am so spoiled!

Good thing # 2.
Today I received my giveaway prize that I won in the Fat Quarter Stars Quilt Along sponsored by Konda Luckau of Moose on the Porch Quilts. It's a signed copy of Konda's Simply Charming Seasonal, a book filled with charm pack quilts for every month of the year. Thank you, Konda! And what a perfect prize to win! There are so many projects I want to make, and all of them are just the right size!

What will I make first? Maybe these cute snowmen, or the brilliant blue snowflake!

Thanks, Konda, for also letting me use your pics of the cover and projects from your Moose on the Porch Quilts web page. Your pics are much better than mine!

Good thing # 3.
I try to shop at local quilt shops when I can. There are two quilt shops about forty-five minutes away, in opposite directions, and both have been visited by me and my pocketbook on many occasions. But sometimes, when I know I won't get out of town for awhile, I shop online for fabrics, patterns, and notions. I have tried a variety of online fabric shops and have always been fortunate with good and timely service. But todays' arrival was like receiving a gift!

Inside the package was a custom order for the Ruby Stitch Along Kit that I ordered from Sew Lux Fabric and Gifts. Have you ever seen anything so pretty? And inside was a bundle of fabric and a package of colorful embroidery floss tied with a bow and a signed thank you card. Now that was special! It was almost fun to spend money when my purchase made me feel like it was my birthday again!

Are you wondering what I'm going to make with this bundle? A tote with an embroidered pocket! Yes, I am stretching my skills and challenging myself again to participate in the Ruby Market Embroidery and Quilt Along hosted by Clover and Violet.

So, another day is dawning I'm sure it will be another day of good things!

Thanks for visiting!

Cheers and Hugs,

Lesley

Hotel Room Becomes Sewing Mecca!

2011-11-06T12:30:00.000-08:00

Guess you know by now I like to play with words, and that books and fabrics are my passions. This weekend is a perfect combination of the two worlds! I travelled to the city yesterday to do some shopping for work. Isn't that great? I get such enjoyment out of shopping whether it's for me or someone else! And I also attended a book launch for my cousin's sixth book.

Cousin Anne is an award-winning mystery author. The launch took place in an "authentic" Irish pub, apparently a pretty good rendition of the pubs mentioned in the book. The launch was a great celebration of books, literacy, and good company, followed by some great entertainment afterwards. So how does this relate to my quilting blog?

Well, I'm here for another day (meeting tomorrow) so today was a free day! I brought everything with me to transform the hotel room into a sewing mecca! Yes, I could have spent hours in shopping malls, but lately I just want to make sure I have enough fabric and notions so that I can sew some exciting projects. There's nothing better than cutting into new fabric, sewing it together, and pressing the finished project!

The hotel's white bedspread became my impromptu design wall. I finished a few more blocks of Terry Atkinson's Lucky Stars quilt, but unfortunately, I didn't bring enough background fabric, so these are all the blocks I can work on 'till I get back home.

The desk in the room became my sewing table and my cutting board.

I made good use of the ironing board! I refused to throw anything away so sewed together some fabric leftovers and have a new stash of mini HSTs that I'll put to good use down the road. The thimble puts it all in perspective...I'm sure you can see how tiny the squares are!

The couch in the room became my quilting corner. This is "The Courageous Quilt" that I'm finishing for my sister from our Mom, Me, and Sisters Three Reunion a few weeks ago. I managed to get a fair bit done this weekend by jumping from one project to another. That way, I never get bored!

Have a peek at the quilting...it's really been a fun project to quilt. The colors just draw me in and I tend to quilt longer than I have planned to just because of the fabrics. They make me happy!

And last but not least, I decorated my hotel room for Christmas. Ok, not really, but my sewing/cutting

table became my "Christmas Project" table. I'm working on a couple of the mini-quilts from "Sew Scrappy Volume Two". Again, note the travelling thimble to show you some perspective.

So it continues to be a great day for quilting!

And before I go, I just want to remind you about the start of an exciting November Block Party brought to you by Madame Samm and a bevy of busy block quilters. It starts tomorrow so be sure to check it out !

Cheers and Hugs,

Lesley

Blogger's Quilt Festival For One More Day!

2011-11-03T17:27:00.000-07:00

There's always something to share in the quilt blog community. Today I want to share one of my own favorite quilts, my entry into the Blogger's Quilt Festival. Hosted by Amy, it's a festival that celebrates quilts ands quilting. It started on October 28 and finishes tomorrow, November 4. No judging at all, just lots of inspiration and sharing among this community.

How do I choose a favorite? I really can't choose just one. With over thirty years of quilting, all I can say is "I Love Them All!" I think every quilt tells a story, and the most joy comes from making a quilt for a special person and thinking of that person with each and every stitch. So those "special" quilts, the favorite quilts, are in special homes...homes of family members, friends, colleagues, and even people I haven't met who may be a recipient of a small project I made to support a charitable cause.

So...what do I share as my entry into the Blogger's Quilt Festival? I share a quilt that is a favorite in my own home, a quilt that I just had to do because I loved the colors, I loved the size, I loved the pattern, and I loved the fact that it came in a kit from a local quilt shop so I didn't have to think too much!

The quilt is called "Golden Rule" and was made in 2004. It is projects like this quilt that keep me motivated and inspired...it's just so yummy, I could almost eat it! I have always gravitated towards "scrappy" quilts, or "multi-fabric" quilts (a phrase coined a few years back, but now we're back to "scrappy"!) and this is a perfect example.

To see more entries, make sure you visit the Bloggers Quilt Festibval here to see the hundreds of gorgeous quilts. And you don't even have to leave the house or pay an admission fee!

It's a great day for quilting!
Cheers and Hugs,
Lesley

Out of My Comfort Zone

2011-10-31T16:12:00.000-07:00

Yes, it was time. Time for me to leave the cosiness of my comfort zone and to try something new in the quilting world. Who says I am not courageous? I'm going out on a limb and I'm trying something new! I joined up for the Modern Mondays and Traditional Tuesdays Quilt Along! Hosted by Jenifer Dicks at Forty-Two Quilts , the quilt along started in late September, with instructions for a new block posted on every Monday and Tuesday. By the end of the quilt alongs, I should have two completed quilts, the modern with each single block framed, and the traditional, with sashing between the rows.

So, first up was to choose my fabrics. No problem with the traditional fabrics...I have a great "go to" stash. But what to do about the modern fabrics? Online shopping or a trip out of town to a fabric shop? Not needed when you have a friend who is so very generous that she listens to the excitement in your voice about your upcoming projects and immediately offers you a treasure trove of modern fabrics to take home with you so you can get started now and not later!

This friend made my day. The fabrics are just what I would call modern...bright colors, bold prints, simply yummy fabrics! Some will match with the stash, other's won't, but I'm brave. I know at the end of this project, I will choose some neutral fabrics for the frames and it will all come together. Or at least, that is my goal! This is what my friend donated to me for my foray into the great unknown. Aren't they gorgeous! And isn't she wonderful?

P.S. This same friend is a wonderful quilter and also makes phenomenal hooked rugs. Here is a tablerunner that my friend finished recently. It made its way to my home and is now adorning my dining room table...I just love it!

Ok, back to my project. So, with fabric in hand, it was off to my sewing corner. In no time at all, the modern block was completed, which certainly looks a little 'crazy' to someone like me, but it may have potential down the road. The traditional block actually took a lot longer to make and might need to be revisited as my 1/4 inch foot seems to be much larger than 1/4 inch! Now remember, these are only the first blocks. Can you guess which is modern and which is traditional? (Chuckle, chuckle.)

So now on to more Modern Mondays and Traditional Tuesdays. Thanks so much to Michele at Distracted Quilter 'cause she's the one who brought this to my attention. I know it's going to be so much fun!

Before I go, I have to tell you about a really wonderful prize giveaway. Whenever I do this, please know that I really want to be the winner, but I have learned very quickly that blog land is all about sharing, not about being greedy or selfish. So if I can't win, I will be very happy if you win! To find out more, please visit Connie at Quilting by the River. She gives you four chances to win gorgeous fabrics to make a gorgeous quilt. (I know I need more words in my vocabulary, but there just aren't enough words in this language to describe the beauty of so many of these quilts and fabrics!)

Thanks for dropping by! I've got to get to my sewing corner now,
Cheers and Hugs,
Lesley

I Am A Lucky Lady!

2011-10-28T21:00:00.000-07:00

I am a winner! I won a prize on Wednesday! How? Why? I am an avid participant in the Fat Quarter Stars Quiltalong, hosted by Konda. The block instructions are posted every second Tuesday, so on that day I raced home from work, inhaled supper, and then raced to the sewing machine. Within about an hour, I had sewn the "Friendly Winds" block together, designed by Mary Lou Casada, was really pleased with it, and had it posted on the group Flickr page. Now, Konda is so generous, that she does a prize draw every two weeks and all you have to do to qualify is post a picture of your finished block on her Flickr page. So I did and here it is.

It was so much fun to put together. The finished size is 12.5 inches.
You know how you read that "winners will be contacted by email" but you really don't expect to ever get an email like that? Well, sure enough, Konda sent an email to my Flickr account that night to say I was a winner and the next morning she posted pictures of the winning blocks on her blog so please have a peek. So my block has been "published" for all to see. How cool is that? Ok, I know some of you may be saying "get a life", but this quilt blog community is so much fun to be a part of!

So now I am the proud winner of one of Konda's quilt books! I sure hope I get a signed copy, Konda! And of course this means that I will be starting a new "Konda" project as soon as it arrives! I will start checking the mail immediately.

Ok, I should probably mention here that it was a random draw. And I was one of three lucky winners. Thank you, Konda, you made three people very happy that day!

And it continued to be a fun-filled quilting week. I also take part in the Blogger's BOM. The instructions also arrived Tuesday, so on Wednesday, I raced home from work, inhaled my supper, and raced to my sewing machine. Do you see a pattern here? And like the other block, it was posted on Flickr in about an hour. I definitely left my comfort zone for this block, but I love the bright, bold fabrics and I promise I will coordinate it with the rest of the blocks in this quilt. The background fabric is actually off-white, but I find it looks slightly pink(?) in the photograph.

The block is 8,5 inches and was designed by the very talented Vicki Welsh who probably wouldn't have chosen colors like I did!

So, the whole weekend looms ahead. Time for sewing, quilting, embroidery, and attending a couple of annual craft shows only five minutes away. Life is good. Thanks for dropping by!

Cheers and Hugs,

Lesley

The Welcome Wagon for New Bloggers

2011-10-26T12:56:00.000-07:00

I discovered a neat place for new bloggers like me. Lynne has created a unique opportunity for bloggers who are new to the blogging world with less than 50 followers. She calls it the Small Blog Meet.

You can link to her post through the button on the far right. The Small Blog Meet is a great way for newbies to network with each other, support each other, and visit each other's blogs. It's like a welcome wagon when you move into a new neighbourhood!

And of course, any "oldies" out there are encouraged to peek at the list of new bloggers and visit us too. You might be pleasantly surprised!

Lynn's number one rule for the Small Blog Meet is for the newbies to tell you about ourselves and quilting. OK, this may show my age ( but so does the grey hair in my profile), but I started quilting in the early 80's when a few friends got together, purchased Eleanor Burn's "Log Cabin Quilt in a Day" book, and started ripping strips. Remember this? Even back then, I chose to make the lap size quilt!

Fast forward to 2011. I have quilted since then, some years more, some years less, sometimes large projects, and sometimes small. Through all this time, I have had two wonderful children, am in my 33rd year of marriage to a great guy, am a teacher by trade, having taught children and adults, and now work at a library. I love to read and I love quilts. Fabrics and books hold the same fascination for me! Here are a few of the books I've used over the last couple of decades (that sounds so long!) Do you recognise any titles?

I have made bed quilts, crib quilts, lap or as I call them, "cuddle quilts", wall hangings, tablerunners, and lots of Christmas projects. I have purchased a multitude of patterns and books over the years and have also found lots of free patterns while visiting quilting sites and blogs. In blog world, I quickly joined a few quiltalongs, sew alongs, some block of the month projects and I just love it all! On the weekends and some evenings, I sit at my sewing machine table with my laptop on the table behind me and go back and forth from sewing machine to laptop!

I get tremendous satisfaction out of giving away my quilts to someone I care about. It may sound crazy, but it almost seems selfish, because when I give someone a quilt, I feel so good! It's all about me! And luckily for me, my family and friends seem to appreciate my quilts, so I like to keep on giving! Sometimes I have a reason to make a quilt, but very often I make a quilt just because of the fabric, a new technique, pattern, or a designer. I usually hand quilt but sometimes have a project machine quilted by someone if it's too large or I'm afraid I'll run out of time.

These days my projects are small, like cuddle quilts and of course, my newfound fascination with Schnibble quilts by Carrie Nelson. I love saying "Schnibbles!" I just finished putting this Hot Cross Schnibbles quilt top together this week, using the Christmas charm packs called Jovial by Moda. The pattern is in Carrie's first book, "Schnibbles Times Two".

Why did I decide to start a blog? Because I liked what I saw and I liked what I read. For a few months, I read a few blogs, returned to a few favorites, then decided to take the next step. I created a profile and followed privately. And then after awhile, it just wasn't enough. I wanted to jump right in and start sharing projects and commaraderie with the wonderful folks in the quilt blogging community.

I like to write, I like to quilt, I like to share, and through this blog, I can do just that. It provides me with a pictorial history of my projects and a link to others just like me! As someone who works Monday - Friday, I don't always have the energy to meet with friends to spend the night quilting, but even in my jammies, at 9 o'clock at night, I can participate in a quilt along, or read a blog, or make a comment, or just get inspired!

Thanks Lynne, for a chance to meet some new quilting friends, and thanks to my followers and new friends who have been so generous with your assistance in answering my silly questions! Thanks to you for visiting me, and I'll try to keep the posts shorter in the future so you'll be back!

Cheers and Hugs,

Lesley

Mom, Me, and Sisters Three Reunion!

2011-10-23T14:21:00.000-07:00

And what a time we had! Remember on the last post I mentioned there would be family, food, and fond times? Well, there was...loads of it...we also had laughter, tears, walks, talks, hugs, kisses, movie nights and everything you would want in between when a mother and her four daughters come together for a special weekend at a cottage in New Brunswick overlooking the Northumberland Strait. This was the first time we were all together for over four years, and did we ever go full speed ahead and make the most of a few short days!

But you know this is a quilting blog, so how will I tie in a family weekend with my quilting blog? Mmmmm, guess I'll have to show you pics of the quilts I gave to each special person! It was a great secret to keep from everyone. I started the quilts when the idea of a "Mom, Me, and Sisters Three" reunion weekend in the Fall was being planned. As the date got closer and closer, the quilting fingers got busier and busier!

On Friday night, we had a wonderful gift exchange with Mom, Me, and Sisters Three! Christmas came early to the cottage! There was lots of fun, belly laughs, and a parade of camera flashes - the perfect time to present the quilts. It was so much fun! And here is the picture taken the next day with the wind blowing, the sun shining, and the Northumberland Strait in the background.

From left to right, the first quilt is "The Love Quilt" made for my mom. Created from the Charm Square Quilt pattern posted on Wendy's Snippets of a Quilter blog in 2007, I chose the 4-block centres to represent the four daughters.

I chose a fabric for the borders that has hearts throughout, so the 4-block "daughters" are surrounded by the love of our mother, hence the name, "The Love Quilt".

The second quilt on the line is "The Mountain Quilt", made from flannel fabrics for the big sister who lives on the West Coast in the mountains of BC, a perfect quilt to cuddle up in after a day of skiing or sharing stories with grandkids! I told her I would ship it out, but she insists on taking it with her!

Quilt number three on the clothesline is "The Courageous Quilt", made for another sister, a sister who encourages creativity and thinking outside the box! I left my comfort zone of flannels and earthtones to "courageously" go where I hadn't gone before...I used bright batik fabrics knowing that the end result might not match a thing, but how beautiful it turned out! If truth be told, it's not quite finished yet. I actually brought it back home with me after the reunion weekend and have about a quarter of the quilting still to do. It is back on my quilting frame and I'll get right to it!

Quilt number four is "The Cottage Quilt", made for my little sister who so generously shares her and her hubby's cottage(s) with our family. This quilt was made to perfectly match her leather couch in the "little" cottage. The couch is just waiting for this quilt and my sister to cuddle up!

So as you can see, every quilt has a story. I attached a label to each quilt with the name of the quilt, the occasion, and date. And since we all love the book and the movie, "The Help", I also framed the label with the phrases, "You are kind", "You are smart", and "You are important".

And all weekend, we added a fourth phrase, "You are family". Of course, all the quilts are "cuddle" quilts, just the right size for family members to cuddle up in. And cuddle they did...it was a joy to see Mom and Sisters Three trail around the cottage wrapped in their new cuddle quilts!

What a wonderful weekend. Life is good!
Cheers and Hugs,
Lesley

Don't You Just Love Giveaways?

2011-10-19T18:11:00.000-07:00

Well, so do I. I'm too new to blogland to offer one, but I want to share one with you. My blogger friend, Sandie, a most talented artist/quilter with a really great blog, is so proud of her accomplishment of reaching 75 followers that she is sharing with all of us the opportunity to win a scrumptious, yummy Christmas quilt that she has made. I want to win, but I did tell her I would share with others, and my word is good, so I'm sharing the info about her giveaway, but remember, I still want to win! Go to her blog here to enter and find out more info. She's drawing a winner on November 1, so hurry!

I'm a flipper. Bet you didn't know that about me! You know I have a passion for quilts, quilting, and fabrics, but you probably didn't know I also have a passion for quilting magazines! When I'm not working with fabric, I'm looking at it, either in blogland or by flipping through the glossies. Have a peek at my latest purchases...can't seem to go to a supermarket without buying a new one. And as we approach Christmas, there are even more to choose from. I guess I am a professed magazineaholic! Do you think there's a support group out there for someone like me? Just imagine if I made a quilt from each magazine! Am I flippin' crazy?

And the best thing about flipping, is that every once in awhile, you come across a quilt made by someone you've met in blogland! For example, McCall's Quilting Magazine (November/December 201) has a great quilt in it designed by Konda Luckau, the wonderful host of the Fat Quarter Stars Quilt Along which I joined. Every second Tuesday is like Christmas when a new block design is posted! Konda's Snow-Kissed Star quilt in the magazine is amazing and graces the cover of the magazine. Kudos to Konda!

It's been a busy week and most of my evenings were tied up. But I did manage to finish block 4 of the Christmas Sew Happy Sew Along hosted by Lesley Boost. Isn't he a cutie! Only 3 more blocks to go and a week to finish up, so definitely ready by Christmas.

I'm off on vacation for the next few days! A wonderful time planned with "Mom, Me, and Sisters Three! " We're a 4-girl family, spread across the country, so when we get together, it's wonderful! Hubby will man the fort and keep the home fires burning, while I will wander across into another province and enjoy food, family, and fond times! Life is good!
Cheers and Hugs 'till next time!

Lesley

Wonderful Wednesday!

2011-10-12T16:48:00.000-07:00

What a great day! I have far exceeded my expectations in the quilt world this week! I met 3 of my quilting goals and it's only Wednesday!

First, I finished my 3 quilties for the trade and will ship them off tomorrow to the quiltie trade lady, aka Sandie. I'm not going to show you the front of the quilties, because maybe you're in the trade and I don't want to ruin the surprise! But I will show you the back! See the thimble at the top? It gives you an idea of the size...tiny quilties!

Suffice to say that these three 4x6 inch quilties that I made are small in size but took a "large" amount of determination! Check out Sandie's blog to see some of the quilties she's been making. They are outstanding and creative in every way. Anyone who knows me knows I need to follow a pattern, so my little quilties were a little out of my element but were an awful lot of fun. Thanks Sandie...I'm definitely in for the next quiltie trade...I think you mentioned a Christmas theme for the next one? And I love Christmas!

Second biggie was finishing the second block of the Fat Quarter Star Quilt Along. Last night I downloaded the instructions and started choosing fabrics and cutting. A new block is posted every second Tuesday so I love Tuesdays! Tonight I finished the block. This block is called Friendship Twist and I really appreciated how easy and quickly it came together. Carrie did a great job in her instructions. Here is my rendition of the block. I seem to be having trouble showing true colors on the blog...in "real life" the block is more colorful, burgundy, green, and tan. Here it is:

And my third accomplishment was finishing block 3 of the Sew Happy Sewalong. "Dear Santa" was so much fun to do. And now only two more days till block 4!

Thanks to all of you who have found my blog and are now visiting on a regular basis and/or following. You are awesome folks! I'm still discovering new things in the blog land and I promise I'll share with you! For example, if you aren't set up with your own blog or social networking accounts, you can enter your email right on on my blog page and anytime I do a new post, it will be emailed directly to you by the elves in computerland. How cool is that?

Well, the rest of the week will be schnibbles, schnibbles, and more schnibbles! And did I mention the quilt on the frame? Gotta love the life of a quilter!

Cheers and Hugs,

Lesley

Quilting Blogland is Awesome!

2011-10-09T15:47:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had the bestest time! I participated in the Christmas Quiltalong, hosted by Cathi at Shakerwood Quilts and Quilt Sue. It was a "large" day for me of sewing, cutting, quilting, and even doing some embroidery on Christmas projects. I had my laptop on one table to keep in touch with my blogging friends, the sewing machine whirring on the other, and whenever I wanted a change, I sat in the big armchair in front of the picture window and did some stitchery.

Today I couldn't resist signing up for the Fat Quarter Stars Quiltalong! I'm a little late to the gate, but it was well worth playing catch-up. I had so much fun putting it together this afternoon while the Thanksgiving turkey was cooking! (Yes, I'm a Canadian!) The BOM started on September 27 and every 2 weeks until March 27, 2012, another block will be posted. Thanks so much to Konda at Moose on the Porch Quilts for bringing us all together for this one. I decided to use fabrics from my stash and had a lot of fun playing with my color choices. The instructions were excellent and the block came together in no time. Here is the first block:

I have tomorrow off due to the Thanksgiving holiday and what am I going to do? I am going to try my best to make 3 quilties...what's a quiltie you ask? Sandie knows! She's sponsoring a Quiltie Trade! Visit her blog or link with the button and get all the details for exchanging 3 quilties. Yes, the deadline to get things in the mail is October 15, but hey, the quilties are only 4x6 inches each and that's a whole 6 days away! So again, I'm late to the gate, but I'm going to fast forward and make that my priority for tomorrow. Are you going to join me!

Cheers and Hugs!

Lesley

It's My Birthday and I'll Quilt If I Want To!

2011-10-08T02:46:00.000-07:00

Ok, I hope you sang along with me! Not only is it my birthday (and I love birthdays almost as much as Christmas), it's also Thanksgiving weekend for we Canadians (yay for a long weekend!) and it's also a day that I plan to participate in the Christmas Quilt Along. QuiltSue hosted last month, and today it is hosted by Cathi at Shakerwood Quilts. Drop by and join the fun. I joined a little too late in the game to do the project some of the others are working on; instead I will share and enjoy the Christmas spirit and goodwill and spend the day sewing on my Christmas Schnibble. You can never be too early for Christmas!

I am so spoiled...I awoke to a dozen red roses greeting me...I will pamper myself and be pampered for the whole day. How great is that!

But before I go to my sewing room, just wanted to share my finished block 2 of the Christmas Sew Happy Sew Along. Want to try it yourself? Click on the button to find out more and join the crew! ( If you have been reading my posts, you have probably noticed that I have been able to add some buttons, but I seem to have a problem with the size of the buttons. They don't seem to be a standard size. Any ideas on how to fix this?

Here is the "Love and Kisses" block:

I downloaded the pattern for block 3 yesterday called "Dear Santa"...it is so cute! Plan to get that started today as well!

I hope you all have as wonderful a day as I plan to!

Cheers!

Lesley

Schnibble 2 in the Works!

2011-10-06T14:08:00.000-07:00

Yup, I'm cutting, sewing, and making my next Schnibble quilt! I made the Bennington quilt and am now in the process of quilting it, but I can't just have one project on the go, I need lots of projects on the go! So, I have started my second schnibble quilt! It's called Hot Cross and is in Carrie Nelson's book, Schnibbles Times Two. ( I just heard that her second book, Another Bite of Schnibbles, is now available in Canada, so I better get hopping and get that ordered!)

Every night after work I make a few more schnibble blocks...I have 16 done and only 9 more to go. Of course I chose Christmas fabrics for quilt number 2...did I mention I love Christmas! The charm packs are Jovial by Basic Grey, Moda....some really neat combinations of polka dots, floral patterns, and a whole lot of christmas presents! Have a peek at the blocks I've finished so far...can't wait to start putting them together!

I have the fabric just waiting for the borders, binding, and backing. Don't you just love those polkadots! I've avoided polkadots in quilts most of my life, and now I seek them out at fabric stores! And they say an old dog can't learn new tricks!

Whew, so much excitement, now I have to leave the schnibble world and tackle my second embroideryblock in Christmas Sew Along...tomorrow block 3 will be posted, so I better get cracking!

Hope you're having a great day!

Lesley

I Really Wasn't Planning to Shop!

2011-10-02T15:20:00.000-07:00

OK, I really wasn't planning on shopping this weekend. I was heading to New Brunswick for a family weekend/birthday celebration. I crossed the causeway from Cape Breton to mainland Nova Scotia, travelled for a few hours, crossed the border into New Brunswick, and then found my way to the reunion cottage on the Northumberland Strait. I planned on visiting with family, celebrating a few birthdays, (Mom's was yesterday and mine is coming up this week) and just having a grand old time with everyone.

Who cared that it was supposed to rain for the weekend? Wasn't even planning to go shopping! And then Saturday morning came, and a spontaneous, "Let's go to Chartlottetown for lunch" had the 4 of us in the car within 20 minutes and we were off to cross another causeway, this one to Prince Edward Island! And then the shopping (oops!) began.

We visited the Farmer's Market, a place bustling with activity and wall to wall food, vendors, and artists! I fell in love with a piece of quilt art created by Kelly Burgess, and with some "birthday" money from family, I am now the proud owner of "The Clothesline". It is stunning and now hangs in my sewing corner above my ironing board...total inspiration! I'm still learning to use my new camera, so the color in the picture is not nearly as beautifuil as it is "in real life", but I had to share anyway!

The Clothesline is machine quilted and even has Kelly's name emboidered in the corner!

You can see some of Kelly's work at her blog http://www.kellyburgessquilts.blogspot.com/

Then we headed to lunch at a local pub, and what was across the street but a fabric store...honest! Right across the street! Quilting B and More in downtown Charlottetown just drew me in. Found a few treasures in the notion department and then just had to get my hands on some beautiful batik charm packs... I think this is calling out to be a schnibble quilt!

The weekend was wonderful, yes, a little bit of shopping, but a lot of family time and making great memories. I even found time to finish block 1 of the Christmas Sew Along, sponsored by Lesley Boost at Sew Happy Me.

I love Christmas! See you next time!
Lesley

A Great Week in Blog Land!

2011-09-29T02:29:00.000-07:00

What a great week for me in blog land! This week I finally had the courage to launch my blog and then I joined the Bloggers Block of the Month Quilt Along, a really neat concept organized by Jackie of Canton Village Quilt Works. I returned from a weekend conference on Sunday and by that night I had completed my first block and even learned how to post it on the Flickr BBOM site! The club is growing every day so you'll have to check it out! Thanks Jackie for getting the ball rolling!

The September block was designed by Sherri at A Quilting Life. She was so very creative with the fabrics from the Kasse Fasset Collection and put together a fantastic block and tutorial. She also continues to amaze me with her ongoing projects and tutorials. Not having any of those Kasse fabrics on hand, I went to my stash of some really neat fabrics I picked up this summer when visiting Bar Harbor. Have a peek:

Yes, the fabrics are a little outside of my comfort zone, so I toned it down with a neutral background. I'll incorporate some of the greens and even those fancy polka dots down the road!

Here is my finished block. (Sure hope it's the camera that is making it look crooked!)

I also joined Lesley's Sew Happy Christmas Sewalong . For 8 weeks, she will share a Christmas themed embroidery project...by Christmas it will be finished...unless a person procrastinates! My first "Ho! Ho! Ho!" should be finished in time for the next installment on Friday. Thanks so much, Lesley, for coming up with this idea!

I love the sharing that goes on in this blog world! Everyone is so generous! Now, if I could only figure out how to put buttons on my blog so you could quickly connect to these neat places! Thanks to Lesley's help, I'm trying to figure it out. Stay tuned!

Cheers!

Lesley

I'm Hooked on Quilt Blogs!

2011-09-26T14:12:00.000-07:00

I discovered quilt blogs a few months ago and I am hooked! I've always been a magazine flipper, so I've now crossed over to blog flipping! And I love it! I've learned so much and feel I am becoming a member of a community that has so many things to offer! What I have learned is that the beauty of a blog is in the inspiration and passion of the quilter/creator, the pictures that are posted of fabric, quilts, binding,finished quilts, UFOs, and even NUFO's, (New UFO's, a term lovingly coined by Julie at http://juliekquilts.blogspot.com ).The tutorials are amazing...makes me wish the days were longer and the nights were shorter!

So, this is my first blog. I can't guarantee how regular I will post ( I do have a day job), but I really hope you visit me once in awhile to see what I'm up to!

In the blog world, I discovered Schnibble Quilts, small quilts using a couple of charm packs or bits of fabric from your stash. After reading so many blogs and seeing so many gorgeous pictures, I was ready to enter the Schnibbles World of small quilts. I ordered "Schnibbles Times Two" by creator Carrie Nelson of Miss Rosie's Quilt Company and anxiously awaited the delivery. I was not disappointed! The book has 12 gorgeous quilts. Each quilt is presented in two versions: one version using layer cakes and one using charm packs. After one flip through the book, I was hooked again! I plan to make each of the charm pack Schnibble Quilts this year.

Off I went to the fabric store, purchased a couple of Moda's "Countdown to Christmas" charm packs, and put my sewing machine in overdrive. In no time at all, my project was completed. Here is the picture of the top, which I hope will be hand quilted by Christmas. I'll post another pic of it again once it's quilted and bound. I love it! Hope you like it too!