Context is Everything

today I got a pedicure

my toes certainly are bright

 but in a different setting

 they really are a sight

I think Ava will approve

because her heart is full of love

blessings, 

Chris

April Goals

How do we choose which project to start next? I have been busy this past month completing several quilts and thoughts of starting at least five new quilts  have been dancing through my head. I could not give in to them because I was on a mission to complete quilts.  I had to use the Bernina since the Brother machine messed up  and then I broke the acrylic darning foot from the Bernina. Fortunately, I had a metal one that I used to finish the free motion quilting for my 17-ufosin-2017 challenge. This month I will be working on beyond-the-cherry-trees-album-quilt. I am packing my bags to go to Poland to visit my family for Easter. She is not well. At 91 that is no surprise. I am taking 9 year old Ava with me. I plan to take some hand applique with me and at least one text book.

I have the entire pattern packet for the Caswell quilt from sentimental stitches in a box with fabrics and shirting  backgrounds waiting.

I also have all ten months of Susan Smith's stonefields-quilt-block-of-the-month that I bought when I was in Australia two years ago.  I have an old collection of fabrics and various backgrounds ready in a project box waiting until I get back from Poland. These have been pre-washed because they were so wrinkly from sitting in a few boxes for years.

After I get home I am going to babysit the little boy grand children for four days and doubt I will get much stitching done. But who knows, I won't get any done if I do not prep some blocks and take them along,  

I see so many interesting patterns and projects  in blogland and am tempted by many of them. I have at least 80 blogs on my blog list. Most post weekly, some monthly. And some days when I am avoiding doing any real work I will wander off on rabbit trails and see what else is out there to see. I follow lots of blogs that are doing some of the same projects I am doing so I can get encouraged. But right now it seems that they are over whelming me with so many options.

I started talking about how we choose which quilt to make next. I am drooling over  the  150+Canadian+Women weekly quilt-a-long.

And I have  been collecting the patterns while they are free to make this tribute to Canadian women as we celebrate our 150 birthday as a nation. I have fabric. I bought some of the Northcott collection at Lens Mill Store when everything with red in it was 25% off. I like sales. I spend more than $200 on fabric that day. And I already had some in my cupboard with the Canadian national anthem and some with maple leaves. It is going to be a spectacular quilt. I am only 57 blocks behind. But I have a plan. I will pull out the GO cutter and some dies with one inch and one and a half inch options and blitz them.  They are all pieced with none appliqued. I like applique, but have enough of that in project boxes.

How do I choose which quilt to make next? I usually jump in impulsively and blitz it for a while. Starting quilts is so much fun, but I have tasted what it is like to complete not one but 4 quilts this past month. I could put off starting anything new for a whole month and complete another one or two. Maybe. But I have a plane to catch  Friday and  . . .  the power just went off . . .

It was off for a couple of hours so we went to bed really early since it was dark and very quiet. Eventually we heard the furnace come on so knew the power was back on. I have a family wedding to go to today and it is overcast and gloomy this morning, but the sun is supposed to come out this afternoon.

I do not have to worry about what I will start next since I do not have time this week which will be filled with appointments like dentist, massage, chiropractor and the little boy grandchildren are coming for a sleepover just before we leave. But I do have to decide what my omg-one-monthly-goal  will be for April. I will try to complete one, just one BTCT block. 

The RSC colour this month is multicolour. Since I am doing this challenge with my Bright Jane  and there are no multi colour fabrics I plan to make more aqua blocks since I prepped a whole bunch that did not get made in Feb. 

Come back at the end of the month to see how I did.

(I just received news that my 91 year old aunt passed away last  night so we go in sadness)

Blessings, 

Chris

 linking up with needle and thread network  
 http://estheraliu.blogspot.ca/  

17-ufosin-2017 

omg-one-monthly-goal 

needle and thread thursday

confessions of a fabric addict

let's bee social 

sew fresh quilts  

rainbow scrap challenge

sunday slow stitching

 midweek-makers

moving it forward mondays 

March Finishes

There is something magical about trimming the borders on an almost finished quilt. 

I do it so rarely that I feel it. Well, I felt it four times this month. 

This magical trimming the edges thing.

Trimming Borders

I did the simple straight line stitching in the ditch around

the borders and sashing on this quilt.

But wasn't sure how to quilt those blocks. 

Then the thought popped into my head to do a simple spiral.

So I did. 

Machine Quilting

 I completed not one, not two, not three, but FOUR quilts this month.

My omg-one-monthly-goal 

was to finish only three.  
This makes four 17-ufosin-2017 
complete so far and I have worked on

three others. 

 Time to celebrate and start a couple new ones. 

Well, maybe just one. 

For now. 

I still have to do a few ties on the crazy patch on top.

Completed Quilts

I also made five Bright Jane blocks for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. 

The power was out two different days and I had to do something 

that did not take electricity, so I prepped these blocks. 

I sewed them up another day. 

In the meantime, Devan came over to visit and 

removed all the wonder clips that were holding the bits together.

I still love her. 

Bright Jane

Not much Slow Stitching  

going on this month. 

But I did get just one more grape stitched on. 

One of those Devan added.

 

BTCT

And I finally and completely finished Simple Simon. 

 I did a simple straight machine quilting stitch 

 through all the white squares with the walking foot.

 I was so proud of myself, until . . .

Simple Simon

I found the oops block. 

Blessings,
Chris
linking up with needle and thread network  
 http://estheraliu.blogspot.ca/ 

OMG March 2017 Goals

I often say Go Big or Go Home. It's not an original saying. Actually, my husband used the phrase last night at our small group. I so often do things feast of famine - all or nothing. Sigh.

My  OMG quilting goal for March is to machine quilt not one, not two but three quilts. I got help layering them the other night and they are in a pile waiting for my Brother machine to come home from the beauty spa where it has been this past week for a tune-up. While I wait for that machine to come home, I can prep the binding for the other two. 

In the meantime, I plan to write my next book. Yup. The whole thing. I have been making notes for years and this month's challenge is to write for an hour each day and get the first draft on paper. Today's task is to draw up a MAP - massive action plan. I prepared a few 11x17 ledger sized sheets of paper to look like spread sheets. On these I will map out the book chapter by chapter and see where the words take me. I like to write long hand on paper when I do this kind of thing because I can see everything and I can add notes here and there whenever I need to. I will type the whole thing out later. I have a few friends praying for me this month as I write and invite any of my readers to join in with prayers if you are a praying person.

Did I say the plan is to write for an hour each day? I have been practicing going to bed early this week. I even got to bed a 8:30 one night and had a refreshing 9 hour sleep. My usual practice is to stay up really late and do my best work late since I get this second wind after 9 pm. But I have also learned that I do good work in the early mornings if I get up and start. We have had more rain in the night and daffodils are popping up their heads in my flower beds. Looks like spring but is supposed to drop down to -13C tomorrow. A good day to stay inside and write.

Blessings,
Chris

End of February

I did not get my Simple Simon top quilted for 
omg-one-monthly-goal.

I did get some major house cleaning done 

for the open house book signing party. That was fun. 

I have been waiting for some helps to sandwich three tops to quilt. They are coming on Monday night.

I did cut and prepare the binding. Hope there will be enough since I have no more of this fabric. 

If not,  could add some other colour. 

Maybe.We shall see. If there is enough. 

I got one Bright Jane block done for the RSC challenge. 

It's the top left one. foundation pieced.

But then, that's all I had promised to do. 

These are all the aqua/turquoise blocks made so far.

 I sewed up the twelfth block for the Civil War blue $10 quilt. 

Today I am connecting all the blocks together with a border print. 

For the 17-ufos-in-2017/.

 I sewed the binding on to the Brown Crazy Patch.

Now what are the chances of finding the exact correct left over fabric 20 years after making the thing? 

I hadn't seen it for years then when I went to the fabric cupboard 

the other day to get something else, it was just laying there. 

On top of something. 

Right there.

 I switched to some hand embroidery for the BTCT blocks.

 I had forgotten how simple and relaxing embroidery can be.

  Must do more of it. Mostly outline and back stitch.

 Devan decided that this block needed some extra grapes

and glued them on last night when I turned my back while babysitting.

That's about it for now. 

We had a record setting 18C yesterday 
so I took Ava out for ice cream.

Just because we could. 

Blessings,

Chris

Cobwebs and Quilting

My daughter came by for a couple of days last week with the boys. They are so amazing and so cute. Both slept through the same night so she finally got some good sleep. Yay for sleep for mother's of babies. The reason she made the long drive here was to help her mom, me, do some serious dusting and seek and remove cobwebs galore. She commented how bright the rooms looked after she was done. I figure, if I can't see them, they do not exist. Well they did exist but not anymore.

And why was it so important to get rid of them in mid February? Isn't that what  most people do in the spring? I am not like most people. We are having a Book Signing open house here at the Farm next Sat Feb 18 to promote and sell signed copies of Denine: One mother's journey with a profoundly handicapped child.  I have three cases of soft cover books in the corner in the living room and several pens ready to write my name and a few encouraging words in them.

I bought some bubble envelopes yesterday and mailed off a few today to the US and BC. I could not believe how much it cost per book!!! I guess when amazon prices shipping and handling at $6.49, it is a bargain.

I finished the quilting on the Brown Crazy Patch so another 17 ufos for 2017 is moved forward. Now to find some suitable fabric for binding.

The weather forecast for the next couple of weeks shows lots of sunshine and plus numbers. The sap will be running. I wonder if the grand kiddies are ready to learn about making maple syrup? None of them especially like it. And I vowed never to re-paper the kitchen again after last time. Can't recall how long ago that was. More than twenty years at least. But I digress.

The plumbers were in this morning clearing the clogged bathroom sink. I will have to sell at least a hundred books to pay them. They had to remove and replace some of the 1950s drain pipes, so I got them to put new taps on the laundry tub. They did that for free.

If taking 20 years to make and complete the Brown Crazy patch is not slow stitching, then I do not know what is. Linking up with 

Sunday Slow Stitchin, 
17 ufos for 2017 
 needle and thread network.
confessions of a fabric addict 
needle-and-thread-thursday. 
let's bee social 
quilting readers garden. 

Blessings,
Chris

What I Am Doing This Week

The RSC for February is aqua - turquoise. I have pulled some fabrics for 8 Bright Jane blocks. No promise how many I will get done. I will start with one.

 I started teaching nine year old Ava to do embroidery. She learned to put on the hoop, separate the floss  and thread a needle. She got stuck at making a knot. Not that I use knots when I do embroidery, but I thought it was time she learned how.

 I finished the wreath on this BTCT block this week bring my total completed blocks to  14.

For the life of me, I have no idea why I called this 17-ufos-in-2017 quilt a  Log Cabin. I did once make a brown Log Cabin quilt, but have no idea if I ever finished it or gave it away. 

I decided to do simple diagonal curvy lines using some left over King Tut thread. Once I found the thread, it was easy peasy to get it started. However, what should have taken me a day to do has stretched into several days. Something about grand children and babysitting. 

Why do they call this yellow stuff "Frog Tape?" It is neither sticky nor croaks.

 Linking   slow sunday stitching

Blessings,
Chris