Another Sunday

Here we are, another Sunday and I am reviewing my week.  Not a lot accomplished but I did manage to cross 'stuff' off my list.  My roll top desk is looking very neat and tidy, I have been to physio for my knee, the podiatrist for my toe/foot problems, have baked some lovely rhubarb muffins, picked up my new glasses and quite like them, have watered our grass seed that we planted a week ago and it is beginning to 'green' and have been on a daily hospital run to the pysch ward to visit our daughter and take her the daily allotment of cigarettes (which is annoying but as she says, she is there to get mentally adjusted, not to quit smoking) .... whew!
Quilting? Sewing?
Actually, I did help my buddy to clean up her studio last week and I do have a quilt that I quilted and have the binding done!  Yippee... another ufo, albeit not very old, is finished.  I started this fall and used fabric from my Wednesday Diva's ugly fabric swap.  The fabric was 6½" square which didn't work with the Let's Twist rulers so I created my own and just went full steam ahead. 

And, I played with some appliqué while watching tv this week and have my projects ready to layer and buttonhole stitch/bind. 

Hopefully this week will some more progress in the direction of something completed... maybe a few somethings?

Rainy Day

What a dreary day outside.  I find it hard to get motivated to accomplish much but forced myself to get busy since I haven't done much sewing/quilting for quite awhile - at least not a lot to show for myself.  I do have excuses such as a daughter in the psych ward at the local hospital, sunny weather that has meant weeding and using my weedeater, grandchildren last weekend, a niece here this weekend and great 'old' friends for dinner this past weekend.

However, enough of the excuses.
I did manage to finish making 10 pillowcases that will be used for any quilts of Valour that get turned into me without a cover.  These are ready to go... all pressed and looking nice!

And, I have finished a UFO!  I bought this kit/pattern at the Abbotsford Guild quilt show last June and made the top last fall but it didn't get to head south with me to Arizona so it is now quilted and bound and ready for fall or Christmas.  It is approx 40" square.  Simple but had made an error in the placement of one of the blocks so had to do some frogstitching.  UGH.  But at least I noticed it before I did the stitch in the ditch quilting.

My two new projects (3 actually but one is still in the planning stage) are two small wall hangings, one is for Canada Day and the other is for May.  I still have some UFO's to finish quilting but the need to start something new was too strong for me to resist.  :)

We have been busy - or at least my husband has been extremely busy, raising our retaining wall (we live on a cliff/mountainside and the land has been gradually shifting downward) so we now have flat ground for walking on and cutting the grass.  The grass seed has been planted and I am busy watching it germinate and grow.  This is the view that I have when I step outside of my sewing space.

I did manage to quilt one of my UFO's this past week but need to work on the binding and I hope I have picture of my finished project to show you later this week.

Urban houses are all in the neighbourhood.

My Urban house block quilt is finished.  This was a swap with my friends in my Wednesday quilting group and I had to make 12 of one of the houses - which one?  This swap was in spring of 2011 so, just over one year later, the quilt is done and ready for me to figure out which wall to hang it on. 

My quilting has come to a bit of halt due to sunshine!  I have been grass cutting and weedeating and making it look nice outside.  Maybe soon, I will be back at my machine because it is too hot outside and cooler in my basement?  Maybe.....

And, one more ufo bites the dust!

My last blue and white, Quilt of Valour, UFO is completely finished.  Yippeeeee.  This is the third one that I made from blocks that were swapped January 2010 with my Funtalk group.  Mitts was our fearless organizer and I ended up with all the extra blocks plus I made a lot more of my own and this is the last result of my efforts.
I added the border that says "our home and native land" - so perfect for a Canadian quilt of Valour and am sad that Fabricland doesn't have anymore of this great fabric. 

Having finished this UFO, and with two more finished except for handstitching the bindings, I decided to do a major clean up and then get ready to quilt (buttonhole stitch aka Patchabilities) my last project that I am determined to do here at home.  Still have a few projects to load onto the B-line and get quilted but all in good time.  Sun is here for the next few days and need to go outside and attack the vicious weeds that keep appearing.  I think vinegar will be my choice for weeds that are totally obnoxious?
Tomorrow is guild meeting and I am taking a free motion quilting class.  I know, I can do it but you always come away with new ideas and inspiration when you take a class. 

Add another finish - a UFO is done

This quilt is made from blocks that were swapped with my online Funtalk group, two years ago.  The organizer of the swap sent me all the extras and I did make a promise that I would turn them into donations to Quilts of Valour.  I did make a lot of extra blocks and there is still one more to come when the binding is done. 

A nice size quilt and ready for handing over to QOV.

Two finishes! Yippee

I have two finishes and am so happy.  My list of projects to get layered, quilted and bound is long, all from my winter sewing efforts but today, two got crossed off!  I am smiling. 

This first project is my Thimbleberries Canadiana quilt.  I am not sure of the age of this UFO but am guessing at least four years and maybe five?  It is done!  Still thinking about whether to keep it for myself or use it as a Quilt of Valour.

This second finish is a quilt top that was given to me for Quilts of Valour by Susan, a guild member.  I layered, quilted and bound the top and it is finished, added to my slowly growing pile of quilts for this worthy cause.  Thank you Susan! 

Now, back to my sewing machine.  I have two blue and white quilts all quilted, waiting for binding as well as  my guild mystery all quilted and waiting for binding.  I found a small Christmas table topper with one block in it heading in the wrong direction so that needs to be fixed but I did the 'ripit' stitch last night.  My Quilt Divas house blocks are layered and waiting for quilting.  And I have three quilts which I want to load on the B-line and quilt them.  A long arm quilter in Mission is quilting one of my QOV quilts and I have another for her when she gets the first one done.  QOV is always looking for long arm quilters if that is an area that interests you. 

Since we are addicted to Coronation Street, a good use of time to sit and hand sew down my bindings.  And this crummy rainy west coast weather has been great for giving me sewing machine time without feeling guilty that I am not in the garden or washing windows!