Changing houses is stressful!

It must be my age but am finding this business of changing homes from summer to winter very stressful this year.  Could be because of aging parents and circumstances but am a little frazzled.
I have managed to write my lists and have finished up as much quilting and piecing as will get done this year.
However, I have had some quilt finishes that are making me very happy.
My Sew-Sisters block of the month for Canada's anniversary is quilted and bound.  This has been patiently waiting on a hanger for a year. These are blocks designed by Canadian quilters and each one represents a particular part of our country. 

And, even better, I got my Canadian 150 women's quilt finished.  There were 150 blocks in total, with 3 per week sent out to us.  I kept up with making them until I got to around 70 blocks and realized that this was going to be a really large quilt.  I don't like to work with large quilts and I don't really have a need or use for a large quilt so I picked and chose the final ten blocks to get it to 80 squares.  With added sashings and outer borders, it is a perfect size and I have been sleeping under it for the last few nights.  It is warm and cozy with flannel backing and Arctic blend batting.

A quilt came to me that was quilted but needed binding and a label for Quilts of Valour Canada so that is another "job" done. The top was made by a guild member and it is a fun way to use 2.5" strips.

I also got the binding finished on my Villa Rosa Sheryl quilt.  It was quilted a few months ago but was at the bottom of the binding pile.  Crossed off my list of projects!

Am not sure if posted this picture of my Quilter's planner 2018 block of the month quilt.  I made blocks every month and then in September decided that I would finish up the blocks and the quilt so that it would a finish for the year.  However, I didn't want to take the blocks with me to my winter home and then have to bring them back and since we fly, didn't want to haul a finished quilt back with me.  So, it is done and I can post the picture to the group on Facebook at the end of December and then start in on the blocks for 2019 without any guilt.

So, heading on a jet plane to sunshine and warmth.  Tennis will take over my life for the first few weeks and then we will see what happens in my quilting room. 

Time to change homes for the winter.

September was an awful month for weather but October is glorious and I am loving the cool temperatures and the glorious sunshine.  I was actually motivated to do some housework today with the brightness coming in the windows and it felt good.  I don't say that very often.

Had a fun night last night at the modern guild meeting and I won a fabulous set of fat quarters.  Thank you to Jean! And Val handed me some awesome Canadian batik fabric which will get used in a Quilt of Valour.  Thank you to Val!

Earlier in the week, I opened a fun package from my Ovarian Teal mini swap partner in San Jose, CA and was thrilled with her choice of fabrics, pattern and quilting design.  So much fun and so happy!  She had taken a class with Christa Watson (am so envious) and was playing with some of the things she learned.
Thank you to Susy!

I love the back of the mug rug as much as the front.  And I laughed at the lint picker... it is as if she has seen me leaving the house and picking threads off myself while sitting at a red light.  The card is a picture of two of her pugs and of course, who wouldn't drool over a charm pack of zen chic?
Thanksgiving dinner was a delicious turkey feast at our neighbour's house and I managed to bake a lemon meringue pie!  Plus, Gary loves my yams in orange sauce so my contribution was minimal but Susan had the rest all organized.  So nice to go out for a nice family dinner with good friends.

One of my goals got met.  All seven of the preemie quilts I started at the retreat last month are quilted, bound, labelled and off to the NICU at our local hospital.

I only made one block for Canada Stitches.  I had to make one to ensure the instructions for the guild were accurate and I was really impressed with a quilt made from this block pattern. It is garlic knot and am happy that the guild went full steam ahead making blocks and they will be in the mail in the next few days to the rep in Alberta ready to made into another quilt for a deserving first responder attending Can Praxis to help them heal from PTSD.

I met up with my naval veteran friend and he picked up a stack of quilts to deliver to deserving veterans through the Naval veterans association.  They meet at HMCS Discovery in Stanley park monthly and we are trying to cover those deserving armed forces members with a quilt.  I think that Real deserved a quilt for all the good work he does for these veterans.

On Tuesday, we had Toonie Tuesday at our guild meeting where members pay a toonie to take six classes, moving every 15 minutes to a different session.  I normally do a quilt block that is easy, quick, simple and great for using scraps but I changed my class offering, which, sad to say, upset a few people who were looking forward to my quilt block ideas.  Oh well.. next year!  Instead, I demonstrated making the small buckets from 3 fat quarters.  Perfect for small, quick gifts for Thanksgiving, Autumn, Hallowe'en, and Christmas.

I got the binding done on my Pow Wow quilt.  This was a kit from Connecting Threads 3 years ago and simple as it is, took forever to get it out of the bag and onto my cutting table and under my needle.  All is done.

This quilt was a bit smaller and I bought the kit at Quilt Canada earlier this year.  When I finished the top, I decided to add borders to make it slightly larger, and I put flannel on the back. It will be a perfect quilt to donate to Victoria quilts which are quilts given to patients fighting cancer.

My block of the week, Sparrow mystery blocks are finished but they won't be put into a quilt top until 2019.

And, am very excited that I have quilted both my Canadian 150 women's blocks quilt and my Sew-Sisters quilt.  The bindings are added but am hand stitching them down so expect pictures soon. They are crossed off the list and are UFO's that are only a year old, not too bad?
So, I am down to seven tops that need quilting and I am not upset if they wait until next spring.  I have accomplished all I wanted to get done in the last seven months.  I also have a bunch of blocks waiting to be stitched into quilt tops and again, they can wait their turn.  There are a couple of bunches that really need to be worked on next spring and I will try to get them finished.  But, lots of time, right?  At least the blocks are made which is much better than a labelled container of fabric and half finished blocks.  These tops are all destined to be donation quilts so their time will come, eventually.  

Among those blocks that are hanging and waiting are some panels that were available last year while we were celebrating Canada's 150th anniversary and I saw this quilt, made by a good friend in my Wednesday Diva group and think it is a great way to use the fabric.  Love how effective the panel looks in this quilt. This picture inspires me to use those panels next spring.

Off to work on handstitching my binding on my quilts and hopefully will have another post before I leave on a jet plane!