Preparation for Tuesday's Class

I spent some time yesterday afternoon sewing up some samples for our Scrappy Tutorial at class on Tuesday.  We always have lots of spare pieces of fabric left over from our projects and it's good to find and share new ideas of how we can use them up.  I am a fan of The Quilt Show with Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims.  This show features a different quilt artist each month and I watch the episodes in the hope that I pick up new ideas.  

This idea was on a recent programme with Victoria Finlay Wolfe.  Her book is described as 

 '15 Minutes of Play -- Improvisational Quilts: Made-Fabric Piecing Traditional Blocks and Scrap Challenges'. She is an artist turned quilter and she calls her method of quilting '15 minutes of play'.  This lady is a busy homemaker and mum and this method allows her to be creative in short bursts.  I could not really believe this could be done it 15 minutes, but yes it can!  

The Scrap Baskets

My Toes in the Sand quilt blocks are coming along too.  I think I now have nine completed blocks.  I am enjoying this one, using the Hex n' go ruler.  The triangular blocks are made up with hexis, half hexis, triangles and jewels.  These shapes are all very interesting to cut out, which is a favourite part of the process for me.  I may try some of these blocks using a different colour combination sometime in the future, as I think I said before I am not really liking these fabrics.  Sadly a downside of doing a Block of the Month - they are not what I would have chosen. 

Two More 'Toes in the Sand' Triangular Blocks

I hope this week is as good as it can be for you all.

Gallery Update

Another busy day but very enjoyable.  Today was lunch and shopping day with Dad, enjoying a natter and catching up.

Lots of laundry to be done after our weekend away,  so tomorrow I will probably spend most of the morning ironing, then hopefully I will manage an hour of sewing.

Sorry there are no new photos today however I have spent some time this evening updating the Gallery Photos.

Until next time, hope you manage a bit more sewing than I have this week.

Late post - Sorry Away Again

I am writing this from an idyllic spot on the west coast - a complete contrast to the Rockies.  Damp weather, narrow roads with passing places and rolling mountains.

The view of the Loch from the doorway of Pier Cottage

We are here on this beautiful Highland Estate, a hidden gem, to celebrate our elder son's thirtieth birthday albeit a bit late.  We are delighted to join him with his wife and dogs, his brother Techie and some of their friends for a relaxing weekend of outdoor activities. (I think that is maybe an oxymoron!) Unfortunately the weather is not being terribly kind to us but as they say it's not bad weather, we just wear bad clothing but as long as you wear the right waterproof jacket all is well.  

Yesterday we spent some time with the estate ghillie who gave us some instruction in clay pigeon shooting.  What a great time we all had.  I missed all the clays completely, but thoroughly enjoyed the experience and had fun watching the others. We had a beautiful dinner in the Boathouse Restaurant and it was good to have the family together with their friends for a great night.  

Today is a late start and the roast is being cooked for the buffet dinner tonight.  It's a grey driech day but we are hoping it might clear a little to allow us to have a pleasant stroll in half an hour.  The youngsters have all gone off with the dogs for a hike around the estate, or off on their road bikes - kayaking was mentioned too!  We will just walk along the shoreline in the hope we might see an otter.  This is a wildlife haven - we have seen deer, otter, cormorants, northern divers, eider, herons and little wagtails from our window.

Needless to say there has been no sewing done.  I have knitted half a sock,  done some reading and have caught up on my magazines which were delivered while I was away.

Tomorrow my three boys are having a Fly Fishing session with the ghillie while V and I are heading to a little gallery and yarn shop - so a wee bit of craftiness included in an otherwise male orientated weekend.

I am off to get in to my waterproof trousers, Gortex jacket and boots now and brave the wild outdoors. I do believe the sun is trying to shine through the clouds. I had better go or I might just miss it.

We did see some blue sky when we went out for our walk - this was taken from the head of the loch

 

Update, Sunday evening.

 

We did manage a lovely walk this afternoon which was mainly dry and sunny but the storm clouds rolled up over the mountains on our return journey and we did get a bit wet half an hour from our door. We met up with the lads who had indeed been kayaking.

 

We have just had a delicious meal made by all the girls in the group and we have now left the youngsters at the Steading while we return to our little cosy cottage for a welcome cup of tea before bed.   

PS this post was written on Sunday but I was not able to post it as there is no mobile signal far less an internet connection.  Bliss!

Busy Week

Just catching 5 minutes to get this blog post done.  I seem to be chasing my tail since I came back home.

It was great to get back to quilting class last night and see all my quilty friends.  They have been busy bees while I have been away.  It was show and tell time!  What a great variety of projects.  I did take some photos but they are still on the camera, and as I didn't ask permission from the owners I am afraid I can't put them up here.  Beautiful wallhangings, cosy cushions, practical pressing/cutting mats, soft toys and so the list goes on and that was before all the Improv Quilts appeared.

The thing that impressed me most was the way the Improv Quilts all turned out.  All shapes and sizes, colours and textures, all very well done and stitched to perfection - a few remain WIP's and when they are all done we will have a display and bring them all together for a photoshoot.

A short discussion took place at the end of the evening about our dates for next session and it was unanimously agreed to continue as we did last year right through the summer.  I am going to try hard to think of new ideas and projects for the group and hopefully we might just manage an outing too.  I had better get the thinking cap on.  Yes it's good to be back!

On a personal note I have started a new project - Toes in the Sand. 

This was a Block of the Month I ordered a while ago and didn't quite get it started, so it wasn't really a block of the month was it.  Other things got in the way.  Never mind it's now started, I am not sure about some of the fabrics that I've been sent - especially the piece with the  snowmen or the still to be completed block with the whales!  I do however like the triangular pattern block and I do think the Hex n more ruler will be very useful for other projects. 

Off to sit in front of the cutting board then get some stitching done.

It Is Good To Be Back.......

....I think!  Yes it is good to come home to Techie and all the family, but sad to leave blue skies and sunny days, even though they were very cold at times.  The weather here is cold too and windy but there is a glimpse of sunshine this morning so it does feel a little warmer. All the plants in the garden are beginning to show signs of spring.  We have even found some little fritillaria which have appeared from nowhere and these little anemones are giving us a splash of colour in the border.

The daffodils are blooming too and tiny buds are appearing on the acers and shrubs in the garden.

I hope you have all bought a daffodil this month in support of Marie Curie Cancer Care.  I have a few projects in mind for fundraising in the coming months myself.  I will continue to make quilts to sell to raise funds in support of Marie Curie Cancer Care some of which can be found on my Etsy page above

I will be giving this one 

to my niece E who will be raffling it to raise sponsorship.  She is running in the Marie Curie 10k race which is talking place in Edinburgh in May and has her own designated Just Giving site here.

 

It was fun unpacking all my quilting things and settling down to my sewing space again, even although the view is not quite as spectacular.  Yes - I have been sewing already.  The ladies at the class will be eagerly??!!  awaiting the BOM for April.  I try very hard each month to stitch up the block (just to check the size and measurements I am giving them come out to the correct size) before emailing the pattern to the ladies to try out.  I am really looking forward to seeing everyone's colour schemes for the blocks we have been sewing each month over the winter.  This month will be the penultimate block.  We will need to set a date for completion as I know some ladies have been stitching as they receive the pattern and others are playing catch up.

I'm not exactly sure what I will be sewing next but hopefully by next week I will have decided and have a few more photos to share.  I must also get a few more Farmer's Wifey blocks done.

In the meantime enjoy the remainder of your weekend even though it is an hour shorter! 

All Good Things Must Come To An End

We are heading off home on Wednesday so the next few days will be packing up, tidying and cleaning the house and putting all my sewing things away for next time.  We have had a lovely holiday and have enjoyed our Spring break in Canmore, but it will be good to go home to see our family and all my quilty friends at class.

So my quilting achievements this holiday are as follows: I have completed three and a half quilts, 

Fall in the City

Allsorts

Flirty Pinwheels

The last one Flirty Pinwheels, is made up from the HST's left over from Twister.  

Twister is not quite finished, the top is finished and the backing pieced - I am taking it home to sandwich as it will save me a bit of bulk in the suitcase. More room for fabrics!

Three gloves and a cuff,

One and a bit knitted 20 x 24in preemie blankets for the Linus Project.  This is knitting I keep in the car for odd moments I feet the need to keep my hands busy.  I also made a few hexies and stitched a little bit of embroidery.

....and then of course there is Hardware - I put these blocks away earlier in the holiday but I brought them back out again this week and completed a few more.  They are not the cheeriest of fabrics, I still think they are too dull and busy for this block which I do like and is a good boy's block.  I might try it sometime in other fabrics.  In the meantime it will be put in the WIP box for my next visit.  I do think Best Press saved this one.  Due to the small pieces and the number of seams I wasn't happy with the way the initial finished blocks looked.  When I sprayed the finished blocks and repressed them with best press there was a remarkable difference - it's still my best friend!

I have also had two really fun days at Addies in Cochrane AB, with BA Jansen, a longarm quilter who gave me instruction on how to quilt using her APQS Millie. This was a first for me but I hope it won't be my last.  I really enjoyed quilting Allsorts using the machine with the pantograph and I just love the look of the stitching on the quilt.  Thanks again to all the lovely ladies there who made me so welcome especially BA.

This will be the last post from here - I will not manage a midweek post this week.  Next week if jet lag allows I will be posting from the other side of the Atlantic.

Have a good week everyone.

 

Some Days There Is No News

........so best say nothing at all.  That's what I thought this morning when I realised it was Wednesday and time for another blog post.

Then I remembered I hadn't shown you the photos BA took on my phone while I was doing my longarm quilting. I don't often think of photo opportunities so didn't take my camera, these are taken on my phone.

 

Quilting with Millie

I'm not too chuffed that BA decided to hide!  She is a great teacher and I learnt so much.  I look forward to another lesson or two when I return hopefully in the late summer.

Finished the quilting - BA told me not to hide!

Then I remembered this little chap. While we were sitting having our afternoon cuppa by the side of Two Jack Lake yesterday he was sitting chirruping away in the tree next to the car.

Male Red Crossbill

His bright red plumage was very distinctive as was his crossbill.  His mate was a little less colourful in her more subdued yellow/green coat.

A very snowy Two Jack Lake and Rundle Mountain

The ice is beginning to melt on Two Jack Lake although the snow is still too thick on the access road to get down to the lake edge where we like to sit in the summer.

Spring is definitely in the air!

 

PS Sorry to everyone reading this earlier - I think the gremlins were at work.  Hopefully this all looks a bit better now.