FINAL VISIT WITH THE GRANDS......

Last weekend was our final visit for this year, as we head south soon.  We had a good time, getting lots of hugs and kisses.

DH walked to our grandson's school with our son, to pick him up, and he was full of information about his day  - he loves school so far!  During the weekend, he sang lots of different songs for us.  He sings on key, and always seems to know all the words.

Our granddaughter is almost walking.  I think she could, but doesn't have the confidence to trust her balance yet.  She is pretty good playing by herself, and has a different favourite toy with each of our visits. 

We visited the Waterloo Quilt show on Saturday.  Our son stayed home and finished clearing out their veggie garden, but the rest of us enjoyed the show.  Our granddaughter rode in her stroller for a while, but then wanted to walk, and she put on a mile or two while we looked at quilts.  Our grandson was playing "spot the animal on the quilt" with DH.  When they were looking at some quilts in one of the vendor booths, the shop owner gave him a small wall hanging with a space theme - I guess it was for good behaviour.  Since the show was held at the huge community center, we stopped to watch the figure skaters practice on our way out.

I'm thankful that we live in the computer age, and can Skype with our grandchildren regularly.  We told our grandson that he could call us any time.  We often have "dinner" with the family,  having a video chat at the table.   We still miss the kids, and I have a better appreciation for my parents getting re-aquainted after 6 months away each winter - we only wrote letters, and long distance phone was only for dire emergencies.

I'm getting in extreme packing mode soon.  Right now I am deciding which projects I want to work on over the winter, so I can take some of the fabric required - I'm really trying to use my stash.  I think it will be another scrappy winter!

FOUND ANOTHER FINISHED QUILT!

Last June I had a serious cold that I just couldn't shake.  I still plodded along on quilting projects, but somehow I missed a wall hanging that I finished.

I began with the odd-ball block from the shop hop (one of the orphans).  It was a plain light beige basket with a white background.  I also found some applique pieces that had not been used on a vest made many years ago.  I had used some of the appliques in a runner a while ago, but still had some eggs, flowers and the bunny with paws.  This became the centre of the wall hanging.

I found a few pieces of Easter fabric in my stash, along with a piece that was leftover from making my grandaughter's bubble dress for the holidays.  

I enjoyed doing the bit of hand applique and then assembling a simple project, and all from my stash! 



The only other items that were forgotten were the eight place mats that I made for part of my guild's donation to Meals on Wheels.  I made them in plenty of time, but totally forgot to take a picture!!!!
 

MY FINAL FINISH BEFORE OUR TRIP

Last winter, a quilting friend gave me all of her scraps.  There was lots of flannel in various shades and prints, so I began making mini rail fence blocks.  

I pulled the project bag out on the weekend, and decided to finish the quilt.  I have a large collection of small cuts of flannel, saved from the backings of the kids' and baby quilts that I make, so I started cutting strips, and paired them light to dark.  After stitching and pressing the pieces, they were cut into 4 square units, 3.5 inches square, and stitched into blocks.  I mixed the two collections of blocks and discovered that I needed to make 2 more blocks to complete the quilt centre.  I found a larger piece of white flannel, with colourful printed letters for borders, and soon the top was complete.

I pieced the backing as well, to use all the odd pieces of flannel looking for a home.  I used a striped cotton for the binding, and had it completed to take to my guild's Community Quilts sew day this morning.

Including this quilt, I have used 94.5 yards of fabric this year, and only added 68.5 yards (mostly gifts).  My net used fabric for 2019 is      26 yards!!!!

ON A ROLL

I think I've finally found my groove again, just in time to pack up my sewing stuff for our annual move south for the winter!

Several years ago, I attended a shop hop and collected all the block kits from each shop (there were only 7 shops).  They had selected a theme, and colour scheme for the blocks, but one didn't follow the rules.  The 7 blocks sat on my design wall for many years, and this year I decided that I had to move them along.......

I had used the oddball block in another project, so I had 6 blocks to play with.  I decided to place them on point, and then looked for something to use in the 2 inside squares, as well as the setting triangle.  In my search, I found leftover large triangles from a blue and yellow quilt that I made in the mid 1990's!  I found a couple of pieces of blue and yellow print, still hiding in my stash, and before I knew it, a quilt top was completed.

ANOTHER MISSED PROJECT!

During our June meeting, our out-going guild president announced a challenge.  Those who chose to participate, pulled a box front from a large brown envelope, and had to complete a project of their choice, using all the colours on the box.

Of course, I forgot all about it until a couple of days before our meeting in September.  They only work I had done towards the project, was to pull one piece of fabric from my stash.

I spent some time planning the project using EQ8, and I even printed two parts so I could paper piece them. 

My quilt ended up being 15 1/2 inches square, and I used all of the small piece of red violet that was in my stash!  I had fun quilting the small project, and even tried the "hand quilting" stitch on my Bernina.  It looked fine, but next time I'll use a heavier weight thread in the bobbin!

There were lots of finished challenges at our September meeting, and a few more in October.

WHERE DID SUMMER GO?

This has been the shortest summer on record, for us.  I think it was just because we have been extra busy this year.  Our 4 1/2 yr old grandson spent 3 weeks with us, and his whole family visited for another week.  We also made many trips to visit the family, as we wanted to spend as much time with our granddaughter as we could.  She just celebrated her 1st birthday last week, and is settling well into daycare.  Her big brother started Jr. Kindergarten in September, and is enjoying his new adventure.  DH and his friend entertained 31 times during the summer, bringing music, jokes and memories to many seniors in nursing homes, rehab facilities, and seniors' residences in our area too!

I spent some time working on a basket quilt, similar to the one that Bonnie Hunter was working on.....

I began while south last spring, using available scraps, and I decided to continue when we returned home.  My light fabric is leftover muslin that has been hidden in my stash of scraps and I needed it to leave the premises!
 
I cheated, and used striped fabric for sashing and borders!

Please excuse the picture - we had to take it indoors, as it was raining, and in our small townhouse that was a real challenge.   I had to open the patio door and stand on the step to get as much as possible in the picture.  

The good news was that this quilt used 14 yards of fabric, for the top, backing and binding!  Now I have to find it a good home!