A break from HST"S

on  my quilt "Words To Live By" 

Paper piecing the HST's does help time wise.  Sew them in strips 

Cut them 

Remove the paper , iron and  open them 

cut the tails off, and

 Voilà!  the basket is full. Now it's sew time......  the borders...
Stay tuned 

  

The break came when I was invited to a luncheon in Bridgetown at the guild there. What a beautiful event ...  

Member Clara 

The food.. quilters not only sew but they cook also and when you find quilters you find good food! 

 Meeting new friends and

 sharing quilting ideas.. member Charmène 

 How wonderful to meet up with a high school friend !!

 so good to see Celeste 

 Cute little bags were on every table for every one to have one

 Darlene d'Eon from Needle Pulling Thread was there for our shopping pleasure 

Let the "Show and Tell "begin... 

 I did not write the names of the owners of these lovely projects and for the life of me I would not be able to remember  them all without written notes.   

 Gorgeous table topper 

 This one I know the owner. It belongs to member of the guild Clara who came with me. 

 Isn't this beautiful 

 and this one... wow!

 the colors are so vibrant

 Another one I know well, "Beatle Bag"  by member Charmène 

 This one we discussed at our table at length wondering if the fabric was silk? But no it is cotton. 

 The socialization 

 Lovely 

 Vibrant 

 The stars are out 

Lovely casserole carriers 

 Can't forget the little ones

 Mini quilts in progress

 A lovely bag... 

 More stars by a new comer 

 10º ruler project 

Something for all seasons

 So there it is a good time spent with quilting friends.

Now we get ready for our big week-end... one more sleep and Karen comes to Clare. Tomorrow we have the "Greet and Meet" and Saturday we have the Mrs Pugley's Emporium and the workshop with Karen Neary. 

I repeat ... stay tuned! 

A la prohaine 

What's up?

I know for certain what is not coming down and that is snow!!! Finally!!!!! we get to feel the hot rays of the sun.. I must say it is not yet perfect as we still have some cold spells .

We had our shopping trip 

to Avonport Fabric Discount Center  and everyone still talks about the fun they had SHOPPING, laughing and just being together~!
A road trip to remember!! 

I have finished a few projects since my last post and very happy to cross these off my list.

 First on the list is my mystery quilt for the 2016 challenge at the guild, which as I said before I cannot show you until we unveil them at a special event in probably, March to celebrate our 5th anniversary. I machine quilted it which was a new challenge for me; to machine quilt such a large piece. It is not perfect but I learnt a lot which I hope will improve my skills for the next project. 

Speaking of which I machine quilted this smaller one  

      and could see the improvements  

although it is not a large quilt like my mystery one .

I am really enjoying machine quilting so I may venture into it more.

 I am actually looking into the quilting machines available. 

This is another finished project but I hand quilted that one.... 

and my fingers did the talking or better still the screaming.

I really enjoyed the hand quilting in spite of the sore fingers

and I hope to do another one this summer.

 We have one  in the large frames at the guild and the fun of having members sit around the quilt is so relaxing. It takes me back to the years past with the quilting bees  and how the women must 

 have enjoyed the camaraderie their work of art brought them.

I just finished this runner... 

called Inner Beauty by Chili Peppers . 

I found some more panels on my shopping adventure so I do hope to make a few more pieces . 

and now for the finishing touches I am back to

 Words To live By 

making the half square triangles so it can be all pieced together.

Love this quilt~!

For a nice surprise friends from work came for a nice dinner together 

 and brought me this beautiful Alex and Ani bracelet .. love it and will cherish this forever thinking of all the good times we had working together bringing hope to others who had lost their courage. 

and now we count the sleeps until our next adventure 
May 29th and 30th with a workshop by 
Karen Neary 
and a visit from 
Mrs P. Emporium.


A La Prochaine 

we survived winter 2015...

Signs of spring are popping up... the trees are budding, the tulips have found their way through the snow banks and my morning walk is so cheerful with the birds singing reminding me to make every effort I can to have a good day. 

In my sewing room... My "Bertie's" Year Quilt is now into its 5th month ... 

with the May block.......... all done. 

I am only working on one block a month .... it sure gives me a good view of how fast the months fly by. I no sooner have one finished it is time to get the other one ready for stitching. This is a wool appliqué project . 

Speaking of wool appliqué we had our workshop with 

Darlene d'Eon 

And it was a fun day. 

Darlene had a trunk show of her 

shop "Needle Pulling Thread" for our shopping pleasure.   

Here is my finished project ... hung up in my sewing room. 

everyone enjoyed the wool appliqué workshop. 

I have other projects on the go but no UFO's, only works in progress! 

A big one I am working on now  is machine quilting a queen size quilt. I have never attempted to do such a big project but it is happening now, with my Mystery Quilt 

( which I cannot show you until 2016 ). 

I am almost done and I must admit it was not too bad a challenge after all. I have to tell you when I first sandwiched the quilt I was VERY nervous to start the machine quilting. 

I can just imagine what  a surgeon feels like when he is making his very first incision. 

Isn't it funny how one project can lead you to a  new adventure? Machine quilting this mystery quilt has inspired me to try "Ruler Quilting"  and low and behold Mother's day came early for me . 

Gerald ordered me a set of  Linda Hrcka's rulers and   

 here they are .... 

I have been practicing and learning the technique. 

I really think I am  going to

                .... this and use in all my machine quilting projects. 

Our next event is coming up next Friday when we venture off to Avonport Discount Fabric Center is the Valley...  

Everything and everyone is ready and we are excited to have some of our fellow quilters from Patchworks Pals in St Anne du Ruisseau join us on this road trip.

I will blog about all our purchases..... !!!!

Then the excitement comes into full swing with a visit 

from Karen Neary.. 

It will be a full agenda... Friday evening we will have a Greet and Meet with refreshments and a trunk show.  Invitations have been sent out to the public so I am expecting a good crowd.

( Karen will have her books and patterns for sale) 

Saturday we will have our workshop with Karen..

 "Diamonds Are a Girls Best Friend"   

Registration has been closed for a while now as the seats are all taken. 

Counting the sleeps.......

And on that same week-end there is more fun and excitement 

  Mrs P from Pugsley Emporium 

is coming also to set up her shop...... 

More shopping and eye candy to drool over..

If you are in the area drop in for some shopping fun... 

Yardage, pre-cuts and I am certain lots and lots of  patterns... 

Oh it is soooo exciting to plan an event and not have to worry about travel after the anxiety the winter brought us...  

Speaking of travel, two of my Guild friends Clara, and Charmène and I  have been invited to a luncheon at the AVQG . These beautiful gals have invited me so many years but I was never able to go because of work ... well, retirement permits me to go this year and I was only too glad to RSVP "yes",  when Betty invited me... 

Fun ! Fun! Fun! 

and now off to the next project 

Picture taken at our Open House. 2015

working on "Words To Live By" quilt.