Is it spring yet ?

By the looks of my sporadic posting it does seem like I have been hibernating but, no, I have been busy. This winter even with its fierceness I have enjoyed the adventures it brought, both new and old. My sewing is always in motion and the guild was very active even though we had to cancel many Wednesday evenings due to bad weather. After many cancellations we did have our mystery quilt night and all you could hear in the  hall was 

Oh! AH! Wow! 

The challenge was to make a project using a square! 

Here are a few in the Mystery Quilt Parade:

 Anna

 Lorraine

 Alisa

 Cecile

 Carmen

 Charmaine

 Simone

 Deanna

 Gisèle

 Yvette and Emma

 Elise

 Elaine

 Lorna

 Rose Marie

 Suzette

 Linda

 Rosa

 Nicole

 Nicole A 

   Kathy

And ... mine    

made with Kansas Troubles . The appliqué pieces were all pieces I had prepared when we went on a bus tour to St Antonio Texas. At the time I had no idea how I was going to use the appliqué pieces but it was fun sewing on the bus.  

It was a fun night with so much eye candy to see. 

The guild also celebrated its 3rd anniversary with an Open House. 

A very successful event with many visitors coming to see what we have been up to. We have a display for our projects we worked on, we have a quilt in the frame for people to hand quilt and we have various booths with members demonstrating different techniques.

Such as: 

 Ruching

 Wool Appliqué

 Beading and hand embroidery

 And the hand quilting 

We also have 

a pie sale. Yum! Needless to say they all sold !  

For lunch we served rappie pie. 

A fun filled day for sure. 

I am now counting the months I have left to work. I gave my letter to my manager indicating I will be finished December 31/2014. My feelings are mixed as I try not to look at it as an end. 

I have been working for 46 years in Health Care Services and now new adventures await.    

One of those new adventures ( which is not really new, but has been going on for 4 years)  is that I am following Theology courses with my husband who is preparing to be ordained a Deacon in November of this year. We have an excellent team working with us making this mission an exciting calling  we both rejoice in serving. 

This week-end I made Gerald

his first "Deacon Stole" 

 In the Green for "Ordinary Times"  

with the Celtic cross on the shoulder and inside the strap 

I had to embroider our "signature saying" that we have been using for 45 years. 

" je t'aime plus + hier, -  que demain " 

which translate into 

♥I love you more than yesterday but less than tomorrow♥ 

Are we spring yet?

The calender says yes but here in Atlantic Canada we say NO.

Another major storm kept everyone home Wednesday. For a quilter is was pure serenity even with the loss of electricity. Hand applique is so perfect when it is impossible to use our 
sewing tools. 

So what to do when Mother Nature does not want to co-operate in bringing us spring like weather ?  You think spring! And this is what I had in mind for my next project. I just couldn't bring myself to use dark fabric I needed the sunshine and lacked  Vit D so I choose 

a sunflower machine appliqué    

And added a few tulips. I want to have a watering can 
hand quilted in

the center of this ring of flowers.  

Here is the ensemble. I think this will be the 2015 Parish lottery quilt. This is totally different shades of color I am use to working with but I have to admit even if I did not get the true Vit D it did wonders for my mental health. 

That is not to say I am not still  attracted to the more subdued colors and    

I am soon back to my stash and picked this Blackbird fabric to make the table runner for the door prize at the 

Guild's Open House on April 12.

I have said before I love a challenge.... well I was faced with one and I could not stop thinking of my friend Michelle who makes these beautiful t-shirt quilts .
My sister-in-law came to visit with a bag full of Hockey jerseys and asked if I would make my nephew a quilt using all his 
hockey crests. Oh la la ! 
 So here I go cutting out badges, crests, name plates, numbers  and here is the end results 

  Main colors of the team "The Mustangs" is burgundy so I choose  grey and burgundy.

This I added on the burgundy border.  

Can't wait to see it all quilted.
 I enjoyed making it because it was for my nephew but I prefer to work with 100% cotton. 

 So while the winter lingers on I am keeping the sewing machines revved up for those many projects I have on my dossier I want to do. 

The Guild has had many cancellations this winter because the storms were always on a Wednesday but we had a beautiful evening " Soirée Nocturne" where we put together 5 Mental Health  " Blankets Of Love " for the Yarmouth Hospital. 

Last summer we made Hugs and Kisses blocks.
    During the summer months we ask each member to make a specific block. These blocks are put together to make the Mental Health quilts. 
 During the Nocturne evening we had guests drop in to see us at  work and we had a quilt in the frames for people to try their hand at hand quilting  

This was a very special visitor. I have been looking tirelessly for a hand quilter and I had one living right under my roof all along. 
 Gerald says he used to hand quilt on his neighbor's quilts when he was young. ♥ Oh! he could be kept very busy. 
Next on the Guild's agenda is our big day where we celebrate our 3rd anniversary with an
Open House . 
April 12 from 10:00 to 3:00. 
We will have projects on display / various information booths where members will be demonstrating different techniques,
(hand embroidery, hand appliqué, beading, hand quilting  and more.)  50/50 draw/ pie sale / articles for sale / and rappie pie and cake for lunch oh! and yes door prize.  
$7.00 per person       


Everything is ordered and ready so let us hope the weather will co-operate. 
 Our mystery quilts still have not been unveiled because of the major storm we had on Wednesday so the date has been pushed backed to April 9th. ):   

Winter Blues...NOT!

I know we have had a harsh winter but I truly believe when you are a quilter no weather can bring you down. 

Lots happening here.

Grand -daughter Ariane and member of La Guilde made her school project on La Guilde and won~! 

Ariane with her fair project on La Guilde Acadienne de Clare

She earned a spot to go to show her project in Halifax. 

Our sewing retreat was a great success and so much fun~!

All evening Friday and all day Saturday members got together and shared the love of sewing. 

The talents were displayed in full force and lots of projects were made for the guild's emporium.

  

My projects were 

Aprons! 

The pattern from the Pattern Basket 

Everyone who saw our aprons at the Tea in November commented on them so these will be on sale in our shop at our open house♥

And nothing warms my heart more than mail... especially when it involves quilting~! 

This is my last border appliqués for my BOM

Spring Bouquet by Laundry Basket.

Finally we had a Wednesday with no serious storms and I was able to visit a new Quilt Shop in Digby

A Needle Pulling Thread 

Quilt Shop 

And to fight off the winter blues I shopped...   

Here is my stash and believe it when I say it could have been much larger. Darlene has a beautiful array of fabrics, supplies and lots of eye candy!  

 As for my sewing here is a project I just finished.   

Swirled Christmas tree wall hanging 

The pattern comes from Cratsy Quilting. 

Daughter Liette had seen this on Pinterest and adored it. I have no problems making Christmas projects now, as a matter of fact they are my favorite small projects on my to-do list~!

Happy sewing! It has been and interesting winter and the spring is in the air as we enter Lent 2014. 

(Joel 2, 13) Rend you hearts and not your garments: ( it is not our clothes we need to change but our hearts)   

I've got mail

 For a while now I have been contemplating making Karen's "Winter Star Mug Mat" but you know when you have a piece in mind with a specific fabric? Nothing else seems to do. I pictured this pattern with some old world map fabric in the background and all I had in my stash was a 5 x 5 square of the Peace on Earth Line by Three Sisters. Ask and you shall receive. I asked  some quilting friends to be on the lookout for such a fabric and wow! I got mail!  

 Karen Neary the designer of the pattern sent me these pieces of fabric perfect for the mug mat.  

 

 You can download the pattern free on Craftsy Quilting 

Here is the finished project. Thanks Karen for the perfect fabric. 

A while back I mentioned the Mystery Quilt challenge we had at the Guild. A year ago member Paula gave us the challenge to make a project with a square as the main focus. It is to be a secret and we will unveil our finished pieces at the open house on April 12th. Mine is all done. 

All I can show is the label . 

This is really fun and exciting and I am soooo looking forward to seeing all the projects in the Mystery Quilt parade. 

My next project is totally different for me. I fell in love the minute I saw it and I just had to have it  so I ordered this BOM. from Primitive Gathering  

"Words To Live By" 

What is different for me is that the appliqué is wool . I have never worked with wool so it is totally out of my element. 

A new challenge♥ and I love a challenge. 

Yes, I love mail and with a new BOM I am guaranteed a quilting package every month in the mail. 

 I can't believe it but it looks like we will be able to have our quilting meeting on Wednesday at the guild, as the long range forecast gives fair weather. Every Wednesday there has been a storm and we had to cancel the meeting x 4. It will be fun to see all the projects that have been worked on at each others homes.

March is a busy month at the guild with lots of wonderful events  on the calendar.   

Another Canadian Winter Sunday

But in my book .... a perfect sewing day!

  It was a nasty storm with mass cancelled. After some reading in my bible I retreated to the sewing studio. TV on to watch the Olympics and the sewing machines are revved up for a perfect sewing adventure.       

Ahhh! the Rose of Sharon. I love this pattern and every time I see a version of this quilt pattern I am so attracted to it. I have been doing some hand appliquéd blocks but 

 when I found this machine appliquéd  program I just had to have it. When I went to Amherst in October to visit Mrs Puglsley Emporium I picked up some gorgeous fabrics to make this version of the Rose of Sharon .   

 Lots of blocks to make. 

but I decided to make a sample as this is my first attempt at machine appliqué.

... and here is the finished sample. 

I think I am ready to go for the real blocks to make the large quilt.

And more sewing on my Block of the Month 

working on the top border  

  

The finishing line is in plain site and as I near it I am planning on how this quilt should be quilted. Um???

 I am thinking I may do some free motion. 

I made this wall hanging I discovered on Moda Bake Shop. 

 Last year we had a family of red cardinals visit our bird feeder and this year I only saw one and only the one time. 

I love  Red Cardinals. there are many different legends about the red cardinal one legend  says that seeing a cardinal flying towards the sun is good luck. The bright red colors of the bird's feathers signify confidence and great abilities.
Seeing a bird can mean an individual  is to tap into the creative being. Seeing a red cardinal is a reminder to focus on our faith.  

A few years ago, fur coats were worn and actually enjoyed but that is not the case today. So I had mine, ( Blue Fox) stored in a closet and I was a bit torn as to what to do with it. 

Whenever I wore my coat when GD Amy was little she would  ask to cuddle with it. My friend Carmen who is a wonderful seamstress turned it into a fur lap quilt for her, Amy.  

( I  will give it to her at Christmas )

I am so happy it will be passed on.  

She was able to make a cushion as well.

Well the guild was finally able to meet last Wednesday. It had been three weeks. Three storms closed the meetings.  This week the executive meets to look at and plan spring activities.  Yippee!  

 This is the workshop scheduled for March. My friend Elaine will be doing this workshop. It is a beautiful folded Star. 

Well hopefully this week will be mild. I don't mind the cold weather as long as it is not storming.  

Stay safe!