Hot Dog

We had a cool windy day on Canada Day, so I was able to get some quilting done. I finished up the doggie quilt. I think it looks fabulous! It was a lot of fun to put together. I have been enjoying making quilts from my stash. It makes me realize how much I have, and appreciate what I do. Linking up to Can I Get a Whoop, Whoop.

When life gives you lemons make quilts!

The flooding and the devastation in Calgary has been horrific. Looking at the photos has been difficult to do and knowing fellow quilters who live in the area has been hard. I lived in Calgary for a while, when I was attending school and I found it to be such a beautiful city. I really enjoyed my short time there. They have been looking for quilt top donations and I remembered these blocks that I had tucked away.

These blocks got me started on blogging over 4 years ago. I had been lurking online for about 6 months and kept seeing all the wonderful swapping that had been going on. I decided to start blogging so I could join this rainbow swap. Blogging and the online quilting community have given me so much and it seems right to pass it on.


I am losing another special friend who is going on to another position in my organization. She is an amazing woman and there are so few people who are like her. She is someone that I strife to be. I am so thankful to have quilting to help get me through the stress of losing people that  you you will see again but will never be the same. Quilting also allows me the opportunity to express my thanks and appreciation for everything she has done for me. For me, when life gives me lemons I make quilts!

If you are interested in sending  a quilt top or quilt, the information is available on Lee's blog. As well, if you are interested in sending a block, slab blocks are being made. The information is available at Dining Room Empire. I think I will make some of these with my children.

Happy Canada Day!

Happy Birthday Canada! You look great for 146 years young! I hope you remain strong and free, for centuries to come! Happy Canada Day to all of my fellow Canadians, near and far!

Goodbye Friday

I got my goodbye gifts done. They were well received, which is always a nice feeling.

This was fun to make. I tried a stiffer interfacing than the last one I made. It was a bit more difficult to work with, but I love how it turned out. One of the things I love about making things is how personalized you can make it.

The pillowcase turned out really well too. My son picked out all the fabrics. He has a good eye for it. I was so conscious about it being a directional fabric and I was so happy when it turned out because it was going straight up and done. I forgot of course, that it would be turned on its side, so now the flowers are going sideways.


I am happy to have this Goodbye Friday over with and done. Linking up to Finish it Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts, TGIFF and Can I Get a Whoop, Whoop.

Moments

There are moments that you wait for.  The ones where everything clicks at once. Last weekend I had that moment and it was wonderful. On Saturday, I went out to my LQS to pick up a few brown solids that would go with the quilt I was making for my friend's soon to be grandson. Then I went to the library to pick up a quilting book that I had on hold.

It is called. I was perusing quilting books in the library catalogue last week and I saw this one. It looked interesting, it had an owl on the cover, and my daughter really likes owls. I brought it home, opened it up and saw the most amazing quilt.

 

The dog was so cute, and my friend loves dog. I was so excited that I went through my stash, and I had everything I needed to make the quilt. This is a complete stash project. I love brown and happen to have a lot of brown fabrics. The background fabric was originally a backing for another quilt. I had bought it with a quilt kit years ago, but when it came I did not like it so I set it aside. It was perfect for this quilt. I showed my husband all the fabrics, and I told him that I was a bit embarrassed that it all came from my stash. He told me that, that is what stashes are for! What a great guy! It turned out that I need 3 shades of solid browns for the quilt. I had just bought two of them and had a third at home.

 

I got working on the quilt right away, and had the blocks finished Sunday. Now I need to  make the tail, and sew them together. It was a wonderful project to work on.

Linking up to WIP Wednesday at The Needle and Thread Network.

Hello/Goodbye

This is the time of year that I love and hate. It is the end of school, time to be with my children but also time to say goodbye to some good friends and teachers. I took some time this weekend to sort out some hello and goodbye projects. My LQS were having a Shop Hop, so I went to a couple of them and picked up what I needed. I am getting much better at buying only what I need, which is better for me, but maybe not as much fun!

 

This is a hello project for a baby to be born in September.

 This is a goodbye/thank you pillowcase for a wonderful teacher.

This will become a boxy bag for a good friend who is leaving for hopefully greener pastures.

The goodbyes are always hard to say but I always finding that creating helps me through the process. It is also always fun to have new projects to think about rather than those UFOs hanging around!

Rainbow Bright

 

I got my Bright Stripes finished and I love it! When I initially bought the kit years ago, I was a bit concerned because it came with pink rather than red. A blue, red, yellow and green quilt seemed great for a boy, but I was not sure if a pink, blue, yellow and green quilt would be good for a girl. I am happy with how it turned out, and it will be going to a sweet baby.

 

 I am also so happy that I finally got these socks done! It was my birthday gift to myself to get them completed which I did today. I decided for my birthday I wanted to work on something for someone else. These socks are for my sister.  Now I get to move up a difficulty level with a new sock pattern and some new yarn. I find yarn to be as addicting as fabric! I had a wonderful lunch and afternoon with an amazing, incredible friend who I feel so blessed to know, and tonight I am having dinner with my incredible family. A great day for sure, and I did not even mind all the rain we had today.

I am linking to Finish it Up Friday, TGIFF, and Can I Get a Whoop, Whoop!