Quilting Newbie

Whoops!!

2010-01-08T22:04:00.004-05:00

Well, I was house cleaning...sort of...I was getting rid of the old...making room for the new. In my infinite wisdom I deleted all my pictures on flickr so I would have room for new pictures....for some reason I never thought that would mean I would lose all my pictures here. DUH!!!!

I guess I really am a blonde now. A new hair colour for a new year!!!

In a way it is a good thing. I don't think Quilting Newbie is the blog for me anymore. I'm not a quilting newbie anymore and my interests have moved to healthy eating and exercising...things I did not do before March 3rd 2009.

But I have a new blog now called...Eat Run Quilt. I think the new title better represents where my interests are now.

Never fear my quilting friends I am quilting once again and 32.5 and T are coming over on Sunday for us to discuss our new quilt round robin. Stay tuned for details on that.

I hope you will follow me to my new blog www.eatrunquilt.blogspot.com

Hello?!?! Is anyone still out there??

2009-11-07T22:46:00.002-05:00

Well, hello there!! It has been a very long time since my last post. I could appologize and give all sorts of excuses but the reality is I was bored of quilting and needed a break from it. I was also much more focused on my health (still am)..but with the colder weather on the way, it must be time for quilting.

I did manage to buy some fabric this past summer (because really, even if you aren't quilting....you still need to buy fabric).

I am doing really well on my new healthy choice lifestyle. I am still not smoking. It was 8 months on November 3rd. I like to think I have kicked the habit for good. A little voice in my head says....still be careful...once a nicotine addict always an addict. So I don't take for granted my strength to not smoke. I work at it everyday. I tell myself how gross smoking is, how much it smells, how much it costs, etc. (these are all true...but for someone who really enjoyed smoking, it is important to tell myself how awful it is to smoke.)

I have been walking and walking and walking. I am now up to 4 miles (6.6 KM) 5 days a week. 32.5 is my exercise partner on the weekends. I emailed 32.5 this week and told her I was in need of a little bit of ass-kicking workout. (she has been away of vacation and thus I slacked off a little). Vacation for 32.5 is a vacation for me...lol. Well, let me just say I paid for that little mistake quite dearly. I'm not sure if you are aware out there in blogdom but Jillian Michaels from Biggest Loser needs to be a little bit fearful of 32.5. 32.5 kicked my ass and then some. Made me run 5 one minute sessions at 4+ MPH. Just to show her I wasn't afraid of her (oh, ya...I was terrified) I ran one one minute session at 5 mph. OK, so she didn't scream at me to take my hands off the treadmill like Jillian does...but she did give me the evil eye. LOL.

I recount this story with a smile on my face knowing that I would have never achieved what I did today had it not been my very good friend...and I hope she knows that I love her and I am just teasing. (I was a little bit afraid of her though)

Tomorrow we are working out again and god help me....I wonder what she will make me run.

Catchup Time

2009-07-11T22:23:00.002-04:00

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer. Summer in southern Ontario has been slow to come this year. We have had lots of rain and little sun. The rain has made for a very very lush garden.

I need your help. What is the name of this plant?? It is the prettiest plant in my garden and I haven't got a clue what it is. I don't remember buying it or planting it....I don't remember having it in my garden last year. It is a real mystery. Any ideas?? Here are a couple pictures.

I took the plunge last week and bought a new car. My van was on it's last legs and it was going to cost $3,000.00 to fix it. That seemed like an awful lot of money for a 2001 Pontiac Montana. So off I went car shopping. I quickly discovered that buying a used car was actually going to cost me MORE than buying a brand new car. So in the interest of boosting the economy and helping the struggling car industry I bought a brand new 2010 Pontiac Vibe. I love it. I've named her the Silver Bullet. Huh?? What do you mean, people don't name their cars?? (LOL)

I'm still on track with my healthier lifestyle. I am proud to say that I am still a non smoker. It wasn't easy...but nothing worthwhile in life is ever easy. I still have moments when I would like a smoke but luckily I have the strength to ignore the craving. I also have 32.5 sitting on my shoulder telling me that a cigarette would not be enjoyable in the least. I have 18 weeks of not smoking behind me and the thought of starting back at day one is just too terrible a thought. I am so proud of myself for quitting smoking, I'm not kidding when I say I think there should be a parade everyday to celebrate this achievement....and fireworks and cake....lol.

I'm eating better, I didn't think it was possible to eat 7 to 10 fruits and veggies a day...but it is possible. It's funny when I look at the food in my cart at the grocery store now compared to 6 months ago and it's night and day. 6 months ago it was all highly processed foods,coke and chips (my staples). Now I look in my cart and it's full of fresh fruits and veggies, whole grains, skim milk & yogurt. I am sure my stomach and bowels are still in shock wondering what the heck is going on.

I'm up to walking 2 1/2 miles a day(4K) on days when I am really feeling good I push it up to 3 miles (5k). My Cardiac Rehabilitation instructor tells me by Christmas they want me jogging 5 miles (8K). That will not be pretty site...LOL. I have also enlisted some of my buddies at work to work out with me during the work day. We set aside 10 minutes 3 times a day and do resistance band exercises. The weirdest thing is happening to me. When we first started doing these exercises I would look for all kinds of excuses to not do them...now nothing stops me from doing the exercises..I even catch myself looking forward to it. We do them 5 days a week and we alternate between leg band exercises one day, the next day we do arm band exercises.

OK, I think I have gotten everyone caught up on my life.
Take care everyone!!

Happy Birthday Canada

2009-07-01T20:11:00.002-04:00

Spring Cleaning a couple months late

2009-06-21T21:53:00.002-04:00

I finally got around to cleaning out my basement this weekend. I had tons of things that I had out grown, no longer liked or wanted, or just didn't fit in with my current decor. The sad thing is, I have never thought of myself as a packrat. Every spring and fall, I go thru my clothing and get rid of things I haven't worn in a while or things that don't fit. I pack them up and take them to Goodwill. However, when it comes to household items, I just banish things I no longer like or want to the basement.

I really have to break myself of that habit...because this is what happens when you don't get rid of stuff semi-anually.

Some of these items are going to the dump, some of these items are going to my cousin up north who is setting up her appartment, and the rest is a donation to my mom and dad who are going to have a charity yard sale in the fall.

This weekend I also signed up at the local community centre for a one month pass, which allows me to swim, skate, or walk. The community centre has a great indoor track. 13 times around equals a mile. I know I have a treadmill, and I have been using it for the last several weeks, however I just don't get the same workout on the treadmill as I do on the track. (don't ask me why, I have no idea LOL) This also gave me an excuse to go out and buy some more exercise goodies. I bought a "lap counter". It is really a pitch counter but it does the same thing. You just click a little button each time you go around the track and you don't have to keep count in your head. It is far to complicated having to walk and keep count all at the same time...lol.

I am really starting to see the change in my body as well, I don't think I have lost any more weight (I'm not a big fan of that damn scale) but all my clothes are just hanging off me, so I'm happy with that. People keep telling me the pounds will start to come off too, but for now I am just happy that my clothes look like they belong to someone else. Hopefully 6 months from now they will be in the Goodwill pile.

Last but not least.

HAPPY FATHERS DAY to my Dad.

You're pretty cool for an old guy dad.

Even if you won't wear pink or yellow.
Love you lots.

What a beautiful day.

2009-06-06T17:12:00.002-04:00

Well, I have not quilted in quite some time and I'm thinking about closing down this blog and starting a new blog that is more about daily happenings. Sometimes I'll write about quilting, sometimes gardening, sometimes healthy eating, you get the idea. I haven't really decided yet...but if I do start a new blog I will let you all know. :-)

Today is a beautiful day in Southern Ontario...it is sunny with a nice breeze and not too hot and more importantly not too cold.

Usually I walk in my basement on the treadmill or on the track at the YMCA. Today I walked outside...I put on my ipod shuffle turned it up loud and hit the road. I walked from my house to my parents house. OK, so no one told me that walking outside would be harder than walking on my nice treadmill. LOL. You see, outside there are hills (uphill hills.....LOL) I don't have that problem on my treadmill ;-). All is well though, I made it to my parents and lived to tell the tale...and I did it in 37 minutes. (I am very pleased with that time.)

Before I started out for my walk I made myself one of these.

The Famous Green Monster.

A couple blogs I follow (Polly and Sarah) are always letting their readers know how good they are. So the other week I jumped into the Green Monster craze.

I changed Polly's recipe just a bit.

My recipe was as follows:

1 cup of skim milk
2 handfulls of organic baby spinach
2 heaping tablespoons of Vanilla Activia Yogurt
5-7 chunks of frozen banana. (probably a whole banana. When my banana's get too ripe I peel them cut them into chunks and freeze them)
1 teaspoon of raw sugar.

OH MY GOD!!! It was heaven. Now, please keep in mind I am probably the pickest eater on the planet...this thing was TO DIE FOR. Super Yummy and very filling.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend.

Is it really the end of May??

2009-05-31T16:59:00.004-04:00

For those of you in Southern Ontario you will know that our weather has not been very spring like. We have been lucky to have quite a few sun filled days but it is cold and windy.

Me and my Gardener did some gardening and lawn work this weekend. I took pictures last weekend and this weekend. My gosh can you ever see the difference in just a week. Just imagine if it was actually warm out...lol

Now look at the pictures I took today and see how the garden has grown.

I even managed to get a sewing project done this weekend. 32.5 came over and *cough* did *cough* helped me make a curtain for my gazebo. It looks great and helps block out my neighbours backyard.

That's my weekend in a nutshell.

Spring has sprung!!

2009-05-10T16:31:00.003-04:00

And my mind is racing in 100 different directions and none of them include quilting.

I worked on my yard today and it is really starting to look nice. I pulled about 10,000 dandelions. Thank goodness my gardner (DAD) has a fancy shmancy dandelion plucker. You can do it all without having to get down on all fours. (not a pretty site..lol)

The Happy Gardner.

My mom and dad.

It was a little cool today...about 11 degrees celsius (about 52 fahrenheit)but it was sunny all day.

I also did some work on the inside of my house the last few weeks. The Canadian Government is offering a tax grant to people who do renovations on their homes...so I took advantage of that and had my stairs and upstairs bedrooms recarpeted. I also had a little painting done.

Here is a large picture so you can see close up how disgusting my carpet was...don't you just love that huge stain?? I have no idea what it was that was spilled on the carpet but it went right through and even stained the wood subfloor underneath...yuck!

Before.

After.

I had the woodwork painted out on the stairs. I am so glad I did it.

Well, my blogging buddies, I think that brings my life up to date.

I hope everyone is enjoying their springtime. Happy Quilting!!

This is just to cool not to post

2009-04-20T16:17:00.001-04:00

I hope this makes you smile as much as it did me.

Happy Monday!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UE3CNu_rtY&feature=player_embedded

Happy Easter

2009-04-11T21:07:00.002-04:00

I did some sewing today. I worked on my multicoloured stacked coins quilt. It is going to be a lap quilt...I think I still need to add one more border to it.

I know this next statement will be hard to believe but I don't have any fabric in my stash that work as my final border. I guess I am going to have to make a visit to my favourite quilt shop.

I was talking to 32.5 today and we made sure that we both wanted to go to the Creative Needlework Festival. I enjoy the spring show so much better than the fall one.

Just an update for my faithful blogland friends. I'm feeling good....I'll be going back to work soon. I'm still not smoking (woo hoo) and I will be attending a Cardiac Rehabilitation Program. I am really looking forward to that, as the program teaches people how to live a heart healthy lifestyle.

Happy Easter to everyone.

My Quilting Mojo has returned

2009-03-31T23:35:00.003-04:00

I'm feeling better...thank you for all the well wishes I received from my blogland buddies.

I knew I was feeling better when I suddenly wanted to quilt again. :-)

Here are the pictures of the row robin quilts Momma Newbie and I are working on.

This is Momma Newbie's quilt

This is my quilt

They are both done and ready to go north. (no pressure Aunt D. LOL)

I started working on a stacked coin quilt. I am just kind of winging it...I want to make it a lap quilt. Wow, this quilt sure does go together quickly. Even quick for me...lol

After much internal debate

2009-03-27T20:12:00.002-04:00

I have decided to share my recent excitement.

On Tuesday March 3 while watching The Biggest Loser, I started to experience some chest pain...within about 20 minutes I realized (or finally admitted to myself that I needed to go to the hospital) To make a very long story short and sweet. I was admitted and had an angiogram done. They discovered I had a 90% blockage. So I had angioplasty and 2 medicated stents placed in one of my arteries. I have been home now for a couple weeks and I am getting better and stronger everyday.

One of the reasons I didn't want to share my story was I didn't want people passing judgement on me and my health and lifestyle.

Full disclosure moment LOL
I'm 41
I smoke
I'm overweight
I am not overly active

One of the reasons I finally decided to share my story is because I do not fit the mold for heart problems. (Woman under 50 don't usually have heart problems) And I wanted women to take symptoms seriously...and not to ignore them...like I did.

Denial is very real....I did it for more than two weeks. I was lucky when I had the big attack (was not an actual heart attack..thank god)I had classic signals that even I could not ignore.

Chest pain.
Pain down my left arm
Left arm and hand numb
Pain in my throat
Pain in my jaw (both sides)
throwing up

Take it from me....do no ignore these signs.

Some signs I had before the big day. Mild chest pain when walking to the train. (excuse...it is cold out and I'm out of shape)
Out of breath (out of shape)
heartburn that would not go away with medication (Rolaids etc) (just chalked that up to just being weird)
Generally not feeling well (February blahs)

I am lucky, I had a doctor in the emergency room who didn't care that I didn't fit the mold and who listened to my symptoms. I had a cardiologist that didn't care that I didn't fit the mold and sent me for an angiogram.

Now, the good news. I am no longer a smoker. I have not smoked since March 3. I no longer live on Coke/Pepsi and chips...and I have cut out salt. I have lost 12 lbs since this happened and hope to lose more.

This has certainly been quite a month and I learned much. Knowledge is power and I educated myself quickly. One of the sites that provided tons of info was The Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation.

Educate yourself and don't ignore the signs no matter how scary it is. (the alternative is much scarier)

Birthday Weekend Extravaganza

2009-03-01T19:16:00.004-05:00

Friday night I met up with my oldest (there is a joke there somewhere but I'll be kind) friend to celebrate our birthdays. My birthday was Saturday and her birthday is next Saturday. We went to our favourite restaurant Go Believe Sushi in Whitby. The food was wonderful as always but the service was a little quirky. Not bad...just strange, it certainly gave me and my friend lots of laughs.

Saturday I met up with 32.5 and we headed out to Uxbridge to check out a couple of sewing stores and have lunch. Of course I bought fabric, because it was my birthday and if I want fabric I'll buy it. LOL. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME...LOL. I was good though I only bought a little bit. I don't know, I think I am gaining some self control in my old age. 32.5 treated me to lunch at Frankie's Ristorante.

32.5 took some pictures of our adventure and gave me permission to steal some of them for my blog.

Can you tell how excited I am to be shopping for fabric? LOL

Saturday night my mom took me and my dad out for dinner. My dad's birthday is two days before mine. We went to Kelsey's in Oshawa.

Sunday was another nice day...spent with my parents. Went and did some shopping/bonding with my dad...and then my mom and I came over to my house to do some sewing. I actually didn't do any sewing...I ended up doing some housework but my mom finished up her row on my quilt. She even got to use the fancy sewing machine, so she was very happy...lol

Excellent work mom....you are becoming a real quilter.

Thank you 32.5 for a lovely lunch and afternoon on Saturday and for letting me steal some of your pictures. I can't wait to see your blog post.

sewing update

2009-02-16T20:43:00.002-05:00

I managed to get some sewing done this weekend. I finished the receiving blankets for my cousin. I sewed 4 of them out of the same fabric I used for the quilt. They are bigger then most receiving blankets so maybe my cousin can use them as crib blankets. They look pretty good. You will have to take my word for it because I haven't taken any pictures of them yet....lol. I have a little bit of fabric left over so I am going to try to make a couple of burp clothes. Everything I've made should make a pretty nice shower present.

Just to explain what a newbie I am. I had never ever used the zig zag stitch before. But I think I did a good job of it....it looks nice (again...trust me..lol) It makes such a nice finished edge. I have a serger that my Aunt gave me but I have yet to figure out how to use it. To say I am afraid of it is an understatement. I am hoping the next time my aunt and cousin come down I will get a really good lesson from my cousin.

Momma Newbie worked on her row robin this weekend. She has her row all sewn together, now all she has to do is add it to my quilt top.

That is all that is happening in this part of the world this weekend. Maybe I'll get some more sewing done this week.

Baby Quilt is done

2009-02-07T20:32:00.004-05:00

The baby quilt is done. I can't believe I finished a project..lol. I did all the cutting last night after work. Today I did all the sewing. Momma Newbie did all the fringe cutting. (we now call her the claw because her hand is so sore...lol)

This is the first time I've washed a quilt after finishing it. I am always too afraid to wash it, in case it shrinks or the colours run. I am pleased with the results, I'll have to do it again.

A special thank you to 32.5 for her tip on the washable markers. That is what I used to draw the x on each square, and it really did wash right out. Crayola washable markers are now in my quilting tool chest.

Ok, so are you ready to see the masterpiece??? Here we go.

Sick Day

2009-02-05T13:41:00.003-05:00

I've been fighting a cold and cough since Friday. Well, today if finally happened I gave in to the cold and stayed home. I am pretty sure my co-workers are happy they don't have to listen to me cough up a lung today. I don't know how it is possible to feel so awful when you have a cold. IT'S JUST A COLD!!!!! BLAH!!!

So, I thought it would be a good afternoon to update my blog.

My cousin's daughter is having a baby in March and I am going to make a baby quilt for her baby. I bought the fabric last weekend and a pattern for a rag quilt. Another Newbie Moment. I've never worked with flannel before. I've never made a rag quilt. I've never used a McCall pattern before. Yep, this is going to go well...LOL.

I also bought myself some more fabric. Because I really don't have enough fabric...(ya, uh huh..lol)

And momma newbie and I are almost done our part of the row robin. Both of our squares are done and squared up. (newbie moment. I think somewhere along the way I forgot you were suppose to square everything up...so once I had all my individual 6 squares all done. I just started sewing them all together. YEP!! That didn't work out so well, lol. So I ripped them all out ( only a few bad words were spoken during that process) and squared them all up.)

Well, I think it is time to make myself a nice hot cup of tea and then maybe a nap. :-)

WOW, I got an award.

2009-01-22T22:21:00.002-05:00

Thank you Tracey
for giving me this award. Tracey has a couple of blogs one is for crossstitch and one is for quilting and crafting. Drop by Tracey's blogs and say hello. Tracey was one of the first people to leave me a note on my blog when I first started, I was so excited when I had a comment from someone other than my family..lol. Thanks Tracey for making that first comment and helping build my confidence in blogland.

OK, so I guess I am suppose to list 5 things that I am addicted too and then hand out the award to 5 blogs that I think are fabulous.

1. blogging
2. Coca-cola
3. the internet
4. quilting
5. facebook

Please check out these 5 blogs that I think are fabulous.

32.5
quilting in cyberspace
scraps
the quilting bookworm
quilts and stuff

Of course there these are not the only blogs that I love to read everyday. Please check out my sidebar to see all the blogs I need to read daily.

3rd Row of Row Robin

2009-01-20T23:21:00.002-05:00

Things are moving along nicely. Today I did the cutting for both quilts that Momma Newbie (thanks 32.5 for mom's new handle...she loves it...lol)

This is the fabric and the pattern that Momma Newbie will be working with tomorrow to add to my quilt.

And this is the fabric and the pattern that I will be working with to add to Momma Newbie's quilt.

Today was a great day. I spent some of the day working on the quilts and watching the Inauguration of Barack Obama. History in the making....one of those moments that years from now you say...I remember when......I was....... So often that sentence is said when it is something sad like 9/11. I remember I was walking into work when 32.5 met me in the hallway and said the Twin Towers have been hit by planes. It's wonderful to have a happy "I remember where I was when..." momment.

Row Robin Adventure Continues

2009-01-11T21:36:00.006-05:00

Well, mom and I have finished our first two rows in record time.

Mom's rows all done...and they look great. Way to go mom...fantastic job. Now, that wasn't too stressful was it?

These are my two finished rows. Not bad for a newbie. The making of the squares was pretty easy...that had part it sewing them all together and getting all your seams to match...ugh!!! I think I did pretty good. I'm pleased with how it came out.

Now mom and I will switch and I will put one row on her's and she will put one row on mine.

Yet another excuse to go shopping for fabric.

2nd row of row robin

2009-01-09T22:51:00.003-05:00

Mom and I are sewing maniacs. We have both started on our second row of our row robin. I didn't take pictures of mom's 2nd row...but I will.

Here are the pictures of 4 of 6 squares that will be my second row.

This one is a little wonky at the bottom...I'm hoping I can fix that when I sew them all together. I'm not sure what went wrong.

Mom and I are hoping to get the two rows finished and all sewn together this weekend. Then her and I will switch and put one row on each other's quilt. Hmmmm....I think we might have to make a little trip to my favourite fabric store...LOL

A tale of dueling sewing machines.

2009-01-03T17:04:00.004-05:00

Well, it is a new year and time for a new project. I had mentioned in a previous post that I was about to start a new round robin with my aunt.

So today my mom and I ventured out to my favourite quilt store. and purchased our fabric.

Mom's fabric she is going to do a Rail Fence pattern.

My fabric. I'm doing a 9 patch.

The sewing room is ready and waiting for us to get at it.

Here are the pictures of mom's progress.

Now, take a close look at the seams. This is a square done by someone who has never quilted before and her comment was..."oh look, it is off a bit". Now I am no expert but I don't believe anyone could get this more perfect.

WAY TO GO MOM!!!! One down 11 more to go...LOL

Now pictures of my progress.

My finished square.

The only problem is I don't think we bought enough fabric(we will have enough for one row)..so off to my stash.

Here is picture of the fabric from my stash I have for my additional blocks.

I don't think I want to do a second row of 9 patch. Not sure what to do for my second row. Would love to hear your ideas. What should my second row be. Remember it has to be very very easy...LOL.

Round Robin time again

2008-12-28T20:26:00.002-05:00

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas.

It is time to start another Round Robin. (ok, so I haven't officially finished the first one...but isn't that a characteristic of a true quilter...having lots of UFO's??)
So this time the participants are my aunt crazyquiltlady, my cousin Amy (I hear through the grapevine, Amy will be starting her own blog soon....can't wait to see it), my mom and myself.
This time instead of doing a Round Robin in the traditional way where you add borders to a centre square, we are going to do rows. Each of us will start with 2 rows of 6 12 inch blocks (12 inch finished) and then pass it on to the next person who will add two more rows. I think for my quilt I'm going to do the nine patch. It is a pretty simple pattern and one that I can do pretty quickly. That way I will be able to help my mom (who is not a quilter...but will be by the time this round robin is finished...lol)

Grandma's recipe found

2008-12-14T16:39:00.003-05:00

My Grandma McIntyre passed away a few years ago but even sadder was the fact that she was taken from us much earlier than that, she had Alzheimer's. My Grandma was the best cook and baker in the world. ( I know all people think that of their Grandmas and I am no different :-) ) I have countless wonderful memories of going north to visit my Grandma and Grandpa. Sometimes it was with my mom and dad, sometimes it was just with my mom, and sometimes it was just me. But each and every time I went north I could count on Grandma and Grandpa's house being full of wonderful goodies to eat. I am allergic to chocolate, nuts and peanuts, so it was no easy feat for my Grandma to have 3 or 4 wonderful homemade treats ready for me when I walked in the door. But she never let me down. I remember when my Grandma started to really show the signs of early Alzheimer's. My mom, dad and I went north to visit because my Grandma was in the hospital. My mom took me aside and gently explained to me that Grandma was in the hospital and there would not baked goodies waiting for all us when we got there. I was in my late teens early 20's and somewhat naive. I didn't understand what Alzheimer's was nor did I have any clue that my Grandma was not indestructible. I thought she could do everything and anything. Sadly my Grandma's health deteriorated and eventually she didn't know us anymore...and lost were the memories and knowledge that she had. Somewhere along the years many of Grandma's recipes were lost and my favourite recipe was lost with them.

I have searched for years thru recipe books, on-line, with friends to see if anyone had ever heard of my favourite treat that my grandma made for me. I never found it, and I had given up hope of ever finding it...I figured it was probably something my Grandma made up or had altered from it's original state so I could eat it (without nuts, chocolate or peanuts). I had resigned myself to the fact I would never again have a wonderful cherry ball.

This weekend I was at my mom and dad's looking thru a cookbook of dessert squares that my mom was using to do her Christmas baking. As I was thumbing thru the pages I came across a recipe called Snow Log. As I started to read the ingredients I felt my heart start to race and lump form in my throat. Could it be?? Could I have finally found the recipe. I jumped up and ran over to my mom yelling I found it....I found Grandma's recipe. So my mom and I whipped it up and while the recipe is for a rolled cookie and my grandma made little balls of goodness....I am ecstatic to report it is the same recipe. I took a bite of the cookie and I swear to God I was transported back in time to a kitchen filled with love in a little green house in Haileybury.

I miss my Grandma and Grandpa (both have passed away), I loved them very much. But this Christmas season if for just a second I had them both back in my life happy and healthy sitting in their kitchen in the little green house in Haileybury while I poked my head in the fridge to grab a little bite of heaven.

SNOW LOG

4 oz cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
1 1/4 cups vanilla wafer crumbs
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped maraschino cherries, well drained
vanilla wafer crumbs for coating.

Beat cream cheese until smooth. Beat in icing sugar. Mix in first amount of wafer crumbs salt and cherries. You may have to add more icing sugar. You can safely add as much as you can work in. shape into a log 1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter. Roll in wafer crumbs to coat. Store in waxed paper in a plastic bag. Keep in refrigerator. Cut in thin slices. Serve.

Sewing again.

2008-11-30T20:05:00.004-05:00

I have finally gotten myself out of my sewing funk and did some sewing this weekend. I made some fabric cubes, they are going to be Christmas presents for some of my friends and family. (luckily or unluckily however you want to look at it) The people that these cubes are going to, don't read my blog. (Imagine that...what nerve..LOL)

Some turned out better than others. I must admit I almost had a nervous breakdown trying to get the cardboard in place...and for some reason the cardboard measurements I used were much too big. So if my fabric pieces were 6 inches than I cut my cardboard 5 inches. That measurement worked much better for me. I am probably not as exact a sewer as Crazy Mom Quilts. Who am I kidding I will never sew as beautifully as Crazy Mom. I used her tutorial

I am glad to be sewing again and hope to get the rest of my cubes made this week.

Oh ya, this is blog about quilting isn't it?!

2008-11-14T21:55:00.002-05:00

I have been a very bad blogger. I have not really had anything to blog about lately...especially in the way of quilting. I do have my round robin quilt sandwhich done and pinned together. But that is as far as I got. It is sitting on my dining room table like a table cloth. I won't get any quilting done this weekend either as I'm off to Port Dover for the weekend to visit family. Maybe next weekend I'll have some time to finish off my round robin quilt.
I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!

Please take a moment and Remember.

2008-11-10T21:00:00.005-05:00

On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, Canadians are asked to pause and remember the thousands of men and women who sacrificed their lives fighting for freedom and democracy during the First World War, the Second World War, the Korean War, the Afghanistan conflict and during peacekeeping missions.

During the First World War (1914-1918), more than 600,000 Canadian soldiers volunteered to go overseas. As of November 2007, only one was still alive — John Babcock, 107, who was born on an Ontario farm and now lives in the United States.

The troops fought in a series of costly and bloody battles and by the end of the war, more than 66,000 Canadian soldiers had been killed and 172,000 wounded.

The 29th Battalion, part of the Second Canadian Division, advances into No Man's Land through German barbed wire and heavy fire in the right-centre of the Canadian advance on April 9, 1917. (Courtesy Veterans Affairs Canada)
They died fighting at Vimy Ridge, Hill 70, Bourlon Wood, Mons, Passchendaele and Ypres. In Ypres, Canadian soldiers were exposed to German gas attacks, yet continued to fight, showing amazing tenacity and courage in the face of danger.

During the Second World War, (1939-45) more than one million men and women from Canada and Newfoundland served in combat in the army, air force and navy. More than 47,000 men and women did not come home from that battle.

Canadians lost their lives fighting in Dieppe, Normandy, the North Atlantic, defending Hong Kong, during the liberation of Italy, and in many other important air, sea and land campaigns.

In Korea, 516 Canadian soldiers died during the 1950-53 conflict, in which 26,791 Canadians served. The battles of Hill 355 and Hill 187, among others, saw Canadians fighting in swamps and rice fields, through torrential rain and snow, in the air and at sea.

As of March 2007, there were 13,943 living veterans of the Korean War. Their average age is 76.

In 2004, Canada also remembered the 60th anniversary of D-Day and the Battle of Normandy, where Canadian troops suffered 18,444 casualties, including 5,021 killed. Of all the divisions that formed part of the 21 Army Group, none suffered more casualties than the 3rd and 2nd Canadian.

It was a huge sacrifice – and a huge factor in turning the tide of the war against Hitler's Germany.

The first Remembrance Day, held in 1919 throughout the Commonwealth, was called Armistice Day. The day commemorated the end of the First World War on Monday, Nov. 11, 1918, at 11 a.m. — the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/11/07/f-remembrance-day.html

Lest We Forget

2008-11-05T19:30:00.003-05:00

In Flanders Fields
By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)
Canadian Army

IN FLANDERS FIELDS the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Corky's Quilt is Done.

2008-11-01T22:10:00.002-04:00

Hmmmm....I seem to be falling down on my blogging duties. I have managed to finish S's quilt. I finished doing the stipple quilting and binding last weekend and I finally put on the label tonight. So I am happy to say it is done. I hope S likes it. She is coming over tomorrow to pick it up.

Finished Quilt

Label. Oh, and you can see my stippling as well in this picture...lol.

Weekend Part II

2008-10-22T14:14:00.002-04:00

I think I have recovered from my exciting weekend.

Time to post about the Creativ Festival.

We all met up at the Oshawa Go Train station to begin our adventure. I went into the station to buy the tickets only to read a sign that said 8:41 Go Train to Union Station cancelled. GULP. What do you mean it is cancelled...this can't be. How will we get there?? A very nice lady infront of me in the ticket line explained they were going to bus us into Union Station. Phew!! OK, the panic started to subside and my breathing went back to normal..lol. So we all boarded a bus and away we went. We got downtown Toronto only 6 minutes later than if we had been on the train. So after a pit stop at Union Station we treked over to the Metro Convention Centre.

The show was great....and I bought way too much material.

Fun was had by all and 5 very tired people made the trek home to Oshawa. I know my Aunt enjoyed it because on the way home she wanted to know when the Spring show was. So I think we have another person addicted to going to the show. The Spring show is better than the fall one and it is in Mississauga. One good thing about that is that we have to drive to it, so that means you can go out to the car and drop off heavy bags full of fabric. :-)

What a weekend!

2008-10-20T19:55:00.003-04:00

This weekend my aunt and cousin came down for a visit and to go to the Creativ Festival. What a whirl wind weekend. I sure hope they had fun, I know I sure did.

Saturday afternoon my mom called to say my aunt and cousin had arrived, so I went over to my mom and dad's house.

After all the hello's and hugs had been exchanged. My aunt asked "Do you want to see your finished round robin quilt top?" YES!!! I do!! So into the kitchen we went.

There was my quilt top on the kitchen table covering a rather large object.

My quilt top is wonderful...I love it.

Aunt Doe

So after looking at my quilt I take it off the table.

And lo and behold what do I see but....

a NEW SEWING MACHINE.

This is my Christmas present ( I got it early...lol) I am so excited. I haven't really had a chance to play with it yet.

Saturday night my cousin gave me some lessons on how to use it, and what all the presser foots are for. (Thank you A!!) I tried to do a little bit of free motion stippling on a test quilt sandwich. It was fantastic. Now, I don't think for a second that I'm instantly a brilliant quilter but boy oh boy it is so much easier on my new machine. I found I was struggling with my old machine when I stippled but on the new one it is much much easier. I still love my old machine and will still use it...but the new one is like Mercedes.

Now I have no excuses not to finish Corky's quilt my red/white/black quilt and many other projects I want to do.

Sunday we went to the creativ festival. I'll post about that in a couple of days. Lets just say I single handedly spurred on the Canadian economy with all my fabric purchases.

I am pretty sure that I can now make a quilt for every single person I have ever known. And you want to know the really sad thing....I was thinking tonight coming home from work on the GO Train that I need to go and buy some Muslin to make my lable and to make more quilt test sandwiches.

Is there a 12 step program for people who can't stop buying fabric?? LOL.

Thank you Aunt Doe and A I had the best weekend I have had in a long time. I sure hope you are able to come down in the spring for spring show. (it is even better than the fall one)Hmmmm....I wonder if I'll need to buy more fabric by then.

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-10-11T17:36:00.001-04:00

Happy Thanksgiving
Originally uploaded by twinsline7

Love this picture.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!

I hope you have many reasons to be thankful. I know I do!!

Quilting Newbie

Finally done!!

2008-10-11T17:12:00.005-04:00

I have finished my final border for the round robin I'm participating in...woo hoo.

Here is a close up picture of the corner.

And a full picture.

Not bad for a newbie...lol.

I hope my aunt will like it. My aunt and cousin are coming down next weekend for the semi annual Creativ Festival

I go to the festival every year (twice a year actually) with 32point5. This will be the first time my aunt and cousin have come down for the show. I'm so excited for them to come with us. I'm sure my aunt will absolutley love the show and hopefully make it an annual trip.

I have my list of "wants" already for the festival. One thing I want to stock up on is Christmas fabric and some Amy Butler fabric.

8 days until the show...woo hoo.

I also got more done on Corky's quilt today. I sewed the backing fabric together and sandwiched the quilt together and basted it with basting pins. Then I trimmed it all up. After I finish my blog post I'm going to go and see if I can find some clip art pictures of dog bones (I'm sure I could free hand one...but might as well look for some clip-art) and a fire hydrant or a dog house...I thouht those might be cute pictures to use as a quilting outline on some of the squares or on the borders.

To my Canadian readers I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving on Monday. I will be celebrating Thanksgiving on Sunday with my mom and dad and my dad's brother and his wife. My aunt and uncle just got home from a three week trip to China, so I'm looking forward to hearing about their trip.

Final Round Robin Border

2008-10-05T21:31:00.002-04:00

I decided to take a brake from Corky's quilt and work on the last border I have to do for the round robin.

These are the corner blocks that I completed today. I have to say I am so proud of myself. I just think they are wonderful. These are as close to perfect that I am ever going to be able to do. My squares match up perfectly. (perfect for me)

I am all excited now to finish this border off. The quilt top I'm working on right now is my aunts and I want to do a really good job on hers. (I wanted to do a good job on everyone's but my aunt's is special...she is the person that got me hooked on quilting.) For years she told me that I would be able to quilt, and then one day I decided to try it and you know what?? She was right. Practice really does make perfect...the more you quilt the better you get. I wonder if that is true about free-motion quilting...lol. Because, let me tell you, I am brutal at that...lol.

Ta Dah!!!

2008-10-02T21:05:00.002-04:00

Here is a picture of the quilt top that I'm working on for SM

Hmm....I guess I should have ironed it before I took the picture...lol.
I'm in the home stretch now. There is not much left to do...sandwich the quilt, quilt it and bind it. HMMMMMMMMMMMMM...ok, so maybe there is a bit more work left to do on it...but the end is in site. My hope is to finish it this weekend because I really have to start working on the border I have to do for the round robin. I have all the fabric cut out for that....so it should go pretty fast.

Does anyone out there have a favourite marking pencil or tool. I've used those pens that disappear on there own after a few minutes (more like a few seconds...I mark the quilt and then run like a crazy woman back to the sewing machine and hope to god the marking is still there so I can sew the line I need), I've tried the soapstone(?) marking tool, didn't care for that at all....it didn't even show on the fabric, I've tried the chalk pencils as well(you know the ones that the chalk kind of comes out on a little wheel), that didn't work very well either. Now, please don't all gasp at once...but on occasion I have been forced to use a real pen just so I could see the mark and sew properly. (now, I used it on very dark fabric) I know I have committed a terrible sin, but until someone can invent a darn fabric marking tool that doesn't disappear instantly or worse stays permanently, then my quilting friends, I may once again be forced to use the dreaded BIC pen.

I want...

2008-09-28T20:00:00.002-04:00

Today I spent a very enjoyable afternoon with one of my buddies 32point5
I helped (cough..cough)her make some wonderful BLANK. ( I better not say what she made as I'm sure there will be a blog about it in the next couple days and I don't want to steal her thunder.) But I was lucky enough to leave with a bottle of IT...hurray for me.

During our visit today I noticed myself starting many sentences with...I want or I should. That got me to thinking that I need to take charge of putting steps in place to get what I want. The first step is to list what I want. So here is my list.

Things I want to make

Sewing and quilting projects.

1. Plastic bag holder for under the counter
2. Nesting baskets that I saw on crazy mom quilts.
3. Scarfs (free pattern can be found on Amy Butlers website
4. Black Redwork pillow.
5. Redwork Quilt
6. Orange Quilt
7. Brown and Blue Quilt
8. Black and White Quilt

My UFO list (it isn't too long..thank goodness)

1. Border for the Round Robin
2. Corky's quilt for my friend SM

Ok, now that I have posted my wants, I have no excuse not to get at it. It is all about time management.

Tomorrow I should......

Hmmm...maybe this won't be as easy I thought. LOL.

Have a great week eveyone.

2nd try

2008-09-26T21:07:00.002-04:00

I have taken everyones advice and re-arranged the quilt squares. I hate to admit it but you were correct...way too much red in the middle and the blue was all clumped up. I was trying to do a red design in the middle but it just didn't work.

This is my second attempt. I think it looks better. Let me know your thoughts, I appreciate your input.

This weekend is all about quilting. I want to get this quilt top pieced together with the border on as well. I also want to start the border for the round robin. So much quilting to do...so little time...lol.

Project # 2

2008-09-21T19:49:00.002-04:00

Project #2 has begun. A friend of mine asked me to make a quilt for her out of all her late dog's bandana's (Corky died a couple of weeks ago) Corky had tons of bandana's, he got one everytime he got groomed and my friend S. kept them all. Last weekend S. dropped them off for me to take a look at.

The bandana's are triangles (of different sizes) of different fabrics. After much deliberation and discussions with S. and my mom (who helps me with my quilting) I decided to do another scrappy quilt, like I made for my coworker.

I took all the bandana's and cut a 6 1/2 inch square out of the bandana's. The bandana's that were too small I took and sewed together and then cut a 6 1/2 inch square out of the sewn together bandana's.

I had to add about 13 squares of my own (that I had left over from a previous project).

I laid out all the squares on the floor and organized them. I'm not sure if I like the way I have set them up..so I am going to just leave them on the floor for a day or two and see if the quilt design grows on me.

Two projects at once...yikes....the pressure....LOL

Next Round of Round Robin

2008-09-21T00:12:00.002-04:00

I met up with 32point5 and T this morning at Tims to exchange our round robin quilt tops.

This is the next quilt top I am going to work on.

Close up of the border that T completed.

So once again I have no idea what to do next. The border I have to do is 6 inches. As you have probably guessed when I am having a quilting dilemma, I travel over to my trusted crazy quilt store owner. She never lets me down.

This is the fabric she has chosen for me to use.

And after another quilt lesson, I left the quilt store with the fabric and diagram of what I need to do next. I'm not sure what it is called but I'm going to make a 9 patch for the four corners and then the sides will be 3 strips of the fabric. I think I can do this...it doesn't seem that hard. Time will tell though.

So this is project number one...it needs to be completed by October 11th, that is when T, 32point5 and I meet again.

But I also have a 2nd project that I have to start working on. I'll leave you in suspense about what the project is....hopefully I'll be able to post some of those pictures tomorrow. I'll have to wait and see how much I get done tomorrow.

Nothing to do with Quilting...but so funny I couldn't resist.

2008-09-14T17:19:00.004-04:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3ijYVyhnn0&fmt=18

What happened to...........

2008-09-10T20:06:00.002-04:00

The link doesn't work anymore. I keep trying it everyday...hoping...praying that it will magically work again...but sadly it does not work. I loved that site I found so many wonderful quilting blogs.

If anyone knows what happened please let me know.

Round Robin Border

2008-09-07T15:24:00.003-04:00

I am a quilting mad woman these last few days. Finished the quilt for my friend at work and finished the border for the Round Robin I am participating in.

I must admit I was a little perplexed with the quilt top I had to add a border to. So I took the quilt top to my favourite quilt lady's store and begged for help. Shirley was wonderful...she whipped open the quilt top took one look at it and said "no wonder you don't know what to do with it." Yikes!! I knew I was in trouble then and there. She decided that I needed to put a plain border on it to calm it down and the designed she picked for this quilting newbie was Flying Geese. (GULP) But I don't know how to do Flying Geese I sobbed. Well, that was all Shirley needed to hear...she quickly got some scrap material, rushed over to a sewing machine and promptly gave me a lesson on how to do a Flying Geese border.

Shirley's example

My test patch.

I decided I did a pretty good job so I forged ahead.

The material is a navy blue moira ( I hope I've spelt that correctly). The goose is done with the wrong side of the material and the sky is done with the correct side of the material.

Close up of border.

Finished border.

Now that I've gotten all caught up on my projects, I'll have to start a new one. HMMM....what to do next?

You'll have to stay tuned to see. LOL.

Scrappy Quilt Finished

2008-09-04T22:14:00.002-04:00

I've done it...the quilt for my co-worker is finally done.

Close up picture of the quilt

Back of the quilt.

I didn't end up doing any fancy quilting...I just machine quilted around each square. I need to practice more before I try any free motion quilting on a real quilt. I would have had to commit harry carry on myself if I had wrecked with this quilt after working on it for so long. I think it turned out pretty good. I could have done a better job on the binding...but it was the first time I've attempted the binding on my own without my mentor's ( 32point5 ) help.

ROUND ROBIN
I bought the material I need to add my border to the round robin I am participating in. I also got a quicky lesson on how to do a flying geese border from the quilting store ladies. I hope to do that on Friday so stay tuned, I might have more pictures for you tomorrow night.

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad

2008-09-04T16:20:00.008-04:00

Today is my mom and dad's 44th anniversary.

Happy Anniversary!!!! May you enjoy many more wonderful years together!!!
Love you!!!

The Long Weekend

2008-08-30T20:43:00.007-04:00

Today I thought I better try out my new Magic Bullet. Especially seeing as the only thing I have made with it since I got it was crushed ice. LOL

The first recipe I tried out was Hummus

Hummus Ingredients

Finished Hummus

The Magic Bullet is not all it's cracked up to be. Why am I so shocked...lol.
I had to keep adding chicken stock to thin out the mixture so the bullet would chop up the chickpeas. I think a small food processor would have done the job much better.

2nd recipe

Salsa

Salsa Ingredients

Finished Salsa

Again the magic bullet failed to impress. It turned out more like soup than Salsa.

I will have to try out some drinks next on my magic bullet. I am thinking they will turn out better. Iced Coffee and Margarita will be the next things I try.

VACATION TIME
I am now officially on one weeks vacation and I'm thinking about going North to visit my aunt in Haileybury. Most of you are probably wondering where the heck that is. It is in Northern Ontario, Canada. My mom is from there and my aunt lives there now. It is a pretty little town. I haven't been up to visit since last summer. Click the link to get a little history on Haileybury

After visiting with my aunt I want to swing down to Espanola. Another pretty little northern Ontario town that I lived in when I was little. I haven't been back in 30 years and have always wanted too. So this year I will. It will be interesting to see it from the eyes of an adult and to see if my memories of the little town hold up.

I'll let you know how my vacation turned out when I return. You never know, I might find a new little quilting store on my travels.

Weekend Update

2008-08-24T20:59:00.003-04:00

The Magic Bullet

Oh, I can't tell you how many times I have watched this infomercial and dreamed of owning this wonderful device. It chops, it blends, it mixes, it purees,....well....it is just plain magic.

I am now the proud owner of a Magic Bullet...lookout culinary world...soon I will be posting entries as wonderful as Smitten Kitchen.

Ok, so those of you who know me....know that this is a truly lofty ambition. I'm doing well when I make toast. But lets face it...this device is MAGIC...so who knows...lol.

The fabric stash grows.

And grows.....

Not all of these are metre cuts. Most of the fabric you see are cut scraps that the quilting store was selling in $8.00 grab bags. I would say most fabric would be the size of a fat quarter or smaller. This works for me, as I like to make scrappy quilts...so I don't really need a metre of fabric. Little bits and pieces work just fine for me.

I hope to get back to some quilting next weekend....

Hope everyone had a great weekend .

My Garden

2008-08-18T22:01:00.007-04:00

I don't have any quilting updates today. Damn work. Keeps getting in the way of my quilting. :-)

So I thought I would show you some pictures of my backyard and garden. I had wanted to take some new pictures today but the weather decided today was not a good day for picture taking. We have been having terrible weather in Oshawa this summer. I am pretty sure it has rained everyday. I think I am somewhat responsible because this is the first time in 20 years I have taken all my holidays during the summer months. I jinxed the province of Ontario...lol.

So these pictures are from last summer. The garden has greatly improved since then. I did all the planting last summer, there were no plants in the gardens when I moved in. The plants were not very big...this year, however, it's like a jungle.

My gazebo. I love my gazebo...it is so calming to sit under there with a good book listening to the birds.

The view from my gate.

The back corner.

close up of the back corner. You can see some hosta's and a forsytha bush.

I will have to make sure I take some more current pictures of my garden so you can see how well my plants did this year. I guess they did well, they are growing in the "new" rainforest. (ha ha ha)

I hope everyone had a great Monday. Only 4 more days to go until the weekend!!! Not that I am counting down, or anything.

Round Robin

2008-08-17T21:00:00.006-04:00

Yesterday I met up with 32point5 and T at my favourite quilt store in Oshawa. We met for two reasons, one because The Ultimate Sewing Centre was having an open house and two, we had to trade our round robin squares. Here is a picture the quilt square I have now. The last border was done by T and it truly beautiful.

Close up of the border T did.

Close up of the perfectly done corner.

OHHHHHHHHHH, the pressure is on. I went through my fabric stash today and unbelievably I don't have anything that will work for the border I have to do.

Oh NO!! I am going to have to go and buy some fabric...lol. As I am sure you have guessed this is not a disaster for me. Any reason to go buy fabric will do. I haven't decided what kind of border to put on. The border I am doing is only supose to be 2 inches (2 1/4) so I am not really sure how fancy I can get with that. I think I might have to just do a plain strip. If anyone has any ideas please please feel free to share them with me.

There is more to life than quilting

2008-08-12T21:38:00.008-04:00

HUH??? There is???

I thought I would write a post about something other than quilting. Recently I have decided to try and lose some weight. I have tried all the fad diets and exercise machines and really, who is kidding who, the only thing you lose with those fad diets and infomercial gadgets is your money.

So this time I am taking a radical approach. Now I know, this may not be for everyone...but stay with me for just a bit longer.

No more of this!!!

And lots more of this!! (this is my lunch for tomorrow)

and daily some of this....about 1/2 hour 6 days a week.

Simple? Yes! Easy? We will see. I am pretty motivated so hopefully I will be able to stick to it. Also one more thing that I am going to do...or not do...is I am not going to weigh myself? Now, I can hear people yelling at their computers ...WHAT?? But yes, it is true, I know what I weigh, and I am not happy, I don't need to keep reminding myself...that will only make me discouraged. So part of my radical approach is going to be that I base my success on how I feel, and how my clothes fit. If my clothes start to get loose, then I am doing a good job. If they are not getting loose then I need to raise the intensity of my exercise routine. I'm going to keep a chart and mark down everytime I exercise. My chart will have the date, the amount of time exercising, how far I walked, and at what speed. I may alter my chart as I go along, but for now I think that is good enough to start with. I am also going to stick the chart on the wall for easy access. (this is my basement so it is all good...lol)

Wish me luck!!

Next Project

2008-08-09T23:02:00.014-04:00

I have been working on this quilt for a couple of months and I am now in the home stretch. This quilt is for a friend of mine at work. I needed some practice and I knew my friend would love receiving a quilt as a gift. This is just the quilt top.

This is the fabric I am going to put on the back and I have the binding all ready to go. The binding is all cut, sewn together and ironed in half.

The book that I got the pattern out of is called Quick & Easy Machine Quilts that I bought one time when I was at the Creativ Festival. Now let me be totally honest. The quilt I made is loosely based on the pattern in the book. I have never been very good at following a pattern. (way to much pressure and commitment :-0 ) The idea is the same though. I used 5 inch squares in a random pattern, so it looks more like a scrap quilt. The pattern calls for pretty little buttons to be put in the centre of some of the squares. I'm still undecided on that.

This weekend, I went out and did some shopping for quilt supplies (like I don't already have enough dodads) I went to my favourite quilt store The Ultimate Sewing Store in Oshawa, and indulged myself in a couple quilting treats.

I bought myself some Ricky Tims Stable Stuff Poly. I have not tried it yet, but ever since I watched Ricky Tims DVD called Grand Finale I have wanted to try it. It is a "multi-purpose, polyester-based stabilizer called Stable Stuff® Poly. You can tear it away - or not! You can leave it on the underside of your work" (So I don't get in trouble I have cut and pasted Ricky Tims exact words from his website above). He also uses Wash-A-Way thread for his basting and his quilting. Now I know, you are thinking well if it washes away why would you quilt with it??? But what Ricky does is he uses it as a tracing. He then uses regular quilting thread over the Wash-A-Way thread. You have to watch the DVD to get the full affect. My explanation is not doing the technique any justice at all.

So my big plan is to use the Ricky Tims Stable Stuff Poly on some of the squares in the quilt. Most of the quilt I plan on just quilting up and down the rows of squares but on a few of the squares I am going to do some "fancy" quilting inside the square and I'll use the Poly on those squares. He also uses the Poly to help act as Trapunto. (makes the quilting design kind of puffy). I'll take lots of pictures so you can see what I mean. Well, I'll take pictures if it turns out...ha ha ha.

Finally finished the round robin quilt square

2008-08-07T19:53:00.007-04:00

Border done on Amy's Quilt Square

Closer picture of the border

Close-up of Border

Phew, finally done the border for Amy's quilt square. It was suppose to be a 5 inch border ( 5 1/4 inches) but it is 5 1/2 inches. I figure that is close enough. I put on a plain border with mitered corners in a cream colour and then I put on the arrows border, I then finished up with another plain border in cream. I think it looks really nice. I mitred the corners on all three of the rows that I did. For some strange reason I find that doing a mitered corner is easier than doing a regular corner.

Non-Quilting News

My father and I re-arranged my basement today and have set it up as an exercise area. I now have my treadmill facing out into the centre of the room (instead of facing the wall...lol. How inspiring was that?? LOL) And we moved my TV into that room from the sewing room. I never really watched TV while I was sewing and I figured this might motivate me to actually get up off the couch and doing some walking.

Where the magic happens.

2008-08-05T22:11:00.013-04:00

This picture was taken right after I had set up my sewing room. It never looked this neat and tidy again. On the second shelf down you can see my fabric stash. The stash has grown considerably since this picture was taken.

My Sewing Room

I spent today working on a quilt square for a Round Robin that I am in participating in.
My Aunt is a quilter and she thought it would be fun for a bunch of us to do a round robin. I was a little nervous at first as I am such newbie...I was afraid of messing up other people's quilts. But I decided to go for it because it would be such a good way for me to learn. Now my problem was I didn't know how to do fancy borders. So I bought a quilting book all about quilt borders.

This book has since become my border bible.

The border I chose is called Arrows.

These are some pictures of my progress on the border.

The picture on the left shows the 2 inch strips I had cut. The picture on the right shows the strips after being cut on a 45 degree angle, the top of the picture shows two 45 degree strips sewn together to form an arrow. I will hopefully finish the border tomorrow and I will post the pictures.

Today I also picked a bumper crop of tomatoes from my garden. Here is a picture of the big haul.

Hmmm.....I wonder if I can make some salsa out of them...lol.

My First Post

2008-08-03T21:34:00.009-04:00

My First Quilt

I thought my first blog post should have a picture of my first quilt. I made this quilt last September for my mom for her birthday. It is a log cabin design made with Moda fabric. I must admit though, it is a cheaters quilt. I used a product called "Quilt by Numbers" Foundation Piecing. The foundation piece stays in the quilt. The fabric is placed on the backside of the foundation and you sew on the front of the foundation. It is a wonderful product. I bought them at the Creativ Festival held twice a year in Toronto. Oh if only I knew how to make a link without an actual website showing... ha ha ha.

Thank you to 32point5 for the helpful hint. I've now fixed the link.