Slow Knitting and some Zippered Pouches

 I belong to a sewing group at church--we get together every couple of weeks for a few hours to make items for our upcoming Christmas Bazaar.  This past Tuesday, 5 of us met at the church to sew.  P and I made two zippered pouches each.  J and M made bunting for Christmas, Valentines and Halloween.  K worked on another type of pouch.  The bin with our new items for this year's bazaar is filling up. We also have some stock left over from the last bazaar in 2019.   Here are the pouches that I made.  The pattern is from Noodlehead.  We have 6 ready to sell at the bazaar now. 

I did a little knitting while watching a webinar on the computer earlier today.  One more repeat of the diamond pattern is done. I hope I have enough yarn to make this into a square dishcloth!

Cooler fall weather arrived on Thursday this past week.  I went from shorts and a t-shirt one day to jeans with a sweater and jacket the next day. Finn and my daughter enjoy a brisk walk --most days.  Some days, Finn decides he doesn't want to go! He has a mind of his own. You can see my daughter had her warm jacket on. 

I harvested my bay leaves this past week and they are currently drying out so I can put them away for use later. This is the first time I have tried growing bay leaves.  I think I have plenty to keep me going for the next year or so. 

I took this picture while out for a walk last week...An interesting seed head. 

I will link up with Kathy and the Slow Sunday Stitchers in the morning. 

Whistle Stop Top!

Regular readers of this blog will know that I have not been very productive in my sewing room recently. My husband and I are involved in a couple of large projects at the moment that are consuming all of our time and energy. The deadline to finish is looming, so after that, I hope to be able to spend some one on one time with my sewing machine and my knitting needles!

I did manage to finish off the Whistle Stop quilt flimsy this week--The edges of the centre section were all on the bias so I stay stitched 1/8" from the edge to stabilize it before adding the borders.  I measured the borders by laying them out across the centre of the quilt on the floor and then pinned a lot so that the quilt would be square without wavy borders.  My strategy worked!  I will be quilting this one myself, eventually!

My light blue Drunkard's Path block is done! I have lots of blocks made but hope to add a few more colours before the end of the year when I will put this top together. 

These two strips don't look like much but they are the next step in the quilt I am making for a young couple that got married in June.  These days, every little bit of sewing counts, right?

I did not even pick up my knitting this past week but hope to make some more progress on my blue cloth this coming week for Slow Sunday Stitching. 

I go walking every morning at 8:30 am with a friend... This week, the fall colours were starting to show. This was our first foggy walk of the season. 

On Friday, my husband and I walked for 30 minutes on this trail. There were quite a few people out riding their bikes. It was a beautiful day. 

When my daughter was little, her favourite vegetable was green beans.  It is also one of Finn's favourites, although, with Finn, any food will do!

I will link up with Kathy and the slow stitchers in the morning and the RSC folks now. I remain hopeful that there will be more to show next weekend!

Light Blue RSC, Knitting and some Quilt Top Progress

I dug into my light blue scraps this week and got a start on my drunkard's path blocks for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. Some of these fabrics have been hanging around in my sewing room for many years!  I used the dog fabric in the top left block to make a quilt for a colleague's new baby in 2003.  

I sewed about half of my whistle stop quilt top together one afternoon this week. It is not pressed yet...

I started a new quilt for the church Christmas bazaar as well this week. This is a stack and whack quilt made with squares instead of triangles.  I will use these blocks to make a small lap quilt.  The fabric is designed by Kaffe Fassett.  I like how each set of squares makes a unique block. 

Our Slow Sunday Stitching leader, Kathy.  refers to her collection of sewing machines as her "herd".  Using her language, I added a machine to my "herd" this week.  This is a Spartan machine--it only sews straight. Singer made these machines as a stripped-down, budget version of the 99K in the 50's and 60's.  I have had it tuned up by a quilting friend's husband and it is in working order. I can't wait to take it for a spin!

I did one more repeat of the pattern in my knitted cloth this week.  I did not have a lot of time to knit this past week, but every little bit counts, right?

We had a second morning dove nest in our hanging basket on the front porch.  The two babies have now left the nest.  I expect we will see them and their parents hanging around in our gardens before they fly away for good.  

Finn was out for a walk one day this week and decided this particular patch of grass looked very inviting. 

The Autumn Joy Clematis plants are in bloom right now.  Such dainty flowers!

My Gentian plant is also in bloom--such vibrant colour!

Like people all around the world, we are remembering the life and service of Queen Elizabeth this week. 

The plate below commemorates the 1939 Royal Visit to Canada by the Queen's parents.  This plate belonged to my Grandmother. Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret did not join their parents for this trip to Canada but their pictures are on the rim of the plate. 

I will link up with the RSC group as well as the slow Sunday stitchers.  

Orange and Light Blue, Hooking and Cutting

I changed the calendar to September today...I know...I was a day late but we were out all day yesterday and too tired when we got home to think about it.  I finished off my orange drunkard's path blocks for the August Rainbow Scrap Challenge and got busy gathering some light blue selvages for September's selvage HST's.

HST's made!  These are top stitched along the selvage edge onto a lightweight non-woven interfacing square, 9.5" by 9.5".  Then, I cut them in half!

I harvested lots of grape tomatoes today after supper.  This should replenish my supply in the fridge after making this delicious summer pasta dish for supper.  Today is our 33rd Wedding Anniversary --we went out for lunch. Tonight, we made supper together...a summer pasta recipe I found on the internet.  I substituted green beans for the zucchini. 

I finished the hooking on my class project this week.  Now, I just have to remember how to do the edge to finish this off...I have to steam it first.  I think it looks pretty good for my first time rug hooking!

I had a bit of time one evening this week to get the background cut out for my "Whistle Stop" quilt.  Everything is pinned in place on the design wall and I hope to get back to the sewing room sometime this week to get it sewn together.  The outer border is also cut out, ready to go but is not on the design wall. 

It's time for the sedum plants in my garden to flower.  These pink flowers are growing beside the path to our front door. 

Finn is happy to spend some time outside.  He often does not want to go back inside after he's done his business...

I will link up with Angela and the RSC folks on Saturday morning and with Kathy and the Slow stitching gang on Sunday morning.