I Won Bobbin Chicken!

I played bobbin chicken this week while sewing the binding on one of my quilts, and I won.  Only a few inches of thread left on the bobbin when I finished sewing!  This quilt is completely done now as I now have the binding hand sewn to the back of the quilt. 

The fox square is done (oops--just noticed the eyes are not stitched yet!)  and I have started the rectangular section above. I did lots of stitching of the light blue border this week too. 

I called my daughter tonight to ask for some pictures of her crochet progress and she sent me this picture of Finn helping her work on her blanket.  He likes to be close to her at all times!

6/42 squares are made for her "fried egg" blanket.  (See last week's post for the explanation about the fried eggs!)

We visited my MIL this week and her yellow hibiscus was in bloom. 

Finn kept occupied one day this week trying to get the treats out of his kong. 

My husband and I took his sister and her husband to a Tigers game in Detroit this week for their birthdays.  We walked by the YMCA where this wonderful public art was on display. 

The Tigers won, 3-2. 

The two mourning dove babies looked quite big this week when I took a peek in their nest.  (You can only see Mom and one baby in this picture) They have fledged now and we can water our droopy fuchsia plant again. It is looking much better!

My husband and I went to the Backus Page House heritage farm show today. I watched the antique threshing machine in action, visited the chickens and took a look at the Farmall tractors. 

I will link up with Kathy and Frederique.  Still lots of secret sewing going on behind the scenes here... To be revealed in a few weeks. 

A Fox, Fried Eggs and Secret Projects

I have had a very productive week in the sewing department.  Unfortunately, I can't show you two of the projects because they are gifts and must be kept secret for a while yet.  Suffice to say that I have used up some older stash fabrics this week as well as a few newer fat quarters purchased specifically for the quilt. In time, I will show both projects here. 

I have managed to add some stitches to my winter cross stitch every day this week. The fox section is well on its way to being done.  Those stitches that look like I forgot to do the second part of the X are supposed to be that way.  I should be able to finish this section this coming week. 

I picked up my sunflower cross stitch from the framer's last week. It is perfect for this time of year--the sunflower fields in our area are in bloom right now. This is a Satsuma Street pattern. My winter/Christmas cross stitch picture from last winter is at the framer's now.  I still need to finish the lupins outlining before it can go there too. 

A friend gave me an aster plant that she had grown from seed.  It bloomed this week and there are many more buds on the plant ready to burst.  

You may be wondering about the Fried Eggs in this post's title.  My daughter started another crochet blanket this week. Yes, I do believe that she officially has UFO's now since she has more than one project underway at the same time... When she showed me the white circles with the yellow centres, I thought they looked like fried eggs...she finished one block to show me that they are actually flowers!  This is going to be pretty! Her blanket will have 42 blocks like this.  

She also worked on her cream coloured blanket this week--using up one of 11 balls of yarn.  I like the texture!

Finn thinks a ball of yarn makes a perfect pillow. 

I went to the park with a friend and her preschool aged grandchild today.  We found turtles, frogs and a heron.  It was very exciting!  We spent time at the playground too and finished off the afternoon with ice cream. 

I will link up with Kathy and the slow Sunday stitchers as well as Frederique. 

Barn Quilt Class

Today, Christine and I attended a Barn Quilt Block class in Palmyra, Ontario at the Crazy 8 Barn.  I have wanted to make a Barn Quilt for our backyard for ages.  There were two blocks available to choose from and we each chose a different one.  The class started at 9am and we left for home around 5pm so it was an all day project.  

There were lots of paint colours to choose from and we all did some mixing as well to get just the right colours for our blocks. 

Here I am, hard at work, taping off the next section to be painted. I made myself this apron before I got married, over 35 years ago.  It worked well to keep the paint off my clothes. 

This picture was taken earlier in the process. 

Here is Christine painting her barn quilt. 

And here is Christine's finished Barn Quilt block. So pretty!  Sunflowers were the theme of the day!

Here are a few of the barn quilts in the gardens at the Crazy 8 Barn. 

I've never taken a class in such an interesting building!  

Finn and my daughter have been here this week.  My daughter has started to make herself a crocheted blanket.  The second picture shows Finn modelling the first row or two.  He says it is not doing much to keep him warm yet. 

Edited:  Oops!  My daughter informs me that I took a picture of the back of her crochet!  The first picture below is the front, and the second picture is the back. 

I have started yet another secret project in my sewing room so nothing to show there...  I finished off the tree on my cross stitch picture this week. On to the next motif this week!

Finn enjoyed some time in the backyard this week while our daughter was working from our basement. 

Our teacher gave each of us a quilt block mug at the end of the class.  My block is the Carpenter's Star. 

 I will link up with Frederique and Kathy.  Have a great week!

A Week at the Cottage

Our family, including our daughter and Finn, spent this past week at a cottage near Algonquin Park. We had a relaxing week which included lots of reading on the dock, crafting, watching the olympics, a puzzle and going for walks. On the way to pick up Finn and our daughter, I spent several hours untangling a skein of wool that I bought last year in Newfoundland for the scarf I have been knitting.  I'm not sure how it got so tangled up, but it is now a ball of wool, ready to add to the scarf. 

I added lots of rows of knitting to the scarf in the car and at the cottage.  It's growing and I may be able to finish it in time to wear this winter!

I added more stitches to my winter cross stitch too.  You can see the tree starting to emerge now. This pattern is from Satsuma Street. 

My daughter worked on her "Bernard the Elf" wobble and finished him!  He liked watching the races at the Olympics too.  His hat is quite jaunty!

We had my friend Cathy and her husband over for lunch one day.  They lived close to us until a few years ago when they moved to Muskoka.  Cathy blogs at Eagles Wings Quilts--Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching Crew will know who she is as she links up each Sunday with all of the hand stitchers. We had not seen each other in three years so it was fun to catch up in person.  Cathy and I often sew together on FaceTime.  Here we are with our current stitching projects.  

Finn's favourite place at the cottage was the dock. He just loved lying in the sun and watching the canoes and kayaks go by. 

A comfy chair on the screened in porch was a great place for an afternoon nap. 

A monarch butterfly found a milkweed plant at the side of the road and stayed still long enough for me to get a picture when we went for a walk one day. 

My daughter and I took Finn for a canoe ride one evening when the water was very calm. 

Later in the evenings, we all worked on this puzzle. All those swaths of solid colour were a bit challenging.  We left it at the cottage for others to enjoy. 

I will link up with Kathy and Frederique.