Fall Trees Framed, Quilt Repairs and Placemats

I picked up my Fall Trees cross stitch from the framer this week.  I'm really pleased how the orange frame looks with these colourful trees. It is now hanging in our living room.  I didn't even pick up my cross stitch this past week but hope to add some stitches this coming week. 

I made my daughter a quilt when she graduated from university and the binding was worn out so I cut it off and machine stitched some new grey binding on.  This will be my hand stitching project over the next couple of days.  There were a few spots on this quilt that needed to be machine mended where the fabric had worn through so those were fixed too.  This quilt has been used a lot and has been washed several times so the colours are a bit faded. I plan on making her a new quilt shortly but there has not been time to pick out fabrics yet.  She has decided on a pattern already. 

I found some bonus HST's in a bag in my sewing room while I was looking for something else so I made two placemats for Meals on Wheels.  I still have a few stitches to add on the binding of the second placemat.  The backing fabric is a Chrsitmas/Winter theme so the placemat can be used all year round. 

I bought backing for the jelly roll donation quilt and got started on the walking foot quilting.  I am about half done.   I think I have enough of the backing fabric to make the binding when the quilting is done. 

We took Finn for a walk in the woods today.  He is worn out tonight and is currently sleeping in his bed.  It was a beautiful day.  

This picture was taken on one of my morning walks this week.  

 I will link up with Frederique and Kathy.  

Camp Kintail Retreat Report

This post features my projects from last weekend's Crafters retreat at Camp Kintail, but first I want to show you my finished Fall cross stitch...TaDa!  I started this project at the beginning of September and have added stitches to it steadily until this week, when I added the last few.  As I have said before, I love the transparency where the trees overlap and the bright colours in this picture.  I will have it framed shortly and hang it up for the Fall next year.   I have a couple of embroidery kits that I would like to work on next, but likely won't start them for another week or two while I finish up some Christmas gifts. 

In an effort to use up all of the HST's leftover from the Winter wallhanging, I made another placemat for Meals on Wheels.  The backing fabric has tulips on it so it can be used with that side up when winter is over. 

Christine and I made zippered project bags at the retreat. One side is quilted and the other side has clear vinyl so you can see what is in the bag. 

Christine's bag is a bit bigger than mine.  We both used my black and white striped fabric for the binding. 

Here we are with our placemats for Meals on Wheels. 

I signed up for a year's worth of online classes from the Threadhouse Academy and this Tiny House table runner was made for one of the classes.  Some people made a whole quilt with Tiny Houses but I decided to just make a table runner.  It still needs to be quilted.  The houses and trees are meant to be a bit wonky--it adds personality to the project!  I would like to live in this neighbourhood!

I made these blocks by playing with my drunkard's path rulers and partial seams a few months ago.  They have been sitting in a pile in my sewing room, patiently waiting to be put together.  I managed to get this done at the retreat. 

In yet another effort to use up my bin of 2.5" squares, I made another baby quilt.  As you have probably guessed, the bin is still full of squares...  The gray background fabric was in my stash, leftover from backing another quilt. it is mostly used up now.  I should have something in my stash to use for the backing. 

A few years ago, Christine and I met Mary, a knitter, who is also a regular at the retreats and this year, she brought her friend, Elaine, along too.  The four of us hung out together for the weekend and one of the staff members at the Camp took this picture of us with some of our projects.  

The Oxford Quilters Guild is making several Quilts of Valour for injured veterans.  I took a pile of blocks to the retreat to put one of the tops together.  I also made a few more blocks to donate for the next QoV.

Finn stayed at our house for a week while our daughter was at a conference for work.  He's a smart cookie and knows exactly what our routines are when he's here.  

Finn is a specialist at looking cute. 

I will link up with Kathy and Frederique.  Hope you enjoyed the pictures of the retreat projects.  My previous post from a couple of days ago shows the finished quilt tops from the Round Robin that I organized for three friends and I earlier this year.  

Gift Quilt Reveal, Cross Stitch and Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy (Canadian) Thanksgiving!  Our daughter and Finn are here for the weekend and we had a turkey dinner with my husband's family today. I put out my pumpkin decorations this week.  I even raked some leaves--it really feels like fall now with cooler temperatures and the trees changing colour. 

I'm adding another tree to the Forest cross stitch picture.  It looks a bit odd now but will look better when it is all filled in. 

Finn came with us to the farmer's market this morning and I managed to get him to pose in front of the pumpkins, but only very briefly!

We can see his eyes now that he has had a haircut. 

I have completed the 12 placemats that I am donating to Meals on Wheels.  Here are the fronts--you can see I made some matching sets which might go to a couple. The second picture shows the backing fabrics. 

Here are the two that I finished this past week. 

These two pictures were taken when my husband and I went for a walk in the park one morning this past week. 

The program committee at the Oxford Quilter's Guild has started a colour challenge.  Everyone has been encouraged to pick a block and then make it in a different prescribed colour each month.  The green block was for September and the orange one for October.  I am keeping this project very simple as I have a lot of other projects that I want to move along to the finish line this fall as well as a new quilt I want to start. 

My daughter has joined another crochet along and made one of the corners this week to check her gauge.  

Back at the beginning of the Summer, I mentioned I was working on a secret project.  I made this potato chip quilt using shirt fabric for my cousin.  He received the quilt in September and sent me a picture of him with the quilt this week.  He really likes it and was very surprised to receive it. He has already used his quilt several times--this makes me happy. 

 

One of the things I really wanted to do on our recent vacation was a trip on the Agawa Canyon train out of Sault Ste Marie.  We bought our tickets months ahead of time and although it was a cloudy day, thoroughly enjoyed our day--lots of fall colour and three waterfalls at the Canyon to see when the train stopped. If you have never taken this trip, I highly recommend it!  We were there the last week of September and the colours were at their peak. 

I will be adding more stitches to my cross stitch project for Slow Sunday Stitching with Kathy.  I will also link up with Frederique. 

More Trees and Placemats

More stitches were added to my Fall Forest cross stitch project this week. I like the transparency effect where the trees overlap. This picture is coming along quickly--luckily, I bought two Autumn themed patterns at the same time so I have something else to work on when this is done. 

My goal is to make 12 placemats for Meals on Wheels and I now have 10 finished.  The last two are quilted and just need to have the binding sewn on.   These two placemats are the same, top and bottom.  I like to make them so they can be used year round by just turning them over to see the opposite season. 

I hope a cat lover receives this placemat!

My butterfly weed seed pods are bursting open and spreading their seeds around.  

It's still quite warm here in Ontario and Finn has been outside enjoying the sunshine. He is getting his hair cut this week--we can't see his eyes at the moment. 

Here are a few more pictures from our recent trip north of Lake Superior and in Manitoba. The first one was taken in Riding Mountain National Park where we saw lots of birch trees on our hikes. 

We stayed at a cabin near the park and had three visitors one morning. 

In Winnipeg, we spent most of a day at the Canadian Museum of Human Rights.  Thought provoking displays in an interesting building. 

We toured the provincial legislature building.  There was a statue of the Famous Five on the grounds--These women were suffragettes who fought for women's rights in the 1920's. 

In Winnipeg's Assiniboine Park, we wandered through the gardens, including the sculpture garden where we saw these loggers. 

At Eagle Canyon (north of Lake Superior in Ontario), we hiked up to two suspension bridges, crossing both to see spectacular views of the canyon.  This nuthatch landed on the bridge just ahead of me and stayed long enough for me to take its picture. 

I will add a few more pictures to next week's post too.  

I will link up with Kathy and Frederique, as usual.