Retreat Report

 Last weekend, I attended a quilting retreat, my first in two years.  Everyone in attendance was double vaccinated and our tables were spaced apart.  I brought along 4 projects plus some mending to work on over the three days of the retreat.  My husband gave me a nifty folding cart for my birthday in February 2020 and this was my first chance to use it since I got it.  With the cart, I was able to bring in all my sewing stuff in one trip as well as my overnight bag. 

My first project was my Buffalo Check Modern Snowflake quilt top.  By the end of the first day, the top was together!  I have already purchased a flannel backing for this quilt so I will be able to take it for long arm quilting soon. 

Next up, I worked on my black and white colour block quilt top.  I made these blocks a few months ago and they got put aside for some reason--it was time to get them made into a top!  I chose to make the sashing and outer border with a fuchsia cross-stitch print.  I like the way the black and white blocks look like a checkerboard. There are all kinds of interesting prints in the little squares that make up each block.  I have chosen a backing for this quilt from my stash, and will quilt this one myself, after Christmas gifts are made. 

I took a break from quilting and shortened two pairs of pants for myself next.  A friend pinned them for me.  I used the extra fabric that I cut off the bottom to repair a hole in a pair of jeans that my niece ripped while climbing a fence.  

Back to quilting!  I brought along some Christmas prints that I bought a couple of years ago.  I had started a project with them at the last retreat I attended and then they never saw the light of day again until last weekend.  I managed to finish off a wall hanging and then did the quilting and binding when I got home.  Here is a sneak peek at this project which will be a Christmas present so I can't show the whole thing. 

I made a pompom for the hat I showed last week, and started a new knitting project this week, another gift. I got started this morning on this gift while I was attending an online seminar on Zoom. The knitted snow person also saw some progress this week. 

I spent the remaining time at the retreat cutting and organizing the blocks and sashing pieces for my lupin quilt.  You may remember me showing my lupin blocks months ago--I got stalled on this quilt when I stopped to make a bunch of gifts.  I would like to have this top put together and to the quilter before Christmas.  I made 4 more lupin blocks at the retreat:

My husband and I crossed an item off our bucket list this week--we got to ride in a combine at a family member's farm while he was harvesting corn. It was a beautiful day and lots of pictures were taken. 

We went hiking at a local conservation area on Tuesday morning and enjoyed a colourful walk in the woods. 

I will link up with Kathy and the Slow Sunday Stitchers in the morning.  I hope to do some more knitting tomorrow. Have a great week.   Finn says hello!

Modern Snowflake and some Knitting

 The Modern Snowflake quilt is growing!  I made 10 more blocks but only have a picture of the first 8--all sewn together.  The next four blocks are made, but not added to the quilt yet. Part of the snowflake is starting to appear!  The buffalo plaid is looking good too.  I'm hoping to finish this top in the next week or so--I have purchased some red flannel snowflake fabric for the backing.  I love a cozy quilt with a flannel back!

 I also managed to re-knit the hat I started last week and had to rip out due to sizing issues.  Fewer stitches on the needles did the trick and it fits fine this time round.  I may add a pompom... I think it can be worn with the lower edge turned up or just left down for a slouchy look. 

We had our first snow this week--just a few flakes.  While out on my morning walk, I took a few pictures.  The ice in the puddle may inspire a quilt some day!

My husband and I put away all of the patio furniture and emptied the flower pots this week.  He took down the wasp nest that had been in our tree all summer.  The wasps had moved out when the weather got cooler.  I hope they find somewhere else to make their home next summer!  The scientist in me had to open up the nest to see how they had made it.  More quilt inspiration inside!

There were four layers of this structure inside. 

The outside layer was paper thin and the whole nest was very lightweight.  Amazing engineering. 

Finn is his usual happy self this week. 

I will be working on getting this Libs Elliott "Weight of Love" quilt top quilted and bound this month for my UFO challenge.  I have some backing in my stash and will get it pin basted in the next week.  I took this class with Libs exactly two years ago this week.  It is time to get this one out of the UFO pile!

This weekend, I am going on a quilt retreat.  Everyone is double vaccinated and the tables will be spaced far apart.  I have several projects packed, ready to go.  I'm looking forward to a productive weekend.  For my birthday, just before the pandemic started, my husband gave me a rolling cart to use for my sewing machine and supplies when I go on a retreat--this will be my first opportunity to use it!  

I will link up with Kathy and the Slow Sunday stitchers on Sunday morning. 

Kitchen Scraps Challenge and Another UFO Done.

 Each year, the Elgin Piecemakers Guild issues a challenge to their members.  This past year, we were given a piece of insulbrite thermal batting and asked to make something for our kitchens using scraps.  On Thursday night, we met in person for the first time in ages and revealed our projects.  There were oven mitts, hot pads, a casserole carrier, tea cosies, etc.  Many in the group used selvages in their projects.  I decided to raid my denim stash (from old jeans) for my lasagna pan hot pad.  I have a large orange lasagna pan and always have to use more than one hot pad under it, but not anymore! It was fun to use improv piecing for the top and I found a fun fat quarter in my stash for the backing. 

The perfect size for the orange dish! I used 28wt orange thread for the quilting. 

I finished the quilting and binding on my Down on the Farm charm square quilt this week.  It even has a label!   I used the extra backing fabric for the binding. Another baby quilt ready for gifting!

Since I have finished 3 UFO's in the last month, I decided to give myself permission to start a new quilt!  Last Spring, I made a Modern Handcraft Snowflake quilt for a friend.  I used red and white prints for the background and made the snowflake with Kona White.  I have wanted to make myself a snowflake quilt too and since the Modern Handcraft Blog is holding another "Snowalong" this year, I joined in! This year, Nicole Daksiewicz has added instructions on how to make a Buffalo Plaid Snowflake quilt.  After looking at all of the possibilities in my stash, I picked these fabrics for my quilt and got all my cutting done.  The gray fabric is Essex Linen and the red and black fabric is Kona.  The white with the light gray dots will be used for the snowflake. 

I have made two blocks so far and have started a third one. 

I made a new hat this week too.  I received this variegated wool for Christmas last year and found a pattern that I thought would work.  I made a swatch and it was the right size so I started knitting.   

I had to switch to double pointed needles for the top of the hat. 

This is where the hat went off the rails---I tried it on at this point and it was so big, it went over my face!  I ended up tearing it all out and now I have to start over with fewer stitches on the needles!  Good thing that it is a chunky yarn and knits up quickly!

My daughter did a bit more stitching this week.  

Finn had a friend over to play today.  He was not so sure about having to share my daughter with another dog!  My daughter looked after Brick while his "Mom" was moving. 

Late Breaking News!!! Dubrovnik is done!  While Finn was napping, worn out from his company, 

my daughter put in the last few stitches!  

I will link up with the Slow Sunday Stitchers at Kathy's blog in the morning.  I hope to start knitting my hat, again!

October UFO's and PomPoms!

I finally made my September block for the Elgin Piecemakers Guild Comfort quilt project this past week! We were each to make a bird block with a gray background.  We had plans to meet outside in September in someone's backyard but it poured rain the night of our meeting and it got cancelled so now, the bird blocks will be handed in with the October blocks this month.  I had already made all of my blocks for the rest of the year in the spring so this was the last one to make for 2021.  I used a Riley Blake pattern I found online. 

My October UFO project is finished!  The hand stitching on the binding was completed last weekend. I even labelled it!

For the back, I had one yard of the dark print fabric and just used some solid yellow fabric to made the backing big enough. I am using what I have rather than purchasing fabric at the moment. 

Since our group's UFO challenge is for one year, and I have well over 20 items on my UFO list, I decided to try to finish a second UFO this month.  This is another charm pack quilt--an effort to use up the charm packs in my stash.  This little quilt will make a great baby gift some day.  I like to have a few baby quilts made ahead of time to be ready with a gift, should the need arise. I am currently about 3/4 done on the machine quilting. 

I am using a pale turquoise thread and the backing fabric is also turquoise. I should be able to finish this quilt by the end of the month. 

Over the past few months, I have been participating in the Toronto Modern Guild Round Robin project.  There are 6 quilters in my group and I have now made something to add to everyone's quilt tops.  This week, I added a border to Tania's quilt. The pink line was on the block--I removed it and then added the borders and then pieced the pink line (with my own pink fabric) back in, extending it into the border.  I happened to have the black and white border print fabric in my stash and it fit right in with Tania's block.  This block is in the mail. 

I added pompoms to my three hats today.  I used a Clover pompom maker. 

Finn loves to rearrange this blanket to make a comfortable nest!

Love Birds was delivered to the newlyweds on Thanksgiving weekend and is now hanging on their wall.  They were thrilled with the picture and frame.  This makes me happy! I managed to finish it and get it to them before their first anniversary in November!

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

Hand Stitching the Binding

I did not get much time to sew or knit this past week.  I had several appointments and some jobs to do around the house. I'm happy that the painting in the bedrooms has been done for a couple of weeks now and the new carpeting was installed on Friday so we are putting the furniture back into the rooms now.  This is a project that will stretch over several days.  We are going to add shelves to a closet so I can store my quilts in it and we have to find a new light fixture for our bedroom. New bookcases will be added in one room as well, but due to supply chain issues, it may be a while before we get them. 

My October UFO is quilted now and I have attached the binding by machine.  I changed the quilting in the  on point four patches so there was a bit of un-sewing earlier in the week to remove the curved lines I had added previously.  Funny how the stitches go in much faster than they come out!

The binding is dark brown and frames the quilt nicely.  I have finished hand stitching one side of the quilt and will work on this again tomorrow for Slow Sunday Stitching with Kathy. 

This week, I have a challenge project to make for the Elgin Piecemakers and a border to add to a block for a round robin with the Toronto Modern Guild.  Then, I will pull out another UFO that needs to be quilted.

Above, Finn is shown before his haircut.  Below, he looks like he has lost a lot of weight and you can see his eyes now!

Our daughter has added more stitches to Dubrovnik...nearly done now.  I wonder what city she will do next?

Have a great week!