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.  

Fall Cross Stitch and Other News

It's been a couple of weeks since I have blogged.  There has been a lot going on and this will become apparent as you read today's post.  First, I have made a bit of progress on my fall cross stitch project.  The cardinal is done and more leaves and branches have been added. I love the colours in this picture although I am not sure a tree exists that has such a variety of leaves on one branch! 

I finished off one of the donation quilt tops I was working on.  I need to buy a backing fabric as I have nothing in my stash that is suitable.  I went to my local (small) quilt store yesterday only to find out they have moved  and do not reopen until later this coming week so this project is on hold.  I don't have enough of the dark blue background fabric to add borders so this is the size it will be. 

I made more blocks for the second donation quilt and have about 40 more blocks to make.  I have already filled in some of the holes in this picture. I will likely need to buy a backing for this one too. 

We spent several days over the last couple of weeks helping our daughter move to a bigger apartment.  Finn has been quite confused by all the packing and unpacking but he will settle in nicely once everything is unpacked and put away.  I brought home my daughter's quilts for some repairs so she has a quilt on her bed that I made for her a long time ago with leftover fabric from flannel pyjamas that I made for her when she was younger.  It is not quite big enough for her bed but will do until I get the other ones repaired.  Finn always approves of any blanket or quilt.  

While out on my morning walk, I met a new friend. 

Every year since my Dad died, my husband and I go to the local ice cream place and get some black cherry ice cream on my Dad's birthday.  It's a fun way to remember him. 

This past week, my 96 year old mother in law passed away peacefully.  As you can see, she also loved ice cream and our excursions with her always included a stop at an ice cream shop.    I made her many quilted gifts over the years and she always had my wall hangings, table runners and quilts out on display in her home and in her room at the nursing home.  I loved her dearly and will miss her every day.  I was blessed with a wonderful mother in law.

I will link up with Kathy and the Slow Sunday Stitchers as well as Frederique. 

Pineapple Log Cabin Done, Two Donation Quilts Started.

Some projects are quick to make and others aren't.  I made these blocks in 2023 as one of my Rainbow Scrap Challenge projects.  The quilt top was completed in January 2024.  Then it sat in the to be quilted pile as I pondered how to quilt it.  It kept telling me it wanted to be hand quilted so I finally relented, and started hand quilting it last fall.  I took a break from it for a while and then finished it in the Spring/Early Summer of this year.  I searched high and low through my stash for an appropriate fabric for the binding and had nothing.  I really wanted to use the grey background fabric as the binding so searched on the Internet to see if I could find some in a Canadian Store.  I found it and finally picked it up this past week.  It was a priority this week to get the binding made and sewn down.  Now, this quilt is ready to be displayed on the wall!  

I also added more stitches to my fall cross stitch, finishing off a leaf I started last week and making good progress on the bird. There is one more leaf to add below the branch in this section before moving along to the left. 

Christine and I attend a couple of the Crafter's Retreats at Camp Kintail each year.  The camp is run by the Presbyterian Church  and has a fundraising auction each fall.  I usually donate and item for the auction and, this year, decided to donate a lap quilt.  Today was Jelly Roll Day at the Oxford Guild so I got busy sewing.  I had all of the cutting done for these blocks earlier in the week.  I made 20 blocks and will add navy blue sashing before quilting it with my walking foot.  I need to have this done very soon so it will likely be my focus for the next little while.  The colourful fabrics are grunge and the navy was in my stash....I think it was leftover from a quilt back. 

I am also making a donation quilt for a fundraising raffle at the nursing home where my MIL lives.  I've got a good start on this one and hope to have it done by the end of October.  The fabrics all came from my batik bin.  I have been trying to use up my batiks for a while and was happy to find enough co-ordinating fabrics in the bin to make this quilt.  Both of these donation quilts will end up being lap sized. 

The Oxford Guild makes Quilts of Valour and handed out strips of fabric at our September meeting to make 16 patches.  They supplied with teal fabric and I added the other two fabrics to make four 16 patch blocks.  

The butterfly weed in my front garden is creating lots of fluffy seeds to spread around the neighbourhood. 

The sedum is in bloom now that gardening season is winding down. 

Finn and my daughter got a new mattress this week.  It is Finn approved. 

I will link up with Kathy, Angela and Frederique.  

Leaves and a Finish!

This week, I added more leaves to my Fall cross stitch project.  This is not a very big project and it is fun to work on at this time of year.  This whimsical pattern is from Satsuma Street.

I finished the Bricks and Stepping Stones baby quilt this week. I sewed the binding down by hand in the car on our way to see a play in Blyth.  This quilt will be gifted shortly.  The baby was born in July.  Many of the I Spy prints were picked specifically for this particular baby boy. 

I'm moving right along on the hand quilting of my round robin quilt.  I'm using orange thread to quilt the cool colours and green thread to quilt the warm colours on this quilt.  I'm enjoying every stitch!

I have lots of projects on my list of things to do next week.  We will see how much gets done.  I'm happy just working away in my sewing room, listening to an audio book or chatting with a friend as I sew. 

Finn is a happy boy!  

At the park where I walk with friends each morning, everything is just ducky. 

You can tell the end of summer is nigh when the berries on the bushes are in full colour.   According to my Seek app, this is a Guelder-rose or Viburnum. 

This one is an Autumn Olive.  This colour palette would make a great quilt...

 I will link up with Kathy and the Slow Sunday Stitchers as well as Frederique.   Blogger has been acting weird the last little while.  Did some of you have trouble commenting last week?  

Two Baby Quilt Tops and Handstitching, of course!

In an effort to use up my kids prints and to replenish my baby quilt supply, I made two I spy baby quilts over the last couple of weeks.  The first is a Bonnie Hunter Pattern...Bricks and Stepping Stones.  The quilt is 36" by 48" and features lots of fun I Spy prints. 

The second one is a Potato Chip quilt featuring more fabrics from my collection.  It is the same size as the one above.  I tried to use pairs of all of the fabrics so that a game of find the matching fabric can be played.  Some of these fabrics have been lurking in my stash for a long time.  The thing I like about both of these patterns ---both are easy to cut and put together fairly quickly.  

The backs are pieced with fabrics from my stash.  I will get these pin basted and quilted over the next week or two. 

Finn likes to lie close, sometimes on top of, my daughter to make sure she does not leave his sight. 

I've been working on the bird's tail and more leaves this week on my fall cross stitch project. 

I made some cottage themed pillowcases for a friend for her birthday.  She is excited to use them at their cottage this fall. 

At my guild's weekly sewing day, I did some more hand quilting on my round robin quilt. 

My husband and I celebrated our wedding anniversary with lunch out and ice cream as well as a few stops on the way home at various interesting spots.  We both had fish tacos and a salad for lunch.  Yum!  All afternoon, we could see a storm brewing north of where we were.  We managed to avoid most of the rain until we got home when the storm arrived with a vengeance.  We had hail, thunder and lightning and torrential rain and winds.  

We lost one branch in a tree in the backyard during the storm but everything else was fine.   

I will link up with Kathy and the Slow Sunday Stitchers as well as Frederique.