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. 
 

Blocks for RSC

This seemingly messy pile of fabric is actually the makings of a baby quilt!  I took this picture when I had all the parts cut out and piled by my sewing machine, ready to sew. In the pile, are 12 of the 6.5" square crumb blocks in different colours for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge from last year.  I have four sets of these blocks and decided to use each set in a different setting to make four baby quilts.  The one I made previously was made up of star blocks. 

This time I am making churn dash blocks.  I had just enough of the black and white check fabric to make 12 blocks.  I actually had to piece two of them to make them big enough. 

After finishing my first block at home,  I decided to chain piece the rest at the guild sewing day on Monday.  Most people "practice" sewing blocks with no bobbin thread, but not me.  I forgot to thread the machine with a spool of thread before "sewing" all of these strips together...Ugh!  Back to the beginning again...

By bedtime, I had all 12 blocks put together and up on my design wall in no particular order.  I will play around with placement before adding a narrow sashing and cornerstones, as well as a border.  There are lots of scrappy memories in these blocks. 

In June, we had a Carolina wren nest in our hanging baskets on the front porch and now, we had a pair of mourning doves sitting on their nest. 

My daughter has been crocheting this week.  This is the beginnings of "Bernard the Elf".

I find it hard to do outlining when I stitch in the car so I have started a new counted cross stitch picture--a winter sampler by Satsuma Street.  It is not much to look at yet!  The Aida cloth is Cadet blue--much darker than it appears in this picture.  I will try to get a better picture next time. 

A few more outlining stitches were added to the lupins. There was not much time to sit and sew at home this week. 

Finn is telling my daughter that he would rather sit outside than watch her work from home inside!

I will link up with Kathy and Frederique on the weekend.