Never Ending Winter

I shouldn't complain about this winter that just won't quit. It is still much colder and / or snowier in other parts of the country. Brrrrr. We had our first day of above freezing yesterday, and the sounds of chipping ice off the sidewalks could be heard all over the neighbourhood!  And my cats have spring fever something fierce. In out in out in out in out. . . .  It is nice to hear the cardinals singing their spring songs, though.


Meanwhile, I've been working slowly along on a few quilts. I've been doing some handstitching on this Red and White quilt. I've decided to add more hearts in those central white patches, so I had to cut out a lot more. I'm getting the skinny vine laid down, too. There is a lot of applique to get done, so you probably won't hear about this quilt again until later in the year, when I have it all put together.





And I now have backings and tops made for these two quilts, the Red and White Log Cabin, and the Turquoise Star.  I'm starting to think about sandwiching them, but I'm not there yet.

A Christmas Quilt

I've made huge progress the last couple of weeks on a quilt I'm making for Christmas. I need the deadline to motivate me to get it finished. And I know that if I don't finish it very quickly, many years will go by without me working on it at all. So I've been madly working away. This weekend was a big push that saw the back assembled, the top finished, the whole thing sandwiched, and the quilting started. This is when my kitty cat wanted to settle in. They've been helping a lot as I've been laying out pieces, but this was serious. I just had to grab a camera.

A Houston Finish

So that very pretty yarn I bought in Houston is now knitted into a scarf. I needed a model to show it off, and my faithful cat, Tigger, was only too happy to help out. The wool has mohair in it, and it is very cuddly and warm, and I love wearing it. And I like the way it looks all bubbly and colourful.

I started another scarf from some wool I've had in my collection for a while now. I haven't been doing very much sewing lately, though. Hopefully I'll get back at it now that Christmas is past.

In Houston. . .

So I spent the weekend at the Houston International Quilt Festival, with two of my friends from Alberta.  I've known them for a long time, from way back in my tailoring days, and we are all quilters now. Anyway, they are both a lot of fun, and all three of us had a blast in Houston.

We will never be the same again! Seeing so many amazing and beautiful quilts all in the same place is spectacular, and changes the way you see the world of quilts. It also changes the way you see your  own place in the quilt world, and the way you create your own work, so I'm very happy to have been there. We all feel now, that there is room to improve our own work. If nothing else, seeing all the fabulous quilts will make us better quilters.

Seeing the quilt displays was one thing.  The quilt market was quite another!  HUGE. Did I mention it was huge?!  There were so many vendors, it was hard to cover them all, but not impossible. And cover them we did. We all bought a lot of fabric, gadgets, patterns, and other cool stuff that we can't find in our corners of the world. At the end of each day, we would all lay out our purchases to show and tell. So much fun. Now we all have enough projects to keep us busy for a while. Can't wait to get at it.

Marmalade's First Snow
by David Taylor

I want to include a photo of a quilt that I particularly love. A cat of course, and there were a number of cat quilts, and being a cat person, I especially like this one. When I was looking at this quilt, I feel like I've known this cat for a long time.  Plus, I really like red tabbies, so that caught my eye, too. This quilt is by David Taylor, called Marmalade's First Snow. 

It's Been a While

I've been doing some other things, and haven't been blogging, for a while now. I just got out of the habit, if you can believe it. I've promised myself I would get back to it. So here goes.

I did another postcard, this one of my yoga sister. I had printed this onto cotton fabric, then simply did some stitching and yarn for trim. I suppose I could do some sparkle and colouring in, but it may stay like this for all eternity.


I've also been slowly adding thread painting to another photo. This one is printed on silk, which I think gives better results than printing onto cotton. I took this photo in our garden last summer, and used mostly purple threads to "paint" in the flowers. You can see here how I have it in an embroidery hoop to keep it taut. It will still need some blocking to smooth it out. So far, I'm pleased with the results, and I'm thinking how I can finish it.




I've been doing a lot of camping and nature stuff this fall, too. Being out in nature is just as important as quilting. Yikes, did I say that out loud! Anyway, camping near Parry Sound, near North Bay, and near Peterborough. And hiking along the Bruce Trail near Orangeville. All good for the soul. Sitting by the fire at one point, I was inspired by these power animals to guide me, so I stitched them into a postcard quilt. They are cut out of Laurel Birch fabrics, and appliqued onto a background. Nothing complex, but I do like it.

If All Else Fails. . .

My faithful, trusty 30 year old Pfaff is out of commission. Unbelievable! I feel pretty lost when I can't access my sewing machine. I have backup machines, but they just aren't as good as my Pfaff. One of my friends at work was no longer using their machine, so she gave it to me. Just gave it to me, because she thought I'd use it more. What a treat. It's better than my other backup one, so I'm using it for a couple of weeks. One of these days, I'll have to buy a new one.

We've also had a sick kitty cat here, so we've been looking after her, poor girl. She's made another comeback, so she's good for another while. On top of that, a traffic ticket, and a few appliances have broken down recently. We're wondering where we picked up this bad karma. And wondering how we can turn this around into better luck. All somewhat discouraging.

So I thought the best thing to do under the circumstances is to start a new quilt! One aspect of my stash collecting has been a tiny black print on white background. Mostly white, with only a little black, so it still reads about 95% towards white. I'll cut these into blocks, and then applique bright coloured flowers on top. Maybe add some green leaves, maybe a vine and leaf border. This should keep me busy at least until my machine gets repaired, or perhaps for the next couple of summers. I like to sit outside summer evenings and do some handsewing, but so far this summer, I haven't had a project to work on. This one might get me going in the right direction.