Wednesday, March 31, 2010

The Classifieds…

Do you remember this fella?  He looked kind of lost…like maybe he was looking for his one true love…He just wasn’t meeting any girls at his usual hangouts so he decided to go online…to a dating service….  This is what he wrote…

Lonely, SWM wanting to meet that special someone to give my heart to. I like the outdoors, RVing, movies, the feel of wool, road trips out on the desert, dogs…did I mention that I like wool?  If you would like to meet a tall, red haired, ruggedly handsome guy then look no further!  I’m your Andy!

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The girl of my dreams must be tall, with all the stuffing in the right places, must like wearing striped stockings and she HAS to like wool as much as I do!

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Oh and did I mention that I love girls with red hair?

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But where shall we meet?  Your place or mine?  How about somewhere in the middle?

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Stay turned…will Andy meet his true love or will she remain a distant …patch…?

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Yeah, I know….I have too much time on my hands….

Have a wicked Wednesday and Happy Quilting!

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

The Quilt Maker and the Elves….

This morning when I opened the trailer door to let in that glorious sunshine…what did I see?  Why are those finished blocks hanging on our Oleander hedge…?

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Why so they are!!  AND they are made out of Rouenneries fabric!!  I love Rouenneries! 

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OOOOOHHHH and the workmanship (;o)…no mortal could have stitched these lovely little blocks!!

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They must have been made by the…Quilting elves…?

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And what’s that in the Palm Tree…?

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I think it’s a pattern…

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OMG…I’ve been Schnibbled!!

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I hope you find some finished blocks, made out of your favourite fabric this morning…after all you just don’t know when or how those darn elves will strike!

 

Have a terrific Tuesday and Happy Quilting!!

Monday, March 29, 2010

Everything’s Coming Up Roses!!

The other day I was doing my usual morning blog surfing and came to Sew Take a Hike….  Penny was having a give away – as a thank you to all of us who take the time to visit her at her sewtakeahike blog.  Hey, MY pleasure is what I said!  I love her blog and enjoy reading about her adventures and projects!  When I saw the give away I got excited!  AND when I saw the tutorial I got even more excited..I read over the tutorial, got out my little list book and wrote down the supplies that I needed to buy in order to make this pillow .  (I always take my list book with me as my mind always turns to mush whenever I enter a fabric shop or JoAnne’s Arts and Crafts! )

 

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Well guess WHO won the pillow!!  ME!!!  See me doing the happy dance.  I LOVE this pillow!!  I have the perfect spot for it in my house and  now I can use this pillow as an example for when I make more!! 

If you love this pillow as much as I do, you might want to make one…or two..or more.  To do so you will need to see this tutorial here from Sew Take a Hike Blog.

Thanks so much, Penny and to everyone reading this.. Sew Take a Hike!  (What a fun name for a blog!!)

Have a magical Monday and Happy Quilting!!

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Renee At Play….

Remember Renee from Salt Spring Island. (The Shower Lurker…sorry Renee, but that’s how my followers know you….) She left for home earlier this month with this little wool pattern all glued together..ready for her stitches….

Now Renee has NEVER worked with wool and from what I understand she has just done a little bit of sewing…Renee is a potter.  She and her husband had a very successful pottery business on Salt Spring Island and they have just recently retired.

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The pattern that Renee cut out is called ‘Sunflower and Bittersweet’ and I bought it at the Country Loft, in La Mesa…and YES they have an online shop!!P1060636

Here is Renee’s version after stitching it down on the black wool…

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Gorgeous, isn’t it?!

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She added embroidery to give each petal and leaf giving them dimension and life!

Now look at the sunflower!!  I can see the artist in Renee coming out in a new form!

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  STUNNING!!

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I can’t wait to stitch my own!!  Thanks so much for the inspiration, Renee!!  I bet JoAnn and Kathy at the Country Loft will be swamped with orders for this pattern! 

So all this from someone who has NEVER worked with wool!!  Incredible!  Renee REALLY has wool fever now!!  She has been busy visiting all the thrift shops on Salt Spring Island looking for wool jackets, pants, skirts and blankets and is even talking about dyeing wool!!   AND of course she is also talking about her next project!!

RENEE, I THINK IT IS TIME TO START BLOGGING!!  Inquiring minds want to know!

Have a super Sunday and Happy Quilting!

Saturday, March 27, 2010

A Visitor….

Look who popped in for a visit!!  I don’t know what kind of bird she is but she was gorgeous!  She landed on our skylight and was just checking in to see what I was sewing…not much I’m afraid!!

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It was a breezy evening so I don’t know how she managed to hang on – see her feathers getting ruffled.  She stayed for about 15 minutes before sailing off to another RV skylight…better than watching TV!P1060957

It was a laundry day yesterday and everyone and their dog was there!  Speaking of dogs..look at how well trained the dogs are at the Sands RV Dog Park!! ;o)

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Yeah, yeah, I know…it’s a slow News Day!!  I hope tomorrow will be better!

Have a super Saturday and Happy Quilting!!

Friday, March 26, 2010

The Spring Fling 2010…

..was a HUGE success!!  Here are the four lovely ladies that I went with- Judy (from the Seattle area), Dorothy (would you believe she lives 5 minutes from where I live on Vancouver Island!), Gwen, our driver (from Oregon) and Anne (from Alberta). We managed to go to a total of seven shops!!   Five shops were listed on the Spring Fling list but we managed to find two more in our travels!!

This was one of our favourites- Stars and Scraps in Corona!!

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This is a picture of the FREE quilt pattern that they gave out along with a fat quarter.  After receiving a free fat quarter from all the participating shops we will have enough fabric to make this quilt…all we need to buy is fabric for the stars’ points and the white background.  It is such a sweet little quilt!!  Love it!!

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Here’s Gwen outside of the  Bluebird Quilts…a shop we stumbled onto…

P1060946 P1060948     This is another free pattern that we received from Monica’s- made from some of the fabric that we received from all five shops.P1060953

I managed to find a few bargains…      P1060958

A kit for a very sweet baby quilt…complete with extra wide rick rack…P1060959 It is bright pink in real life- very cute and cheery!

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The Calico Horse (I love this shop!!) had all their remnants on half price so we all managed to scoop some bargains! 

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Now for the FREE stuff…it felt like Halloween!!  Each shop gave everyone a fat quarter and pattern, plus the Busy Bee QS gave out a package of wild flower seed package, embroidery floss and a Busy Bee Charm!!  So thoughtful…

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I’m exhausted!! This shop hopping is a lot of work!!  Poor Gwen had to man the wheel and drive down the wild freeways!!  She had to do some crazy driving to avoid a white truck with Saskatchewan licences plates…sheeesh…these crazy tourists should learn how to drive the freeways!! ;o)

Have a fantastic Friday and Happy Quilting!

Thursday, March 25, 2010

A Basket Case…

Would you believe that we will be leaving Desert Hot Springs in less than 2 weeks?  That was the fastest three months EVER!!  In a blink…our holiday will be over!! 

Yesterday I started getting some stitching projects ready for when I am ‘co-piloting’ to New Mexico and then home.  I hauled out the Clubhouse light box and transferred these sweet little basket stitcheries onto a loose woven muslin fabric that I bought at the Country Loft.  The Pattern is called Baskets of Life and is designed by JoAnn Mucally- a JAM Pattern. (JoAnn also wrote the book Wool Crazy). (YOU can get this pattern by ordering through the Country Loft…just tell JoAnn I sent you!!)

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You can’t see this quilt very well in the cover picture but trust me…done up, it is spectacular!!  It stopped me in my tracks! 

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It must has been a BOM at one time as this is the way it came…each basket and how to assemble the block as it’s own separate pattern.

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Each basket depicts a different month or season of the year…eg. one basket is filled with acorns, another with Christmas greens, another with pumpkins…and so on..I just love this sweet quilt!

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And do you see the stars that say ‘wool’…well you stitch real wool stars there!!  That’s what sold me on this pattern!!  The best of both worlds!  Love it!

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And in the middle of the quilt are these words of wisdom…

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…Words to live by!!  So this is what I plan on stitching as we visit New Mexico and then head home…

That is- after I have finished stitching these little guys..

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..Christmas reindeer from the Free pattern from the Fat Quarter Shop!!  Isn’t he sweet!! (Christmas Magic by Henry Glass) The blocks are so small that I had to go buy a smaller hoop!  But they are worth it!! Sooo cute!   I am stitching them on polka dot fabric so that it looks like it is snowing.

This morning I am off on one last outing with my Wednesday Quilting Group..we are going on the Spring Fling Shop Hop sponsored by the local Quilt Shops.  We went last year and had a blast!  I’ll fill you in tomorrow! (Don’t worry I am taking my camera!!)  I will have to show great restraint as under the bed is FULL!  Welllll…maybe I could squeeze in one more pattern, one more fat quarter…always room for one more…. After all, we can sleep with our feet propped up…can’t we? ;o)

Have a thrilling Thursday and Happy Quilting!!

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Cock-a-doodle-DONE!

The Rooster is done and is sitting proudly on his fence…

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The bumble bee is flying away…wish you could see the veins on his wings and the French knot antennae….

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I used two running stitches as the decorative stitches to join the two blocks together.  I didn’t want a stitch that would take away from the rooster.

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The sun is shining brightly…

 

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And there is blue wisteria growing along the fence…

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Only six more blocks to go…hope you’re not getting sick of this little quilt!  It is the perfect project to do in the small confines of our RV.

See that big EMPTY brown block…that’s where I want to put Raggedy Ann..such FUN!

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Have a woolie Wednesday and Happy Quilting!!

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Meowy Christmas to you…!

Whew!  Just squeaked my March OPAM challenge across the finish line..with a week to spare!

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As you can see my Meowy Christmas is finished and framed!! (Not bad – some old wool blazers- snip, snap and presto…instant kitty!)  I bought the frame at the Goodwill and rubbed some brown paint on it to make it look more rustic.  I really like the look as it’s much darker in real life.

The pattern, Meowy Christmas, is from this Whimsicals book called, Cabin Fever.

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Meowy is pretty cute! 

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Doesn’t  he look a little surprised - like he knows he’s out on the desert, in the middle of March, dressed for Christmas!

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Meowy Christmas, a little late OR a lot early!!

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Have a terrific Tuesday and Happy Quilting!!