Week late Wednesday…

YIKES!  Here it is Wednesday already and I still haven’t shared last Wednesday’s Hand Quilting’s STUFF!!

Marion brought in this STUNNING runner/wall hanging.  The story goes that about 30 odd years ago….Marion and about ten quilters from her church made this runner for their Minister because he was moving away.  In the thirty odd years that followed the Minister retired and moved back to our community.  Ill health has forced him into a nursing home so he gave the runner back to Marion.  She cherishes it as a lot of the quilters have moved or…have moved on…if you know what I mean…

 

Each of the ladies signed their squares…

I love the fabrics and colours in this little quilt…so rich..even after all this time…

 

K.O. really knew how to stitch…

And Marge B. was into weaving…

A work of love, I would say!!

   Leah has been at it again…she whipped up this fantastic hexagon I SPY quilt…if you like the pattern (and I DO!!)..you can get it FREE on the Connecting Threads Website…(go to the bottom of the page and click on free patterns). 

Such a cute quilt…with nice big I Spy blocks!!

And another scrappy donation quilt…gorgeous!!  I love the way she selects the light and dark fabrics…beautiful from here…

 

Leah says she cuts her strips (1 1/2 x 3 inches) and throws them into two piles..lights and darks and just grabs and sews…

AND it works!!  Amazing!!

I wonder what today will bring?? Life is always an adventure…even after retirement!! ;o)

Have a wacky Wednesday and Happy Quilting!!

Crazy Mom Quilts…yes, she really does!!

Some quilters are REALLY incredible and can do the darndest   things.  Look at what Amanda Jean from Crazy Mom Quilts did…she took a piece of grid paper and some coloured pencils and started to ‘doodle’..before we knew it…instant quilt pattern…AND not just any quilt pattern but a GORGEOUS quilt pattern! And then Amanda Jean proceeds to SHARE THIS PATTERN WITH US!!  How generous is that!!..

..and in the form of a tutorial no less…

I am loving this quilt…so clean and fresh looking…just like a summer day!!  So hurry over to Crazy Mom Quilts and download/print/bookmark this tutorial!  It’s a good thing!!  I am going to making this one for sure…right after I finish those 5 UFOs!! ;o)

So thank you Amanda Jean…you are one talented Crazy Mom Quilter… we appreciate YOU!!

Have a terrific Tuesday and Happy Quilting!! P

Dddddaisy, DDDDaisy

Jenny from Jenny of Elefant has a new FREE BOM coming out JULY 1…and it is looking VERY cute!!  Check out Jenny’s blog for little snippets of  Daisy-Do and then mark July 1 off on your calendar!  Can’t wait!!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY LINDA AND THOMAS!! 

Yesterday every member of my Hand Quilting group met at Merridale Winery.  We joined the friends and family of Linda (a fellow quilter) and Thomas to help them celebrate 40 years of marriage!  

Here’s the bride and groom!  They had a wedding picture on hand…oh boy…were they young..but certainly not foolish as to see this couple together is a joy!!   Congratulations on keeping the fire going!!

And here are some of the quilters…this whole downstairs area held their friends and family.

We had a wonderful meal- your choice of mushroom chicken or salmon, fresh veggies and baked new potatoes…delish!!  Oh and of course Merridale’s own apple cider and wine. 

Oh, I have to show you what the chef…

 

..made for dessert…

..our own little apple pie…make that our own BIG apple pie…this is on a DINNER plate!!

BUT I had NO trouble downing this…delish…perfection!!

All of the pies were baked in this brick oven…no wonder I can’t get my pastry that light and flakey…I NEED one of these ovens!!  ;o)

This is the view from our table.  Isn’t it lovely…minus those ugly rain clouds!!   Weddings take place down where the white tents are and over to the right is their spa…which you would HAVE to go to if you ate too many of those wonderful pies!!

This vineyard is about a five minute drive from my house.  The Cowichan Valley hosts many, many such vineyards and restaurants.  Our climate is perfect for growing grapes, berries and apples.

Let me end with this picture of Signey, Laura and Bev…three extraordinary quilters and friends.  Isn’t Laura a character (in the hat!!)…the apple doesn’t fall far…that’s her mother, Marveline ‘hiding’ behind the post!!

Marveline is one of the ‘original’ founding members of our group…35+ odd years ago!!  All of the ladies in our group are unique and different but all are wonderful…tied together with their love of quilting!

Oh I HAVE to include this picture~last but certainly not least is this picture of Janice…she just became a Grammy…she is just back from Halifax after seeing her little grand-daughter.  Did she bring us a picture to share…NO she brought us an album!!

YES, Janice she is cute…VERY, VERY cute!! 

Have a merry Monday and Happy Quilting!!

Sew Fine…Sew Fun…Sew FREE!!

When someone asks me “So..HOW’S RETIREMENT?” I always reply, “Well let me put it this way…EVERY DAY IS SATURDAY WITHOUT THE GARAGE SALE!”  I think that says it nicely, don’t you?

Well yesterday WAS Saturday and man, did I hit a good Garage Sale!!

The owner of a fine furniture/drapery/reupholstering/decorating store was getting rid of his stuff (sounded like a yearly event).  I WISH I had brought my camera!!  He had a big truck backed up with rolls of fabric stacked high.  Most of the rolls had between 1-3 metres on them…lovely drapery/upholstering fabrics…and he also had stacked rolls all down the right side of his driveway.  ALL the fabric was being sold at $5 a metre (39inches) which I thought was a great price as this was VERY expensive stuff…here’s what I BOUGHT~

Five rolls~ let me give you some close up shots…

These two really go well together… I’m thinking pillows or purses…? The dragonfly print is burgundy and not this shiny...in REAL LIFE.

I bought this fabric to cover the chairs in our 5th wheel.  Love this fabric as it has hint of moss green to it…

Here’s a close up…It looks like a loose weave but it has a backing to it that makes it tough. 

I LOVE both of these fabrics…the top cream coloured roll is soft with no backing so it would be nice for stitching on…and the bottom hounds tooth check is screaming out hand bags…don’t you think..??

Now that is what I PAID for…let me show you what I DIDN’T PAY for!! NO I didn’t shop lift!!  It was FREE…oh I wish I had brought my camera…remember I said that on the right hand side of the driveway the man had stacked rolls of fabric…weeeellll…on the left side of the driveway were BOXES and BOXES of samples and smaller pieces (slightly less than 1 metre) and he was GIVING this away for FREE!!  I tell you I started to hyperventilate!!  And the good thing was, there was only one other lady looking, so there was no fighting…gouging…biting…or punching!! ;o) In fact, Denise (the other lady) is my NEW BFF.  We had a blast and the owner was encouraging us on…

Here’s was I brought home~

This is soft velour…I’m thinking crazy quilt…or am I just crazy?  Can I use this in a crazy quilt??  Would be great for runners, pillows and handbags…all the pieces are Fat Quarter size…

Here’s another angle…aren’t the colours gorgeous…and I left tons behind…

YUM!!

Zooming in for the close-up…don’t you love it…so soft…

   OK that’s enough of that…you’re drooling all over my fabric!!

Then there was this stack…remember this is the stuff that was FREE!!  And these pieces are much bigger than the above fabric…

And this…

And this…and these pieces are almost 1/2 metre or more in size!! 

There was a whole stack of this paisley tapestry fabric…perfect for a carpet bag…

    So Denise and I cleaned up…well actually I think the man having the Garage Sale was disappointed that we didn’t take more!  Denise and I took our time, dug through each and EVERY BOX and by the end of our ‘shopping’ we had exchanged phone numbers.  It was a hoot! 

Hoped you enjoyed the Garage Sale as much as Denise and I…Did I mention Denise isn’t even a quilter-she doesn’t even own a sewing machine!!  Not to worry…I will have her sewing in no time…

Have a Super Sunday and Happy Quilting!! ~P