Merry Christmas to YOU!!

Wishing you all a VERY Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

 Here's what's been keeping me busy and out of the sewing room these days...little 8 week old Jake, our new Cockapoo puppy!  Cute as can be and worth all the trouble!  Such a sweetheart!

If you are having 'Sweet P' withdrawals you can always find me over on Instagram...under #sweetpquilting.  Just sayin'...:o))  Hope to see you there...

All the best and happy stitching!~P

Heritage Happenings...

Christmas is coming...which was certainly evident at Heritage yesterday! There were tons of Christmas projects being worked on....Here's a small sampling~

 Glynis' ornament...a wool tree ornament, which she reduced in size!  REALLY sweet!

 And I love Sandy's Buttermilk Basin "Let it Snow' BOM for this month !  So pretty on the green flannel background fabric!

 Lovely gifts being made by JoAnne...

This gorgeous flower quilt makes me want to start collecting flowery prints!  So pretty and fresh...and ready for Spring!

 And a close-up...

 Carol just finished her Santa Redwork Pillow...and it is gorgeous!  LOVED the quilting on this baby!

 Sandy finished her grand-daughter's I Spy Quilt!  Love the design of this quilt...so fresh and clean looking with the white sashing around the I Spy prints...

 

 LOVE the label...how SWEET is this!!  Grandma and grand-daughter's hand prints stitched right onto the label.  Little Taylor is going to treasure this quilt FOREVER!

'Just Judy' made this wonderful charity Quilt...so pretty and fresh!  Some little girl is going to be tickled PINK!

 And Aude's been very busy too!  Love her two scrap-happy quilts...

 The border just kicks this one out of the ballpark!

 And I love how the border on this one makes her blocks appear to float and dance!

                                         
Aude outdid herself...

So there you have it!  There were more projects shown but for some reason my pics were blurry!  DARN!

The other news is that I have decided to take a break from Blogging.  Hope you understand...just need time to recharge the ol'batteries!

Wishing you all the best!  Big blogger's hug being sent your way...and happy stitching!~P  

UFO..done.

Short post today...I got this UFO quilted...

 ..and the binding on.

 It's a Jan Patek pattern...forget the name of it.

 Happy Stitching. P

UFO...UFO...UFO...

 Another UFO bites the dust....

This is a Jan Patek Pattern called...'Snow Guys'...and these 'Guys' have wanted their freedom for a few years now...

 I know these two snowmen are a bit scary but they grow on you...they really do!

 The backing is a soft blue and mottled, grey, striped homespun....(...wish I had more of this fabric...)

 What can I say...these snowmen grow on you...a face only a mother could love!  This is Blake...

...and this is Jake..and both are flakes. I figured if I gave them names maybe they wouldn't look so sinister...

And yes their eyes follow you around the house... wherever you go...

 Jake and Blake may end up getting rolled and put into a basket...or not...they are kind'a cute...in a sick kind'a way...

Speaking of which, it's Election day down in the States...and I am nervous!  I have never been nervous about any election before...EVER....and it isn't even my country! ( The border is just across the water...I can practically see Seattle from my kitchen window...:o) ...insert a nervous laugh here... haha)  I won't lie...it's been an entertain year and a half, with more twists and turns than 'House of Cards'...BUT...it's serious business this year, so I want to reminder all those quilters 'out there' to put your needle and thread down and take time to go and VOTE...it's an important one!   The world is watching...or at least I am...as I sit by my kitchen window...

Have a terrific Tuesday and Happy Stitching!~P

Short but SWEET...

Yup...I'm on a roll~  Stay tuned for another UFO to bite the dust~

Have a magical Monday and Happy Stitching!~P

Thrift Store Forest...

The other day I found myself in a local Thrift Shop (surprise, surprise:o))...and stumbled over THIS quilt!!  Living on the West Coast of Canada, I have always wanted to make a forest quilt...one VERY similar to this one...

Bear with me...the pictures are NOT great...I was sandwiched between rows of quilts and bedding...and even if I should take it out, the shop was crammed with other delights.  In other words, I had no room to spread this mother out...and she was a big one!

OK...I want you to REALLY look at this quilt...see the blocks at the bottom...do you see anything wrong with them?  I really liked the way the quilter kept all the lighter greens on the same side of each tree...giving the illusion of the sunlight hitting the trees.  But look at the branches...see how the dark side appears to be longer.  At first I thought it was because they were darker in colour and just naturally drew your eyes to that! Nope...look closely... The quilter should have made the two top lighter branches longer...I know I am picky but I noticed it right away...and I bet you did too!  haha

Here...do you see it here?

The other thing wrong with the quilt was that it had been tied and all the batting was in lumps and bumps.  Whoever buys this quilt would have to take it apart and re-do the batting and quilting.
                                        
The overall appearance of the quilt was stunning...LOVED it!  Wouldn't it look wonderful draped over a chair or on a bed over the Winter months!

Did I like it enough to buy it?  Well, I hummed and heed...but in the end I walked away!  There were too many things wrong with the quilt...the setting (which I could have lived with), the trunks were lifting off and needed repair, it wasn't well made...several puckers here and there...and then there was the issue with the batting...BUT I did LOVE it enough to pull this book out when I got home...It's Cheri Payne's "301 Country Christmas Quilt Blocks"...LOVE THIS BOOK!!!  Why...?

...because I remembered that Cheri had put this block in her book~(take the top branches off and you have the exact same block!!)

It is almost identical to the quilt's trees...except Cheri realized that the left side of the tree has to be 1 1/2" longer than the right to account for the log cabin 'effect'!  And I saved myself $50...Fifty dollars that I can put into my next quilt!  And I also look at it this way...some non-quilter is going to buy this tree quilt and is going to love it for the sake that it is a beautiful quilt...and not look at it through the eyes of a quilter... because let's face it, WE DO look at quilts differently!  Don't WE?...or is it just ME....? :oO  

Have a Sunny Sunday and Happy Stitching!~P

Let's Talk Wrinkles... !

I wanted to show you how different this quilt looks after it's been washed and dried (in the dryer)....

BEFORE...I know, not a good picture...

AFTER...I tried to pick the same spot on the quilt...

 I know the lighting isn't great...but can you see the texture...?  You should FEEL how soft it is...

 I forgot to show pictures of the back yesterday...now it's all soft and wrinkled....:o))

This one really shows up the wrinkles...

 I hoped you enjoyed seeing my wrinkles...

 It's too bad that I don't celebrate the wrinkles on my face as much as the wrinkles on this quilt.  Can't you just hear me...wow, LOOK at these beauties around my eyes!!  Look at how these wrinkles radiate out from my mouth!  And check out my neck!  Eureka...talk about texture!  haha

 I know...I know...it was a slow quilting day...

Hope you have a wrinkle-free super Saturday and Happy Stitching!~P

UFO Busting...

I have till the end of November to bust as many UFOs as possible!  Heritage has had a UFO Challenge this year...to complete as many UFOs as is humanly possible within a twelve month period!  Of course I signed up... in theory, it SOUNDED good.   I do have all those UFOs lurking in (Jaw's music....) THE CLOSET!  Unfortunately it's a little like joining the Gym in January...by February the novelty has worn off and you are back to your slovenly ways!

Yikes...but I have a ton of UFOs to finish!  The problem is, I also have baby quilts to make...and you know babies!  They arrive regardless if there are quilts waiting for them or not!  Who am I kidding...I have SQUIRREL SYNDROME...the glimpse of another quilt project and I am off and sewing!

BUT I did finish off a UFO this week...it's big and it's old... years old...the nine patches were made ages ago...When I spotted an antique nine patch quilt on Bonnie Hunter's Blog, I knew that that was the quilt for ME...I whipped out the bag of nine patches and cut out the low volume blocks (see sometimes Squirrel Syndrome is a good thing!!)...and presto...Bonnie Hunter's antique quilt!

 Some close-up pics...as you can see, I finished off by sewing on matching polk-a-dot binding.  I liked the way that it didn't distract your eye from the rest of the quilt.  You notice the red sashing...and the scrap-happy blocks!  I do LOVE this quilt!

I did a small tighter meander for the quilting because today I want to wash the quilt and soften it up and... hopefully... it will wrinkle up like a REAL antique quilt!!  Sometimes wrinkles are a good thing!

                                       

 I DO love me a scrap-happy quilt!

 I have to say that UFO Busting is VERY satisfying work!

Have a FUN Friday and Happy Stitching!~P