Four totes in 2 days!

I was sorting through a pile of cross stitch projects that I never got framed or used for anything. Most of them date from 1997 or 98. I came across this one with a lady knitting on it and thought it would be nice to make a tote bag for my Tante Janny from Holland, who was visiting my parents.

Then I came across another one I thought my friend Christine would like and her birthday was coming up, too! Perfect! Another one done! I thought the butterfly would get lost in the busy-ness of the fabric so I framed it in black, which echoes the pattern of the fabric anyway. I also put a fabric behind the stitching so it wouldn't get torn away on the inside of the tote.


And then there is this Debbie Mumm sunflower garden angel, the kit came with the red birdhouse fabric. The cross stitch piece is actually sewn onto the red fabric. The yellow fabric is from a set of drapes I bought from Ikea that I didn't really like when I got it home. It is quite sturdy, so it's great for a tote bag.

Last but not least, is one made from a Godzilla t-shirt my hubby had. I was going to use it for his t-shirt quilt, but I had 7 t-shirts and it is easier to make a quilt out of 6 squares, so that one got rejected. I had it all cut out and ready to go, too. Eventually, I had bought this black denim, always intending to make a tote out of it, but me and the washing machine had a fight over this denim. I was so ticked off how ragged it was when it came out of the wash, that I just folded it and put it away. But I was in the tote making mood this weekend, and I got a brilliant idea of putting in the red trim around it. I think it looks fabulous!

LFQGuild Challenge 2008

Well, we finally had our Guild Challenge Meeting. We had 36 entries (3 of which were mine and I know Christine submitted 2) out of 126 members. It seemed like a fair amount. What is the participation rate for challenges at your guild, or does it just depend on the type of challenge? You can watch the slideshow here and you can see the winners here.

Here is my first piece I entered. Keep in mind I only used fabric from my stash and the Challenge fabric. This one is called Blowing Bubbles. That is supposed to be a Blue Whale blowing bubbles from his blow hole. I had an idea that I wanted the fish to be inside bubbles using the reverse applique method. This piece also uses fusible applique and freezer paper-needle turn applique.


The second piece is called Heads or Tails. I tried the facing the piece instead of using binding. This will be a gift to my friends in Michigan, after I show it in our Guild Show in October.


The third piece is called 2 Lost Souls, after the song How I Wish You Were Here by Roger Waters of Pink Floyd..."We are just 2 lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, year after year..." That is such a moving song!


I've also managed to finally finish my Amy Butler quilt, from fabric I bought a year ago at the Kitchener-Waterloo show. My working title has been Rob and Amy Go on a Picnic. The quilt contains Amy Butler and Robert Kaufman fabrics. Now I am just calling it Picnic for short. All though I am not really firm on the name :)

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

I just wanted to wish my mom a happy mother's day! My mom doesn't make quilts, but she did sew a lot of our clothes when we were kids. I can appreciate all the work that went into it now, but I don't think I appreciated it then, when I had to wear matching clothes with my brother who is 2 years younger than myself. In the collage below the first photo in top left corner...we look like twins, we even had the same haircut! (am I on the right or the left?) LOL!

I also wanted to share some line drawings my mom has made. She and a friend took an art course together and ever since then she has been making these wonderful drawings of houses and buildings. The first is of my house, the second of her father's home in Nigtevecht, Holland, and the third of a maple syrup farm in Ontario.

Round Robin

I added the vines at the sides and introduced some green leaves into the piece. Christine is upset with me because she hasn't started her round yet, but I don't have 4 kids, so I wasn't expecting hers to be done...my free time is much more predictable than hers.

We went to a quilt show in St. Mary's. It was a nice outing and I picked up a few things I needed in order to finish off a few more UFO's. The weather has been fantastic, almost summer. Temperature has been in the low 20's Celcius, that's in the 70's Fahrenheit. We have hardly had any rain this spring so my early spring plants are struggling...although they have been threatening snow on wednesday! ha!...I'll bet we will have a wet May to make up for the warm dry April we have had.

My New Header!

Do you like my new header? I am thinking it may be a little big. I used an old photo that I cropped a bit; it was from the old camera and it is a little fuzzy, I think. I may experiment and take a new photo that is a little clearer. But still doesn't Our Man Spike look great up there? I am happy to report, almost 21 years of age and he's still alive! Go Spike!

I am feeling kind of Dutch today!

Here are this month's postcards I made out of my Dutch fabric. One is going to the guild swap and one is going to my cousin in Holland! Hopefully she will receive it before she reads this post!


More playing with my Dutch fabrics. I made this Shadow and Light mini block, but how shall I frame it?


And here is my round robin returned from Christine! She hasn't finished the centres of the poppies yet, but no worries.


Also check out my friend's new blog: The Cozy Quilter, that I 've added to my blog roll.

Delft Baskets

I have been playing around with my favourite Dutch fabrics. I have been making so many unusual wall hangings for the Guild challenge, that I had the urge to go back to something traditional. I've never made a basket block before. I got the idea from a Gwen Marston book I found at City Lights a used book store, Twenty Little Amish Quilts (1993). I had a heck of a time, though, there was something off in the measurements and I had to cut down all my centre squares a half an inch. The instructions said add 1/4 inch seam to template, but by doing so it made the centre square too big for the little squares. weird. But these things don't phase me anymore and a trim here or there is no big deal, I added sashing where there wasn't any, and anyway this is the result, Delft Baskets, I call it:


Spring has finally arrived. I know this because I refuse to wear gloves and my boots anymore, and of course the Thames river has flooded because of rain and snow melt. This photo shows the park behind the HMCS Prevost. As you can see the bicycle path has been completely flooded up to the base of the hill.

I like to use this sewer pipe as a guide to river depth. The first photo shows one of the lowest depth of the river, this was January.


This was March 31st:

This was April 1st:


So what is that 10 feet, maybe more? egads! They say this is the highest it's been since 1977.(I have since found out it rose 13 feet!)