BBQ and Little Pear

The family BBQ went really well (only a small fire, more later). We don't have a very big deck but still managed to have 12 people sit comfortably. Before the BBQ, we all had a nice time watching Shakespeare in the park (there's a park 1/2 block from our house with an open air theater). A Mid Summer's Night Dream was playing, they had enough comedy going on that it didn't matter if you weren't familiar with the story.

Now back to the fire in the kitchen. My SIL was making roasted veggies in the oven, she said "I only used a tablespoon of oil"....well that tablespoon cause a small fire in the oven. The smoke was billowing out of the oven, the smoke alarm went off and then the house alarm when off too. Apparently, we have a very LOUD horn on the back of the house....everyone could hear that going off. My DH couldn't remember the alarm code so it was a while before I realized it and came in to shut it off. No damage done just a lot of excitement.

My Little Pear is finished, the pattern is from Stone and Thread. I started this a few months ago and dropped it for a while, actually I forgot about it until my girlfriend reminded me. I will probably look for a nice frame to put this in.

Hummus Recipe

1. 1 1/2 to 2 cups cooked chickpeas (rinsed and drained) take out any loose skins
2. 2 cloves of garlic chopped
3. 1 tablespoon olive oil
4. 3 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
5. 1/4 cup tahini paste
6. 2-3 tablespoons water
7. 2 teaspoons cumin

Mix all ingredients in blender or food processor until smooth. Add more lemon juice to taste. Add water if mixture is too thick.
Yummy....Enjoy

Snow Months

A few of you asked about the quilt next to my thread. These are 12 snowman through the months, I think I did this stitchery about a gazillion years ago. I can't even remember the name of the pattern, but I did one stitchery each month for a year, I don't know if you can see them well enough. The white dots on the border fabric is actually little snowman. This quilt is always on the wall in my sewing room and sometimes it has blocks pinned all over it.

I'm off to make hummus and tabbouleh with a twist for a family Bbq tomorrow. Thanks for stopping by.

Need Thread....

I have lots to choose from. This doesn't even included my Sulky Variegated thread collection. See the box on the right it's not even open yet. I have a quilt top that is waiting to be quilted with those colours. Darlene which thread can I send your way....I would really hate to think a quilter is out of thread. You silly girl....watch for thread flying your way....teehee, I hope you don't mind me teasing you.

The next picture is just because the Hydrangea's are blooming in my garden. The flower clusters can be 8" to 10" across.

Mini Bag

I finished my little hexagon bag from the video Picking Up The Pieces . In the video Pati Shambaugh tells you this little bag takes about 2 hours to make....I don't believe her. I didn't keep track of how long it too me but it seemed like it was 2 hours figuring out how to put it all together. Having said that, it is a really cute bag, I don't know just yet what I'll use it for. The bag is about 3 1/2" x 2" closed, I used the 3/4" hexagons to make this bag. As you can see I'm not a hand quilter (really big stitches). I'm like Darlene, just can get used to using a thimble, it aways feels awkward on my finger. I don't know why but when I have a thimble on I end up trying to use one of my other fingers to push on the needle and that defeats the purpose of using a thimble. I've heard people say that it's best to wear it around the house and then you get comfortable with the thimble. Maybe I should try that sometime. But for now hand quilting is not my thing so I will only do it in small (very small) projects.

Spinning Pinwheel Quilt

I had trouble getting the whole quilt in the picture, but you get the idea. The pieced border has now been added to my Spinning Pinwheel quilt. I had so much fun doing this pattern, I really enjoyed every step. So one quilt done, now I still have the pieced border to do on the second Spinning Pinwheel quilt.
Don't know if you can see the machine applique in this picture, a very small zigzag along the edge. (I'm really going to have to learn to use my camera better). Well, I've decided to machine applique my DWR blocks, mainly because I wasn't enjoying doing these by hand and I just want to get it done. There are 42 blocks plus the border blocks to complete the rings. It just seemed like this was taking too long and I was feeling like soon it'll be back in the UFO pile. I didn't want that to happen.

Nicole is showing lessons on machine applique, mine is a little different in that I'm not using fusible and the edges are turned under. There are so many method's of applique, my favourite is freezer paper and starch. In another post I will show you how I do that.

TA DA!

I've completed the needlebook for the Pincushion swap, yes... I'm doing both the pincushion and needlebook. I can't show the pincushion just yet as Miet from Belgium would like to be surprised, so I'll post a picture after she receives the pincushion in her hot little hands. Miet doesn't have a blog because she thinks her English isn't good enough, I think she'd do very well.

Sorry I didn't use the fabric I pictured with the stitchery in my last post (some of you really liked that fabric). This is what Susan will be getting from me. I hope she will like it, I know her favourite colour is green so this should be prefect....I hope. This is the second needlebook I've made recently, the first one was all done in redwork and red fabric, sometimes I forget that I'm not making it for me.

Here is the inside, complete with green wool for needles and a pocket w/ flap to tuck away scissors and thimble. The size is 5"x5 1/2" closed. After making this I was thinking how great to have this on-hand ready with assortment of needles, scissors and a bobbin or 2 of thread and it's ready to take any meeting.

Happy Stitching to everyone!

What's This?

I made this little stitchery yesterday while watching nature shows. I'm not going to reveal just now what this stitchery will become until I've got it finished. You'll have to wait a day or two is see the final reveal when it's completed. Eeek...I just committed to a deadline...

Did you see what Susan has been doing? She is working on her needlebook swap using her Crazy Quilting skills. Check it out....the needlebook, it's looking fantastic and guess who her swap partner is? Me...me...me...I'm so lucky to have a swap partner with such talent. I can't wait for her to finish it and sent to me. Susan surely has a very unique talent, I wouldn't even attempt such detailed embroidery.

Here is a finished pair of socks....finally. It took me longer than expected, I think due to the lace pattern in the socks and other project distractions going on around me. This pattern is called "Monkey Sock Pattern" from Knitty. I'm still working on the Pinwheel Star quilt with 30's fabrics, DWR which you saw in my last post and the Needlebook swap. And guess what another distraction....did you see the hexagon mini bag Guorun has posted, I want to start one of these right way...but wait I have to focus...maybe when my little stitchery is completed I can dig in...I'm so weak.

Heat Wave

It's been so hot on the West Coast, we are breaking all the records for high temperatures. For the most part sleeping is good with a portable AC in the bedroom but during the day it's been unbelievably HOT! Yesterday I hibernated in the basement with my DWR blocks. I can do the hand appliqué on my blocks while I keep cool. I even did 2 loads of washing as well but as soon as I come upstairs I loose any energy I have left. Wouldn't even think of sitting in my sewing room with this heat.

I wasn't looking forward to another day in the heat, just when I was trying to think of what I should do today. I received an email from a friend who recently purchased a Sewing and Vacuum store, she invited me to come and "play" at her shop....in the AC....whew hoo...I'm packing up my sewing machine and fabrics and away I go.

Weekend Get Away

DH and I took off on a get away weekend to wine and fruit country in BC's Okanagan. It's about a 5 hour drive East from where we live. We stopped at a few wineries along the way, there's something like 80 or more wineries in the Okanagan. Some are very small and some have large vineyards, tasting rooms and even a few with accommodation and restaurant. This picture was taken from the Burrowing Owl in Oliver, BC, they have accommodations and a restaurant with a view, we took the self guided tour as they don't have guides available on weekdays...we got there on a Friday. They were so busy we couldn't even get reservations in the restaurant.

We stayed in a Santa Fe style B&B in Oliver, our hosts were very friendly and breakfast was wonderful, homemade bread, jam, cherry juice and lots of fresh fruit. Here's the patio we had breakfast each morning. The fruits that are currently in season are cherries, apricots and raspberries. In the next few weeks the peaches will be ripe. The B&B hosts even gave us a thank you gift for staying with them. Homemade canned peaches...yummy...

This quilt has been one of my favourite since I made it a few years ago. I learned to appliqué on this quilt, it was supposed to be a beginner appliqué quilt but I didn't think so at the time, I still don't think so. There are so many tiny leaves and vines. It hangs over my computer desk (sorry about the monitor at the bottom of the picture). I'm very proud of this quilt and I always enjoy looking at it with the reds and yellows.

Pinwheel Blocks

Let's see....where can I sleep and be in the most inconvenient place. This is Jenny, she likes to be the centre of attention. She also has a need to be in the same room as me....follows me around the house. And, When I lay out my blocks on the floor, Jenny thinks this must be play time, she'll mess up my blocks and try to get under them. Needless to say sometimes getting any sewing done can be a challenge for me, as this cat is always looking for attention. She's 15 years old and doesn't always look so cute, if she's not sleeping where I want to work, then she is pawing at me to give her attention.


So here it is.... my pinwheel quilt, I must say the blocks are really quick to make, I did 36 in a couple of days. I don't know how Darlene did her quilt, but the sashing wasn't so easy for me. I seem to have been out to lunch, I picked out seams a few times before I got it all together, it was a puzzle to figure out. So this is one top done, I have enough blocks for one more.
Wish me luck!

Jelly Roll Quilt

Here it is, a quilt that is no longer a flimsy! There is something very satisfying to have a quilt all finished with the binding on and everything. I'm thinking of giving this quilt to a girlfriend who just had her 50th birthday....I know better late than never. She has been a really great friend and always there for me over many years of our kids growing up. These are her colours and I know she'll love it because I showed it to her the other day without the binding and "she said, those are my colours". She would never expect that I would be giving her the quilt, especially since I've never given one to her before and it's past her Birthday. She is also a quilter, so we've never given each other quilts. I wanted to make sure she was going to like it before giving it to her and I think she'll be even more surprised now that she's seen it.

I've been working on Pinwheel Blocks same as Darlene's. Only I'm not making the quilt as big as she did. Mine will be 2 smaller quilts of 18 blocks each for a total of 36 blocks completed this past weekend. I've started the sashing and will show you when the top is done, it's a very easy block and fun to do. The 30's fabrics always make me smile when I look at it. Such a fun quilt to make.