OH MY!

I mentioned in my For the Birds post that my local craft group got together and made some prayer flags for the To Boston with Love exhibit.  Well tomorrow morning I will be interviewed by our local CBC radio host about our involvement!!

Radio interviews are not my forte and I am not “excited” about this, but Berene (who lives in Vancouver) is going to be on the interview with me.  Isn’t technology wonderful  

I am excited about the coverage of the super support that quilters all over the world have shown for Boston. 

Berene from Happy Sew Lucky was the brains behind this project and Amy of During Quiet Time was the muscle on the ground in Boston.  The flags are hung at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and will be up until July 7th.

Here are the six flags that my little craft group made and sent to Boston.  Silly me didn’t take photos of the backs, but we put our names and our location on them. 

all

And here is a photo that Berene sent me of them hanging in situ, second row down, two on the left side of the peak and four to the right of the peak. 

What a super project to be part of!!  I wish I was able to go and see it.  If you are in the area I hope you will go and check it out. 

Janet

Giveaway winner

My concussion has been getting better and better.  Last week I had a sacral-cranial treatment.  This is a “new age” medical treatment which sceptics would think involves nothing.  However I felt bad for two days after having the treatment, then I suddenly felt really good.  Like normal, pretty well, other than one or two small dizzy spells.  I felt really good Friday and Saturday.  I did all that sewing and went for a long bike  ride.  Yesterday I felt lousy again…. I guess I overdid it. 

I was going to go back to work tomorrow, but now I think I will wait until Wednesday when I have a follow up appointment with the doctor.  I’m going to go back for another one of those treatments though.

I did make three triangle blocks for Easy Street yesterday.  This is what it looks like now.

 

We woke up this morning to fresh snow!  Although it has mostly melted now it is still COLD out.  I wonder how the crocuses are faring, and these guys…

We did the For the Birds blog hop giveaway draw this morning.  (He’d been in the sauna for an hour and insisted he was warm.)

And the winner is…

Congratulations, Judy!  I have sent you an e-mail.

Janet

Friday Night Sew In Report

I want to say thank-you to everyone who commented on my birdie clothespin apron and the flags for Boston.  I started out trying to respond to everyone, but I don’t think I’m going to get through the whole list.  It was great to get all the comments though and I appreciate all the love.

Since I said that people who had commented on previous posts in April and May could have a second entry, I have had to do the paper slip method of picking the winner.  I have the slips all written up and in the bowl.  But I’m here alone and I want someone else to do the draw.  DH will be home sometime tonight with the two grandkidlets in tow, so I will have one of them do the draw and will post the winner tomorrow.

I have had a great Friday night sewing session between last night and this morning.  I started out playing with triangles.  When I got that huge bag of scraps last month there were several hundred triangle cut offs in it.  I decided to make them into pinwheel blocks and I just had to try it out and see what they would sew up like.  Here are four blocks that I made, but this project is going to have to wait for a while before it gets any more of my attention.

Cute huh!?  You might notice that there are some loons…

Then I spent a lot of time working on Easy Street.  I have ALL the pieces cut and I made four new blocks.  This is what it looks like now. 

I hope to get four triangle blocks and one more square block made tomorrow; then I will have three rows done!  I have realized that the middle of July is coming quickly and feel the need to get on with this baby. 

We have gale force winds here but it has been sunny since noon and the sun has just gone behind the mountains at ten p.m.  The crocuses are out in force – I saw my first one on Wednesday.  They are so pretty.  Look at how dry the ground is under them.  It is supposed to rain tomorrow, which would be great as it will help with the greening up process.

Hmm… looks a bit like the Easy Street colours…just missing the blue...

I will be back tomorrow with news of a winner.

Janet

For the Birds Blog Hop and giveaway

Thank you Madame Samm for putting together another fun blog hop and to Mary for being our cheerleader. 
It seems quilters really like birds and I’m no exception.  DH and I enjoy watching the birds at our feeder for about nine months of the year and the migration of different species through the area is fascinating.
We have had so many birds hang out this winter and new ones coming through in flocks in the last few weeks.  Red Polls, Mountain, Black Capped and Boreal Chickadees, and the Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers are our winter staples.  We have been blessed this spring with flocks of Junkos, Pine Siskins and White Crowned Sparrows and a visit from a beautiful Varied Thrush. 





And these beauties are back in town along with numerous other water birds.

But we’ve put the last bag of seed in the feeder for this spring.  There is so much for the birds to eat in the wild all summer that we don’t feed them when it is warm.  So time to make some cloth birdies to brighten up the yard!
I started out with a few bird flags for the To Boston with Love gathering of prayer flags to show the world’s support for Boston.  Quilters from all over the world are sending flags and they will be displayed at The Museum of Fine Arts Boston from May 23rd through June 16th.  To me birds are a symbol of peace and unity.  Here are my birdie contributions.


You’ll notice a few Boston crabs in the last one
But then the birdie fun really started!!  I have a clothesline and an indoor drying rack.  I didn’t own a dryer until about five years ago and I still use it only sparingly.  I decided this year that I needed a new package or two of clothespins….  And how about a new clothespin apron sporting birds in the garden…

The bird on the left is a Vireo; I know because they swoop around a pond up  the road in May – mating season I think.  I’m not sure what the other two are… Here is the apron in action.


I am thrilled with how it turned out!!
A big thank you to Sophie from Block Lotto for this fun and easy bird block.  I noticed that others used it during the hop.
And thank you to Leslie from the Seasoned Homemaker for the apron pattern. 
And a big special thank you to M-R from whom I won the wonderful background fabrics in her Fugly giveaway back in February 2012.  They are from the English Country Garden Collection by Rose and Hubble.  Perfect colours for my colourful birds to hide in!!
I do have a giveaway.  A birdie giveaway in fact.  My friend Linda and I were down to the Alaska coast on the weekend and visited the quilt store.  I picked up two 1/2 yard pieces of nice bird fabrics.  The winner can choose the owls or the loons.  And I have a little package of sweet bird buttons as well. 


Everyone is welcome to participate.  Leave me a comment letting me know if you use a clothesline or not.  If you have previously commented on my blog posts in April or May I will give you a second entry.  I will close the giveaway on Saturday, May 18th at noon Pacific Standard Time. 
Please hop on by and check out what others are doing on this last day of the For the Birds blog hop.
http://cariboucrossingchronicles.blogspot.ca  This is me
www.notionnanny.blogspot.com
http://crookedgulleyartquilts.blogspot.com
http://Karamino.blogspot.com
http://celticthistlestitches.blogspot.com
www.sewmolliesue.com
http://devotedquilter.blogspot.com
http://mystitchin-n-stuff.blogspot.com
www.quiltscapesqs.com
http://kocanquilt.blogspot.com
http://createinthesticks.blogspot.com
http://terrysquiltingtime.blogspot.com
http://Sewwequilt.com
Janet

The Year of the Finished Project for April - EDITED–I just realized this should be for MAY!!!

Here is my progress for April.

1. Six inch quilt block swap – 2 per month – Done!!

2. Bee Balm block swap – Done!!

3. Block swap adventure – 1 - 12.5 in block – mail by the 25th. Done!!  I was late with this one but got it done before the end of the month.

4. Inchy hexagon swap – 2 hexies per month  Done!!

5. MMM Round Robin – mail by April 30th.  Done!!  Here is a sneak peek.

6. Simply Solids block swap – Done!! 

7. Mystery Muse – finish the second item, which is about half done. Not Done…. in fact no progress at all on this. 

8. Get your Hex On bee – mail by April 30th.  Done!!

9. Charm Pack Table Runner – mail by April 30th - for Terry. Not done.  But Terry is understanding….

* Finish the baby quilt!  Done!!  I finished it at the retreat but I have decided I want to do a little bit more quilting on it.  I will show it once it is really done  

** Put together FIVE blocks for Easy Street! Done!! I only did four, but I’m happy with that! 

*** Finish the table mat I started for the Stitch Me Up blog hop.  It is a gift.  I need to get it mailed.  Not done….    and now it is late enough that it doesn’t matter.

**** Work on the new X and + quilt that I started cutting out blocks for. Done!!  I finished ten blocks at the retreat, but nothing more since then. 

And here is my list for May…

1. Six inch quilt block swap – 2 per month – to be mailed by the 15th.  Michell wants any block in blue and white.

2. Bee Balm block swap – No instructions on this one yet.

3. Block swap adventure – 1 - 12.5 in block – mail by the 25th.  Agnes wants a traditional block in creams, brown, red, gold, green.

4. Inchy hexagon swap – 2 hexies per month – mail by April 30th.  Kathryn wants bright cheerful colours.  This I can do!

5. MMM Round Robin – mail by April 30th.  I haven’t received my block to work on yet.

6. Simply Solids block swap – Mail by April 26th – Shena wants an Alberta Triangle block.  Looks like fun. 

7. Mystery Muse – finish the second item, which is about half done.  This has top priority!!

8. Get your Hex On bee – mail by April 30th.  Yvette wants a hexie flower or two for her Grandmother’s Flower Garden quilt.  I have one set of hexies all cut.

9. Charm Pack Table Runner for Terry. This one has to be high on the priority list too.

10.  It’s for the Birds…. I am participating in this blog hop which starts tomorrow.  My day is the 15th.  I have something to show but I would like to make something else.  Like finish my cardinal….

As well I am going to:  

* Finish the baby quilt!  Like get the little bit of quilting I decided to add done…

** Put together FIVE blocks for Easy Street!  Yes five blocks is my goal for this month. 

*** Finish the table mat I started for the Stitch Me Up blog hop.  It is a gift.  I need to get it mailed.  This one also has high priority!

**** Work on the X and + quilt .  My goal for this month is ten more blocks.  A modest goal.

***** Work on the new project that I started…. A postage stamp quilt made with 2.5 inch squares.  It is my new leader and ender project.  I almost have one block of 100 squares finished already!

****** Make a dress for DGD’s doll.  This is to try out the pattern that I won from Lilac Lane.  If it works out well, I will make the same dress for my two GDs. 

That is all.  I would say that is enough!!

Janet