Saturday night hockey

Saturday night hockey
Saturday night hockey

Saturday, December 31, 2011

Happy New Year

Christmas was wonderfully fun!  My s-i-l drove 1500 miles with her two teenage children to spend it with us.  DD#2 flew in (well flew to Edmonton and then drove) from Charlottetown at the other end of the country.  And she only had to work five shifts on the ambulance, one of them 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. Christmas Eve.  They lost two people to heart attacks that night….  DD # 3 flew in from Victoria and her boyfriend was home as well. 

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Many stockings were hung by the chimney with care…

On Christmas day we opened stockings, ate a wonderful breakfast – scrambled eggs, coffee cake, bacon (the best bacon in the world all the way from Victoria), grapefruit, pineapple and homemade Baileys to go in the tea or coffee.

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DD # 3 is our professional pineapple cutter.  She learned the technique from her Thai auntie.

Then there was a lot of present opening and a casual afternoon long feed of cold meat, cheese, vegetables and dip, crackers, and two kinds of trifle for dessert Smile.  Lots of games were played; euchre and cribbage seemed to be the most popular and we had a few tournaments.

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My big present is my Kobo book reader.  We do name exchanges for stockings, one present in family and one present each for both DH and my extended family.  So you buy and receive three presents and fill a stocking.  Makes life way easier.  This of course doesn’t include the little children.  They got lots of presents. 

I received a few quilty things.  In my stocking were a few items I’ve been hankering for – more straight pins, a long measuring tape – and the green item is a nifty ceramic cutting tool.  It isn’t for fabric but for paper.

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A quilting friend gave me this fabulous tote box, which will be wonderful when going to retreats or sewing sessions.

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And lovely presents from two non-quilting friends: a wonderful pincushion – the black part is made from a tin can - and a great looking book.

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On Boxing Day my nephew and two nieces came to visit as well as DD# 3’s boyfriend.  We had our big turkey dinner.  Son-in-law cooked the turkey, which was wonderful!  Mashed potatoes, baked yams, Brussels sprouts, carrots and Baklava created by Sister-in-law.  Then several game marathons: Pit, Euchre, Apples to Apples and the younger folk played Pictionary into the wee hours.

DD # 2 and S-i-I are gone.  DD # 3 is around for a while but is currently hanging out with her boyfriend in Whitehorse.  There were only a couple of BIG EVENTS over the holiday.  We went skating down on the arm.  There was some snow but a nice cleared patch and we were having a lovely skate…

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when S-i-l fell and cracked her head open.  She had to get four stitches in the back of her head, but fortunately there was no concussion.  Then when S-i-l left on December 28th she forgot her purse!  She didn’t discover it wasn’t with her until she went to buy gas 500 km down the highway.  Fortunately her daughter has a credit card and they were able to continue on home.  The purse, along with all her necessities of life is on its way home now.  Despite these escapades S-i-l said she and her kids had a wonderful time.  She is trying to convince us all to go to Thailand for Christmas next year….  hmmm….if I’m going that far, I’ll have to continue on to Australia….

My wish for this evening is to stay home and relax but we are invited to a party and DH wants to go so I guess we’ll be out and about for a bit. 

I hope everyone has a happy, healthy, love-filled new year!

Janet

But Granma, Where’s the Quad?

I finished the quilt around midnight on Christmas Eve.  Well except for about half an hour’s worth of quilting that got done on the 27th.  But it was bound and ready to use despite the need for a slight bit of finishing.

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It measures approximately 49 by 65 inches. 

The panel at top and bottom and the road backing fabric are both from South Sea Imports “Going Places” line. 

The blue sashing is “Puzzle Pieces” by Moda. 

The black “read as solid” in the backing is a “Marbles” by Moda.

Vehicle blocks came from my own stash and from donations from many sources:  Kerry, Melody, Karen, Julie, Linda, Sue (whose blog name I can’t remember – Sue if you read this please tell me your blog name so I can correct this), my friend Jo, my friend Donna’s mother (age 86 or so, she provided the hog on a hog piece) and my sister-in-law Lori.  If I have missed anyone who donated I apologize profusely.  It is not from a lack of appreciation.  I could never have gathered this wonderful variety on my own!  Thank you all.

I quilted the names of the different vehicles in the crosswise sashing, but not in the same order as the pictures.  It can be a game for DGS to match them up once he starts to read.  The vertical sashing has three big Xs in each piece.  I also quilted around each of the vehicle fabrics.  The panels are freehand quilted following the lines in the pictures.  They didn’t end up exactly the same.  On the two big blue side panels I wrote the name of the quilt and label info – for DGS from me, date and place.  The outside of those two panels has simple stipple quilting.

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The binding is a “Marble Dot” by Moda in green.  I used this same fabric for the binding on DGD’s I Spy quilt that she got for Christmas last year.  I like that there is that connection between the two quilts.

DGS really loves his quilt.  He was known to say on several occasions when others picked it up “Hey, that’s MY blanket.”  He had it laid out on the living room floor running his cars up and down the roads as soon as all the scraps of wrapping paper were cleaned up. 

I found the quilting on this quilt went quite quickly.  I’m getting better at it all the time!

And yes, I called it, “But Granma, Where’s the Quad?”!

Janet

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Merry Christmas!

The DDs from afar are home.  My s-i-l and her two children have arrived after their long (two day) drive.  The tree is up.

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S-i-l is in the kitchen baking bread….and look how happy she is to be cooking….

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DH has finished his sewing….

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DGS’s quilt is almost done – I just have the binding left do.  The grandkids are here so I have to wait until they go home this evening to get it finished.

I hope everyone has a very happy Christmas!

Yupiq Eskimo Village of Quinhagak, Alaska

Janet

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Giveaway Winner

I have been totally overwhelmed by the number of people who responded to my giveaway and became new followers of my blog!  I have 100 more followers than I did when this crazy Blog Hop Party with Give-Aways started.  Thank-you and welcome to all my new followers.  You’ll find that I am a sporadic poster.  I won’t plaster you with many messages a day and sometimes it will be a couple of weeks until you hear from me.

I am going to pick a winner today, by hook or by crook, if I can get Random Number Generator to appear here….  But I can’t make it work… please someone who knows how to copy and paste it let me know. 

However I do have a winner.  Random Number Generator did choose and you’ll have to take me on good faith.  The winner is Lynne, commenter # 5 who said on 12/9/11:

“I am a follower. I live in Sydney in Australia. I like living here because the climate is temperate and democracy is alive and well!”

Lynne please contact me with your postal information so I can send you your prize. 

Since I was going to do a 100 follower giveaway and I now have 200 followers, you can be sure there will be an even bigger giveaway coming up.  It will have to wait for after Christmas because I am too busy doing things like this…

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And this…

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And sewing like mad to get all the gifts made!

Is everyone else ready for Christmas?

Janet

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Friday Night Sew In Report

Last night I put together the back for my grandson’s quilt and started quilting.  Just straight line quilting so far.  I want to get a good stint in on it today and have to cook a turkey, make salad and make cranberry sauce for the community Christmas dinner that my craft club is cooking and serving for this evening. 
The completed front….
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And the back…..
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What are you doing with your Saturday, or Sunday, as may be?
Janet

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Friday Night Sew In Report

I got a good start on the vehicle quilt for my grandson last night.  Figured out the layout and sewed the block strips together.
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Can you spot my mistake?  Probably not because the picture is too small.  I sewed this block in upside down.
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But I caught it before I sewed on the long sashing so I fixed it….
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Right side up now.  I finished sewing the long sashing strips this morning.  I was going to put the panel on the top and bottom, but now I’m second guessing myself, due to DH’s comment that “there is a lot going on” when he looked at the blocks. 
Does anyone have any thoughts?  Here’s another pic.  I would put a strip of 5 to 6 inches of blue on the sides of the vehicle blocks, then a panel strip at the top and bottom of the quilt.  It makes it a good size for a twin bed quilt and I like it, but I’d love your opinion.
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Janet

Friday, December 9, 2011

Quilter’s Bog Hop Party Giveaway

The giveaway is closed.

Welcome to everyone hopping around in blog land for the Quilting Gallery Quilter's Blog Hop Party and my giveaway. A huge thank you to Michele for organizing this event.  I hear there are more than 250 participating blogs so it is sure to be a barrel of fun – and take lots of time to look at all those blogs. Smile
If you are new to my blog please don’t be afraid of the Dall Sheep on my header.  He is behind a fence at the game farm and I think that his “you look mighty tasty” approach is just his way of saying “hi”.  Please look around and enjoy yourself while you are here.
I’m not going to dally around much as I think I am a bit late getting my blog posted.  It was supposed to be up by noon EST and it is 9:32 where I live in PST.  So doing the math….
Here is what I’m giving away today.  Two half yards of pretty batiks in colours that make you want to eat them – or something. 
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You must be a follower of my blog to enter the giveaway and it is open to anyone in the world. Please leave me one comment letting me know you are a follower.  In the same comment please tell me where you live and one reason why you like living there.  The giveaway will close on December 17th at 6 p.m. my time.  More math for you…..
Thank you so much for coming by.  Please check out the Quilting Gallery link to see a list of all the participants in the Blog Hop Party.
Janet

Monday, December 5, 2011

Back home in the snow

I’ve been away.  In Redmond and Seattle…

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Victoria….

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and Vancouver…..

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Visited brother, s-i-l, nephew, DD # 3 and boyfriend and roommate, niece, b-i-l.  Ate American Thanksgiving dinner, but didn’t go to Black Friday sales at midnight.  Visited quaint towns La Conner and Bainbridge, Washington. Flew in two planes and rode the ferry four times.  Attended a Stuart McLean show in Victoria.  Ate tons of good food and shopped at lots of stores.  Bought a little bit of fabric.  Drove a car in Victoria and it wasn’t even too scary.

I didn’t do much sewing.  Just these hexie flowers for my November swap partner.

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We got home late Friday night then I was up early on Saturday to go with friends to a quilt show.  Yes a quilt show here in the north.  In Skagway, Alaska.  There were about fifty quilts in the show.  Here are the ladies posing in front of the Christmas tree.

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And a few of my favourite quilts…

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Skagway is getting ready for Christmas.  Lots of pretty lights.

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I see somewhere along the way my followers have crept up to 100.  I guess I’ll have to have a giveaway.  I’m deciding whether to like up with The Quilting Gallery’s Blog Hop Party.  Any opinions?

Are you occupying your sewing room this week?

Are you participating in Friday Night Sew In? 

So many fun things going on in Blogland…..

Janet