Friday Night Sew In Report and Weekend Frolic

I’m a little late with my FNSI report.  That’s because we left Saturday morning for a weekend in Atlin with friends.  Atlin is the northernmost community in British Colombia and is about a two hour drive from here.  It is so beautiful there.  Almost as beautiful as my home..…

On Friday night I worked on swap items, completing this block for Jaclyn in the Simply Solids Bee on Flickr.  I’m in the Carmine group which is all Canadians.

And I also completed my round for the Modern Mini Mystery Round Robin hosted by Michele at Quilts From my Crayon Box.   I’m not allowed to show what I added but I can show you the chart that this participant sent.  The top row are the fabrics she used and the second row are the fabrics I added to it.  Such a clever idea! 

Saturday we packed in the morning and motored south, arriving in time for a walk and a visit before it was time to make salad and mashed potatoes to take to the next door neighbour’s where we had a late Thanksgiving dinner.  Or maybe it was an early one.  Anyway it was one of our friend’s 66th birthday so it was a celebration, complete with turkey, mashed potatoes, candied carrots, cranberry sauce, two salads and cream cheese and salmon topped bagels.  Oh and two cakes, pumpkin pie and butterscotch pudding.

I was tired and left around 10:30 p.m. to our friend’s cabin next door.  Our other friends were staying in the guest cabin and the hosts were staying in a guest cabin at the neighbour’s.  Our hosts had said there was a flying squirrel in the house and it was noisy at night.  Our other friends had brought a live trap with them hoping to catch it and get it out.  I went to bed and woke up an hour later to a horrendous racket.  As it was windy out I thought something was blowing against the house, or off the deck.  I went out and checked and couldn’t find anything problematic.  I went back to bed and a short while later the noise started again.  I thought “maybe the squirrel has got under the cover on the parrot’s cage and they are fighting.”  My friends have a grey parrot….  So I went down to the kitchen to check.  At this point I realized the noise was coming from the kitchen ceiling.  So I guessed it was the squirrel.  I didn’t think it would be that loud but whatever….

I woke up several times during the night to the horrendous crashing noise.  Around four a.m. I had a sudden thought.  Maybe they put the live trap up in the ceiling and the squirrel is caught.  And sure enough, that was the case.  Here he is….

He was released at an abandoned cabin in the bush about a twenty minute drive away.  Hopefully he won’t find his way back.  Can you see his unusual markings?  My friend’s camera batteries died just as the release was happening so he didn’t get photos of the squirrel outside the cage, or with his “wings” spread as he was climbing up the wall.

We had a lovely ski in the beautiful sunshine on Sunday.  So much easier skiing when you aren’t breaking trail through deep snow.

And now it is time for me to sleep.  My wake-up time of 5:30 a.m. comes early.

Janet

A bit of sewing this week…

Firstly…Brenda from Oshawa… you have been so sweet commenting regularly on my posts.  I love to respond to comments and try to do so all the time, because hey – when I leave a comment on someone’s post I love to get a response.  But Brenda you always come up as a no-reply blogger.  Please check out this link to see how to rectify that.

I have managed to get a little bit done last weekend and this so I think I’ll do a mid-month report (well mid-month plus three)…

We’ve had very mild weather and I’ve been out doing a lot of snowshoeing and skiing, but despite that, and being busy at work, I have managed to sew.  First here is our 1.5 hour ski trek today.  Grey out, but warm. We let the men break the trail   Had a little fire and tea/rum break and then the women headed home while the men went off to check out another trail.

Last weekend I finished my January – February 6 inch blocks.  Terry wanted any block in black, white and one other colour.  This block is from the 100 Quilt Blocks magazine Volume 3 and was designed by Leslee Price.  It is a lovely block but I would definitely change some things if I were to make it again.

And I also finished my January - February Adventure block.  Samantha wanted a Saw Blades block in bold and dark colours.  I think this qualifies.

 

And this weekend I completed my Bee Balm bee blocks for Liz in Australia.  She sent us charm squares from the Mama Said Sew line and asked for this really quick and easy block from Jera at Quilting in the Rain.com.  The tutorial is found at Moda Bakeshop.

And since I have been motoring along on my swaps I allowed myself some time to work on the baby quilt.  Here it is with the borders all added and sandwiched up ready to quilt. 

I also made some progress on the cardinal at the class last Monday, but I’m not ready to show it off yet. 

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Janet

Quilt U Be Mine Reveal

Happy Valentine’s Day!!  I hope someone gives you a chocolate heart and that you give one to someone else today!  I have to buy a card and some chocolate for DH tomorrow.  Today I was super busy at work and feel lousy.  I think the stomach flu is not entirely finished and I haven’t been getting enough sleep.

But February 14th is the reveal day for the Quilt U Be Mine round robin.  I LOVE my round robin piece.  I really liked some of the others that I worked on but this piece suits me to a T.

Here is the centre block that I sent out. A fun little dancing heart.

Bea added the first border – geese, hearts and simple strips on the sides.  I love how the swirling fabric creates so much motion.

Edy added a scrappy border all around.  And you know I love scrappy.  Look at all the hearts she added!

And then Lisa added paper piecing and the finishing border.  LOVE IT!!Here’s what the whole thing looks like.  (Hmm – there’s some blur in all these pictures?! What’s that about??)

SO SO PRETTY!  Thank you to my three awesome round robin partners!

I had big plans to finish it before today as a wall hanging or table runner, but really, when did I think I was going to do that???

I’m off to bed.  Please check out Michele's blog to have a peak at all of the beautiful Quilt U Be Mine quilts.

Janet

The Year of the Finished Project February update

Lynne has posed these questions…

How did you go in January?

Well not so great…. I only put one thing on my January list and that was to finish the top of Easy Street.  This is how it looks today…

I haven’t finished any of the steps, although the four patch blocks are almost all sewn.  I have been doing them as leaders and enders, but otherwise I haven’t done a thing on Easy Street since I last posted about it on January 7th.

What did I do instead???  Well I worked on my swap items

Six inch quilt block swap – done but for some reason I never posted a photo

 

Bee Balm block swap – starts in February I haven’t got the fabric or instructions yet…

Block swap adventure – Overdue block for November done and January block done as well!

Inchy hexagon swap – Overdue December hexies done and January hexies done as well

MMM Round Robin – made my centre block and sent it off only a couple of days late (February 4th)

Quilt You Be Mine  Round Robin – I got both of my round robin additions finished and mailed and they have arrived IN TIME for the February 14th reveal

Simply Solids block swap – I received the instructions and the fabric but haven’t made it yet… It isn’t due until the end of February though so I’m okay.

And I started a baby quilt for the nursing station… here it is so far…

It is hard to see but it has a narrow white border.  I have to add one more border, then quilt and bind it.

And I started the cardinal…I am supposed to be attending class number 2 tonight…

What plans do you have for your UFOs/WiPs in February?
My swap items…

1. Six inch quilt block swap – 2 per month – to be mailed by the 15th

2. Bee Balm block swap – starts in February – my month is November

3. Block swap adventure – 1 - 12.5 in block – mail by the 25th

4. Inchy hexagon swap – 2 hexies per month

5. MMM Round Robin – starts in February & runs for six months

6. Simply Solids block swap – starts in February but we have our instructions already.  My month is September.

And can you believe I’ve joined a couple more…

7. Mystery Muse – two items – don’t have to be sewn, can be any genre – by the end of February reflecting the prompt “excitement”

8. Get your Hex On bee – Starts in March - a hand made hexie block of the person’s choosing.  My month is August.

As well I am going to:

Get my cardinal done

Finish the baby quilt

And dare I say that I will get at least the different pieces for Easy Street cut and pieced…

Today is my 60th birthday.  I’ve had calls from my three daughters, two grandchildren, a friend who is on holiday in Ontario and my sister in Nova Scotia.  My sister in Australia and I have e-mailed and will hopefully get to Skype tomorrow.  A ton of people have contacted me on Facebook, including my brother and sister-in-law and one son-in-law, and lots of friends.  DH bought me flowers, wine and some ski wax and is making me steak, potatoes, Swiss chard and turnips for supper. 

I told someone who asked that he wouldn’t spoil me but actually he got up early to take our granddaughter in to school and didn’t wake me up.  She was out here last night attending Qristina and Quinn Bachand's fantastic house concert with me.  And DH left me a thermos of tea on the counter too. 

So I am somewhat spoiled.  UNFORTUNATELY, he has also passed on his stomach flu and I am feeling very lousy today.  So much so that I’m not going to my 2nd cardinal class which is tonight.  I will be going to class # 3 on Monday though, whether I feel better or not!

Right now I’m going to lie down and have a nap or maybe watch a movie…

Janet

An Award

 

Kathryn from Blue Heron Quilts has nominated me for a Leibster award.

Never mind that I don’t really qualify for a Liebster Award because you’re supposed to have less than 200 followers, and much to my amazement I have more than that….  But I’m going to accept it anyway, because it’s fun and I like being introspective about myself.

The rules:

1. You must post 11 random things about yourself.
2. Answer the questions that the nominator set for you
3. Create 11 questions for the people you nominate
4. Choose 11 blogs with less than 200 followers and link them in your post.

ELEVEN RANDOM THINGS:

Random eh….

1. It was my 35th anniversary last week and is my 60th birthday next week.  We had a nice middle of the celebrations party with some friends.  My three daughters were all there…

DD # 1 gave us 35 memories.  Things like:

“Do you remember that we kept a butcher knife on the wall of the tent above the beds so we could get out if there was a fire?”

“Do you remember that you made me walk home from school for lunch?  Laina remembers one time that I was late getting home.  I arrived to announce proudly, and had to show you the tracks to prove it, that I had walked all the way home backwards.”

DD # 2 came home from Newfoundland for a five day visit.  So nice to see her.

And DD # 3 made me a wheat free birthday cake – hazelnut and Frangelico flavoured.  It was delicious.

2. When I did college upgrading to complete the high school that I never finished I got 100% in my physics class.

3. I am an introvert.

4. Housework is low on my priority list.

5. I love winter.  Here I am just returning from a 45 minute snowshoe at –28 C (-18 F).

6. I’ve travelled in most of north and south America, but have only been overseas once, to Germany.

7. My triple great grandfather (I think) was from Austria.

8. I have worn my hair long since I was about 10 years old.

9. I seldom wear dresses.

10. I am fascinated by cop and whodunit shows and stories, real or imagined.  In another life I would like to be a police detective who works on a huge murder investigation.

11. My honeymoon, 35 years ago in January, was at a small cabin in the bush.

ELEVEN QUESTIONS FOR MY NOMINEES:
1. Favorite author(s):

This is difficult.  I have different authors that I love and read everything of and then I move on.  Some I remember are: Mary Stewart (the Crystal Cave etc.), Mordecai Richler (stories of life in Montreal and rural Quebec), Margaret Laurence (I read all her books), John Krakauer (such interesting books about the outdoors).  And here is one author who wrote fascinating books on many different subjects – Robert Harris.  I have read all his books.  My favourite was Pompei, but the others all kept me riveted.

On this note, I have read three books this month. 

Dead Cold by Louise Penny.  This is a light mystery story but I enjoyed it because it is set in the cantons de l’est of Quebec, where I spent much of my youth, in a town that I saw often on Christmas cards.  Lots of snow, children sledding, carollers on the street, horse drawn sleds crossing bridges over the river and a beautiful tree trimmed in the town centre.

Bachelor Brothers Bed and Breakfast by Bill Richardson.  He could actually go on my list of favourites.  This book is about a fictional B&B run by twin brothers in an unnamed town on Vancouver Island.  Mr. Richardson has a vivid imagination and writes very intelligently, while making you laugh.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffe and Annie Barrow.  At first I wasn’t sure about this book as it is written all in letters, but it didn’t take long for me to be hooked.  If you like anything by the Bronte sisters you will like this book.  Very rich and interesting.

2. If you won the lottery, the first thing you would do:  Try and persuade my husband to be happy – he would not like to be a rich man.  Then I would start to give the money away…

3. Share a childhood memory:  Lying on the grass on the front lawn looking at the sky, the clouds going by, and feeling the world turning underneath me.

4. Live concert you would like to attend:  I like small concerts.  I’m taking my granddaughter to a house concert this week; Don’t they look young!

5. Dream vacation:  I have two places on my bucket list – Ireland and North Carolina. 

6. Where would you like to live:  If not where I am then on Canada’s east coast – in Newfoundland or Nova Scotia.

7. Favorite pet:  I love animals.  I love my dog, Zeke.  I have had cats most of my life and love them but developed an allergy late in life…

8. Favorite ice cream:  Pralines and cream.  But I’m lactose intolerant so only eat ice cream on very special occasions.

9. What famous person/fictional character would you like to get to know?  I used to love Joan Baez, then I read her autobiography and discovered she is – or was – very narcissistic.  It put me off of celebrities.  I would love to meet Dolly Parton though.  She seems to be quite genuine.

10. What would you like your autobiographer to say about you?  That I was witty, intelligent, kind and generous.  But they would have to make a lot of that up. 

11. What was your first car?  I won a Metropolitan Nash convertible when I was five.  My Dad was in the Lions Club and they had a raffle.  He bought a bunch of tickets for 25 cents each, and put the family members names on them.  We got to go to the ice cream place where I was given the prize and we all got to have ice cream.  A rare treat when I was young.  I gave the car to my mother for her birthday which was a week or so away.  She had it until I was about fourteen, then sold it.  I never got to drive it.  I don’t remember it looking like this – more like a Volkswagon – but it was yellow and white.

Now I am supposed to nominate 11 blogs….

Evalina Maria from This and That

Lynne de Bouts Choisis

Dahn from the Wilderness City Quilter

Lynne from Never too Hot to Stitch

Janet from the Threaded Moose

Diane from The Cheshire Quilter

Leonie from Strandkorbtraum

Jean from All Points of the Compass

Peg from Pieces on my Mind

Jan from Isisjem

Julie from My Quilt Diary

Janet

Friday Night with Friends

I sewed a little bit on Thursday (Friday in Australia) and a little bit on Friday.  I didn’t get a whole lot done, but then every little bit counts….

I finished the second Quilt You Be Mine mystery round robin block I worked on this month.  I can’t show either of these blocks – they’ll be on exhibit on reveal day, February 14th I believe.  But I can tell you they involved some of this…

And I finished my January hexies for my swap partner Judith, a newbie in the Inchy Hexagon Flower Swap, and sent them off in the mail.  I put the sneak photo on the IHFS blog, but I’m going to risk putting the real photo on here….

I hope everyone had a happy and productive Friday Night with Friends.

Janet