Stitch Me Up Blog Hop

Today, Good Friday, is my day in the Stitch Me Up Blog Hop.  Many thanks to Madame Samm, Jane, Debbie and Cyndi for organizing, designing patterns and cheering us along

I received the fabulous package of patterns from Madame Samm and then I waited for my lovely Presencia thread to arrive.  While I waited I worked on this project for the Mystery Muse swap I was participating in.  My musee’s word was “excited”.

This is water colour pencil and fine Sharpie pen on water colour paper.  Cyndi’s designs were perfect for filling in the background.

Then I waited some more and still no thread.  In the meantime, I did receive a concussion.  Too bad it didn’t come by Canada Post…. it wouldn’t be here yet…

I decided I had better start stitching something.  I loved Debbie’s chair design, but figured it might be a bit too complex for me with my addled head.  I chose to make Cyndi’s lovely flower design. 

I used stem stitch, back stitch, French knots, applique and double chain stitch on linen for this piece.  It is going to be a table mat.

In two weeks I only finished one end of the flower design.  I’m sure glad I didn’t start the chair.  I am thinking of not doing a flower for the other end, but instead doing a design around the outside edge of the mat.  I have cut it in the same shape as Cyndi’s pattern, but it is bigger than a mug rug.

If anyone has any suggestions for finishing the embroidery on this in a simple way, I would welcome your ideas.  It is a present and needs to be completed soon.  

Sadly, the thread never did arrive. Canada Post is sooo not my friend these days.  Even if they didn’t deliver my concussion. 

Thanks to everyone for a really fun blog hop!

Please be sure to visit the other stops on today’s hop.

FRIDAY MARCH 29th

Patricia @That Other Blog

Blessings From Our Nest

Liberty Threads

Caribou Crossing Chronicles of Quilts, the Weather and other Fun Stuff YOU ARE HERE

Creatin' in the Sticks

Melinda Quilts Etc

Ga's House

Dachsies with Moxie

Hill Valley Quilter

Quilt n Queen

Madame Samm

Janet

Friday Night Sew In Report

Using the computer gives me a headache, but sewing is kind of soothing.  Interesting huh? 

Here is what I made during FNSI – my adventure block for this month.  Julianne and I agreed to swap two blocks this month so I still have another block to make by Monday.

The blue is really much more of an aqua colour but I can’t get the camera to pick it up.

Janet

STITCH ME UP BLOG HOP

HI everyone.  Thanks for all the well wishes sent my way.  I am doing better a very little bit every day but I can see it is going to be a slow healing process.  One happy note is that the doctor said I could try sewing as long as it didn’t cause too much brain strain and EUREKA, it isn’t that bad.  So I am sewing a little bit at a time.  And I am keeping my commitment to participate in the Stitch Me Up Blog Hop which starts tomorrow.  I’ve attached the participant list.  Please pop in and see what everyone has made.

And here are a couple of little birdie photo.  I am watching the birds more as it is something I CAN do.  And snapping the odd picture… These are Red Poles.

WEDNESDAY March 20th

Karen@That Other Blog   

Susan @That Other Blog     

Sowing Stitches                                                                                               

Life in the Scrapatch       

Pig Tales and Quilts                                                                                         

Meadowbrook                                                                                                    

Marla's Crafts                                                                                                   

Gracie Oliver Arts                                                                                             

Humble Quilter                                                                                                 

Cherry Blossom Quilting Studio                                                                      

New Girl News                                                                                                 

Sunshine Quilting                                                                                             

Patchouli Moon Studio                                                                                     

Lovin' Life at the End of the Dirt Road      

Selina Quilts

THURSDAY March 21st

Janice@ That Other Blog                                                                    

Angela@ That Other Blog                                                                         

piece peace                                                                                          

Stitchin’ By The Lake                                                                                

Phoenix Heirlooms                                                                                     

Sew Incredibly Crazy                                                                        

Mamaccessories                                                                                    

Molly's Place                                                                                          

Kath's Creations                                                                                          

Get More Done Today                                                                                

Sew Many Yarns                                                                                         

The Distracted Domestic                                                                      

Sheila's Quilt World                                                                                     

UK City Crafter

FRIDAY March 22nd

Keri@That Other Blog                                                                       

Heather@That Other Blog                                                                          

The Sewing Club                                                                               

SewMuch 2 Luv                                                                                       

Englating                                                                                                    

Kris Loves Fabric                                                                                 

Crazy'boutquilts                                                                                       

Quiltsmiles                                                                                               

Ninis Patchwork Blog                                                                             

ArtFriendzy                                                                                              

Batiks by the Bay                                                                                        

Dancing Moon                                                                                      

grymerspalet                                                                                             

Love it Sew it

MONDAY MARCH 25th

Beverly @That Other Blog                                                             

Betty@That Other Blog                                                                      

Stitches to Sprinkles                                                                                

Stitch Duchess' Crazy and Sane Quilting World                             

Bejeweled Quilts by Barb                                                                          

Kathy's Quilts                                                                                         

Mountain Delights                                                                                       

Tea and Quilts                                                                                   

Charlottes Creations                                                                                 

Quilt Obsession                                                                                          

The Slow Quilter                                                                                         

Cali Quilter                                                                                                   

Little Pieces of My Life                                                                            

Creating My Comforts

TUESDAY MARCH 26th

Isabel @That Other Blog                                                                    

Jeanette @That Other Blog                                                                      

Just Let Me Quilt                                                                               

MacDonald’s Patch                                                                                   

Pots Pans Pins and Prayers                                                       

GrandMama's Stories                                                                            

Stitch, Stitch, Stitch                                                                                    

Needled d                                                                                                

Tomorrow's Treasures Today                                                                

Lemur on a Stick                                                                                         

Life In Every Breath                                                                                 

Zellerwear                                                                                             

Bumbleberry Stitches                                                                           

threads on my socks                                                                           

Hanging On By A Thread                                                                          

Fresh Cut Quilts

WEDNESDAY MARCH 27TH

Judy @That Other Blog                                                                      

lauraluvsloons and Quilting too                                                                   

Sew Sharyn                                                                                            

Sewingly Along                                                                                             

Anita's quilts en handwerken                                                                    

Quilt Doodle Doodles                                                                                

Val's Simple Passions                                                                              

Luv2Sew                                                                                                  

Busy As Can Be                                                                                       

Paws for Stitching                                                                                  

Quilting & Other Craft Therapy                                                              

pieceful life                                                                                                  

Live Love Labs                                                                                            

Felt pa Asly                                                                                           

Scrapbook-ChickADoodle

THURSDAY MARCH 28th

Kristin @That Other Blog                                                                        

Robin @That Other Blog                                                                        

Jane's Fabric and Quilts                                                                

Dexterdays The WorldThrough Our Window                                            

Sew Nicely                                                                                               

thistle creek cottage                                                                                    

My Art, My So Called Life                                                                            

Just Sew Sue                                                                                                

Co mne bavi...                                                                                             

life, quilts and a cat too                                                                          

TeaTimeCreations                                                                                            

Read, quilt, cook, pray                                                                                    

Cate's Linens                                                                                              

Shade Tree Quilting                                                                                   

Ladybug Dreams

FRIDAY MARCH 29th

Sharon @That Other Blog                                                                   

Patricia @That Other Blog                                                                  

Blessings From Our Nest                                                                      

Liberty Threads                                                                                     

Caribou Crossing Chronicles of Quilts, the Weather and other Fun Stuff  (that’s me )                                                                          

 Quilting, sewing Granny                                                                       

Creatin' in the Sticks                                                                              

Melinda Quilts Etc                                                                                      

Ga's House                                                                                         

Dachsies with Moxie                                                                                    

Hill Valley Quilter                                                                                       

Quilt n Queen                                                                                      

Madame Samm

Well I have to go…. the computer does make my head hurt… See you at the HOP.

Janet

Janet is not well

 

Today Janet has a guest blogger- me!

My name is Linda and I am a novice quilter who avidly reads Janet`s blog just to find out what she`s doing. I aspire to do some of the projects that she rattles off so easily, but I have not yet developed the skills.

So why is Janet not here you might ask. She has not been in tip top shape for quite some time and finally saw a doctor who diagnosed a concussion. So she is on ``bedrest`` or very quiet time until things start to improve. This includes no brain stimulation for a few days. No sewing, computers, television, or reading. Just rest.

For those of you who are not aware, concussion is very much in the news these days as it relates to sports injuries. What we forget is that it can happen to anyone. That smack on the head from opening a door or falling down or walking into something can cause the same kind of damage as a sports injury.

Usually you just have a bit of a headache and perhaps some slight nausea. The problem is in ignoring the headache, nausea, fatigue, and developing dizziness thinking that you have a touch of the ``flu`` when you really have a concussion. So keep that in mind the next time you bang your head against the wall due to snafu with your latest quilting project. Always follow-up with your doctor if symptoms persist for more than a few days.

Janet should be back soon so lets all wish her well.

Linda

 

My first effort at posting a picture. The resident squirrel chases the birds while competing for seeds.

 

This is a Red Crossbill it is a rarity for Carcross as our usual feathered friends of this genre is the White-Winged Crossbill.

This is how I spend my time :)

It is spring break so the kids are out of school for TWO weeks.  We never had spring break when I was in school, just a four day weekend at Easter.  When my kids were in school there was a one week spring break.  Now they have two weeks off school!  With the weekends that totals 16 days.  DGD was asking me today when they are going back to school and it is still eight days away. 

DGS and DGD were here for a two night sleep over and we had lots of fun.  The first day I was working and DH took them sliding and they had a campfire.  Then I came home from work and basically took over. DGD had three saunas in two days.  DGS had two saunas and a bath. 

Here’s how northern kids go to the beach… they have a sauna so it’s hot, and they lay out their towels to lie on and take in a pile of snow to play with just like they would with sand at the beach.  Just kidding – but almost not. 

They wouldn’t lie down in the snow and make snow angels for me but sticking their heads in the snow was a popular cool down method….

When DGD arrived she announced that she has spent the last few days sewing all kinds of items for Breann, her doll.  Breann was wearing this new shift that has a pocket that goes from top to bottom of the dress.  It’s on the left, starting at her underarm.

I’d just seen a cute doll skirt at this blog (I found this blog through the Easter Bunny Blog Hop sponsored by Melissa at Lilac Lane) that I thought wouldn’t be too difficult, so DGD made one up for Breann.  Breann didn’t bring any shirts with her to model the skirt with, so her dress top had to suffice. 

 

While trying to convey to DGD that she just needs to guide the fabric through the machine, not push or pull it, I realized that fabric is like water.  If you touch it, it moves.  Gentle touch is all that is needed to make movement and you can guide it slightly this way or that with just a light touch.  Sometimes when water is being rough – like waves or big currents – you have to use a bit of muscle to make it cooperate with you and the same is sometimes true with fabric, but mostly a gentle touch is all that is needed.

This afternoon we made notebooks inspired by this blog which I found while touring around the Quilting Gallery blog hop.  These started out being for their teachers but DGS gave his to his mom.  We made them a little differently than the suggested methods, the biggest change being that I sewed them together across the top rather than gluing them.  They have 15 sheets of paper each – all from used or unneeded return envelopes - and are roughly 3 1/2 x 6.  The covers are just a light piece of cardboard (you may notice they are from chocolate bars) with fabric scraps glued on. 

So my last two days have been filled with working, sewing and crafting with kids, saunaing (is this a word?), cooking and eating (DGS ate six waffles after this afternoon’s sauna), cleaning up, several walks (gotta keep up with the exercise), blog hopping, playing cribbage with hubby and all the other miscellanea that there is in life.

Really I just wanted to show off the pretty things my grandkids made.

Janet

The Year of the Finished Project–March update

I think I will have to rename this to the Year of the Unfinished Project.  I have a pitiful report to make this month.  I did get most of my swap items done.

1. 6  inch quilt block swap Done and blogged about on Feb 17th.

2. Bee Balm block swap   Also done and blogged about on Feb 17th

3. Block swap adventure Third one done and blogged about on Feb 17th.  I was on a bit of a roll!

4. Inchy hexagon swap – Finished them on Feb 28th and mailed them on the 29th.  Oh yeah – this isn’t a leap year…. Mailed them on March 1st

5. MMM Round Robin Got that first round done and showed my sneak peek on my Feb 24th FNSI post.

6. Simply Solids block swap This one was completed on FNSI as well and blogged about on Feb 24th.

7. Mystery Muse – two items – don’t have to be sewn, can be any genre – by the end of February reflecting the prompt “excitement” Neither of these are completed.  One is about 1/3 done; the other is a really great idea still residing in my head.

And I cavalierly said “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…”

Ha!  Not done, not done, not done.

What have I been up to this month?  Enjoying the weather… and the sun and the snow…

Zeke and I walking on the lake…

 

This morning 7 a.m…

For March I’m going to buckle down.  My March list…

1. Six inch quilt block swap – 2 per month – to be mailed by the 15th – oh and I have two partners this month so I have to make four blocks.

2. Bee Balm block swap –  I’m making a Scrappy Trip Along Block for this month

3. Block swap adventure – 1 - 12.5 in block – mail by the 25th  My partner this month asked me if I’d like to swap two blocks…. and she was my partner in the 6 inch swap back in November and the blocks I made never reached her.  So I might be making four blocks for her this month.

4. Inchy hexagon swap – 2 hexies per month – my request for this month is black and white petals and a red centre.

5. MMM Round Robin – I haven’t received my block to work on yet… hope it arrives soon.

6. Simply Solids block swap – I’m making a Scrappy Trip Along Block for this swap as well.

7. Mystery Muse – two items – Bad me.  I have to get these done this weekend.

8. Get your Hex On bee Hey!  I’ve already got this one done and mailed.

These are tiny little half inch hexies!

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…  This is becoming more crucial now as I am thinking I might give it as a wedding present for a wedding in July.

Oh and I mustn’t forget!!! I signed up for the Stitch Me Up blog hop March 20 – 29th.  Haven’t received my package of thread yet so I’m going to have to start stitching without it.  YIKES!!!

Janet