A Mercerie and a Wanna-be

If you read my last post, you already know, I have been feeling pretty lousy. Apparently one does not recover from pneumonia at 60(-3months) as quickly as one does at 45.

When Mr. O and I left home, the plan was to have a leisurely 2 weeks at our son's. I have a quilting buddy who lives close by and we had at least 2 quilty days planned. One was at a quilt show, and the other was to sew the whole day away...a sort of mini retreat at which time I would get to make the Sept. Schnibbles; Mercerie by Carrie Nelson. We laughingly said that we would get the husbands to tend on us as far as breaks and meals. ( we forgot to tell them though lol)

Well, we ended up extending our stay by one week, at our daughter's out West, so that left fewer leisure days here. To complicate things a bit further, I ended up getting sick before leaving our daughter's home,( I think I must have picked up something at the hospital when our grand daughter ended up there for emergency...another long story...) which only escalated as I travelled and arrived at our son's. 

I have been quite ill, and in bed most of the time here; needless to say, I had to forfeit the quilt show, and so far no mini retreat either, but a girl can always hope. 

That meant no Schnibble either...so this morning I foolishly dragged myself out of bed to make my September Schnibbles...Ha!

It took me about 3 hours just to sort and pair my charms! This was going to be a BIG project for me today!

My fabric choice was La Petit Ecole by French General.

Stop for lunch and back at it again, for a couple more hours...well, I had to read the pattern a minimum of 14 times before I made the first cut and even then was second guessing myself...my brain was mush, from fatigue, drugs, cough medicine, lack of sleep and all just feeling really lousy. 

I made one block...turned out great! I laughingly said maybe I need drugs to increase my accuracy, so one to the next block.  I decided to stack the charms and cut out enough for 2 blocks at once...

Yup! You guessed it...I made a cutting error x 2. No extra fabric to cover the goof up...so I pieced things back together thinking it won't show after the quilting and washing. 

By this time I had to clear away things for supper prep, and by that time I was starting to realize that this Schnibbles was not making it to parade. 

This took me all day!  My Mercerie Wanna-Be.

My first time missing parade in a year and a half...very disappointing. 

I thought  I had things so well planned, but a nurse once told me while I sat beside my Mom's bed in the hospital, " you can make all the plans you want Dear, but you aren't in charge."

So true eh?

All is not lost though, because Sue picked up the slack and she has a lovely Schnibbles to show, even if I don't. Thanks Sue! 

She made her Mercerie in Countdown to Christmas. I am not sure but this must be about the 3rd Schnibbles in this fabric line...I think she likes it. Great job Sue!

So there you have it...one Schnibbles and one Wanna-be. Enjoy the parade!

“Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.” 

― Allen Saunders

Down for the count...

Was feeling pretty low the last couple days in Saskatchewan but I thought I was coming down with a cold. Now back in Ontario, but I have been in bed most of  the last three days except for a trip to the Emergency Dept. Seems that along with the horrendous cough,sore throat, sore ears, lack of energy, and several other undesirable things, it seems I have pneumonia in my right lung.

Needless to say there has been no sewing, blogging or sightseeing. 

Hopefully things will improve soon.

I Scratched An Itch

An itch to stitch that is. I will take you back a bit first. My daughter and son in law love to bike. They bought themselves a brand new Harley Davidson a little over a year ago. While they were travelling with us in Vegas and Phoenix this past spring, they picked up some Harley "stuff" with the intention of doing their den/family room with a bit of a Harley theme. 

Not the best photography, but everyone is sleeping and I did not want to start turning on lights to get better photos. I tried to find some Harley fabric, but was not very successful, so I made my own large logo...shhh our secret okay? Don't tell the Harley people. It wasn't to sell, but just fir a quilted pillow. It occurred to me that I hadn't shown a picture of it, so here it is....

I printed the logo and then cut out each piece and appliquéd it together and then quilted the top and made it into a cushion. Mr. M. loved it!

Before our visit, they managed to finish the room, and I have to say it came together very well. 

The photos really don't show the colours well, but the walls are black, clay, and dark rust.  Dear daughter covered some large canvasses in fabrics we had picked out in Phoenix. 

She totally revamped a plain WalMart clock into this beauty with some black paper, silver spray paint, Harley poker chips for the numbers, a logo for the centre and copper metallic nail polish for the clock hands. Great job Michelle!

I took the remaining pieces of fabric and  pieced and quilted another pillow cover for the sofa

Again not great colours  :(

So with great walls, a classy looking carpet, and a cozy fire, their room is quite welcoming!

I still have to make their quilt from a collection of head scarves, but that is going to have to wit till I get home. I borrowed a neighbours sewing machine and my sister's extra cutting mat and tools to help with the sewing projects but  the quilt will have to wait til I get home.

I got to scratch the sewing itch and they got another pillow. Oh, I also did some mending, but who wants to hear about that...yawn!

Seven deliveries made, a few more to go...

Last post I showed you a clothesline full of quilted projects. Since leaving home on this road trip I've delivered 7. I have three very happy grand daughters with dolly quilts. My daughter-in-law loves her Canasta table topper. My daughter was thrilled to receive Dulcinea; a new seasonal table topper. She and I have been painting the youngest grand daughter's room and her granny square quilt will look lovely on her bed. (I hope to have some pics of that soon).

Today, I gifted a friend with my Lincoln table topper for the kitchen in their new home...another happy camper!

So that leaves me with one lap quilt, one baby quilt, and one doll quilt to deliver, and the last topper is to be sold to a friend of my daughter. 

You know what that means eh?

There is going to be some empty space in my suitcase...so I did a little shopping today. I am getting ahead of myself though, so I'm going to backtrack a bit. We spent a few days with our son and family before flying out to Regina to visit with our daughter. 

Here is a shot of the girls with their doll quilts

One of the reasons for our trip to our daughter's was for Father and daughter to run in the Queen City Marathon. This was a first for our daughter and a fifth for Mr. O

They ran the half and I surprised them with new shirts for the run...

His reads " I am running with my daughter". Hers reads " I am running with my Dad"

...and run they did! Mr.O was a little disappointed with his time but his leg (IT band) gave him problems and he ran in a lot of pain for a good portion of the race, but they persevered and look pretty happy sporting their medals!

Well done! ... to my two favourite runners in the Queen City Marathon.

After a day of rest, we picked up a rental car and drove even further West to visit with dear friends and family. While here visiting. my friend Judy knew exactly where to take me...

She said, "let's go a few miles down the road to Beaver Lodge", so off we went.

This big guy is just out from the Visitor's Centre but just look what our real destination was...

 

Beaver Lodge is a small town with a big quilt shop, and the girls gave us a big welcome!

Erin, on the right is quite excited about becoming a certified Judy Neimeyer Quiltworx shop, and there will be a mention of this in the upcoming American Patchwork and Quilting magazine. Yay Erin!

These girls were super friendly and helpful and let me snap some photos of their marvellous shop samples. They spent time helping me look for a particular pattern( no luck, but thanks girls)

My friend Judy and I

Judy kindly offered to model one of the sample duffle bags.

I fully intend on making a few of these scrappy crocheted mats for the cottage. Aren't they cute?

I know you're wondering if I made any purchases, well, yes I did, but I am pretty pleased with how much restraint I showed.

A couple charm packs for an upcoming Schnibbles.

Some fabric...it was Moda 3 Sisters; it was red! It was also half price...how could I resist?

Doesn't this look like a great travel bag? I like bags. I travel. Enough said! 

Now, I'm sure your curious as to what that pronged thing was, sticking out of the top of my bag.

Have a closer look...

It's a wrought iron quilt holder for a 6" banner. It is made to stick in a large patio pot. It may become a gift...or not. We'll see.

So there you have it. My introduction to "Around The Block" in Beaverlodge, Alberta. Thanks Judy!

Hi, Remember Me?

I knew I was only home for a short five weeks before our next trip, so I spent as much of that five weeks as I could squeeze in, glued to Ruby (my sewing machine). She and I got reacquainted and caught up, so I neglected my blog...shame on me!

But I do have something to show for my absence. I was home exactly 5 weeks; the first few days were a write off due to jet lag. Then we packed and moved to the beach; the next day we had old friends come to visit for a few days, but after that I got down to the business at hand. 

This is what I accomplished...

All in all, there are 10 quilted projects, most of them gifts. There is a twin sized quilt for my great grand daughters "big girl bed", a baby quilt, 4 doll quilts, 3 table toppers, and a lap quilt for a birthday gift. I also managed to finish crocheting edges on a couple dinner napkins, and cut out some printed linen and make four tea towels.

For the most part I am pleased. Did you happen to notice one of the toppers, is this months Schnibbles pattern?

Yup! I squeaked in another parade entry. Canasta. This is a new pattern from Rosie's Quilt Company, and I love it.

Now usually I get to show you 2 entries because Sue make her version, and I do mine. My sister Barb has even started "Schnibbling", but this month they just "run out of month" and didn't get time to sew, so I am all alone on this float. 

Here is what Sue had to say when I asked her about the Schnibbles Parade,

" Sue, who is looking at the parade route and trying to pick out the best spot. Will I have to gather my quilt, chair, etc and stake out my spot on Sat night? I've never done that before, it might be fun. Maybe I'll see a few other Schnibble want-to-bees doing the same thing. Should I bring some handwork, a few magazines....oh, some treats as well.....my camera, tablet, an extension cord and charger, my Ott light....I wonder what time the parade will start? I sure hope it doesn't rain..........."

She is sorry not to have an entry ready for parade but promises to be there to watch the excitement.

Here is another look at my Canasta Schnibbles.

It has gone to live at my son's house, because my daughter in law had a birthday this week, and this was made especially for her. 

It's late and I want to get up early to get a good seat to watch the parade. See you there!