Final part of the quilt show...

This one was a winner from a previous show...

it was spectacular!

 This one caught my eye...

as did this one....

 

and this one...

 

The workmanship in this one was so perfect...

 

Quite traditional...but very striking...

I believe this one was a winner from a previous show

as well (wish I had been smart enough to take notes!!)...

 

This one was another eye catcher - like the colours...

 

This one was a stack-n-whack, which is one pattern

I would love to try...

 

and here's a close-up of the stack-n-whack...

 

Dilemmas of the feeding sort - and quilt show part 2

Many of us are concerned and wondering what to do about the imminent loss of our Google RSS feeds...how are we going to keep up with our favourite blogs (including...ahem....this one!).  There have been a couple of really interesting articles posted lately on a couple of the blogs I read, and so I thought I'd point you in there direction so it can help you make a decision.  Many blogs, including this one, have a feature somewhere (mine is waaaayyyy down at the very bottom!) where you can subscribe to get posts through your email.  It's one more option you have

And now...

on with the show!!

(remember, you can click to embiggen)

This one was just so sweet - and lots of incredible detail...

There usually aren't too many quilts that I would consider that men 

would like, but this fits the bill...

 

Another one of my favourites (also happens to be done by a good friend).

Unfortunately I couldn't get far enough back to get a really good picture.

 

There were a couple of quilts using these bird images..

This one caught my eye for the relative simplicity of the design,

completely in tune with the Oriental style.

 

There will be another episode tomorrow!

Black project revealed...

I know at least one of my readers has been waiting for the beg reveal of the mysterious black project I've been working on, so here you go....

It's a purse!!

Here's the outside of the front...

 

 the back....

 the inside....

The pattern is the 'Gadabout' from Studio Kat Designs.  It measures approx. 9 x 9 x 3 1/2 inches and has LOTS of pockets.  I have added an extra pocket (which shows in the pictures above on the back) simply because I goofed and made one too many pieces of crazy quilting that I didn't need.  Couldn't let it go to waste so decided to simply make another pocket so I could use it.

Now I want to make another one in,

what else?

DENIM!!  

Quilt show

This week I'll be showing a few pictures of the quilts that were at the local quilt show on the weekend.  The mysterious black project I've been working on is nearing completion and hopefully there might be pictures of that to be seen tomorrow.  Stay tuned!

In the meantime....enjoy the show!  These are what I would consider 'scrappy' quilts....

I love how the use of red creates a heart on this one...

 

This one was very colourful - although not truly scrappy...

 

This one must have taken a lot of time to make...

 

The only evidence of crazy quilting to be seen at the show was in the centre of this quilt...

 

This one was simply stunning...

 

Last two black pieces

Here's the last two pieces I've been 

working on for the black project...

As usual, you can click on the pictures to

embiggen them.

  

Another completed section - and food

Here's the latest section I have finished stitching for the black project....

and a couple of close-ups...

For the food portion of this post, thought Id show you the box of produce we picked up today....all of this goodness for only $15.  We were a bit disappointed that there wasn't any asparagus or rhubarb included, but you can be sure that we will happily consume what we got!

Our weekend....

We spent the weekend re-doing our bathroom.  As usual, I forgot to take a 'before' picture, but trust me, it wasn't a thing of beauty!  The people who are in charge of our apartment building painted it before we moved in and decided that every square inch of it should all be blue....walls, ceiling, door....everything.  I like blue (it's one of my favourite colours actually) but having it surrounding you on all sides was a bit more than I could handle. 

Our bathroom is re-a-l-l-y tiny - typical of an apartment I guess.  The tile, tub, and vanity are all old - probably dating back to when the building was first built about 35 years ago.  The tile is basically white with stylized flowers in blue and gold (or what passed for it in those days).  The counter top is a blue-ish grey marble arborite.  Nothing 'goes' with anything else.  I brought home dozens of paint chips trying to come up with something that would work, and finally settled on a dark brown. 

Here's a couple of pictures...

The top picture is more true to the actual colour. 

We replaced the medicine cabinet above the sink (the other one was rusty beyond repair) when we first moved in and also picked up the additional storage cupboard that sits above/around the toilet.  On the opposite wall we have just put in a new towel rack (MUCH nicer than the generic one that was there before).  The 'tree' above the towel rack was a $2 find at a local store.   It was meant originally to be a candle holder and we removed the candle holders in favour of just the tree.  The only thing I want now to complete the re-do is something decorative for above the cabinet....I'm envisioning something with a touch of greenery in it and perhaps in the same style as the piece (a thrift store find) that the figurine stands on.  It's hard to tell from these pictures but the shower curtain is a white background with circles of blue, gold and brown which tie in with the colours of the tile and the paint.  

A rare gift

Yesterday we made a trip to the city (Toronto) to pick up a lovely blanket that was gifted to me by one of my online friends.  A couple of years ago I shared some old (early 1900's) needlework magazines with her and it seems she wanted to do something nice in return. (Thank you Jan!!)

I'll give you what little history I know (at least for now) on the blanket.  It is made of 100% wool - very scratchy and definitely not something you would want to have tucked right up under your chin at night, despite the wonderful warmth it would give.  It was made here in this town at the Horn Bros. Knitting Mills whose building has now been turned into apartments.  My mother-in-law worked there - probably in the early 1930's.  The building itself is only about a block and a half away from where we currently live. 

I haven't been able to quickly locate much further information on the Horn Bros., but I did find a picture of the building as it looked before it was turned into apartments.  The picture, unfortunately, is undated.

The blanket itself is in wonderful condition for being so old.  The binding has become quite worn and Jan very carefully removed it and gave it to me.  I will be able to re-use it to rebind it, although it won't be as wide as the original. 

Here you can see the blanket and a close-up of the label...

Thank you SO much Jan - we will treasure this!

Just a-stitchin' away!

One black section done...

I have added the little floral sprigs here and there, along with the wee butterflies on the left.  The insect on the upper right is a button cover.

Further on crazy quilting and embroidery my friend Pam Kellogg of Kitty and Me Designs has just released her new book and I'm so excited to know that mine is on the way.  I already know I will be making good use of it.  

TUSAL and more stitching done

First, I must show you the lovely flowers that arrived from our #2 son and d-i-l for Mother's Day...

 Thank you, Shawn and Winnie!!

I'm a couple of days late posting my entry for the TUSAL* challenge, but here it is....

Above is my pile of ORTS for the past month,

and below is my jar of ORTS dating from

the first of January.

One of the sections on my current crazy quilting project is nearly done.  Here you can see a button cluster (bottom of first picture)  and there's a real blingy button on the bottom picture, stitched down over top of a metal flower meant originally for scrapbooking.  The bling didn't show quite as bright as it is in real life.

* TUSAL (Totally Useless Stitch-A-Long);  ORTS (old recycled threads).  If you would like to know more about the TUSAL challenge, click on the link in my sidebar.

and more....bored yet??

Let's see....the seam on the lower-ish left is partially taken from one of Pam Kellogg's books, with the addition of the beads.  The little 'flower' just to the right of that is another from Pam.  I added a beaded necklace to the image and surrounded it with bling (part of a rhinestone necklace) and topped it off with a button.  Picture is clickable to enlarge if you so desire!

Still seamin'

 Above is a seam treatment from the first 'Elegant Crazyquilt Seam Treatments' book by Pam Kellogg of Kitty and Me Designs.  It's done using the waste canvas technique, which is one of my favourites.  BTW - there's a rumor afoot that there's soon going to be a new book available from Pam.  I can hardly wait!!

The seam below is from 'OuttaMyHead' designs*.

*for those of you who haven't figured it out - that's moi!!

Seems to me I'm seaming!

Black...and AAAAChoooo

Spring has arrived!!

Spring has arrived!!

Spring has....aaaaachoooooo.....

oh, yeah....allergies.
How could I forget?

Oh well, with the aid of allergy medications, eye drops, and saline solutions I'm surviving the onslought of those miserable allergens.  

and now for what I've been doing...