Jiggity Jig

It's been a blustery, cold spring in rural Cape Breton.

The thermostat reads 50*, but it feels more like 30. At least it's not raining anymore.
I've returned later than usual this year
and thought I might have missed the usual cold spring.
Oops!

It was certainly raining when Lesley, The Cuddle Quilter,

drove us safely for our first annual meet up with Linda, the Scrapmaster, and

Sheila, of Sheila's Quilt World

at a delightful little quilt show sponsored by

and Sheila's home guild.

She was our personal tour guide!

Here are a few pictures.

Lesley and Sheila

Linda and Sheila

Lesley and Linda

Sheila with her award winning Splendid Sampler!

Lesley admiring another beautiful example of Sheila's work.

On the homefront,

I've been getting a little sewing accomplished,

inbetween mowing the lawn,
which is more like a field right now,

and trying to get into sync with being back

after a long winter away.,
It might be cold, but it's peaceful here.

Early morning calm.  I can't resist reflections!
This is the view in front of my house.

The ocean smells so good when I step out the door to greet each new day
and the birds are singing from sun up until sun down.

Happy to be reunited with my sewing machines,

I'm working on the Star Spangled BOM

by Lindsey at Fort Worth Fabric Studio.

Lindsey was kind enough to send me the directions for the last

two months early so I could kit them up and bring them back to finish.

My Star Spangled BOM has a Texas theme

made from the leftover fabric from another long ago project.

Completing the blocks and sewing them all together into a flimsy

 will be my One Monthly Goal

for June.

Hope your week is off to a great start!

~Karen

Last Leg of My Migration

Mid-May in central Maine

is a lovely time and place to be,

especially if you don't mind bugs.

After all, bugs mean birds!

But I draw the line at ticks, I'm afraid,

and I loathe to leave the deck

because this is

"The Year of the Tick".

Eeeeee-ew!

Earlier in the winter,

I mentioned making Owlivia pillows from my scraps

to donate to the local police department

for them to have on hand when a call involves a child.

They are just the right size,

smaller than an 8.5" x 11" sheet of paper,

to not be cumbersome for tucking in the cruiser,

but large enough to cuddle and bring comfort.

I went through all of my larger scraps,

cut them to whatever size I could get out of them,

then Crafty Daughter sorted through them, matched them up, 

and did the non-sewing steps to make these.

A few of you reached out to me

when trying to make some,

so I thought I would share my addendums

to Sandy Gervais' great tutorial.

Most of the difficulties were with the eyes,

so this is where I will begin.

Sandy used a circular pattern that was printed 

on the fabric to construct her owl eyes,

but that is not always possible,

so I figured out how to use yo-yo's instead.

I think they add nice dimension to that

cute little face!

After a little trial and error, I settled on a 3-3/8" circle

 cutting it out just beyond the traced line,

hmmm, maybe 1/8".

I stitch just kissing the outside of the line along the raw edge,

then pull tight.

 I use a 1.25" circle and a 5/8" button as templates

to cut the whites and the pupils from felt for the eyes,

stitching first the pupil onto the white,

then the white onto the yo-yo.

Sandy uses buttons for the pupils,

and a dolls head needle to attach the completed eye 

clear through to the back of the owl's head.

I did my first several owl pillows like that, too,

but for this batch I nixed the buttons 

because I didn't want any small children 

to choke on them, and I used a hot glue gun

to adhere the completed eyes.

.

Two other little things I do to make them easier for me 

are pictured below.

I use tracing paper for my pattern

(you sew on the lines, then tear the paper away).

And I leave at least a half inch for turning under

and stitching up.

I get so frustrated trying to accurately turn under

a quarter inch.

I avoid it whenever possible!

This is not meant to replace Sandy's tutorial,

just to augment it,

so be sure to begin here

if  you would like to make one.

If gifting them, I will couple them with either 

the book Owl Moon by Jane Yolen,

or the chapter book Owls in the Family by Farley Mowat, 

depending on the age of the child..

I hope this helps anyone who would like to make 

something different for gift time!

Or perhaps some of you would like to do something different

for your community project.

It doesn't matter if your fabric is ugly,

because when they are completed,

they are all adorable!

Enjoy your week!

Cape Breton,

here I come!

~Karen

If I am going to squeeze in an April post,

I guess I had better do it today!

My absence has not been for lack of sewing, 

just the inability to stop long enough to boot up the laptop.

(Have I mentioned lately how much

I hate my (Dell) laptop?)

When last I wrote,

I was getting ready to make Crafty Daughter

a shoulder travel bag,

(aka diaper bag *wink*).

It took me a week!  Three days just to cut out the pattern!

But it was worth every minute.

She can wear it comfortably as a cross body bag,

or simply slipped upon her shoulder.

I learned many new techniques,

one being the insertion of a magnetic snap on the outer pocket.

Although it was a lot of work,

I'm hoping she wants a new one next winter.

I wouldn't mind making it again

and making some changes to better suit her needs.

In the meantime, small projects have prevailed, 

in the vain attempt to use up my scrappy stash 

so I can start anew next winter. 

 And, as always, the more scraps I cut up and Sew, 

the more scraps I generate!  They just keep getting smaller and smaller!

Thank goodness for Crazy Mom Quilts.

I have been having lots of fun with her

scrappy churn dash blocks.

Sorry, no pics.

Yet.

I’m less than a week away from my annual spring migration 

to the northeast corner of the continent!  

I’m truly looking forward to a week long visit in Maine with my sister, 

and finally arriving at my Cape Breton summer destination 

on May 12th.

Just a little heads up:
It pays to shop around.  I have been looking for a roll of Heat'n Bond Lite to take back to Nova Scotia for a Quilty friend.  Joann's doesn’t carry it in the stores, but it is available online for $19.95 plus shipping, which if I remember correctly, is $8.00.  So, I checked on Amazon, and found it for $10.34, free shipping with Prime.  Today, I was wandering around our local Walmart, which has resurrected a very small sewing department, and there it was, for only $7.97.  I had just placed the Amazon order, but I'll remember next year!

*

I leave you with a bird picture.

This beautiful male cardinal was framed so prettily,

against a gorgeous Texas sky,

during a mid-winter visit to a state park,

I couldn't resist snapping his photo.

As always,

thanks for visiting!

Sorry it's been so long.

I'll share more pictures next time.

XO,

Karen

SSS - Sewing Small Stuff

This is so true,

especially for makers.

I've pretty much only been sewing small

since my adventure with doggie blocks

and my two week visit to North Texas.

Playing.  Puttering. Using up scraps.

Brought home this pattern from a visit to a LQS last weekend,

Anything But Boring

and made Crafty Daughter this cute little snack bag.

It's a really fun pattern, has four sizes,

and is quite simple to put together.

But it took more than two hours!

I made the second size,

and lined it with laminated fabric for moisture resistance.

I'm looking forward to making one of the larger sizes

as soon as I find just the right fabric.

I've always been fascinated with granny squares,

and couldn't resist using up some scraps

to make these.

Unfinished, they measure about 4-3/4".

I have no idea what I'm going to do with them,

but they sew up quickly,

so I'm just going to keep making them

and see where it leads.

Crazy Mom Quilts

published a scrappy churn dash block tutorial

the other day

and I couldn't resist! 

I copied her quilting, too!

It was the perfect way to make Crafty Daughter 

some fresh, new pot holders.

When I showed them to her, she said,

"I wondered if I was ever going to get some new ones!"

So, thanks, Amanda Jean!

I really loved making them.

It was difficult not to make more for a quilt,

but I showed restraint.

And it's a good thing I did,

because that same day, CD bought a travel shoulder bag pattern

for me to make her for her annual trip to Washington, DC

with her students.

Sew Much Ado

It will be a challenge.

There are a few things I've never done before.

Just cutting out the pattern and taping it back together

was a monumental task.

I'm excited to start sewing!

I took a page out of Linda/Scrapmaster's book

and made a new pillow from my little bitty triangle scraps.

These were saved from my blog hop quilt with Tilda Fabrics.

I don't know if you can tell from the picture,

but I quilted it with mint green thread.

And last but not least,

I prepared a wall hanging, to gift a very special little girl,

for my hand work during my travel back east for the summer.

Once I embroider the word circle,

I'll applique the dresden plate.

~

Oh, oh, oh,

I almost forgot!

Yesterday, I saw a Great Horned Owl for only the second time ever,

and was able to snap a quick picture of it.

As always, if you click on any of my pictures,

they will become larger.

Thanks for popping in!

Enjoy your week!

~karen

Again and Again

The international on-line community of quilters

never ceases to astound me.

Bernie's 'Spread the Love' campaign

has been an amazing success,

and I have no doubt that Amy is 

overwhelmed with doll quilts to augment 'A Doll Like Me'.

For stats and an update,

please take a moment to visit Bernie's latest post.

I think you'll be astounded, too!

I am proud to be a participant,

and, as I declared in my New Year's post,

my intentions are to use my scraps as I generate them,

so I see this as a perpetual project.

From my scrappy Tilda Fabric corners,
after making Sweet Reminiscence

for the blog hop, I fashioned this sweet pinwheel quilt.

I included some of the larger scraps for doll clothes,

and slipped it into yesterday's mail to 

A Doll Like Me.

On my recent visit to North Texas,

my quilter friend generously donated some already made 3" blocks

that she had acquired from the estate of another quilter.

Since I couldn't wait to get my hands on them,

I whipped up a second doll quilt that would be suitable
to accompany a boy doll.

A peek at the backing.

Again and again,

when the word gets out,

quilter's respond!

Amy of A Doll Like Me should be all set for awhile!

Way to go, Bernie!!!

~

I'd like to take this opportunity to congratulate the winners

of my little give away from my blog hop post.

The random number generator chose:

Carol S.

Lee

CalicoJoan

& Ioleen

to each receive a Fondle Your Fabric decal.

They have been contacted by email,

and their decals will be sent out in Monday's mail!

If you'd like a Fondle Your Fabric decal,

please contact me by email.

The Etsy shop is out of stock at the moment,

but that doesn't mean we can't take care of you!

They make great gifts, are easy and inexpensive to mail

(just slip them into a card),

and look great on mugs and water bottles, too.

Enjoy your day!

Thanks for visiting,

karen

A Very Special Delivery

Mission accomplished!

My daughter and I delivered doggie quilts, etc.

to Second Chance Farm in Granbury, Texas

on Saturday afternoon.

Second Chance Farm has a storefront,

so we weren't actually able to 'go to the farm'.

We met up with the lovely Valerie,

and after telling our story,

began showing her what we brought
starting with the smaller items.

Here is a wallhanging,

donated by a sweet woman from Calgary, Alberta, Canada,

(no blog) called "Raining Cats and Dogs".

Valerie was beside herself.

But wait!

My daughter then pulled out sets of placemats,

and she couldn't believe it!

Next, we unveiled a wall hanging donated by sweet Tish

(Tish's Adventures in Wonderland)

and she couldn't believe her eyes!

Out came a quilt.

Valerie was floored!

Here she is checking out the back.

Finally, the last quilt for today.

Valerie said, "Now, let me get this straight.

These doggies were made by people all over the world?"

She couldn't believe the generosity

of all you quilters!

A very special thank you to everyone who made this possible.

We couldn't have done it without you!

Thank you to my Quilty friend, Jill, for the use of her machine,

and to my other Quilty friend, Miss Susie,

for the opportunity to have a photo shoot on her beautiful property.

I spent one week with each of them.

We used to teach school together 27 years ago!

I moved away 20 years ago,

(my how time flies)

yet we still remain close.

I'm a lucky girl!

I have been working on doggie blocks
since the first week in December
and I'm ready for a break.
Time for a new project!

xo,
karen

My Day to Put a Little Love in Your Quilt!

Welcome to my stop on the 

Put a Little Love in your Quilt blog hop!  If you’re new here, 

just a little about myself.  I am a snowbird, dividing my time between Texas and Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada.  

I have the best of both worlds!  

It seems as though I’ve been quilting all of my life, 

yet I learn something new 

every day.

I have had a lot of fun preparing for this special day 

and I am glad you are here to share it with me.  

I don’t often participate in blog hops, but every once in awhile, 

one comes along and grabs me!  Such was the case with this one.

Last winter, I acquired a new pattern 

from Loft Creations called PaperDolls, 

but I knew I wasn’t going to have time to make it.  

I did, however, piece two dolls to test the pattern 

to see if it was as fun as it looked. 

Oh, yeah!  

I knew I’d revisit the pattern in the near future.  

The thought of paper dolls evoked 

such pleasant memories from my childhood.

Right about that same time, there was a call 

for heart blocks by Cluck Cluck Sew, 

so I whipped a few up and sent them off.  

I knew immediately that I wanted to combine the Paper Dolls 

with the heart blocks one day.

When Carol asked for hoppers, 

I couldn’t resist seeing this as my opportunity
to combine these two blocks somehow.  

Now, I’ve always had a fascination for Row quilts.  

I even collect them on a Pinterest board for that 'someday' that seldom seems to come along 

because there are just too many patterns and blocks and designs, 

and I want to make them all.  

Ahh, yes, another perfect opportunity!

At the same time, I won a fat quarter bundle
of Tilda Fabrics 
from Red Pepper Quilts, 

and when they arrived
in the mail,
everything fell into place.  

Don’t you love it when a plan comes together?

So, with a nod from Stephanie (it’s always nice to ask), I set to work.

Voila!  Introducing Sweet Reminiscence!

To thank you for visiting my blog today,
I do have a little give away.

I will use the Random Number Generator
to select four comments to win
"fondle your fabric" vinyl decals.

(As shown on The Scrapmaster's sewing machine!)

Being quick and easy to slip into the mail,
these allow me to open up the give away to international visitors
without having to be concerned about the rising costs of postage.
(I won't be choosing winners
until I return from a two week visit with friends
on February 19th.)

Please be sure to visit the other talented blog hoppers
on today's schedule, the last day of the hop,
as listed below.
I'm sure you'll be in for some great surprises!

A great big thank you to Carol
of Just Let Me Quilt
for a wonderful job setting this all up!

February 8

Sew Incredibly Crazy

KaHolly

Moosestash Quilting

Kwilt Krazy

Kwilty Pleasures

Patchwork Breeze

Home Sewn By Us

Sew Many Yarns

Seams To Be Sew

Just Let Me Quilt

Enjoy your day!
Thanks for stopping by!
XO,
Karen