A Few Finishes

June is over all ready?

I do have a few finishes.

I just kind of poke along at my own pace.

First up,

"Keeping Perspective"

My first (and maybe only) foray into modern quilting.

Inspired by a quilty blogging friend of many years,

who embraced modern quilting, and

despite reoccurring medical issues over the last two years,

she never appeared to skip a beat, never stopped smiling,

and continued sharing her knowledge and skills.

Her word of the year?

Perspective.

"Keeping Perspective" was custom quilted by

Natalia Bonner of PieceNQuilt.

Pop over to see!

Her pics are so much nicer!

Another finish was my Posie Quilt,

gifted to a friend who was just diagnosed with breast cancer.

It was delivered yesterday and she was just delighted.

Here's how I quilted it.

And here's the sweet label,

a freebie (mug rug pattern) from HugsNKisses.

I just took the flowers out of the middle of the pattern.

Last, but not least, I made a wallhanging for my nephew.

It measures 24x32.

He just got his first apartment and had a birthday, too!

June was a rainy, cold month.

Believe it or not, I'm still having warming fires in the mornings!

Here's hoping summer finds us soon!

XO,

karen

Real Life

Quick Post

Projects are often staged in cleverly arranged photo shoots,

but in real life, this is what's going on at my house,
with no time taken to edit the photos,
because as you can see, I've got work to do!
And my new laptop and I still haven't bonded.

1. The kit I am so glad I bought.  Helped me get back into the groove

after being away from the machine for so long.

2. My Elephant Parade, just short of half machine quilted.

3. Posies from the UFO bin for a friend 

just diagnosed with breast cancer.

UFOs rock!

4. The Houndstooth quilt I've always wanted to make.  

This will be my airfare quilt this year, 

purchased by the friend just diagnosed with cancer,

for her last and final grandchild.

This makes four!

She deserves a comfort quilt after making my annual

migration to TX affordable three years in a row!

5.  The Broken Dishes blocks that WERE going to be the border 

of the Posies quilt - oh, so long ago.  

There are enough for a sweet baby quilt.

6.  The afghan I'm crocheting during evening hours and on road trips.

7.  My next project, by The Raspberry Rabbits!

Last but not least,

your favorite,

a bird picture.

A Common Yellowthroat Warbler

whetting his whistle.

This is just a medium sized plant pot and saucer

turned upside down.  The birds love it.

I'm going to have a busy, quilty day

since it's cold and rainy.  Again.

Hope your day is special in some way!

XO

Double the Quilty Delight

Saturday dawned cloudy, foggy, and chilly
here on the water, but turned into the perfect day
to travel with The Cuddle Quilter to the annual

Thistle Guild Quilt Show

Westville, NS

May 30, 2015

and meet up with the
Nova Scotia Bloggers Quartet!

Lesley, The Cuddle Quilter, Linda, our very own Scrapmaster, 

and Sheila of Sheila's Quilt World, a Thistle Guild member,

stop to admire one of Sheila's entries in the quilt show.  

The back is just as pretty as the front!

During TeaTime, we had a fun, fun swap!
Armed only with each other's initials to embroider,
it was exciting to see what we each made!

Here's Linda Ooohing and Aaawing over the wallet
Sheila included in the beautiful batik tote bag she made.

I used a pattern from a Gail Pan book to make Lesley
a drawstring bag.

And Lesley used the same Gail Pan book
to make a beautiful tote
for Sheila

Always the industrious one, 

Lesley added a stitchery to BOTH sides!

Linda made me a cover for my KitchenAide

because she knows all it does is sit on my counter

and collect dust!

I'm excited to get my mixer down from winter storage

and dress it all up!  They are pretty heavy.

The Tea Room, so beautifully decorated,

was filled to the brim,

but it was like we were the only ones there!

We had so much fun, I know we were the envy 

of all those other quilters in attendance!

The afternoon was doubly delightful for me,

because upon our return,

I had a one-on-one show 'n tell at Lesley's house

of all the beautiful finishes she accomplished 

while she patiently waited out the long, hard winter,

as well as a sneak peak of her future projects.

Everything is even more beautiful in person

than pictured on her blog.

I was so inspired,

I couldn't wait to get home and get to work!

Spring Market Cornered

I love spring!

And I get to welcome this time of renewal in Texas,

Puppy helping me clean out and rehang birdhouses.

then in Massachusetts,

Alvin?

up into Maine,

Trout Lilies on the bank of a stream.

and now back home in Cape Breton.

My new barn quilt, compliments of Crafty Daughter.

(I might enjoy it more here in Cape Breton if it was a little warmer!)

After a month of travel and a week back,

I've finally set up my sewing stations,
reacquainted myself with my Janome,
and made my 'to do' list.

I've visited lots of friends and family,

My little sister, The Fern Lady, and my Birdman BIL.

have seen many migrating birds,

Yellow Warbler

and went hiking at some new places,
but now it's time to start sewing again!

I'd say I've got the Spring Market cornered, for sure,

and instead of new lines of fabric and patterns,
I enjoyed 'the fabric and patterns of nature'.

Speaking of visiting friends,
I had a lovely visit from Julia, all the way from Yarmouth, NS.
She blogs over at Jada's Quilting Adventures.
She was raised on the island and still has family here.
She brought her sweet sister to meet me, too!
She's a new quilter!
We never thought to get a picture, though!

Have a great week!
~karen

First Day With My New Shoes

Whenever I trip or stumble,

I always cover up my embarrassment with a sheepish grin

and say, "First day with my new shoes."

My laptop finally went to live in laptop heaven.

I haven't even been taking pictures 

since I had nothing to import them onto.

It took me a long time to choose a new laptop

because so much has changed 

and to say I was overwhelmed is putting it mildly.

I am not techno-savvy by any stretch of the imagination,

therefore, it has taken me all this time to gain the confidence 

to even open the lid!

So, this is my "first post with my new laptop".

Since I wasn't on the internet,
I was at the machine.
I finished and sent a quilt off to Natalia Bonner at Piece N Quilt

to be custom machine quilted.

I know, I know, you're thinking why didn't I do it myself!

Afterall, I have a new Janome, right?

I think it's obvious from this sneak preview 

that I swiped from Natalia's FB page

that I made a right choice.  I still have a lot of practicing to do before

I tackle a major project and produce anything that looks like this!

I was a little productive throughout the long winter months.
I made my sweet, little friend a special library bag
that I saw on Pinterest.

She's in preschool and goes to the library

once a week.  She loves her library books, 

and she loves to keep her possessions organized in bags,

(she's all girl!)

so how could I resist?

This might be a better look.

Couldn't send Avery a gift without slipping something into the mail

for her darling little sister!

Another finish was this

 quick quilt for Crafty Daughter.

It's a large twin to replace the one I made 

for her HS graduation 20 years ago.

She loved it to death and it finally had to be retired.

She picked out the pattern and the fabrics and I got right to work.

When we are together during the winter months,

she picks out most of my fabrics!

It's so refreshing.

By the way,

I did get new shoes! More exacting, sneakers.

Not the most attractive,

but I'm a walker and needed a sturdy, well made product.

They're kind of clunky, but I haven't had an embarrassing mis-step yet!

The big test will come when I get to Maine

and do some marathon spring birding!

I'm almost there.  Arrived in Massachusetts on Saturday,

and will be heading up in a week or two.

My new computer?

I'm not liking it too much,

but I know I'll get used to it.

Have a great day!

Thanks for stopping by.

Individual Goals

Two Red-shouldered Hawks flew into a nearby tree,

calling and calling and calling.

This House Finch was grooming himself on top of the fence

when he heard the menacing, relentless calls of the hawks.

He thought he might be safer

if he dropped down a level
and watched and waited patiently,
he'd be safe.

He's just so cute!

While his goal is to stay alive,

mine is to make a quilt for my nephew, a Marine,

from start to finish,

by month's end.

His sister received hers at Christmastime

and now it's his turn.

I want to leave it in Maine with his mom

for his June birthday

when I pass through next month.

I started with this pattern,

changed it up a little bit,

and got right to work.

This is only as far as I've gotten,
but I know if I commit
by linking up to
Sew Bitter Sweet Designs

I'll be sure to meet my goal.

I'd better get back to my machine!
Those small sawtooth stars are a lot of work!

~karen

QuiltCon Revisited

Quilt Con was great!

Upon arriving, we had to register, of course.

The delightful lady at the registration booth

recognized my name as soon as
my ticket was ejected from the machine,

introduced herself as Julie, The Crafty Quilter,

and opened her arms for a welcoming hug.

What a way to start my morning!

Speaking of Julie,

in November, she had a fun quilt along
that I couldn't participate in because I was in migration.

The Nordic Mini Quilt Along
has been at the top of my list to make
once settled, and I have the first two rows completed.

Back to Quilt Con.....

there were so many quilting celebrities there.

Amy Garro, Victoria Findlay Wolf, Jenny Doan....and more,

but the highlight of my adventure 

was meeting up with Linda of Flourishing Palms!

She is just as sweet and perky and lovable

as she appears to be in her blog!

Here she is, in all her glory, beside one of her beautiful entries,
and donning her cute, little selvedge edge skirt
and matching bag.

Don't ya love it?

She spent the entire morning volunteering as a white glove lady,

tirelessly hobnobbing with the public.

When we met for lunch around 2:00,

she was still just as bubbly and perky as if she'd just started her day.

I, on the other hand, was almost totally drained!

And now a tour of quilts, beginning with Linda's other beautiful entry:

There were so, so many more gorgeous quilts
that just took my breath away.
Seriously, pictures just don't do them justice.

Many of the vendors booths were just as much fun.
Some had crafty projects for charity,

others had crafty projects for fun,
and many hosted games and prizes,
and then there were some that were just beautiful!

We strolled through the vendor sale booths, too,
but I chose not to purchase anything.
They were just too crowded.

My only disappointment was the lack of products
for sale featuring QuiltCon...
no totes, no mugs or cups,
only t-shirts that read  "QuiltCon" across the little capped sleeves.
Cute, but youthful looking and awfully small.

 I'd like to take this opportunity

to thank my CraftyDaughter

for taking me on this amazing quilt adventure.