Repeat - the QAL

Wow!

Thank you ALL

for your sweet words.

I almost turned off the comments for that last post.
But, now, I'm so glad I didn't!

Your loving kindnesses have been so healing!
I am truly blessed.


I have been participating
in Elm Street Quilts'
Repeat - the QAL.

I chose a scrappy approach
and had lots of fun.
I saved paper piecing the letters
until after I cleaned up from supper...
....it was a calorie free dessert!

It is now in the queue
to be machine quilted and I'm so excited!
I've already freed up some space above my sewing area
to hang it in all it's glory.

I'd like to send out a big thank you to Patty  for hosting this fun QAL.
I know it was a lot of work putting it together and keeping it going.

By the way, the entire paper pieced alphabet
is available for purchase in Patty's Craftsy shop!
I know I'll be incorporating them in future projects.

I am linking up to
Elm Street Quilts Let's Party!
Stop by and see all the different Repeat - QALs
that are being posted!

Enjoy your day!
And thanks, again, for all your support.

~karen

Embrace Life

Sometimes........

......life just happens.

And you have to 'get a grip'.

You need to sew,

you need to keep busy,

but your brain is going in a million different directions,

your emotions are a tangled mess.

Such has been the case for me these last few weeks,

and, thank goodness that when The Scrapmaster

could no longer deny her alter ego,

and introduced The Fabric Pig,

she also became a fabric snob,

and I was in the right place at the right time.

Armed with two big bags of her cast off solid fabrics,
and inspired by this beauty made by Smiles from Kate

I was able to do some mindless 'cutting and sewing therapy'.

My father has passed away at the age of 83.
Despite the age factor,
it is always a tremendous blow
when you lose a parent.

I feel so blessed to be a quilter,
to have this passion,
to be able to channel my energy toward the positive
while I process life,
and yes,
death.

Perhaps it is the teacher in me, but isn't there always a lesson?
Today's lesson:

Embrace Life

"I Challenge You", She Said.

I think I'm catching on.

This one's for you, Anja!
If you hadn't challenged me, I'd probably still
be staring at it, wondering where to begin!

June OMG Accomplished

June has been a funky month.

The weather didn't decide to cooperate until 

the very first day of summer.

Whew!

That was a long, cold, wet, miserable wait!

That said, there's nothing like stepping out first thing in the morning

and smelling that ocean air!  Rain or shine!

Justly so, there was a lot of sewing time

and I was able to complete the top for my June OMG.

My rule is to use what I have

and I only had enough dark navy for a 60" x 60" top,

so I will incorporate the remaining blocks into the backing.

Dare I try to commit to having the quilting completed

for my July OMG?

I'm giving it some serious thought.

Linking up to Red Letter Quilts.

Hop on over to see some more beautiful finishes!

Enjoy your day!

One Monthly Goal

Being able to reestablish a little more routine into my every day life,

I'm going to try very hard to be a better blogger, 

both reading and writing posts,

without letting computer time consume me.

We'll see how that goes ;).

With so many sampler BOM's circling blogland,

I was reminded that I had a pile of old 6" sampler blocks

stored away in the bottom of my craft closet

that haven't seen the light of day in many years.

So, I dug them out and got to work.

These date back to 2008 when I spent an unexpected winter 

in Maine with little sister, The Fern Lady.

I had been wintering in Texas with Crafty Daughter,

when sister's brother-in-law was murdered

way up north in Caribou, Maine.

I hightailed it back east to help them through it,

and these blocks are how I kept my little hands busy.

I wasn't prepared - I didn't even have a sewing machine!

And I can't, for the life of me, remember where I got the scraps.

I'd like to see this become at least a flimsy by the end of the month,

and out from under the work table,

(Space is a little limited right now!)

I only had enough navy to make it 60" square,

(probably because I had so many miscuts trying to prepare supper 

and sew at the same time).

I'm setting this as a goal for the month

and linking up with Red Letter Quilt's OMG. 

(His murder is still a cold case

and continues to haunt his family every day.)

On a much brighter note,

I'd like to share this pillow with you.

When the NSQBQ met up at the Thistle Guild Quilt Show

in Westville, NS last week, we had a pillow swap.

The challenge was 'improv curves'.

(Yes, that's a bear's skull on my end table.
What can I say?)

I sure am accumulating some nice, bright colors in my living room!  

The afghan is a WIP, a 'to go' project from the last two summers

that finallly grew too big 'to go'!

Sheila, of Sheila's Quilt World made this delightful pillow,

and to say I was floored when I released it from it's pretty gift bag

is a huge understatement.  I heard, "Sheila, you go first"

just as I spotted the corner sticking out of the tissue paper,

and I had that pillow out before anyone could blink an eye!

Sheila went second, by default!

It must have taken her forever to quilt!

Isn't it beautiful?

Linda posted about our swap at Scrapmaster

if you'd like to see all the pillows and their new owners!

And now for some birdy news!

(This is where I lose Lesley!)

The other day, I went out to refresh the hummingbird feeders

and as I re-entered the house and pulled the sliding glass door closed,

with only 2 or 3 inches left to go,

I heard, "A ship, a ship, a shippy do", loud and clear.

Well, I was back out that door in a split second,

binoculars and camera in hand

to locate this much anticipated migrating warbler.

(as always, click on picture to enlarge.)

Magnolia Warbler

(Setophaga magnolia)

There were a couple of them and they hung around all afternoon,

replenishing their energy 

before continuing their journey further inland.

They were flitting around after insects, threading their way through

the emerging leaves of the willow trees, 

and were difficult to photograph.

These are the two best, albeit a little fuzzy, pictures.

Here's looking at you!

~Karen

OMGG!

Oh, my goodness gracious!

It's the end of May, and I haven't posted all month!
Contrary to popular belief,
I did not journey so far north
that I fell of the edge!
Here's living proof.

The NSQBQ met up this past Saturday
for the annual Thistle Quilt Guild Show
in Westville, NS
and what a time we had!
From left to right, (you already know that the tall goof is me),
Linda from Scrapmaster, Lesley, The Cuddle Quilter,
and Sheila at Sheila's Quilt World.
Linda has posted about our lovely challenge swap!
I'm sure she'd love to have you pop in for a visit!

I've only been able to grab snippets of sewing time,

as I've been helping The Ranger through a total hip replacement.

My sewing room was turned into a bedroom,

so he wouldn't have to negotiate the stairs.
But I have found time to reacquaint with my Janome,

Click picture to enlarge.

  

practicing on a pillow that I saw on Sew Mama Sew awhile back.
It was lots of fun to make!

Needless to say, I've had to relocate my machines!

My trusty Kenmore now lives under the kitchen window,

beside the wood stove,

which on one hand is a good thing,

considering it has been terribly cold
way up here in the Arctic
Cape Breton.

But a word to the wise...if your passion is sewing
and not so much cooking,
it's not a very good idea to have your sewing machine in the kitchen
when it's time to (begrudgingly) stop what you are doing
to prepare a meal.
Just sayin'.

While we're in the kitchen,
here is my new favorite one skillet meal.

Creamy Spinach and Sausage Pasta

(And yes, I can mess up this simple recipe, too,

especially now that my sewing machine lives in the kitchen.)

Have a wonderful and safe Memorial Day if you are in the states.

Let us remember the true reason for the holiday!

XO

Jiggity Jig

Home again, home again,

Jiggity jig!

Its nice to be back on Cape Breton,

but it is still brown, windy, and cold here.
This morning's forecast is 34 degrees
and snow flurries!

Prior to leaving,

I managed to complete pretty much everything on my list

before my Texas Kenmore broke.

This last finish was the most important finish.

These blocks were constructed in 2004
by my SIL's mother, Veronica,
who passed away three years ago
after a short illness.

I found these blocks tucked away in one of her notebooks.
A Hancock Fabric's BOM,
I surmise it was never finished because of
deteriorating eye sight,
poor quality fabrics,
and complicated blocks.

I added 3" borders to each block because there were only 9,
not one of them being the same size,
and practiced a little FMQ

I joined the blocks with a QAYG method,
and the finished size is 54"square.

This quilt will be gifted to
Veronica's only granddaughter
on her 10th birthday in August.

On a sad note,
my grandkitty of 17 years,
Miss Molly,

will be laid to rest today.
I'm so glad I was able to spend one more winter
loving on her and tending to her aging needs.

She surely loved her mom!
Rest well,
sweet Molly.