What's next.

 Been home for the last two days, so had time to prep some of the UFOs to cut, and to do some sewing.  After 4 days of sewing at the retreat, I was craving for some painting.  I promised my cousin that I would paint her grandchild with their dog, because they're dog passed away.  She wanted to commission me but I couldn't, she's my cousin.  So I got the painting done.  What do you think?  I added the original painting for a comparison, although I took some liberties as an artist to change a few things.

I'm quite happy with it.  Spent 8 hours on it and now it's time to ship it out.  Told my cousin that she needs to buy the frame.   

As for other sales, sold my husband's quilt.  He never used it and it was just sitting in a container.  Told him I would sell it on Marketplace because we don't need that many quilts.  Someone knew someone who want to buy it and it's sold.  Goodbye SeaHawks...

It still feels like new.

So now what??  I got enough UFOs to do.  I signed up for a UFO finish contest at the Quilt Guild.  I promised I would finish the following quilts:

• Washington Row by Row
• Medalian quilt (already done and being entered into the Fraser Valley Quilt Guild Show in May.
• Hand stitched quilt (twin size) - already completed but not showing the guild until the show in May.
• Eye Quilt (ok I'm thinking that this is the one I should continue on with).  It's a pixelated quilt.
• Wonderful Woodland by Art East Quilting Co.  Bought the kit about 4 years ago.  Cutting the pattern because it looks so Canadian with the Canadian goose.
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• Log cabin quilts that I'm making for a barn door.  I already had 20 done, now I'm up to 60.  That should be enough.  I sewing 4 of them together to make the bigger blocks, and then putting them into a larger block.

So that's it.  I think I'll cut the Wonderful Woodland and then doing some cabin blocks.  See you soon.

What I've done for October.

 Once more it's both for quilting and painting and it was a lot!!!

Smiling Face - Premie Donation quilt

Quilting scallops on this quilt to make it look like feathers.  It's over 60" x 70"

Take a close look at the side blocks.  Yes it's a panel.  The smaller blocks have the crow on books, two of my favorite things.

Even the sunflowers have crows in them.  I free style quilted around the crow and flowers to make them pop.

And then there's the one I finished at the quilting retreat.  64" x 83"

As for the paintings there's been a number of them as well.  Gave the picture below to a friend who went to Sadona for the first time.

Want to start Christmas gifts early. This is my first one for Christmas this year.

I did paint week but one of them really stands out, this one.  Sunflowers.  I love. it.

I'm also doing nude drawing, to get the body shape better.  But I need to work on my portraits as well.

Finally my favorite, the one I did for myself, because it's from my trip from June, on the Rhyne River, in Germany.  Which is the photo and which one is the painting?  

Do you think it's enough?  Well it wasn't.  I also did two pillow cases for donations and 3 placemats for meals on wheels.  Now that was it so far, and I still have a week left.

Lets see if I can get that Log Cabin completed, its on my UFO listing to get completed for the Guild.  So far I have 2 completed from the list but those two are going into the Quilt show this year, so I'm not showing anyone those....  Not even you....

Have a good night.

Went to a Quilting Retreat

 It was at Harrison Hot Springs.  It was also my first retreat so I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into.  I was on a waiting list, and someone cancelled so I was roomed with someone I did not know, but we met before the retreat, talked, were compatible (she's was really a nice person, really great and welcoming), and so I decided to go.

It was better than I expected.  Here's some of the view:

There are 5 pools, one from the Springs.

The room was lovely with two queen beds, and a balcony with a view of the lake.  The meals (breakfast and supper) were buffet style, and lovely with a variety of choices.  I really appreciated the salmon and all the salads.

As for the sewing, I had my own large table, able to space out.  They had 8 irons set up, 6 large tables to cut and pin your quilt, and space galore.  I really appreciated the set up, the lovely look of the hotel, and the service of the staff.  All together, I am DEFINITELY going again.

The results of 3 days two nights (I had to leave early):

I started this one with 6 blocks completed, I needed to have 40.  I made the flimsy.  I added the black borders to make it larger and quilted it today at home.  Straight stitch in the ditch, so I was happy with how it held the quilt together.  Look at all those strips.  The quilt is called Pick Up Sticks Petal Noir by Monique Dillard and it features Boundless Petal Noir jelly roll from Boundless Fabrics.

I also had some time to put together another 3 cabin blocks and sewed groups of 4 blocks together.  After talking to my roomie Jill, she helped me to place the blocks (of both quilts) and get the idea right about the log cabin blocks.  It's going to be gorgeous.  That's next on the list of things to do.

As for all the rest that I've done this month, that's for another blog story.  Night every one.

School has started but not yet for me....

There's not that many school TOC days on the listing online.  When there is one, someone snatches it right away.  Many new teachers are just subbing.  They don't want to be a full time teacher because they can call their work days when they want, not do report cards, and not worry about all the marking that's there for a teacher.  So with that in mind there are a number of teachers on call and not enough jobs on the board.  Thus for me right now it's only requests at this time.  But that's OK, that gives me free time to spend with my husband and do some crafting.  

Here's some of the things that I did this September:

A trip to Winnipeg Manitoba for an 80th birthday.

A visit to say goodbye to my hometown that I grew up in.  My husband went to his hometown as well to see it one last time.  They this the famous historical church of Fannystelle.  

I said hello and goodbye to some of my family in the cemetery

When I got home I did some painting.

Paint week 2026 with Alie Kay

Pumpkins anyone???

My Favorite one.  Love the grain.  So easy to do.

The one below is for a friend to give to her daughter who's really into Giraffes. 

And then I did some sewing that I promised the quilting guild that I would do.  The pillow case on the left the guild gave me to make for the Cancer Society for people getting treated in hospitals.  The one on the right, I had a panel so I made a pillow case out of it.

There were daisies on the panel so I bought a sweatshirt and made a jacket out of it.  It's important that you buy a sweatshirt that is twice as large as the one you normally buy because you're cutting all the seams off and then resewing it so you lose at least an inch all around the seams.  But it's really cut when completed.  The sweatshirt acts like batting for the jacket.  

I used leftover squares or UFO blocks that I made from other projects.  That really adds a zip to it.

If you want to make one I followed the guild's instructions but this video from Missourri Star explains it all.  See the video below.  Made the two of them (with some piecing) in less than an hour.  A great Christmas gift.

Now I want to make some for me!!!!

That's a lot in a month, so what's up for next month?  I made a quilt from a panel and some more of the fabric line.  It has two of my favorite things in it, crows and books.  You heard me.  The idea is to quilt it it in October, along with doing 3 rows from a row by row that's at least 15 years old.  I have two of the rows done, and I'm cutting out 2 more so I can sew them when I go to Harrison Hot Springs for a quilt retreat.  I'm bring at least 4 quilts to do.  One of a cabin style block from scraps I bought 7 years ago.  One is the row by row.  Another one is a pixelated eye kit that I started and stopped.  I got it from Craftsy before it was sold to a different company.  That's at least 15 - 20 years ago.  I love the eye pattern.  I took the course, bought the kit and then made my own pattern for a pixelated quilt.  The last thing I am taking with me to Harrison is unknown at this time, but something I'm sure to start before the retreat.  I think it will be another quilted jacket, this one with a zipper.  We'll see.

That's it for now, hubby is calling me for supper.  have a great rest of the month of September.  The leaves are really changing here in Vancouver Canada.  Stay safe.

Busy Beaver in August.

 Isn't it funny when you can't seem to sit still, need to keep on finding things to do but then when you're 63 you also definitely need a nap.....  That's the funny part.

I've been busy in August with the paintings.  See below.

Black Cat 10 x 12"

A tree in one of our favorite parks.  It's huge.

It's a retirement gift for a friend of mine.  His dog.

My husband.  Exploring portraits.

Lesson from my painting class.

The one I was really working towards.  It was hard, took my three days, but it was a birthday gift for another artist so it had to be perfect and really, I loved the actual picture and just felt that I had to paint it.  I have it framed and it looks even better in the frame.  

So I wanted to see if I could also do a portrait in water color and I was dying to do something in value colors, and the results is the picture of the girl below from another lesson from my watercolor teacher.  I really love it.

Still practicing watercolors as well.

A gift for a friend who is raising cows for the beef.

I've been doing a lot of quilting as well, but nothing completed.  I started a log cabin quilt with strips that someone gave me 3 years ago and it was hanging in our extra closet that my husband has his sports stuff in.  He kept on pushing to the side and one day while going through my stash on the bottom of the closet I noticed that so I've been completing 8 1/2" blocks.  I don't want to do another queen size, just want to get through all those strips.  Have done 40 completed but I need 64 blocks, so it's on my list of things to do for the retreat I'm going to next month.  YES my first retreat and I'm very excited.  Have enough to do, so I feel good about it.

Another one that I've been working on is a Kaleidoscope pattern, which uses a jelly roll and is very complicated and it just takes time to put the pieces together.  You can't rush that one.  Another kit going with me for the retreat.  I really love the colors in this one so you'll have to wait to see it.  It's a large lap quilt.  

I did fix a couple of quilts.  I put out all my autumn stuff (and painting some autumn pictures as well) to make me happy.  This quilt I have always moved but it was too small for my bed, so I enlarged the sides, and it fits perfect now. The colors are so rich, the colors of fall and the forest, that's why we both love it.  It's not that thick either so my husband loves it with the window wide open.  He's getting hot flashes so now he understands what I was going through LOL>

I also took off a piece of an applique quilt I made as part of a mystery quilting book.  It's old (at least 6 years), I've never used it, never hung it up, but it is pretty.  And I want to give it away so I took this ladder that the pattern ask for off the house to make the house look more natural.  See the white line going up to the windows?  Yup, that's gone.   I then had to requilt that section to make it better.  And it turned out really pretty.  I still don't want it because I have too many quilts, but I can give it away.  I'm at the point that I just want to make the quilts, not keep them.  But it's my husband that keeps on saying no I want to keep that one, and that one and that one....  so.....  I'll sneak it out one day.

I also did placemats.  I want to contribute that to my guild so I'm practicing to make sure I have the right size.  They're turning out gorgeous, but not the right size for the Meals on Wheels contribution.  I'll have to come up with another idea.  But I've been following an old old book that I got with patterns for every month a new placemat.  It's called Kim Schaefer's Calendar Runners with 12 applique projects.  I showed my husband the two I've made for September and October and he loves them, so I guess every month you'll see something here for a placemat, and some for contribution.

Can you guess which ones are for September and October?  I'll give you a hint, it's right by that ugly turkey one.  LOL

I have also been working on my lady quilt that I've mentioned a couple of times.  I made over 32 blocks to put around a stitched lady carrying flowers.  I found the piece in a second hand store, and the person had made it to put a quilt inside it (like a duvet cover).  I hated the thought of all that work for something so ugly so in August I sandwiched it, quilts all around it until it was solid, and then started to put different blocks from Sewcialites #3from the Fat Quarter Shop.  They have so many free sew alongs, it's one of my favorites.  See the link above to take a look at all of their blocks in different sizes.  It's a great way to improve your sewing.  And if not all the blocks make you happy there is always #2 and #1 Sewcialites.  I've completed the left side of the quilt and the bottom of the quilt.  It's a large queen size again so that's why I'm saying NO MORE QUEEN SIZE QUI:TS!

yeah right, lets see how long that lasts.

My guild starts tomorrow and one of the things we're doing is making a list of our UFOs.  I need to pick 5 that I want to complete this quilting year.  Every one you enter you have a draw.  You have to pay $2 I think to enter each quilt to try and get an entry to the draw.  Last year I did it and didn't get one done.  I got a lot of quilts done, but none that were UFOs.  I keep starting quilts and not completing them so lets hope this helps.  OK.  I think this is enough.

Happy quilting.

Cleaning my room….. and getting things completed.

 I cut out three different quilts getting them ready for sewing and one I’m prepping for quilting.  They are the Girl Applique, the Kaleidoscope,  one with a jelly roll, and one with scraps that is making a cabin quilt.  I need to prep the girl applique, and start quilting around it.  

The Kaleidoscope has 24 pieces to it, and I'm hoping to make 3 a day.  Already behind 3 but with this flu and a sore back, it's hard to do.

The jelly roll is all cut out and at least 4 different ones completed.  I'm hoping to do 4 a day as these ones take time, and it's a little complicated.  

Finally the cabin quilt (which is held in that plastic bag, which right now I have 24 completed, and looking at doing at least 10 or more a week.  That one will take over a hundred squares.  I'm hoping for a 60" by 60" top.  It will look great at the end.

The room is getting cleaner.  The projects are now in containers used for scrap book making.  I love how easy they are to store.  I put painters tape on them then write the name and the date on the tape so I know how old they are.  There's plenty of them so my idea is to get them down.  Some have been started and how they're UFOs.  That's more than enough drive to get them going.

Then there are the paintings.  The first three are water colors and the rest are acrylic.  I love acrylic painting but the watercolor is faster so it depends on my mood and how hyper I am too I guess.

and

That’s it, I’m feeling good about the whole thing.  Yes I know that's a lot.  I’m still enjoying the process, the quilting and sewing, but I am also getting the projects down, so I can choose the ones I want to create without feeling guilty about not completing what I’ve started.

Speaking of starting, I'm starting a new course in Acrylic teaching me how to make mist and doing a fox.  I'll keep you update.

Have a great week.