To Do List August 1, 2023

 

To Do List for the Week of 8/1/2023

I'm going to try this again! I'm going to use a weekly to-do list to try and make some progress now that I have cut back my work hours (yay, moving towards retirement!)

My workspace is in a bit of a state. My son-in-law is doing all the trim work around the windows in my area, after we had new windows installed last year. He is also finishing the trim work around the doors that never got done a few years ago. So this week's focus is getting the room back in order once he is done (hopefully by the weekend

!)

So this week's projects will be things I can work on either by hand in a different room, or things I can do in small spurts when he is taking a break (and I'm not working!). So here goes.

To do List for 8/1/2023

1.  Modified Rhododendron Trail (pattern by Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville): Prep binding while waiting for quilt to come back from the long-arm quilter.

2. On Ringo Lake (pattern by Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville): Same as above

3. Country Garden Cross-Stitch: This project came to the surface in the last month, as my interest in cross-stitch revived.  I hope to complete all the greenery and flowers this week.

4. Easy Breezy (L&E pattern by Bonnie Hunter): This is a joint project that my 8-year-old granddaughter and I are working on together, for her. I need to cut neutral blocks for 30 more blocks so she can come over this coming long weekend and work on them. (More on that later!)

 She has made 34 blocks so far! She has chosen all the coloured fabrics herself, I cut a bunch of neutrals for her to choose from.

Bonus: Birdie Stitches (pattern by Corey Yoder): Embroider one block.

Birdie Stitches Block #2 – Coriander Quilts

I've only done this cheery little block so far (Corey's picture) back in 2011, so that means it's been sitting waiting for 12 years!!

In the meantime, I have been using the opportunity of shuffling everything to purge! Most stuff I donate, but I do try to sell a few things so I can recoup a little.

Here is the state of my room as it sat yesterday morning, going counter-clockwise:

(I took this picture before the announcement)

Everything is shoved every which way, and into my overflow room. 

Here is my current work-from-home station! 

I took these pictures so I can see the difference once everything is back the way I want it!

The part of quilting I hate the most!

 I hate the de-threading process! I absolutely loathe it. But it is a necessary evil for a pretty quilt finish. I learned a lesson - never leave a flimsy too long or the loose threads get worse.

So how do I do it? First, I stream a good series on Netflix - this project warranted Bridgerton, Season 2 (my favourite!)

Then I assemble my tools - a good hot iron (love my Oliso!), sharp scissors, a lint roller, fine mist spray bottle (mine is a repurposed Febreze bottle), and light-weight fusible scraps for those edges that are a little to close. And in the case of this quilt, a cutting mat and ruler so I can trim the edge of those pesky on-point triangles.

I start from the top, and fold over one edge so that I can iron in sections, from the backside. I don't use water in my iron because I believe my irons last longer. First, I spray the section with a fine mist. Instead of buying the expensive ones at the quilt shop, I've discovered that air sprays from the grocery store use the same type of bottles. 

Once the section is ironed, I go over it with a lint roller and finally, with my sharp scissors trim off all the dangling threads. Sometimes I come across some seams that might be a little sketchy and narrow, so I use a little fusible to secure that seam. So far, that has worked out will for me.

This quilt is "On Ringo Lake" by Bonnie Hunter and it was her 2017 Mystery quilt. I started it back then, but only finished the top in February 2022 (not the longest finish, I'm afraid!). It seems each year I only did one step, until I finally put a push on it in 2021.

The sun was too bright today, but I love how the border matches the pool liner!

I also dethreaded "Rhododendron Trail", another Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt - thiIs one isn't nearly as old, only from November 2021.  I modified it a little and eliminate some narrow sashing and butted the blocks together. 

The sun blew out the colour in the picture above, but here is a better one on my bed.

I love how the border turned out!  Now they are off to the long-arm quilter!

One-Hour Project - Flamingo Pouch

 It's amazing what you can get done in one hour. I had to run a scan on my work computer, so of course, that meant I had a free hour (and a bit)!

My daughter asked for a little bag to hold some card games for an upcoming girls' trip that she, her sister and two close friends are taking. Of course, I had to do it!

The cards had a tropical theme, so I pulled out some Tula Pink fabric that suited it. (Daydreamer Pretty In Pink - Flamingos)

And here is the result - a custom-size pouch! 

The bottom is about a 4x5" rectangle, but when I boxed the corners, I didn't cut the flaps of the exterior fabric. Instead, I stitched the flaps done to give the bottom a bit of body. With fuschia ribbons inserted in the casing, it closes tight and nothing will fall out.

Love the placement of that shrimp! It is lined with another Tula Pink - Zuma Glitter in neon pink.

The light fabric makes it easy to see inside the pouch, and here it is filled and ready to be packed!

The girls are off to Haida Gwaii (formerly the Queen Charlotte Islands) off the north coast of BC (just south of the most southern point of Alaska to do some rock hunting and glamping. Can't wait to see their pictures!

Cross-Stitch

I used to be a prolific cross-stitcher, but once I started quilting in earnest, it dropped by the wayside for about the last 20 years. I've been seeing a lot of cross-stitching blogs and posts on Facebook, and I've decided to dip my toes back in (gently of course ---ha-ha!) I ordered a kit from Stitchonomy for their Christmas Stitch-along and got the first row done.

Then I ended up with COVID...after 5 of my 8 family members got it the week leading up to Christmas, I was the last to fall. I'm still coughing but will be able to go back to work tomorrow (boo), but cross-stitching has been a nice distraction while I recover. I'll post pictures once I feel a little better! 

And that has been my 15 minutes of stitching for the first two day of the new year. I failed miserably in 2022, so no updates for that, but hopefully this year will be better. Linking up to Kate's Life in Pieces blog linky party and planning on keeping it up in 2023!

Happy New Year to all!  Terri in BC

2023 Plans

Almost Happy New Year!!

With only 2 1/2 days left until the calendar changes to 2023, I've been thinking a lot about the goals and changes I want to make this coming year. I am only two years away from full retirement, so I also have to start thinking about succession planning. When my boss and I went over it, he finally realized I am doing the job of three people, (branch manager, mortgage broker/underwriter, investment consultant and compliance officer), so he thinks we will have to hire two full-time people, and I will continue to do the compliance on a part-time basis (good for me, as I will keep my benefits!)

I have quilting, cross-stitch and crafting plans, so I have joined Yvonne @Quilting Jetgirl 's

#2023 Planning Party. I was led to this by Barb at Cat Patches. (If you're looking for a good blog to follow, she posts almost daily and has a great sense of humour) PS: I'm Canadian, hence the spelling difference! I also have some personal goals, so I'm going to add those at the end of the post, so that I can hold myself accountable.

Goal #1.  Finish some quilts, make progress on some quilts, and start some quilts.  

I'm great at starting quilts, not so good at finishing them, so this year I'm focusing on finishes and progress. I will let my self start a couple, though!

Obviously some blanks to fill, but if I get the first six items finished this year, it will be wonderful!

Goal #2 - Spend 15 minutes a day stitching something, whether is hand stitching, cross-stitching, embroidery, sewing machine piecing or practicing on my new mid-arm machine.

Goal #3 - Speaking of my new machine, I would like to develop my free-motion quilting skills. I got some new books this Christmas for Graffiti Quilting, by Karlee Porter - I love her style.

Goal #4 - Get my studio under control. I need to purge and organize everything that is left, so that I can make the best use of my space. I did put in new cabinets in this year, so now that I have good storage and a defined space, it's time to do the purge!

I also need to press, cut and sort my scraps. I already have a system in place, but I was given a lot of scraps this past year. What I don't keep gets sent to my niece (same age as me on my ex-husband's side!) who has a group of quilters that do things for charity. The last couple of years, they focused on scrub bags and hats for nursing personnel, who were coping with the Covid crisis.

Personally, I need to prepare for three upcoming trips! I want to lose 50 lbs., build up my stamina and lung capacity so that I can do a lot of walking. My first trip will be less strenuous, as I am off to Mexico with my youngest daughter's family. The next one will be to Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium, so I need to be ready by May. The last one is tentatively booked for Provence, France and the French Riviera.

Wish me luck!!  Terri in BC

It's finally Fall! - What I've been working on

I had high hopes for the summer, but the weather was too nice to be in my basement sewing studio.

We had a very long, wet spring, but summer was glorious and the warm weather just ended this past week. Unfortunately the last month was smoke-filled due to numerous forest fires near us on both sides of the border. Fall is definitely here, but we may even have snow next week!! Work kept me busy, but now we are winding down a big project, so I'll have more free time.

I finally have felt some motivation to start putzing and getting things organized, and as I'm going along, I finishing a few things.

I pulled out a cutting project that stalled, and in small increments this week, I got it finished up.

It is all the pieces for Bonnie Hunter's Jingle Bell Square, even the sashings.(Pattern found in her book Addicted to Scraps - ps: the book is on sale, with a free pattern as well). I'm saving this to assemble during my Christmas break. I have done some test blocks, so I have 3 of 49 blocks done. See those red/green 1" strips? Instead of cutting out the strips separately, I sewed the strips together and cut the 4 matching pairs. This will save me a lot of time later on.

Strip sets ready for cutting!

A look at my messy work area. I do all my piecing on a 1947 Featherweight.

More projects behind the machine - each basket has parts for future scrappy quilts.

This project was a great way to use up some old Christmas fabrics - a lot came from my mom's collection and from fabric bags she made. She's been gone for 22 years now, so it is going to be a great memory quilt for one of my daughers.

Next up today - opening up my new-to-me 222 Featherweight!  I've dreamed of owning one of these for a long time. I can't wait to try it out.

Have a great day,

Terri

Happy First Day of Summer!

 It doesn't feel like it yet, but today is the first day of summer. The morning started with some sun, but just like it has for the last 8 months, it slowly moved to rain. I don't want to jink it, but maybe, just maybe the sun will come out on Thursday when the kids are finished school, and stick around for a bit!

The downside of the hot weather means that we will be on flood watch once again. Last November, we had terrible flooding in our area - so much so that my city became an island cut off from the outside world for a full week, and limited access for three weeks after. I worked from home for that whole period of time.

This is my route facing east towards home - and that is Highway #1, the Trans-Canada Highway running down the middle. They don't expect this area to flood again, but there are other areas that are in jeopardy. Needless to say, I will be bringing my computer home this weekend just in case.

Last Saturday I went to Quilt Canada, which was being held in Vancouver, about an hour away. I can't let it get this close without going, but I must say, I was somewhat disappointed. Probably because of the pandemic, I felt that it didn't have nearly as many entries, nor as many vendors as the one I attended four years ago. I'm still up in the air about the Best of Show winner. It was beautiful, but really pushes the boundaries of what I "think" a quilt is. You can see it and all the winners at Canadian Quilters.com

It is exquisite in its detail, and the border and the centre medallion had cutouts (it looked like Indian glass (Shisha) embroidery at first), with beading added. There were also very large beads like cabachons added with embroidery. It really was a toss-up for me whether this was an embroidery piece or a quilt piece, hence my hesitancy as to whether to consider it as Best in Show at a quilt show.

My favourite piece didn't win anything, It was called Dear Humans, but for some reason I didn't take a picture of it. Hopefully, I'll find it soon and post it. 

Now I'm off to sew for a bit!