Category Archives: miscellaneous

A Little Knitting

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Carrying on from yesterday’s post, knitting was the craft on which I focused most of my attention after giving up crocheting.  Fortunately, I was able to make us both a number of sweaters before I had to give that up.  The cable sweater above is one of my favourites that I made for Mr. Q.O.  I think it was the last one I completed before having to give up.  There’s one other sweater that needs only to be sewn together and its neckband done.  I may try to tackle that this summer as it’s a fabulous deep pink cotton sweater which I made for myself.

In a way I’m grateful the issue with my hands forced me to give up knitting as that was the beginning of my fascination with quilting, although at the time I didn’t accept it very gracefully.  I kept trying to push my limits and keep knitting, to my detriment.  When I finally really got into quilting, I was thrilled to find that playing with fabric colours and patterns was endlessly fascinating.

On a quilting note, two more blocks are all that are left to piece for my aunt’s quilt.  I’m finding I can piece two in an evening so, with any luck, I’ll have them done tonight, put them together into a row on Friday and then stitch the row on to the top.  I’ll get the batting out of the package tomorrow to let it relax and will wash and iron the backing.  Now I have to decide whether to hand quilt it, which might be really pushing it as far as time goes, or do some simple machine quilting.  If I’m hand quilting it, no basting will be necessary but if I’m machine quilting I’ll be heading to a neighbour’s on the weekend to borrow her living room floor to pin baste.  Pin basting on the floor here becomes an adventure with my kitty helpers.

We had really odd weather on Wednesday.  Very windy but also quite warm.  Rain would pour down for a while, then the sun would come out, clouds would then start to reappear and then, a few hours later, the same would repeat.  By Friday we’re supposed to be in the beginning of a protracted heat wave.  I can’t wait!

The cats took advantage of a mostly cloudy, rainy day and snoozed.

A Little Lace

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In my pre-quilting life, I used to do a lot of lace crochet.  Over the years I made lace tablecloths for my mother and aunt and had started this one for myself.  Crocheting was the first craft that my hands rebelled against and I had to put this away when it was the size of a large rectangular shawl.  I’m thinking of trying to finish the last row and perhaps use it as a very lacy dress-up shawl when the occasion warrants.   There’s a dime next to one of the motifs in the next picture.  Lace was my favourite thing to crochet and I had great plans to make lace window treatments.

After crocheting was out of the question, I focused on knitting.  That lasted for a number of years until the rheumatologist and hand clinic told me that knitting was absolutely the worst thing for my hands.  Thankfully, quilting doesn’t seem to cause anywhere near the problems that the other crafts did.

We have been doing some reorganizing and during that, I opened the cedar chest and discovered the lace piece.  I had totally forgotten about it.

Smudge was rather intently watching as I laid the lace out on the floor to photograph it.

Lester wasn’t interested at all.  He was happily asleep curled up with a teddy bear.

Pincushion Fun

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Among other things, I made this little pincushion on the weekend.  I used some of the 1″ hexagons from the Inklingo POTC collection and 1″ squares to make it.  Stitching the two little blocks took no time but stuffing it and then stitching the last seam closed took a while.  It’s a great size for a portable stitching kit.

The opposite side:

Do you have a favourite fabric you try to include in many of your quilts?  I have these two.  These fabrics have both have been in many quilts I’ve made.   I bought 3 or 4 FQs of the little squares one, and am getting close to the end of it.  I think some of it will show up in the Spring Circles quilt I make for us while the almost solid pink may be my second option for the outer edge pieces of that quilt.

We had fabulous weather on the weekend.  A bit drizzly on Saturday but after that it was just gorgeous.  Monday was nice and hot with a humidex reading of about 32C or 90F and it’s supposed to be even hotter today.  The first heat alert of the season was issued on Monday.  Our long-range forecast looks like it’s going to be warm for the whole week.

I’m going to extend my break from blogging through until next Monday.   My hands have been bothering me and I’m trying to limit the time on the computer as much as possible for a few days.  Mr. Q.O. may pop in with a post or two, though.

My sewing machine went in for service on Friday and I got it back on Saturday.  One of my goals for the next few weeks is to try to spend at least half an hour every day using the sewing machine and getting used to piecing on it.  All because of the  hand issues — so I’d like to feel more comfortable about using the machine if I need to.

This is a rather rare shot of both kitties curled up together.  They get along and have, at most, mock battles, but they do not generally curl up together.

Getting Organized

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… was what I started doing this weekend.  This stack of boxes?  The perfect size boxes for me to handle.  I had picked up some of both the large and smaller ones at Staples a few weeks ago and realized that even full of fabric, the larger ones are not too heavy for me to handle.  So this weekend, Mr. Q.O. headed up to Staples and brought home a bunch of them.  Next weekend is our long Victoria Day weekend and I plan to use some of the time to reorganize my stash completely into containers I can handle.  I can’t even begin to count how many times I’ve had ideas for something and have given up because it would have meant trying to move boxes that are just too heavy for my hands to handle.  This is going to make quilting a lot more fun!

The smaller boxes are great for holding the pieces for projects as well as small cuts of fabric.  This box has all the pieces for 2 quilts and some for two others.  What’s in it?  The pieces for the remaining six Farmer’s Delight blocks and all the pieces for 15 Seven Sisters blocks — more on that in a minute.  Also in there are the pieces for about 8 or 9 more Spring Circles, also known as Alabama Beauty, blocks and half a dozen Summer Picnic Dish blocks.

After showing the photo of those 2 Seven Sisters blocks last week, I remembered that I had printed and cut all the pieces necessary for more Seven Sisters blocks but couldn’t quite remember what fabrics I had chosen.  Turns out it will be another blue and white quilt.  Each block will contain stars in a different blue fabric.  They are so quick to stitch that I think that will be a lap quilt that can get completed in a relatively short time.

While the weather on the weekend was fine, we didn’t get a shot of Spring Circles.  Hopefully we will this afternoon.  I’ve got just over half the blocks for the next row to be added done now and will hopefully have that row added before the week is out.  With any luck, I’ll get the row after that started before the weekend and possibly be looking at having the piecing finished before the end of the month!  I have the silk batt ordered and it should be in within 2 to 3 weeks, so perfect timing.

Lester was on windowsill patrol quite a bit during the weekend.

While Smudge snoozed.

A Cautionary Tail

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See this innocent-looking pincushion with the needle and thread?  A needle threaded just like this one caused a huge amount of concern over the past few days.

Saturday afternoon, I was sitting on the couch hand piecing.  As I was getting up for a moment, I parked my threaded needle in the pincushion and turned my back on it for a second.  I don’t know what I was thinking — I always pick the pincushion up and move it out of reach.  But that second was all it took.  Smudge, attracted to the thread, was instantly at it.  We heard him make an odd noise, turned around and there he was at the pincushion.  We immediately looked in his mouth.  The needle was visible but we couldn’t get it.

Off we raced to the emergency vet clinic, which is very close, where he was taken in to the vet immediately.  It took us probably no more than 20 minutes to get there and have him seen but, in that time, the needle and thread had disappeared — he had swallowed them.  They took x-rays and could see the needle in his stomach.

The vet then told us the options, none of which were particularly marvelous.  She could try surgery although she said she sometimes would have trouble finding fine needles and, of course, it was a #12 sharp that he had swallowed.  That would cost a few thousand dollars.  We could have a specialist come to do an endoscopy in the hopes that he could get it, but no guarantees there either.  That would cost a thousand or so less.  Or we could do nothing, feed him a very high fibre diet and pray that he managed to pass it on his own.  What a choice!  So here we are with a 10 year-old cat who had eaten relatively recently, which would make anaesthesia a risk, and wondering what to do.

After talking about it for a while, we rather hesitantly elected to take the conservative approach and feed him the high fibre food with the understanding that if he showed any signs of discomfort we could immediately bring him back to the emerg clinic.  During all this, Smudge is showing no discomfort at all.  His only problem was he was at a vet’s, which is the place he hates most.  And there are dogs around and Smudge really, really dislikes dogs — has even been known to growl at them.

So five hours later, we’re back at home watching Smudge’s every move.  I decided to stay up all night with him, to make sure that there would be someone awake and observing, just in case.  Which was why, as an aside, I was able to get a Pickle Dish block done so quickly.  I was so grateful to have that block to work on – it was involved enough to keep me alert.  (That’s probably the only quilt-related part to this whole post.)  We fed him the high fibre food constantly.  Thankfully, he liked it!

Sunday came and our regular vet office called to check.  Smudge seemed fine.  They said to call Monday morning to bring him in for a follow-up x-ray.  Which we did.  The x-ray showed it was likely he would pass the needle on his own sometime within the next 24 or 36 hours.  Our regular vets, who are absolutely marvelous, said it was in the best possible position for him to pass it on his own.

So since Saturday night we have been watching and waiting for him to pass the needle and thread.  Tuesday evening he finally did pass it, with no discomfort at all.  In fact, I think he’s probably wondering why on earth we were so elated.

I hesitated writing this post but if this story helps to reinforce the need to keep needles and threads out of the reach of cats and dogs and, for that matter, even small children, then I think the story must be told.  All it takes is turning your back for a second and they can get in such danger.  I have never felt so irresponsible in my life!  One thing’s for sure, I will never leave a pincushion anywhere within kitty reach again.

And the subject of the story?  He’s fine.  This was him relaxing Tuesday night, in a classic Smudge pose with a teddy bear.

Getting Ready for One Flower Wednesday

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Last week, I won this beautiful notions box designed and painted by Kaaren at The Painted Quilt.  The shading of the flowers and leaves is fabulous — I hope it’s as evident in this close-up picture as it actually is.  The little butterfly at one corner is such a wonderful touch.

The inside is pretty too.

The colours couldn’t be more perfect.  The shade of pink of the exterior is maybe one or two shades lighter than the walls in the living room.  The inside is almost the same shade as the green in the side drapes and the lining of those drapes.  What could possibly be better than a dusty rose and green? Even the beads Kaaren used to make the handle are incredible.

It truly is a treasure and one that I will make great use of and treasure.  In fact, I plan on keeping my hexagons and threads for One Flower Wednesdays in it!  Speaking of which, I’ll fill it up later today and stitch a flower or two.

It was unbelievably chilly here on Tuesday and windy again.  I think March was warmer than the past couple of days have been.  However, we got a few more shots out on the roof garden on Monday.  From the west side of the roof garden, we can see the CN Tower.

There are two crab apple trees on the roof garden.   When the gardeners start planting, the flower bed surrounding this one is a riot of beautiful flowers.

Lester showing, once again, why we think of him as our house lion.

I think Smudge was just waking up when we took this shot.

Monday Miscellaneous

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When picking up the frame on Saturday from Sew Sisters, I couldn’t resist these fabrics for the Alabama Beauty blocks.  It will be mostly made from stash but I will need to add a few fabrics along the way as I want to have each circle in the quilt unique.

The roof garden has been opened for the season.  We were out there for a while on the weekend.  So far, there are only a couple of little daffodils blooming but lots and lots of green shoots starting to show in the flowerbeds.

All of a sudden the grass on the roof garden seems green as can be.

We have been taking care of Winnie since Friday morning.  Last time we took a picture of her was shortly after she had been given the kitty lion cut last fall.  Now her fur has grown in as seen here.  When we go in, we’re greeted most times by the loudest meow imaginable.

The weekend saw some very lazy kitties in this household.  Lester curled up in one bed.

And Smudge curled up in another.

I Got Framed!!

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See this picture?  This wonderful quilt frame?  It’s a fabulous solid oak quilt frame that does away with the necessity of basting, folds up easily for storage and is a great asset for any hand quilter!

On Easter weekend, my favourite quilt shop, Sew Sisters, had a contest.  Every purchaser of fabric got an entry.  Sew Sisters had a very similar contest last year at Easter.  That was the first time I saw one of these frames and I’ve been wanting one ever since as basting is a nightmare and holding a hoop is completely beyond my hands’ capabilities.  When Judy announced the contest on the Sew Sisters blog last week, I knew I had to buy something and get an entry in the contest.  A few half metres of red batiks were purchased and a lot of finger crossing began.

I don’t usually have good luck in contests like this but this time —  I won!  When I got the e-mail from Judy Tuesday afternoon, I was thrilled — once I got over the surprise I had actually won it, that is.  I think the cats jumped at the noise I made when I read that e-mail!!  There are 3 big quilts waiting for quilting, a number of smaller ones and now — well, now I can’t wait!  I’ve done so little hand quilting in the past couple of years that the first thing I’m going to do is make up a sandwich of muslin and batting and get back into the rhythm of hand quilting before I start on any of the quilts.

The frame is made by Heartland Quiltworks, a Canadian company.  We’re picking it up from the shop on the weekend.  I can’t wait to get it home and try out quilting with a frame.  I have visions of the cats curled up under the frame and probably being little mischief makers trying to catch  the needle and thread.

There’s a table runner pattern I’m working on that will feature, among other things, this star.  I made it with the 6″ Storm at Sea collection.  The background fabric I used is one that I’ve had for ages and absolutely love working with.  It’s almost of the same thread count as a good batik but needles so easily.  I’ve been looking for the right pattern in which to use it for years.

The back:

It was a rainy, drizzly, somewhat cooler day on Tuesday and the cats didn’t spend any time on the windowsill.  Smudge did spend a lot of time in my desk chair, though.  It seems to be one of his favourite spots.  I’m not too sure what that look is all about — perhaps a bit of a Morris look.

Lester also has a funny look on his face.  He was actually awake but closed his eyes as he really dislikes the flash of the camera.