My first Needlecase

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I’ve wanted to make a pretty needlecase for ages and came across this tutorial at Sew Prim Khris’ blog. My first attempt turned out okay — particularly given how completely I seem to freeze when I use the sewing machine. Trying to stitch around those curves, gentle as they are, was completely nerve-wracking for me! I’ll probably do the next one by hand. It was amazingly quick — I had it done in less than half an hour.

However, I’m happy with it. This is the inside of my new needlecase.


The outside of the open needlecase.


The closed-up needlecase.

A close-up of the cute little ladybug button on the tab. I couldn’t resist! Ladybugs and flowers and leaves just go together. 🙂


All in all, I’m pretty pleased with how this turned out. I am SO grateful that I found that tutorial. I know I’ll make more of these.

Finally — just because — a picture of Smudge. This one cracks me up — asleep with a paw draped over the arm of the chair!

Summer has Arrived!

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I think summer has finally arrived. The roof garden has that “look” — all incredibly green and some little splashes of colour from the flowers that the gardeners have planted.

This is one view on the roof garden.


This is another of the tree that had all those glorious blossoms a few weeks ago. Now it’s just all leaves and SO wonderful to look at!


This is a view towards one of the flower beds. The gardeners were here most of last week planting flowers and it really does look lovely out there.


This is a close-up of one of the flower beds. We are SO lucky to have this little oasis of trees and flowers in the middle of downtown!


On the weekend, Lester decided he wanted to do some work on DH’s computer! It was so funny watching him. I’m not sure what he was after but he was determined to sit on that keyboard!

After I finally got him off the keyboard, this angelic face was looking at me as if to say, “Me? I didn’t do anything!” LOL


I got a fair bit done on the blue and white stars over the weekend and think I will have the top finished within 10 days! 🙂 Oh, how I wish I could do free motion quilting on my sewing machine but I cannot seem to get the hang of it at all. So straight line quilting it will be!

Progress Report

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I’m happy this week with the progress I’ve made on the blue and white stars. One more row along the sides, the finishing bits and a border and this top will be done! I absolutely adore working with this blue fabric. Am already thinking about the next blue and white quilt I might make using it!

I’ve also been thinking that a technicolour one of these would be fun — using all sorts of brights for the stars with a “nice” white like Kona Snow or something along those lines. I am now classifying white on whites as nice and not nice. LOL All because of trying to needle through that painted-on stuff!

They finally released a long-term summer forecast for us and I love it! A hotter and drier than normal summer. Okay — well, the drier isn’t so great, particularly for farmers, but the hotter? I can’t wait for the first heatwave! After the winter and horribly cold spring we have had, even days of 110+ with the humidex readings will be just fine with me. I remember my mother saying, whenever someone complained it was too hot and humid in the summer, “It’s a long winter, don’t complain!” She was right!

Lester — we almost caught him with his ruff in his mouth. Almost. He looks so goofy when he does that!

Smudge looking as though he has just woken up. I don’t think he was thrilled to be having his photo taken this time.


Stash Enhancement!!

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I absolutely adore working with the Oriental prints and look at these FQ’s, the latest to make their way into my stash!


I was thinking of doing Insanity (see this post) in Orientals, but have decided that that one will have to be done in shabby chic. I’m waiting, however, for an Inklingo collection that has half-inch hexagons before I start Insanity. I can’t even begin to fathom basting and English paper piecing the 10,000+ hexagons the quilt requires!

Now I need to find the perfect pattern to showcase those gorgeous Oriental prints! A few of these are so pretty that I’m half tempted to just do a simple border around the FQ and frame it!

I have been toying with the idea of doing the Lollypop Trees applique pattern. I thought I was safe as really bright prints just weren’t something that I had ever bought. So what do I receive in the mail last week? These!

They’re incredibly bright and a lot of fun to look at! I’m still debating whether I will make the leap and order the Lollypop Trees pattern. It just looks like such fun!

Smudge seems singularly unimpressed with the fabric acquisition going on around here!


Lester is also unimpressed. The chair Lester is curled up in is one that has been in my family for years and years. When I was a child, our cat would almost always pick this as her favourite spot. Since then, just about every cat I’ve had has made this a favourite. I think it must feel like just the right size for a kitty!

I think I was a tad too optimistic about the weather the other day. Last night there was a frost alert just slightly north of us. Frost alert in late May?? It has been so chilly we have had to put the heat back on! Yesterday the gardener was planting some more flowering plants. I hope they survived the chill last night! Will summer ever arrive??

Finally, Some Warm Weather!

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Today was a gloriously warm day. We even had a humidex reading in the 32C range. I’ll take all the heat and humidity I can get after the winter and then spring we’ve had!

The gardeners took advantage of finally getting warm weather and started putting in some flowering plants.


In another few days, this will look fabulous but for now it’s nice to see some colour out there! I’m not sure what the plants are, but they’re pretty.



This is Smudge about one second before he reached up to get the kitty toy (the blurry orange thing at the top of the chair).


Lester has a thing for pens. Leave one lying around and he’ll find it. Yesterday he spied a pen on the desk. He worked at it and worked at it and finally got it down on the floor. Of course, once it’s down on the floor, he immediately loses interest but it is fascinating watching him devise his plan to get that pen!


The blue and white Texas star quilt top is growing at a much more rapid pace than I had expected! With any luck, I’ll be ready to put border(s) on sometime within the next 10 days.

Printing Shapes for Blue and White Star Quilt

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I realized that I need more star points and 2″ white hexagons for the blue and white star quilt. So Saturday afternoon, after we got back from the LQS, I cut my fabric to size, ironed freezer paper on to the “right” side of the fabric and then started to print.

I’ve darkened these photographs so you can see the lines. The lines on the blue fabric I’m using for the star points look almost black. They’re not — they’re a red. I’ve tested my ink and know it washes out of fabric quite easily.

This one, I know, is rather tough to see. If you click on the photo to enlarge it, you will see the lines rather easily. The lines for the 2″ hexagons on the white fabric are a very faint blue that doesn’t shadow through at all to the front.

I had these ironed on to freezer paper and printed within less than an hour. Thanks to Inklingo, I have perfect, precise lines, cross-hairs at the intersections that make matching up seam intersections an absolute joy. They were cut apart quickly and I’m back to stitching some of the stars to add to the quilt.

I have to confess — I lie to my printer! Terrible thing to do, I know. 🙂 In order to maximize fabric usage, I usually set the page size at something slightly larger than it actually is. That way, the printer’s pre-set margins aren’t an issue and I can get all the lines printed right to the side or bottom of the fabric.

An Outing to the LQS

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We headed up to Sew Sisters this afternoon, hoping to get a Gypsy Gripper. No luck on that score, but they’re ordering one in for me. It’s a great store and I’m thrilled they’ve opened a shop here in Toronto!

However, I found a few goodies that just had to make their way home with me! First of all, this book by Kumiko Sudo.


I have two other of her books and absolutely love them so I can’t wait to give a few of the designs in this one a try! I’m thinking a few needle cases could be made with a pretty folded flower as decoration.

I’ve wanted to try sashiko for ages. Sew Sisters has these wonderful little designs which are perfect for a newbie like me. So I picked up the package with the fabric, the thread and the sashiko needles. I know, I know — I said I was going to stick to the blue and white stars, and I am, but I have been so curious about sashiko and these just sort of jumped into my hands! :-))

I’m going to try to be good and not start on this till I have at least the centre of the blue and white stars done but I can hear it calling to me! I’ll have to find the little embroidery hoop before I do anything with this, though — as it is what I’ll use for this.

I have had a few comments lately from people whose accounts are not set up to receive e-mail. If you don’t receive a reply from me to your comments, it’s because you’re not set up to receive e-mails on your account. It’s not that I don’t want to reply — I just can’t!

PWL: If you’re reading this — we enjoyed meeting you as well!

Progress!

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It is slowly growing. Now that I’m working on this again, I can’t believe I let it sit for so long!

Well, I can sort of remember why. The blue print is heavenly to work with. The white on white? A whole other story. It is very difficult to needle and reminds me quickly to put on my thimble! Never again will I buy a white on white like this with the painted-on design. I love the classic look of blue and white, but next time I will look for a white with a woven-in design!

Smudge loves to burrow in on top of the duvet sometimes. This picture cracks me up — one can hardly see his head!

And Lester curled up.


A Decision Made

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After lamenting about the UFO list I seem to have, and looking at the various projects I have on the go, I have decided to work on this one. It will be a lap quilt. There are enough of the star points for another 9 or 10 stars and while I may need to print a few more, it will still grow pretty quickly. 🙂


I love the pattern and I love the blue fabric I’m using for this. It’s a Lonni Rossi fabric and I just love how it needles!

My plan is to work on only one project at a time until it’s finished. I’m hoping once one is finished, I’ll have some momentum going and will then finish up another.

Of course, in the meantime I’ve signed up for the Four Seasons Swap Summer quilt. That was just too irresistible! I already have a few ideas for a little quilt for summer. What I finally decide on will depend on what my assigned partner likes.

There’s also a small project that I’m going to be doing over the next week or two using a variation on back basting that I’m really excited about. Both of those were things I had planned on before choosing to work on this blue and white quilt, so a couple of nights out to work on something else won’t hurt. My hope is that the blue and white top will be done by the middle of June.

Our weather is still abysmal. I cannot remember ever having heat on at this time of year like this. We’re having lows at night that are just above 40F! Unbelievable!

The Long Weekend that Wasn’t

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The weather for our long weekend has been — in a word — dreadful!! Chilly, rainy, windy. This is more the type of weather one would expect in October or November, not in mid May!! The Victoria Day weekend is always a bit iffy but this year was beyond words! So much for the traditional “open the cottage” weekend. If one doesn’t have central heat in cottage country, I would imagine this weekend was pretty miserable!

For pity’s sake, last night we had a wind chill value of -1C. A wind chill in May??!!? We just heard that it’s snowing about 80 miles north of here. This is unbelievable! And yet, they also say, in the same forecast, that we’ll be well into the 70s, perhaps 80s by the beginning of June.

Thanks to the seriously odd weather and all the barometric pressure changes, I have had a migraine the entire weekend. Didn’t get one bit of reorganizing done! It’s frustrating beyond belief — as I had plans.

The only thing I managed to do was make a list of UFO’s — and it’s lengthy. I need to finish a few fast and get some momentum going on finishing things. My problem is I get ideas, have to try out at least a block or two and then have pieces waiting to be added. I am going to try to not start another new thing that’s not on my current list until I have at least 2 or 3 items crossed off as finished. Whether I can do it or not is another story, but I’m going to try!

The kitties were quite content with the weekend — this has got to be one of my favourite pictures of Smudge. I cannot believe he sleeps like this, but he does all the time!


Lester, in soft focus, looking very elegant. This is totally misleading. He is very goofy. Start patting him and he immediate starts licking and chewing on his ruff. Does a very good imitation of a worm as he wiggles his way across the carpet in the living room or the duvet in the bedroom. He is a very comical cat!


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