It is time to Celebrate!

Three years ago, this blog was born.  It is named after a little bird, a Chickadee!  They are happy and very friendly.  If you put sunflower seeds on your hand, it will not take them long to discover you, food and making sure the food telegraph is sent out to all their friends and neighbours. They share without holding back.  So with this in mind, I want to pay it forward with my favourite book company for inspiration:  QUILTmania!

I will be giving away a copy of Creating Heirlooms, One Stitch at a Time by Carolyn Konig. Please leave a comment about your favourite pattern of all time and why it has such a high honor on your best dressed list, no pun intended.

We cannot make all the patterns in every book out there.  Some are just for eye-candy, others for inspiration.  The others one open and escape into a world of make believe.  The one's you drool over the beauty of the artwork and the amazing creative works, sigh.  Then one wish one could do all of the above, alas, we would need more than one lifetime.  Those are the ones becoming coffee table books, to be opened and read with some good chocolate, they allow us to indulge in the serendipities of life.

Finding the Way, is one of the patterns in the book.  Here is the progress so far.  Changed the center, as I only had the one pink fabric and the pattern called for two pinks.  This is a wedding gift for my brother who is getting married over the summer.

 The cream fabric all prepared for sewing.

A rainbow of coloured squares.  They will all become triangle squares, when all is said and done.

Swe-Swe Fabric from South Africa.

PS: The winner will be drawn on the 1st of March 2018!

Early start on springcleaning?

These days,  it is all about keeping up with just keeping everything tidy.  Snow, lots of it.  It helps to shovel frequently, so that once the snow event is done, one are not left with a mountain of snow  and ice to clean up.  (Except, this past weekend...someone has a sense of humor!)

Housekeeping is important, including with current projects.  365 Challenge from 2016 is officially all cut out.  All ready for sewing and finishing the blocks. Taking the time to do this preparation up front, makes sewing the blocks a lot easier. A few more months to do. Making a start after a long break, is always so much more difficult.  One block a day.

Diane made a baby quilt for a little boy.  Quilting it by machine.

The center is made with a panel.

The back fabric.

Retreat bag, made by one of the ladies in our Makers Club.

The lining on the inside.

Carol made this bright and cheerful quilt.

Purple binding and a fresh spring green backing

Diane took the plunge and joined the 2018 mystery stitching sampler, stitch-a-long.

Her progress so far.

Christmas presents, this year.  One request for a tea cosy.  This fabric is perfect for it.
Alice in Wonderland fabric, you can find it here.

Pouncing stencil designs on dark and light background fabrics.  A quick way to mark quilting lines.

The Hertfordshire Quilt.  Playing with the next round. Will only start to sew this in two weeks time.

The snow along the path.