Life and field trips.

Queen Anne's Lace reminds me of snowflakes, when it is just the perfect conditions, one can see snowflakes in all their perfection on a cold day.  They are unique, in their own way.  With all this cold weather, a field trip was in order.  Gitta's was our destination.  If you enjoy stitching, Petit Point, tapestries with wool, making cushions, hand embroidery, this is the place to find it, all under one roof. This is a long post, so grab a cup of tea and enjoy some eye candy. Lets jump down the rabbit hole!

 Hardanger embroidery.

 Linens and fabrics in every colour and weight.

 These birds caught my eye, they looked so cute.

 Displayed in a cabinet, stitched treasures.

Floss and silks, these panels all slide to reveal even more varieties of embroidery floss, including had dye floss.

Samples decorate the store, around every nook and cranny.

They cater for every level of stitcher, including beginners.

This was the 2018 Stitch-a-long,  from tinymodernist.

They do framing and finishing of cushions, for those who like to stitch, but not be bothered with the rest.

These designs are Canadian, eh?

More stitched on this blue afghan.

 The bell pulls, display hangers for stitched pieces was amazing.

 This stitched box, up on a shelf.

 If you need help finishing the Christmas decorations, they have a class for it too.

 Patterns from all over the world.

 Traditional to modern can be found here.

Enjoyed these geese on this piece .

 Into wool embroidery? You will find every colour here. 

If you ever wanted to pick up a hobby, inspiration is here in abundance.

 Hand embroidery and transfers, including everything you need to create your own.

Afghan cross-stitch blankets.

Kits galore.

Cross-stitch ribbon, to create special finishes on special projects.

 The ceiling was also used to display tapestries.  No space was off limits.

Beauty can be found, even in winter.

A few pieces followed us home. Not only did we get a reprieve from cabin fever, we could escape from the cold and snow for a couple of hours.  Now we are ready, to get through the rest of winter.

Diane has been stitching.  This is how far along she is, with this piece.

Last, but not least, Love Entwined has leaves on the next round.  Now the flowers can be sewn down.
Saved the best bit for last, this quilt is just so special.

Brrr...it's cold outside!

We got a big snow storm, when we stepped off the porch outside, I was hip deep in snow. Only one thing to do, start shovelling, to dig oneself out.  Hubby tried to get his snowblower to start, except it decided not to,  today.  So our neighbour kindly step in and became our superhero for the day.  He cleared the rest of it,  off our driveway, after we had managed to clear half off the driveway.  What happened to just 10 to 15cm of snow?  We measured 35cm,   excluding the blowing snow.  Our patio table was covered in 20cm in four and a half hours.  As for the temperature?  It is expected to get even colder.

 My oldest UFO has this little bird, which originally I thought was a robin.  He is close to some holly with berries.  Doing a bit every week is getting the momentum going on the four seasons.  The paper pattern has become very fragile, so even more important to get this one done.

 The little baby hat, is finished. Night time knitting, while watching a bit of TV.

Once the decrease had to start, it made the top interesting.  All made from, left over yarn.

This bolt of fabric was a gift,  at Christmas time.  It is the background fabric for  Friends of Baltimore by Sue Garman.   Before cutting the fabric, the table was covered in a clear plastic tablecloth.  The background for quilt, had to come all from the same fabric on the same bolt.  Working with white fabric, sometimes require a bit more preparation.

All the blocks and border strips have been cut.  Kona is just the right weight to do all this applique on.  If the background fabric is to thin, it will pucker around the edges of the applique, preventing it from laying flat and smooth, once the applique is done.

This niffy bag, from Kate is being used so much.  Love the lining fabric, it has little paw prints all over and it is a happy sunny colour.

LE is coming along.  The prepped pieces with the background fits neatly in my bag on the go.

We are dreaming of warm weather and seasons still to come.  Winter is here, to give all the plants and trees a rest, covered in a white fluffy blanket of snow.

Working on UFO's.

We all have a few of these works in progress, which is not finished. They wait for us, until we get to them one day.  This year the list has already been reduced.  Feels good to get them finished.

Peter Rabbit is finished.  It was an experiment, to see what could be used, from my stash.  The back was pieced with leftovers from other projects, the batting is pieces from larger quilts, once they were done.  The second part of this exercise was to see how well hand and machine quilting could be used together.  Not so well, as a few bubbles resulted on the back.  As it is a love quilt, it will get used.

The process was an  adventure, which taught me a few things, along the way. It can be done, just do not mix the quilting methods with a pieced backing.  With one backing piece, this did not happen before.  Still enjoyed making this quilt.

 Linda finished this baby blanket. She will keep it for future grandchildren.

Diane started this piece, for her daughter.

This is how far she is already.

 Love Entwined is still a work in progress.  Every week a little bit more work gets done.

Started a baby hat, with leftover yarn.   Not enough to make a hat, but together it will be.

The poncho is done.  It is made with two rectangles, sewn together.

It keeps my shoulders warm, it is thick and chunky.  Perfect for the very cold weather and snow we are experiencing at the moment. 

How to make a receiver blanket.

1. When you go shopping, make sure to get 1.25 meters of flannel fabric from the bolt.  Or use some    fabric from your stash.  The flannel fabrics,  are from The Sewing Cafe.

2. Trim the selvages, on both sides of the fabric. They normally have the name of the fabric line, manufacturer and the colours used in the line, printed along one side.

Removing the selvages,   prevents the fabric from distorting the edge, once the blanket is made.

 Fold the fabric in half, place on a cutting board, to cut the sides straight.

 Align the ruler with the folded edge, this helps to cut the sides, straight.

3. Also trim the remaining two sides straight.

4. Now you have a rectangle to work with.

5. Next you want to trim the square corners, into round corners.

6. Just use a side plate from your kitchen, turn it upside down, align it with the sides of the fabric.   Trim the excess fabric, with a rotary cutter.  Do this for all four corners.   

7. Zigzag or serge the edge of the blanket.

8. Turn over the serged or zigzag edge and stitch it down with a straight stitch, on your sewing   machine.

9. In a short time, you have a quick gift for a new baby.  With so much cute flannel out there, you   can whip up a few receiver blankets in no time.

10.  If you wish to make them extra special, you could add a trim, or as they do in South Africa, add  a crochet edge to add more detail to the receiver blankets.

A new year, brings new beginnings.

This year my honest list is at 66 works in progress, down from last years, 78 projects.  The list is what can happen over a span of more than 30 years doing the same hobby.  Many projects got moved down the list when other unexpected projects landed in my lap.  Life happens.  A friend sent me this link.

It is neat, it allows you to add non quilting projects to it as well...

I received this birthday present in the mail.  This is extra special, as everything in it, is made from scratch! The round kitty purse, is actually for earbuds for my device, great for travelling and they do not take up much space.  A lip balm holder and a  small Parisian Girly Kitty zipper bag for my handwork project, for when we are on the go and need to wait, then we can work on it while we wait. Prior to this it was a small zip lock packet, no more need for a plastic bag! Kate made all these pieces.

The lip balm, cuticle oil and the Castile soap are all made by Corrine. If you have sensitive skin or allergies, this soap is the bees knees.  It is kind to skin, especially with winter here and snow coming down as this blog post is coming to life. Thank you,  to both of you for this heartfelt gift!

This week has been about getting back into a routine.  Packing away Christmas stuff, cleaning the house.  If everything is tidy, then and only then can we relax. Visual clutter is a distraction and just slows us down.  The kitchen,  got an overhaul the last week in December.  All the shelves are re-organised, cleaned  now.  Those empty mason jars on top of the cupboard are now filled and being used.  One room a week, the linen closet had its turn this morning.  Spring cleaning will be a lot quicker this year.  Spreading it out over time, makes it easier.

Planning and preparation always takes time, to this end, the list above, made me look at what I still needed to finish some projects.  Peter Rabbit needs binding and the 21st Pink horse quilt,  border fabric. Found them,  at The Hobby Horse.

Knitting is for night time, this is for a poncho, which needs two knitted rectangles.  This is leftover yarn,  from the hats two years ago, using what we already have.

This stitching project was started in 2000, recently finished the hedgehog and the chestnut.  Stitching is making a come back in a big way.  It is good to see men and women do this relaxing craft.

Diane's 2017 stitch-along.

 She finished her 2018 stitch-a-long.

These patterns will help to bring my scraps under control.  They were on my wish list.

Have a wonderful week, be kind to yourself and everyone around you. Let's change the world,  with one act of kindness at a time.