New Work...spring has arrived.

It seems when spring arrives my blog is totally ignored. So here goes I will try and play catch up.  
I had a great winter finishing up projects.

 Bonnie Hunter's pattern Smith Mountain is finished and gifted to one of my favorite nieces.

 These little girls ( something like sunbonnet Sue) is finally finished after waiting for a couple of years. Gifted to another favorite niece.

Here is a close up of one block.

This wonderful pattern was received from  a friend down east. First quilt I ever did in solids...and again waited for many years to be quilted.  It is staying with me.

More to come soon.
A city north east of is has evacuated due to a huge Forest Fire. the largest evacuation in Canadian history, at least 81,000 people. I will be busy making some comfort quilts for the evacuees.  I hope you are having a wonderful spring. I love being outdoors digging in the dirt. 

Splendid Sampler and UFO's

I have finished the first block for the splendid Sampler. I am looking forward to a lot of fun making these blocks, learning new techniques. Mine will be scrappy, working from stash. Here is block# 1, To learn all about this wonderful event click the link below.  Pat Sloan and Jane Davidson are hosting.
Here is a link for the Splendid Sampler


And  you can see more of the Block #1 Hearts Aflutter here :)

I have been real busy finishing up UFO's . I am disgusted with myself that I have so many not finished. 

Here is one I finished. I can't find the pattern but I know it is a design by Rosalie Quinlan.

It has been waiting two years or more to be quilter. Hand embroidered and work of love. 

and some close up pics. 

 

This was my first redwork quilt and I have to say I really enjoyed the process. 

Another UFO is this quilt "Spring Bouquet" by Edyta Star. It was waiting for the four borders to be appliqued. Happy to say it is totally finished. 

I used the embroidery stitches on my sewing machine to do the applique. It is lot's of fun to do applique this way, and I love the finished product. 

I will post more in a few days. We have had very mild winter up north, very unusual. +12 last week and lilacs are in bud!!!  Way too early and I fear our next cold spell will do them in.

I hope you enjoyed some of my progress, have a great day. 

Cold Up North, Great Sewing Weather.

Continuing on with the UFO's.  Of course the PQM (please quilt me ) pile is growing, I will get to that pile soon.
It is very cold up north -29 with the windchill today and we have very little snow. Maybe 2 to3" compared to the 2 ft we would normally have. Perfect weather to be tucked in the studio doing what I love.

While waiting for this years MQ, from Bonnie Hunter I started Pfeffernusse. Decided to do it scrappy and it is ready for quilting.

 

I was not thrilled with my scrappy job, but got a thumbs up from Bonnie, so am pleased and will learn to love it. I know someone will like it a lot. 

I am now working on an Edyta Star quilt that I started 3 yrs ago...for some reason quit at the borders!

Here is the center of the quilt. A lot of appliqueing with embroidery stitches.

 

And here are three of the four borders, #4 is under the needle getting stitched. 

It does feel good to get some UFO's done. 

 

Here is a close up of the stitching I am working on one border 

I also found a Pam Bono, all cut out, itty bitty pieces in baggies....one unit done. It is from 2008, the pattern is Daisies in the Cabin. I will start working on it soon. 

Shhhhh, don't tell anyone, but I am doing Allietare! again in a different colorway, Green, taupe, dark brown, pink and neutral. I love the pattern so much. I am treating it like the MQ and doing a clue on each Friday. Finished clue #2 yesterday, I know I am crazy. 

I

 I hope that your 2016 is off to a good start . 

Thanks for dropping by.

Allietare! and Ballroom Dance.

I loved this years Allietare! Mystery Quilt by Bonnie Hunter. I am sure it is my favorite so far, and this is #6 for me. I already have a new colorway picked for a second one. I finished the top, added a four patch border, as I needed a bit more overhang for my bed. And now I see that I messed up a few of the four patch blocks in the quilt...oh well we are not all perfect, and I for sure know I am not :) All the fabric came from my stash, which makes me very happy.

I also really enjoyed Link Up Monday, seeing everyone's' progress and wonderful color combinations. 

I hope to quilt this on the longarm at the local quilt shop...I am thinking music notes...for some reason while working on this I kept thinking of music.

I am busy working on projects that are half done.

This one is a Judy Neymeir pattern called Ball Room Dance. 

Again, I used all the batiks from my stash , and can't believe how much I have left!  

Stash just seems to multiply overnight. 

This is my first full size quilt using Quiltworx paper piece method and I thoroughly enjoyed. 

I do have some quilting ahead of me. That is fine we have lot's of winter left. And I enjoy my winter sewing. 

Next on the UFO list is to do the borders on an Edyta Star quilt that  I started a couple of years ago. 

Hope you all have a wonderful January. 

Allietare! reveal .

What a surprise to get the last clue and reveal so soon. I was sure we had a few more clues for the MQ.  If you missed out on this MQ, click the button "Allietare!" on the left for all of the clues.

I was worried that my burgundies were not bright enough ( but they reminded me of wine/grapes) also that my grey was too dark...all my worry was for naught, I am thrilled with my colors and am in love with this design. Bonnie is a wonderful designer, this has to be my favorite so far.
Here it was a few days ago: I sewed like mad to make the corners and a few blocks.

Than had to take a break to get my house back to normal after the holidays.

 I settled in this morning and finished making the blocks, you might say I had a sew a thon!The middle is finished , no borders yet. 

I am in love.  Very glad that I stuck with Bonnie's color theme, it really does say Italy and I see music notes quilted on it in the very near future. 

To view what others have done with Allietare! visit Bonnie's Link up Monday

http://quiltville.blogspot.ca/2016/01/mystery-monday-link-up-reveal.html

I have been working on some UFO's....and I have quite a few. 

I was working on this charity quilt when the last clue came out, I did finish quilting but it is still on the frame. Will take it off tomorrow and add binding. 

And than get the borders on Allietare! 

I look forward to viewing all my new friends blogs, there are so many different colorways being used. 

Happy New Year!

Allietare! Clue #5 and UFO's

The hustle and bustle of the holidays is just about over for another year. We had a wonderful Christmas with family.

 I did find some time to sew clue #5 of Bonnie Hunter's MQ...Allietare!, you will find a link to all the clues if you click the Allieatore! button to the right.   Bonnie is so giving, every year a new mystery and it is always a highlight that  I look forward to.

 I love these little units,they remind me of birds flying.  I have made all 98, but they do need trimmed to size.

These were quite simple to make. I am not using a constant grey, and my neutrals are a bit blah compared to others. I promise in 2016 I will buy more fun neutrals. 

I had really hoped for more gold with this clue, oh well perhaps the next clue our gold will get out to play.  

I love looking at all the blogs and seeing how others are progressing with the mystery quilt. I am  linking up to Bonnie's Monday Mystery Quilt Link Up. 

Allietare! Link Up Monday

Still working on UFO's...and I have a lot. I can cross one more off my list. 

I started embroidering these barn blocks about 3 years ago, had started the filler blocks but never finished. I am proud to say it is now completely finished. It was a labor of love. All the barn quilts on the barns are done with the satin stitch. I had to change the flag in one block, after all I am Canadian:) Here are some pictures of it. There are 12 block in all. 

Here are two more that I just finished. They were quilted on the long arm at our local quilt shop. Can you imagine they sat for about two months waiting for binding.

First up is Bonnie's Smith Mountain. I added an extra row of blocks and a piano key border to make it a large queen size. 

This is a pattern from the Primitive Quilts Magazine, 'Cabin Fever" by Karen Bates.

I did wool and hand applique for the flower blocks. I also hand quilted those blocks. The rest of the quilt was done on the local quilt shops longarm. 

Cat on one quilt and the dog on the other, what a pair. 

I wish you all a Happy New Year! from the cold northwestern part of Canada. 

May 2016 bring Peace on Earth

Allietore! Clue #4 and Merry Christmas

Loved doing Clue #4 for Bonnie Hunter's new mystery quilt. Allietor!  Click the "Allietore" button to the right and it will take yo to the page with all the information for this Mystery Quilt.

This was a long clue, however I love these little units. Didn't think I would get it done by today but I did. And am happy , a big week ahead.

This is my assembly line sewing, and yes those little 2" squares are gently pressed in half...I use the pressing line as my guide for sewing. 

Here they are, all 120. 

My container with all the units so far, I'm thinking we will be working with gold next clue ??

This is such a busy time of year and so many emotions, sadness for those that aren't with us this year. And happiness for everything that we have. 

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and all the best for 2016!!

I am linking up with Bonnie Hunter's Allietore! Mystery Quilt link up Monday. You can view many bloggers progress with this MQ.  Enjoy the journey through all the blogs

 Allietore! Link Up Monday Bonnie Hunter's new MQ

Allietore! Clue #3 and slow stitching

I am loving Allietore!,  Bonnie Hunter's new Mystery quilt. You can find the link to the clues that have been released on the right side bar, near the top. Just click on it and it will take you to Bonnie Hunters Allietore! page.

Loved making these happy little four patches, for some reason I don't feel so hurried this year, and am managing to get my clues done by Saturday. I did cut the extra neutrals, but forgot a picture.
Here are my happy four patches, all 120 of them with a few extras.

And here is clue 1 to 3 all together, I am happy that the darker grey will work against the black. I am using several different grays. 

Looking forward to Clue #4 and to LINK UP MONDAY. I love seeing everyone's progress. Here is the link for Link Up Monday. Visit all the wonderful bloggers that are doing Bonnie's MQ.

http://quiltville.blogspot.ca/2015/12/mystery-monday-link-up-part-3.html

And now for some Slow Stitching, I love stitching, have always wanted to make a crazy quilt and 

always have churn dash block on my mind. So I have combined the two. 

Here is the first one done. 

I have many little crazy blocks stitched, they are 6 1/2". 

Here are four of them. 

My grandmother taught me to embroidery when I was quite young, and I have done  a bit in my adult life. In the past year or two I have done quite a lot of work with wool and embroidery stitches.

Lots of fun looking in the scraps to put together these little blocks.

And here are few close up pictures of my embroidery work...don't look to close I am not a professional for sure. 

Allietare! Clue #2 and Ballroom Dance.

I have finished clue #2 for Allietare! Bonnie Hunter's new Mystery Quilt. Click the button on the right hand side to read more about it.
My grey is a bit dark and looks blue in the picture, but it really is grey:) I am using various shades of grey from the stash.

 And the little 2" squares are done too.

All we need now is to use some gold.

 I look forward to Link Up Monday and visiting all my new friends blogs. Love blogging this time of year...summer not so much.
I am linking with Bonnie Hunter's link up Monday for the Allietare! Mystery Quilt. Have a look at what others are doing .

http://quiltville.blogspot.ca/2015/12/allietare-mystery-monday-link-up-part-2.html


I am also working on a Judy Niemeyer quilt, queen size called Ballroom Dance. All from the bali stash. Just have to piece the borders now. My design wall is not larger enough :)

This is my first full size pattern of hers, and I enjoyed the process. Thanks to a wonderful teacher at one our local quilt shops. Around The Block in Beaverlodge, Alberta..about 60 miles from here. But, when you live in the north you get used to travelling for things you want . 

I just realized looking at the picture that the bottom row has two blocks turned wrong...a date with Mr Ripper is in order. 

Happy Saturday, hope your weekend is full of fun.