Wednesday, 29 July 2015

Little sewing

My oldest son bought a small sewing machine at a yard sale for $2. He thought his 9 year old daughter could use it. She has taken an interest in helping grandma sew. I have let her sew on my machine at different times and she enjoyed it. A budding quilter in the making.
So back to the $2 find. He brings it to my place sets it on the table and says ' here don't know if it works, but when A is at your place she can sew with you'.

$2 machine

I had never seen a machine like this one. I took it out of the box and was surprised to see all the parts and even a manual. It was in excellent condition.

Machine and manual

Now the big question would it stitch and how good would those stitches be. I took a look at the feed dogs and bobbin case area. It was clean, the feed dogs are plastic but in really good condition. Now to  open the manual to find out how to wind the bobbin and thread the machine. So far so good, bobbin wound and machine threaded. Now the scary part, would it sew. I grabbed a scrap piece of fabric and held my breathe. It worked I just needed to adjust the tension.

granddaughters sewing
The biggest test of all, how would it hold up to my granddaughters using it. I pulled out a box of scraps and they dug in pulling out various colours. A huge success, two granddaughters happily sewing. I couldn't believe it they spent a couple hours just stitching away. 

Stitching

The stitches are pretty darn good on this little beauty. Lining up of edges will come later, it is just so nice to be able to share some of my passion for quilting with these two precious girls.

Do you have a special someone to share your passion with?


Monday, 20 July 2015

Final Week of the New Bloggers Blog Hop.

I am sad to see the end of the New 2015 Quilt Bloggers. I have learned so much and found new quilty friends. Thank you to Yvonne @Quilting Jet Girl  Cheryl @Meadow Mist Designs, Stephanie @Late Night Quilter, and Terri Ann @Childlike Fascination. They did a splendid job of mentoring us.



Please take a few minutes to visit the following members of my hive the Quantum Quilters.

Geraldine @Living Water Quilter (Instagram: @livingwaterquilter)
Andrea @The Sewing Fools (Instagram: @andrealovestosew)
Irene @Patchwork and Pastry

Sunday, 19 July 2015

What's Blooming today.

Daylilies
I love gardening as much as quilting and thought I would share a few garden photos with you today.
First up are some of my daylilies. I got some of them from here and here. I have a lot more than these four, but they were the ones blooming so nicely this morning.


An Asian lily and one of my many Hostas.

Lily and Hosta

A mini Hosta, it is less than 1 1/2'' tall and about 3 to 4 inches across.

Mini Hosta


A moon flower. These bloom at night, when the sun hits them they close up. They are drought resistant and seed themselves for the next years growing season. They bloom all summer long.

Moon Flower

Balloon Flowers also known as Chinese Bellflower. An easy to grow perennial.

Balloon Flower


Gerbera Daisy, this one is 3 years old. I bring it in for the winter before first frost and once the frost danger is over in the spring I take it outside for the summer. The blooms on this one are big, they are about 6 inches across.

Gerbera Daisy

I hope you enjoyed a glimpse of what I get to see everyday in my backyard. 











Thursday, 16 July 2015

I am participating in the QAL at DOD Mystery Blog. The first block is free and as long as each block is completed by the end of the month you get next months block free. This is month one and you can still sign up.
I found these neat alpha beads at Michael's on sale. I slipped them on some pins, I need to glue them as they are not a tight fit. That's a job for another day. I cut out all the pieces and marked them with the alphas worked great.
alpha pins
 My nine year old granddaughter picked the colours for the house. I wanted to go with either a gray archway or a tan/beige, but my granddaughter wanted the eye catching green. Now I ask you what's a grandma to do but give in.

House with bright green archway

I need to machine applique the windows and the archway. A center window wouldn't be a bad idea either. I'm going to use the house in a quilt for my granddaughter, she just doesn't know it yet. If you haven't guessed purple is her favourite colour.

It's a beautiful sunny day with temps in the low 20's Celsius. I'm going to go out and enjoy it as the hot humid stuff is coming by the weekend.



Monday, 13 July 2015

2015 New Quilt Bloggers Hop Week 3

This is my intro for week three of the 2015 New Quilt blogger's blog hop. The hive I belong to is the Quantum Quilters, our fearless leader is Yvonne of Quilting Jetgirl

A little about me...

I have lived in three different provinces in Canada. They are Ontario where I was born and am currently living, Quebec and Prince Edward Island. I went to a one room schoolhouse in Prince Edward Island. What can I say my folks moved around a lot.
I have been married for 38 years, we have three children and six grandchildren. Four granddaughters and two grandsons, they are a joy and the light of my life. The oldest is 9 and the youngest is 2. I run around barefoot in the house most of the time even in the winter. One would think after breaking my toe I would have learnt my lesson. But oh no not me. You will still find me barefoot.

I am a member of a small local quilt guild, we have less than 30 members. It was in its beginning stages when I joined. What a wonderful group of people and it is especially nice that we all enjoy the same thing. I have been able to take a few classes, which was great. I have always enjoyed learning new things. 
I don't like UFO's and you would be hard pressed to find one in my house. 
This time of year I can be found working in my flower beds. I am a member of the local Horticultural Society. So between grandchildren, quilting and my flowers I am one busy lady. And I love it!
Since I am tone deaf I usually don't have music playing when I'm sewing, although I have the radio or TV on for background noise. My hubby loves music and has a hard time understanding why I don't get it.


A few of my favourite quilts...

Spring is Sprung I love everything about this quilt. From the colours to the layout to the quilting. You can read more about it here.  Next up is 4 Patch frenzy and Justin's Path.

Spring is Sprung my favourite
4 Patch Frenzy

Justin's Path

A blogging Tip...

When writing a post be yourself, not everyone is going to agree with what you write and that's alright. 

A quilting tip...

I use a dry erase board from the dollar store to write cutting instructions on. I erase each one as I cut them. 

Favourite TV Show...

I am a fan of the Toronto Blue Jays. But in the off season I watch CSI and NCIS shows.

Are you a sports fan? 

Please also be sure to check out all the other bloggers in this weeks blog hop.



Saturday, 11 July 2015

A Fun WIP

I never would have thought that designing a BOM for my guild was going to be fun. Once I knew the direction I was heading in designing this quilt, it took on a life of it's own. It has been frustrating at times when my quilty math was off, but so much fun seeing it develop into something that someone else might like to make. At least I hope they like it.

Instructions

A few blocks done in pink scraps. A little problem with the pink, I already have two granddaughters that want it when it's done. Might have to do something for each of them. The 5 year old told me I could borrow it for my next quilt show. She's always thinking. 


Pink blocks


Because I was feeling inspired and having so much fun with this, I raided my stash. I had picked up a piece of MODA Gypsy Rose by Fig Tree a couple years ago and added a green and a few fat quarters of rooster reds to it. This is the result.

12 blocks and the center started.


I need to decide on sashing, whether to go with the background fabric or maybe the reds. 

Are you having fun this summer in the sewing room or the great outdoors? I sure am enjoying both.




Wednesday, 1 July 2015

Happy Canada Day

Wishing all my fellow Canadians a Happy Canada Day! It's a cloudy overcast morning, with the right amount of wind for kite flying.





Hope your day is filled with fun. We are going to go to the lake for some of the festivities today, then we are going to have a barbeque with family. I just hope it doesn't rain on the parade.

How do spend a day off in the middle of the week?