Took this photo this morning before I dusted the "powder" off my car so I could get out to the Celiac Support Group meeting at the Gourmet Gallery. Nice and feathery , would have been grand for skiing, but I had places to go and people to see. Waited around at the Gallery and no one showed up. Oh, yeah, I forgot, this is the Fraser Valley where no one goes out if there's snow on the roads. The plough had gone through, missing our cul-de-sac as usual, but with a Jimmy it's still a piece of cake to be mobile. Have to admit that for living in a place where snow is a rarity, we've had more than our share this winter. And with the Arctic Outflow forecast for this evening, it will likely still be there tomorrow.

Well, I did get my letters off in the mail, along with some helmet liners for the grandsons, and picked up a brochure for the DH, but (insert grieving sound here) Curves was closed (sign on the door.closed, due to weather). So I missed my workout today, was almost tempted to strap on the cross country skis and get in some exercise that way, till I heard a moan from my sewing room.yes it was that other mystery quilt calling out to me. I managed to get the first 2 steps done on that before lunch. Took a break and after lunch I quilted the little blue disappearing nine patch that I put on the frame yesterday. And took some photos of the bags I finished last night. so it looks like I am on track to get my "chores" done before guild day.

Made some brownies for the meeting today, and they are delicious. Will freeze some for the meeting next week Hope they taste as good then.

The Art Institute called to let George know that his wine class has been cancelled tonight...due to , wait for it.......yup! WEATHER! We are so soft out here.

So here's a few photos of my finished projects today.

Ta-Da! Here are the photos of the last steps in the Mystery. And now I can get to the other mystery that has only just got the pieces and strips cut for it.....the one Carolyn is doing with the guild. This afternoon, I will also get a bit quilted on the one I put on the frame last night.one of the Disappearing Nine-Patches baby quilts that I did to keep myself amused while awaiting the next steps (published weekly) in the Carolina Crossroads Mystery. This one is Christmassy in Blues, or maybe is Hanukka-y? It will tell me when it's done.
And this evening while sitting by the fire, I will finsih up one of the bags mentioned previously. So far a good start on projects for 2008. Hard to believe we are in the last week of the first month of the year!
The sun is shining brightly today and I ALMOST talked myself into going for a walk after my Curves workout, then I read in the paper that we Canadians are deprived of Vitamin D in the winter because the sun is too low on the horizon to do any good. Well, that excuse seemed like a good one to me, so back to the sewing room. I can wait till its above 80 degrees to get some fresh air. It may be sunny, but the damp out here will never leave my bones. I can relate to Sam McGee.

Writing in my happy color today! Finished my Carolina Crossroads quilt except for sewing on the label and hand-stitching the binding to the back side of the quilt. So can't legally post the photo of it till its ALL done, maybe tomorrow? All the time I was quilting it, my thoughts kept turning to one of my sisters-in-law from my first marriage. She and I used to sit around an old wooden frame made up of 1" x 2" strips of lumber and held up by 4 kitchen chairs, hand-quilting queen size quilts. I kept the frame in the basement in a room next to the laundry room, so that in between loads, I could quilt. Those were the days that we used templates cut from Kellogg's Corn Flakes boxes, drew around them with pencils, cut 1/4" beyond the markings and then sewed the pieces together by machine. We hadn't heard of chain-piecing or rotary cutters or all the neat tools that quilters today have.
And I wondered, since we've lost touch with each other after I moved out here to the left coast, if she is still quilting. and wished that she lived near me so we could still quilt together. Her birthday is half the calendar apart from mine (I'm March 24th, she is Oct 24th), and I think she needs a surprise for my birthday. Yes, that's what we do now, when we have a birthday, instead of getting pressies, we SEND them. Won't she be surprised to see how far I've come from those days 40 years ago.

And tomorrow, I can start my other mystery that had only just begun when I got caught up in this Carolina Crossroads madness.........it is by a member of our local guild and I MUST have it finished by guild day, the second Tuesday in Feb. Piece of cake. And must also finish the 3 bags I started in classes in early January. 2 just need the leather handles sewn on by hand, and the 3rd one still has to have the quilted bits assembled. It is the easiest one to do, I think, and I will post the photos of all 3 when they are done.

I would also post a photo of the buns I made this afternoon, but some friends were walking by and looked cold, so I called them in for a cuppa hot chocolate just as the timer went off for the buns. So they are in our tummies now and unavailable for a photo op. Next time, for sure!

Happy Robbie Burns Day to all my Scottish friends

I have begun quilting my Carolina Crossroads quilt in an oak and maple leaf pattern, with the borders being done in a smaller leaf pattern. It is going quite smoothly, in spite of the many seams. So far so good.

Today I helped a friend load a king size quilt onto her Beeline frame, the only way to do a large quilt like that is to have 2 buddies helping out so it doesn't go all askew.

Tomorrow, hopefully I will get my quilt finished and get the binding on it, not that I am rushing to get it done but I still have to finish 2 more we care quilts and 3 bags and another mystery quilt before the second Tuesday in February. And that other mystery quilt has only just got started. So this is the pressure I put myself under. Always saying, "Next month will be easier". And it never is. Still swooshing by me is the sound of the deadline on my Celiac cookbook, but the sewing this month has prioritized itself over the writing.

Also tomorrow is Amber's little boy's first birthday celebration so we have to go into North Vancouver to help blow out the candle for that. Might be fun as snow is forecast, and that's always a big treat out here.

Posting a photo of the Carolina Crossroads on the Inspira frame, with one border quilted.

A sunny Monday in BC

Well, at last! Had the living room floor covered with my batting and completed blocks, all laid out in the order in which to sew them. Moved my sewing machine down there too, so I could sew each row and not get them turned around. And they all went together very nicely, and proves once again that only God can make a perfect thing, if you loook closely you can see that some of my nine patches are a thread or two off the mark. But overall, I'm pleased with the way it went together. And it's time to update my photo, so the photo today will show me holding the completed quilt top, folded in quarters, without its borders, as I returned home from my workout at Curves. Love my new haircut too. And wonder of wonders! The sun actually came out today and stayed several hours, so I got a little bit of Vitamin D after all this week. Off to sew the borders on now. Goal: to get this on the frame by bedtime tonight so I can get on with finishing up the projects I started while awaiting the new steps each week. (A couple of bags, and 2 more Disappearing 9-patch quilts)

I really must shut this off and get back to sewing. This break is lasting longer than intended, but it occured to me that some who know me may wonder at my return to my maiden name. I just got tired of people asking me "where in Greece were you born"?.....and Menassas is just some name I borrowed from my husband. Now if I lived in Quebec, I would still be an O'Neill, so I'm just going to pretend for a little while that I live in Quebec City where one doesn't have to relinquish one's maiden name upon marriage. Now I'll be quiet for a few days till i get this thing quilted. Well I may post a photo of it on the frame, and the pantograph of the rosebud design with which I will quilt it.

Here's the block layout for my Carolina Crossroads mystery quilt. Now to roll it up in its batting and sew the rows together. Hope to get it on the Inspira quilt frame tomorrow. My stars don't "pop" like they should but it just goes to show you, "Even though you can't always SEE the stars, trust that they really are up there, doing what stars do....."

and yes those ARE wine bottles at the side .......and I didn't even have to open one during the making of this quilt

Passionateseams

Saturday January 19th, 2008

Heading to the 'storeroom' to find a chunk of batting 90" square to lay out my blocks for the Carolina Crossroads mystery I have been working on since the first of December, '07. I have squared all my blocks up to 9.5" so they should go together neatly. With DH away in North Van baby-sitting his 2 grandkids, that leaves me hours to play. Step-grandmamas can easily avoid babysitting when a mystery calls for a solution! With leaders and enders used to transition from block to block without gnarly starts I now have a shoe box filled with 4-patches, which I will mix with some HSTs to create a baby quilt for Wee Care. A few crumbs to add to the "dog-bed" bag and one of these days I may see the bottom of my cutting table.