And for a change of pace

A quilting funny on a Saturday!

I had a nice Saturday morning, sitting out on my deck with my new table and chairs.  I worked on a sock and enjoyed the sun and birdsong.

I'm planning on working on some pouches this afternoon.  Tonight I'm going to a movie with some friends.

Happy Saturday!

Maureen

Friday: Funny, Finish and Fiddler!

I haven't gone to bed yet, so it's still Friday to me!

I had a great day today. I took a vacation day, and took a class at Peachtree Quilting.  The class was the Zippy Strippy Pouch.  Four hours, and I came home with a finished project!

I felt so accomplished!  I even put in a zipper!  The pouch was easy to make, and comes out great.

It was a fun class.  One of the best parts of a class is to see what fabric choices other people make, and how theirs turn out.  You can see another project behind mine; the lady used Bali Pops to make hers.  They resulted in a more sophisticated pouch.

And finally in the evening, I went with friends to see the Regina Lyric's production of Fiddler On The Roof.

 It was a wonderful production. If you have the chance, go to it!  There are still performances on Saturday and Sunday.

Maureen

Friday Funny and Fibre Night

Finally it's Friday, and even better, it's a long weekend!

I can see Katie doing this to me!  In fact, she's trying to 'help' me write this post.

Last night was fibre night.  The Regina Weavers and Spinners Guild has an open fibre night on the third Thursday of the month.  It's open to anyone who wants to come, craft, chat and laugh with other fibre fiends.

I couldn't decide what I wanted to work on, so I took the hitchhiker scarf, a pair of socks, and my new spindle with some fibre.  The spindle and fibre was the first thing I worked on.

This was the first I had spun since the Tour de Fleece last summer.  It felt good!  I took it to work with me today to get some more done.

After a while my arm started to hurt so I switched to knitting.  I got a little further on this sock.

And this lovely little spindle came home with me. It's so pretty!

Maureen

WIP Wednesday

Finally there has been some progress on the Strip Search quilt!  This quilt uses two sets of jelly rolls.The first step is to sew them into 9 sets of 5 strips sewn together, and 10 sets of 6 strips sewn together.  I've finished the 5 strip sets, and last night I got the first of the 6 strips set.

The fabric is from Kansas City Troubles.  Their fabrics are a favourite of mine.

These are the knitting projects I've been working on this last week.

This is a Hitchhiker scarf.  I'm using Sweet Georgia Tough Love sock yarn for this.  The colour is called Coal Harbour.

It's called a Hitchhiker because you should end up with 42 of the little teeth; 42 is the answer to Life, The Universe and Everything after all!

I've also started another pair of socks.  This is Lorna's Laces Solemate sock yarn, and the colour is called Camouflage.

The Solemate yarn feels nice and silky.  I've made several pairs of socks with this brand of yarn.

Linked to The Needle and Thread Network WIP Wednesday.  Go check out the wonderful Canadian textile artists!

Tomorrow night is Fibre Night!  Lots of fibre, friends and laughter.  Can't wait!

Maureen

Quilt Show Part Three

More quilts!

Some beautiful applique

And Bargello!

I think this is a variation of the tumbling block pattern.  Amazing 3D effect.

So that the was 2014 Prairie Piecemakers Quilt Show.  I can hardly wait the two years until the next one!

Maureen

Friday Funny, and a Resolution Update

First off, a funny to start the weekend.

Fabric, yarn...all trouble for my credit card!

This is actually pair 5 of 14 pair of socks to be done.  I finished them back in March, but didn't get a picture of them before today.

Definitely fraternal twins.  These socks make me smile though every time I put them on.  That's five pairs of socks completed out of 14, one more pair close to being finished, and one pair hibernating until I decide if I like the wool enough to continue.

Maureen

Quilt Show Part Two

After I made my purchases, I toured the quilts on display.  There are really some amazing textile artists around here.  The picture quality isn't as good as I would like since I was using my phone to take pictures.

There were traditional quilts, like this log cabin.

This was made up from blocks made by several people.

The picture really doesn't show how amazing this quilt is.  It spirals into the centre, and the quilter used metallic thread and crystals to really make it shine.  It deserved the ribbon it won.

This quilt is incredibly detailed.

The quilter used hand embroidery for many of the details.

I love this seal!

Now that's a work of art.  I can't imagine how long this took to complete.

More quilts to come!

Maureen

Look what followed me home!

I went to Golden Willow today, to pick up some circular needles.  I need a bit of a break from the socks I'm making.

I no sooner got in the store than Sharon (the lovely lady who owns it) came up and asked if I needed a spindle.  I didn't really need a spindle, but couldn't resist looking.  There were still some spindles left from the retreat on the weekend.  Some lovely Maggies, and even better, some Tabacheks.

I don't have a Tabachek spindle, but my fibrey friends sing their praises.  There were support spindles, and top whorl spindles.  The top whorls called to me.  And this one decided it was coming home with me.

The whorl is Yukatan Rosewood, and the shaft is oak.  It weighs 42 grams.

I think I know which fibre I'll spin with this!  I'm feeling the spinning mojo return!

Maureen

Regina Prairie Piecemakers Quilt Show 2014

I'm still getting over the bronchitis, and was faced Saturday with lots of things to do, and not enough energy to do all of them.  So, I had to make choices.  The yoga was out, and unfortunately I didn't make it to the Regina Weavers and Spinners Guild retreat.  Regina's first Fan Expo was also out.  I did make it to the quilt show, though, and even that was close to not being done.  I made the choice to use my energy for the quilt show as it was closer and only happens every two years.

My plan at quilt shows is to hit the vendors first, and then take my time browsing the quilts.  I was telling myself that I didn't need to buy any fabric, until I came across this

It's a line of fabric from Northcott called Oh Canada!, and for every metre of fabric sold, Northcott is donating a percentage of sales to Quilts of Valour-Canada.  How could I pass that up?

I also bought this pattern to go with it, but I'm not sure if I'll use it with the fabric or not.

Finally, I picked up these books about felting.  I've been thinking about trying some felting, so these may help.

I took some time to wander through the quilts, and tomorrow I'll post pictures.  There are some amazing textile artists locally!

Maureen

Friday Funny

No finishes to report again this week, so here's another cartoon to start off your weekend.

I'm hoping that I'll be feeling well enough tomorrow to go to the Prairie Piecemakers Quilt Guild show.

Maureen