OCTOBER

Don't fall over.  I actually found the time to sit and write a bit in this space.  I have missed being here... the interaction with you

Since I last posted I have been kept busy with family things and my shop.  Thank you to all who commented about my Mother's stroke.  She is still battling fatigue, but is so much better.  Not back to bowling yet, but soon. This is Mom at my grand babe's 1st birthday party. She looks tired, but still likes to look her best : )

This is the birthday boy. The photo is a bit fuzzy, but he just doesn't keep still

Precious as the day is long !!  He's wearing the sweater I knit him. The hat was a no go.

I got my September's block pieced.  This is for Rachel who will soon be a bee keeper.

Good thing I double checked my word for the month because I had it in my head that I was to piece 'Larry'.  Seriously?

I'm knitting my daughter a large shawl out of a wool/alpaca blend. She is anxious to have it so I best get cracking

Saturday I had a 'Food for Fiber' sale. It was very well attended and we collected a lot of food and raised some cash for a local charity. Customers received 25% off if they brought a food item or tossed me a townie. I'm thinking of making this an annual thing.  So much fun!

And, this bad boy is quilted.  Happy dance!  Now the task of making the binding, but I do enjoy that part. Hand sewing it is a favourite because I get to snuggle under it in the process.

Thanks for reading today. It was nice to chat again : )

Carla

A FINISH AND A BLESSING

About an hour after I hit publish on my last post, I heard my mother very weakly call me from downstairs. She was having a stroke. Thankfully, I knew what was happening and called 911.  Fast forward to today, and Mom is home and doing amazingly well.  She has no lasting effects from the stroke except fatigue. For this I am eternally grateful.  She will slowly build up her strength until she is back to normal. My mother is nearly 83 and very active. She plans to be back to her bowling league sooner than later : )

Sunday afternoon while the house was quiet, I decided to tackle the borders on Metro Area.  I hadn't touched my machine in two weeks and it felt so good to be sewing again. I find it very relaxing.

Borders are on !  Yay!

This quilt is a big one. 90" square. Now I hope to put it in the capable hands of my long arm quilter so she can work her magic on it.

More about that later.
Happy stitching and thanks for reading.

Carla

1 PLUS 1...........

.....equals two scrappy quilts for two darling little girls !  I had these beauties over for dinner and was able to give them their new quilts.

For the most part, these quilts were made from scraps that were laying around the floor, sewing table, and wherever else I can stuff them.  It felt great to be using up and not buying.  The backings were yardage I had in my backing cupboard.  Linda did lovely free motion on one, while I did straight lines on the other. If you would like to know cutting measurement etc. the original post is here 

I think their smiles say it all  : )
I am one happy Grandma

Happy stitching and thanks for stopping by

Carla

TUESDAY SNAPSHOTS

That's it. Summer is over. We had SO much rain that it felt like fall the entire time! Oh well, it's great stitching weather. None of these projects are finished, but they are sure close!

The second 'plus' top for my grand daughter. I need to pick out the quilting I've done so far. I don't like it. Sigh.......

My Metro Area blocks from Patchwork City.  So excited for this one to be done !

My second top down sweater.  I love how these are constructed. No seams when the knitting is finished.

Changed out the window in my shop for fall, and I warmed up 10 degrees just looking at it : )
So many rich colours of yarny goodness.  I really need to get cracking on some Christmas gifts.
Have you started?

Happy stitching,
Carla

SPOUTING OFF

It was the first thing that came to my mind when I thought about writing this post : )

I finished my bulky sweater the other day. I soaked it in some no rinse solution, and it took 2 days to dry.  It smells so lovely and feels very soft.

I started with a very basic top down cardigan pattern and made some changes. For one, the yarn is Cascade Magnum and it's knit on a 10mm needle. This yarn is meant to behave like the buffalo wool we used to see sweaters made from. Then, I googled 'whale chart patterns' and got a whole page full. Once I had an idea,  I drew up a chart to fit my number of stitches.

The rolled collar with be extra cozy in winter.  I haven't had a baby to try this on, but I'm thinking it will fit about a 2 year old

The wooden buttons are from my stash. I just knew they would come in handy some day

I'm pretty happy with how it turned out and would definitely make another.  We will see if someone wants one or not.  Next up -- a hat!

Happy stitching and thanks for stopping by.

FINISHES !

How is your summer going?  My most recent finishes won't come in useful until winter, but I feel good about being ahead of the game.
I made another 'Gellatly' hat. This time I used yarn from Lichen & Lace from Sackville New Brunswick. Ohhhhh it feels wonderful.

My daughter gets this one.

These socks.  How cute are they?  I can just imagine my little grand babe having toasty toes. The yarn is Zauberball from Germany.

Not to forget the rest of my family, I canned peaches this year! I never crack open a jar until the snow flies.  So worth the wait  : )

I finished my bee blocks I was re-doing.  Now you can see how the first time I made the 'yellow' block, the white wasn't quite white. I feel much better about sending the block now.  Sally, is for another member

Last weekend we had a big birthday bash to celebrate all the family birthday's from the past 3 months.  I'll just show you a few of the littlest people in the family

This precious little guy turned 1 and it called for lots of whipped cream and berries!!

Trying to decide how to best tackle it........

Oh. My. Heart.

His little cousin crawled over to give him a hand  : )

and then it was time to get cleaned up.  Too cute!

Enjoy your week.  Thank you for stopping by.
Hello to Alison who reads from New Zealand, and to Kim who reads in Tasmania, and Susan who reads in Australia!  So fun to connect with people with just the click of a button.

WHEN BEE BLOCKS GO BAD...

.....they can go really bad.  I was running behind last month because it seems someone took out a few of the days.  Last time I checked, it was June : )

This block is (was) for Simone.  She asked for coloured words pieced in different colours.  I pieced this one in a dark purple as requested, and with a white background. Or so I thought.

When I went digging through my whites to piece another block, I discovered that the white I used wasn't really the stark white she had wanted. It's slightly off.  Back to the drawing board : (

Remember these blocks?  I was so happy with how they turned out. Especially my 'e'. They never arrived in Australia.  In all the years I have been swapping bee blocks I don't think that's ever happened.

Susan has been so patient. I have started making them again.

I love me some log cabin blocks. I'm late with these.  These were fun. Fun enough that I made some for myself too. It seemed easier to make blocks than to clean up my scraps. True story

Lastly these blocks are for this month. Yay!  Mary wanted watery colours with a 'white' background.
I think I got these right

I've got to say, running a business takes ALL the time.  I don't have much time for anything else. It's still fun though and I'm glad I took the plunge : )

Happy stitching!

Carla