I hope everyone has had a wonderful Christmas and is able to sit back and relax today. Things were a bit hectic here, and unfortunately Mom wasn't strong enough to come downstairs and join us, but we all had a good day, and Santa was good to everyone.

 Virginia sent me a photo of a quilt she made using one of the patterns from my "A Little Bit More...About Bears" patterns. Isn't it adorable?

Bye for now.

 Edit: Virginia has advised that the ballet slipper pattern she used in her quilt was from the "Ballerinas" pattern by Heidi Pridemore of the Whimsical Workshop.

It's hard to believe Christmas is only a week away! I feel like I've been running in circles, so much to do, and getting very little accomplished.

I finally got the tree up and decorated, and thought you might like to see a few of my favorite ornaments.

Jack Frost is my daughter's favorite.

Inside the teapot, a chipmunk is decorating the tree.

This one has been on our tree for over 30 years!

My daughter gave me this Santa for Christmas last year.

Wishing you all a very merry Christmas.

Vintage Tiles Revisited

Well, Denise (no blog) has done it again! Here is a photo of her second block for "Vintage Tiles Revisited".
Hasn't she done a fabulous job? Does it motivate you? If any of you have missed them, blocks one and two are still available to download on Lecien's web site here http://www.lecienusa.com/home/.

I'm hoping, after the rush of the holiday season, to get started on something new. Maybe some of you that have been waiting till the New Year to get started on "Vintage Tiles Revisited" will share photos of your blocks with us. I hope so.

Well, I'd better get busy and start de-cluttering my house, or Santa won't have any room to leave our presents! lol

Bye for now.

I celebrated another birthday this week and thought you might like to see some of my goodies!

My son surprised me with these lovely flowers and some of my favorite chocolate cookies!

My husband gave me this beautiful Santa to add to my collection.Isn't he fabulous? The Santa I mean, though my husband is pretty darn fantastic too!

My daughter and my Mom both gave me some spending money, in case I needed to add to my stash. I'll show you what I bought when the parcels arrive! lol

I'm still in a bit of a rut with my quilting. I know what I want to do for my next large project but I just can't decide on a background fabric. In the meantime I've been working on a few more small quilts for the quilt guild's charity group. Don't want you to think I've been goofing off. lol

I'll be back later and hope to be able to show you someone's completed "Vintage Tiles Revisited" block two.

Happy Thanksgiving

Just a quick note to wish my American friends a Happy Thanksgiving.

Bye for now.

Denise of Chatham, Ontario, sent me a photo of her completed "Vintage Tiles Revisited" block One. Isn't it fabulous!
If you have missed it, the 1st block of "Vintage Tiles Revisited" can still be downloaded at Lecien's site here

http://www.lecienusa.com/blockofmonth/

The 2nd block will be available for download sometime next week.

I would love to see photos of your blocks, if anybody would like to share them with us, email your photo to me and I will post it on my blog.

Bye for now.

Vintage Tiles Revisited

I have discovered I goofed in the material requirements for the background fabric, I advised 8 yards, when it should be either 7 yds, (if you like to have some extra in case of miscuts or other mishaps), 6 1/2 if you don't. I like to have the extra, especially when the project is spread out over a year, just in case the fabric is sold out. Lecien will be correcting their files.

Please accept my apology.

Dorothy

Vintage Tiles Revisited

Just thought you might like to see the new design I've been working on, using some of Lecien's fabulous taupe fabrics. This is "Vintage Tiles Revisited" and it is being offered as a free Block of the Month on Lecien's web site here http://www.lecienusa.com/home/

The first block is available now.

Edit: The patterns for "Vintage Tiles Revisited" are no longer available as a free download, however the complete pattern can now be purchased from me for $25.00 Can.
I still haven't been able to settle on a new winter project. I think I've lost my mojo! I hope I find it soon.

Bye for now.

Charity Quilts

With everything that has been going on with Mom this past summer, I haven't been able to get myself in gear, and settle on a new winter project. I've sorted through my stash, hoping I'd find a fabric that would motivate me, but instead I came across a few "what was I thinking!" fabrics.

Since they are perfectly good fabrics, I've decided to use them to make charity quilts for the guild.

Here are photos of the first two quilt tops.



Since I'm no good at machine quilting I'm hoping someone at the guild will quilt them, and they will bring some joy to a child somewhere.

There isn't much new on the home front. Mom is doing okay, some days a bit better than others, but we are managing. Fortunately, CCAC has given me 3 hours a week, so someone comes in to stay with Mom and I am able to get out for a bit.

Thank you everyone for your emails and messages of support, and though I'm not always able to reply, it really means a lot to me.

Bye for now.

Happy Thanksgiving

Just a quick note to wish my fellow Canadians a Happy Thanksgiving.

Bye for now.

Just a quick note to let you all know what's been happening. Mom came home from hospital about 4 weeks ago and is doing okay. She isn't very mobile, but is able to move short distances using her walker. We've got a hospital bed for her, which helps with the pain from the compression fracture in her vertabrae, and a nurse comes in to check on her 2 or 3 times a week.

The whole hospital experience was a nightmare and has left me feeling very low. I haven't had the inclination or the time to get back to my quilting but hope things will settle down soon.

Thank you everyone for your messages and well wishes, they really helped!

I must apologize for being MIA again these past few weeks. My dear Mother slipped off the side of her bed last week, and broke her leg! She came through the surgery better than the doctors expected, but we have had a few hiccups since then. Wednesday night, after they moved her from ICU she had a GI bleed which caused her haemoglobin levels to drop dangerously low.

Once the doctors resolved this problem, we thought things were picking up, but then on Tuesday morning her heart started to give a few problems. The doctors are now trying to address this problem, but Mom's sensitivity to medication is complicating things.

She has been able to get up and sit in a chair for an hour, but her rehab is being delayed until these other matters are resolved.

Needless to say, I have been spending most of my time at the hospital, and will be for the next few weeks? The doctors haven't given me any idea yet, as to how long she will have to stay in the hospital.

I'll be back, I just don't know when.

Bye for now.

Happy Mother's Day

Wishing you all a very happy Mother's Day.

I am grateful that I still have Mom with me to celebrate another Mother's Day. My dear son surprised me with some lovely white roses before he headed off to work, and my lovely daughter gave me a beautiful card with some spending money, to feed my quilting addiction. lol Unfortunately, I won't get to see my daughter today, as she and her husband manage a restaurant, and today is always the busiest day of the year for them. Of course, Daisy, their Chocolate Lab, is staying with us while they are busy with work.

The sun is shining today, so we will probably spend the day working in the garden, I can't believe how many weeds are out there!

Hope you all have a wonderful day. Bye for now.

Happy Easter

Hope everyone is enjoying their Easter weekend.

I've been busy working on the pink version of "Some Bunny Loves You" and hope to have a photo to show you soon.

Bye for now.

Keeping Busy

I know I haven't been posting any quilt photos lately, so, just so you don't think I've been goofing off, here are some photos of quilts I've made to donate to a charity group.

I've been trying to reduce my stash, and improve my machine applique, so these projects were perfect.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. The sun is shining beautifully here, and the snow that hit us by surprise on Wednesday is starting to melt.
Bye for now.

Wonderful Surprise!

When I collected the mail today, I received a wonderful surprise!

Dear Pilar of http://cerato.wordpress.com/ sent me these scissors, all the way from Spain, to add to my scissor collection.

Aren't they cute? I haven't seen any like this before.

Pilar, you made my day! Thank you.

Start of Scissor Collection

While cleaning up my sewing room, again, or should I say still, I got sidetracked admiring my small collection of needlework scissors.

I know some people collect thimbles, but I don't usually use one, so I think I'm going to start building my collection of needlework scissors from around the world.

They're small, so they won't take up too much space in my very small sewing room, but also useful. See, I already know what to say to DH when he asks "do I really need more scissors?". lol

Pilar of http://cerato.wordpress.com/ got me started last year, when she and I did an exchange and she sent me these beautiful scissors from Spain. Aren't they exquisite?

Now I know what to put on my birthday and christmas wish lists, scissors from France, Italy, Germany and other countries around the world. I've been researching it a bit and I know there are Dovo from Germany, Bohin from France, Premax from Italy. I'm sure there are others, but I haven't learned of them yet.

Any suggestions?

Just thought you might like to see this quilt, that I finally finished! I really, really, don't like putting the binding on, and find I am a terrible procrastinator. lol

Thank you all for your suggestions for the name of this quilt
I've decided to call it "Some Bunny Loves You" I've been working on another smaller version of this quilt in the pink and hope to be able to show you something soon.

Bye for now.

A Few New Designs

I know I've been very quiet for the past few months. As some of you know, I've been caring for my Mother for the past few years. With looking after Mom, I'm not able to get out and about too much, so I haven't had much interesting to chat about. But, I have still been quilting, and here are photos of two new designs.

This one is titled "Loves Music, Loves To Dance.

I haven't got a name for this one yet. Any suggestions?
Marina has finished her "Sweet Nostalgia" quilt top, and it looks fabulous. Why don't you pay her a visit and see for yourself. Has anyone else got any photos to share?

Edit: February 7, 2011 - Just a quick note to thank you all for your suggestions for the name of the blue bunny quilt. I've decided to name it "Some Bunny Loves You". How do you like it?

Happy New Year

Just a quick note to wish everyone a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.
Be back later. Bye for now.