Work at weekend retreat

For some reason this retreat day I did not take any pictures. This is a picture of what I accomplished at the retreat - but I took the pictures at home this morning.

Christmas stocking for Jessica, I made one for Jim and Eric last Christmas - styled after a Christmas stocking I had made for Andrew about 5 years ago or so. I am going to make a few more this year I think. Easy to make and they look so nice and "Christmasy".


Almost finished the September "Quilt for an Hour" two more borders to put on only. I really like this quilt, which is interesting because when I first saw it I wasn't interested in doing it - and then I thought I would just to use up some scraps and now I just love the colours in it. I think I will back it in Flannel.

These are the stockings that I made last year. The first stocking I made was the one with just the fabric cut in strips on the diagonal. Then I decided to cut the strips into squares and make the two inch squares on the diagonal. The top and the toe and heel are velvet.

So I have decided to make a few more and now I need to go off to buy a bit more fabric and piping -- I bought a bunch of piping last year after Christmas but I discovered it is all a bit too big. So in true quilter fashion I now have about 72 yards of gold, red, green, etc piping that I really only needed a few yards of to begin with and now I don't need at all. But I will probably keep it forever!!

Old Sewing Machine and New project

So Blogger and Picassa2 are doing the most interesting things this week. What I usually do when I want to post is I upload the pictures using the Picassa2 program and then I go to my blog - to edit posts - and then I add my text - because sometimes the pictures do not get upload with Picassa and then the text is lost - and I hate that.

The last two times I used Picassa2 to upload pictures they did not show up until I uploaded them a second time and then what happened is both sets up pictures then showed up. This time I upload on the 27th -- no pictures so I had to go to work - I tried again to load the same pictures today and got two sets of posts - one dated the 27th - one today. Strange.

This is an old Singer sewing machine I was given when Jim's mum died. It was bought by her in the 50's some time. I have had it for a about 2 years now and I thought I should use it a bit more - it has a really nice even stitch. It is not a featherweight and I can see why Singer brought in the featherweight machines - this thing weighs a ton!! I would really like a featherweight one day I think but I really have no idea how to go about buying one and do I really need one?? I don't think I do - I just have decided I would like one.



I have a bunch of left over half square triangles from a blue/white and yellow queen size quilt I started a couple of years ago. The quilt top is finished and I am just getting ready to send it off to be machine basted by a long arm quilter. So I had this great stack of blue and yellow half square triangles and I thought I would just start randomly sewing them together and see how many I had and maybe I can make a table runner or something out of them. And I will use the old Singer sewing machine.

This is one of the block ideas I was playing around with - I am not sure how I will end up putting them all together. I think I have enough fabric to make a whole other quilt - so I will just see where it takes me. I just love blue and yellow together. It is so bright and cheery - it just makes you smile to see the colours.

I have my "Quilting by the Bay" this weekend so I have a bunch of things that I will get done on Saturday. (I hope) It is 12 hours of sewing and visiting and having food brought in - lots of fun. Last June just before Jessica's wedding I went to "Quilting by the Bay" for the first time. I really enjoyed the day. Much better than working!

A Sunny Sunday Walk along the Seawall

We went out for a lovely walk along the Seawall in West Vancouver this afternoon. The Seawall walk is about 5 km along the shoreline and most of the way there is a nice paved walking path. It was quite warm today as well.

This is a view of West Vancouver from the Ambleside Beach area. The beach area was very busy today but not many people venturing into the cold water, although there were a couple of brave souls in the water.

Here is Jim sitting along the walking path. In behind Jim on the left of the picture -- the small bit of land sticking out is the University Endowment Lands. (Which is where I work) I always get a chuckle out of the fact that I can see across the water to where I work and then it takes me 35 minutes to drive there.

The Seawall is a really nice place to walk - I have been walking along the seawall a couple of times a week this past couple of weeks just to get a little exercise. The weather here has been so sunny and warm - we have not yet entered the rainy, wet Autumn weather pattern we are so well known for here on the west coast. So we must take advantage of the sun when we have it.

Another view of Ambleside Beach. This view looks more northwards, the buildings are apartments in West Vancouver.

And this is a view of the "Doggy Park" the south end of the Beach and close to the Capilano River the city has made a small dog park. It was just full of dogs and kids and people today -- the dogs were quite happy to go in the cold water. This view looks southward - the bridge is the Lions Gate Bridge and the land in the background is Stanley Park, and the building are downtown Vancouver in this picture.

Back to Dear Jane

So now that the quilt show is over and I have my new light I am back to work on my Dear Jane. We have spent the last week watching the Season One DVD of "24" and I have been quilting as we have been watching. We finished Season 1 in 6 nights - watching 4 episodes a night. Great thing to watch these TV shows on a DVD and quilt. Next is Season 2 and we are going to start "Lost" if Andrew can find his DVD's of the "Lost" series. Andrew says "Lost" is really good. We have enjoyed Season One of "24" -- now we need Season 2 ----- more quilting to come!!!! 

Fabric and Lights

This is the sample pack of fabric that I bought a few years ago. It is hand dyed and then has a bit of a sparkle on top of the fabric as well. It is the fabric that is used in the quilt in the previous post of the Mariner's Compass I have been saving this little package of fabric for just the right project - and I am still looking for it!! Any idea's? It works quite well with the batiks - so I have a few fat quarter batik packages as well.

So I bought a bit of fabric at the quilt show last weekend. All the beautiful quilts at the show have inspired me to start some new projects and finish so old projects.

But the best thing I bought at the quilt show was my new light. I am so thrilled with this light. It is a "Daylight" not an Ott light but it has a wonderful bright light that doesn't glare in my eyes and I can put it right over my lap as I am sitting or over the table to use with the marking pens and cutting and marking my Dear Jane pieces. I had a small table light by the same company and I really liked the brightness and clarity of the light but found it still didn't give enough light sitting on the small table. This light can be place right over what I am working on. And it has the magnifying glass - perfect for needle threading and small pieces. I do most of my quilting downstairs in the TV room and it is getting darker and darker in there in the evening so this is just what I needed. My husband also finds that it is better for him because it is pointing downward instead of outward - it doesn't shine in his eyes. What a good deal all around!!

A few More Quilts

This quilt was created by a women in our guild that does some wonderful quilts/wallhangings with beautiful hand-dyed fabric that a friend of hers used to dye. He just recently died. The fabric he created was just beautiful and years ago I bought a small amout of it and I am still waiting for just the right project to use it. She uses it all the time - and she has created some wonderful quilts using pictures she took of tile floors in Venice.



This quilt is a huge sampler quilt made from Kaffe Fassett fabric. It is huge - and quite bright and colourful.

This is a water colour and I quite liked the way it was laid out - I thought it was a very nice setting and it is also quite large and quite an ambitious project.

Well --- I am off for a mammogram - I promised my doctor I would go for one -- bahhh humbug - but I guess I am getting older and I should pay attention to some of these things now.

More Quilts from the Show

I liked this one -- the Guitars, it would be a good one for Andrew - since he plays guitar and would really like to be a Rock Star!

These next two quilts are done by the same person - I really like the Six Wives of Henry 8th -- She called it "Desperate Houswives (of Tudor Lane)" Below is the old rhyme -- Divorced, Beheaded, Died, Divorced, Beheaded, Survived.

Lady and the Unicorn

I liked this stained glass window -- very cathedral like, but modern.

Quilts inspired by a Ruth McDowell Workshop

The Quilt Show is over and it seemed to be a great success. I was in charge of the Merchant Mall area and it was a pretty busy place all weekend -- I did my part and spent a bit (alot) of money as well.

The quilts were all wonderful. I thought I would post a few pictures. The guild will usually post pictures of the quilts from the show on the Guild website as well.

These four quilts were done by members that had taken the 4 day course from Ruth McDowell at our "Fall Retreat 2005" Every other year (non Quilt show year) we have a 4 day Fall Retreat and the last two years we have had some amazing teachers come and give courses. I never took the Ruth McDowell workshop - I think it was sold out very fast!

For the next fall retreat the guild has already booked Becky Goldsmith from Piece O' Cake Design. We have very good programs at our guild.

My Brain is 73% Female

Your Brain is 73% Female, 27% Male

Your brain leans female. You think with your heart, not your head. Sweet and considerate, you are a giver. But you're tough enough not to let anyone take advantage of you!

What Gender Is Your Brain?

I am getting ready for my quilt show this weekend. I am working all weekend at the show on the merchants mall. I think it will be a really good show and I will post some pictures when I get a chance.

You Are a Beagle Puppy

Cheerful, energetic, and happy go lucky.And you're sense of smell is absolutely amazing!

I am a Beagle Puppy.

Fun website - I am having difficulty with the link though.

The Hour a Day Quilt

I am really enjoying the Hour a Day quilt. Although I am not doing it for an hour a day -- some days more and some days not at all. I love the fabric scraps that I have in it. And it has been such a nice little project to just spend a bit of time sewing away at when I feel like it.


I have all twelve blocks completed and I am now working on the sashing between the blocks. I am going to put a dark green corner block - I think all the same green fabric - sitting between the four burgandy squares will look good. I found this blue piece of fabric in my stash that I think looks good as the final outer border. I am quite happy with the way this is turning out. Thank you JudyL!!
 

The Andrew Quilt

I had decided to take a few photo's of Andrew's great big room and once I started taking the pictures I felt quite sentimental about it. Thinking that this would be his last room at home - his personality is all over this room and the photo's would be a record of him from childhood - as a teenager and then a young man. He still has many of his childhood items in his room. So I ended up taking quite a few pictures - years from now I can look back on them and remember when he decorated the wall with the posters of his favourite rock stars. When we moved here he wanted to paint the room a light grey colour to set off his mostly black and white collection of pictures. He was and still is a big Elvis Presley fan - as you can see the part of the ceiling that is a little lower has a bunch of Elvis pictures.

When Andrew was 11 years old - Andrew and my mum went on a week long trip to Memphis to see Graceland. They both were such big fans of Elvis - it was the year of the 20th anniversary of his death that year, 1997. They really enjoyed the trip - saw the Memphis Belle, Suncity, Graceland, the Peabody ducks. So I think of that when I see those pictures of Elvis up on the wall.

The very first year that we moved here he had a girlfriend named Molly. The wall just beside the door and to the left of Kurt Cobain was full of pictures of Molly that Andrew had taken in Photo class at highschool We used to call it "The Molly Wall" After they stopped seeing each other the "Molly Wall" came down of course. He also writes a bit of poetry - and finds bits of poetry for his walls -- we call it "Teenage Angst Poetry" So there is a bit of that on the walls as well. I just hate the thought of this all coming down right now.

This is the "Andrew Quilt" This is the first quilt I ever received. It was given to me (Andrew) just after he was born in 1986. A woman that lived down the street, who I really only knew in passing -- Hazel, was her name. She came down and gave me this quilt she had made. It contains all kinds of bits of flannel fabric scraps - some from children's pajama's from the 60's I think -- little rocket ships and things. I have no idea what the batting is inside it - it is a bit lumpy and the backing is another sort of unknown fabric. On the back is Andrew's name spelled out in flannel rocket fabric. Isn't it the most wonderful quilt. I couldn't tell you another baby gift I got - but here 20 years later, on a chair in his room is his "Andrew Quilt" We always called it that. And it has always been in his room.

September Morning

It was a bit of an event trying to upload pictures today.

The topic of quilting/sewing rooms has come up a fair amount this week and I have a big problem with my quilting room. When we moved into this house it had only two bedrooms upstairs and a large den/TV room downstairs and another large room that could have been a bedroom - and did become Andrew's bedroom. The upstairs bedroom became a computer/guest room. Mostly used as a computer room. And a very tiny little "room" in basement - across from Andrew's room - became my quilting room.



It isn't such a bad space, it is about 12 feet long and only about 6 feet wide. My chair rolls around very nicely on the tile floor. There is a built in bookshelf from floor to ceiling behind my chair.

There are no windows - there is this funny little window that looks into the laundry room and gives me a little extra light. The laundry room is on my left and there is a big long storage room to my right. I have another cupboard at the end of the storage room to hold some fabric, batting etc.

The cupboards above the table hold most of my fabric but I am starting to run out of space and pile things up where ever I can fit them.

The problem with my sewing room is not such a big deal really - it is a space that works fairly well for me right now.

What is becoming a small issue right now - not a big deal mind you - but Andrew's room is a big nice room, two large windows, double French doors, cable hook-up, nice stereo system -- and the kid won't move out! He really doesn't live here much anymore. He has basically been living at his girlfriends since last December. His girlfriend lives with her mother and father in a great big 7 bedroom, 5 bathroom 4 levels of house. I doubt if they even noticed that he stopped going home for the first two or three months. Her father is mostly away - he has a company oversea's so he is away for 4-5 months at a time so I think his girlfriends mother is happy to have a man around the house. The mother works for the company in town and she works quite long hours. The two sisters are not living at home anymore - so there seems to be a comfortable situation that has occurred and I am wondering when the boy will actually take his "stuff".

Boy would I ever like that room. We could put the computer and a small TV at one end and there is a nice big Ikea cupboard I could get drawers and some shelves for and put my fabric in there. I could put my sewing maching and stuff at the other end - have a big window, a stereo -- we could turn the upstairs bedroom into a real guest room. Maybe this will be the year, they are both working full time and talking about saving money and doing so travelling - oh I guess if they go travelling the stuff will stay!! Hmm -- what can I do to get that room?

Making Pesto today

I should have a food blog instead of a quilting blog! Although I do consider this more of a general duty blog.....

I made pesto today. The basil bush was looking like it needed a good cutting and it is almost the end of the season. There is nothing quite as good as fresh pesto. I will freeze these little containers and we will be able to enjoy some homemade pesto in the winter when there is no basil to be found.




Here is the "after" picture of the basil bush. I should have taken a "before" picture but I didn't think about it at the time. I took just a ton of basil off the bush. We have another pot with basil as well, so there are three different varieties of basil in the pesto.






Since I was standing out on the deck with the camera in hand I took a picture of the lovely blue sky and beautiful sunny day we are having here on the west coast. This is the view from my deck. You can just see Vancouver Island in the very distance.



We have had very little rain this month - which is nice for us but not so nice for the lack of water in some areas. The west coast of Vancouver Island is having a water shortage. A small town (Tofino) that is quite a popular tourist spot is asking all the hotels and restaurants to close up by tomorrow -- Friday. We have been going to Tofino every year for March Break since about 1996. It is a wonderful and beautiful place to go visit. It is very similar to the Oregon coast from what I have been told, although I have never been to the Oregon coast (a place I want to go). Tofino has been always on the brink of water problems ever since we started going there. Hopefully they can get this sorted out, there are alot of people who live there that depend on the tourist industy for income.

I have been busy putting the sleeves on my two quilts for my guilds quilt show in September. I haven't done any more on the JudyL quilt. I will as soon as I get the sleeves finished. The quilt show is in three weeks.

Boy this summer has gone by quickly. It is have to believe another year has almost gone by. Next year (2007) will make it only three years until the Winter Olympics. Our little village is right on the road to Whistler. We are actually thinking of opening up a little B&B for the two weeks the games are on -- I don't think either of us will work during that time. I can't imagine trying to drive around downtown to get to work with the kind of traffic issues that will be expected. And the traffic in Vancouver is difficult now. Well back to sewing on my sleeves. Almost finished! 

Four blocks finished

Here is a picture of the four blocks that have the borders on them. I quite like the colours.

I was thinking about what Patti was asking "why we quilt" when we were busy cleaning the house today. It is an interesting thing to stand back from something and think about it in a way you never thought about it before.

I have never been an artist person, I couldn't draw a picture to save my life. Musically, I am completely useless as well -- tone deaf, but I love a good melody. I have never considered myself creative or artistic. I was always interest in being a writer but I struggle with writing. Never understood poetry -- I always wished I could. I have been sewing since I was young - making Barbie clothes when I was 8 - but I had never been around quilts or quilters. My Hungarian roots did not included quilting of any kind.

When I discovered quilting I discovered I had a creative side. Like an artist who sets up a canvas on an easel and paints beautiful pictures. For me the fabric was the canvas -- and I was the easel. The easel is supporting the canvas, making it possible for the canvas to become a work of art - an important job. And beautiful fabrics just keep drawing me into them. Sometimes just looking at the fabric make me feel creative.

I had also just moved to Vancouver and just started a new job so I had not met many people, so when I started quilting I started to meet quilters. I found that quilters are the nicest people. They are so giving of themselves to each other, their families and perfect strangers. They will make a quilt just to give it away to a stranger that they know will find comfort and love wrapped up in that quilt just when they need it the most. They will offer you a small bit of their fabric because it will fit perfectly with your border fabric. Quilters are kind and generous and think of others.

Every time I will talk about someone and say " So and So, is really nice, I really like her" my husband would say -- "Oh, she must be a quilter". There really is something special about the people who quilt. I think that is why I quilt.