Home Alone..................................

I love when the house is empty. I tease M about it all the time.  I tell her how sad I will be that she is away and that I will miss her. Her reply - you LOVE being home alone.   OK - so as much as I love the family, I do love not having to worry about meals and whatnot.  Have an awesome weekend M!!!!!!     I do MISS you and so do Sparky and Sammy!!!!!!

Got busy yesterday and got another quilt done.

Customer quilt - DONE - this was a HUGE one. And it has food all over it - I was hungry as I quilted it!!!!!

After dinner, I hit the sewing machine.  I bought two winter themed flannel kits from someone recently. I don't need these, but they would make a great gift and the price was right.  Anyway - I just could NOT justify buying a kit from someone who was downsizing and then throw it into my stash room. NO - I have to get these done!!!!

A bit of cutting, a bit of math and this is what I ended up with.

A flannel "winter" quilt top

The kit included a bunch of strips of flannel. Because of my cheapness, I figured out what the LARGEST size of square I could get from each strip. I believe I got six  7 inch squares from each strip. There was also a panel - well not a panel, but a piece of fabric with snowmen in a row on it. I decided to NOT cut that up. However since I made the squares a smidgen bigger than they were supposed to be, the panel was about 1/2 inch too narrow. No worry - I took an offcut from cutting the squares and added it to the right hand side of the panel - do you see that dark blue???   Yep - that is an addition!!!!!

I was hoping to have enough snowmen blocks to do that angle thing in all four corners, but no - I did not have enough. So this is the way it is.

Then I got the other kit out - I had already cut it. Laid out the blocks and this is what I got.

The next kit up and ready to sew

Got a couple of rows sewn together.

This is what I have left. There is enough of that blue flannel to make the backing for the two quilts - again, I will quilt them at the same time - it just makes more sense for piecing the back. Three widths of fabric is enough for TWO quilts and there is just enough length to do that. That leaves me with a bit of extra which I will add to my winter flannel kits that I was working on. 

I also have enough of the snowman fabric that I can substitute those two blocks in the first quilt.  Hmmm - have to think about it.  Don't need to, but I want to!!!!   And once that is done - well we will see what is left and what to do with it.


And look - the enders and leaders box is EMPTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Enders and leaders box - EMPTY

OK - not quite - I had to cut THREE more triangles to finish these off

And there are 100 of those triangles things. Now I have to cut 100 blue triangles to add to these and then clue five from the Bonnie Hunter mystery will be done!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have to admit that I am very lucky to have as much space as I do. And I try to take advantage of it at every opportunity. This is my active table - these projects are coming and going in the studio and it looks different every day. It is also the table I clear so we can do embroidery. Only takes a few minutes to clear it off so that is good.

The active tables

This is the waiting in the wings table. This also evolves every day. Stuff comes and goes. The trick would be to have only ONE set of tables with stuff on it and keep the other set of tables always clear, but I don't think my brain is going to ever work that way!!!!!!!!!!!!

Was out at Greenwood the other day and found UNICORN fabric. My obsession with the alphabet quilts kicked in and I bought all that was left. It wasn't much.

Unicorn fabric

Saw Rose at the CreativFestival and look what she brought me!!!!!!!!!!!   She was at one of my Sit n Sews and was working on this rose flannel quilt.  I had several kits (which are made) and I was using the leftovers to cut a couple of scrap quilts. Now I have a bit more to put into the scrap quilts.  Thanks Rose!!!!!   Much appreciated.

Rose flannel scraps

She also bought me a pair of mitts. Actually they are DOUBLE mitts - solid orange on the inside and a second pair of fingertipless ones in black.   Thanks Rose - I love them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And look what Heather bought me.  A shopping bag - with BIKES on it. So cool. Thanks Heather - I can't wait to use it. 

Here are a couple more pictures of the hats from the CreativFestival. Remember the theme was Alice in Wonderland...............................

Amazing hat

Look at the detail.

Hooker Alley - with more hats

This was part of their tree - is that raccoon not adorable!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And can you spot the snake?????

You know how everyone keeps saying NO. Or we try to tell each other to just say NO.  Well the last couple of years, I have volunteered at the Toronto Life Marathon. A FUN job of driving a truck through Toronto and dropping supplies at the water stations. Then the real fun begins when we follow the marathon and pick up the supplies and the garbage. Oh yeah - it is a LONG, PHYSICAL day.   This year when they asked - I said NO.  I actually have a class tomorrow afternoon.  It felt good.

Well best laid plans - they are very short of people, in particular people who are willing to drive the darn truck through the city. So even worse - I am helping TODAY, not just the day of the marathon. Oh god - I felt sorry for them when they pleaded with me. OK - they didn't plead, but - well you know how it is. I know what it is like when you can't find volunteers.  I have my ugliest, knees blown out jeans on and I am off to drive trucks, load crap onto the truck, etc.   I told them I am available until ONE PM today and I am still waiting to hear about tomorrow.

Just say NO and don't cave in!!!!!!!!!!!!!   Maybe next year??????


On that note - have a great day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Ciao!!!!!!!!!!!!!!