Harvest Time...Thankgsgiving

Thanksgiving is my favourite time of year. We had a full table and lots of family  and friends to celebrate.

Then a few days later a friend and I got together to work with the local harvest.

The beginning 

 We doubled the recipe, had two canners working.

This is some of my share....21  pints and 13 quarts of Antipasto (two broke)
WAHOO.  A friend helping is the best...many hands make light work, so true as long as the kitchen isn't too small, and there is room for the kitchen dance.

There was a small quilt finish last week as well...but the best part of the week
was visiting with Anna and Boris.
Boris stayed in our home in 2001 as an exchange student. Thirteen years later, it was a pleasure to visit with him again for a few days.

Hoping everyone has finished all the lovely treats that Thanksgiving leaves in the
fridge and pantry.  I gave the last of the turkey bits to a happy dog this morning.
Have a great Monday,
gudrun

June to October

I played with Ares, best dog in the world,

 I went sailing on Georgian Bay.

 I did a little quilting.

I finished a 'flimsie" = that which still needs quilting and binding to call it a quilt.  This one is made from my Dads shirts. It is going to hang out on our couch...those shirts are familiar with hanging out on a couch.

That's what I did  and here's what I am also a part of....as in it is happening to my home.

A rotten brick chimney coming down.

A non functioning fireplace being re-purposed....

Stay tuned for the grand finish.....
Happy Sunday,
gudrun

Before & After

One dreary November day we had three large trees removed, in the course of taking down one,
a large Magnolia was literally cut in half...all the branches pointing west (more or less)

I am  happy  the Magnolia survived.
Happy Friday,
gudrun

What's happening?

What's happening with Long Arm quilting? Quite a lot, but I haven't posted for some time. Here are a few pictures to bring the blog up to date.

This sweet little number that I call 'Modern Chevron"

Diagonal lines in the floral and pebbling in on the dots.

A bit view of the backing.

close up of quilting.
This Medallion style quilt was also a challenge, like the Modern Chevron above, this one also had
diagonal lines that I wanted to mimic in the quilting.

These New York Beauty blocks are made to finish in t\
three dimensions, as are the flying geese, pictured below.

Back view of Medallion Quilt.  It looks really nice,  unfortunately there was a  bit of stitching that had
the occasional  long stitch
 that I didn't notice. My client did, we are in negotiations :)

Wishing you all a happy Saturday.

gudrun

Picture Prints

I enjoy using pictures in quilts.  I haven't done any of my own, just purchased.
I enjoyed quilting this one. I kept it simple, flowers, leaves and feathers, and not very dense,  as there is not quilting in the pictures, which are actually quite small.

 There are some knots on the back, where there is thread build up,
it is occasional, but not a good thing.

Time for some machine maintenance.

 (sigh)

Wishing you a wonderful Saturday,

gudrun

Pretty Quilts

 I have been slow with posting the quilts that have been my pleasure and sometimes pain to quilt the last few weeks.  I am glad that quilters turn to bright colours this time of year.  It helps with the lack luster colour that greats me regularly at the window. This happy quilt was done with an all over floral.

Back

Another bright quilt with a solid black back, making for very visible quilting, in a bright raspberry pink thread.

Happy Friday,

gudrun

Happy Spring

"you said spring starts today"

It won't be long, till we glide again into the blue beyond...just a few weeks.



These photos were taken at 1:00 pm, a few minutes after the CBC announced spring had officially begun on this part of the rock.
Spring is going to have to grab this winter and giver.....
Welcome Spring.

gudrun

I am a lucky girl.

I am lucky to have a caring Mom.  She sends me replacement mukluks every decade or so. The brown ones have been shedding for some time now, truth be told, the furry balls haven't been furry for years as all kittens have had a great time with them.  I am happy with the new ones, no balls to get tangled in, and shorter so they aren't as heavy.  The fur is tall and soft, and they have a  deep tread sole. Wahoo, eh!

 I saw a pair of purple running shoes in my size for a bargain...can any girl resist

In the experimental quilting side of things, I used this decade old panel to work with multiple layers of batting.  There were stitch quality issues to start,  I but got that sorted. Switched to a stronger thread.  It was difficult to get smooth curves and curls, however as I got to the bottom, I changed the spacing, which helped. Note, thick batts and close designs are difficult. The end result for this machine trapunto experiment is a fun little quilt with lots of texture.

Closer view of the texture created

Today is another snowy day and I am doing some dyeing on the kitchen stove....I hope it is going to be a yummy plum colour.

gudrun

February and Olympics!

I  mostly dislike February,  it is depth of winter,  out door time is short and I get a tad grumpy, but when there are 17 days of Olympics the month flies by and the possibility of spring is closer.

I smell a bunny.

Going for the Gold.....yeah Canada!

Are you all suffering from post Olympic Blues? I watched so much TV, I was feeling weird about it but what a ride.  :)) By the usual I don't watch daytime TV let alone get up and have my first cuppa in front of a hockey game.

I love Olympic hockey games. I enjoy all of the Olympics, even if I don't 'get' some of the events.  Looking at those beautiful athletic bodies and mostly happy faces, is a great big tonic.

I want to know what's with "Ladies" events?  I didn't hear any events for the "Gentlemen"  did you?

gudrun

Back At It.

     The first client quilt of '014 came with buttons and beads attached, as well the backgrounds of the blocks were quilted. Only the borders and sashings, needed quilting, and batting.   But adding  a layer of batting requires at minimum, enough quilting to keep it from sagging. Stitching in the Ditch (SID) and outlining is all that happened here. Some things could not be outlined because of the buttons.

It was too cold to hang the finished quilt out for pictures. The picture of the back is taken laying under the machine  :))  As you can see minimal quilting.

I also quilted 2 small quilts in these lovely reproductions fabrics.  I have never paid that much attention to these type of prints.  I really like them.

Oh and here is my first attempt and success at a new to me bread recipe.

Happy Tuesday,
gudrun

Welcome to 2014

Happy 2014!

A few days into 2014 and the year holds all kinds of possibilities. It has been feeling like January, cold and dark, since early December.  We are not usually blessed with mountains of snow so early in the season. Fortune has favoured us, hydro hasn't been an issue.  We have been warm and as always this time of year well fed.  A son has shared a great bread recipe, and demonstrated it several times while visiting....far too tasty to have around all the time, but too easy not to enjoy regularly.

I see bread making in my future, no Kneading required for this yummy loaf.  Each year I add a recipe to my 'I can make this" list.  I'll let you know how successful I am.

Happy Sunday,

 gudrun