From A - Open Wide

Both Kelsey and I were fortunate enough to spend last weekend in Manitoba with the family celebrating Thanksgiving. We spent some time hanging with the family pets.

We ate way too much delicious grandma food and had a blast at the much anticipated 90th birthday party for our favourite great aunt.

It was a whirlwind of a weekend (always the best kind) and after coming home, I feel refreshed and renewed. So much so that I actually managed to knock something off of the moan and complain list.

Noodlehead's Open Wide Pouch. Much better than a trip to the dentist.

 

I took Jessie's mini dresden class at Sewing Summit and made this little beauty. Anyone who was actually at Sewing Summit has probably already seen it since I was showing it off like a proud mother to anyone who would smile and nod. Look at the duck, the owl...at 4" in diameter it is way too cute!

Although Jessie suggested mounting it on some canvas and framing it, a weekend spent toting around my rotary cutter in a plastic grocery store bag while ogling all of the gorgeous handmade bags of my fellow attendees made me determined to turn that piece of canvas into a notions pouch.

Add a rainbow zipper and a colourful scrap from the stash for the lining and I am now the proud owner of the perfect thing to store my rotary cutter, pins, marking tools and thread.

Hope all of my fellow Canadians had equally wonderful weekends!

From K - Q4 Finish-A-Long Goals

With a number of big celebrations quickly approaching, and Christmas on the horizon, my quilting 'to-sew list' doesn't appear to be slowing down anytime soon. To keep me focused and on track again this quarter, I'm setting some Q4 Finish-A-Long goals.

 

 

1. Wonky Star Quilt
 

Amanda and I put this top together while we were at Sewing Summit a few weeks back, and now I need to get it quilted and bound before our great aunt turns 90 this weekend (talk about a tight deadline).

 

2. Salt Water Swoon Quilt
 

 

I recently finished this top and mailed it to a long arm quilter to let her polish it off. I hope to get this quilt back soon so I can bind it and deliver it to my grandma when I'm home for Canadian Thanksgiving.

 

3. Equilateral Triangle Quilt
 

 

This quilt has been on my to-do list for what feels like eons. I pulled a baby girl quilt stack from my stash last November and it sat untouched until last month when I found out that I was in Jeni Baker's Equilateral Triangle Quilt class at Sewing Summit. I have cut all of my triangles and have started piecing together this quilt for my brand new baby niece! I am reeeeeaaaally excited to make more progress but number #1 and #2 have been monopolizing my time as of late.

 

4. Christmas Quilt
 

 

Four years ago when I married my husband, I started thinking about our Christmas traditions and how we could create our own memories together. On our first year, I made a tree skirt and some stockings, but was too nervous to start a quilt. Since this Christmas will mark our fifth together as a little married couple, I figure there is no better time than to finish a quilt. I showed a peek of this stack last week but haven't taken any progress shots yet. Mostly it's a pile of tiny squares at the moment. So. Many. Tiny. Squares!

 

5. Manly Plus Quilt
 

 

When I finished up my Pink Pluses donation quilt last month my husband kept commenting on how 'cool' it was. He also lamented multiple times that week that I have yet to 'make and keep' a single quilt to date. I decided then and there I could do something to fix this problem so I've added a secret quilt on my to-sew list this quarter - and don't worry he doesn't read our blog so no spoilers here! Here is a shot of my fabric pull. Most of the strips have already been cut when I was able to a moment at home by myself but it's pretty slow going so far.

 

6. Magic Wax Print Quilt
 

 

I finished this quilt top more than a year ago but have yet to actually quilt it. Since I mentioned in #5 that I haven't kept a quilt yet for myself, I'd like to prioritize this one just for me. It's a sentimental quilt and I truly love it. It's time to fit in a little selfish quilt now - amiright?!

 

Linking up this week to WiP Wednesday.

From A - Mixed Bag Monday

I had a thing for mood rings as a kid. The novelty of wearing something that changed colours AND conveyed my emotional state of mind to others was irresistible. As I entered my teen years this turned into an obsession with the Fortune Telling Miracle Fish. Naturally, I had to adapt as an adult. Now I have a craft-based emotional barometer where a quick glance around the house will tell you everything you need to know about how it's all going.

• A tidy home with only one project on the coffee table means that there is either company coming in the next 10 minutes or I've managed to find a whole lot of zen.
• A project in the bedroom and living room is indicative of a normal and sustainable level of chaos.
• A few projects strewn about on the couch, dining room table and next to the bed with a stack of yarn or fabric on the floor in the spare bedroom means usually means contact with a stressful patch over the last week or so.
• Barely started projects on every surface with stacks of yarn and fabric "cued up" in the spare bedroom are a bad sign...a really bad sign.

Two guesses on where things are this week.

We have bits of fabric that I've been cutting for my On a Whim Quilt on the TV stand.

The couch is home to my rigid heddle loom and some weaving on a gradient shawl that I started more than 3 years ago.

My school bag is home to the Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery's Halloween Sampler that I fell hard for a few weeks back.

The dining room table has a half-finished version of Noodlehead's Open Wide pouch, complete with rainbow zipper.

Oh and that's not even mentioning the partly-finished satchel in my craft cupboard, the TWO lap duvets that are pressed and ready to be basted hanging over a dining room chair, the nursing cover on the coffee table that's been cut out and is waiting to be sewn, the two charm packs that are stacked on my nightstand waiting to become a baby quilt and the multiple piles of yarn in the spare bedroom divided into projects...plural.

Time to reset me thinks. Any other craft barometers out there?