Adding a Row or Two

I ran out of paper hexies to baste so I've started adding a couple of rows to one corner of Anna Levins. 

I'll probably keep going until all of the basted hexies are used up again.

Thought I might be stitching out on the deck today but after a few days of 30+ degree temps its quite breezy and downright chilly outdoors, so I think I'll sit in and watch golf.

Happy Victoria Day weekend!....M

Within Arm's Reach

Last night I was too lazy to walk into the next room to find my Little Trees bag so that I could stitch as we watched TV so I plucked my little basket of Anna Leven's hexies from the magazine rack that sits beside my chair. I haven't touched this project for almost a year; interestingly, the top paper hexie seemed to have a 'welcome back' greeting for me.

Recently, I had cut more paper hexies and there were lots of fabric hexies already cut so I was able to happily stitched away.

With Candied Hexagons all wrapped up (I'll share pics later) it's time to work on this quilt again. 

Earlier in the week, around Mother's Day, I was reminiscing about mom and decided to pull out her Oatmeal Mincemeat Cookie recipe and bake a batch. It's been years since I've made them but I won't wait that long again. The Official Cookie Tester is a big mincemeat fan so I thought he'd enjoy them, and enjoy them he did. As it turns out, he got to sample two versions.

In the midst of whipping them up I was interrupted by phone calls and emails so when I got back to the mixing bowl I was a tad distracted. As I was dropping the dough onto the cookie sheets I felt that something was missing but couldn't quite put my finger on it. Note to self: Oatmeal Mincemeat Cookies contain oatmeal!

I mixed oatmeal into the dough and the next pan looked like they should. To be honest, both versions were very nice and received rave reviews from my Tester. The first pan tasted more like a spice cookie without the chew of the oatmeal; I'd make them that way again....M

Blueberry Pie Anyone?

Sandy hasn't let any grass grow under her feet during this pandemic and the latest lockdown in our province seems to have been just the ticket for finding the time to quilt Blueberry Pie. Isn't it gorgeous??? I'd like to wrap myself up in it too!

She would tell you that she's probably spending too much time on Netflix, but I say it's time well spent. 

There are a lot of different sized pieces in this one so she struggled a bit deciding how to quilt it, but once the design was confirmed it worked up quite quickly. Masking tape was a huge help as it was easy to get lost in some of the fabrics. Her biggest conundrum was the border and what to do with all those Flying Geese, but the arrow pattern that she used works beautifully.

Just love all those buttery yellows and rich blues together.

And, kind soul that she is, she has already got her gorgeous Log Cabin, WhizBang, in the hoop because Ed doesn't like it when the chair in the living room doesn't have a project on it 😄! Actually, its an effort to get ahead of the summer heat because once things warm up it will be put away until it's comfortable to have a quilt on her lap again. So looking forward to seeing this one too!....M

It's Been a Long, Long Time

It feels like its been all Minnie, all the time around here lately so it was time to mix it up a bit (I would dearly love to see Minnie finished this year but I still want to like her when she is 😉!). 

In search of something else to pick up nothing much seemed to appeal - either I had to cut or lay out blocks. I just wanted something to sew. So I went and sat in front of my machine to ponder my options and found the answer staring me in the face. Halo!

I cannot even begin to remember the last time I sewed on it (it has lived on my design wall all this time) but I had tons of the pieces cut and ready to go, so decision made.

With all the curves involved, it's not speed sewing by any stretch of the imagination, but periodically I will sit down and sew eight or ten more pie-shaped pieces and get them up on the wall...

filling in spots as I go.

Then I prep a batch and I'm ready to sew the next time I sit in.

Soon I think I'll switch to assembling blocks. When I've been laying things out I've focused on the circles and the fabric combos therein...

but this is the block layout, with the pie-shaped pieces in each corner. Lots more curves to sew! This will give me a new perspective on everything and might result in a few moves, but I think I'll just see where things take me....M

A Little Light Reading

Are you familiar with Quiltfolk magazine? Last year I became a subscriber and have thoroughly enjoyed travelling throughout the States with each new issue. 

Recently they offered free shipping on a bundle of back issues to their Canadian subscribers so I jumped at the opportunity. 

Five new issues have arrived so I'm getting ready for a personal mini-retreat to pour over each one of them. I'm headed to Tennessee, Eastern Massachusetts, Michigan, Utah and Vermont, not necessarily in that order.

Each issue explores makers and their stories from an individual state, from traditional to modern and everything in between. It is ad-free and filled with great photography, making it a visual treat totally focused on the craft.

As is the way with quilts, the back stories add layers of interest to what the eye beholds - a rich source of inspiration that gets the creative juices flowing.

The magazines are too good not to share so they go into a rotation with my quilty friends who are equally enthralled. I'm off to make a pot of tea....M