I Made It...Again.....

Good Very Late Evening Internet Friends!

I made it to the weekend and this evening I actually completed another of my many in waiting, in progress quilting projects.

Tonight's project was to put the binding on this table topper:

It is a quilt kit that I picked up at The Quilt Patch a while back.

Once the top was quilted it once again sat until this evening after dinner when I decided that I should put the binding on!

TAH DAH.

Now it is even ready for the Thanksgiving table next weekend!  ☺  

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Almost There...

Good Evening Internet Friends!

It's almost the weekend!!!  Only one more day of work.  I always feel exhausted the weeks in which I work 5 days, must be getting old......

As for crafting this week there has only been minimal knitting.  This evening after taking both cars out to fill with petroleum (reportedly the price will be going up), getting groceries, making dinner, dishes, vacuuming and two loads of laundry I did manage to make:

TAH DAH!!!!

Now to go get lunches prepped for tomorrow and make sure that laundry is ready ☺

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Sunday Funday!

Good Evening Internet Friends!

Kiddo and I have had a restful weekend.  We slept in, and did what we wanted.  We did not even use the automobile even once this weekend!!!  YAY us.

Yesterday I decided to finally put the binding on my "comfort" quilt.  This is a quilt from my most favorite quilt store: The Quilt Patch.  

I brought it home and placed it on the very end runner of my sleigh bed and there it sat until I got my corneal scratch this summer.  Drugged out on pain killers in bed I pulled this quilt over me and had a great sleep.

 Fast forward about 10 days and after being once again drugged for the world's largest kidney stone (not really exaggerating) I was  again discovered sleeping under the unfinished quilt ☺

Yesterday I decided to put on the binding.  Very early this morning I went to sleep after getting the binding on.  This morning I took pictures:

TAH DAH!!!  There is the quilt in all it's glory on my sitting room sofa.  ☺

Side borders....

The tan block centers all look like this.

The checkered squares look like this. 

Between my applique is free handed these neat little vines!!!!

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE this quilt, and since I have already been drugged under it I know it is a cozy sleeping quilt! ☺

Yesterday afternoon kiddo and I walked the dog almost 5 miles through the River Valley.  Today we made almost 8 miles.  Kiddo and Dog slept well last night and I suspect tonight as well:

One of the many sets of stairs in the River Valley.

The trees looked amazing today ☺

A boy and his dog enjoying the day!

Hope you all had a wonderful relaxing weekend and that this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

I Made It!!!!!

Good Evening Internet Friends!

I Made It!!!  Literally....I Made It through this week.  I Made It to Friday, and I Made It (tonight's post).

Somehow after working this weekend I was extremely tired going back to work on Wednesday.  This three day week felt like a week on it's own!!!

This evening after a dinner of left overs (seriously) I put on my jammies and went to my craft room.

I completed the first of 8 blocks in this color way for my Scandi 3 quilt.  

Only 20 more blocks to go!!!!

Now I think I shall toddle off to bed as tomorrow is a no alarm clock, go no where kind of day ☺  Might have some time to work on my crafts......oh wait household chores and responsibility.....

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Block 4 Scandi

Good Evening Internet Friends!

It has been a couple of days since my last blog post but never fear...I am always up to something.  I really never stop and that is the truth. 

Yesterday was to be my bonus do NOTHING day other than run a few errands and then have some time to myself to relax before going back to work and assuming responsibility for all needs of the family.  Hubby returned to work today in a fly in remote access work camp.  That of course means that I am responsible for the next 14 days for EVERYTHING!!!

After running errands, laundry, dinner preparations and organizing lunches for the week I had just enough time after piano lessons and home work to knit a few rows on my mittens.  Not enough to show any progress though.

This evening after getting kiddo to bed and the last of the laundry in the dryer I spent a bit of time in my craft room and created:

Block #4 of my Scandi 3 Quilt!  

In total there are 25 blocks for this quilt so apparently I need to pick up the pace if I want this done prior to Christmas ☺

Now it's off to finish the laundry and get a bit of rest for tomorrow.

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Star Block Challenge

Good Evening Internet Friends!!

I of course had big plans for my one day off!  Of course nothing goes as planned so there are a few things left to be done ether tomorrow before I go to work, or maybe re-consider their importance, and or do on Monday when I am off.  ☺

I did manage to get to Costco for groceries.  Pet Valu for dog food, cat food and dog treats and cat treats.  While there I found a really cute little black kitten.  He was adorable.  I petted him.  My eyes swelled up and my hand got red and a rash appeared......okay not the kind of cat I can adopt......but he was cute.  Most importantly though with regards to errands I got to River City Yarns to get a set of 3 mm Birch knitting needles.  I love these needles and somehow I did not have a set of 3 mm.  I do now and will be casting on for a new pair of mittens soon, but maybe I should get some of my other projects done......?

This evening I did spend a wee bit of time in my craft room and I made another of the Star Blocks for the Star Block Challenge by A Needle Pulling Thread Quilt Shop:

This is block 9 I believe.....it should be block 37!  Ooops, might have some sewing to do over the next few days ☺

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

New Baby....New Blankie...

Good Evening Internet Friends!

Today is sort of my version of Friday as I am off tomorrow before the start of the weekend of work.  YAY ME!!! 

"Sew" far this week I have been up to a lot, but accomplished not much of anything!

The one thing that I did manage to accomplish was a receiving blanket for my friend who had her baby girl on Tuesday.  

Since I did not know baby's gender the quilt I had chosen earlier (a really girlie quilt) still sits on my desk waiting to be sewn.

Now that baby is here there is no way Auntie Kathy can let baby go home without a homemade blankie.

"Sew" late last night I made baby a receiving blanket:

TAH DAH!!!

Now to get working on that really girlie quilt!!!

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Whirlwind Sunday....

Good Evening Internet Friends!

Well, my three day weekend is over and now back to work for 4 days, off for one and then evenings this weekend.  I can always account for my days yet always seem to wonder where the time goes.

This morning kiddo and I were up bright and early because we had to help his Boy Scouts group organize and inventory all of their equipment for the upcoming season.  I started a load of laundry before we left.

We returned home after lunch to carry on with the laundry (we were cold though cause it started to rain on us) and get ready for school and work this week.

First off because the weather seemed rather nasty outside I cut down all of my chive plant and chopped it up and put it in the oven at 170 F for two hours to dry:

All chopped and ready for the oven on top of a piece of brown paper.

Two hours later I have almost a cup of chopped dried chives.  These are now living in the freezer for use in cooking in the upcoming winter (which right now seems like tomorrow).

I decided that I better start working on some of the veggies from the haul last weekend so decided a quick way to get rid of lots in a hurry would be to make borscht:

We had some for dinner and will for lunch as well tomorrow.  The remainder has been packed into containers and is bound for the freezer as I really did not feel like starting the canning process late in the evening (today anyways).  

Nothing tastes better in my mind than soup with fresh bread so I made Oatmeal, Multi-grain, Whole Wheat bread:

YUM.  My favorite with butter!

For dessert I used the last of the fresh rhubarb from the refrigerator and made Rhubarb Crumble Pie:

I LOVE this dessert!!!  So Yummy!!!

Now of course in typical me fashion while all of this was going on laundry was not enough to keep me occupied so between loads and batches I also worked on:

Socks!  I wore my wool socks today and they were amazing as always; I was cold but my feet were not.   ☺

Thrum Mittens because it is getting cold out (as I have mentioned a few times....right?).

Both of these yarns are from my Yarn Crush/Sock Crush subscription boxes.  As I sat knitting these today I realized that part of what I love about these boxes is that the boxes only contain yarn from Indie Yarn Dyers!  As you likely know I love supporting small and local businesses and these boxes allow for me to expand my yarn intake more than I probably would on my own as right now I have 4 favorite Indie Dyers and pretty much always use these.

I will post more details later in the week about each of these, but for tonight I think I shall go to sleep.  It's been a long but very good day. ☺

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Row, Row, Row By Row

Good Evening Internet Friends!

Today was a Do Nothing Day for kiddo and I.

We went out to get a few things but with no itinerary it turned into just some fun times.

After dinner this evening I spent some time in my craft room working on block 5 of my Row By Row block.  All the leaves are now appliqued and the barns have been placed:

TAH DAH!!!

Now it's off to bed because I have to volunteer for one of my son's extracurricular groups tomorrow.  ☺

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Row by Row Block 5

Good Evening Internet Friends!

It is finally Friday and for a short week, it sure seemed like a long one.

After dinner and vacuuming this evening I decided to spend some time in my craft room.  Me time!

I did not feel like working on anything I already had in progress, nor did I want to start anything big.  Another Row By Row block seemed like the perfect solution.

Here is part of the tree from the Village Quilts block that I picked up in Lethbridge on our way back from vacation:

TAH DAH!!

This block is "sew" fun.  Now off to bed as I have a big no plans at all day tomorrow ☺

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

What am I Doing Now???

Good Evening Internet Friends!

I went out over the weekend to the farm to my garden.  Not sure who had the brilliant idea to plant all those carrots, beets and potatoes but whomever it was was NUTS.  Now I know this is no where near the garden my mother used to plant.... but in my defense she fed five people; I feed two all the time, and three when hubby is home from camp so no real comparison.

Here is my version of a tailgate party for the September Long Weekend: 

There are carrots, beets, tri-colored carrots, onions, rhubarb, green, yellow and purple beans on the tailgate.  

Potatoes red and purple ( I do not grow white or yellow potatoes cause I just don't like them). ☺

I really wanted to leave the pumpkin until the weekend but was worried with the temperatures dropping something would happen to it and then I would be upset.  In perspective this pumpkin is larger than a gallon pail.

Tomatoes, red, purple and yellow!

This evening has been spent blanching the tri-colored carrots!

While the carrots are boiling and cooling I have started working on my latest knitting creation.

For the past 14+ days I have been driving the F 350 Super Duty Crew Cab with an 8' box as my daily vehicle.  This means that there is no heated underground parking garage for me when I arrive at work.  To park the truck I have to park almost 3 blocks away from work and walk.  Every morning it seems to be a little colder on my hands.  

Since I love knitting (it is still my favorite of all crafts and let's keep that in perspective I learned to knit when I was 8 years old and it is always part of my daily life) I decided it was time to knit myself a new pair of mittens.  My yarns are all from Indie Yarn Dyers.  There are so many fabulous yarn dyers here in Canada.  Just about the time I think I have found my FAVORITE yarn, I find another that I love just as much if not a little more.  I love being able to support these Indie artists and the work that they put into the wool that they choose and the dyeing process to get the unique one of a kind colors.  Most of the yarn that I use is wool, sometimes I will get a wool with a silk added to it.  It is rare for me to use commercially prepared yarns as I love natural fibers and the feel of true wool for my projects.  I also love these more natural wool yarns because I have a lot of allergies and skin sensitivities that are not affected by the yarns I get from Indie yarn dyers.  I always encourage people to try these not as processed wool yarns before they give up on wool because it is just so amazingly soft, comfortable and warm in winter.  ☺

Cast On and away I go!  

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Sunday Funday...

Good Evening Internet Friends!

Earlier today I packed up kiddo and the dogs and piled into the F 350 Super Duty crew cab with the 8' box!  Over the past week this has been my daily vehicle...I jokingly call it the Sunday goin' to meetin' truck in reference to a lady back home who used to haul her children everywhere and to everything in a similar mode of transportation.  I love having to park this "bus" as my brother refers to it in downtown traffic!!!!

Before we left I made a quick card and prepared a little surprise pack for a friend of mine who is feeling rather low. I have not stamped or made cards in a while so I did not over think this one, and I like the results.  One of the things that turned me off of stamping including being told that Stampin' Up is not in the business of creating loyal customers, they are in the business of "making business" was how competitive and elaborate cards seemed to have to be.

This card has none of that; it was just fun to make:

I found this little lunch box thingy in my stash of gifting treasures:

Inside I put:

Monkey fabric and:

Some Christmas fat quarters that she had been looking at similar ones the other day. ☺

Hope it makes her feel better at least a little when she finds this in the worm hole (her mail box). 

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

It's A Kathy Kind of Day...

Good Evening Internet Friends!

Yes, I am still up and I started this day a little after 0600 hours this morning.  Starting to feel tired so might sleep more than four hours tonight.

I had big plans to get all my "stuff" done here in the city so that I could get out to the farm and get the rest of the vegetables out of the garden.  Before I could do that though I had dill and chives that I wanted to dry for use later.  Cucumbers, beets, carrots and beans to pickle.  Beans and carrots to blanch and freeze.  Zucchini shredded and in the freezer.  Beets, dill, beans and carrots to turn into borscht.  Laundry to do for back to school and work this week.  Pack up the stuff to go to the farm as well as food and clothes for over night.

Well, here it is late at night and all the veggies have been processed, the laundry is almost done and I am still home because that was a lot to do, and then it started to rain again...

Kiddo helped me make pickles (cause he loves them):

He helped wash and clean and prepare all the veggies.

He helped pack the jars:

The first batch into the canner.  In total we have 14 quarts of Dill Pickles!  YUM!

The first batch processed and starting the cooling process.

We were both tired after getting all of this done, Kiddo gave up on me shortly after lunch.  Now came the question of what to make for dinner!  I decided that tonight felt like a pizza night.

I made a batch of whole wheat basic dough.  It turned out fantastic!  Kiddo ate almost half of an 18" pizza!  Lots of veggies, beef and cheese.  

 One of the things that was on sale at Costco this week was a package of Fresh Mozzarella.  OMG on pizza this stuff is amazing!!!  I will definitely purchase this again.  Oh wait, have I ever turned down a cheese.....I'm thinking....... if I ever get an answer I will let you know.  Here's the pizza:

After dinner I sat down with Kiddo for a bit and we watched some tele and I knit a bit.  Then it was time to tidy up.  After all that I decided to finish the last load of laundry.  Since I was near my craft room I finished Block 3 of the Scandi 3 Quilt that I picked up recently:  

TAH DAH!  This is Block # 3.  

Here they all are together:

One more of this color to do and then I can move on to the next color.  In total I will make 25 blocks for this quilt.

I did take a few pictures today while doing this to explain cutting the diamonds and squaring up the blocks but right now I actually am tired so will head off to bed as soon as I get the next load of laundry underway!

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Scandi 3; Block 2...

Good Evening Internet Friends!

I am still on vacation until Tuesday!  Snce it was raining today and I was a little worried about getting stuck in the mud at the farm and having to deal with locking the hubs and all that to mud in, my friend and I went on a fabric acquisition road trip!

After dinner this evening I worked on my Block Number 2 of the Scandi 3 quilt.   

It is a very pretty quilt and I thought I would share with you some of the things that I have been doing to make sure this quilt turns out as beautiful as it should.

When sewing angles together in quilting I will start by putting my needle into the needle down position and place the fabrics to that the edge aligns with the edge of my 1/4 foot:

I will usually use my Tupperware Orange Peeler to adjust the top fabric to be in perfect position on the lower fabric so both pieces align with the 1/4" edge of the foot ☺

Once pressed I get a unit that looks like this:

TAH DAH!!!  Easy Peasy...

Tonight I also diligently used my rulers and did a little better at obtaining more perfect corners and I will show you how I manged that tomorrow:

I present you Block 2 of the Scandi 3 Quilt.  In total I will make four of these blocks before proceeding on the the next color ☺

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Scandi 3 Quilt....

Good Evening Internet Friends!

Today my son went back to school and I had the entire day afterwards to myself.

You would think I got a lot accomplished, but I did not.

The only thing that I did accomplish today was cutting out all the fabric pieces for my Scandi 3 Quilt Kit that I picked up recently.

Here is the first block that I did and yes, I have to go back I see and fix a couple of seams:

TAH DAH!!!

This is block one of twenty five that will be required for the quilt.....better get moving Christmas is coming ☺

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy