Friday, July 1, 2022
Tuesday, June 28, 2022
The old and the new in England
Over the years I have made a few aprons for family members. I don't have to make any for myself since I still wear the ones that my mom made. I love her full aprons and even though I use a different pattern, they are still a full apron. I don't think I have ever made an apron that doesn't have a top or 'bib' part to it.
I found this in my daughter's kitchen drawer when I was visiting her family not long ago. I always wear an apron if I am cooking or washing dishes.
Wednesday, June 22, 2022
Testing patterns
For several years now I have been a tester for various quilt pattern designers.
Saturday, June 18, 2022
Number 13
The number 13 is not an unlucky number in our house. My husband's birthday, his mom's and brother's birthdays were the 13th and my eldest daughter got married on the 13th.
I became a grandmother for the 13th time on June 15th. It's a little boy and he broke the tie. I did have six granddaughters and six grandsons but now, I have seven. Both mom (my youngest daughter) and baby are doing fine and at home. This lucky little guy has a 4 year old brother and twin 2 year olds. While the twins weren't too sure about him in the beginning, they are accepting of him now.
Tuesday, May 31, 2022
New quilt
I finally had time to get my granddaughter's quilt top done. It will be quilted later this summer. Life just kept getting in the way.
On a side note, my trusty, faithful, circa 1980s Kenmore sewing machine stopped working and gave me an 'Er' status when I tried to sew. Luckily, I have a couple of back-up machines. I made some burp cloths for my youngest daughter and as I was sewing the flannel corners on my Singer, I bent and broke the neede because it didn't like going through 8 layers. I changed the needle and bang, another bent needle. Change again and the same thing happened. I then gave up on that machine and took the needle out. No sooner did I do that and I put the needle back in. I wanted to take the machine in for repair and this way, I could more easily describe what was wrong with it. My Jenome Jem then finished the job and I am now reading instead of sewing. I know I need a new machine but I have to find a cabinet model and a machine that doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles - features and stitches I won't use much, if at all.
Friday, May 27, 2022
Updated frame
I finally went to the frame shop and got a new frame for the old needlepoint. It's not far from where I live and I have never used their services before. It took less than two weeks and the whole experience was not stressful at all. My daughter came with me to help choose the frame. I wasn't sure if I wanted gray or brown but in the end, the brown looked a lot better.
Wednesday, May 11, 2022
A new baby quilt and baby knits
I belong to two quilt guilds and during the pandemic, the meetings have been online. Both guilds have kits that members can take and make into quilts which are then given to various charities. The quilts vary in size. Even though I had my own quilts to make, I decided to take on a baby quilt. The fabrics in the kit were all bright and it was fun thinking about what pattern I could use for the fabrics.
Saturday, April 23, 2022
Needlework - needlepoint from long ago
My mom grew up on a farm in a part of Finland that now belongs to Russia. She came to Canada after the second world war.
Thursday, April 14, 2022
Needlework - embroidery
I'm lucky to have the knowledge to do many different needle crafts that I enjoy doing. My mom taught me to knit as a child and when I was a teen, working as an usherette in a theatre, I learned, along with my fellow usherettes how to crochet. I remember looking in a book and following the steps. I'm pretty sure my mom helped along the way with that too.
In home economics, in grade 6 or 7, I remember that the first project we did was Swedish Huck embroidery on a towel. I found this in my linen cupboard and the colours I used were purple and green.When my son's twins were born, we didn't know the gender and so I made a cross stitched card with those colours (which are really a lot brighter than the photo.)
Thursday, March 31, 2022
More quilts
Spring has arrived. Some days it feels like it but other days it's cold, windy and feels like winter will never leave.
My hall quilt has changed with the change of season. Bob the Snowman has been replaced with this. It's a quilt called Flowers and was a BOM in 2011 by Diana Schmitz. She had a few BOMs that incorporated embroidery, applique and piecing.
Tuesday, March 29, 2022
New quilt
I've had my eldest daughter and her two sons visiting so I haven't been doing much sewing or doing any other needle craft lately. I managed to get a few repair jobs completed after they went home and one day, while they were out visiting, I cut and sewed this little baby quilt.
Sunday, February 20, 2022
The new and the old
Since I'm the one who sews in this family, I am asked at times to repair items of clothing and other things. Most things don't take long at all and I am happy to help since it prolongs the use of the item.
In order to get the next installment for $1.00, you had to complete the block and bring it into the store. If you missed a month, you had to pay $5.00 and if your block was not completed, you had to pay $5.00. I made sure that my blocks were completed each and every month. I don't know how I will finish the quilt but at least they are all done now. If you haven't tried Thangles, you should. It's an easy way of making a bunch of HSTs (half-square triangles.) The fabrics in the 'kit' were pre-cut to the 2.25 inch strip and there was always enough fabric. All the maker had to do was put the two fabrics right sides together and lay the paper on top - pinning well. Sew on dotted lines and cut on the straight lines. Easy and quick. The instructions showed you how to put the pieces together to form the various blocks.
Tuesday, February 15, 2022
Cross stitched bookmarks
Years ago I cross stitched some bookmarks.
This one was for my eldest daughter but I never gave it to her. It needs to be cleaned and it too needs backing with interfacing. I'm debating on whether to add her married initial and another balloon.
Thursday, February 10, 2022
An oldie
I have to make a few quilts this year but before I started something new, I decided it was time to finish something.
Monday, January 31, 2022
Finally finished some knitting
I have made this chunky knit sweater several times. Once again, I decided to use up some of my yarn to make my twin grandsons some warm pullovers. They live in England so they don't get the cold and snow that we here in Toronto get.
Friday, January 28, 2022
Crafty little people
I am fortunate that seven of my grandchildren live within walking distance of me and as a result, five of them attend the same school that my own children went to. Each day I pick up two of my grandchildren from school. Just before Christmas, my four year old granddaughter, Esme, was quite adamant that she was going to show me how to make a snowflake. She had learned how in kindergarten. Well, first of all, she took an 8.5" by 11" piece of paper and folded down one corner to make a triangle and then she cut off the extra so that the piece that was left was a square. Then she showed me how to fold it and cut it. I was impressed with her explanations and directions. It was all very serious business. Here is my product.