Sunday, March 17, 2024

Slow Sunday Stitching

Welcome to the weekly hand stitching party! Bring your own beverages and snacks, and enjoy perusing the link ups below.  

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Will your beverages be green? 
I have missed out on the celebrations this year since my Dad has been very sick this week, but improvement is hopefully coming, and I look forward to more rest and more stitching time this week. 
I really wanted to stitch one of Melisa's Irish inspired designs this year, and still hope to - my favourite is her St. Patty's stamp.

I did get some cross stitch done on my March birds (Square Dance by Heart in Hand). Do you notice that some of the birds are about the size of a fingernail? They are tiny and adorable!

I also got some embroidery stitches into a Anni Downs block from her Simple Pleasures book. I just felt like stitching a cat so I started. No rhyme or reason - purely impulse. Sometimes often that happens over here! LOL

Yesterday I celebrated a bit of International Quilting Day with a virtual zoom featuring a presentation from Kaffe Fassett. I was blown away! 



I was unprepared for how amazing he is, how his words would resonate with me, how gorgeous his photos would be, and how gobsmacked I felt with the beauty he shared! The above photo was inspired by buttons and circular shapes. I was riveted and inspired by how he effortlessly flowed between the mediums of quilting, embroidery, knitting, tile mosaics, crocheting, and even a pebble mosaic wall! I felt my spirits lifting with the colour and textures, my mouth gaping open at such beauty. Have you ever heard Kaffe speak or met him in real life? Is it just me, or is he a creative genius?!?

Anyway, I'll be in my sewing room today for a little bit (if we don't end up in the ER with my Dad overnight) and do hope to get some stitches into one of my relaxing projects.

What are you hand stitching today? Are you focused on a project, or starting things randomly like I seem to be doing? We hope you will share your projects with us and link up your blog post below.


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Friday, March 15, 2024

Plans for International Quilting Day

I can't believe that it's already Friday! The week has been a blur and I wanted to share that tomorrow is International Quilt Day and if you would like to celebrate the day with my quilt guild (joining together with 2 other local guilds and quilters around the world!), you are most welcome to join our virtual celebration!


You can access all the information at the Royal City Quilters' Guild website. Check out the featured speakers - so exciting! There are also 6 sessional speakers and it promises to be a very inspiring day! Click here to access the schedule for the day and click here to sign up to join the fun.

Yo can also make an International Sister block to celebrate this day. The pattern is made by our friend Preeti from Sew Preeti Quilts - visit her blog for more information and click here to get the instructions.

Image from Flamingo Toes

For those who are coming to the party, I will see you tomorrow at 9 am EST! There will be prizes, vendors, and a virtual quilt show!

And if you can't join us in this virtual party, I hope you will celebrate this special day by spending time with your quilting projects.

Monday, March 11, 2024

Design Wall Monday

My local quilt guild hosted a zoom sew day on Saturday and I made a lot of progress on my Hexagonal Spiral project.


This is from a John Flynn kit I bought in Paducah in 2009 and started last November. It is a brainteaser puzzle and was a challenge to get started. But now I'm at the point where the sewing is mindless. However accuracy is crucial in order to avoid a 3D curvy block. All the block edges are bias, so must be handled with care!


Each spiral block has 42 pieces and with 7 blocks in the design that's a total of 294 pieces sewn for each round. On Saturday I sewed an entire round on the 7 blocks and I still have these pieces to add.

This kit is no longer available but I have sewn 3 other kits from the John Flynn company (all laser cut from batiks) and have loved every one of them - highly recommend! Check them out - Carnival, Storm At Sea, and Wheel of Mystery. They have many other quilt designs available and if you dislike cutting fabric but enjoy sewing, you might like to try one of their kits. (I have no affiliation to this company, I'm just a happy customer!)

Linking up to Design Wall Monday

Sunday, March 10, 2024

Slow Sunday Stitching

Welcome to the weekly hand stitching party

Did you turn your clock ahead one hour last night to adjust to "daylight saving time"? Although it's not as stressful of an event as it was when my kids were young, it is still a change that takes some getting used to.  I'll use it as an excuse to take things slow today, and do lots of stitching. Also the weather forecast is for "blowing snow", so it's the perfect day to stitch!

I have been a bit obsessed with the Historical Sampler company cross stitch mystery called "All things grow with love". This is how my project looked at the end of step #1.

I love how it is looking so far! I will be putting more stitches into this project today, and hope to at least finish the birds. The next step will be sent out on March 18th, so I have another week to finish up step #2 which includes stitching more flowers and bees. But first... the bird bodies must be finished!

What are you hand stitching today? Are you obsessed with a project that you can't put down, even though you have so many other things you'd like to be working on? Share your progress with us and link up your photo, instagram or blog post below.


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Sunday, March 03, 2024

Slow Sunday Stitching

Welcome to the weekly hand stitching party! Sunday really is the highlight of my week and I thank you all for the encouragement to continue this Sunday practice for almost 13 years!

This week I have been focused on a project to give to a special person as a birthday gift, and have made great progress. This design is a pdf download from a Nova Scotia etsy shop which I first saw on a flosstube video by SewMeSarah. It has been a delightful project to stitch - a bit challenging (which I like) but not too overwhelming (which I don't like!) I am stitching on 32 count Belfast linen and I love how the linen makes the stitches look a bit lacy.


Everything was going well until I ran out of floss! It didn't say on the pattern that you need 2 skeins of floss. Thankfully I was able to get another skein, which is a "close enough" colour match that I think most people wouldn't see a difference. I am relieved I can continue and hope to have a finish soon!

It's time to dig into the March projects which will include a Woven Wreaths embroidery block, the March Square Dance cross stitch block (featuring little birds... so excited for that!) and a new quilt mystery quilt by Canuck Quilter

What are your March plans? Link up your blog post below and share your projects, slow stitching progress and your plans.

The inspiration shared with us at each Sunday's linky party is mind blowing!  I encourage you to visit the stitchers who create such beautiful things, photograph their projects, write up a blog post and link up with us. 
Truly you are an inspiring and talented group of makers!


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Monday, February 26, 2024

Design Wall Monday

There is a finished quilt top on the design wall today! Isn't that always so exciting!?!

This is the Good Hope Quilters' Guild 2024 mystery called "When you shine". It was a fun mystery with a very different approach to block sewing, so I'm glad I tried it. And I did clear out a lot of fabric!

I love the border print that jumped out of the stash to volunteer for the position! I was looking for a dark frame, maybe black or navy, but this Tula Pink print called "Fairy Dust" in Cotton Candy insisted on being the choice. 

I fussed around about sashing, borders, size, etc, and really just went with the yardage that was available, which was enough for 1 border and 2 sashing strips. Finished size: 49.5" x 56.5"

Linking up to Design Wall Monday at Judy's

Sunday, February 25, 2024

Slow Sunday Stitching


Welcome to the last February linky party for the hand stitchers! Are you finishing up winter projects and getting antsy to start stitching spring? I sure am!


This week I started a new stitch along with the Historical Sampler company. The project is a mystery called "All things grow with love" and steps are emailed to the participants every fortnight (which is every 2 weeks!). 


I signed up for it because the description said "The design is just stunning, full of gorgeous Scandi inspired flora & fauna - it is the perfect project to stitch to celebrate the arrival of spring". Yes please! Next I will be stitching a bird and a bee. I am using 18 count Aida and enjoying the bright spring colours.


I also finished the embroidery on block #2 of Woven Wreaths with Kathy Schmitz. Thank you for the advice shared on last week's dilemma of a dangling thread loop. I tried a couple of the ideas but wasn't happy with it and eventually unpicked the stitches back to the loop, and then carried on. The fan stitched leaves were tricky for me, and I didn't get a good shape on all the leaves, but that's okay for my first try.

Yesterday I attended a guild meeting and came home feeling exhausted and full of inspiration! I took in 3 finished quilts (I did the binding only), and dropped off 3 of my mystery quilt tops to donate to community outreach work (Teamwork, Chilhowie, and Triangles at Play). I am hoping I get them back to do the binding. This cleared out some space in my sewing room and I am feeling inspired to start spring cleaning and get more projects finished.

What are you working on today? Are you starting new things or working on finishes? Link up your blog post below and share your hand stitching update with us. 


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