H1N1

Pardon me while I rant.  I have been watching the news broadcasts of all the long lines as people wait to get their flu shots.  Most of them consist of family groups; parents with babies and small children.  They are waiting in these lines for hours.  Hours! with children that need to eat, go to the toilet, run off energy.  Waiting in line with people who, potentially, have the flu or other communicable illness. 
For weeks, we have been told of the necessity of getting the vaccination.  Doctor's have said that 'while most cases of H1N1 will be mild, people should get the needle to prevent the spread of the virus to the vulnerable and to reduce the effect on the economy'.  People listened and responded and the very people who told us to do this are not prepared.
All this leaves me wondering what would happen if we had a truly dangerous pandemic.  If we can't be prepared for something like the flu, then how are we to be ready for an outbreak like polio, a plague, or germ warfare.  The reality is that we won't be. Big brother does not have all the anwers.
So, what to do.  I think that as a nation, we do not accept that we will have to be uncomfortable or even to suffer at times.  We  need to take back responsbility for ourselves.  Governments have taught us to depend on them.  We are told that they will provide our care from the time we are born until we day we die and, not only is it impossible, it is also unrealistic.
My prescription:  exercise, eat healthy, laugh, pray, get lots of sleep, reduce anxiety and accept that your life will contain good days as well as bad.
Blessings.

Peekaboo Party Quilt

Today our quilt has a name.  Peekaboo Party seemed appropriate as the theme squares just pop up here and there and I really had fun doing this so, party it is.

I hope you can see my quilt top clearly.  As you can see, the blocks do make a pattern. 

Now let's put these blocks together.  You can use whatever layout you wish but I will give you mine so that you have something to start with.  I will be referring to B1 (Block 1) etc

Row 1-B1, B2, B3, B2, B1
Row 2-B2, B1, B2, B1, B2
Row 3-B1, B2, B1, B2, B3
Row 4- B2, B3, B2, B1, B2
Row 5- B1, B2, B1, B2, B1
Row 6- B2, B1, B2, B3, B2
Row 7- B3, B2, B1, B2, B1

Sew blocks into strips, join strips together in order given. Press.  Trim if necessary.
First Border:  Cut your border fabric 1 1/2 " wide.  Sew to bottom and top and then the long sides. Press
Second Border:  This can be cut from your theme fabric.  Cut strips 3 1/2" wide and follow steps above.
The third border is the binding.  Measure through center of the top lengthways and across.  Do this twice to make sure your numbers are correct.  Add numbers together and multiply by 2.  This is your binding length.  Add 1 1/2" for joining.
Cut backing  to size of top plus 2" all around.  Cut batting to size of top.
Layer your quilt, pin, top stitch and bind.

Next week, I will give you some top stitching ideas as well as directions to change the size of your quilt.
Please send me photos of your completed project and I will post them to the blog.
As always, if you have any questions, please ask:  arkangelcreations@gmail.com
Welcome to new member Cathy N.
If you enjoyed this project,  let me know in the comments or by e mail.  In Dec. (or sooner), I am going to have some quick projects that would be suitable for last minute Christmas gifts.
Blessings to all.

Members

Thank you, Lori, for your comment and encouragement and welcome to new member, Alyson.

When I first started this blog, I wondered if I would be doing it solely for my own writing experience. It is gratifying to find that so many of you are enjoying it. There are a myriad of internet related things with which we can fill our time and so it is a real compliment (and responsiblity) when someone choses to spend that time on something you are doing.

In honour of you all, I am including a simple paper piecing pattern today. It is, as you can see, at the top of the page. (Still can't make the photos go where I want). I am still learning about pdf's and blogs so thank you for bearing with me as I strive to improve this site. If you would like the pattern, just let me know at: arkangelcreations@gmail.com

Tomorrow, I will have the third installment of the mystery quilt and its name.

Alyson, if you are a quilter, you can still join in on the mystery quilt. Just read the back posts.

Blessings to you all

Names

The last Monday of each month I go to the Ladies Circle of Friendship in Burk's Falls. It is a gathering of, mainly, church going ladies. We have recently been learning about the various names for God and what they mean. This has started me thinking of the importance of names.
Throughout my life, my name has been mispelt or mispronounced. Anna is not a long or difficult name but, for some reason, people have trouble remembering the last 'a'. My maiden name is Burk and I had the opposite problem; people wanted to add an 'e' no matter how many times I would spell it. My husband's last name is Wager and, of course, he often has an 'n' added.
We often associate characteristics with certain names. You would not expect a bulldog to be called Fluffy unless the owners had a strange sense of humour.
All names have meanings and I admit that I have never been able to live up to mine. Anna means full of mercy, grace and prayer. Roger's name means famous spearman which, as he is an avid hunter, is appropriate. My son Richard's name means strong king which is somewhat obvious given all the royalty with that name.
Once in a while I will meet someone with a name that I feel is in contrast to their personality. When that happens, I always have trouble remembering it. Another case of my strangeness: I have always favoured 'L' names for females and "D" ones for males. Why, I don't know.
For the last ten or so years, parents have either been making up names for their children or changing the spelling. While some are rather nice, others doom the child to a lifetime of explaining their name. I met a young girl whose name was Dalyce and I thought it was pronounced dal ees. Nope. It was Dallas.
And, of course, many names have changed gender which makes for some rather amusing results when it comes to meanings. Darcy, for example, means dark man.
Blessings to all, whatever your name.

Home Sweet Heidi

I have mentioned our little westiepoo, Heidi previously but, at risk of boring you, I must tell you what she recently did. Shortly after bringing her home, we bought a wire crate to put her in when we were away. If we didn't do that, she would have chewed up everything in the house. As she got older, she seemed to grow out of that stage and, as the crate takes up a bit of room, we decided to let her roam free.
We still did a quick check around before going out and she really has been doing better. Until Sunday. We went off as usual to the service after making sure she had been out and any needles or other sharp objects were putting away. When we came home, my husband mentioned that there was some thread on the carpet. That isn't an uncommon occurance. When you quilt, the house tends to be decorated with thread. However, I took a closer look and saw a little nest of strands and right near it was the remains of a thread spool.
Heidi had completly demolished the plastic. We are still finding thread nests so I am hoping that she didn't ingest any. So, we have once more set up the crate. Fortunately she likes it so that isn't a problem. And, equally fortunately, she didn't demolish my shoes this time but, my stars, that dog loves to chew.

Mystery Quilt Week Two page 2

Block Three

Now we are going to use the theme fabric.

Cut all remaining fabric into 9 cm (3 1/2") squares.

Sew into blocks as shown in the photos.

Press. Trim if ncessary.

Mystery Quilt Week Two

Block 1 and Block 2

You will have two postings today. When you have finished reading/printing this one, go directly to the next for block three. (Sorry for the inconvience. I haven't figured out how to get the photo to stay where I want them.)

Before we start todays session, I would like to stress the importance of reading through all the instructions, especially those to do with colour placement. Study the photos to be sure you understand each colours position.

You have 2 sets of strips in light colours which we will label L1 and L2 respectively.

You have 4 sets of dark/bright coloured strips which will be D1, D2, D3 and D4

D3 and D4 were cut from the 1/2 meters (20") of fabric

Cut 19 cm (7 1/2") from one L strip and 27 cm (10 1/2") from the other L strip.

Set these short pieces aside. They are for block 3

Block 1

Sew the remaining D3 strips to the L1 strips

Sew the remaining D4 strips to the L2 strips.

Note: ensure that every strip is sewn together in the same way i.e. all the D strips on top.

Press strips open. Cut strips into 9 cm (3 1/2" ) sections.

Sew sections together using Block 1 photo as guide. Press. Trim if necessary to make a 16.5 cm (6 1/2") square.

Block 2

Sew remaining D strips together ensuring that each colour will be in the same position as shown in the photo. Press.

Cut into 9 cm (3 1/2") sections. Sew sections together using block 2 photo as a guide.

Press. trim if necessary.

Block three will continue on the next posting.