Small Problems

It is getting a lot easier to stay inside now and quilt.  The mosquitoes have arrived and there are so many of them, I saw a group carry off a starling!
Last night, as I was coming home from Huntsville, and left the highway, I had to keep putting on my windshield washer fluid.so I could remove the bug crud.  I am sure there were other small flying creatures beside the mosquitoes but they were in the majority.
I have been working on a new quilt from a Missouri Star video.  It is very quick and is basically five inch squares.  My plan had been to quilt a top but my machine keeps arguing with me and I don't have the patience to solve the problem that is causing the thread to keep breaking.  I will change the needle and, if that doesn't work, the thread.  If neither of those things are the solution, I will have to check for burs on the throat plate (am pretty sure it isn't that) or bits of thread caught somewhere. Usually one of those items are what causes most problems.
While both the bugs and malfunctioning machine is an irritation, they are nothing compared to what is happening in other areas of this country and the U.S.  This is the time of year when forest fires are such a problem in the northern parts of Canada.  Some have been started by lightning but the majority by human carelessness. One individual who believes he has the right to have a campfire despite all warnings can be deadly for all living beings human and otherwise, cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to fight and devastate forests and personal belongings.
On the other end of the disaster scale is the floods in Texas.  Homes, roads and fields have been washed away.  People have drowned.  A dreadful situation which will take many months to overcome.
So, broken thread or flying insects are little to complain about.
Blessings,

Teddy Bear Garden-Commissioned Quilt

 

Here is a photo of the commissioned quilt that I made.  I used a panel, added some border rows and machine quilted it.  I wanted to use the backing as a self binding but it was a bit short on the one side.  I trimmed it back, added a red strip and then the white backing fabric.  I think it adds a bit of zip to what would otherwise be a plain back.  The label was done on white with a red border.

Blessings,

 

 

 

And the Winner Is...

Congratulations to Fran who won the book draw.  If you will send me your mailing address, Fran, I will get the book out to you.
If you didn't win, stay tune as I will be having other draws in the future.
Blessings,

A LIttle Brown Bird

We have had a little brown bird sticking close to the house for the past week.  At first, we thought it had been injured, and we still aren't sure if that isn't the case, but it is flying.  We have a niger feeder and a nearby water dish and he/she is staying close to them.  I thought it might be a song sparrow, then a Lincoln sparrow but a man on Facebook thought it was a pine siskin.  All of those birds look somewhat the same and my book says they like to be in groups.  This little one is a loner which is, I believe, unusual.  Of course, I don't claim to be an authority on birds so I could be completely wrong.
If you have any suggestions, I would like to here them.

I was planning on finishing my baby quilt on the frame machine but gave up in frustration.  Nothing went right.  I decided to finish it on my table machine.  Won't be as fancy but it will be done.
Blessings,

An Aussie Twin

Apparently, my company has a twin in Australia.  Quite by accident, I found a company there with the same name as mine although with a different bit after the dot.  I am dot net and they are dot com.au.  These two ladies have a nice store on Etsy and, especially if you are in the area, you might like to check it out. (arkangelcreations14)
We decided it was easier to coexist than worry about the duplication.
Just a reminder that I am giving away a booklet.  Check out yesterday's post for the details.
We have a large community event in our village on Sat. and I have been working on getting a few extra things in the Art Centre to sell.  I will be post a like to the Centre's site as soon as I get it operational.  Right now, it is a work in progress.
Looks as though we might be getting some rain.  It is quite overcast.
Hope to see your name popping up as someone who wants the little book.
Blessings,

Win a Great Booklet

I love how quilters react so quickly to a need.  It doesn't matter if it is an individual or a group the response is the same; what can I do to help.  A relative of a woman who belongs to my on line group lost home and possessions in a house fire and, when the news was shared, the reaction was immediate.  Pillowcases are going to be made by a member who lives close by and will be taken to the lady and her children.  As they are currently moving from  place to place, having a small possession of their own to take with them will mean a lot.
I would like to celebrate the generosity of quilters by giving away a little booklet.  It is called No Math Quilt Charts & Formulas by Landauer Publishing.  It is a little purse size book with 36 pages of information on everything a quilter needs to know to enlarge blocks,  what size to cut fabric to make a specific half square triangle etc.
If you would like to have your name entered for a chance to win, send me a comment and don't forget to include your first and last name.
Blessings,

A Rushed Quilt

I have got quite a bit of quilting done today.  I have almost finished the quilt that was on my frame.  I have had to take it from the frame to remove some stitching and then need to turn it the opposite way so I can finish the one end.  It was starting to get to thick to be able to do the rows properly. 
I also got started on a rush baby quilt.  Mom is due in less than two weeks and the gifter would like it for them although a bit later would be alright.  Fortunately, I had a panel on hand that will do so just add a few border rows and it will be ready for quilting.  I usually like to quilt these tops by hand but there won't be any time to do that.

I only had a bit more quilting to do on my bear applique quilt (this one is being done by hand) and then I can get the binding done.

We had one of our rare sunsets last night.  We don't often see them here because of the trees but, once in a while one gets high enough to be visible.

 

 

blessings,