A Tisket A Tasket

A Tisket A Tasket

Have you seen my baskets? 

It sure feels good to finish a quilt and it's a nice way to end the week.  I went with a green/brown combination and am pretty pleased with how it turned out.  I think it works well with the different coloured baskets.

The weekend with hopefully be a relaxing one. I plan on working on my Civil War Bride quilt and maybe even start piecing Veranda Views. 

Until next time.....happy quilting!

Karen

January

Something about January feels good. I don't mind the cold, dark, snow covered days outside my window. It's warm and cozy inside. A pretty new calendar hangs on the wall. My day planner is organized and I dream of the year ahead.

Last year ended on a tidy note. I re-organized my sewing room and then got down to business. Three more Autumn Shades POTC blocks are ready for stitching. The September through December blocks for Sweet Nostalgia are traced and ready to go, as are all 12 blocks for Ring in the New! Lots of bobbin winding took place and now the last of my DMC and Cosmo floss are ready and waiting for new projects. The last three A Tisket, A Tasket baskets are complete. And, I met my Dear Jane goal for 2009. Because of lack of contrast, I was a little disappointed with a couple of blocks.  But, it was a good year overall.  So now, on with the New Year!

This year, I think I am going to try something a little different with my blog postings. Instead of once a week, I'm going to post a little more randomly. Definitely it will not be more then once a week or too long between postings that you forget about me. I must sacrifice some computer time in order to gain more sewing time. Lots of projects need to be finished and new ones started.

January

A childhood friend who reappears with every winter's snow.

First up, this new BOM that has me all excited. The original pattern was done in all black thread and for some reason a little dot of colour was used in just two blocks. I didn't like that at first, but since changed my mind. I can now see in other blocks where a hint of colour would be nice. For example, the carrot nose on the snowman. I'm not going to add colour to all the blocks, just a few.

Feeling bad that I fell behind on my A Tisket, A Tasket baskets, I worked hard over Christmas to get them done.  Now I am ready to piece together my quilt top.  Did you notice that Anne has a new free BOM for 2010, called Snowbound?  I wish I didn't see that!

October

November

December

Well, that's it for now.  January has been a very busy month for me and looks like it will continue into February.  I'm itching to get back to my Civil War Bride blocks and other ongoing projects.  First I would like to get A Tisket, A Tasket, Veranda Views and Country Calendar pieced and quilted.  My goal was the end of January, but seeing the month is almost half over, I'm now aiming for the end of February.

Until next time.....happy quilting!

Karen

One kind word can warm three Winter months.  ~ Japanese proverb

Tiny Baskets

I finial tired of looking at my Tiny Baskets hanging on the design wall and got down to business. The blocks and baskets were made from a charm pack called Hopscotch. I was pretty sure I had some other Hopscotch yardage, in my stash. One piece was all I came up with, so I went with it. Don't be afraid! If you look at it long enough, it grows on you.

Also completed

A Tisket, A Tasket September Basket

I took advantage of the t-shirt weather days last week and cleaned up my Dad's garden for the winter. I prefer doing the big clean up in the Fall, rather then in the Spring. Now, I wait for the leaves to fall. I hope to get mine done this week. The lawn is growing much slower now and I think the last lawn cutting will be the first of November.

There is nothing like a sale! DMC embroidery floss for 28 cents a piece. Normally, I pay 49 cents. Before I headed out I printed off the DMC floss chart and highlighted which ones I had. They sure do have lots of different colours. I don't have them all yet, but I'm getting there. Just 128 to go!

Until next week.....happy quilting!

Karen

September Resolutions

January is the time of year for resolutions, but I think September is the perfect time to revisit your goals. A time to reorganize, make decisions and get back on track. For me, this would not be possible without my little black book. It holds my list of needed supplies, for new or current projects. It also holds fabric swatches, lots of doodles and an inventory of all my quilting tools, patterns, threads, etc. I don't leave home without it!

Every year I resolve to be a little less the me I know and leave a little room for the me I could be.

I'm going to have to blame the Civil War Bride for my falling a month behind on my baskets. Anyway, here is my A Tisket A Tasket August Basket.

I had a little freezer paper scare. Three grocery stores before I found some. What's with that? I love freezer paper for applique and making my Dear Jane templates. I don't know what I would do without it. Two boxes came home with me, but I'm feeling a need to stock up.

Until next week.....happy quilting!

Karen

Dolce far niente

Yes, how sweet to do nothing.

Nothing but quilt!

But first a little reading. Look at the wonderful book I just added to my collection. I love every inch of it. This book is definitely going on my list of favourites. Visit Michele Hill's blog and be inspired. And, to add to the excitement, Barbara Brackman has a line of fabric out now called, The Morris Workshop.

All twenty Tiny Baskets are appliqued and this sweet little yellow one is my favourite. Now, what to do with them? Any suggestions?

I'm very excited about Lucy Boston POTC and have my templates cut and ready to go. One to trace the shape onto the fabric and the other to add the seam allowance. One day, I would like to try Inklingo, but my printer seems to have an issue with coloured ink.

My first POTC, as I'm pretty sure there will be more, will consist of sixteen hand pieced blocks. I have selected 48 fabrics from my stash, just for the blocks. Each block with be different, no duplication of fabric. Some blocks use only two fabrics, others use three or four. Some fabric I selected for fussy cutting and others just because I like them! My colour theme is based on my favourite time of the year, Autumn.

As I was going through my stash I found five pieces of William Morris fabric and two others that could be, but did not have anything written on the selvage. Very exciting! I have set them aside.

Vanilla Fluff Daylily

Stargazer Oriental Lily

The display of lilies in my garden right now, is breathtaking. Vanilla Fluff and Stargazer are just two of many lilies that would knock your socks off with their heavenly scent.

Speaking of flowers, I have been working on Karen's Flower Garden. Now complete is 24 of 92 flowers and they are almost as pretty as the lilies in my garden.

And, last up my July A Tisket A Tasket Basket or you could call it my Canada Day Basket, which is celebrated July 1st. My little lamb is made from flannel, but looks like wool. I love how flannel appliques. My flag size has been doubled to fit the stitching of the word Canada and I also appliqued tiny circles in the center of the flowers, instead of buttons.

Until next week.....happy quilting!



Karen

How Old?

Happy Blogoversary to me!

I can't believe it has been a year already. Each post a joy to write and every comment received, as special as the first. Thank you for all the wonderful comments over the past year. And, a special thank you to my Followers. I always enjoy visiting your blogs. Sadly, when I click on some of your pictures, it does not display a link. It may be that you do not have a blog, but if you do, get that link on there so I can come visit! Also, to my Other Followers, I know you are there and I thank you.

Blogging does keep me focused on my quilting, so my journey will continue. Because my quilting time is limited and I prefer to quilt by hand, I will never accomplish in a week, what many bloggers do. But that's okay. I enjoy the slow, steady pace and the contentment each stitch brings. It's food for the soul. I hope I will continue to have the pleasure of your company and the chance to meet others along the way.

A Tisket A Tasket June Basket

Until next week.....happy quilting!

Karen

A Little of This and That

My May A Tisket A Tasket basket is all finished. The June basket was posted on Friday and I can't wait to get going on that one. Because my baskets are all different colours, I am having a hard time picturing sashing. I'm not sure if it should be all the same fabric or a mix of fabric and colours and what colour? I just don't know.

In My Garden

Butterfly Peony

Country Calendar is such a sweet BOM. One day I would like to do the applique version. I'm not sure what was going on as I stitched my May block, but stitching a straight line was out of the question.

Started appliqueing my Tiny Baskets. These are the first four of twenty. I'm just going to make this quilt up as I go along.

Until next week.....happy quilting!

Karen

To Snip or Not to Snip

To snip or not to snip? I read in a book that if you snip the corners (a half-inch or less triangular section) of your fabric, before washing it, it will not unravel as much. So, that is what I have always done. I would cut off the threads when the fabric comes out of the washing machine and sometimes have to snip a few more, as I press. My basket would get pretty full. I started to wondered how much I would collect if I didn't snip the corners. So, I gave it a try. The next time I washed a load of fabric, I didn't snip and ended up with way less unraveling. Needless to say, I no longer snip before washing.

My April A Tisket, A Tasket basket is complete and yes, the chocolate bunny is missing. Because I so love chocolate, he never made it to the basket!

~

Do you remember my Baby Ralphie quilt? The one with the mini Dresden's. Well, I also have a larger Dresden quilt in the making, that I actually made before the Baby Ralphie one. I'm halfway through the hand quilting, but have not worked on it since Christmas. Shame on me! So close to finishing. Well, something has inspired me and my Dresden is back in the project rotation. Have you seen Thoroughly Modern Dresden by Anelie Belden?

If you love Dresden's, like I do, I think you will really like this book. Anelie has put some new twists on an old favourite. Wonderful blade-top variations, split blades and lots of great patterns for all skill levels. As I finish quilting my Dresden, I will be planning my next Dresden and one thing I can tell you, it's sure to be, a Thoroughly Modern Dresden.

Home Fire Phlox, Dwarf Purple Iris and Pink Bleeding Heart

Lots of rain this past week and the garden is alive with colour. Spring clean-up is complete. The compost pile has been turned over and is loaded with lots of big fat juicy worms. What does sun and rain bring? Weeds! So, off to the garden I go!

Until next week.....happy quilting!

Karen

Kiss Me, I'm Irish!

Well, half Irish!

Maybe that explains my love of the colour green and why a third (or more) of my fabric stash is green.

I was hoping to complete my Wee Bit O' Irish mini quilt, before St. Patrick's Day, but it's not going to happen.

Speaking of wee. . . . . . .

Should I try for a wee bit smaller? According to Paper Pieces that make the precut hexagons, mine is a 1/4 inch hexagon. They measure hexagons by one of the six sides. I would have thought it would be measured from flat side to flat side, through the middle, like my hexagon ruler. Anyway, that's wee no matter how you look at it.

Something did get finished last week. My March A Tisket, A Tasket Basket is complete. I placed my bunny just a little different, then the pattern, after seeing what Kaaren did with her block. Bunny now looks like he is leaping out of the basket.

Don't forget, the third Saturday of March is National Quilt Day. That's next Saturday, March 21.

Until next week.....happy quilting! (and happy St. Patrick's Day)

Karen

Meditative Handwork

When our hands are busy, our minds can rest.

The Ark

Completed Noah's Ark BOM

A Tisket, A Tasket February Basket

Until next week.....happy quilting!

Karen

BOM Week

Firstly, I would like to thank Robin, from Crafty Musings, for the Kreativ Blogger Award. Robin is a busy little quilter. Her Jane Stickle blocks are fantastic and the Autumn House BOM, she recently started, is right up my alley! I look forward to seeing each block. Thanks again Robin.

What's that? More free BOM's! Have you seen, Baltimore Bliss, Season of Grace and Geese in the Forest. Sadly, I will have to save these for another day, as my project boxes are full. Or, maybe I could purchase a few more project boxes!

Last week, I did a little more organizing. Once I found out the shelf life of DMC floss, I decided to better organize mine. I'm still working on it, as I have about 250 older skeins. The new floss can wait. Because the skeins unravel and lose shape, I decided to transfer them to bobbins. They will be stored in DMC's floss organizer boxes.

Last week was also BOM week. I finished January's A Tisket, A Tasket block and The Bugs, from Noah's Ark.

Then I completed the February block of Country Calendar.

Anyone can catch your eye, but it takes someone special to catch your heart. ~Author Unknown

Until next week.....happy quilting!

Karen

Amish Stripe

My Amish Stripe wall hanging is now pieced and ready for quilting.

The binding is also going to be done in the same light green fabric as the inner border.  Now, I just have to decide how to quilt it. Any suggestions?

Adding the black bars sure made the colours pop out. I am in the middle of making a small table topper with the leftovers. Waste Not, Want Not will be a good name for that one, don't you think?

I'm still dreaming of my trip to Shipshewana, Indiana. Here's what came home with me.

Thirty-five yards of fabric.

Some 1930's fabric.


Also, Civil War fabric.
 
And how can you not love the solids.


Some wonderful stencils.
 
Here is a brand of needles, I have yet to try, for Applique and hand piecing.
 

My favourite time of year! If you like the colours of Autumn, you are surely going to love pumpkins gone wild. I do believe some of my new solids will go nicely with it.

Here is my new fabric storage container. Love the colour. Just like Kermit the Frog.

Until next week.....happy quilting!

Karen