What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

Today is an important day in history, and for those who are too young to remember (I'm in that category), we need to take a moment today (and every day) and thank those who fought for our freedom. 

And NO to the silly people who always want Remembrance Day on a Monday so they can have a three-day weekend. We are fortunate in Canada that we've not had any major wars on our shores. There have been battles to be sure, but not a war. The current generation (and I, myself included) have no idea what it's ...

 A fairy ring! That's a terrific concept to explain the circle of fungi I spotted. It wasn't on my lawn - it was on the property line separating two front lawns on a different street. I took a closer look and OH MY --- what clusters of fungi!

Here's a better picture of the fungi. OH MY!!! It's almost a perfect circle!!

The fairy ring

And look how dense the fungi are!!!! That's pretty incredible. I've never seen anything like it before. I walk past those two houses every day and only noticed this now! 

Clusters ...

The little jobs around the house NEVER end! 

I "fixed" the bubbler for the pond. I had brought the entire thing into the house and realized that the teeny tiny hole at the end of the tube was clogged with debris. So I poked that all out, put some water in the sink, and VOILA - the bubbler is working again. Now, to put it back into the pond. 

Then I opened the door to the furnace room to get a basket and saw water on the floor. The furnace, which is only a couple of years old, has sprung a ...

I took my SIL with me on my trip to the Kawartha Quiltmaker Guild! She said she got to learn a lot about quilting, and a lot about me! We had a great conversation, the driving went by in a flash, and the weather was decent!

However, a great deal of fun was had at the guild meeting. What a wonderful group of ladies, and there were a lot of them! They will be hosting their quilt show on May 8-9, 2026, so be sure to put that on your calendar! I'm sure with the talent we saw in ...

Good grief! How much more grief can those dog quilts give me? Everything was going just great - the backing for the seventh dog quilt had one seam. That was easy. The top was done, and the three pieces for the batting were on the ironing board. 

The other quilt was loaded, and I started it in plenty of time, but alas, it was not to be. 

While I'd like to blame this one on the machine, I can really only blame myself. Why? Because I need to change those leaders. 

There is a weak spot in the center of ...

You know when you wake up and it's one of "those days?" That's how today feels. Thank goodness, I don't have to talk to anyone today! I slept well, but I didn't. Poor little Bear has an ear infection, and he kept scratching it. He has an appointment at the vet today at 5:45. 

Then I seem to be in a rut with those dog quilts. I'll admit that I'm getting tired of them. WAIT --- I can't - I still have three more to quilt. The constant process of making the batting and ...

 And just like that -- it's a new week. So many ideas and so little time, but the important thing is just to do! 

Speaking of batting bits, it's amazing how many quilts you can quilt with those bits! I've pulled a few pieces from that stack I brought downstairs, and it doesn't seem to have made a dent. I calculate there is enough batting here for about 20 quilts! That should cover the remainder of my dog quilts, and the ten for the favour, and a couple more! This is the last favor job I do ...

It was a bit of a train wreck day, but I still managed to get three things done! Remember, I mentioned I had the shingles shot the previous day? Well, about dinner time yesterday, it hit me, although my arm had been sore for most of the day. It didn't help that I had done a lot of upper arm work with Brooke, and I could feel that in my arms as well. 

I had a slight fever, accompanied by a chill, and I was exhausted. I went to bed with a hot Magic Bag and fell into a ...

LOL - Your comments are so funny! I'll answer them individually this morning!

But seriously -- WAIZE versus Google Maps? Oh dear --- DH and I have this discussion all the time. I'm a Google Maps girl, and he likes WAIZE and never ceases to encourage me to use it. Well, I have had ZERO issues with Google Maps. Any app I use uses Google Maps, like Geocaching, and my house locator (shh -- used for spying, not moving!), and so I love Google Maps! 

The issue with my car is that Android Auto seemed to be timing out - it had nothing ...

Thankfully, I had a great sleep last night. Why can one night be so different from another? I woke up at my ridiculous early wake-up time without an alarm and then decided to luxuriate in bed for another half hour, only to wake up again without the alarm. Then I decided it was time to get myself organized and out of bed. I have a lot of work to do today!!!

Remember the minor detail (the slot) on those bobbins? I decided that I am not keeping those old bobbins—the ones without the slot. Some of these bobbins had ...

Oh my --- I love the comments!!! YES -- I can see some individualized sew-alongs happening!!! One for the Savannah quilt and one for the suitcases!!!! And that William Morris quote --- you bet -- we all need that one in our house, and I'm going to look at it every time I touch anything. Hmmm --- there might not be anything left. I'd better warn Lexi and Murphy!! Right now they are helpful, well, no, they are beautiful and always will be!!

I confess that I wasn't quite as productive as I would have liked yesterday, but then I went on ...

Just waiting for the email wth the photos to come through! It's been a super productive retreat so far, and we still have a few days to go. Can I finish the remaining quilt tops for the dog quilts? They will have to wait unit October to be quilted, but that's OK. 

OK -- the pictures came through, but some of them need a bit of editing; however, that doesn't seem to want to happen this morning. No big deal -- some are sideways -- we'll just have to let it go. 

This first picture is a bit weird ...

Lol --- yes --- depending on the time of year you were here at Springhouse Retreat -- many of us have watched the corn grow! There never seems to be a lack of entertainment in the form of the fancy equipment moving in and out of that massive driving shed! I find it fascinating!

I've done pretty well at my goal of making those eight quilt tops from the dog fabric. Here is number one. 

Dog quilt number one!

I want to keep them simple and easy to piece. I want them to be approximately 60 inches by 72 inches, and I ...

If you have been looking for some new pooch patterns, here you go. My most popular dog pattern is DOGS ONLY…

This popular dog quilt offers 11 block patterns for only $10. If purchased separately, the block patterns would cost $33. Such a good deal to buy the quilt pattern. Since Dogs Only is so popular , I thought it was time to design another quilt based on pooches….

My DOG LOVER QUILT has 12 block patterns and the paw print pattern for the corners. That is 13 block patterns for $15. So much cheaper than buying them separately. I had ...

I’ve been busy designing paper pieced dog blocks and quilts for my friends and customers. It’s been exciting putting together a collection of blocks for one specific breed. These are some of my recent collections…

Inspired by my friend’s beloved Cavalier King Charles, all 4 of these blocks were used in a quilt and some pillows for an auction. Thanks to Sara for providing this photo. You can find these Cavaliers in my ETSY SHOP. I currently have 160 dog blocks to choose from.

My niece Mandy has a Doberman which inspired this lap quilt for a ...

Everyone knows how much I love to design animal patterns. Here is my newest paper pieced pattern, A DOG FOR ALL SEASONS.

This adorable pattern includes all 4 blocks, LABRADOR WITH BUTTERFLY (spring); BEAGLE WITH FLOWER (summer); RETRIEVER WITH PUMPKIN (autumn); FRENCH BULLDOG WITH SCARF (winter). Use them to create pillows, potholders, or a lovely table runner for the dog lover in your life. You can keep these projects out all year!

Although they are all super cute, I am partial to this LABRADOR! He’s my fave. All of the block ...

These are some of the new blocks I have been creating. Most of them were customer requests.

HAPPY PIT BULL is a rendition of a customer’s pet. Although pit bulls are not my favorite breed, I’m loving them more now that I have this sweetie. I love this image so much, I put it on the back of a shirt. No one will mess with me now.

This SHELTIE is Caroline’s pet named Skittles. Adorable!

This is a very serious dog, the MASTIFFF. And this is a sweetheart of a ...

Is there a special child in your life? Mine too! Actually, quite a few of them, and I love to sew cute gifts for all of them! That’s why I created my newest book, SEW CUTE BABY ANIMALS.

With 17 adorable mix and match baby animal images and 6 fun projects, this book will provide you lots of reasons to be creative.

Patterns for baby quilts, a diaper tote, catch-all container, bib, and burp cloth are all included.

Here are just a few of the cutest baby animals ever…all ...

My garden is calling me… and I’m enjoying sunny days in my yard. Here’s my “SucculentTurtle”. I left him out in the snow all winter and about half of the hen and chicks survived the Wisconsin cold.

When a customer asked me to design some “pond creatures”, a turtle was a must.

Paper piecing a fantastic turtle is all about the fabric you can find for the turtle’s shell. I just happened to have this scrap left from a previous project, and it is perfect for a turtle done completely in cool colors. I have ...