What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

 I attended a Stitching Day on Saturday, organised by my quilt club.  It's a very casual affair, a small friendly group of us go along, coffee and tea provided, we take a packed lunch, and work on whatever project we wish.  I find it too difficult to unplug and transport my sewing machine anywhere these days, so take hand work with me.  And stitching a quilt binding down is perfect for me on these stitching days.  You may remember I am doing secret sewing with blue hearts and stars - these two quilts have now been commercially quilted, and I ...

 Christine and I spent last weekend at Camp Kintail at the crafter's retreat.  Others were making paper crafts, scrapbooks, knitting and painting. Four participants were quilting.   It's always fun to see what everyone is making. The food and snacks were plentiful and tasty too. 

My first project was an open wide zipper pouch that I had started at home. This one may just stay here for me to use.  This project was a good place to use the large scale print that I loved but would not be good to cut up into smaller pieces 

It's DONE, and I had a small ceremony as I removed this project from the Visual To-Do List. I LOVE that list, and it's so motivating to me!!! 

One project is removed from the Visual To-Do list.

YES -- this is the quilt that I was going to make for someone, and we decided to abandon the project for several reasons. Making quilts for others is the largest category on that list with NINE quilts. One down, and eight to go! 

But getting to the point of removing the project from the list involved dealing with everything in the ...

 I'm feeling a little drowsy this morning sitting here by the fire. I've just mopped the whole upstairs because we've had a lot of activity here. It's been a trying week because our furnace quit working and what a time to choose to do that during these very cold days in February. I'm thankful to have Brad who helped me with getting wood up from the back basement door for our fireplace...that is quite a trek. The little heaters we also used were okay but it was really nice to be able to keep ...

I'm coming along quite well with knitting my cotton summer top, although to be honest I don't find cotton very nice to work with.  But that's what I'm using in this project so of course I will persevere.  The back is completed, and I've started on the front, which I will take away on holiday with me.  It's always good to have knitting at the ready, just in case I feel like doing a few rows now and again.

I was up early and out the door to refill the bird feeders. I've added a third this winter as it's turning into an especially cold one. Wind chill then was -35C ( up from the -39C low overnight) and wind in strong gusts made it most uncomfortable. That cold makes it such a relief to be out of it and back into the warmth of the house. But there are drifts over the front steps so I'll be back out there soon to shovel which will warm me up. 

I always feel lucky to get a glimpse ...

Today will be 30 degrees and then we will be above freezing for a week..or more.  The little bit of snow that was on the grass melted on Friday.  There are still small piles at the side of my driveway.

 Here is my kitchen window very peaceful winter view as it will look pretty much now until April. The light is from the big garage and you can see the snow curtain we have from the snow sliding down the roof. 

My bigger bunny is still here. Though he spends time under the feeders, he also munches on the left over garden growth which I purposely leave till spring to clean out. What exactly he is finding to eat there, I'm not sure. 

 I've got three things on the knitting needles at the moment, no socks though, but I'm concentrating on a light summer top I'm making for myself.  For this I'm using some pretty pastel knobbly sort of yarn I found in the local op shop (thrift store). 

 I only have four balls so it's been a bit of an adventure to see just how far it was going to go.  Not too far at all, as it turned out, so I had to purchase  some balls of pale pink cotton yarn to eke it out in ...

I have been away far too long, and really need to get back into a routine. But then, most of last year was thrown into disarray on several occasions, so maybe disarray is my new routine. Not a single stitch has been sewn by me for nearly two months and I am having withdrawal symptoms. But I did get to teach my 19yo granddaughter some new embroidery stitches and helped her start a new project. That counts.

A warning in advance, this post has no sewing, but there is some fun knitting in amongst the myriad of photos. It is ...