Oh baby it’s cold outside…

Big Old Oak tree

So I decided that I was going to write a post about warmer things. It will be mostly pictures of warmer, sunnier days. Don’t get me wrong, I love all of the seasons of the year and living in the Northeast gives us the opportunity to experience them all. So here are some warm memories.

Bonfire at the beach

I love the memories that we make in the summer at the beach.

Columbine

Iris and Poppies

I love the beautiful flowers in my garden.

wonderful memories with people we love

The beach, the pool, the fourth of July!

the beach

4th of July

the pool

Just a reminder that the snow will melt and the winds will warm and more memories will be made.

In the mean time stay warm, bake bread, make soup and cuddle under homemade quilts.

Be Kind…

Faith

It is like a Black & White movie….

Jan19

It snowed here yesterday. There was no wind so the trees are still covered in the wet heavy snow. When I looked outside this morning it reminded me of a black and white movie. The sun is not shining brightly, everything is monochrome. There is no color. It is a very strange look for a place that usually is a riot of color.

Even Gracie seems to lose her color. Gracie is a chocolate lab, here she looks like a black lab.

I am a person who rarely wears earth tones, my quilts are always made with bright colors, but somehow looking out the windows it makes me want to make a black and white quilt. I will probably change my mind once the sun shines brightly again but this is where so much inspiration for quilts comes from for me. I alway say that if I could see 2 or 3 or more colors together in nature than why not put them in a quilt.

Enjoy the day. I plan on doing some cooking, quilting, knitting and football game watching. Busy day but some how very peaceful, or pieceful depending on which activity I am working on.

Be kind….

Faith

Snowy Owls….

Jan16

Snowy Owl – Biddeford Pool

Snowy Owls have moved south. I have seen several news reports about these birds. They have moved south because of lack of food in the Tundra. I guess there are more owls than there is food for them to eat. The reports have said that most of the birds are young males. They are causing problems at the airports from Portland, ME to Logan in Boston, they like open spaces.

I see these owls almost every day on my way to the Post Office. I drive down a narrow strip of land that runs between a large tidal bay and the ocean. There are houses on both sides of the road. I see these owls sitting on the chimneys, and power poles. Today I saw 3 of them.

sitting on the post

They sit and swivel their heads around watching. They soar through the sky, scanning for food. Our backyard borders a Rachael Carson protected piece of land. I see them flying over this area, swooping and diving through the sky. They amaze me!

They have become celebrities in these parts. The birders are out with their cameras and huge lens taking pictures. Everyday when I see them all out taking pictures I say that I need to grab my camera and telephoto lens and get some pictures. Oops… I forgot again.

I live in a place where wild life is abundant. We see all sorts of birds, song birds, seagulls of course, loads of turkeys trotting along between houses.

We see deer all the time, there was a set of twin fawns and their Momma in the yard this fall. We even see the occasional Moose.

I live in an amazing place – the views are breath taking, the animals are abundant and fabulous and the people are friendly and helpful. I am blessed. I am also going to put my camera by the door so that I can get a better picture of one of these owls.

Be Kind…

Faith

A Conundrum….

Jan15

First of the Cobbled Court books

Once again this year I am participating in a Block Swap with the Cobbled Court Quilt Circle. The original reason for this group is to discuss Marie Bostwick’s wonderful books – “A Thread so Thin”, “Ties that Bind”, “A Thread of Truth”. Do you sense a theme? All of the books are related to and revolve around the story of the life of a group of Quilters. I must tell you that some of my best friends are quilters. I have flesh and blood friends who I gather with, to work on quilts, share our lives both the good and the bad and make quilts for charity. I also have my cyber-friends. I have never met them in person – hopefully that will change in October 2014 when I attend a quilt retreat, but we work on projects, encourage each other and all read Marie’s books. We will be doing a block exchange again this year. One of the members of the group has chosen a block and directed us to a you tube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rgQd6asPQs that gives the directions and a detailed look at how to assemble the block. I decided to use the block in a wedding quilt that I need to make for a family member.

quilt block from video

So as I watched the video I snapped a picture of the completed block with my cellphone. I need a visual when I am assembling blocks. I need to make sure that I have everything in the correct place. Of course sometimes even with the picture I mess things up but the chances are slighter when I have a picture in front of me. So I blissfully stitched along last night – I posted the picture below to show my cyber-friends my progress.

my first block

So when you look at the two pictures they are the same. However, when you look at the completed quilt in this picture you can see that the pinwheels are spinning a bit differently.

quilt in the video

So what is the solution? Well, here is the immediate solution for me… I will continue to make the blocks the way that I have been because I am not going to rip out 4 blocks that look fine to me, and I will run out of fabric if I scrap them. So if you look at the picture of the individual block (and my block) the pinwheel is made one way and the pinwheel in the completed quilt is made another way. Oh the conundrum!!

So we – we being the Cobbled Court Quilters will have to be advised as to which way the pinwheels are to be done. I will continue to make my blocks the way that I have made the first 4 blocks. I will post a picture when the top is completed. I need either 30 or 36 blocks to have enough for a queen size quilt, I have a wonderful idea for a border but I will need to either search my stash or go shopping for part of the border. Either one of those choices is fun!

Keep Quilting….

Be Kind…

Faith

UFO’s…and I don’t mean the ones from outer space…

Jan11

Dresden Plate

Once again I have entered a UFO Challenge. As quilters, many of us have projects that we started many years ago, with the best intentions of finishing them. Then life gets in the way, or we lose interest, or some wonderful new pattern or fabric or class grabs our attention. Yes, we can be a very fickle group!

When I started this project I lived in upstate NY in the Helderberg mountains, in this big beautiful Victorian home.

First house – Westerlo, NY 1986

The majority of the colors in the house were burgundy and green – my husbands favorite colors. They were rich, beautiful colors that reflected the colors of the time that the house was built. We spent 13 wonderful years living in this home. But I digress.

The pattern for this quilt was published in American Patchwork & Quilting in April 1996. I fell in love with it and decided to make it. The pieces are machine pieced and machine appliqued. The colors were perfect for the wallpaper and carpet in our bedroom at the time. Needless to say I have lived in 3 different houses since then and the colors do not go in my bedroom any longer. BUT… they are Victorian Christmas colors. So I will use this as a Christmas quilt after it is completed.

one corner

I need to piece the backing and it will be dropped off at the longarm quilter in early February. I will be dropping off 2 quilts at that point. The second quilt is made up of hand pieced stars. It is a sampler quilt so each block is different. I need to finish up the borders on that one and then I will show you a picture of it.

These are 2 of the 6 quilts on my UFO list. The prospect of getting these 2 quilts done is very exciting for me. There is a wonderful feeling when a project that you have been working on for many years is almost done.

So quilters, knitters, crafters – go check out your stash and pull out those UFO’s and get to work. Get them done – you will be so happy that you have completed them. Pat your self on the back and go start another project.

Keep creating…

Be Kind…

Faith

Celtic Christmas Part 5…

Jan2

I have been plugging away on Part 5 of Bonnie Hunters Celtic Solstice quilt. (http://www.quiltville.blogspot.com/p/celtic-solstice-mystery.html) I am in the final stretch of getting this section completed. (http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2013/12/mystery-monday-link-up-part-5.html) I am very happy with the fabric choices that I made and I made a serious dent in my Christmas fabrics, some of which are over 20 years old. So far all of the fabrics are from the “stash”. I love that the Christmas section of my shelves is a little emptier than it was before. That means that I will need to buy more fabric to fill it up. (Just Kidding Chuck!!!)

the backyard

We are in the midst of a major winter storm right now. The temperature is 4 degrees, the snow is falling and the wind is blowing. I love it!!!! The fridge is stocked and the fireplace is ready to light. The only down side is that I have a miserable head cold. I shouldn’t complain because I can’t remember the last time I had a head cold but I do feel pretty lousy. Luckily I have no reason to leave the house.

Here are a few pictures of the chaos that is also known as my sewing table. It doesn’t look like much but all of those pieces are strung together waiting for the next step. In some cases I need to add the final piece, in others I just need to press and trim the final step. I will get these done soon provided the power doesn’t go out.

organized chaos

some completed Part 5’s waiting to be pressed and trimmed

After Bonnie posted the final step of the quilt I just had to put a couple of the blocks together to see how they would look. I am very pleased with the final product so far and I can’t wait to get moving on this quilt again.

2 completed blocks – I just love them!

If you are in the path of the storm stay warm and safe. If you are in warmer climates enjoy the sunshine. I am very happy to be snowbound on the coast of Southern Maine. I think that I am going to make a big pot of Chili this afternoon – perfect food for a stormy day.

Keep sewing and

Be Kind…

Faith

Celtic Christmas part 4….

Dec26

a gift from Charlotte

The rush is over – the packages are opened, the wrapping paper is picked up, the Christmas brunch and dinner have been eaten and the leftovers have been nibbled on. We are very blessed! We had a wonderful Christmas, we laughed with and at each other, we opened wonderful presents from each other, some expected and some surprises. I will talk about all of that on another day.

Today we will take a quick peek at the progress that I am making on my Celtic Christmas – Bonnie Hunters Celtic Solstice. http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2013/10/2013-mystery-time-introducing-celtic.html Since I am using my Christmas stash I am calling it Celtic Christmas.

I have finished the first 3 steps – completely!!! I sometimes wondered if I would ever be done with the Chevrons. I know that many of us had the same doubts but little by little my piles of chevrons grew and finally it was done. The pinwheels did not take me nearly as long. I am about half way finished with Step 4. You can see some of the other progress on Step 4 here – http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2013/12/mystery-monday-link-up-part-4.html

100 complete 200 to go

strips sewn together and ready to be cut

I will sew tonight and maybe be almost done tomorrow morning just in time for Step 5.

I am really looking forward to seeing what Step 5 will be. I really love the process of the mystery quilt. I imagine quilters all over the world sewing the same pieces together – struggling with the same issues and the same frustrations. How fun is that?!?

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas –

Be Kind…

Faith

Celtic Christmas part 3…

Dec18

: view of backyard

Good snowy morning from southern Maine. Since Saturday we have gotten 2 feet of snow. It is a winter wonderland outside and for the first time in several years we are going to have a white Christmas. I realize that for a huge part of the world there is no such thing as a white Christmas but having grown up in the Northeast of the U.S., I love having a white Christmas. Some would, and have called me crazy but I still get just as excited about a snow storm now as I did when I was 5. There is some rain predicted for the weekend which could put a huge dent in my snowshoeing plans, we will just have to wait and see.

I have been spending a ton of time sewing lately – as have many of the Bonnie Hunters fans around the world. Here is the link to the latest mystery – http://www.quiltville.blogspot.com/p/celtic-solstice-mystery.html. I have not finished Part 2 yet but I am definitely making progress. To see everyone’s progress check this out – http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2013/12/celtic-solstice-mystery-monday-link-up_4572.html

some chevrons done other parts in progress

String piecing progress

I have also started Part 3 – I have all of my bits and pieces cut. One of my good quilty friends Georgette, sent me the short cut that was mentioned here – http://quiltville.blogspot.com/search?q=gretchen. Unfortunately, I had already cut all of my 2″ strips so I couldn’t utilize this helpful short cut. I cut them all using the EZ-Angle as mentioned in Bonnie’s original directions. I did speed things up by layering 4 strips of fabric at a time, so it took me less time than I thought it would, but I still need to sew them together.

bits and pieces

As you can see I have made 1 pinwheel – yes I did sew it wrong the first time, and I know that I will again. Pinwheels always give me some trouble.

one correct pinwheel

I think that I am being very careful only to realize that I have goofed. Hopefully the goofs will be few and far between. Only time will tell.

I will be sewing again tonight – one thing that Bonnie’s Mysteries do for me is get me into my sewing room. I get so many projects finished just because I am in my sewing space. I am also usually digging through my stash which causes me to find long, lost and forgotten projects.

view from my sunroom – icy windows

With winter here, ahead of schedule, I am anticipating getting a lot of projects started and finished this winter. As I have said before there is nothing better than a quilt in your lap on a cold winter night.

I am looking forward to Part 4 on Friday morning – I do not anticipate getting very much of it done before the release of Part 5 but my head will be working on it.

Have a wonderfully Merry Christmas – keep sewing and,

Be Kind….

Faith

Celtic Christmas – part 2…

Dec10

Our Christmas tree this year.

Bonnie posted part 2 of the mystery on Friday but before I could get sewing I needed to decorate the house, and Sunday was such a beautiful day we took Gracie for a walk.

When all of that was finished I started cutting and stitching like a crazy lady. I have been working on some Christmas presents but I have also been working on Celtic Christmas aka Bonnie Hunter’s Celtic Solstice http://www.quiltville.blogspot.com/p/celtic-solstice-mystery.html.

I am not finished sewing but I am finished cutting and marking.

I have started to sew. Bonnie’s hint to mark all of the center lines does make getting a true rectangle much easier.

I have put together a few of the chevrons just to be sure that I had the concept correct.

As you can see I am keeping Bonnie’s instructions right in front of me because the potential for mistakes is very high with all of these angles.

I have been saving the triangles that I am trimming off. I haven’t decided whether or not I will use them but i just can’t bring myself to throw the out right now. I have seen that many of you have completed this step already – one question – do you sleep?

I love to look at all of the different combinations of colors that everyone is using. It is such fun to try to imagine what the end result will look like.

It is snowing a little bit here in Southern Maine right now and that is fine with me. I have no where that I need to go so I can stay home and sew. Enjoy the process.

Be Kind…

Faith

What Christmas really means to me…

Dec7

Our Christmas tree this year.

Christmas – what exactly does that word mean to you? It isn’t about manic shopping or tons of “GREAT” bargains, it isn’t about getting the best gift for your kids or from your kids. It is about tradition, it is about family, it is about love, it is about laughing and memories.

A friend recently posted on Facebook that she couldn’t take 19 more days of Christmas music, she was not raised as a Christian so she does not have the memories or traditions that I do, so I suppose I understand how annoying “Christmas” can be to her. My first thought of course was – Change the station, but then I started to really think about Christmas meant to me.

As a child we decorated our tree on Christmas Eve, the rest of the house would be decorated through out the month of December but the tree was always decorated on Christmas Eve. We would start it and our parents would finish it. As we got older we would finish it with them. I do remember very specific directions about how to properly place the tinsel – I also recall some good natured arguments about the placement of the tinsel. Side note – I do not use tinsel on my Christmas tree! I also remember waking my parents up at about 4:00 in the morning (I of course did not realize that my father had only gone to bed about an hour earlier) – to open presents – “GO BACK TO BED FAITH” was what I heard from their bedroom.

I have wonderful memories of Christmas and none of them have to do with the gifts that I received. I remember my mother accidently doubling a recipe for cookies and consequently having a ton of cookies to bake. I also remember the time my mother was putting candied cherries on cookies only to have my younger sister eat all of the cherries off of the cookies. I remember my grandmother ringing bells under the table and telling me that there was a present upstairs that Santa’s helpers had left me. I remember Christmas Crackers on Christmas Eve and wearing funny crowns all through dinner.

Gingerbread Cookies

Christmas for me is about remembering precious moments and creating new ones. It is about the love that I always felt growing up, it is about the cookies that my mother made and my grandmother made that I now make. It is about talking about the memories with your children, and parents, and cousins and dear family friends. It is about going out with your dearest friends to cut your Christmas tree, drinking hot chocolate and eating candy canes and then going back to the house for a wonderful meal.

Christmas is about the season – it is about family, friends and memories. It is about being thankful for the blessings that we have and about sharing them with each other.

But most important it is about LOVE – I love the season, I love the reason for the season, I love the time spent with family and friends. I love the rush and the crush, I love the trees and the lights and the cookies. I love the Christmas carols! I love the walk on the beach on Christmas morning, when there are a few snowflakes falling and the air is cold and brisk. I love the anticipation of seeing someone that I love opening a one of a kind gift that I have made especially for them. I love the warm, comfy feelings that I have when I remember tucking my children into bed in their red sleepers on Christmas Eve. I love the total exhaustion that I feel when I have done all of the things that I feel need to be done to make it a “perfect” Christmas. What makes it perfect is the family!

I hope that you can feel some of the spirit that makes Christmas special and wonderful for me. I hope that you can make memories with people you love

Be kind…

Faith

quiltingonthecove

A peek at my life. My quilting, my cooking and a look at the beautiful place that I live!

Oh baby it’s cold outside…

It is like a Black & White movie….

Snowy Owls….

A Conundrum….

UFO’s…and I don’t mean the ones from outer space…

Celtic Christmas Part 5…

Celtic Christmas part 4….

Celtic Christmas part 3…

Celtic Christmas – part 2…

What Christmas really means to me…