Work in Progress Wednesday

Work in progress this week is a bunch of details..no big finishes!

The wedding presents:  
                           ----Kiss the Frog   ....I mean - "Ever After"

       
and "Celebration"

       





  are wrapped and ready to go!

Also, I seem to have selvaged the backing for Daydream...I added a strip of every scrap I had left over...plus a few that weren't left over...but could have been.  : )

  It is cutting it pretty tight, for size but I think if I am very careful I can pull this off.

And I bought me a "fantasizer" hat!! We are going to a family wedding in Scotland this summer, and hats are not required, but recommended! Isn't this fun!! Will I look like a star?? or maybe some kind of bird !???!

I give up!

Last year I planted a Hydrangea in a back corner of my yard. I love Hydrangea's. It was a hardy version that was supposed to withstand our cold winters. Unfortunately ....it was not designed to withstand the bobcat that ran over it several times while DH was doing some renovations to the garage! : (
Who knew?  They said it was "hardy"  It doesn't look so healthy any more.

So this year I planted a bunch of Dahlia's. I love Dahlia's. I was out there yesterday morning checking on them, and there were lots of little sprouts. Looked like I would have a whole bunch of beautiful dahlia's. ......

or maybe not!

Later I noticed several men in my back yard....which is quite an unusual event!   Not only that ....they were tromping around where my little Dahlia sprouts were...

I guess they had to change the transformer in the back corner, so let themselves in the back gate!!!  They had a crane over the back fence, and took the old one out and lowered the new one in.

 After they, and their steel toed boots, made several trips back and forth to the gate, I am thinking my little Dahlia's will have been truly and effectively tromped. (is that a word??)

Maybe I should stick some plastic flowers in there??? Or a statue???? Maybe Miss Piggy??

What a Hullabaloo !

I just received a package in the mail!  And what fun....it is a Layer Cake of Hullabaloo by Moda !

It was a giveaway from Vreni over at Oops-lah.  Thank you sooooo  much Vreni!
It has such bright pretty prints...

and I love this fun one..perfect for a baby quilt I am going to start!

And for all my American friends...hope you have a wonderful Memorial Day! As your Canadian neighbour we also appreciate all the sacrifices that have been made by the young men and women in the name of  freedom. 

Cold night....Hot deal !

It is very chilly here tonight, but I found some hot deals...
I just came across this great blog having a huge giveaway!! You have to go and check out 1 choice 4 quilting
Lots and lots of great stuff.

They are also having a fun "Jelly Roll Race" tomorrow...details here.

I haven't tried buying anything from this site yet, but looks like some great choices here...always fun to look around.  Check it out :)

destroying my 1/4 inch foot...

One thing that I have not been happy about with my new Janome Horizion is the 1/4 foot. I even bought the extra "accufeed" foot, which is like a walking foot.

Both of these have a wing or flange to guide the fabric....

It is hard to see that little black part, but I hated it!  And really..... I never hate anything!!
It is ok if everything is perfectly lined up, but I always seem to have a bit sticking out here and there, and this thing would kind of kick it, and move a bit. 

I hated it....did I mention that?

So.....

wait for it ......

I broke it off!!  Yup, just pulled that thing right off of there!

and now I love it !!  I like to see what I am sewing, and this is sooo much better.
I am happy now :)

Calcium Alert!

This has nothing to do with quilting ...but just wanted to share this information!

You have probably seen the ads on TV that ask.."Are you getting enough calcium?"
If you are like me, you pretty much ignore them....like most other TV ads.
I grew up on a farm, drank lots of milk, was always physically active, still am....but on my routine physical my doctor suggested I should have a bone density scan done.  I don't have any of the risk factors, but my mother did loose height as she got older, so because I am over 50, it was a good idea.

Well ...I am bordering on Osteoporosis!! Wow! cant believe it myself.  It is reversible, with increased calcium intake, and a medication which slows bone reabsorption, which is good news.
But I had never actually counted how much calcium I was getting, so I thought that would be a good point to start.

Key facts
http://www.bupa.co.uk/individuals/health-information/health-news-index/27052011-is-too-much-calcium-bad

• Calcium is a mineral that is important for building strong bones and teeth, keeping your muscles and nerves functioning properly, and blood clotting.
• Osteoporosis literally means 'porous bones'. It causes your bones to lose density and become weak, brittle and more likely to break (fracture). About one in two women and one in five men over 50 fracture a bone because of osteoporosis.
  A daily intake of calcium as well as adequate vitamin D are recommended. This can be from dairy and food products, or calcium supplements. http://www.healthlinkbc.ca/healthfiles/hfile68e.stm
  

  Age (Male and Female unless otherwise indicated)

  ---

  0-6 months	200 mg/day
  7-12 months	260 mg/day
  1-3 years	700 mg/day
  4-8 years	1000 mg/day
  9-18 years	1300 mg/day
  19-50 years (female)	1000 mg/day
  19-70 years (male)	1000 mg/day
  Over 50 years (female)	1200 mg/day
  Over 70 years (male)	1200 mg/day

• Recommended Vitamin D Intake¹

  ---

  Age (Male and Female)

  ---

  0-1 year	400 IU/day
  1-70 years	600 IU/day
  Over 70 years	800 IU/day

So....how much food / dairy products is that???

Well,  -  1 cup of milk or yogurt is about 250 mg.          - 1/4 Cup of Almonds is about 100mg          - an orange is about 50mg         - 1/2 Cup of Broccoli is about 35 mg         - 1/2 Cup Tofu is about 250 mgCheck the labels, they will tell you how much Calcium and Vitamin D you are getting. and then add em up! If you are not getting enough in the day, add a calcium supplement like Calcium Citrate. (check with your doctor, I am not prescribing anything here !!)
Key: Look for % M.F or % B.F on the label and choose dairy products with lower fat. Eat a balanced diet with plenty of vegetables and fruits, and include at least 2 -4 daily servings of lower-fat dairy products. In addition of getting enough calcium, physical activity can strengthen your bones as well. So start doing some weight-bearing exercise such as walking and hiking to maintain healthy bones!

a step behind and a day late!

Well, I have been having giant problems with blogger the past few days!! I think many people have been.  I hope that it is back to normal now....we will see if this actually posts !! *#@#*#*

I know I am late for the "Work in Progress Wednesday" ....not my fault totally....that's my story and I am sticking to it!
I have been working on a few UFO's ..
Java.....

I decided to add a nice wide border....and after I cut it realized that I hadn't saved any for the binding!! ooops!!
But, I have some great fabric for the backing....it is so ooooo soft..

So then did some work on Daydream...

and decided to make it bigger. I had some fabric left over, so made a few more blocks so it would fit on a Queen bed. I will look great as a nice light quilt for summer at the cabin.  I ran a little bit short of the white sashing...so had to cheat a bit, and piece the last block...

Of course when I made it bigger, I forgot about the backing ......ooops! Not quite enough!

I have seen lots of quilt backs on these blogs where there are extra blocks or bits of the front fabric on the back....so I scraped together all the left over bits, and am hoping that it will stretch the backing far enough!! We will see : )

....and for those of you who enjoy gardening vicariously....the tulips are just finishing...but the bleeding heart is out!

Blogger Blues

I dont know if it is just my computer, but I am having trouble with Blogger today. I couldnt log in, until I tried a different search engine, and now I am having trouble posting comments on anybody's blog!!

So I am here, and I am reading your blog too, but just a ghost reader today  : (

animal invasion

I have not done much sewing the past couple of days : (
But I have been out golfing.....got a sunburn.....did some work in the back yard.....and bought a pig!

Yes, I said pig!!

She is so cute, I call her Miss Piggy....I know I have such an imagination!!

We also found these ducks....so added them to our backyard..

They are made of some kind of resin that looks like wood, but stand up well to weather.
Nice to have animals that I don't have to feed ......or clean up after !!

Garden tour

First of all....thank you to all of you who voted for my "Garden Quilt" over at the Quilters Gallery weekly contest. I had never entered anything like that before! Of course there were many, many amazing quilts entered...so I was not in the running for the winning prize, but it was fun anyway!

Speaking of gardens....there are finally some signs of spring here in my backyard....
the prairie crocus....

the tulips are FINALLY out in bloom...

and I spent some time on the weekend planting and getting the pots of flowers for the deck....

I love summer...I love flowers : )
and my sister gave me this stained glass butterfly that spends the summer among the flowers in my yard

Finishing Touches

Well the wedding gifts are finished! Yeah!! Even have a few weeks to spare...wow..that is unusual!

I added the labels, and am busy washing the finished product today.
I used to make my labels on my sewing machine using the lettering function, but sometimes it just didn't get done. Then I found Spoonflower. You can design your own fabric (I am not nearly creative enough to do that !) but you can also make smaller items like labels.  And it is easy...even I could do it. So you can order as little as a fat quarter, or as many yards as you would like.  My first attempt turned out very bright yellow....
so I tried again with a softer colored background and am very happy with these. I like that I can write on the fabric to add the name and date for each quilt.

I did a test run, and tried various markers , then washed the fabric to see how it would turn out, and the best was just a plain old Ball Pen.

Anyway here is "Celebration"...

and "Ever After"
        (really....I couldn't put Kiss the Frog on a wedding present !!)

Pay it Forward

I have just received a package from Jan-Maree over at Cherry Red Quilter.  She was participating in the "Pay it Forward" Exchange. I really like this idea, hope you do too!

What I got today in the mail was so exciting....This bag..

I love tote bags, you can never have enough...I use them ALL the time for everything!  And this one is so bright
and cheery, and such a nice size too! Thank you Jan-Maree.

But that is not all....She also sent some buttons..They are an Australian animal called an Echina! Soooo cute!  ...and I have the perfect use for them. I have been sewing some little purse/bags and needed a button for the flap...perfect!

and that is not all....there was also some candy...Australian favourites... sorry, no pictures, they are gone
already !!

What I have to do now is Pay it Forward to 3 other people. I will send something - handmade by me to 3 people. So ....who is interested??
What YOU have to do in return, then, is Pay it Forward by making the same promise on your blog to 3 different people.
So, who wants to Pay it Forward? Leave me a message.

Bloggers' Quilt Festival

There is something very fun happening this week... Bloggers' Quilt Festival

Anybody can add their quilt to the fun, and it is amazing .....and time consuming ...browsing around at all the wonderful entries. What a lot of talent and inspiration!! So go get a cup of coffee and start your tour!

My entry is one of the very first full size quilts that I ever made (last year !) It was for my daughter's wedding gift. I love the simple colors and pattern....and they loved it too.

Spring Garden

I sometimes browse around the Quilting Gallery.  There is really a lot of information and other stuff there.

(ok, technical wizard that I am...I don't know how to add this as a button, so you will have to click on the work link instead !!!!)

They have a weekly contest too, and I usually browse through the entries, and vote for my favourite.  Somehow, my favourite never wins!! Guess I don't share the same taste in quilts??? Sort of like not having the same sense of humour as someone else, I guess.

Anyway, I thought it would be fun to enter sometime. Each week they have a different theme. It has to be a quilt that you have personally made, not necessarily an original design. This week the theme is "Spring Garden" so I entered this one....

The voting begins on the weekend, for the Weekly Contest.
So..... you can, just pop over to the Quilting Gallery and have a look at all the entries....then vote for me!......or your favourite!  : )
Have a good weekend!

Work in Progress Wednesday

I am kind of hoping that by actually admitting to the unfinished quilts I have here, I  will  be prompted to get something finished !! That is my goal today, to finish up something...sounds easy right??

Here is some of the things I can choose from:
"Celebration"... it is for a wedding gift in June...better get the binding and label finished!

"Kiss the Frog"..another gift for a wedding in June....still have to quilt the  borders and add the binding and label..

"Daydream"....mmmm ..I remember this one...I started it in the winter when I needed something bright and cheery!!

"Java"....yes, another one that sort of stalled after I got the blocks finished...

and of course I could always start something new...I am excited to see how this kit works out!

 (OK, I will finish at least one thing first...promise !!)

But before I do, I am going to visit Lee at Freshly Pieced to see what everyone else is up to on Work in Progress Wednesday!