How to stay warm in Calgary - sung to O Fortuna

Hi Everyone!  Here's something a little silly for those of you trying to stay warm this winter.  Sung by the Calgary Philharmonic chorus, silly lyrics set to dramatic music...must have been fun for them all to sing.

What to do with your scraps - December block

Hello Everyone!  Here it is, the last of my scrap-bee blocks made and ready to send off.  In case you're unfamiliar with the whole "made" fabric movement and are wondering what I'm talking about, go check out the great tutorial on how to make fabric from scraps over at Victoria's blog. 

I'd like to welcome Annette to the blog - so nice of you to sign up!



Here is the block Alexis requested for her quilt.

  

She asked that we begin with a 6.5 inch block of made fabric...I used larger pieces of scraps this time but it still works I think.





Here are all the other elements to the star - twelve 2.5 inch hst blocks, 4 corner blocks and two rectangles to go on the sides.  Here's the link to Alexis' instructions if you want to try this out yourself  - December scrap-bee block.




Trimmed the center square and am ready to put it all together.



All done!

Enjoy!
Mary-Frances

Blog hop giveaway

Welcome everyone!  Michele over at the Quilting Gallery is hosting a Blog hop party with give-aways and I decided to join in on the fun!  There are well over 200 bloggers participating in the blog hop, so get ready for some serious hopping folks!  Lots of goodies to be won.

To thank all those who have signed up as followers I'm giving away some of my Stoney Creek strata -  



six pieces of the the pinks,




six pieces of the turquoise,




six pieces of the purples, and



four pieces of the greens, and some of the owl batik as well.

I'm also giving away a deck of creativity cards for quilters and five cheery fat quarters.

I'll select the 5 winners on December 17th, so be sure to sign up if you haven't already and leave a comment.  I will ship internationally, so don't worry about that.  Let me know what your favourite Christmas carol is and what gift you would like to win the most! 

Until then, happy quilting!

Mary-Frances

There's a hole in the middle of my Stoney Creek!

Well hello everyone!  It's that time of the week again when we get to share what we've been working on at the Needle and Thread Network - yoohoo!  Also, a big welcome to Brenda, Sheila and Victoria.  So nice of you to sign up!

Be sure to visit me on Friday of this week as I have a surprise in store for my followers...let's just say someone will have a scrap happy holiday... :-)

Now, on to Stoney Creek...



Aaargh!  When I began putting the four large pieces together, I realized I had sewn on two of my strata incorrectly.  Instead of having only a quarter inch of fabric between the purple end of the triangle and the owl fabric in the center, I have half an inch.  So, looks like I'll be making good use of my seam ripper this weekend...;-)




Here's a few close-ups of my fabric as a few of you have requested.




This is the inner portion of the triangle.



The two top strips of fabric are more turquoise than they appear in the photo, this is the top portion of the outside strata.



The is the bottom portion of the outer strata. My favourite fabric in this section is the spider web fabric under the dotted fabric.

 Enjoy!
Mary-Frances

The Farmer's Wife - new project for 2012

Hello Everyone!  I bought The Farmer's Wife Sampler quilt book a while ago and have been meaning to get started on it.  Thanks to Linda, I've decided to join her Farmer's Wife quilt-a-long in the new year.  It's time to get going on this project!

There are lots of groups already on flickr, so you can  see the different fabric choices people have made and how their quilts are coming together.  

Thankfully Linda will give directions for the each block using rotary cutters and rulers...no templates or hand-piecing.  She's using her batik scraps but I'm not sure what fabric I'll use for mine.  

So, 111 six-inch blocks in 52 weeks...game on!

Enjoy!
Mary-Frances

Peace and gratitude

Hello Everyone!  The city was transformed into a winter wonderland overnight and the snow is still falling...you know those magical type of snowflakes that exist mostly in our memories of youth, soft, puffy, falling oh so slowly and gently to the ground...that is what I woke to this morning.  

This peaceful scene got me thinking of all the things
 I am grateful for.   



Decorations on houses, lights on trees, how fortunate I am to have a roof over my head, food in the pantry and people to share it with.



The peacefulness of solitude, taking time to think, meditate, pray...call it what you will, time to recharge and reconnect with your creative self.

 

The unexpected gift from a quilting friend, the lightness of laughter, the sharing of sorrows, knowing you are not alone.

 Happy Sunday sewing!
Mary-Frances

Stoney Creek is coming along

Hi Everyone!  Well, I've managed to do a bit more work on my Stoney Creek than anticipated, thanks to that awful windstorm we had here in Calgary on Sunday.  I hunkered down in my sewing room and hoped I wouldn't see any small dogs or children fly by my window...and I'm only exaggerating a little! :-) 



I've almost finished each quarter, just have to sew on the long turquoise strata above the triangle.  Then comes the fun part, sewing the large pieces together and hoping all the seams match!



Here's a closer look at my center fabric.  I thought it would be fun to have the owls sitting right in the middle of it all.

 I'm linking up to the the Needle and Thread Network for their WIP Wednesday.  Be sure to check out what projects everyone else is working on. 

Welcome to Colleen, so nice of you to sign on!

Enjoy!
Mary-Frances