Northern Needles

I’ve been following along on a favourite blog some tasks for the end of the year.  Shelly at Prairie Moon Quilts ( http://prairiemoonquilts.wordpress.com/ ) has us busy like little beavers to get ready for the end of the year.

One of the first tasks was to bind a quilt.  I had my coffee bistro quilt ready for binding so I chose that one.  It took a couple of days as I had to create the binding, sew it in place and then hand stitch it down.  But it’s now finished!!!

I used some of the left over jelly roll strips from my Bistro Jelly Roll to complete the binding. 

Now that it’s finished my oldest daughter has called dibs and is using it as a lap quilt.  It’s good to be appreciated LOL.

While I had the camera out I took some pics of my first Fur-scape.  Called Aurora Fur-ealis, this piece uses batiks and beads and yes, a little rabbit fur to complete it.  I chose to do an up and down free motion quilting in the sky area to help convey the look of our northern lights.  The frozen lake below is a side to side motion.  If you have ever spent some time on a windy day in the winter, you may notice that the top of layer of snow moves and drifts with the wind.  When you are on a snowmobile up in the mountains this can give you an extreme case of motion sickness so be careful!    I chose a pelt of white rabbit fur as my moving snow.  All of this surrounding the purple of a mountain in the distance.  I love the colours as these are more predominant in the Yukon in winter…especially those twilight hours. 

I’m really enjoying this one on the wall.   I wish I was a good enough photographer to show you how this looks in person.  To see the depth achieved by using the different forms of media.   The colours bring the outside in and create a spot of brightness.  Of course the cat is trying to figure out how best to climb the wall the chew on some fur.  Not going to happen Crammer!!!!

Vivian

Greetings to you this holiday season.  I hope this time has been special to all of you.

I was quite busy in the days leading up to Christmas.  I sewed and sold a Christmas stocking (same pattern as my red one shown in an earlier post, just in blacks and golds and creams) and managed, barely, to finish Lisa’s Olivia quilt.  It took a lot of middle of the night sewing and many early mornings hand stitching the binding.   I admit it, I had to take naps every day just to get through it. 

And here is the quilt Christmas morning!!!

When I wrapped the quilt up I made sure that it was folded in such a way that only the backing fabric (Floral Expressions btw) was showing, so that Lisa had to open it right up to see the top of the quilt. 

As you can see, she was very pleased.

Thank heavens!  I would have been crushed after all that work.  We sure put a lot of ourselves into these quilts don’t we? 

Here’s a close up of my quilting.  I chose to do a dense free motion pattern so that it would go all wonderfully crinkly after a washing.

And here is Jen with her extra special Santa present.  She was definitely overwhelmed with Santa’s generousity (he doesn’t usually venture into this price range but Santa was lucky with some extra work before Christmas).

Vivian

Except for brief moments of clarity I’ve been out of it for a couple of days and am only now able to sit upright for a few minutes.

Yep, got the winter cold, just in time for Christmas.

The girls assure me they had a great Christmas and Santa was great to them all.  I don’t know who was more excited this year as Christmas approached…the man with the remote or the girls. 

I even braved a store that was too cool for me to go into to get Jen a DC hoodie.  I don’t even know who DC is.  Maybe if I get cooler I’ll know.

Oh and I did get a great gift.  I got my table extender for my Bernina.  Yay!!!!!  I think those late nights of hearing me fight with Lisa’s Olivia quilt really showed how much I needed one LOL. 

Speaking of the Olivia quilt, Lisa loves it.  And when I stumbled out looking for tea at 5 am this morning I found her and Jen under an Olivia fort by the Christmas tree.  So it’s already being put to good use. 

Pictures to come, and now I’m off to my pillow once again.  Hopefully I’ll surface tomorrow.

Take care,

Vivian

All the best to you and yours.

I love the holiday season.  The music, the decorations, the excitement.

Plus the exchanges I always join!!  I’m in three…yes 3!!…ornament exchanges this year.  And I’ve now received my first one.  Elsue has been hosting an exchange for years and this year she made one for me.  Isn’t it great?

I mentioned in my last post that I took a quilted Christmas stocking class.  Well I’m finished!  How fun is bias binding?  It goes around corners!  Wahoo!!!

Thanks for stopping by.

Vivian

I love hanging out on the big bed and watching a show with my girls.  All giggles and cuddles and little girl secrets.    We usually pick something like Corner Gas (always a favourite) or Stargate Atlantis (I’m so glad my girls have finally decided this show is cool).

I love curling up on the loveseat and having Crammer climb up into my lap and purr the afternoon away.

I love going outside during the workday for a breath of fresh air.  Yes, even when it’s -20C…you just need to go outside and breath.

I love sitting at my sewing machine surrounded by pretty fabrics.  I love spending the day at my local quilt shop ( http://www.bearspawquilts.com/ ) with other quilters who are there purely for the joy of creating something from fabric. 

I spent a wonderful day today taking a Christmas stocking class.  Pretty Christmas fabrics as far as the eye could see.  A patient and calm teacher who truly loves her work.  An incredibly funny shop owner who makes me smile and gives me hope that when I’m older, I’ll be completely myself and just enjoy every moment.  Shop workers with ready smiles, who take a moment to encourage and make you feel special.  The day brought a steady stream of customers, men looking for their wive’s “wishlists” (Whitehorse must make the top 5 list of towns of men who love their wives!), children looking for a little something for mom or grandma, and of course, women stopping in to add just one more thing to their wishlist or shopping bags.

And I came home with a nearly completed Christmas Stocking!!!  Yay!  It was a foundation pieced stocking.  I just need to do binding and it’ll be finished.  Tomorrow’s project!

Tonight, I’m tired.  I’m happy.  It’s -16C, the woodstove is glowing, the animals are curled up in their beds, I’m enjoying a glass of wine and my family is getting themselves organized for Saturday evening movie night (Land of the Lost - we’re having a Will Ferrell night).  I feel good.

Have a great weekend everyone, be happy.

Vivian