ANOTHER post??

I know, I know, after weeks of almost nothing, suddenly here I am AGAIN for the third time in four days. 

But I really want to show you what we did yesterday:

An all-day sewing session, three grandparents-to-be –

Project Diapers

Grizz was right in there with us – cutting flannel and batting for the soakers

And when the prototypes came off the assembly line, he applied the snaps:

Here’s the first two completed diapers:

Two down ……  58 to go!

After those two were complete, we concentrated on the soaker inserts.  Check out the pile on the back table:

That’s 1/6 of the soakers we need.  We got them all done, and we’re ready to roll with making all those diapers – next week!

In the meantime, I just got word that the quilter is finished with Surprise Project # 2, so I’ll pick it up today and get going on the binding.  Hallelujah!  Done in plenty of time for presentation.  Won’t be long now and I’ll be able to share it with you all!

Happy together-sewing!                    Blessings, Peg

Tidying up Loose Ends

I’m all prepared today to head out to M’s house to spend a day making diapers for our common grand-children-to-be.  Getting ready for this meant washing and ironing fabric, making sure patterns are ready to go, getting all the bits and pieces together……and finishing up little things around here.

What little things?   Well, first of all catching up with the two BOM projects on the go:

Quilting Canadians BOM May block  - is Cathy’s Star.  Now this was a challenge – first of all all those little tiny triangles, and secondly, choosing blues so that the ‘star in star’ pattern can actually be seen!  Not one of my favorite blocks, but always good to step out of comfort zones – right???  I see a couple of my points are going to disappear on the edge, but overall it went not badly.

Then there’s the LQS BOM, using Marti Michel templates.  Another one with lots of little tiny triangles.   The biggest challenge here was getting all those seams in the middle to meet and lie flat – not perfect, but didn’t want to pick it out more than once.

Besides that, the last quilt came off Big Bertha yesterday – a Christmas surprise, so not sharing it just yet. 

This leaves me free to concentrate on diapers and baby stuff, as well as binding on the surprise projects when they’re ready.  With a 3-month vacation trip coming up in just a month, I’ll not be starting anything much new in the next few weeks.  Time allowing, I’ll start to tackle the pile of quilted projects that are waiting binding, but no rush on any of those just now.

So happy to have no more loose ends!  Gotta go now and get all the stuff together to head out for this sewing day!

Blessings, Peg

Happy Spring Days!

It feel like forever since I last posted, but it’s only been a week!  I guess, because it’s been such a busy couple of weeks, it feels like a lot of time has gone by.

Nearly two weeks ago, we headed out to Alberta to visit our kids.  First stop at DS1 and fiancee, where we helped with a little work around the house.  We had beautiful weather for traveling, then woke up the first morning to…..

Having grown up in Alberta, I know that you can see snow 10-11 months of the year, but it was still a shock!  The rest of the week was beautiful and sunny and warm, perfect for the jobs at hand.

The deck got finished:

A wall was built:

We enjoyed BBQ pheasant, and dinners in the sun:

And lots of talk about wedding plans and rehearsal dinner.   I got to see the wedding dress, but sorry can’t share, because it is of course a secret from DS1.  But only for a few more weeks.  The wedding is in August, in Nova Scotia – which means of course that there’s lots of planning for our cross-country trip.

And we took the dogs out for walks:

 

Next we went to DD and DSIL for a few nights.  There we enjoyed more sunshine, and celebrated Mother’s Day with both kids and some of their friends whose mothers live at a distance.

With DD and DSIL, the talk is all about babies, and we did some ‘window’ shopping just to see what’s out there, and what styles and colors they like.  Lots of fun looking through a baby name book!

 

We arrived home several days ago, and things returned to a nearly normal routine, including dinner with DS2 and DDIL.  We played some cards and talked all about their plans for grad school for DDIL.

 

Good times, and wonderful futures ahead for everybody.

 

On the quilting front, things have slowed down somewhat.  But I did pull my last scrap quilt off the frame:

It’s big enough for the bed in our trailer, and will be wonderful for an extra quilt to keep us warm on the cool nights as we head away on our cross-Canada trip!  Just weeks away now.

 

In the meantime, I had the chance to help a friend get started on making diapers for her coming grand-child.  This little gem was one final result:

But most importantly, I got hints for how to proceed with the diapers that M (the other new grandmother) and I plan to start on this week.

With diapers, receiving blankets, burp cloths, changing pads - and whatever else we can dream up -  to make, and a loooonnng vacation coming up, I’m happy to say that right now my project bins are down to the two BOMs that I’m doing (and I’m pretty close to on-track with them).  There’s lots of bindings to go on still, but no rush with most of that.    Quilting is going to really go on the back burner for the next few months – just one last Christmas project to finish quilting this week.

 

Being the May long weekend, this is typically time to plant gardens and get yards in shape in this area.  Our little back yard doesn’t have space for much of a garden, but I did get a few flowers into a pot:

Just a little color in the back yard, now that the tulips are all finished.

 

So now that I’ve caught you all up with life around here, hope that you’re all having a great Victoria Day weekend, enjoying sunshine and family and friends – and maybe a little gardening, and of course if you’re a quilter……well, you know!

Happy spring days!                  Blessings, Peg

Happy Mother’s Day

To all you mothers and grandmothers out there!
We’re at our daughter’s home (who is a mother herself, even though we won’t be seeing the babies until later this year) – and where a lovely Mother’s day breakfast was served.  And I got to just sit back and watch it all being made….and cleaned up!

Later today, our DS1 and DDIL2 will be joining us for a BBQ – in lovely sunshine and warmth!
It’s been a wonderful week, and there’ll be more to share after we get home, but here’s our first ‘hint’ of the growing twins:

To date, they are Tadpole and Turtle – not sure if those nicknames will stick after they’re born, but on ultrasound day Turtle lay quietly and turned slowly for the camera, where Tadpole kicked and spun and somersaulted all over the place essentially showing off for the world s/he will be joining in a few months!
Can you tell we’re excited??
What a wonderful Mother’s Day it is – hope you’re all enjoying being pampered and loved as well!  Bouquets to you all!

Blessings, Peg

You wait and you wait

And then all of a sudden…….
We received an email followed by a phone call.  The picture in the email:

Our darling daughter and son-in-law chose this way to break their wonderful news.  A baby!!!  Coming in November!!! 
We’re more than thrilled.  As we’ve watched our friends become grandparents, we’ve suffered the pangs of jealousy and felt the stirrings of longing.  But apparently we were meant to learn patience.
The kids asked us to keep the news to ourselves for a few weeks, and we’ve done just that – but oh, so hard!
This was late March – 6 weeks pregnant.
At 9 weeks, we got a phone call, and DD was finding it very hard to talk through her tears.      A few minutes of anxiety, as we listened to her tale of a problem that took them to the ER, and the hours of doctors and tests and probing and ultrasound, and this is the picture they got:

Yes, that’s TWO!  Two little sacs, two little babies!  TWO!!  At once!
How blessed we feel!  How anxious we feel!  How excited we feel!
Words can’t begin to express all of the emotion.  Somehow, as exciting as one grandchild is, getting two at once just feels ten times as exciting.
The other new grand-parents stopped by shortly after we all got the news, and after hugs all around, we couldn’t help but start to make plans…..to knit, to buy, to make diapers, to help.
And now I get to make a baby quilt for one of my own!  How fabulous is that!
I am one happy Nan!              Blessings, Peg

Two in One Day

That’s two quilts, taken off the frame in one day!

Not big quilts, and one was started the day before, but it feels great to get this much done.

This first is a mystery quilt, done last year with Myra from Tactile Pleasures.  It was fun making this quilt, and the quilting went really well.

Lots of starts and stops, working around the flange, and the flying geese.  That’s what I get for using Ricky Timm’s method for the flying geese – they’re 3D and easy to catch in the quilting foot.  But, I do like the effect.  But lesson learned – decide about quilting before using this method for flying geese.

The second is a baby quilt for a friend – the first I’ve done for somebody else.

In order to keep the quilt soft and not stiff, I chose to use a very loose stippling, and am quite happy with the result.  Only one trouble spot on this one, and I was able to ‘hide’ the loose threads without any problem.

My adventures with Big Bertha (mid-arm quilting machine) have been great!  The next quilt is a full-size bed quilt, the last of the scrappy quilts I made last year.  So far I’ve only done stippling, and am feeling fairly confident with that – maybe time to think about learning how to do some defined patterns.

Well, now away for a weekend of camping with friends, and then off to Alberta to visit our kids there for a week or so.

Oh, almost forgot – I’ve been getting a head start on Christmas projects (I know, I know, who thinks about Christmas at this time of year??!!?), and got these two advent calendar panels sewn up:

But there’s so much happening this summer, and with other quilting projects on target, I had some time on my hands.

Happy sewing!             Blessings, Peg

Emergency Preparedness–Part II

As promised yesterday, today I want to talk about how to be prepared in case you’re evacuated from your home

Forest fires often threaten homes, even whole towns.  This is called a convergent fire, and we’ve all at least heard of these, if not experienced one.

Flood is a threat in many areas in spring months.  Right now, we’re watching our river rise, and hoping that the dike is high enough.

What if a train derailed, spilling toxic chemicals near your home?

Any of these, and many other events could mean evacuation of your home – with or without notice.

But, if the police knocked on your door and said you need to leave your home to be safe…………are you ready?  It’s suggested that a family should be prepared to survive for 72 hours. 

In a situation like that, it would be hard to think about what would be needed.  So here’s another list for a bin (or bins if your family is large enough) to have at the ready if you needed it:

1. food – tins of tuna, soup, ready-made meals, dehydrated potatoes/rice/noodles, cereal, crackers, peanut butter, powdered milk, powdered juice mix, snack bars
2. water – 2 quarts per day per person, 1 quart per day per pet, water purification tablets or bleach (4 drops per quart)
3. disposable dishes, cutlery
4. can opener
5. cooking pots (like a camping set)
6. toilet paper, garbage bags. shovel
7. candles, matches
8. wind-up flashlight, radio
9. copies of id, pictures
10. contact information of family/friends
11. first aid kit
12. toiletries, hand-cleaner
13. money – if power is out, you won’t be able to use credit or debit cards
14. list of things to pack, like:
1. clothing
2. medicines
3. book, magazine, kids’ activities
4. pet supplies  (and of course don’t forget to take your pets)
5. propane or butane stove, and fuel
6. pillows

Here’s a site to reference for drinking water safety:  http://www.bae.ncsu.edu/programs/extension/publicat/wqwm/emergwatersuppl.html

 

Be safe out there!               Blessings, Peg

Emergency Preparedness–Part 1

Emergency Preparedness Week in BC is coming up – May 6-12.  This is a week when our provincial government promotes awareness of emergency services and personal preparedness for emergencies.

A couple of days ago, I shared about the Open House that our local Emergency Social Services team hosted.  A couple of comments got me thinking – are we really and truly prepared?

What if you were away from home for a day-trip, and a mud slide or sudden snow storm blocked your way home? 

Or even if there was a major accident that stopped you on the road for several hours (this actually happened to us just south of Seattle, and with little knowledge of the area, we didn’t dare try any other routes)?

So are you prepared for an unexpected overnight stay, or even to be safe, warm, comfortable for a lengthy sit in your car?

Part of the ESS display was ‘car bags’ to address just such a situation.  Today I’m going to share with you the kinds of supplies that would be handy to have in your car…just in case:

1. blanket, space blanket
2. a change of clothes
3. sturdy, warm shoes
4. jacket, baseball cap
5. toiletries – toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, hairbrush, shampoo,
6. medicines
7. face cloth and towel
8. water
9. snack bars
10. toilet paper, disposable adult diapers (for men it’s easy, but what do women do????)
11. garbage bag
12. kids’ activities, keep them occupied!
13. book, magazine
14. first aid kit
15. flashlight, candles, matches
16. copy of picture id, pictures of yourself and your pets
17. contact information of family/friends so they can be assured you’re okay
18. somebody who can get into your house to take care of pets that are at home – and contact information for that person
19. water and food for pets, in case they’re with you

Tomorrow, I’ll share some ideas for an evacuation bin.

Be Prepared!                  Blessings, Peg