TAT'S Finished...well maybe?

Please NOTE the dark blue border at the top is our wallpaper border, not the quilt; I purposely used the short form TAT for "A Tisket A Tasket" .

I entitled this WIP 'finished', however, I am still not sure about this border fabric and quilting may be delayed for a bit. Fabric is from my 'stash' and I love the fabric, especially those roses, and the color. However, when I first posted this photo to Flickr someone suggested the large flowers competed with the baskets. In fact, I have had second thoughts about the sashing also as would you believe my first sashing was in a pretty green that really looked nice, I thought. I thought the green really pulled out the greens in my individual blocks, but what about my other colors, tha tis my rich burgundies and pinks? Of course I also needed my DH's opinion as I sewed. DH assured me the green sashing really looked nice.

However, I couldn't sleep the day I had added the green, waking up at three in the morning, turning on the lights to check IF I really had accomplished that much. Well, have you ever had nights like this when you wake up, not feeling 100% well emotionally then tend to relate the pukey feeling to something that happened during the day? Well, believe me, this pretty green sashing did not look 'pretty' at three o'clock in the morning and almost made me sick to my stomach.

One remedy came to mind! What time is it? All the fabric stores in the immediate area did not open until nine or even ten! Could I wait that long? I hurriedly pack up my car with my WIP, and extra blocks, etc. and head out of town to a quilt shop just half an hour out of town! I was going for HELP or at least for another opinion! I was keeping my fingers crossed the shop would be 'open'. It was! The ladies starting pulling out fabrics that were workable, had 'punch'...and I was feeling elated, relieved, and excited about this new shopping experience. Well, a quilter can never legitimize her trip to a LQS without exiting with a bag of fabric, can they? I had used about a quarter of a tank of gas, therefore it was my responsiblity to make my trip worthwhile. After, all my shopping, I felt I was in heaven as I now had not one, but two bags of goodies! I couldn't wait to return home with my 'new' purchases, RIP off the now 'sickly' green, replacing the green with the new pretty pink. I was so excited! It took me two whole hours to rip, but I was loving every minute as I could already envision this pretty pink sashing doing the trick! Pink is my favorite color any ways..besides blue...well 'one' of my favorite colors!

I sewed the entire day...then couldn't wait to post my photo to Flickr for viewers critiques...however, something was not quite right yet! Now that I reflect, perhaps that nauseated feeling was my coming down with the dreaded stomach flu.

I wait in front of my monitor for my first HIT! Three hits, and nothing, then it comes...a viewer leaves a comment...she thinks the roses compete with my baskets. That did it!!!...but didn't I ask for suggestions from other experienced quilters? I soon delete the photo from any more critiques. Now what do I do?

My stomach is feeling nauseated again!!! I considered replacing the border with a smaller print..however I still LOVE these roses and just could not imagine my wasting all that lovely fabric. After all I can almost smell these roses! Perhaps the fabric being sentimental to me as 'roses mean remembrance' and I did sew this quilt in memory of my Dad. My love for roses is another story as I think I have roses in most of my blocks. I had spent SEW much time hand appliqueing all those blocks. Needless to realize, this entire sashing was or should I say IS now my first 'saga' of 2010. In the meantime, I will work on my other WIP's. Hmmm...and I just realize perhaps this is why I may be notorious for having more than one WIP. I asked my DH if he thinks I have OCD, (which thankfully I do NOT have)...I just know I like 'nice' things and if I do something, I am very conscientious and will excel. I feel God has blessed me with my love to work with my hands.

Back to my quilt top...I hung the top in my room and I must have looked at it one hundred times, trying to figure out what I am going to do. I squinted at it, smiled at it, peeked at it, ignored it, poked at it, wrote about, asked several friends about it and even cried at it. Alas, I never realized this quilting is serious stuff! I have also purchased MORE fabric for that border, but when I hold my 'possible purchase up to the border, it does nothing for me. So for now I am a basket case! I almost feel ill about all this, but a lesson is learned, or has it? I now vow, if I ever tackle another major year long project...well to be truthful many of my projects have been works in progress (WIPs) for more than a year, I VOW, and promise myself to select my border first, then pull my colors from the border. However I really 'bonded' with this BOM (block of the month). I have met so many wonderful, talented friends on Flickr! These freinds have become such a part of my life now. I check my NEW groups DAILY to view the new additions to our happy little family...yes we are expanding! I now belong to three Flickr groups and projects: 2010 Tea and Coffee Quilt Along, Snowbound and A Tisket a Tasket group.

And this reminds, I missed posting Ms Snowlady with her

'B * L * I * N * G *', as I stitched some lettering and beads on this block.

And now please tag along for a virtual tour...grab your coffee and see what us quilters are up to.

THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY:

...I have more than one come to mind


"When in doubt, just take the next small step."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Frame every so-called disaster with these words ''In five years, will this matter?".

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Have a wonderful day, my friends.
(C:

Merry Christmas December block finished...now for the quilt!

Oh Anne Sutton of Bunny Hill Designs, I am so happy to have found you back in March, 2009! I really feel sad to see this wonderful project come to an end and am almost in tears as I view your December block. With tears of sadness, yet of excitement, I wish to extend my sincere thank you, Anne for your fun designs provided to us so faithfully and generously this past year. As I expressed before, my participation in stitching these blocks forced me to discover the wonderful experience of hand applique! I have enjoyed your designs immensely, rewarding both mentally and therapeutically. I especially enjoyed sharing my last nine months with all the other talented and friendly members in your Flickr group... Flickr now seems to be just part of my daily survival mode as making these blocks has been the highlight of 2009 for me. Meeting all these wonderful and talented members who share their comments and ideas has introduced friendships which I hope will last my lifetime. Words seem inadequate to express my sincere appreciation for all the time and effort you have faithfully devoted to this project. Thank you for providing such a life enriching experience for me and I am sure I must represent many others also. I will now cherish my completed quilt for many years and forever, I hope. You are a very talented designer and I eventually hope that I will continue to stitch many more of your designs from your website when my financial situation improves.

May you and your family be blessed with the most wonderful Holiday Season and Happy New Year.

Dreaming with my eyes open?

As I turn the calendar to a new month, I ponder what my posts for the month will be as I am sure you must grow weary of my craft posts.

I have been anticipating a new project for my quilting class on Friday. I had some custom orders to fill and have left my quilting aside. The pattern everyone is doing is really nice, but I have such outdated fabrics and wonder if my fabris will be 'worth the effort'. Then do fabrics ever outdate themselves? I still love the 30's quilt fabrics!

My stash includes 'numerous' blue celestial fabrics I had collected for my Millennium Quilt and what ever happened to that quilt...I wish I could find it! I had assembled approximately five blocks for my Millennium Quilt, but that was TEN years ago! I must admit, I have too much fabric and really need to organize it better. I had all my colors sorted and stored in my cupboard here in my spare room, but the cupboard literally fell apart, the fabric too heavy for the construction of that lousy cabinet! I have since been moving all my fabrics to another cupboard...a slow process. Perhaps my dream of having my own sewing room will come true.

Alas...I decide to wait 'patiently' for the release of our FREE pattern on November 5th for 'A Tisket a Tasket' ...THANK YOU ANNE SUTTON FOR THESE WONDERFUL DESIGNS!

Out comes my mystery cross stitch project closest WIP nearing completion!

QUOTE:
"What we do is less than a drop in the ocean. But if that drop were missing, the ocean would lack something". - Mother Teresa

BLock 10 - October's Bunny Hill "A Tisket a Tasket" Block of the Month

L@@KS like the spider has hypnotised Ms Kitty or is it the other way around?

All pieces are needle-turned hand applique (except for the teeny weeny spider that crept down behind her...).

I wanted to add an owl...but after stitching those teeny weeny paws, I 'PAWS-itively' had enough..what a HOOT to do!

Thanks Anne.
Colors are dark 'rust', but looks more reddish here...sorry

September Tisket a Tasket Block Finished...ONLY 3 months to go!

My Scottish 'tail'...this block not only was scorched with my iron, it has quite a story.

I really wanted to make a pink poodle instead of the Scottie as I have a Bichon Frise, cousin to the poodle. But Mac, my DH wanted me to use the Scottish dog fabric I used for wee puppy instead of my buying MORE fabric!

Ms MacIntosh was so nervous about being late for school, she ate one of my 'pink' apples which caused her pink spots. And Marlee, our bichon was jealous of Mac's pink coat! She is happier now as she has a puppy to play with.

p.s. I made a deal with Marlee, gave her a blueberry facial and posted her photo in my Flickr 'photostream'...can't you just see the jealousy? I told her we will include her in next block...maybe. I am seriously thinking of doing a bichon for my Canadian version of the July block...
p.s.s. shhh...please don't tell Marlee the basket won Second prize blue ribbon!

COULDN'T RESIST MAKING ANOTHER

I enjoyed making the pink August block 'sew' much that I just had to make another using my black background fabrics and my hoard of embellishmens. After completing my second block, I worked on my CQ block and will soon have it completed to post.

"SWEET" BLOCK Design for August's " A Tisket a Tasket

The weather has been been rainy and I have been trying to work on some quilting WIP's. Then Anne Sutton from Bunny Hill Designs posted her design for August and I excitedly started sewing my block and I couldn't stop. Now what am I going to do until next month's design is released?

I could work on my mystery cross stitch as I only have a couple of sections to do, but this is more of a winter activity.

Here is the block I made for August. And if you love cupcakes, take a peek at Zalita's "dee-luscious" site:

ENJOY.

July "A Tisket A Tasket" Block of the Month Completed

Again, I enjoyed stitching this design from Anne Sutton's Bunny Hill Designs. I still have to add the sheep's tail though and am having fun with that 'tale.' I also had to add some white hairs on the sheep to make it contrast against the dark basket.

July 1st is Canada Day - 142nd birthday, so I have the sheep holding the Canadian maple leaf flag.

You can view the rest of my blocks in my older posts or on Flickr. It is not too late to join. This is such a fun group. FREE patterns can be found by clicking this text.

:

A Tisket a Tasket June block of the Month finished and posted on Flickr

This block took me longer than normal, but it is finished. now for the long wait for July's block. I wonder what Anne Sutton will design for July...any guesses?

April's Block

After twelve days with the dreaded flu bug, I finally started the April block. It took me a long time to start as my fabrics were all from my age-old stash and I had only this one 'wittle' piece of brown for the chocolate bunny, but he is finished. I vowed I was not going out to purchase more fabric for this project. I loved doing this one.

Block 2 - January Bunny Hill's "A Tisket a Tasket" Block completed...waiting for April's release

....I completed the embroidery stitches this morning and anxiously wait for the April pattern to be released on the Bunny Hill website...please see my posts and link below if you are interested in sewing these FUN blocks.

After seeing all the other member's blocks on Flickr site, I decided to enter this project late. My sewing machine is too old to feature the blanket stitch, however I really loved hand stitching these blocks. This was my first project using hand applique.

I was happy to use several of my fabric 'scraps' for these blocks as the pattern pieces were very small and did not require purchasing 'new' fabrics. The blue celestial and snowflake fabrics above are actually from celestial themed fabrics I had collected on my travels for my Millenium Quilt which is still a WIP. I have assembled three or four blocks for my Millenium project using machine piecing technique, however have misplaced these blocks in my stash in the basement. I am now hoping to relocate these blocks and perhaps finish that WIP in 2009-2010!

And the weather outside is 'frightful', with fresh snow from last week, so I didn't feel guilty about consuming my time rather than the dreaded H word...and this is supposed to be spring!

Block 2 - A Tisket A Tasket Block of the Month

Here is Block 2 of the " A Tisket A Tasket Block of the Month" series. I can hardly wait to stitch Block 1 before the new design for April is released. If interested in these adorable 'free' quilting patterns (for personal use only), these patterns are available online here:

http://bunnyhilldesigns.com/dynamic/?page=Free%20Patterns

I had so much fun making this block and my applique stitching is getting faster and easier with practice. Of course I am also doing Part 2 of the Mystery Garden Stitch Along. I have accumulated many Victorian theme fabrics and am trying to use my 'scraps' for these BOM blocks. When I saw the bird pattern, I immediately wanted blue birds as they remind me so much of cottage times at the lake.

I may even 'complete' a project soon, however I admire some bloggers who post all projects finished in one month.

Block 3 BUNNY HILL BLOCK OF THE MONTH

FREE PATTERN FOR THIS BLOCK HERE:

http://bunnyhilldesigns.com/dynamic/?page=Free%20Patterns

I completed sewing this March block on St Patrick's Day!

This is my FIRST attempt to 'hand' applique and it was so much fun! I had found several tutorials on Google and used the freezer paper 'on top' method. I noticed most members are machine stitching their blocks however I have an old sewing machine. And I enjoy hand stitching.

I am now working on Block 2, a basket with two birds, then will proceed to attempt the January block of a snowman holding stars. Of course I have the Garden Mystery Stitch Along in progress, but decided to make these blocks as all these designs are too adorable!

I have learned lots about applique and am looking forward to more applique. I ripped out the bottom shamrock three times because green did not show well against the green basket as a background!

I would highly recommend making these blocks...so much fun. Please read my post below for more information if you are interested in these free patterns.

And better LATE than never is an IRISH FRIENDSHIP WISH:

May there always be work for your hands to do;
May your purse always hold a coin or two;
May the sun always shine on your windowpane;
May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain;
May the hand of a friend always be near you;
May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.
Good Luck!!

Adorable FREE Quilt Pattern at Bunny Hill Designs

I could hardly wait this morning to check my internet site for the new block designed for March. And to my delight the design is of a bunny rabbit jumping over Shamrocks in a basket. And pattern is free on the Bunny Hill Blog Site. She writes:
I love a free pattern and I hope you do too! Please remember that these are "free" and at no time may they be sold or distibuted commercially. Have fun and enjoy!
Anne Sutton

A Tisket, A Tasket
Twelve Months of Baskets!

Yes, a Free Mystery Block of the Month from Bunny Hill Designs!

Now I have another 'just-gotta-do' project...is there such a thing as having too many projects on the go? I am enjoying my Garden Fantasy Stitch Along so very much and vowed to myself that I HAVE to complete one project before commencing a new one. Surfing these blog sites is so much fun...however can be a distraction for housewives.

Then I marvelled at the collection of blocks entered at Flikr:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/969252@N20/

Enjoy the site.

...and here is a cute little song you can sing while you are all sttiching. My mom used to sing this to us girls when we were young:

A-tisket a-tasket

A green and yellow basket

I wrote a letter to my love

And on the way I dropped it

I dropped it, I dropped it

Yes, on the way I dropped it

A little girlie picked it up

And took it to the market

She was truckin' on down the avenue

Without a single thing to do

She was peck, peck, peckin' all around

When she spied it on the ground

A-tisket a-tasket

She took my yellow basket

And if she doesn't bring it back

I think that I shall die

A-tisket a-tasket

A green and yellow basket

I wrote a letter to my love

And on the way I dropped it

I dropped it, I dropped it

Yes, on the way I dropped it

A little girlie picked it up

And took it to the market

(Was it red?) No, no, no, no

(Was it brown?) No, no, no, no

(Was it blue?) No, no, no, no

Just a little yellow basket.