Author: wendysquilting

Now that the tree is gone I have the floor space to lay out the blocks for Katie’s quilt. The pattern is

Like many other quilters I’ve been thinking about goals for 2011.

I have a usual list of quilts in different stages to finish up, and some are very close to completion and I’ll have some time to do that this winter.

This one is next; this will be my daughter Katie’s. I’ll share more about it in future posts.

I’m going to challenge myself machine quilting wise. I’ve ordered some new rulers that I’m very excited to use and add the techniques to my work.

I have some people who I hope to gift with quilts this year if all goes well.

The local Quilt Guild has a lot going on this year and I’m trying to find some ways to be more involved. This is Quilt Show year so that might be a good opportunity for me.

There are also a couple of groups or clubs that will be starting up that interest me.

So that should keep me busy quilt wise.

On the taking care of me front, I have been walking again which I hope to continue to try to do daily. The exercise is important but more importantly for me I find it relaxing and soothing to be outside enjoying nature. When you walk everyday you can’t help but notice the subtle changes around you. When you look at winter as a whole it’s not very interesting but on a daily basis the snow does change with the weather, grey days tend to me milder days while the bright sunny days tend to be cold and brisk.

Erik gave me Cross Country Skis for Christmas. I haven’t been skiing for several years but always enjoyed it. I’m really looking forward to getting out there again.

Next week I’m going to give Yoga another go. I really enjoyed it last time…..but let it go because it was another to do on my long list of to do’s.

My friend Alva has made a wall hanging that I’ve admired for several years now. This year she gave me the start to it and the pattern. I promised myself that I would get it pieced this year. Only a fellow quilter could understand the relaxation that comes in piecing something like this. It took me a couple of days but it was well worth it.

I also plan/need to work on my photography skills in 2011!

And one more picture if you’ll indulge me……It’s a Grandma thing…….isn’t he the most adorable little gift!

This year I received (well the family did) the most precious and priceless gift. My Grandson Jerry!

I can’t say it’s been easy having them live in Texas but it is wonderful knowing that my daughter is so happy in her life with her new little family, which is a wonderful gift isn’t it.

Auntie Emily and Uncle Dave just returned from a visit to Texas. Doesn’t he have the most beautiful eyes!

They tell me that he loves his new quilt! (and also that his Mama loves it and says it looks perfect in their living room.)

I wish you all a Wonderful and Magical Christmas!!

Wendy

I really did have the best of intentions to blog all summer and share pictures and stories of my adventures.

So what happened? Life. Computer challenges, I had to switch computers and for some reason I’m having trouble linking word 07 to WordPress, so I’m back to using WordPress. Procrastination, which I’m actually doing right now.

and now here it is the middle of October? how did that happen? I think I’ll start by easing my way back by sharing some of whats happened and I’ll share pictures and stories of my adventures in Finland during future posts.

After settling in a bit after arriving in Finland we found ourselves heading further north. I remember as a child in school learning about the North, the tundra and thinking to myself I wonder if I’ll ever see it.

Our first overnight stop was in Rovaniemi which is very close to the Arctic Circle and where Santa Claus lives. (Yes I paid him a visit and will share pictures of the village soon, I hope). Today I’ll share a few pictures from the Arktikum (outside picture above.)

the following pictures were part of a school display,

I had really hoped to update my blog as we travelled however best laid plans right.

I had saved a post but when I arrived home my net book suffered a virus and it’s gone so I’m back to scratch.

The week before we left was so busy….note to self before another international trip take a day or two off work to get ready. It felt so good to have our bags checked and relax while we waited for our first flight of our journey.

We left on the 18th of July and flew to Toronto where we had a wonderful visit with my friend Jaki and her very adorable children (I still can’t believe that I didn’t take any pictures of our visit) while we waited for our flight to Frankfurt.

It was an overnight flight and I was so tired you’d think I’d have slept but unfortunately due to many reasons it didn’t happen. When we arrived at Frankfurt we were both so exhausted and still had to wait 6 hrs for our next flight.

Erik managed to catch a few z’s. I couldn’t so instead indulged in a bit of people watching, what an interesting airport.

I think I finally managed a bit of shut eye on the connecting flight to Helsinki but by the time we were in the car I was done and slept off and on during the 2 ½ hr drive. It took me several days to feel well rested again, most likely because we were so busy I didn’t really get a chance to rest.

The visiting began: along with lots of coffee every day, awesome food and Longdrinks

The first day we toured around on bikes, it sure felt great to be active after all that sitting.

The last month has been busy and full. First of all I did not escape the bug that was travelling around and ended up sidelined for a few days though, the bug did keep me feeling pretty crummy for a few weeks. Thank goodness the antibiotics did their thing.

I haven’t spent enough time quilting this month and only have the first border on my Elizabeth quilt but I’ll get there.

There was a baby shower held for Sarah last weekend and Jeremy and his mom drove up to be here for it.

The following Sunday evening 2 ½ weeks before her due day, someone was ready to make his presence known and Jeremy and his Mom made another trip up north!
I am officially a Grandma now to the most beautiful baby boy! He was born yesterday afternoon May 17th

Today was my Saturday, until now my day job has been Monday to Friday. This has recently been changed and starting this weekend there will be a weekend rotation and I’m first. So I had today off as well as tomorrow. I had planned to be busy here at home and I was. I started the day with a quick vacuuming of the house; you see my daughter and her little Kitties have moved into their apartment. I have to admit that part of me enjoyed the kitties’ antics but the allergic to cats part of me should be breathing easier…well once this cold leaves me that is.

Once I had the house put back in order, I got out the Elizabeth blocks and I have the top laid out on the Living room floor, its still there waiting to be sewn into a top, hopefully tomorrow. I like to look at the blocks over for a bit before I commit to their placement. I also finished loading a customer quilt and got a start on it. Then I thought I’d work on my fatquartershop BOM and did get a good start but my head feels so foggy today that I decided to quit while I was ahead. I sure hope to feel better tomorrow.

I’ll add so pictures tomorrow of my Elizabeth progress assuming I have the energy.

So for now I’ll tell you what’s happening with my original Summer Wind Quilt, The picture shows the top hanging on the line. You see when I made and quilted it, I was fairly new to longarming and I used a panto on it that I’m not really crazy about. I prefer more density in my quilting and when this quilt was washed it just didn’t look right to me. A friend of mine offered to take out the quilting for me this winter and I took her up on the offer. I’m hoping that in time all of the previous stitching lines will blend away and I’ll be much happier with my quilt.

Sarah asked for a photo shoot tonight. She is 35 weeks now and I think she looks beautiful. She keeps asking me if I remember this and that about being pregnant and its funny all I remember is how much I enjoyed expecting each of my girls. I was fortunate not to have any morning sickness or any other complications with my 4 pregnancies and I also thing that time has blurred my memories..