Category: Wendy’s Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

The Dells (part 4)

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Our last at the Dells was spent at Circus World in Baraboo. https://www.circusworldbaraboo.org

The weather was perfect thankfully and we were able to enjoy the show in the big top, tour all of the buildings as well as the outside trapeze act and motorcycle on the tightrope.

When we visited in 2019 there was a tiger show which was not there this time.

The big top performance this year had a pirate theme, it was a fun show to watch that included juggling, trapeze acts, clowning around of course and more.

Liam’s favourite act:

This guy was pretty amazing, you need to see the show yourself as I was watching it myself.
An elephant tricycle…

Here is a link if you are interested in the history and story of this interesting attraction.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circus_World_Museum

Sadly it was time to leave the Dells but we sure had a great time.

We decided to take a different way home in order to show Liam the Mississippi River and enjoy a more scenic route. We spent the night in Winona Minnesota, we have often stopped there to grill as they have a really nice park there.

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

The Dells (part 2)

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Day 2 of our Dells trip we had planned to visit Circus World in Baraboo, however the weather had different plans for us an unpredicted thunder storm developed while we were on our way.

We decided to declare the day a shopping one as we had planned to have one anyways. So we pulled into a Blain’s Farm and Fleet store and what did Liam see first?

A little too big for now.

While at Menards he discovered a new kind of chair!

His find in Walmart…

This did not find its way into the cart.

When we finished our shopping in Baraboo we made our way back to the Lake Delton and visited the Cracker Barrel, again for a little shopping…and play.

The next stop was Market Square Cheese, Liam found the shopping there really interesting and fun. I was sad to see that Covid has changed things and they no longer let you sample the different flavours of cheese which had always led to purchases.

We did make sure to get some pictures with the mascot.

The one place we have really enjoyed eating at over the years is MooseJaw Pizza and they definitely lived up to our memories!

After our delicious pizza dinner we made our way to Pirates cove for some mini putt play.

But first had to check out a few things…

It was a fun game and the score keeper won…though the guys didn’t believe her!

We went for a walk on the downtown strip afterwards… it’s an interesting walk.

Liam had wanted a tattoo after seeing the, done the night before so why not 😊

After the guys made some new friends we found some ice cream to finish off the day.

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

The Dells (part 1)

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In August 2019 we took Liam to Wisconsin Dells and introduced him to the fun at Noah’s Ark Water Park. Until the pandemic Erik and I had been going every summer at least once.

It really was a fun trip and we had planned to take Liam again the following summer…

Well we finally were able to fulfill the promise this month!

Starting the trip with ice cream of course!

We stopped at the DQ in Two Harbours MN

We spent some time shopping in Duluth on the way to the Dells. One of the stops was Camping World. Liam informed me that if someone told him he could have 20 minutes to spend a million dollars there he could easily do that!

He was really impressed with the deluxe ice fishing shack…and after 15% down and $417. For 240 months it could be his!

A few more toys that caught his eye…

One of the things that Liam often mentioned when he spoke of the trip was how much he liked was that we stop at rest stops to grill when we travel. This picture is from the 2019 trip.

And this year

We were able to find the same rest stop

We have stayed at the Shamrock Motel on almost all of our stays there, it’s the perfect place for us! It’s right across from Noah’s Ark and supplies wrist bands with your stay. Liam really enjoyed being able to sit and chat with Pappa just outside our door.

We also grill and picnic at the motel.

Of course the main purpose of the trip is the water park…

We spent the first day from opening to closing at the park. We normally take a break mid day and return to the room for lunch and a break. However not this year, Liam didn’t want to miss any time or rides!

The Raja was the big favourite of the guys this year!

My favourite ride is still the Black Anaconda which is a water rollercoaster, the guys don’t find it as exciting as I do but humour me anyways!

After closing the park we enjoyed a rest and picnic supper and later walked the downtown strip finishing off the day with some ice cream. We all had a really good sleep that night!

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Last of July, Quilt Shop visit and Silver Islet

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The only thing that I really don’t like about summer is that it seems to fly by! Somehow August seems to be in an even bigger hurry than July was. This post is a catch up from July.

A customer requested that I pick up a backing for her quilt which I do periodically for my customers. This request gave me the perfect excuse for a day trip to Pass Lake and a visit with Donna Watson who owns Fuelled by Fabric! If you are local and haven’t been to visit and shop in her wonderful quilt shop do yourself the favour!!

There may have been more than just backing fabric that followed me home.

My Dad and Liam joined me for this adventure as I also wanted to go further down the road. We visited the Sleepy G farm and picked up eggs…Liam learned about the honour system of paying.

Also the new Amethyst shop in Pass Lake is beautiful and well worth stopping by for a visit.

Years ago I was invited to spend time with a friend and family at their camp at Silver Islet. Saying that I loved it there would be a huge understatement…if you haven’t been it is so well worth the drive.

Silver Islet has an amazing history and many of the miners cabins still stand along with the store that has been restored and reopened …unfortunately being a Wednesday the store was closed that day but we still found our fun!

Such a fun and interesting day. My Dad used to own a sailboat and like tho sail to Silver Islet and really enjoyed seeing the updates!
The fog hid the island, thankfully the picture captured it! A quick google search will take you to more information and amazing pictures by better photographers than I.
Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Summer Quilt

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How beautiful is this summer quilt!

This was purchased as a kit and perfectly pieced. One of the frustrations that it’s maker, my friend shared was that there wasn’t enough fabric to mitre the final border. She did a great job making it work.

She chose the pantograph Shasta Daisy which was a perfect fit and really danced on the beautiful backing fabric!

Am so thankful to be able to share my love of quilting with others and to have the gift of helping them to bring their projects to completion!

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Mid July

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Well with a look of the calendar we are a little past mid July…it’s been a full month.

One of the best things about my quilting business is that I can work throughout the day and evenings instead of having to fit life around my job. I am currently working on a king size quilt and have some others to share.

One of the best things in the summer is extra time with Liam…something he and I both agree on. He has spent as much time as he can in the pool and the weather for the most part has worked in his favour. Our pool is solar heated.

He can spend hours swimming and playing in there at times just floating around looking so relaxed!

He loves it when I get in too and we have been working on perfecting our frisbee game.

My Dad’s 85th birthday was this month. Life is good and he has certainly role modelled to his family what a healthy lifestyle can bring to life! Sadly we missed his party that I had planned due to Covid, so we had a second party after taking extra time to be sure we would all be safe.

My Auntie Marie had sent one of her blueberry pies along with my brother when he stopped to visit enroute from Calgary. Dad saved the pie to share with us. It turns out that blueberry pie isn’t only Dads favourite!

Liam has been asking me to teach him to make banana bread this summer…the days have been way too hot to use the oven. That is until yesterday. I haven’t made bread in a really long time and have been meaning to replace my old loaf pans so we made muffins instead.

We watched a YouTube video first which explained the process and then got busy.

He had a hard time waiting for them to cool… and a hard time not snacking on them during the day. At ten and a half his appetite seems to be constant…and he loves that he is almost as tall as I am.

It rained much of the day yesterday, but we did manage to get out for a walk together. I usually walk first thing in the morning in the summer while the guys sleep. Today is looking promising for both my morning walk and Liam’s pool time.

I hope that you enjoy your day!

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Scrappy Goodness

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While I enjoy my coffee, I love looking at quilting posts on blogs and Instagram. This morning I may have found my next scrappy project…though I am determined to finish up Longtime Gone before I can start another!

Joan, is a longtime customer of mine and I love all of her quilts. This last year she began piecing her scraps and had a lot of fun doing so and I think delighted with the results.

Mixing and matching and using low volume prints as background to showcase the fun prints is always a great idea! Half square triangles are pretty easy to make and can be configured into all kinds of designs!

How much fun is her backing choice, which will also be used for the binding.

Rhapsody was the chosen pantograph and it really brought this quilt together with both a perfect density and fun design.

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Summer Fun

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How fun is this view from my picture window! Liam absolutely loves building his forts with the huge Lego blocks…I love how much fun he has!

The view outside is that beautiful lush green that evades us most of the year causing most of us to relish the days of beautiful summer days!

Liam is more than happy to enjoy his summer!

Weather permitting, when he is here he is in and out of the pool all day..stopping for refuelling breaks and when Grandma says it’s time for a break!

Yesterdays break meant the completion of a big Lego project!

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Tumbling Blocks Quilt and Source

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A quilt that I made in 2013 has been on my mind lately. I remember my friend Alva showing me the technique and she was determined that I should try it out.

I started out making only some coloured blocks.

Which grew to more blocks…

They lived on my design wall for a while until I decided on a final layout. I added the gray blocks, the gray fabric was the same gray only different dye lots. This was fabric purchased from Fabricland so I don’t recall the brand.

I still love everything about this quilt!

Today this tutorial was blogged about on Teresa Down Unders blog and it came up on different feeds as well.

https://youtu.be/7jWjAnBF3k0

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Longtime Gone Plus a Star Block

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This block took a little time to play with. My quilt will have a whimsical tone to it. I have tried to tuck fun fabrics here and there that a child may delight in finding. Well maybe an adult as well.

I have 3 log cabin blocks to make and have begun sashing the blocks. There is still a fair amount of piecing left to finish this quilt as there are additions of rows of four patches and flying geese and then the border.

This quilt for all of the piecing involved only finishes around 65”s so I began to contemplate growing it. There is a quilt on Pinterest that was grown to be a queen. After mulling that over for a while I have decided to finish it at 65”. I hope to finish piecing it and maybe even quilting it this summer.