Tag: Family

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

New Years and Quilting

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Welcome to 2024!

We enjoyed welcoming in the new year quietly.

The second day of the year was spent with two of our Grandchildren. Kaija and I finished making her pouch from last weeks sewing first.

She found a small scrap of fabric with Olaf from the movie frozen and she chose her fabrics from my scrap basket to grow it into a pouch. She has so much fun with my basket of scraps!

Kaija loves to fill the bags and pouches with little bits of fabric that she finds in my sewing room to take home with her! 😊

Later she discovered left overs from the pink quilts and my empty design wall. She had so much fun with the squares and putting together 9 patches to put together to make a new quilt!

I love how interested Kaija is in my sewing, it will be fun to see where it takes her.

Grayson wanted to sew as well, his interest lately has been hand stitching, he worked on a little pouch last week and this week how to sew a button on. We had snow over new years so what he really wanted to do involved Pappa and a snowmobile!

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

The Week Between

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Let’s start with my morning view!!! That looks more like it for this time of year ☃️

Somehow the week between Christmas and New Years has flown by! Not without a lot of fun. We had Grand parenting days. While there was no snow so no snowmobiling, Erik took the kids on Quad rides instead.

If I haven’t mentioned it before we have several trails throughout our property, we really enjoy them and visiting the pond as well. Well the Grandchildren love the trails!

Grayson decided that he wanted to learn some sewing and asked if he could learn to hand sew! Maybe this was inspiring

The second of two pink quilts

Grayson even got Pappa involved in the sewing!

Grayson is getting really good on the machine as well, working on the bag that he is making

Kaija discovered my newest scissors and enjoyed snipping scraps and cutting out the sloths from a trimmed piece.

Kaija and I made a bag together, she likes to use the foot petal while I guide the fabric. She loves choosing the fabrics as well. it won’t be long before she is using the machine.

She was really silly when I took the picture…how scary does that marker look. She is really careful about colouring though.

Minka and Romee joined in one afternoon! Grayson and Pappa built a fort for the girls. They made full use of it and had a lot of fun together.

I love this picture my daughter sent of Minka’s fort at home, she is inside with a quilt sleeping and using Romees quilt to cover the fort! I love to see the quilts I make in action!!

Today is the 19th anniversary of my Longarm quilting machines arrival, I also like to call it her birthday. My Millennium is an amazing machine and I have a special treat for her that I will share soon.

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Christmas 2023

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Christmas Morning…no snow and above zero Celsius temperatures! There isn’t any snow in the forecast and temperatures continue to be very mild.

Winter solstice was very welcomed, without snow the darkest days of the year seemed even darker as the snow does reflect what light there is.

The extra lights from the tree and other Christmas decorations are so welcome and add such a cozy feel to life!

Our family brunch which we host the Sunday before Christmas has become a wonderful tradition and this year was no exception. It’s a very busy fun filled day and one that I don’t have pictures to share but lovely memories to cherish.

Eriks Mom hosted Christmas Eve with a beautiful dinner that has become more of a potluck style meal as the grandchildren are grown, though she still roasts the turkey makes her famous amazing mashed potatoes, carrot casserole, salt fish sandwiches and moccasins as the children call this very traditional Finnish treat.

My daughter and son in law invited me to share their joy of Christmas morning with them and Joy it was watching my granddaughters see the transformation of their family room with tree decorated and lit and gifts and stockings from Santa.

I gifted myself with time to hand sew in the afternoon, as we were invited to my youngest daughters for Christmas Dinner. It was delicious and a truly beautiful evening!

It’s been a very busy season of quilting for my customers and making sure that their quilts were ready for gifting. I am so thankful for my customers that entrust me with their quilts!

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

A Busy Day in December!

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This memory popped up, Liam has always enjoyed quilts and quickly crawled into the middle of this customer quilt just as she arrived to pick it up! Thankfully she was delighted to see how much he liked it. (Liam is now 12yrs old)

I am currently quilting another half square amazing quilt by Marilyn… I have lost count however this may be the 5th or 6th this was taken on the weekend I did get a few more rows quilted after this picture…however….

Yesterday we had a fun filled day with our grandson 3 yr old Jaxson!

His Mom sent us this picture she took on the way home. He is big into dinosaurs and the puppet in his hands was a gift we bought last summer but when he first saw it, it was scary…yesterday he told us it’s not scary anymore.

After supper, I attended our local Quilt Guild meeting, we had 3 in person meetings and have now resumed Zoom meeting for the winter…I was thankful for that after such a full day.

We enjoyed guest speaker Jane Z Haworth

http://www.janehawortth.com

She did a wonderful and informative talk about her Collage Quilting…she was very inspiring.

The day also held a big surprise which I will share a little later when we have some daylight. Our hours of daylight are noticeably shorter each day right now, making me look forward to the Solstice.

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

November

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I am not entirely sure how December has arrived when I was just getting used to it being November!

The very best part of November in my books is that it’s Liam’s Birthday…he turned 12 last week.

My Dad hosted a family dinner in Liam’s honour, he smoked a turkey that Liam’s Mom provided and the rest of the dinner was made by my daughter Katie and I. Family dinners are so much easier when everyone helps!

I wish that I had taken a picture of his gift and reaction to opening it. You see he had requested money for an upcoming trip in February…this request was made in the summer. So to make it fun, I put 4 $1. USD bills in a peanut butter jar as a liner to look like the label…then filled a third of it with coins and wrapped more bills into the centre of the coins and topped the jar up with our remaining Halloween treats. The gift was a total success.

As his Grandma I have enjoyed his childhood so much, we have spent so much time together and he has truly brought so much joy in my life. These last months I have noticed how much he has grown and is definitely less of a little boy. I am sure by his next birthday he will be taller than I am, his life is busy with soccer and school and friends as it should be…though he has told me he still plans to be here in the summer and our annual trip to the Dells.

When my 3 year old granddaughter Minka let me know that she wanted an all pink quilt, I happily got on that…I am also making one for her sister. Pink is Minka’s favourite colour right now. The quilt is similar to Olivia’s baby quilt that I made last summer.

A night time shot of my design wall.

I have been collecting pink fabric for awhile now, I took advantage of Road17N’s Black Friday sale and ordered backing fabric and a couple more metres of pinks…what a great surprise to find more pink fabrics inside the parcel a few days later!

I really try to allow for an hour of piecing every evening after I finish working on the Longarm. I may have to add an extra hour in the morning in order to finish both quilts.

My presentation of my quilting journey went well at the November Quilt Guild meeting.

Welcome to December…

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Forest Floor Quilt

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I spent some time playing in the leaves with our 4 year old granddaughter yesterday.

We have 3 maple trees in the front yard that supplied several leaves in different colours for a fun project…that we made by sealing the leaves between two sheets of wax paper.

Sadly I forgot to take a picture of the project or endeavour. I do however recommend the project if you have little ones, hanging the project on a window the leaves truly glow in the daylight.

Back to quilting… I chose the pantograph Forest Floor for this recent quilt. The leaves in this design have such a beautiful flow and is a fun design to guide along a quilt.

All of my quilting is hand guided and I love working with my machine and the beautiful results that I can achieve with my APQS Millennium Longarm.

I always offer Hobbs 80/20 quilt batting that I carry on the roll for my customers… as I find it provides such a lovely loft and feel in finished quilts. I also quilt with other battings and often customers will provide their own and I am happy to quilt with almost all battings that have come my way.

I do like to have batting on the roll available, first of all because I do my best to source the best price and then am able to share that with my customers and also because I can cut just the right amount from the roll for each quilt with very little waste. At this time I am charging $15. a yard for Hobbs 80/20 I calculate the customer price by how much is used for the quilt.

I love this flannel backing and how beautifully the stitching shows up.

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Family, Houses and Joy!!

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I love this picture, as much as I love quilting…and believe me I do…well if you really know me you know that to be true. However being a Grandma is the best!!

This sweet little one is our 8th grand baby and she brings such joy. My favourite pictures of myself always include our grands these days.

The quilt in the background is a personal favourite of mine, it is Winter Village by Edita Sitar…I always mean to replace it seasonally and that never seems to happen. Maybe I need to make a Summer Village. I do love quilts with houses.

Being safe, warm and at home has a lot of meaning to me and I am truly blessed in that department. I love that I also work from home and with that I have the flexibility to say yes when needed to help with our grandchildren, I also have the ability to work my own hours.

My heart has been deeply touched by the work of Carolyn Karle of the DEK Foundation and the many people who support her vision and work in so many different ways.

Two years ago Carolyn received news that no parent should hear and that was the news of her beautiful daughters death due to an unintentional drug overdose. She has turned her grief into an absolutely amazing mission of helping others who struggle with addiction.

I have often thought of how she has in many ways become a Mom to many who have experienced her kindness and generosity.

Her main goal is to open a home for women who are recovering from addiction.

When I first met Carolyn I told her that I would love to donate a quilt for a fundraiser at some point, and now Carolyn has taken me up on my offer and I have chosen the quilt that I made using the pattern Dwell by Camille Roskelly as my gift.

If you live locally watch for opportunities to purchase tickets, or attend the Christmas Tea December 3rd, 2023. 11-4 at Roots Community Food Centre.

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

A Quilty Walk Down Memory Lane

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Last Sunday morning my daughter and I were texting back and forth and she sent me a picture of her view. She has lived in Texas for the last dozen plus years…

I had to ask which quilt that was and was reminded that it’s one of my early Longarm quilts made with a fabric line called Wuthering Heights. I love to see quilts being used and loved.

She also shared pictures of the other two quilts that live in her living room.

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Happy Thanksgiving and life

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Today is Thanksgiving in Canada, it is a day widely celebrated in Canada though it seems like many things quieter than the American Thanksgiving that is celebrated in November.

Still it marks the changing of seasons.

The last week began with way above normal temperatures as in the 30’s Celsius which was a welcome treat though a little too hot for many mid week we experienced a thunderstorm with a lot of rain and hail and back to colder days!

The rainbow after the storm

The view from my studio window is constantly changing… I do love the spring and summer views, then the changing colours and the leaves falling is beautiful too, though a reminder of the colder days to come.

The grandchildren have been visiting and having fun. Last week Grayson had his turn with the knitting machine…

After making his own beanie with some help from Pappa…

Seemed funny to be making such a cozy hat on a hot day!

He got busy making another beanie for his Dad creating it himself from my yarn collection!

He was so excited and determined to make this really special gift for his Dad.

The knitting machines have been a fun addition to my crafting supplies and my hope is that all of the grands will enjoy using it.

I haven’t had as much time as I like for piecing…my postage stamp quilt will be something that I plan to slowly work on as my customer quilts take priority. Still it’s nice to have something I can spend time sewing as time allows.

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

A Liam Update

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Liam has had a full September settling into Jr. High and loves it. His favourite subject this term is history he says it’s interesting and he really likes his teacher.

Unfortunately September also means colds return and yesterday Liam needed a day off due to a head cold. Fortunately for me it meant a day with Grandma!

Shortly after he arrived, my delivery I was expecting arrived. He was really happy to help with unboxing and took over setting it up! I have been researching knitting machines thinking it might be a fun activity with our grandchildren.

It didn’t take long before we had looked through my yarn stash and started on the first project.

It also didn’t take long before he had enough rows.

With a little help this tube became Liam’s new beanie which he was pretty proud of!

I have done some research on best yarns to use and will be prepared for more knitting sessions in the future. Liam has his next beanie planned along with some Christmas gift ideas.

One of the best things about running a home based business is that I have the freedom to spend time with our Grandchildren when their parents need us and my Longarm waits. I often quilt all evening and yesterday was no exception.

This sweet and fun quilt will be finished this morning …