Tag: Family

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Spring Break, Liam Adventures and Quilt

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This week is what was supposed to be March break for Ontario schools it was changed to April due to Covid…with a plan to reopen schools on the 19th. Plans change and now the schools will remain closed and students are to continue with virtual learning until further notice.

Liam and I made a plan yesterday for how we will approach virtual learning when we start again. It has been a very real challenge to keep him in front of that laptop for learning.

Erik taught him how to use a slingshot over the weekend, so we went for a walk in the woods so that he could practice his shot. No critters were involved.

On our walk to the mailbox Liam reminded me that we spent last March break together so now it’s a tradition. He assures me that he will always want to hang out with me.

The mailbox contained a big envelope that caught his attention and he opened it as soon as we got home and read a lot of it!

We took Liam to the Dells in 2019 with a plan to return the next summer…that didn’t happen. Liam still loves to talk about that adventure and we have promised that when it’s safe and we can that we will go again.

We spent the afternoon quilting his quilt.

It was a challenge at first and then I decided to try standing behind him with my hands over his and help guide the machine. By the time we finished he was the driver and had really gotten the hang of it! This morning we will trim it and make the binding.

Liam requested and had his favourite supper.

Years ago my Auntie Marie suggested that we had blueberry pie for breakfast…I mentioned that to Liam so guess what’s for breakfast today! We are making the most of these days together and hopefully get also making lots of great memories!

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Liam and the Brownie Experiment

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While we wait for an opening on Grandmas Longarm to quilt Liam’s quilt we decided to try a different project.

The schools so far will re open on the 19th which I think is a good thing… Liam misses being in school with his teacher and friends. We both needed to come up with something fun and even silly to do.

I suggested that gym class would be going down to the pantry and that he could search for the boxed brownie mix that I had bought for this purpose. Oh did that hit his humour button!

We also decided that the language lesson would be reading the instructions, math would be measuring and science would be in the experiment of using the waffle iron.

So, I will admit that we both agreed that our first attempt was a colossal fail! I will also admit that it was my fault and should have suggested we research our project a little further…it turns out that you don’t just follow the directions on the box…so we added a couple of eggs to the batter.

The next one was for the win!

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Liam’s Quilting…part 2

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All of the rows are sewn! Liam really mastered the 1/4” and towards the last rows he was edging up closer to the rabbit setting on the machine and really controlling the foot pedal.

He was really proud of how well the first two rows came together.

He said to make sure to send these pictures to his parents!
Grandma’s brag haha…well look at those matched seams! We started with pins however changed to clips which worked much better. He is really looking forward to trying out Grandma’s Longarm!
Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Liam’s Quilting part one

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Liam joined me in my studio yesterday afternoon and we decided that it was time to use up the fabric left over from his baby quilt.

It was announced that the schools won’t open again until April 19 so we decided to start a new project.

Our project started out when he found the stuffed puppy below and wondered why I had it. It will be part of a donation for Christmas Cheer through the Thunder Bay Quilters Guild called Teddy Bear Quilts.

Thankfully I still had a good stash of the Max and Whiskers fabrics along with other coordinating fabric. Liam mastered ironing. We worked on using the rotary cutter but both agreed that this time Grandma would finish the cutting.

We laid out the blocks together

And made a practice piece…machine set to turtle mode as he tried out the hare and it was a little too fast!

He mastered the 1/4” and sewed 3 rows.

By the time we were finished for the day he was already talking about his next quilt!

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Liam and the Pencil Sharpener

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My Grandson Liam is 9 years old and has been spending his weekdays with me due to schools being closed and the students doing virtual classes.

He emerged from the office and asked if we had a pencil sharpener so I took him down to our utility room where we have ours… I asked him if he had one like it in his classroom at school. He said no, so I asked if he knew how to use it…Yes Grandma, I saw one on a YouTube about the Olden Days!

I guess that says something. However, that sharpener is one of my often used quilting tools not only for pencils but I also sharpen school chalk (white) for when I need to mark quilts for longarming.

White chalk is another great tool as it is simple to remove by using my compressor when the marks are no longer used. It leaves no residue.

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Sunshine Quilt and Life

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Our area is on week two of virtual learning. My grandson spends his days here, last week went well. This week has been a little more of a challenge. So I made a point of getting outside and into the bush. We have trails behind the house and as soon as we headed toward them I could see the happier mood.

He doe not like a jacket and it was mild out.

He pointed out a lot of the animal tracks and knew what most were. Also the different paths, mostly from the deer. School was much more manageable afterwards.

On the quilting front I was able to finish the sunshine quilt.

It’s always nice to reach this point however I always unwind the quilts and inspect the stitching on the back. I monitor as I go though it’s always wise to check one more time before removing the quilt. I trimmed it afterwards and prepared the binding. This customer has me bind and finish her quilts.

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Paper Piecing… and some Sunshine

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So I started some practice pieces for the sisterhood swap. I haven’t done any paper piecing in years so it was a practice in patience. I also realized that It will be easier to use my printer instead of tracing so this morning I ordered Carol Doaks papers.

That will make the project a little easier. Also by the magic of online ordering the paper should be here on Friday just in time for some weekend sewing.

I am also contemplating making the 12” block to add on to my Moda Blockheads 3 quilt. I am very close to calling that project done and moving on.

On the quilting front…I am currently working on a customer quilt that is of her own design. She has been using up some of her Mothers stash to make her quilts. This job makes me smile and because it’s large I really get into the zen mode while running my machine over it.

I have my grandson with me during the days, due to virtual learning so I quilt while he is in school. This week seems more challenging for him and he is not as happy to do school as he was last week. I suspect it’s not as much fun as being with classmates and teacher in person and also not easy for a 9 year old boy to sit for so long.

We made plans to go out on our trails this afternoon and check for animal prints in the snow … and maybe use up some of his built up steam. then some pizza for lunch 😊

Autumn, Family, Fishing, Wildlife

A Perfect Autumn Day

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With a hard to resist weather forecast, Erik decided to take a day off work so we could go fishing.

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Megan decided to take the day off too and join us. The fishing wasn’t too great but the weather and scenery was beautiful and if was fun to have one of our girls with us for a whole day!!

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We had a little friend greet us when we putting the boat into the lake. People must have been feeding him this summer because he sure wasn’t shy about coming close to us.

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Moose Hunting season opens tomorrow morning, this hunting shack had been set up and left waiting for the weekend. I have a feeling that’s why the fox was hanging out. When we returned with the boat the door to the shack had been opened just enough for someone the size of a fox to get in.

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birthday, Family, Grandson, Longarm Quilting, Uncategorized

Quietly Busy

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Its been extremely quiet here this last week, all of my girls have been away. Of course Sarah is always away now that she lives in Texas. Emily, Dave and Katie drove down for Jerry’s first birthday. I’m waiting for more birthday pictures…

This was one of Jerry’s first pictures as a cowboy

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and a year later at his party!

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Yesterday I finally re-quilted my original Summer Wind quilt. I really wish I’d taken some pictures of it to show why I decided to re-quilt it. I had used a panto that wasn’t as dense as I like and also used a wool batting, when it was washed it just did not like it. It is my summer quilt for my bed so I use it and I still love it so it was worth re doing. Thankfully I have a friend who offered to un-quilt it for me. I had been a bit concerned about the stitch holes from before but they have all but disappeared.

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I used a Robyn Pandolph backing that I absolutely love and suits this quilt perfectly.

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a little sneak peak of some quilting for the Circle of Friends Quilt Shoppe (opening soon)

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more to come…