Chookyblue Zoom Zoom ...

 Yesterday, I had the pleasure of catching up with like minded gals. I so enjoy Chooky's Zoom Zoom gatherings. The ladies are all so wonderful. As a bonus, I get to practice understanding the Aussie Accent! lol

I did a bit of knitting on a pull over I'm working on for Pumpkin. The pattern is called Le Classic by Espace Tricot. It's free on Ravelry.

I also worked on Seaside Cottage, a kit/pattern by Primitive Gatherings: a new wool piece I started a couple of weeks ago. 

It's a great feeling to catch up on the various wool kits I have on my "To do" list. 

Hope you all had a wonderful December 25th! 

Catch you all later! Cheers!

Happy Holiday!

 Wishing you and your loved ones a wonderful holiday season!

Happy Christmas Eve!

I truly love this time of year. There's something magical about it. This year is quite different due to Covid ... and another variant ... but still magical!

Quebec is presently under an emergency lock down ... yet again ... but, I keep my focus on gratitude. I have so much to be grateful, my health, my family, my friends, a warm home and a full belly. In the middle of this Covid chaos, I am content ... what more could I ask?

This year I decided that I would get lights for my bay window. It faces the front of the house. Bought them early December but did not get them hung until much later. I couldn't find my board pins, so the heck with it!  I hung them in what I call, a half ass fashion. I used the curtain rod hooks that were already there. Must admit, the half ass look is growing on me ... who needs board pins?!

Finished knitting a pair of socks that ended up being a gift for my favourite niece. I decided to try using contrasting yarn for the heel and toe. Must admit, I like it!

I started knitting my socks with a longer leg/ankle. It will be warmer for those cold winter days! Besides, I'm tired of left over sock yarn. lol

Also worked on what I call elf socks ... or maybe even Seuss socks! lol

Would you believe I finished them just in time!

Socks are mindless for me. I don't need to think about it ... I just knit.

Thanks for stopping by my little corner of cyberspace! 

Enjoy celebrating this festive time of the year!

Strategic planning ...

 When I start on a new project, I always think about how I'll tackle it to maximize my cutting, as well as the execution. I thought I would share how I planned my latest wool project, Posey Party.

I traced and cut my pieces. Once that is done, I started with stitching the center of the flowers. 

When I work on a project that is wool on wool, I'm a pin kind of gal and do not use fusible. However, since the stems were small, it made sense to use a fusible. My favourite fusible is Heat N Bond Feather lite. It needles beautifully. I proceeded to build the stem circles.

I would stitch the stems before placing another row. 

Once all my stems are stitched on, my next stage is building the circle with flowers and leaves. I will work one stage at the time, starting with the center. Once the center is stitched, I'll build the next row ... stitch and onward to the next.

Because I use pins, working in rows makes it easier and less bulky for stitching. I use a combination of DMC or Cosmo floss (one to two strands depending on the size of the piece) and Valdani size 12 hand dyed pearl cotton. I like to match the colour to my wool piece. 

Some people like to have everything pinned or fused and then start stitching. I like to work in stages. It's less bulky and I don't get pricked by pins. Even with the fusible, I find that the pieces will sometimes come off from the manipulation of the block.

There you have it, a mini tutorial on how I plan the Posey Party project.

If you are interested in the pattern, leave a comment. I'll get in touch with you to get your snail mail address.

Thanks for stopping by. Catch you all later! Cheers!

The Wool Box

 I couple of years ago, I signed up for Primitive Gathering's wool box. I'm enjoying receiving happy mail ever couple of months. Sadly, the boxes have been sitting, patiently waiting for me to start the projects.

For our December Sew we Gather group, we all decided that we wanted to work on whatever project we wanted, allowing us the opportunity to tackle Christmas projects that needed completion. I took the opportunity to work on a project from the wool boxes ... Posey Party.

Drum roll please ...... Tad dah!

The best part about this project, instead of using the greens from the kit, I took the opportunity to use all my small scrap wool.

It actually made a dent in the wool scrap bin. At $80.00 a yard for hand dyed wool, I save a lot! 

Thanks for stopping by! Catch you all later! Cheers!

We have a finish ...

 It just dawned on me that I neglected to brag post a project I actually completed for our Sew we Gather back in October. The re-arranging of the quilting studio really did the trick!

I project started out with this ...

It had been so long since I had hand appliquéd. Seriously, I think it's been over five (5) years! But, it's like riding a bicycle, it comes right back!

Then, it moved on to lots and lots of these ....

Oh, how I love half squared triangles! They are my favourite.

And made it to a complete project!

The pattern is called, Esther's Garden Box and is from the book Simple Whatnots II by Kim Diehl. The quilt top measures 14.5" x 14.5"! 

I must admit, I do love the way my quilting cabinet is looking!

Hope you are enjoying some productive creativity! Catch you all later! Cheers!

Ahhhh .... December!

 The time of year where I dust my side board ... LOL

Time to get my favourite holiday activity set up .... My Harry Potter Lego Advent Calendar!

I finally got around to building my new Lego Christmas decorative piece. My new holiday center piece ....

And of course, my favourite tree of all .... all the way from Whoville! The Seuss Spruce along with Mr. Grinch ... who seems to enjoy hanging around!

I love that tree ... It makes me smile every time I look at it! 

Nothing like holiday decorating to bring on a festive mood. Hope you are enjoying the start of the holiday season.

Catch you all later! Cheers!

A time to be grateful

I have so much to be grateful. I will admit, at times, it gets buried in the craziness of life ... the challenges that are part of being alive. The month of November, for me, serves as a reminded to reflect on the beauty and goodness in my life. I have much to be thankful. 

Wishing you all a wonderful, joyful and abundant Thanksgiving day!

It's 5 o'clock in Margaritaville

 I'm trying very hard not to waste foods. I haven't completely mastered it, but I think I'm getting there. My grocery bill has sky rocketed and it would be nice not to be wasteful. 

I had a couple of limes sitting in my fridge that needed to be used so I thought .... let's try making home made margaritas ... Barefoot Contessa Style! 

Hum ... I need Tequila and Triple Sec ... off I went to the liquor store. 

As I proceeded to make the recipe, Saturday night was looking to be an enjoyable and relaxing night. Hum .... much too tart, needs a bit of sugar.

They were yummy ....

As I sipped my second Margarita ... enjoying the fruit of my labour, thinking .... now that's life .... that is ... until it hit me like a ton of bricks. OMG, it dawned on me that the Barefoot Contessa likes her alcoholic drinks strong ... BANG! 

What I thought was going to be a somewhat productive evening ended up with me just sitting there on the couch ... in a zombie mode ... listening to music. Nothing accomplished that night except using two (2) limes! lol

The first time I make a recipe, I don't usually question and follow the instructions ... I certainly was not thinking that night. She calls for the following per serving:

2 Ounces of Tequila

2 Ounces of Triple Sec 

You can bet I wont be making that mistake again! Oh, and more limes on my grocery list!

Cheers!

I truly stink ....

At pita making/baking, that is. Although one did pop properly. Statistically, one out of eight is not a great stats!

So, I've resolved myself to making pita for the purpose of ... pita chips! I do make a mean pita chip if I do say so myself!

Home made pita chips are so much better than store bought. Aside from the fact that you don't have all those preservatives, mine are soft yet crunchy ... perfect for Bruschetta.

I know ... it's not how you traditionally eat Bruschetta ... but it's so good! I do make a mean Bruschetta. It's so easy to make, I don't understand why I hadn't done it sooner. Want my recipe?

BRUSCHETTA

3 - 4 Plum Tomatoes

3 tablespoon Olive Oil

1 tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar 

1/8 teaspoon Kosher Salt (adjust to taste)

1 Garlic Clove (I use a micro grater)

1 tablespoon Fresh Basil chopped (I wing it!)

It's that simple!

The key is to have a good quality olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Those are the two things I do not skimp on. It makes all the difference in the world. 

Well, best be going ... the Shoppe Troll is coming over for Bruschetta! Catch you all later!

My misadventure with a Frigidaire Freezer

 I've been thinking about this purchase for the past couple of years. The fridge freezer is so small ... it wouldn't even hold a small turkey unless it was empty. I tend to cook a lot and need the freezer space ... never mind that I'm always digging into my freezer looking for what I need. Everything is pilled up ... drives me nuts!

So a few weeks ago, I bit the bullet and bought myself an upright freezer.

The freezer was delivered with the door opening from the left size. It made more sense to have it open from the right side ... the kitchen side.

I proceeded to work on changing the door opening. OMG, what a production! All went according to plan until .... two (2) friggen screws wouldn't budge. I called my friend, Shoppe Troll, and she had her DH stop by to help me out. Mr. Shoppe Troll couldn't get them off either and we were starting to strip the screw. He actually went back home and got his impact wrench! After a few tries, the screws finally loosened up. Who in their right mind at Frigidaire would have screws on so tightly that you need an impact wrench to get them loose? That was not a tool on the list of "tools required" to change the door ... seriously only two tools were mentioned. So grateful he had the impact wrench! 

I haven't decided if I should write a complaint letter to Frigidaire. Not even sure it will make a difference. I don't know about you but I'm finding good customer service less and less of a thing these days... as if companies just don't care. Hum ... just checked the Frigidaire site, no snail mail or e-mail address ... interesting!

I will admit, it is wonderful to have freezer space. 

Thanks for stopping by! Catch you all later! Cheers!

Chookyblue zoom .... zoom!

 Friday evening well into Saturday morning, I had the wonderful opportunity to catch up with these lovely ladies.

Always a treat to chat about life the universe and quilting. It's so inspirational! Even more so since I seem to have found my quilting groove! I also got to meet Swooze for the first time. 

Thank you Donna for hosting theses wonderful zoom get together!

Catch you all later! Cheers!

Feng Shui is a thing in a quilting studio!

 Well, I bit the bullet and re-arranged my quilting studio. What motivated me? First time in all the years we have been meeting that I show up at our Sew we Gather group without the project completed. After I got home I said "fudge it!" ... not really what I said LOL ... and got to work.

Would you believe ... I didn't have to take any computer equipment apart. I just pushed everything towards the center area and dragged the desk to its new place. I did have to vacuum and dust! lol

It really opens up the place ... making it less crowded when you first come it.

After the re-arranging, I actually sat down and quilted. It also occurred to me that when I was ironing my pieces, I was facing the work desk ...YUCK! Now I face my UFO Projects in waiting shelf!

Seriously, it makes all the difference in the world. Even on Monday, when I sat down at my work desk, I immediately noticed a difference.

Glad I bit the bullet and tackle that issue. It was so worth it!

Thanks for stopping by! Catch you all later! Cheers!

Feng Shui ... is it a thing in a quilting studio?

 I must admit, I have not been in the mood to quilt ... not one bit! Well, not since I started working from home. Not even a dead line; a project to complete for today's Sew we Gather group, got me into my creative space. First time in years that I will be showing up empty handed ... Sigh!

You see, I set up my office in my quilting studio ... I even converted one of my sewing desks into a working desk. Yes, poor Bernie 180 is sitting on the floor next to her desk.

The first thing I see when I walk into my sewing studio is my work desk and I'm wondering if that has an effect on the Feng Shui ... the creative energy of the room.

Keeping the work desk in mind, my creative area has become a dumping ground for computer/monitor boxes all lined up under Penelope. I mean, work energy is everywhere in that room. 

Some people have their working area in their bedroom, not me, I don't want to be reminded of work when I go to bed. As for another room in my home, not really an option. I don't want a working area in my living room. That is where I sit to knit! lol

I've been giving this some thought and thinking that perhaps re-arranging the room might be an option to get the creative energy flowing. Maybe if I put the work desk at the end of the room by the closet, where my UFOS projects in waiting are. This way, walking into my studio the first thing I'll see is the shelf and not my work desk.

Of course just the thought of moving all that computer equipment makes me want to sit on the couch and continue knitting. LOL

What's your thought on the situation? Are any of you facing this challenge?

Thanks for stopping by! Cheers!

Soulfulness ...

 I've been in a quiet reflective mood ... A baking/cooking mood. There's something about being in my kitchen, prepping, cooking, baking that feeds my soul ... settling my soul in quiet solitude, as the world goes Covid crazy ... yet again! Our stats are way up, despite the increase number of vaccinated people. I give up! If you need me, you'll find me hiding in my kitchen ... hanging on to my peace.

Last weekend I gave baking Pita another try. If you recall, I made my first attempt way back in March 2020. In all honesty, I stink at Pita making. 

They may look good in the picture, but they did not open very well. So when life gives you Pitas that stinks, you turn them into Pita chips!

Oh, and they are delicious! Even better on the third day! I used kosher salt, next time I'll use a finer salt.

I also did a flat bread recipe from the King Arthur site. The recipe can be found here. I cooked them on a cast iron skillet. They turned out lovely. I think I don't stink at flat breads! lol

They freeze wonderfully and thaw in no time. Great with soups etc. You can even toast them if you'd like. Definitely a staple in my freezer.

Hope all is well with you. Catch you all later! Cheers!

Creative therapy

 After a summer break, our Sew we Gather group is meeting in mid September. I decided that I needed more fabric ... yea I know. Have you seem my closet? In my defense, I do not have a wide variety of Kim Diehl fabrics, especially backgrounds .... time for some shopping.

I stopped by the Fat Quarter shop and bought some backgrounds, Butter Churn Basics. Of course I couldn't resist and started to look around ... you know how that goes .... down a rabbit hole I go!

I ended up getting a fat quarter tower of Gratitude and Grace as well as some yardage of other lines. Look at that gorgeous package.

Oh ... and those fabrics! 

So delicious! I just love them. They certainly get the creative energy flowing.

Bought a new Kim Diehl book ... Simple Friendship II co-authored with Jo Morton

I feel inspired! I think it's time for me to start a new project!

Catch you all later! Cheers!

I've been in a mood ...

 A piecing mood! A different kind of piecing but piecing nonetheless! ;)

As you all know by now, I love Lego! I've had a few kits that I hadn't built yet and today was the day I would tackle them.

It all started with the Bonsai tree. I had pieced it a while back. 

I decided it was time for the flowers to come out!

I've added my own personal touch .... a Lady bug, a chocolate frog and a bee! 

After the Bonsai tree, came piecing Fawkes!

Who has joined Hedwig .... he's been pieced for quite a while! Yes, I'm a huge HP fan! :)

After piecing the flowers on the Bonsai tree and Fawkes, I thought it was time I continued building the Discovery Shuttle that Pumpkin and I started back in May. I brought it from:

To this:

It's quite an intricate built! Loving every moment of it!

I'm a huge space buff ... Love reading about the space program .... mainly from Gemini onward. Here is my space collection .... so far! ;)

The ISS, Saturn V rocket and the Hubble Telescope, which will go into the Discovery Shuttle cargo bay. I haven't decided if I'll keep it out or in the cargo bay!

Thanks for stopping by and indulging me in one of my many passions! Catch you all Later!