Quilt Matters: An HBC Point Blanket Quilt Of Your Own

  To all my Canadian friends out there--I don't know if you all know/follow the fabulous M-R at Quilt Matters,,,but if you don't, you should. (All you non-Canucks should go take a look too! HBC is the original fur trading store from our country's early days,,and is still in business--however they don't do a lot of fur trading these days!)
   Take a look at this amazing HBC Point Blanket Quilt M-R designed & quilted. It's phenomenal,,,and just shouts Oh Canada!!!
    If you stop by to take a look,,,tell M-R I sent you! She's a wonderful quilter, and funny as all get out (to say nothing of generous with her knowledge!)

HBC Point Blanket Quilt

Quilt Matters: An HBC Point Blanket Quilt Of Your Own

  I hope 2013 brings you all a Very Happy New Year filled with health, wealth, happiness,,,and lots and lots of sewing!!!
Mary

Happy Holidays to all!

Courtesy of irrepressible, indomitable, insurmountable and certainly inspiring

MDM. SAMM!

May all your wishes come true!

Mary

A difficult time

  I've struggled with whether or not to write this post.  Things in household are not good right now, and finding the spirit of Christmas is difficult to say the least.

   As some of you I've emailed with know, we are facing a major challenge in my family, and I've had to take a step back from blogging & from commitments I've made.

   You see, a few weeks ago, my youngest brother was diagnosed with lung cancer and has had to move in with my husband and I so we can care for him. We are on what we lovingly call "The Cancer Merry-go-Round", and his first radiation treatment was last Thursday with another to follow Friday. With the major storm we had hit, we couldn't make Friday's appointment, but we are on our way in the morning (if the road conditions improve enough to drive the hour there!) for treatment #2.

   His cancer is Stage IV non-small cell squamous lung cancer, and is inoperable. Chemotherapy is not an option either, as his cancer is too far advanced, and he is too frail to undergo the treatment. Radiation is only palliative; there is no cure--only the hope we can make it easier for him to breathe.

   We are all very surprised we've made it until Christmas, and God willing, he will see in the New Year.

    Before anyone asks, does it really matter whether or not he was a smoker? He is dying of lung cancer,,,period. What came before does not matter; the only thing that matters right now, is making him as comfortable as possible in his last days/weeks.

    My friend, Hayley, at Mrs. Pickles Garden, is going through this nasty journey with her father right now, and while it's comforting to be able to commiserate with someone travelling the same road in our Canadian medical system--which is the greatest and the worst in the world all at the same time; although I wouldn't wish my worst enemy this journey.

   So,,I'll update when I can, blog when I can, and hopefully my weeping sewing machine will have some company (ME) over the next 2 weeks while my husband is on Christmas holidays (some holiday) and is easing my burden.

Mary
  

Merry Merry Christmas

   It's the most wonderful time of the year! Not!  We've had the snow/ice/freezing rain storm from Hades here since Thursday night! It started off innocently enough. Snow coming down so pretty. But then the damned stuff didn't stop! And the temperature rose, and we had snow upon snow upon snow, with melted slush underneath. And then,,,,it froze up solid. So now, we have snow packed roads, covered with 2 to 3 inches of ice, and then more snow today on top of all that.  I hate winter!
    There was a tractor trailer flipped on the highway outside our small town yesterday,,,so today they closed the TransCanada Highway to right the truck, and get it on its way. Which is a great thing,,,except they re-routed all traffic through our little town. Our main street got clogged so they (the police) decided to re-route the traffic down residential streets and the main street. It was lovely. Those of us who live here (aka "not from away") essentially stuck to our homes. What was supposed to be a 4 hour detour turned into 8 hours. GGGGGGRRRRRR.

It is not this pretty!
 

  I wish each & everyone of you who visit here the merriest of Merry Christmases, and may 2013 bring all the best to all of us.
  Have a great holiday season.
Mary

Winner! Winner!

  Wow! 255 comments and 112 followers! I can't believe it. It seems impossible to imagine 112 of you are following my blog, reading my posts and checking out my work.
   Thank you Thank you Thank you!

   The winner of my Quilting Gallery's 5th Birthday Blog Hop Giveaway is

 #156 ...OhioLori. 
   Congratulations Lori,,I wish I could have entered! I'd love the chance to shop at Julie's store on someone else! Who wouldn't?

  I have emailed Lori, and will be looking forward to hearing/seeing what she's going to buy with her gift certificate.

  Thanks again to everyone who entered, and most especially to all my followers, new and old.  

   Be sure to check back in,,I'll be having another giveaway to thank all my followers for pushing me over the 100 follower mark!

 And once again, I need to sing Julie's praises! With some issues that have come up in my life right now, I wasn't sure how I was going to live up to my obligation for this hop. Julie made it so simple for me to buy a gift certificate for this giveaway! Please go visit her, and give her some love (You could tell her I sent you!)  

  
In case you missed Julie's newsletter/blog, she has a coupon code this week (CORNER10) for 10% off your entire cart, and all Christmas fabric is marked down 40%.
Mary

Quilting Gallery's 5th Birthday Blog Hop Party

      Welcome to Michele of Quilting Gallery's 5th Birthday Blog Hop Party! This is going to be a fun one! Every blogger on the schedule (including me!) has a giveaway for you! This Hop is on from December 9th through until December 15th, and you can find the complete schedule at Quilting Gallery's birthday blog hop page!

     I hope you have a look around my little blog, and see what I'm about. I love to sew, whether it's clothing for me or others, quilting, home dec. I've been spotty with my posting, but I'm working on it!

     For this giveaway, I'm giving away a $20.00 (USD.) gift certificate to a great online fabric store, The Intrepid Thread. The owner Julie, has nothing but postive response from everyone, has great fabrics, at terrific prices and is just about to open a brick & mortar location! Julie will ship internationally, so this giveaway is open to everyone--whether you use that extra "U" or not!

     Congratulations to Michele on her 5th Birthday, and enjoy the hop!

    All you need to do to be entered, is have a look around Julie's store, and leave me a comment telling me your favourite new arrival.  For a second chance to win,,be a follower (new or old!), and leave me a second comment letting me know you are. This makes 2 giveaways in less than a month,,,so following could be a good thing!

    Thanks for stopping by and good luck in the giveaway. (Giveaway ends December 15, 2012 @ 11:00 p.m.EST, and a winner will be chosen by Mr. Random Generator.)

Mary

GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. THANKS FOR STOPPING BY & ENTERING!

Winner,,winner,,what's for dinner?

   Just a quick post to let you all know that a winner for the 1/2 yard of Kona Solids has been chosen (by Rafflecopter) and it is #214,,,,Carla



Carla G has left a new comment on your post "Blogathon Canada Part 2 & Giveaway!": 

I love the blues - my favorite is Water! :) 



Posted by Carla G to Sew Maybe I Can at November 28, 2012 3:39 PM.   



I've emailed Carla to let her know the good news.
   Thanks again, everyone for entering, and most especially for following me, both here and on Twitter!

 Hope everyone has a terrific week!

Mary

One day left!

    I've been busy the past few weeks running to medical appointments with a family member (yeah,,that's the emergency referred to a couple of posts back) and couldn't believe my eyes when I checked my blog and saw I had 52 ,,,okay, 51 (one of the followers is ME--I had to make sure someone followed me, so I signed up too!) followers. 

    I don't know if it's the giveaway,,,but even if it is, I'm still very grateful that you all would take the time to check out my little corner of the world. Thank you, thank you, thank you. You have truly humbled me. 

    A few weeks ago, I was wondering  whining to my darling daughter about what the point of posting was, and here I come back to find 50+ followers! (Trust me,,that lovely little lady I call daughter chewed me out but good, and told me to get my a$$ in gear and post! It may have something to do with her wanting the pouch I made for her tablet and me telling her I had to post pictures before I sent it to her!)

  Speaking of tablets, have you all seen the ASUS Transformer Pad? Daughter bought herself one, and brought it home on her last trip. It is way cool! Great graphics, fast as the dickens, has a keyboard, and the screen comes off & becomes a separate tablet and it's a great size! (I am not being compensated in any way for saying that, am not involved in any way with ASUS,,I just think it's a cool toy!)

   Anyway, just a quick thanks to you all for following me, and I'll be back sometime Sunday to announce the winner of the giveaway.

    Until then,,,enjoy your weekend. I'm going to try!

Mary

Blogathon Canada Part 2 & Giveaway!

I hope you've enjoyed all the Canadian blogs you've visited with SewSisters Blogathon Canada...I know I have!

I promised a giveaway, and a giveaway we shall have! I'm giving away a 1/2 yard cut of Kona Cotton Solids,,my choice. I'm using Rafflecopter for this giveaway (my first ever, and this seems to be the easiest way for me to do it!)

The giveaway will remain open until Friday, November 30,  2012 at 12:00 p.m. EST. (That would be noon!)

To enter, just follow the rafflecopter instructions.

Thanks for visiting.

Mary

ETA: There seems to be some confusion about Rafflecopter. I've put up an image from Rafflecopter that I hope will help.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Courtesy of: Rafflecopter

Blogathon Canada

Gidday eh? Grab yourself a Timmy Ho's and take a minute to take a little peek around my blog.

I'd really like to give a special shout out to Sew Sisters Quilt Shop and their blog for conceiving and sponsoring  this great blog hop! How wonderful to showcase Canadian quilters and crafters! I don't know about you, but I've seen a lot of new (to me) blogs this week, and I'll be following many of them!

From day 1 in BC, with Felicity at Felicity Quilts and Cathy at Blueberry Patch introducing the likes of Cynthia Frenette (of Kona Modern Quilt fabric fame!) to Krista at Poppyprint and all the other quilters in BC (did you check out Paul at Paul's Block Party? Wow!).

Day 2 brought us to the other coast, with Nova Scotia being hosted by Jeanette at Stamp*Stitch*Create and  Holly at Through My Window hosting for New Brunswick. Incredible quilter/crafters on the East Coast too!
Did you see Jennifer's work at Sister of the Brush or Sheila's at Sheila's Quilt World? (Her postcard project work is amazing!)

Day 3 and we're off to Alberta with Shena at Apple Pie Patchwork and Saskatchewan with Patti at Retired to Quilt (and I'm so glad she did! what fun it is to follow Patti! Did you see her coin purses--with fabric of toonies &  loonies she printed herself! Fantastic.)

Halfway through the week,,,and I'm going to stop here for now. I'll do part 2 later on today.

Thanks for stopping by.
Mary

Holiday Lane Pillow Blog Hop

It's begun!! The Holiday Lane Pillow Blog Hop is finally underway. I signed up for this hop back in September, and for some reason, our lovely hostess/cheerleader for this hop Pauline, The Quilt-N-Queen, thought I should post on day # 1. Scary stuff, when you see who else is posting today. There are some incredible hoppers on today's schedule: (And let's never forget the irrepresible Madam Samm at Sew We Quilt for coming up with these hops!

Wednesday November 21

Just Let Me Quilt

Simple Sew

sew.darn.quilt

 Color My World

Sew Maybe I Can (You're here!)

Handmade by Mary E

Sew Many Yarns

Pig Tales and Quilts

Tea Time Creations

Jane's Quilting

So,,without further adieu,,here's my pillow.  I really enjoyed making this. It's been many, many years since I've done any applique, and I'm very pleased with how it turned out. 


 Notice the essentials of sewing for me--Timmy's cup,,sugar,,,water LOLOLOL

While looking for supplies for this pillow, I raided my stash and came up with a few changes in colours & materials. There was/is no white wool felt in my small town--anywhere! I tried regular craft felt, but it just didn't look right. So back to the stash I went. I found fur trim for Christmas stockings, tried it for the snow, and I love the way it looks!

  

If you look closely, you'll see I have a modern day Santa coming in,,,,,in a spaceship! The olive green house is a treasured piece of vintage fabric from the 1950s gifted to me by my wonderful mother-in-law. I love the way it looks.



I hope you've enjoyed my journey through Holiday Lane,,,I sure have.














My sincere apologies to everyone for my late posting. I've had an emergency here for the past 24 hours, and haven't been here.

Mary

Blogathon Canada Day 2!!!

    I hope you checked out the wonderful Canadian bloggers from British Columbia on Day 1 of Blogathon Canada. Yesterday's hosts were

                         Felicity     at    Felicity Quilts

and

                         Cathy        at   Blueberry Patch

    You'll find Cynthia Frenetter (Kona Modern Quilts Fabric) and Sonja of Artisania (paper piece pattern designer extraordinaire amongst the B.C. quilters featured yesterday.

     Today's hosts are from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, on the other side of the country & the Atlantic Ocean. They are

                          Jeanette      at     Stamp * Stitch * Create

and 

                          Holly             at     Through My Window

      Go give them a visit,,,I'm sure you'll fall in love with at least one blogger on the list, and no doubt someone will have some beautiful pictures of our Maritime vistas.

Mary

                          

Holiday Lane Pillow Blog Hop

Holiday Lane Pillow Blog Hop

It's coming!! This is going to be a great blog hop. Some amazing quilters are lined up to show off their pillows. 

  Our wonderful cheerleader this time around is Pauline Quilt-N-Queen. She has been terrific, keeping us all up to date and cheering us on. And of course, the irrepressible Madame Samm at Sew We Quilt is the driving force behind this hop,,,and she has some wonderful things up her sleeve for the new year too.

   My day is day one,,Wednesday November 21,,,and I must admit, I am intimidated to be showing my creation amongst the crew also up on day 1,,,,but I'll perservere, and keep my chin up and get my pics loaded, and go for it.

   

    Hope everyone has a great day, and don't forget to visit Blogathon Canada and visit some of my fellow Canucks! Tomorrow is hosted by Felicity in British Columbia, and is sure to be full of great links.

BLOGATHON CANADA !!!

November 18 2012 marks the kickoff of Blogathon Canada , a celebration of Canadian quilting blogs sponsored by Sew Sisters Quilt Shop, a terrific quilt store based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Sew Sisters has a huge line of fabrics, from novelty fabrics, to batiks to Kona Solids and everything else you could possibly want need. Their Kona club has delivered wonderful colour treats (including some of the new colours!) to my door since they started their program, and I look forward to seeing what this month's selections will be. I hope you check them out,,,their customer service is amazing!

My day on the Blogathon will be Saturday, November 24, and there may be a giveaway of some of that Kona involved,,,,,just sayin'.

I hope you'll visit all or at least some of the bloggers featured this week,,you'll find some amazing talent and some very funny quilters.

Mary

WICKED Blog Hop!

   Wicked Blog Hop

 Can you believe it? My day is finally here! 
 
     If previous hops are any indication,,we are in store for some incredible creations. To paraphrase,,,something wicked this way comes  Mwah ha ha ha!!!!!

      I only have one block to show at this point,,,I've been fighting with computers, and internets and retrieving files from my old computer. GGGGRRRRRR. (And I've been fighting with a giant Dalmation for the past 2 weeks too---more on that next post.)

      I bought myself some Ghastlies when it hit the market this year. I love it, think it is too much fun! My daughter came home for a visit; spotted my Ghastlies, and gasped. "Oh Mom, I love that fabric! Where did you get it, and what are you doing with it?"
     
          Well,,,,when/if she checks her Momma's blog, she'll see her pillow top for her new couch!

Ghastles fussy cut &
waiting for a backing

   
   















      My block came out a perfect 12 1/2 inches square,,and that's a first!
I've got another little somethin'somethin' almost done as well. If I get it finished up, I'll add it on, otherwise it'll be in a couple of days.
 Our schedule for today is

Thursday, October 22nd

Angie’s Quilting and Crafting Place

Just Let Me Quilt

Lady Bug Lane

Debby Kratovil Quilts

Creative Obsessions

Kathy's Quilts

Loose Threads

Sew Maybe I Can (You are here!)

That's Sew Julie

Peck's Pieces

Aurea at That Other Blog

Please stop by these blogs, and leave some love!

Thanks for your patience.

Mary

ETA: With all my puter woes, I forgot one of the most important things of all!
Special spooky thanks to Wendy at Why Knot Kwilt for all her work hosting this hop, and the indomitable Madame Samm at Sew We Quilt for her awesomeness and always coming up with something to keep us entertained and challenged.
   Thanks you ladies! 

It's My Day

                      WICKED BLOG HOP

       It's my day!!!!!!!!!! And wouldn't you know I've had computer issues, a major, major crash, and am using a new (to me) laptop.
       And there are issues!  I'll be back in a few with my pics & my proper post. Please bear with me.

Meantime, please visit Wendy for a complete schedule for today.
         Please cross your fingers for me!
Mary

Under the Weather

    I can't believe it's been 2 weeks since I've posted! What a whirlwind of good, bad, ugly, and everything in between.
     I developed a severe lung infection, and have spent the past 2 weeks on a nasty antibiotic that's had me unable to do anything but rest.
     I've received a commission to make a Halloween costume for a friend's partner to wear at an event taking place at their resort while they're on vacation in Jamaica mon! He is going to be one very large dog. I've managed to get the pants sewn together; just have to get the elastic & drawstring in the waist casing & hem them. I'll cut out the top/hoodie tomorrow, and hopefully have it finished by Saturday. 
    My camera has gone missing, but I know it's here somewhere. Once I find it, I'll get some shots loaded here.
     I've managed to get some work done on my block for the Wicked Blog Hop, and think I finally have my plans down pat for a pincushion swap I'm doing on Threadbias.
     We celebrated Thanksgiving this past weekend, ending a week's vacation staycation to celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary. We did a few day trips, and spent one glorious day in the car enjoying the beauty of the fall colours--absolutely breathtaking! I saw colours in the leaves this year I've never seen before.  Which leads me to....
      I hope you have all been enjoying the LEAFS ME HAPPY Blog Hop organized by Madame Samm at Sew We Quilt and Cherry of Cherry Blossoms Quilting Studio . The colours and work done by all the quilters (some even made their own fabric!) has been awe inspiring. Madame Samm has 305 pins on a special Pinterest board from the hop. You should check it out.
      And that's it for now.

Pin it to win it

     Hi all. Don't know if anyone has caught this contest or not,,but it's great.
     Randi, owner of Freshly Squeezed Fabrics, is offering a fabric giveaway on her blog, i have to say.  (September 24 to September 27, 2012)

Edited  September 25 11:30PM est,

September 25, 2012

PIN IT TO WIN IT UPDATE

Due to the TREMENDOUS response to the PIN IT TO WIN IT challenge, I will be closing it up at 3:00 PM MST (that's about 2 hours from now).  Sorry for that inconvenience!

Next time I will revise the contest guidelines to better reflect the amazing response.  "

Thank you all for playing along.  We will do it again soon!,).All you have to do is

  "...in order to win that bundle, you need to have your pin repinned the same amount of times as the dollar amount of the bundle.  For example, if the bundle costs $15.75, get it repinned 15 times and it's yours.  Free!"  (copied from Randi's blog.)

   So if you all could repin my bundle by clicking the link under the picture of this lovely bundle,,,drop me an email, and I'd be happy to repin yours. (I can't figure out how to get the "Pin it" button below the pic, so I put a link.)

       Repin Bella Fat Quarter Bundle 

  Other than this contest, Hawthorne Threads is having an incredible tent sale this week.  Their customer service is awesome; their shipping is fast, fast fast, and their fabrics are beautiful. Check it out.

  Back to cutting out the new quilt for the grandbaby's birthday! (No,,,,I don't put any pressure on myself. LOL)

   Have a great day

Mary

Jennifer Jangles Blog: 12 Days Give-A-Way

Jennifer Jangles Blog: 12 Days Give-A-Way: Yay! Here it is! Jennifer's  biggest Give-A-Way ever! Over 500.00 worth of goodies.  Now this is going to be fun, because you have 16 chances to win!

Otis & Rhubarb

This gorgeous bird pincushion

(that just happens to have some Threadbias colours!)

And there's many, many more prizes. Go take a look, and tell Jennifer I sent you.

Mary

Dots on Dots Day 10

     Well,,,I'll try again. The migraine is breaking, and there is a flu bouncing around this house (maybe it's spotted fever!) 

      My apologies for my meltdown last post, I'll blame it on the migraine & leave it at that.

     I hope you've been enjoying this hop, and all the bloggers, both new & old who have been showcasing their work everyday.        Today's Schedule is as follows   Bejeweled Quilts by Barb Cate's Linens From This to That suemacseeds Marcia's Crafty Sewing and Quilting  Ellie Quilter   Rosemary B - That Other Blog BQuiltin Studio Nati's Little Things Madame Samm      Please stop by, and leave everyone a little love.      And don't forget Corrie at Quilt Taffy,  our hostess with the mostest (a little birdie told me she's having a giveaway) and the Great Madame Samm. Without these two ladies, this hop wouldn't be happening. (And trust me,,,they are beyond patient! Thanks ladies.) Mary                        

I quit

I quit....or maybe take a wee break.
  Until I can find a way to revert to the Old Blogger interface, I'm done. I've struggled to learn the old, and now have this thrown at me, and I don't have what it takes to to figure it out this week. Sorry I'll miss the last days  of the dots on dots blog hop, but I'm done stressing out over how to figure all this out.

Hope to see you again.

Mary

Dots on Dots Day #9

   First and foremost, I would like to thank everyone for their kind words and comments on my block. You've all given me encouragement to keep on with this little blog. 

   Sewing is no problem for me, but I've struggled with buttons and codes and formatting and posting and linking and and and! Without the help of Corrie, Carolyn, and Karen and her terrific blogging tips, what little hair I have that isn't already grey would have turned grey, or been pulled out! Thank you so much ladies for your help and patience with a new blogger. I (really) couldn't have done it without you.
   That wee fellow peeking at you all yesterday was my grandson, who will turn one year old next Saturday. He is the light of our lives, and lives right next door. (I know,,,I'm one lucky Nonna!) My next project is a(nother) quilt for him that I hope to start tomorrow.
         And now,,,,onto the fun.

Are you enjoying the dots on dots blog hop so far? I sure am. Once again, thanks to Corrie and Mdm Samm for organizing and hosting this event. It's a lot of work, and they have done a fantastic job! Today's scheduled hoppers are

September 19

Jane's Fabrics

The Learning Curve-Quilts and Such

Quilting by Dawn

Moosestash Quilting

Quilty Doodads

Hill Valley Quilter

Quilt Monster in my Closet

The Raspberry Rabbits 

Regina Grewe: In English   In German

   I hope you enjoy today's dots, and show these bloggers the love you've all shown me.

   Only 2 more days to go!

Mary 

Day 8 Today's my day!!!!

   Today's the day! My first blog hop. I'm so impressed with everyone's dotty fun.   It's been a very long time since I've done any piecing, so it was a challenge.     I'm having some computer problems here, so I'm off to fix them, and will be back to this post as soon as possible. 
Apologies to any early bird hoppers.Mary

Anybody in there? 

(This little fellow took his first steps today!)

   And,,,I'm back.   My block was based on a block called South for Winter by Karen Linton from Quilt-Uber-Fest hosted by Scott Hansen at Blue Nickel Studios in 2011. (Run on sentence or what!) Well, that's where I started. 

I love the look of this block against the Kona Tomato Red. It may end up as a cushion.

   I've always loved polka dots, and black and white speak to me, so the colour choice was easy.

I'm amazed. My points matched!

   I hope you've enjoyed my block. I enjoyed the challenge. (Blogging and I,,we've got a way to go.LOL)

Once again, huge thanks to Corrie  and Mdm Samm for hosting and organizing Dots on Dots.

 Please click over to my fellow bloggers who are dotty today.

September 18th

Sew Maybe I Can

Yayaquilter

A Stitch in Time

Ariane Quilts

Karen ~ Briarside Lane 

Joanne 9of12 

Traveling Quilter

Bacon Then Eggs 

Mary

Dots on Dots Day 6

  Here we are at day 6. Have you been following along? Amazing dots from everywhere. Don't forget to check out Madame Samm's Pinterest page for all the blocks from the hop, and be sure to stop by to say thanks to Corrie at Quilt Taffy for such a wonderful job hosting this blog hop.   You can find today's blogger's dots here

September 17th

 A Quilt and a Prayer

krislovesfabric

Kelsey Sews

Gmama Jane

501 Quilt Blocks

Cherry Blossoms

Quilting Linda

Sheila's Quilt World

The Sunflower Patch

Thanks again to Mdm Samm for her genius, and especially to Corrie for doing such a great job hosting.Don't forget to leave everyone a comment.

Enjoy!

Mary

                        

Thank You!

Thank you

Merci

Gracias

Danke

Grazie

  A huge thank you to Karen at Sew Many Ways and to Carolyn at sew.darn.quilt for all their help teaching me how to work codes, and buttons, and pictures

  Thanks again ladies, I couldn't have done it without either of you. 

Mary.