Monday, September 2, 2013

Last Days of Summer

Hello everyone!

Thank you all for your comments on my camping adventures.  My husband and I read your comments and he got a kick out of how many people said "Something touched my foot, I'm OUTTA THERE!"  He admitted he was scared too though and wanted his heart to stop beating so loudly so he could hear what it was out there!! Unfortunately, the only way we could hightail out of there would be to pack up our gear and cycle out.  So not really much of an escape route.  When I went back to school last week, I chatted with the Grade 4 teacher and she said she has a cabin right before you head into Smuggler's Cove.  I asked her if she heard the blood curdling screams in the night.  Lol!! Anyways, she said the next time we are there, if we need to stock up on water we could come by.  Nice to know there's someone nearby that I know!

Well, the last week I have been very busy with school and catching up with friends. I had another great sewing day with my cousin-in-law and she and I craft-bombed my apartment.  I managed to finish sewing up the panels of my quilt and she made two cute little pants for her baby to be.  Check out our progress!


My panels!!
Linen pants with chicken fabric
Her pants are adorable.  We love that chicken fabric we found at Dress Sew.  She made similar pants with guitar fabric as accents but I forgot to take a photo of them.  I still have yet to cut out the border and panels for my quilt and I hope to soon, after I get over the fact that my panels are slightly off.  Very hard to stitch straight!!

While we were sewing and being productive, I found something I made in my Grade 12 textiles class.  I remember designing it to represent my Russian and Irish sides but never finished it into a pillow.  I hope to finish it soon so I can actually use it.


Firebird design by me stitched with a variety of embroidery stitching
My appliqued shamrock
I also received in the mail my trim pack that I won from Nancy at Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe.  I chose the Halloween pack, although I don't celebrate or stitch anything Halloweeny, I loved the autumn colours and will use it for my smalls.  Thank you Nancy! I love her stuff!!



On Wednesday, I had a lovely visit with Melissa from Words and Blooms.  She came over to my Nana's and brought me batting for my quilt. So generous of her!!  She also gave me a beautiful cross stitching Christmas book with a pattern she had stitched awhile ago that I commented on.  You are amazing Melissa for remembering that I loved that pattern! I'm hoping to stitch it for Christmas this year.  We had tea and chatted about all sorts of things.  I always enjoy visiting with Melissa! Hugs to you!!



Of course with school looming over me, I felt I had to surge ahead on Hannah.  I'm finished one corner and hope to finish the other soon.  I'm really excited about finishing her but sad at the same time because she has been fun to stitch.  I always leave my 1 over 1 stitching till the end.  I also picked up Knotgarden last night.  I haven't stitched on Knotgarden for months. 


6 more blooms to go!
Love that little deer leaping!!

As for my granny square blanket, I have been adding a row a day or every other day.  Usually I crochet in the morning with Titus lying beside me in a sun beam.  He decided to roll around on my mini blanket just to add a few more of his hairs into the yarn!



After all those wilderness photos, I thought I'd be a bit civilized and show you some city scapes. 


Art gallery steps
Robson Square
The Pink Flamigos from the Rumpus Room
Well, I think that's about it for today.  I still have not decided about what to do with my giveaway.  If you have ideas please share with me! I was thinking of having 3 winners for my 3 years of blogging.  Perhaps something stitched for 1, a gift card and some stash? Really can't decide!


PS, Adding photos on blogger has been really odd lately.  It's taking forever to add just one photo.  I get that circle thingy that changes colour, like a wait symbol, but find it never adds the photo unless I click on it a gazillion times.  Anyone else having this problem? I use Mozilla and Picasa.  Chrome doesn't work well for me.

Cheers until the next post! Hopefully the first week of school will go smoothly!!

Hugs to you all

From me and Titus!


32 comments:

Vickie said...

What a lovely post Ann.I really like your grade 12 textile pieces. I think that is super that you are finally going to finish them off.

gracie said...

Wonderful stitching...

cucki said...

Wow so beautiful stitching..
Hugs x

Solstitches said...

Wow! Where do I begin to comment on all the lovely things in this post?
Hannah is magnificent and the cute little baby pants are adorable.
Love the original embroidery design.
Great work on the quilt and how lovely that you are able to get together with Melissa.
Margaret

Chris said...

Great update! Your panels and all the quilting projects are fabulous. You are getting close to a big finish on your sampler. The afghan looks great! I love the colors and Titus approves:)
Hugs to you both!

Emma/Itzy said...

Great photos and Titus certainly looks to be having fun :)

Melissa said...

Anne, I'm so glad we got to get together before your work (and one day hopefully mine) starts! It looks like you've been trying to cram all the stitchy stuff in before you start work again - good for you - and I see lots of wonderful things. You are so close to finishing Hannah!

Here's hoping you get a great class of kids this year!

Barb said...

Great stitching and good luck with the start of school!

Southpaw Stitcher said...

Hannah is so close to being done! She is gorgeous! Love both your firebird and shamrock. The colors in your quilt top are just perfect! Good luck with the coming school year!

Margaret said...

I really enjoyed this post and seeing all the goodies! You were very good in grade 12!! Wow! Love Hannah! Love everything! As for posting pics -- that's strange. i noticed that red circle this morning too, but it only appeared quickly and then went away and everything was normal otherwise. I wonder what's going on. I use Chrome.

Pumpkin said...

Your quilt panel looks awesome! I love those colors.

Congrats on winning one of Nancy's packages. I won the Halloween pack too and was just amazed at all the goodies she packed in there :)

Your stitching is so lovely and I can see why you will miss this project when you're done.

Oh, I have that pattern on my to-do list as well! I just love those books and have been working at expanding my collection over the years.

Catherine said...

I don't even know where to begin ~ fabulous post! Love all of your projects ~ those little pants are adorable! How fun that you and Melissa were able to get together ~ it's always nice to spend time with stitchy friends. The book/pattern she brought for you is beautiful.

Brigitte said...

Oh my Anne, you've been a busy lady. The quilt you are making looks gorgeous, it's all in the alteration of the colours of the stripes. And it works great.
Lovely stitchy projects, too. And when Hannah is finished the next project is already waiting for you. I have seen Lo an many blogs and it's a really beautiful project.
So nice that you were able to have a get-together with Melissa. She must be a lovely lady.

Annette-California said...

LOVE your quilt!!!darling baby pants. And what beautiful stitching you had done back when:) Lovely gifts from Melissa great that you both were able to get together. Knotgarden is so PRETTY and your so close to being done!!!
love Annette

butterfly said...

WOW so much going on on your blog such a great post
thanks for sharing.

Shirlee said...

The quilt looks great Anne, as does everything else you have posted : ) I really like the firebird you designed in your textiles class! It's good to see Titus rolling around on that mini blanket ... lol! Are those photos of your city? Wherever it is, it looks really nice : ) I guess you are excited about school starting. I hope you have a wonderful school year! As for your giveaway, your idea sounds good to me : )

Annie said...

So many pretties! The quilt looks fabulous! What a treat to see your grade 12 project, and original design no less! definitely time to give it a finish. You sure are an active crafter!

Sarah in Stitches said...

Great progress on everything! I absolutely love the colors you've picked for your panel. And congrats on winning the giveaway from Nancy! I agree, she has the most beautiful things. :D

Mary said...

Great post, Anne! You are one talented lady with your sewing and quilting.
Hannah is in the home stretch and looks wonderful.

I love the colors you have chosen for your quilt. How cute are those little pants?

How kind of Melissa to share a special day and treat with you. I love that pattern.....another "to-do" in my waiting stash.
Nancy's trims are lovely, congrats on your win!

Best of luck to you in the new school year. It's hard to believe that it is September already.

stitchersanon said...

An amazing post, really interesting...love the sampler, amazing colours.

Melanie said...

The quilt and pants are awesome! Love the fabric choices.

I had to get one of those Halloween trim packs the second I saw them because the colors are so awesome. Love those little packs she does.

Lots of pretties in this post!!!!! :)

♥ Nia said...

Ohhh those pants are adorable!!! So cute =)
Congrats on your win :D
I like your idea for 3 winners... More chances for us ;) heeheheh
Your wip looks lovely :)
I don't have problem with images because I always upload them first for picasa, I put them inside the albuns I want and then just copy the url to add on my post ;)

Karoline said...

Great sewing, those pants are very cute!

Hannah is looking gorgeous, great progress on her & your blanket

Jo who can't think of a clever nickname said...

Great post. I really need to see more of Knotgarden!

Can't help with the photos, I use Chrome and Photobucket. I can only add photos from Photobucket if I copy the HTML code and switch to HTML mode!

Giovanna said...

Very nice stitching. I love the flamingo pic :-)

Carol said...

Oh, I'm so jealous that you and Melissa got together! Two of my favorite blogging friends in the same room sounds like a wonderful time to me :) How sweet of her to gift you with the Lo, How a Rose Sampler book!

How cute to see Titus helping you with your crocheted blanket :) Everything looks great--stitching, quilting, AND crocheting!!

Best of luck to you with your new school year, Anne--I'm sure the kids are so happy to have you as their teacher :)

Julie said...

Love seeing your pics.I get to see great places and never leave my chair. :)

Look forward to seeing your quilt all finished up.And those trousers are just cute.

Kathy Ellen said...

You must have had such fun piecing your beautiful quilt, and what adorable baby pants your friend made too.

Hannah is gorgeous! You must be so anxious to finish her. Lovely progress on 'Knotgarden' too...can't wait to see more of it.

You must be having so much fun, crocheting your Granny Squares blanket. One of my favorite blankets, was a Granny Square blanket, made for me. I just loved all of the pretty colours that made it up.

Hope that your days, back in school, are going well for you, Anne.

Blessings & Hugs!

Lois said...

Really enjoyed reading your post and what fun that you and Melissa spent time together! I'm hoping to finish Lo How a Rose for Christmas so it will certainly be do-able if you decide to get started on it.

Maggee said...

Your quilt is quite the masterpiece! As is your stitching on Hannah. I also have that book, and made a small start on LO How a Rose, but it won't be done THIS Christmas sadly. Enjoy! Hi to Titus too! Hugs!

Annette said...

Hihi .. cute pants..
What a wonderfull pictures!!
You got some beautifull pieces!!

Meari said...

You've been super crafty! I bet there's a lot of cool things in that Christmas book.

Lovely city scapes :) It's always nice to see where other people live.