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AS you will have noticed, only the pictures from last week showed up. No matter how much I tried I could not get the rest to show up. Then we left for Jenny's for a few days and when I came home I had 1/2 bushel of tomatoes, peaches and cucumbers to can and pickle. All that is done and now it is back to quilt related activities. This orchid is my latest one to bloom. I received it in early spring from Jenny's mother-in-law. They were moving and she did not have enough room for all her orchids. I put it outside and one day I noticed a flower stem. It took a while, but it is in full bloom now. I will need a card for this coming week-end and I found this one already fused with selvages. On the Internet I found a suitable rose silhouette. I drew it on a piece of fused batik and cut the different pieces out. On the back I put another piece with flowers. Up to now I never had a place to write a short note. Last week I bought some satin ribbon. I also fused that and that will be my place to write a short note. I will have to finish the edges yet. I have been machine quilting and I do like it at all. In one more week I hope to be able to show you the result. Now let's hope Blogger will cooperate!

All mixed up

I love my amarillis to bloom during our long and dark winter. Then in the spring I take them outside and once there I hope they will grow bigger bulbs for more flowers in the coming winter. A month ago I noticed a few flower stalks coming out of one of the plants. And right when we celebrated grandma's 90th birthday I had 12 flowers all blooming. The picture here does not do it justice. All I hope now is ,that I still will get some flowers in the winter. Today another oldy. Grandma has 5 children and she promised a quilt for each of them. Since Laurence is the oldest, she started with us. But since I had done some piecing and that is not what she is interested in, she told me, that she would get the fabric, but that I could do the piecing with her help. Now I had done some piecing and with her help the center went together nicely. Then the border. After ripping it out again and again I realized, that if you are told to make a 1/4 inch seam, that's what you have to do. Once I had that in my brain, it was clear sailing. I marked the quilt and then grandma took over with her magic. She is one of the best hand quilters I know. A few years after grandpa and grandma build the house at the corner of the farm,they build on a sun room. It was here that grandma would do her quilting while grandpa would read the paper. and it was here, that our kids would play under the quilt. They loved to across the field for a visit. Now let's hope Blogger will cooperate this time.

Back to a quiet house

We have had a few busy weeks with lots of company. Laurence's brother and his wife were the first to arrive -- and see what they ended up helping me with!

 

I store my large quilts on one of the spare beds and since we were going to have a full house they had to be moved. Just the right time to take some pictures. I never took pictures of my oldest quilts. It all worked out very well. I would take one quilt downstairs, if needed put a temporary sleeve on the back, take the quilt outside and my helpers would hang the quilt on the frame. The weather was perfect, overcast and quiet, except for a few minutes. Right at that time, one of the quilts decided to try out for a flying carpet. No damage done though. Now I have documentation of almost all of my quilts. 

 

Over the next few days the rest of the family came from B.C, Alberta and Saskatchewan. By Saturday morning the house was more than full. Grandma, the birthday girl, came midmorning and was here till early evening, having a wonderful time with all her children and grandchildren. And this picture just shows that you are never too old to learn something new. Here grandma, 90 years old, is using an IPad for the first time. Jeanette brought her pictures of their holidays to Scotland and grandma spend a long time watching them and figuring out how to use the IPad.

 

After a wonderful Saturday, we all went to a reunion on Sunday. I had made lots of food beforehand and that came in very handy. By the time the company was gone, the fridge and freezer were getting empty. All in all, a good time! 

 

Soon after we were married I made my first quilt. After using it for years, it ended up covering one of Laurence's antique John Deere tractors. So no picture of that one. But this was the next one, made in 1974, just before Shawn was born. We had moved back to the dairy farm and with helping with the milking and teaching special ed. I was very busy. But somehow I found the time to make this quilt.

 

The pattern came from a very old and very small picture I found in one of grandma's very old magazines. Since we did not know if it would be a boy or girl I used both blue and pink. I drew the pattern pieces and did the applique on the machine.  After that grandma put in her magic with her hand quilting. This quilt has seen a lot of use. It was lost for a long time, till I finally found it in the bottom of the cedar chest.

 

The weather has been good the last few weeks with lots of sunshine and some much needed rain. The wheat harvest is behind us with a very good yield and most of the straw has been baled or sold. We are looking forward to some quiet days on the farm, at least till the white beans are ready. Lots of time to get some projects finished.