LITTLE GIFTS OF APPRECIATION

The Olympics are always a lot about marketing. Here in Canada, everyone that carried the Olympic torch was met with these mitts. They cost $10.00 Canadian and they are available everywhere. Oprah loves them and gave them out to her audience .

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This morning this little item was given to Jimmy Fallen on one of our morning shows. They are just a huge hit

as they are readily available and very affordable.

We aren't usually so flashy, but these mitts...even this

little chick loves them!

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When we were visiting my friend Helen and talking

about gifts that many athletes receive when visiting

countries, she showed me these two absolutely fabulous little eggs that her sweetie received when a Canadian hockey team visited Russia and he was part of the team support.

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Then, since he was going back again, he contacted the woman who makes these, asking her if she needed some

little thing from Canada. So my friend Helen who knits, put together wool, paints, threads, and some clothes

for this woman, who lives very very simply.

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Another egg was given. The eggs are solid wood, hand

painted and probably weigh about 5-6 oz, are actually the size of a goose egg I think.

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The workmanship is amazing don't you think? I just can't imagine sitting and doing such detail as this.

It was very hard to photograph due to the size of the art work, but I hope you can click and enjoy.

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Thank you Helen for sharing this wonderful little gem!

THE LITTLE BLUE QUILT FINISHED

This little quilt is so cute! I am not much of a blue person so when I put this together, I was using up stash.


But now that it's finished with a soft red binding, it really makes me think differently of blue!


I did post the second photo of what an indea in my head without practicing does. Originally I was going to do free motion on it. Then, I had the corner lined up and I thought, oh do something different!


So as you can see from the corner, it wasn't exactly
produced such as one would see on that blog
365 days of free motion quilting....not by a long
shot.

But you know what? By the time I had moved down about 10", I was on a roll. I just wanted to show what happens when I'm thinking!


We actually watched the hockey game last night even though we aren't fans of the game. It's not like you see on telvision....Canada is not obsessed with hockey, just hockey at the Olympics.


It's because, if I remember correctly, we've been beaten by so many teams so many times. It's a point of pride.

Happy Birthday to granddaughters Nicole and Tory who were born two years apart and one day difference.
Nicole is 20 and Tory is 18, life is just beginning to be stressful I think.

WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY

The Olympics! It just doesn't get any better entertainment!

See you tomorrow!

A DAY'S WORK, DONE!

I said I was using up stash. Well yesterday, I started with this 36 X 24 pieced blocks that one desperate day at the cottage when I didn't have much fabric, I put this together with one of my granddaughters.


The plain blue is from my grandmother's stash, circa 1965, can you believe?


Then I opened the 3" binn and took a look. I had enough to
put a small lap quilt together from that binn. I'm happy
that I had cut out all these strips when I was purging
my stash, such as it is.










Then, I just put some of the strips on the blocks and lined up a few to see how it all would look.






About 5 minutes later, (I did say I was on a roll didn't I)
I had the pattern put together and away I went, sewing, pressing, sewing and pressing.






About an hour later, the quilt now measered 42 X 58 and I was satisfied. I used a sheet with a small print for the backing, layered it on the table and spray basted the quilt.



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Now I tell you, making strips and little blocks has been so smart of me since I'm using up. I can put projects together like this in a day.


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I didn't start on the quilting as the Olympics called me away. I love the spectacle! Curling has now become our favourite sport and I am sure that we will continue to watch it after this week has ended.

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Last night, for the first time in history of the Olympics, North America received a gold and a silver in Ice Dancing. Canada the gold and the Americans the silver. Both teams skated so extremely well and since both teams actually train together you can imagine how hard they were to judge. It could have gone either way. Dance has always been a Russian domination...not this time or ever again if judging from our skaters... We stayed up till midnight to watch it all. Wonderful, wonderful night.

PURPLE AND PINK "FLAGS"

Last summer at the cottage, I saw this pattern in an old quilting magazine. I loved it enough to gather what I had left at the cottage to make a quilt.


You know I loved dots, but I think my love of them is waining.. I mean, I have so many quilts that have dot in them and I'm trying to use up stash but how much can one use these dots?


These squares are 16" so the quilt is 48" squared up.
I usually border my quilts as I like that look, but this one didn't require it for the effect of the quilt.


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I'm not that fond of it but now that the photo was taken
it actually looks better in the morning light. I used some of the remaining purple to make the back.


When I was a kid purple and pink were my favorite colours for happiness. I remembered this as I was putting it together. Funny what happens when quilting and the mind wanders.

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Anyway, there were 10 blocks and I didn't want to
waste any of them so I put one one the back. Now,
there are quilts that my sweetie thinks are weird!

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Remember the experiment in the summer? "Did you
screw up?" ...I wasn't too happy about that and then
of course, there's the bar code one just posted, so I was thinking he wasn't going to be given a chance to comment when I presented it as I was doing the hand sewing during the curling.

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Yep, he loved it and wondered only why didn't I put the pink and black "flag" in the middle of the quilt back? These blocks look like flags? He's been watching to much Olympics with the people waving all their flags I think!

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Other than batting and a bit of fabric since January, I'm sticking to my belated resolution to use up all those scraps that I've had put into bins "for future use". I don't know how people keep track of all their fabrics, because I just have a few dozen on the shelf, and still have 3 boxes of scraps and strips that need to be used. What, besides looking at fabrics do they do with it all?


What were the plans when fabric was purchased I wonder. Me? I've looked at fabric that's mostly on sale just to have it thinking, oh yeah thinking that I know what I could do with this.

So this morning, I'm off again to use up those pieces that are in bins.