Julie's Place

Happy Hallowe'en!!

2009-11-02T20:29:00.003-05:00

I hope everyone had a safe and happy Hallowe'en! We had a blast here!

If there's something strange

in your neighbourhood

Who ya gonna call??

GHOSTBUSTERS!!

(and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man!)

Now that costumes have been made and my husband's ripped coat is sewn, maybe I can get back to some of my works in progress (Ninja turtle quilt, another baby quilt, Christmas cards that I've tried to make and send out the last two Christmas' - 3 times is the charm, right?...).

Sigh! :)

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-10-10T13:40:00.005-04:00

Homemade pumpkin pie... from a pumpkin Lucas picked out at the market!

A turkey that Lucas made at school.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!!!!

gobble gobble

But he often chooses not to!

2009-10-10T13:17:00.004-04:00

Well... we had about 3 nights of good sleeping and then Lucas was back to his old habits of fighting going to sleep at night and walking up around 5:30. Ugh. The last few nights have been longer sleeps but waking up in the night. There's always something.

The pictures are kinda self-explanatory but here's Lucas and a sample of his work - he copied his name. I'd actually made the dotted lines for him some time ago and he hadn't wanted to do it at the time. He recently pulled it out and traced it - and did a pretty good job I think!

Lucas CAN sleep!

2009-09-18T20:17:00.002-04:00

So here's the other picture of Lucas from his first day of school...

I actually took a couple of him again this morning just because he looked so darn cute but I'll have to put them on the computer before I can put them on here.

Lucas had a really crappy sleep Wednesday night... only about 7 hours (10:00 until 5:00 - uugghhhh) and so last night he was asleep by 7 and didn't wake up until after 7 this morning (okay he did wake up briefly around 4:30 to go to the bathroom and have a little drink but he went back to sleep pretty quickly - thank goodness!). I don't think I could have handled another 5 o-clock wake up call. He generally is a pretty early riser. I'm hoping that tomorrow he'll sleep in a bit again. I don't have to work so that would mean I could sleep in a bit too!

He's starting back into swimming lessons again tomorrow too. It's been a pretty hectic week overall! No time for sewing, that's for sure! (Unless you count hemming a pair of pants for Lucas!)

My Baby's Growing Up...

2009-09-17T20:39:00.004-04:00

I guess it's official now that my baby is growing up. He had his first full day of school on Tuesday and then was back today for more fun and games (and a few tears but I guess that's part of growing up sometimes).

He was so excited walking to the bus that first day. He told everyone he saw (including some construction workers) that he was going to school for the WHOLE day. His excitement lasted until he was standing in line to climb on the bus. He turned around to look at my husband and I with a tearful, crumpled up face and said "Mommy I want you to sit with me". Thank goodness for sunglasses! Man, I'm getting teary again just writing about it!

Here's a few pictures of the first day.

I hope they go in the spot where I want them to go!!

Of course they didn't go in the spot where I wanted them to go (after the writing) but at least I got them in the right order this time. There's one more I want to add but it would only let me put in 5. I guess I might have to do another post!

As for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle quilt... I sewed 1 block and then put it on hold when I found out he didn't need a blanket for school. I'll get back to it soon I hope so he can use it as a lap blanket this winter.

Underway

2009-09-01T20:44:00.004-04:00

Well, I've started on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle quilt for Lucas. My rotarty cutter got quite a workout as you can see from the above pictures. Now to sew...

We go next Tuesday to visit Lucas' classroom and meet the teacher. I've got my fingers crossed that he has fun and will look forward to starting school. He seems a little nervous about it at this point.

I'll keep you posted.

Quilt top finally finished...

2009-08-24T22:04:00.005-04:00

Once again, I forgot that blogspot flips the order of the pics!! Not a big deal but I wanted the other one first!

Oh well... the important thing is that I finally finished this quilt top. I actually started it about 12 years ago at a quilting class. I think at that time I had most of the blocks made. Every once in a while I would pull it out and sew a few more blocks together. I made a big push recently to finish assembling the blocks and doing the borders. Here is the result.

Now it's on hold again while I make a quilt for Lucas in case he needs a blanket for junior kindergarten. He's chosen Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. That should be interesting!

Also, I did finish my first Dear Jane triangle. I'll try to scan it in and post it soon.

H12 - Hannah Lou's Hearts

2009-08-20T21:46:00.004-04:00

And another...

Interesting... it wasn't until I was scanning these in that I noticed how similar they are... 4 pieces appliqued in a circle.

I think the next one to be finished might be my triangle... then I'll have to figure out how to scan and set up triangles next.

B1 - Batchelor Buttons

2009-08-20T21:43:00.004-04:00

I'm trying to catch up on the posting of my Dear Jane blocks. I'm behind by a couple.

Back to Quilting

2009-08-10T23:21:00.003-04:00

I have actually been squeezing in some quilting here and there. I have at least 1 more completed block to scan in but I'm not doing that right now. I also started my first triangle. I'm doing it all as applique so it's not all that different from a square really - just 3 sides instead of 4!! I figured it would be less scary to start the triangles if I did it this way.

It's been an interesting couple days. Michael (my husband) is actually in the hospital right now with pancreatitis. He's having an ultrasound tomorrow and has started a fluid diet today (after not having anything for a day or 2) so we'll see what tomorrow brings.

A little while ago (like, June, I think) I was getting antsy about my Dear Jane and wondering if I was making the right fabric choices. I pulled out all my blocks and put them together on my makeshift design board. This is what happened...

I think I can live with this! I will also do sashing between all the blocks. I'm not sashing as I go because I'm waiting to see how many blocks I end up making. I'm thinking of a navy blue or dark purple batik but I'll decide for sure when the time comes.

I have several other pictures that I want to share but I'll slowly work away at getting them posted. I gotta get to bed now!

As promised...

2009-08-07T22:22:00.003-04:00

Okay... so it's not the most flattering picture of me... but drowned rat (plus weird head gear/protector thingy) is a hard look for anyone to pull off, I think!

Birthday Party Pictures - from June 28

2009-08-07T20:20:00.004-04:00

I was looking through the pictures from Lucas' birthday party and it turns out there weren't too many that I felt I could post. I don't want to post pictures of other people without their permission - especially those pictures with kids in them - as I know some people are not comfortable with it. I did manage to find a couple to share...

Just for the record... I did not make this cake... and yes, we did rent a bouncy joust thingy for the day. Unfortunately the kids did not get to play on it for long before it started to drizzle. It was okay at first and we quickly got lunch in but by then it was really too wet to keep on outside so the party moved inside for cake and presents. It wasn't even really a warm rain... it was darn cool actually... but we survived and I think everyone had fun.

After the guests had left Lucas and Michael put on their bathing suits and went out for more joust fun. I was going to clean up but they asked me to join them for a few minutes... and how could I resist? Our next door neighbours joined us after a bit and we had a blast. We played until the company came to pick it up. Maybe they thought we were completely crazy but boy did we have fun. 4 adults and 2 kids completely drenched, jumping around, and knocking each other down with poles. The thing was practically a swimming pool by the end!!

I tried to add a couple joust pictures but for some reason they put them in at the top of this post (where I didn't want them) and when I tried to move them everything froze up. Does anybody know how to put pictures where you want them on here (or move them around after)? I have to go get my cranky boy to bed but I'll post those other couple pics later tonight or tomorrow.

Birthday Picture - from June 17th

2009-08-07T20:16:00.003-04:00

Here is a picture of Lucas on his actual 4th birthday. This is a cake that I made for him. It is just as he requested... chocolate with strawberries on top! I just noticed how, in this picture, the cake looks so much bigger than Lucas! :)

My Little Fisherman

2009-07-06T17:28:00.002-04:00

It's turning out that my little boy loves to fish...

Another hobby...

2009-07-02T20:59:00.003-04:00

Here's another thing I like to do in my (cough, cough) spare time...

I love to cook and bake!

This is a picture of a half-eaten, homemade, raspberry pie. Cleaning the dish afterwards was no fun but boy did the pie taste yummy! Wish I'd thought to take a picture before cutting into it!

K7 - Rose of Sharing

2009-07-02T20:42:00.004-04:00

Well... another Dear Jane block is done.

That makes 11 now (not including my "practice" block or my failed attempts at Papa's Star).

I'm not even going to think about how many are left. Before I can return to any sewing I have to get my table back. It's currently in the basement with "stuff" still on it from Lucas' birthday party.

All in due time...

4 ????

2009-06-20T10:41:00.002-04:00

I know I'm a few days late with this but...

HAPPY 4th BIRTHDAY LUCAS

Yup... My little boy turned 4 on June 17th. Crazy. So we've been a little busy here with birthday things.

I do have another quilt block to post. It was one I was hand appliquing and finally finished about a week ago I think.

I tried a new way of doing borders on a tiny little scrap/sample. It was with a mitered corner. I think it turned out okay so I'm going to go ahead and use the method on my full size quilt. Wish me luck.

I'll post some pics of everything when I have a chance. I'm off to visit a quilt store nearby that's having a big sale today! Yay!

C8 - Hani's Crown

2009-06-10T19:55:00.004-04:00

This was the Block of the Week for the online Dear Jane group almost a month ago (where does the time go?). I started it at the time (May 17th)... and I finished it June 7th!

Well... at least it is done. There was an informal contest to see who could complete it in the fastest time. The fastest time was a little under half an hour. I stopped timing my work once I spent about half an hour just making the little white square in the middle with the 4 purple triangles attached to each side. LOL

This brings me to a total of 10 blocks done... and I've finally posted a piture on my blog again. Good thing... it needed some colour.

I'm actually thinking about setting Dear Jane aside for a little bit and trying to finish up a quilt that I started a long time ago in a class. I'm at the stage of putting on borders and would like to get back at it.

One last quick thought... if anybody has seen spring anywhere can they send it my way??????

Oh Man!

2009-06-07T07:58:00.003-04:00

Only 1 blog post in May... and it didn't even have a picture. How pathetic is that!! LOL June will be better... June will be better...

I'm actually having a weekend to myself sort of. Yesterday I met up with some girls I went to school with and we travelled to St. Jacobs. We looked around some of the stores and had lunch. There were some beautiful quilting stores and quilts and I think I could have spent hours and hours looking around. When I returned home I found out that Michael and Lucas had gone to the Lake for a boys' campout. I weeded my flowerbeds and found that there actually were some flowers under all the weeds, I sat around a fire and visited with our neighbours and then I came in and tried to watch Lord of the Rings but I was too tired to watch it all. I was hoping to be able to sleep in this morning (instead of having to get up as soon as Lucas does to help him in the bathroom and get him a drink) but it wasn't too be. About 5 to 7 this morning I was awake and couldn't get back to sleep thinking about all the things I could do today. At least I could just lay in bed for a little bit and not have to jump right up as soon as I woke up. So... on to get some work (and some sewing????) done. They're to call me sometime this morning to see if I'm coming to join them or if I'm staying here - it'll probably depend on the weather which so far isn't looking all that great. We'll see...

Sigh... still no sewing really done...

2009-05-26T18:01:00.003-04:00

I wish I could say that I haven't been on the computer much lately because I've been sewing or reading or outside enjoying the beautiful spring weather... but I can't. The weather hasn't been all that nice yet (with the exception of the odd nice day here and there) and I haven't been sewing or reading or playing outside that much.

In order to practice in my chosen health care profession I have to be a member of a regulatory college. What that means is that I have to pay a lot of money to this organization each year so that they can protect the public from me and my colleagues. It also means that I have to participate regularly in quality assurance programs... and from time to time I can be audited. They aim to audit each member once every 5 years and I'm one of the chosen ones for this session's audit. Yikes.

So... I've been busy getting all my paperwork in order to submit... and getting colleagues and clients to complete surveys on me. Fun Fun Fun! And all for the extremely low bargain price of... several hundred dollars a year! But I'm not bitter.... not at all.

Okay... so I'm almost done except for the client surveys. I'll be back and sewing again soon. Promise!

no, I didn't forget how to quilt!

2009-04-24T19:03:00.003-04:00

I was in the mood to get some quilting done again and along came a fairly simple block of the week on my Dear Jane group and this is the result.

Not too shabby! Maybe this will jump start some more sewing. :) I have been working away on an applique block too... just slow going.

We're finally getting some nice warm weather. Today was lovely (but I was at work). Tomorrow is supposed to be warm to the point that they are saying "humidity" in the forecast. I haven't heard that word in a while! It could be rainy though. Sunday the temperature is supposed to drop way down again and then warm right back up for Monday. I don't know whether to dig out my shorts or my mittens! Maybe I'll need both!

Have a good weekend everybody.

Just 1 more Easter type picture...

2009-04-23T17:55:00.004-04:00

He just looks so darn grown up in this picture! I wasn't quite sure what the picture was going to look like when I picked it up. When they were taking it I could tell that he was rather nervous. I think it was having the bunny beside him moving around and sniffing him, but it could have been the lights and camera and other people around too. Also, he kept making these really fake attempts at smiling that were just hilarious... but probably wouldn't have looked so good in a picture. He's not fully smiling in this picture but it's better than some of the faces he made that day!! What a kid!! :)

Easter pictures

2009-04-18T22:43:00.003-04:00

I hope everyone had a nice Easter. Still eating lots of chocolate? Chocolate withdrawal?

I cleared pictures off our camera tonight and just had to post some. I'll have to keep in mind that they seem to post up here in the opposite order that I listed them. Hhhmmm???

The top picture is Lucas and his cousin Austin during an Easter weekend visit at my parents. Austin was all smiles... I just didn't seem to be able to snap a picture at quite the right time. Plus, neither one of them wanted to sit still for long. The middle picture is Lucas on Easter morning at the start of his egg hunt. He had lots of fun looking for eggs. In fact, most of the day he mentioned "I wonder if the Easter Bunny hid any more eggs?". The third picture shows the eggs that Lucas and I decorated the day before Easter. I love the bright colours in the basket and the black background.

I don't really have any sewing updates. I bought some more fabric and have it washed but that's about it. Just haven't had the energy to sew this week. Maybe next week! :)

Snow?!?!?!?!

2009-04-10T21:55:00.006-04:00

I don't know what happened ealier this week... Sunday I was out in a t-shirt for a while and then when I woke up Monday morning it was snowing and everything was white. Tuesday... still snowing. Wednesday... still snowing. I think it finally stopped sometime Wednesday. The last couple days have been sunny and warmer and this weekend is supposed to be pretty nice too so at least it's almost all melted again. Just Mother Nature playing a little joke, I guess. I hope she's done now!

Happy Easter Everyone!!

E12 - Mary Ruth's Corset

2009-04-04T22:18:00.002-04:00

This is actually the Block of the Week for the Dear Jane group... and I actually finished it within the week. That's a first for me! Yay!

It's a weird block in a way because it really doesn't look at all finished... and it won't until it's all sashed. I've cropped the picture a bit so you can't tell but all my basting stitches are visible on the block and I haven't fully trimmed it to 5" yet so there's extra background fabric visible.

I think it'll look pretty good in the end though. Now to pick my next block to work on!

C9 - Jane's Tears

2009-04-01T20:26:00.004-04:00

I used reverse applique for this block. It's a technique I'll probably try again although I think I liked the regular applique better. Maybe that's just because it's more familiar to me though.

I guess that makes it 7 blocks completed now. I'm not even going to think about how many left!!!! I figure that worst case scenario is that I put it together as a wall hanging or a lap quilt if I run out of steam before finishing... or just plan on it being an ongoing project!

Oh... and for those not as familiar with the Dear Jane quilt... all these blocks are about 5 inches square and once sewn into the quilt will finish to 4 1/2 inches. Some of the pieces are pretty darn small!

Spring is Here

2009-04-01T20:12:00.003-04:00

Lucas needed new rubber boots this spring. We went shopping almost as soon as the weather turned a bit spring-like... and there was hardly any selection already. We went to one store because a few weeks before Lucas had seen camouflage boots that he liked. They had 2 pairs of boots in sizes nowhere near his. The next store we went to had 1 yellow pair and 1 blue pair in a size maybe a bit too big but we bought them quick in case we couldn't find any others. As you can see, Lucas picked the yellow ones... and they were dirty from the first time he wore them.... but, I guess that's what rubber boots are all about.

before I fall asleep at the keyboard...

2009-03-30T22:59:00.003-04:00

I've been planning and promising (threatening?) to post a picture of my little boy Lucas for a while now so here he is. This picture was taken during our trip to the Dominican Republic in January. He was picked to be part of the dolphin show at Ocean World. Pretty cool, eh?

2 more blocks done.

2009-03-30T22:50:00.003-04:00

Okay... so I really should be going to bed... but I just have to brag a little bit. I made 2 blocks this past Saturday! I know they were two easier blocks... but it was still 2 blocks. I made B13 - Four Corner Press and C1 - Trooper Green's Badge. I used foundation paper piecing for the Badge and it was much easier than Papa's Star. It's nice to see that I can learn this technique... I just need practice!! :)

I also did a little more of the applique on Jane's Tears. One more "tear" to applique and then I'll trim it up and post a picture of her too.

Strike 2

2009-03-28T13:26:00.003-04:00

Well... I made another Papa's Star... and thought I had it. Serves me right for trimming it down late at night. I trimmed it with the wrong point facing up. It's not too big a deal except that it means my center star is pointing sideways.

I realized too that the triangles that form the star points are not all the same size (as measured from Brenda's book). That would explain why mine are not all the same size. I'm glad it's not just my crooked sewing.

I find that tiny little "errors" really stand out in the scans. I pulled the fabric a bit here to line things up better (but don't tell anyone!!). You can hardly tell with the actual block and yet in the scan it's very noticable!

I think I'm going to leave this block for a bit and try some simpler foundation piecing. Maybe then I'll have better luck with this one. I'm not going to let it beat me!!!! :)

D3 - Jason's Jacks

2009-03-28T13:11:00.003-04:00

I managed to finish a block this week. It was my first applique block too. Looking at the scan I can see that I should run an iron over it!! LOL

I've started another hand sewing block - reverse applique this time and I might try to get something done with machine sewing while Lucas has his nap.

Must... get... off... computer...

What the ?!?!?

2009-03-21T15:11:00.004-04:00

Okay... so I tried foundation paper piecing as Brenda outlined in her lesson. G6 - Papa's star. Obviously I missed something. It's not just that the points don't quite line up... and the center is actually off-center... and one point of the star is much bigger than the others... and one point of the star is a bit smaller than the other...

My biggest dilemma with this block is that somehow I'm short of material. I know finished is better than perfect... but it does have to be a 5" block... and this one can't be cut to 5"!! LOL

Back to the drawing board. I debated whether to try a different block and come back to this one later, or to try this again right now, and I think I'm going to tackle this again while it's fresh in my mind. I've got 1 or 2 things I'll do differently. Either way I'm happy to say that I've finally tried foundation paper piecing!

I'm also working at scanning in some pictures and maybe soon I'll post a picture or 2 of my little boy. He's absolutely adorable... but I suppose I'm a little biased.

Progress

2009-03-16T22:12:00.002-04:00

This weekend I finally added the label to this baby quilt and was able to deliver it to Emma! I think it is one of my favourite quilts I have ever made. I like that some of the blocks are off kilter and I'm absolutely crazy about these colours. It's one more project off my WIP list. I have another baby quilt on that list. Although it's already been delivered to the babe I have a label now sewn for it which I will add next time I visit. So... it's pretty much done but I don't feel I can cross it off my list until that label is firmly attached!

As for Dear Jane... I prepped 2 blocks for applique at the beginning of last week. I started to sew the one but it took me a bit of time to figure out an applique stitch that I was happy with. I think I've got it now but I've been so tired lately that I haven't done much more on it. This will be a better week - I'm sure of it!

What was I thinking?

2009-03-07T23:00:00.003-05:00

For some reason I decided to keep going with Brenda's lessons. I started working on Papa's Star today - the center star. It was really teeny tiny pieces but it was mostly rotary cutting and sewing which is within my comfort zone. I'm going away for a couple days though starting tomorrow so I probably won't have a chance to work on the rest of the star (and try paper piecing for the first time) until I get back. I don't have a picture but my center star turned out not too badly. My points don't all line up exactly but I'll see what it looks like as I keep working on the block. The pieces are so small I'm not sure I could get them lined up any better even if I tried again. Maybe it would even be worse.

I had hoped to have a couple of the applique blocks ready to take with me to work on but it doesn't look like that'll be happening. Oh well... probably won't have time to work on them anyway! Talk to you when I get back.

G8 - Justin's Comet

2009-03-06T21:50:00.002-05:00

Well... I completed my 3rd official block today. I started it last weekend so I managed to get it done in less than 1 week. I used one of Brenda's lessons from the software and used freezer paper templates to complete it. My first time using freezer paper!! It's not perfect... but I think it's not too bad for my first try at a new technique!

The Real Thing: A6 - Uncle Homer

2009-02-26T21:25:00.005-05:00

Okay... so I re-did my A6 block on February 18th. It was even easier the second time around!

I washed up some more fabric tonight but that was it for Dear Jane. I did make up a label for a baby quilt so at least I had my machine on today. I can't say that every day! Lucas (my son) actually went to bed early tonight as he didn't have a nap today for Dadoo (his name for Dad). Michael (my husband) went to a local hockey game tonight. That meant I had time for dishes, cleaning the bathroom, folding laundry, some sewing, and the computer. Wow - amazing what I can get done when I have an evening to myself!

C10 - Patriot's Lattern

2009-02-24T18:42:00.004-05:00

Next I wanted to try a harder block - but still something I could do with rotary cutting/machine piecing. For some reason I picked C10 - Patriout's Lantern. For various reasons it took me quite a while with this block but I finished it Feb. 17th. I think it looks better "in real life" than it does in this scan.

I did have some trouble with my iron leaving marks on this one so I cleaned my iron (twice) and finally figured out that maybe I had my iron too hot. Either way, my iron is now shiny clean. We'll see if I get marks on any other blocks.

I've been spending time with my Dear Jane software and computer lately. I've printed out some of Brenda's lessons and some patterns. I'm thinking about trying foundation piecing next... or machine applique. Hhhmm... Decisions, Decisions!

First Block

2009-02-21T15:17:00.003-05:00

I'm a little slow to get the blog up and going... I started with the quilting!

I made my first Dear Jane block on January 20/09. My initial plan was to sew a few blocks to make sure I enjoyed making the blocks and that I was I happy with my fabric/design idea. I admit I was nervous about making a big initial investment in background fabric. After much thinking and consulting I've decided I'm going to use a variety of white-on-whites for my backgrounds and batiks for my focus fabric. I'm planning to have lots of blues and greens and purples and pinks. Hopefully it'll look okay in the end. I'm thinking about sashing it in a navy blue batik but I'll decide that later... much later!

So... this is a picture of my practice block (A6 - Uncle Homer). With my decision to use a variety of white-on-whites I could have used this block but I'd put it together in a hurry and I thought that I could do better. I know that finished is better than perfect but I admit that I re-did this block. But that's for another post...