Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Completed two tote bags for the kids teachers.

Hi everyone, I have the other two tote bag finished. The first one is for my daughters teacher. I used Cotton Blossoms charm squares and a few fat quarters that I had in my stash to make this bag. I think her teacher will love it. She usually wears warm colors, so the bag should suit her. The second bag I made for my oldest sons teacher. I also used some Cotton Blossoms charm squares but in the aqua/orange colorway. I used some of the fat quarters I had in my stash to finish it off. I think it turned out nice. Both bags are a good size. They are deep and will hold quite a few books. I'm sure the teachers will like that. They always have so much stuff to bring to school and back home again. I hope you like the bags. I didn't use a specific pattern. I just made them. Made adjustments as I went, eye balled the length of the straps. You know....I just kind of did it without too much thinking. Anyways, have a great day. I'm tired now. I'm going to have an afternoon nap before the kids get home from school. My oldest has his graduation tonight. Thanks God he is a boy and I don't have to fuss so much.


Happy Stitching!!


Ariane :o)

Monday, June 22, 2009

I have pictures of my quilt and the bag I made today!!

Hi everyone, Yesterday I finished my Whirlygiggles quilt. I really like it. It looks much better in person. I glad I can finally share it with you.
I also finished two bags to give the kids teachers as gifts. I only have pictures of the first one I finished. I show you the pictures of the other bags tomorrow. The first one I made is for my middle guys teacher. She is expecting a baby this summer. So, I thought I would make her a big bag to use as a diaper bag or just a carry all bag. I kept it really simple. It's a very bright bag because I used the fabric "Snippets" by American Jane. I thought it was appropriate for a baby bag. I made the handles long. His teacher is quite tall. So I hope that she likes that. She will be able to have it over her shoulder. I made the straps wide as well. I used a big white vintage button that I got from the thrift shop. It really goes well with this bag.

I hope you like my projects. It felt like I sewed all day. But I'm glad I got lots accomplished. Have a great day.
Happy Stitching!!
Ariane :o)

Sunday, June 21, 2009

I have a finish but no picture

Hi everyone, I worked hard today to finish my Whirlygiggles quilt and I got it all done. Washed, label on it, took pictures and............can't find the cord to get the pictures on the computer. I don't have one of those card readers on my computer either. Awwwwe!!! I was so excited to show you too!! Well, that's another completed project. I hope I have a picture to show you tomorrow. I'm so glad I got it done. It was a real stress for me, because I wasn't feeling well and I was suppose to have it done last month and I just didn't have the energy to work long hours on it. I could only do a little bit at a time. It seemed to drag on and on. So tonight I feel like a big weight has been taken off my shoulders. All the other projects I have going don't have such a tight deadline. I just have one swap to complete, and that is my Snickerdoodle paper bag swap item. I've already decided on the pattern I'm going to use. Tomorrow, I'm going to work on making three tote bags for the kids teachers, since school ends on Thursday. I had put that off because I had to get this quilt done first. If I wouldn't have gotten it done, I would have just bought a gift for the teachers. But now I know I have the time, and I'm just going to keep the bags simple. Hopefully I can show you pictures of those tomorrow too. Well I hope you all have a great night.

Happy Stitching!!!

Ariane :o)

Friday, June 19, 2009

I finished my spring mini quilt for my swap partner!!

Hi everyone, today I finally finished the mini quilt I was making for the Spring Mini Quilt Swap. I machine quilted it and put the binding on. I also put it in the mail for my swap partner. Hopefully it doesn't take too long to get there. I like the way it ended up. The quilting is good considering I haven't done much free motion machine quitling. It's not perfect, but it looks good. It will make a cute little wall hanging. I hope my partner likes it. Considering I designed the whole thing myself, it turned out nice. Well, I finally have a finish for June. Yeah!! I can add it to my list for the OPAM challenge. Well, I'm going to lay down for a short little nap. I'm a bit tired today. So hope you all have a great day.
Happy Stitching!!
Ariane :o)

Thursday, June 18, 2009

My 100th post giveaway winner is......

Hi everyone!! It's a rainy day here. I have to go to my son's track and field meet in the rain. Oh Well!! My daughter hit the button on random.org to chose the winner of my 100th post giveaway. It was #28 who said:

BKelly said...
Congratulations on your 100th post.Happiness is in the eye of the beholder, right? My smile for the day, was my 7 month old puppy. As I was using the hose around the house today, I apparently made a mud puddle. She sprung into it and did this little happy dance. I now have a brown - golden retriever, but couldn't be mad, she was just too happy!On a side note, if your my husband - happiness is the new grill he just finished putting together.Keep Happy and Keep Posting.Thanks
June 14, 2009 3:42 PM


I will send you an email to get you mailing address. Thanks to all of you who have participated in my giveaway. All the happy comments really boost me up. Thanks for sharing them. Well, I'm off to a track and field meet. Have a great day.

Ariane :o)

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Great Finds from the thrift shop!!!

Today my daughter was participating in the regional track and field meet. So, I spent the entire morning with her and watched her events. When she was done competing, I decided to stop at Value Village to see what I could find. I was very fortunate to find two seperate bags of quilting fabric. They were $0.99 each. I couldn't really see everything that was in the bags. But I thought they are probably just scraps, and I love scraps so why not. I was soooo surprised when I got home to find that one of the bags had about 40 pre-cut 6 inch squares, with some other scraps of quitling cottons, and the second bag had a long strip of the same 6 inch squares sew together as the start of a quilt top and more pre-cut squares. Well, I decided to unstitch the sewn squares because the seams were very uneven. When I counted all the squares I had 74. Wow, for $2.00, I got enough squares to make a small twin quilt top. I was so excited. The great thing is that these are very nice quilting cottons. I even have some of these prints in my stash. Yeah for me!!!There were also two nice pieces of quilting cottons in the second bag. The first was a red and the other was a nice pale green print with beautiful red flowers on it. I think it's a japanese print. I also bought a beautiful flat full size sheet in a nice turquoise (aqua) blue. It has really nice flowers on it and is in amazing condition. This was a really good day. I am feeling a lot better now. Tomorrow I have to go back to the track and field meet for my middle son who is competing in the regional track and field events for his age group. Well, it's been a busy day.

Today is the last chance to enter the giveaway. You have until midnight tonight (eastern time) to enter.

Well, I hope you all have a good day.

Happy Stitching!!

Ariane :o)

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Shop Hop Purchases & still chance for giveaway!!

Hi everyone, On Thursday, Friday and Saturday the quilting shops in the region had a shop hop. I went to all the ones in town on Thursday. That's Quilter's Choice, The Perfect Stitch and Garden Thyme Quilt Emporium. All the shops were selling a kit in order to make a log cabin quilt. If you went to all six shops and bought the kits, you would have enough material to make a log cabin quilt top. Each of the quilt shops provided a different log cabin quilt pattern with there kits. So six new pattern. I went to the Quilter's Choice first and bought a few fat quarters, the kit and a wonderful pattern by The Rabbit Factory called Patchwork Cottage. I just love this pattern. They had a finished quilt in their store and it was beautiful. I just couldn't leave without the pattern. Then I went to the Perfect Stitch and bought more fat quarters and a log cabin ruler. They had a deminstration of it and I thought it was perfect since I would be making a log cabin quilt. It's also handy to precut scraps so that I can eventually make a scrappy log cabin. As soon as she mention the word scrappy I was sold. I then went to Garden Thyme and bought the kit and more fat quarters. It was a good day. Fabric always helps to make me feel better. I think I would love to work in a quilt shop surrounded by wonderful fabric all day.


On Friday, I decided to go to the other 3 shops. These were out of town about an hour. I had to really plan out my day because I had a doctors appointment with a specialist that afternoon so I had to be back in town for that. So I went to Taylor's Sewing Centre and Picket Fences which are in Brockville. I bought the kits at both stores and some fat quarters. Then I had to quickly drive back for my appointement. Then, I went to Wilton Creek Fabrics and bought the kits as well, some fat quarters and a new Tri-recs tools to help cut triangles.


I enjoyed going to all the shops. The ladies all help to cheer me up. I ended up buying a lot of pink because I had a plan to make a dusty rose and pale green quilt. So we will see when that gets done. Regardless I had fun.
I also made a pair of shorts for my daughter on the weekend out of the quilting cotton I bought at Fabricland. They are really cute. My daughter just loves them. I still have enough material to make a matching top. So that's next on my list. I hope you all have a good day. I have more doctors appointements today. But it's nice and sunny out and hopefully I'll get to work outside in my gardens which have been neglected lately. I love to garden so that will be fun. Take care all of you. Thanks for all the happy thought you have been sending me. I think I should start writing my happy thought everyday. That will kept me in good spirits.
P.S You can still enter the giveaway. You have until Wednesday night. So go leave a happy comment.
Happy Stitching!!
Ariane :o)

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Progress on my Spring Blooms Mini-Quilt Swap

Hi everyone, Thanks to all of you who have entered my giveaway. There is still time to enter. So go down to the next post to enter the giveaway. I got up way to early this morning. So I decided that I should use that quiet time to start my Spring Blooms Mini Quilt for my swap partner. Yes, that's right, I just started this morning. I was a bit behind schedule. But I think I did redeem myself. I completed the top of my mini quilt. I designed it myself. It's all done by machine using fusible web applique. I really like the way it has turned out. I've had this vision of what I wanted to make for the longest time. I finally got to actually try it out. It turned out pretty good. Now I just have to make sure I don't ruin it with the quilting. Well, hopefully my partner will like it. It's different. Not a traditional mini quilt. But I'm trying new things and trying to be really creative with my projects. Well, that's all for today.
Happy Stitching!!
Ariane :o)

Friday, June 12, 2009

100th Post Giveaway!!!


Hi everyone, I know I haven't blogged in a few days. I'm still not feeling that well. But I'm trying to remain positive. One positive thing is that this is my 100th post. I can't believe it. I am really enjoying having a blog and following all the other crafty blogs out there. I have so many blogs in my blog lists and I keep adding to them everytime I find a new interesting blog. So to celebrate, I'm having a giveaway! Now, I didn't feel well enough to make something, but I still wanted to have a giveaway. So, I decided to cut a bunch of 5 inch blocks out of fabrics from my stash. I've cut 69 - 5 inch blocks. They are all different. That's not all my stash either. So I may add more, but I'm not sure yet. They are not all co-ordinating fabrics. When I buy fabrics they are usually fat quarters. I buy them because I like them, not because I always have a project in mind. I make a lot of scrap quilts. Those are the types of quilts I love the most. So this method of buying fabric suits me fine. So, the rules are pretty simple.


1) Leave a comment on this post telling something happy. I need some happy stories.


2) If you blog about it, I will give you another ballot. You must leave another comment though to let me know.


3) The draw will close on Wednesday June 17th. and I will draw ONE winner on Thursday, June 18th.
4) You must leave a way for me to contact you, either by your blog or by email. If I cannot contact you I will draw another name.
The winner will be drawn with random.org. I hope lots of people leave comments. Help me celebrate my 100th post.
Happy Stitching!!
Ariane :o)

Monday, June 8, 2009

More pictures from my weekend

Hi everyone, I hope you all had a great day. I worked today and now I'm going to relax a bit this evening. I wanted to share with you a few more photos of my weekend. My parents had just hatched some little chicks. They were so cute. My kids just loved them. They had 17 little chicks. They are so cute. They grow so fast. Everyday you can see changes in their appearance. It's quite wonderful. My parents live in the country by the lake. There house overlooks the lake. It's really peaceful, as they only have one neighbors close by. My Mom has lots of perennial gardens. I always love to see the plants. I love it there. Here are some pictures of just a few of her spring flowers.
I hope you all have a great night. I might get a little bit of sewing in tonight, but it all depends how I feel. I have to work tomorrow, so I will need some rest. That's all for today!!!
Happy Stitching!!
Ariane :o)

Sunday, June 7, 2009

I'm back with lots of goodies!!!

Hi everyone, I'm back from my Mom's. It was great to go there and relax. It's so peaceful there. I got to spend a lot of time outside. The weather was so nice. Not hot, but sunny and breazy. I sat on the swings and spent some time hand piecing some of my hexagon star quilt blocks. I'm completely done 4 rows. I have another 60 stars put together. I just need to add the white border around them. I'm doing well, considering I've been working on other projects and I took almost a whole week off sewing last week. I just wasn't well enough to do it. The picture above is of my four rows. It is very colourful. I love it. It's a slow process to hand piece all those stars. But it is very relaxing and rewarding. I went to Fabricland on Friday with my Mom in Sudbury, Ontario. They were having a 50% off sale for sewing club members, which I am. I bought 17.5 metres of fabric. I know, that's a lot. I got it for $5.oo a metre. I couldn't resist. I bought up to 3 metres of some of the fabrics. My daughter loves the colors. I plan to make a simple quilt for her double bed with it and a few pieces of summer clothing for my daughter and I. The red and white fabric I bought to eventually make a red and white quilt. Red is my favorite color. So I can't wait to have collected enough variety of fabrics to make it.
On Saturday, My parents and my family decided to go to some yard sales. The Anglican Church in the town they live in was having there annual church yard sale. This is a huge event in town. The deals are amazing. My parents got a lot of stuff. I bought a few things. I bought 2 pillow cases, some christmas fabric, 4 old magazines, and a Mary Englebreits book with a bunch of pictures of quilts. I thought it would inspire me. All this cost me $1.00. You can't beat that. Well, I have more pictures to share but I'll keep them for tomorrow. I hope you all have a nice day!!
Happy Stitching!!
Ariane :o)

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Taking a break!!

I've been under a lot of stress lately and I decided I needed to get away for a few days. I will be back on Sunday. I'm going to my Mom's with my husband and the kids. The kids didn't complain because they get to miss 3 days of school, plus they love going to my Mom's. So I will see you soon again. I hope you all have a nice weekend.

Happy Stitching!!

Ariane

Monday, June 1, 2009

And the Winner is...........

Hi everyone, I would like to thank all of you who left comments and became followers for my May Day giveaway. I was overwhelmed with the amount of responses. Thanks to Sew,Mama,Sew! for organizing such a wonderful giveaway. I used Random.org to select the winner since I had so many responses. I don't know how to put the picture on my blog...but the number was 79.

Linda said...
Oh, I love the bag and the fabric choices. The stitching you did looks great! I've subscribed to your blog, too, through Google Reader!
May 27, 2009 2:47 PM

I've sent you an email Linda. So please send me your mailing address so that I can mail out your prize. Thanks to you all again for participating.

Happy Stitching!!

Ariane :o)