A surprise from Australia.......

........ I have been  blogging for about 7 months 

and without a doubt I have met

sEw many amazing, talented and generous ladies I can call friends. 

I received a surprise gift from Karen in Australia.   

Karen surprised me this week with this sweet snowlady, Christmas ornament and a hand written card.

  

I am a collector of many things other than fabric...

and I have a new addition to my snowmen/snowladies collection.

I love her red hair....
Thank you Karen,
I can't help but smile every time I look at her smiling face.....
she does have a contagious smile.


Hugs
Pauline

Friday Night Sew In

Imagine this....
your best friend over for a play day
Thanks Pam aka Mama Spark for sharing your day with me

...movies playing

lots of  sewing projects to work on....

didn't have to cook supper

......makes for a great day and Friday Night Sew In....

Finished....a gift for a friend

....friend reads my blog....sEw no picture:)

Great progress on mug rug for Madamme Samm's

....Mug Rug contest due February 4.....

I'm going to surprise her and get it to MSamm before the deadline:)
I'm luving it.......... it's a contest ...sEw no picture....till after February 4!

Finished the 4th block for Layer Cake Quilt Along
hosted by Moose on the Porch....
Pam  stitched  most of the block on Wednesday...
and finished my first 3 blocks....
what a great friend!!
Now I'm only 2 blocks behind but I'm going to catch up by Wednesday...
I hear you laughing ...no laughing !!!!!!!!!!
I am going to have all six blocks to show when we meet on Wednesday...



Stitched on two blocks for my fourth snowman quilt.
This block still has a bird to stitch...
I know, I know, I know
I should have finished the bird before going to the other block but....




I didn't do all the hand stitching on Friday night....only the trees on both blocks...
wonder woman I'm not :o(
...Yippee I did finish this block.



Next....binding sewn to a UFO....it's a sampler quilt I pieced about 4 years ago....
but not stitched down.... This was a small quilt sEw it was fast and easy!

A tutorial is in the works for all who struggle with your bindings...
Is there anyone out there in blogland needing help with your bindings?
Tutorial is on the way.......pinky promise....around the second week in February

Stitched till 3 a.m. on my 'birdie' BOM

hosted by Little Miss Shabby



I'd say Mama Spark (read her FNSI post here)
and I had a very productive Friday Night Sew In....
..we started about 3:00 p.m. Friday afternoon ...
cut, sewed, pressed and watched a couple of movies.
...DH picked up Papa John's Pizza for dinner...
cut, sewed, and pressed again...
Mama Spark packed up and headed for home about 10:00p.m.
DH  headed for bed about 11:30
...crazy me I just kept stitching like I was the energized bunny:)
till 3:00 a.m....yes you read it right!

Visit Heidi's blog and sign up for her February
Friday Night Sew In.
Heidi usually has one Friday Night Sew In per month.

Happy stitching and come visit again:)

Pauline 

a Mom with many talents.....

 Mom is 83years young.....very independent and has many talents.
As young girls she taught my two sisters and myself
to sew, knit, crochet, embroider, bake, and cook
and a whole lot more....
She was an excellent seamstress but now spends her spare time painting.

She started out painting on canvas

and about 20 maybe 25 years ago she started painting on porcelain china.

She has said many times to us girls
"you should learn the art of china painting, it is a dying art".

I would say "Mom....I don't have the room or time to start another hobby".

My one sister has dabbled with a brush but I guess it isn't her passion...

she knits, and has just started doing a bit of embroidery....

my other sister still works full
but she has started quilting along with her two daughters.
I think they are hooked on quilting and like me, have no time for two hobbies.

 I would like to share just a few of the pieces that Mom has painted

and I am thrilled to own.
The jewelry box above was a birthday gift many years ago.

.....and a covered casserole dish

and my all time favorite......

.... is a miniature coffee set.  The coffee pot is 3 1/2" high and 

the tea cup is 1 1/2 inches high. 

Mom is a member of a 'china painting guild' in the Waterloo Region
and continues to be part of the board.
She also teaches 'china painting'
at the senior center every Wednesday afternoon.
 ...luv you Mom!!

***************

One last thing....there is a fabulous 'Dream On' giveaway at

Lucy & Norman

Trust me you won't want to miss it.

Hugs
Pauline

What have I been doing....you ask

As if I haven't got enough UFO's and WIP's on the the go....

and I'm still working on my PhD's

I'm now frequently visiting the thrift shops...

in search of 100% wool.

On January 1st I met up with Mama Spark at the Salvation Army Thrift shop.
I think it is a Canadian saying....
I referred to the 'Salvation Army Thrift shop' as the 'Sally Ann'
and Mama Spark wasn't sure where I was going....

It was yellow tag day....buy 5 yellow tag items for $5.00.

We got 30 100% wool garments for $30.00.

Every Friday and Saturday they have a different color that is offered 5 for $5.00

On Friday I was back again and it was blue ticket items.

Yes, 10 more 100 % wool garments.

...and now this is what I've been doing
unstitching...thank goodness for a good seam ripper!!
12 garments unstitched and 28 more to go....

I'm learning....I'm now checking plus sizes first....lot more fabric than a size 2..

...more bang for your buck
and 2 piece suits count as 1 item...
...a great big bang for your buck.

Skirts and slacks have more usable wool than the blazers.

The men's department has a lot of 100% wool too...

....and now I'll be looking for the 100% cottons thanks to
Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville.

This past Saturday Bonnie was the guest blogger on Sew We Quilt

(Stash Manicure blog has been renamed 'Sew We Quilt" ...luv the new name )
 Make sure you check out both blogs...they are amazing!!
Visit Bonnie's blog, Quiltville  she has a free pattern for you.

 Starting in February
Sew We Quilt will have posts every single day...yes every single day!
Sundays post are going to be awesome as I'm a visual person....
....You Tube Videos.
I'm not going to miss them and you won't want to miss either!!

Happy stitching or shall I say unstitching:)

Happy New Year .....and I'm sEw excited!!!

I can't believe 2010 has come to an end.  

The years are going by way too fast

...it seems that the older I get....the faster the days and months go by...

I'm hoping 2011 will slow down just a bit

*****

A few of new years resolutions

• finish some of my UFO's
• come out of my box a little more....expand my comfort zone
• try not to be afraid of my Gammill long arm and start practicing so I can put it to good use
• use more of my stash and buy less fabric
• be the best daughter, friend, mother, nana, sister and wife I can be
• give more, share more, expect less
• blog more and leave more comments

....and now for the excitement....
Thank you MSamm

I'm sEw excited that my quilt is featured on the January banner of 

'Sew We Quilt' at Stash Manicure

....This blog is managed by the amazing Madame Samm :)

More pictures of my quilts can be found HERE and HERE
and HERE  

Happy quilting

Pauline