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

Before I started quilting I used to make crafts.......

bears, dolls, snowmen, Santa's, elves and just about anything that required fabric and thread...here are a few of my crafts..........I never made just one of any craft...they usually came in 3's...4's...or 5's...or even more!!

this is Annie. I own one and my 2 granddaughters each have one.....and you guessed it....I have 3 UFO's...some have the straight hair and some have yarn loops for hair.



this is Victoria. I've made three and yes three more UFO's.



this is Willard. I've made two and both have been gifted and you got it 2 more UFO's. This one has been a UFO for about 8 years....poor Willard, he does need his coat, scarf and pail of snowballs.



this collection of crafts were all made before I caught the quilting bug!

I also have a dear friend who is a Teddy Bear artist. I have a lot of her bears. I'll show more pictures in future posts. May even post a picture of the bears I've made...and a Teddy Bear artist I'm NOT. She designs her bears under the name Bren's Bears and is from Ontario. She taught me a lot about bear making...hope it all comes back to me when I get to those UFO's. I'm hoping I'll get to see her when we are back to Canada for Christmas.

.....love this bear.  His name is Tristan and he is 10 years old.



I would really like to finish some of my UFO's....I can't call them WIP's as the body parts have been in plastic bins for over 8 years

....sEw there you have it...I'm sorry to say I'm really really BAD at finishing a project before I start another one and I'm finding I'm the same with my quilts.  Do you finish a quilt before you start another?????

I have embroidered 36 snowmen blocks sEw far and have 4 more to embroider and I will have enough blocks to make 4 quilts.  There are 8 snowmen blocks in each quilt. This is quilt #1.  



#2 is just back from the quilters and the binding is almost finished.  I'll be making the 3rd one in the new year and a 4th one when I get the other 4 blocks stitched. 

The other 8 snowman blocks were a giveaway I had earlier in the month. They are now on their way to Karen in Australia.

My New Year's resolution is to......finish SOME of my UFO's...... and I've got LOTS .......
and to start quilting on my Gammill Classic.....wish me luck!

Hugs

Christmas is almost here.....

....and I'm almost ready....in the sewing department that is!

I've just the binding to stitch down on my Snowman quilt. This is the second one I've done. It is the 'Yellow Brick Road' pattern by Terry Atkinson. The blocks are sEw quick and easy...it's just the embroidery that takes the time.  I've got one more blue one to make but that will be in the new year.



....and just a few pictures of what I sewed before I started quilting.



....and a few more...and yes I made more than 1 moose in his robe and flannel boxers.





Wait till you read my next post and you will see how BAD I was....and still am!!
 

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL,

MAY 2011 BRING YOU GOOD HEALTH,

HAPPINESS, AND PEACE!