CELEBRATION TIME

Hello my lovelies. I hope you’ve all had a super day. I woke up this morning not knowing what planet I was on or even what day it was. I would say that’s a sign of a very good rest. I had to look at my tablet to work out what day it was and my diary and To-Do List to work out what I was supposed to be doing.

I have something to celebrate today. Yippeeeee

It’s with great pleasure that I can tell you that I have finished hand quilting my Sweethearts Dozen. And I have done the binding as well. I’m sorry for the quality of the photo. Today was not the best day to be taking photos. I will post some more photos at a later date to show you the embellishments.

 

The next step is to add the embellishments. I will be adding loads of buttons for the flower centres. And probably quite a few Yo-Yos as well. And of course, I will be adding a label. I’m a serious advocate for labelling quilts. I think it’s very important to add labels to our quilts for the simple reason that our quilts will outlive us. In 50 or 60 years from now when someone unearths my Sweethearts Dozen, I would like them to know that my quilt was finished in 2017 and by whom and in what county of England. I add a very simple label which lists all of the information mentioned but you can add anything you want to a label.

Now that my current hand quilting project is finished I miss it. I do enjoy a bit of hand sewing while watching TV in the evening. Luckily, I have plenty of other hand sewing to turn to. I think I’ll do a little work on my Patchwork of the Crosses for a few evenings until I decide exactly which of my other UFOs to turn to next.

It’s been a really good day in my little world. I was able to run a few errands this morning in the pouring rain. I concentrated the rest of the day on some chores. My bathroom is spotless. I was hoping to clean some windows but as it’s such a grey dull day, I thought it would be a better job for a sunny day when you can see what you’re doing. Saved by the weather.

So, for this evening, this very happy and super ambitious quilt maker will be doing some EPP work on my Patchwork of the Crosses quilt. I hope you have a super cosy evening doing something you truly enjoy. Until you read me again,

Happy stitching ♥ ♥

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MORE UFO PROGRESS

Hello my lovelies. I hope you’ve had had a great day. My day has been busy flitting around doing this and that. I woke up at 6:07am and jumped out of bed thinking I should get up to get as much stuff done today as I possibly could. And I didn’t stop running until I decided to have my lunch at 1pm.

Although the weather wasn’t great today, the sun has disappeared, I didn’t stop me from getting out to run some important errands. I needed some supplies for patching a wall that has needed attention and I was missing one vital ingredient. I have become quite resourceful lately when it comes to putting things right. By lunch time the job was finished. And while I waited for that job to dry I switched to something else. Do you remember the project I have chosen for next UFO?

Well this is what it looks like now …..

I thought the most difficult part was going to be finding some fabric for the envelope back …..

Well I found something suitable within the first 3 minutes of starting my hunt. I am really pleased with this finish. I can’t remember how long ago I worked on this little hand quilted project but I think it’s more than two years ago. Now it’s no longer an unfinished object but a lovely cushion cover. Seeing this finished makes we want to design another mini wholecloth quilt to work on but I think I’ll stick to the plan of action for the moment. So that’s my second finished UFO in 2017.

I sit here in front of my laptop composing today’s post realising that I have done every task on my To-Do List for today. Last week I was still finding it difficult to get back into the groove after the Christmas break! Things are moving along at quite a pace this week. And I feel quite a sense of accomplishment on this second day of the work week.

I’m still trying to learn something new everything day. Well I heard a new word today. It’s anticipointment. The definition that Urban Dictionary lists is: a gut-wrenching emotion felt deep in the belly of a person unrealistically looking forward to an upcoming event immediately after the reality of extreme disappointment has replaced the anticipated happiness. Yep. That sounds about right. This sounds like something I have felt many times during my grown-up years. Nowadays, I try not to think about something I’m really looking forward to as I hate being disappointed when it doesn’t happen.

It’s been a pretty good day in my little world. I do my very best to make the most of every day. Sometimes things don’t work out as well as we would have hoped but I think we need to remember that tomorrow is another day which gives us a chance to have another go.

I would like to remind Helen Hollybush who is one of my giveaway winners to send me her address please. I have sent you email Helen but I’m not sure if you got it.

So, for this evening, this very happy and super ambitious quit maker will be doing some hand quilting. I hope you all have a super cosy evening doing something you truly enjoy doing. Until you read me again,

Happy stitching ♥ ♥

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A FEW WINNERS ON MONDAY

Hello my lovelies. I hope you’ve all had a super day. I enjoyed a glorious day of sunshine while putting my house in order for the week ahead.

I’m pretty excited about announcing the winners of my latest giveaway draw to welcome 2017. As usual, it’s been interesting seeing where in the world my readers are. I can see in my blog stats how many hits I get from the different countries of the world. So, without further ado, the winners are …..

Jane Budd – Redcar

Martina – Switzerland

Helen Hollybush – Derby

I will be contacting you in order to get your postal addresses and I will be posting as soon as I can get to the post office. Congratulations to you all. I hope you enjoy your prizes.

As you may remember, one of my new year’s resolutions is to learn something new every day. Learning something new every single day isn’t always easy but I’m doing a pretty job of it so far. The most recent thing I have learned is something internet related. Did you know that there are search engines that do not track you? This means that you can travel the internet leaving no trace of yourself. I don’t know how it works. Or even why anyone would need to do that. I suppose some people have something to hide and do not want to leave any tracks. Some people like to sneak around and I suppose it would be a very good tool for a stalker. Goodness only knows. So, that’s my most recent discovery. Interesting, isn’t it?

Now let’s go on to some sewing news. There isn’t much UFO progress to report after finishing my winter block on the weekend. However, I have chosen which small UFO project to work on next. I’m going to turn this little hand quilted quilt into a cushion cover. It matches the décor in my bedroom and I think it will look fab once I have turned it into a cushion cover. So, watch this space for news of its completion.

I’m still making progress on hand quilting my Sweethearts Dozen, albeit slow progress. I am now quilting the outer border of appliqué blocks. I’m keeping it really simple by hand quilting diagonal lines. As it is quite simple and not overly dense it is progressing nicely.

So, it’s been a pretty good Monday in my little world. My weekend guest headed off to work this morning. And I spent a little time putting the house back in order. The washing machine was whirring and the vacuum cleaner has collected any dirt from the floors. I’ve gone out and collected any rubbish that has blown into the garden. And in between all that I even had a chance to sit down to write this post. And all that happened while the sun was shining. Glorious sunshine.

So, for this evening, this very happy and super ambitious quilt maker will be doing some more hand quilting. I hope you have a super cosy evening doing some you truly love doing. Until you read me again,

Happy stitching ♥♥

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CATCHING UP ON A SUNNY SUNDAY

Hello my lovelies. I hope you’ve all had a super-duper weekend. My weekend has been absolutely wonderful. Having company is the best way to spend a winter’s weekend. Even better is celebrating the Chinese New Year by having Chinese food!!! Letting someone else prepare food and clean up afterward is fantastic. It’s something that should happen more often.

Today, I have some lovely UFO progress to report. In fact, I have a finish to show you ….

I have really enjoyed hand quilting this little whimsical winter block. I love all things wonky. I find wonky is very forgiving because it doesn’t have to be spot on perfect. Wonky is a very good description of me.

This after we enjoyed some lovely sunshine. The sunshine spurs me on to get loads done. I spent the past week going to appointments and doing a little strategizing. However, in between all the coming and going I did have a chance to do a little painting, furniture painting. Before I started the job, I wasn’t sure it was going to work but I went ahead anyway. I would rather try than wonder what if? I started off with this old chest of drawers ….

The idea came from a pin that someone forwarded to me from Pinterest. And I quite liked the idea so I had a go. This is what my chest of drawers looks like now ….

I am so pleased with how this little decorating job turned out. I have a whole lot of old fashioned pine furniture to which I could be working magic tricks with to breathe new life into it. The furniture is outdated however, still sturdy and serves to store various household and personal items. So, watch this space for the next piece of furniture I decide to decorate.

It’s been such a lovely day in my little world. I ran a couple of errands this morning and then settled in to relax and enjoy an afternoon filled with chit chat, cups of tea and cake and making plans for the weeks ahead. Spring seems like a long way off but it’s only just around the corner really.

So, for this evening, this very happy and super ambitious quilt maker will be doing some quilt marking in order to finish hand quilting my Sweethearts Dozen quilt. I hope you all have a super cosy evening doing something you truly enjoy. Until you read me again,

Happy stitching ♥ ♥ 

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A SPECIAL REVEAL

Hello my lovelies. I hope you’re all enjoying a super fine weekend. Like in happy quilt maker land has been good this weekend. I spent some time with like-minded ladies. We all had our very own current sewing projects (in quilt making speak that means one of our many UFOs!!!). By the end of the day we had all made quite a lot of progress but in between arriving and leaving we put the world to rights. I hadn’t seen anyone since before Christmas so it was really nice catching up with everyone.

Today, Sunday, has been a busy one. I got up early and started the chores on my list. And did I ever have a lot of stuff to do but somehow, I managed to get everything done by noon which gave me the whole afternoon to sit quietly and indulge in some catch-up TV and some enjoyable sewing. While I put my feet up Sarah stepped out to meet some friends. Our house is generally very quiet but it was especially quiet this afternoon. It was just what I needed as I have a rather busy week ahead of me. I have some important legal meetings booked and some enjoyable socialising to participate in as well. Life sure has changed over the past year. I must say that I do not miss the chaos.

In my quest to sort and tidy I have made more mess than I had hoped for. I recently had a bookshelf malfunction which I put right by replacing said bookshelf. My sewing room looks like a tip and there isn’t much chance of being able to get in there to do any sewing whatsoever until the mess has been cleared up. Every time I go in there to get started with the task of tidying I get distracted because I find things for which I have been searching for quite some time or I find something I forgot I had!!! So, I am making no progress whatsoever in the sewing room department for the moment. I wonder if anyone else recognises this problem?

I have been so busy with sorting and tidying this week that again I have hardly done any work on my UFOs. This afternoon I decided to switch over to a different project. I’m still doing hand quilting but on something other than my Sweethearts Dozen. I switched over to a winter scene block from my Button Club Whimsy. I marked the little quilt a couple of weeks ago, so it was ready to stitch. It’s quite nice working on a small project because you know it won’t go on forever. I will be adding some hand painted buttons, beads and a hand knit scarf and some kind of hatband. Whimsical projects are great fun to work on because you can add anything you like. I’m hoping to be able to report that this UFO is finished soon. The other three seasons are finished and I use them as door banners.

The next few months are going to be interesting for me. Not only do I have personal goals to achieve but I have some family stuff that need to be resolved. Over the last year, I have often wished I had a guardian angel. Well I’m very pleased to show you one that I acquired before Christmas …..

This little beauty has been watching over me for a while. Along with my wonderful family all my friends, my guardian angel has been making sure that life runs as smoothly as it possibly can. Today has been such a good productive day. I got so many chores done. My home is tidy and slowly but surely the clutter is disappearing. Life is so much better without chaos.

Today, I’m going to reveal what I did for Christmas. I am actually the luckiest Canadian girl in the whole of the UK because I got to spend Christmas with my family which I hadn’t seen in ten years. We had a lovely family Christmas together. We ate and rested and talked about the old days before I moved to the UK. We had lots of laughs. My Sarah enjoyed spending time with her grandmother and uncle. Ten years is a very long time. It was the best Christmas I’ve had since 1995. It’s such a shame that Sarah and I lived such an isolated life but we’re coming out of that phase now, God willing. Our brand new shiny life is waiting for us to get started.

So, for this evening, this very happy and super ambitious quilt maker will be doing some hand quilting. I’m looking forward to switching to another project next weekend. I hope you all have a super cosy evening doing something you truly enjoy doing. Until you read me again,

Happy stitching ♥ ♥

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CATCHING UP ON SUNDAY

Hello my lovelies. I hope you all had a very enjoyable week. It’s been a brilliant week in my little world. After being warned by the weather office that a horrible weather was coming our way we were not disappointed. I woke Friday morning to a lovely dusting of snow. I was so excited that I trip over a piece of furniture which mad an almighty noise waking up the whole household. So even my Sarah got to see the beautiful fresh lying snow. As soon as daylight arrived I got myself dressed and took my little Maisie out for her walk. I was walking along crunching snow underfoot enjoying the crisp cold morning whilst Maisie was walking along not revelling in beauty of the snow. She was cold and definitely wanted to go home where it was much warmer and a whole lot cosier. I enjoyed every minute of my morning walk. I’m wishing for another lovely fresh dusting of snow again soon.

I don’t feel like I’ve done much of anything this past week but in actual fact I got quite a lot done but not much sewing. I did a bit of spring cleaning which involved disposing of stuff that was surplus to requirement. I played a little with letters and I did quite a lot of hand quilting. I ran endless errands and did a little socialising. I’ve realised that socialising helps me top up on my levels of inspiration and recharges my batteries.

Do you know what? I can’t believe that it’s already mid-January. Two weeks of the new year have disappeared. Two weeks down and I haven’t made much progress on my 17 UFOs in 2017. I have concentrated on hand quilting my Sweethearts Dozen. I am currently stabilising the outer blocks by stitching in the ditch around all the blocks. I will then do a little diagonal stitching thru the blocks omitting the shapes. I have kept the quilting rather simple for this quilt. I like simple.

I’ve also played with letters. I was set a challenge to produce a few self-adhesive letters earlier in the week. I was aiming to produce letters which were a little bigger than the templates I had. So, after a little thought I formulated a plan of action and produced these. Little challenges make life interesting.

My quest to learn something new every day is coming along nicely. As a rule, I research loads of stuff on Google and learn loads about different things on a regular basis. Just recently, I have learned a couple of words that I had never heard before, one such word is prevaricate; which means to speak or act in an evasive way. Thanks to Google for supplying the meaning of this new word for me.

I would like to say that I learned a new technique this past week but I haven’t. I do have a few Craftsy classes stored up for watching which I know for sure I will learn something new. So, I had better set some time aside to watch said classes in order to learn something new.

I am aching to start a new project but I’m determined not to start anything new until I make considerable progress on my UFOs. I must admit that I have worked on my Tilda Bumblebee Blog Hop project which I will post on Tuesday next week. So, don’t forget to pop in on Tuesday to see what I’ve done. I’m quite excited to be able to tell you that I have met the challenge I set myself for the beginning of the new year.

My friends know me so well. They know what I like and what’s dear to me. Here’s a little something I received as a Christmas present …

I have added all my appointments and special dates on my new calendar. I have hung said calendar in a prominent place so that I can glance at Mr. Poldark several times a day.

I recently came across a great quote which I want to share with you today ….. Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny ~ C. S. Lewis  Isn’t that a nice thought?

It’s been an interesting beginning of the year for me. Things sure have changed since this time last year. I have done a lot of soul searching over the last eleven months. One of my new year’s resolutions is to concentrate on the future. We can use the past as a learning tool but the future is really what’s important now. I have so many things to be grateful for and I look forward to enjoying all the magical things that 2017 has in store for me.

So, for this evening, this very happy and super ambitious quilt maker will be doing some more hand quilting. I hope you have a super cosy evening doing something you truly enjoy doing. Until you read me again,

Happy stitching ♥ ♥

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TRYING TO LINK UP

Hello my lovelies. Here I am again!!! I hope you’ve all had a super fine day. Here in my little corner of the northeast of England we’ve had plenty of sunshine which spurred me on to get a few things done. Things that I just was not looking forward to doing! Well most of the unpalatable task have been done and I hope for another day filled with sunshine soon so I can finish the rest.

For me sunshine is a positive thing. It fills me full of hope and energy. I know they say that money makes the world go around, but I think we need a wee bit of hope and lots of energy to help it along. In January, every year, I go on an economy drive. So, money may be in short supply but I’ve still plenty of hope and energy left today.

I have been going on about working on and possibly finishing 17 UFOs in 2017. I have joined oodles of others in the same quest. Today I’m going to show you how I am trying to learn something new every day, which is one of my new year resolutions, by trying to link up with the 17ufosin2017 page. I’m not even sure it will work but I’m going to give it a good try but first here are some of the UFOs I wish to finish in 2017.

This quilt top needs to be longarm quilted.

This Whimsy quilt top needs to be longarm quilted.

This snowman quilt top has been marked and is ready for hand quilting.

This Quilts on the Grow project needs to be finished.

My Sweethearts Dozen quilt is in the process of being hand quilted.

These are the components to my Beach Huts quilt which needs to be finished.

My newest design needs to be completed before I can start piecing the blocks.

As you can see I have quite a lot of hand quilting to do. Hand quilting, although very relaxing is very time consuming. It’s the perfect craft to accompany mindless TV programs. I have spent hours catching up on my shows while hand quilting. So far, I have found only seven UFOs but I’m convinced that there are quite a few more lurking in the hidden corners of my sewing room. I shall add them to my list as I find them. And I will show you my progress as the year unfurls.

It’s been a pretty good day in my little world. I’m really pleased with today’s accomplishments. Because I pushed forward, even though I didn’t feel like it, my house is free of Christmas clutter and is looking a little more spacious. The sunshine, the lovely bright and warm sunshine, has filled me with hope and energy reserved for summer months. I feel like I can do almost anything today. Long may this energy spurt last.

For this evening, this very happy and super ambitious quilt maker will be doing some hand quilting on the elusive Sweethearts Dozen. I hope you have a super cosy evening doing something you truly enjoy doing. Until you read me again,

 Happy stitching ♥ ♥

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FRIDAY CATCHUP

Hello my lovelies. I’m sure most of you think I’ve disappeared off the edge of the earth. Well I assure you that haven’t; I have been enjoying the last little bit of summer in private.

While the kids were going back to school this past week I have been getting myself ready for some new learning of my own. I decided that I needed to learn a few new skills. So I’ll be hitting the back-to-school supplies section of a different kind pretty soon in readiness for my learning sessions. I’ll tell you more about it when the new learning starts.

I spent most of the summer working on UFOs …..

I also spent some time contemplating what was important in my life. It seems top of the list is minimising the drama. I’m learning to take each day as it comes while getting rid of all the toxic stuff that piled up over the years. I suppose this could be considered my “What I did this Summer” report. It’s been a summer like no other I can remember in all of my 57 years on earth. This is going to sound really goofy but I spent the summer trying to find myself. Over the years I have been a daughter, a sister, a friend, a wife, a mother and now I have suddenly turned into a single parent! It’s not something I ever contemplated until earlier this year. Both Sarah and I are building new traditions and finding our way to a new life all the while making some fantastic new memories. Our friends and family have been and will be with us every step of the way no matter what life throws at us. If I haven’t thanked all those who have shown support along the way for your kind words, thoughts, actions and gifts I do it now. Thank you x

I have been Lucie the Happy Quilter for many years. I am just simply a happy person who tries to make the best of any and all situations. This time next year I will still be Lucie the Happy Quilter only new and hopefully improved with a lot less baggage. I will still be the creative soul that I have always been but hopefully brimming with even more inspiration to share with you. I’m so looking forward to Christmas and the turn of the year.

I’ll be back next week with my Autumn Giveaway news. So don’t forget to pop in again soon.

So for this evening, this very happy and super ambitious quilt maker will be working on Sarah’s UFO hexagons. I hope you have a super cosy evening doing something you truly enjoy. And remember don’t ever let anyone suck the joy out of your life. Until you read me again,

Happy stitching

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THE WEEKEND BUZZ

Hello my lovelies. I hope you’ve all had a fab day. It’s been sunny all day in my little corner of the northeast of England. I stepped out first things this morning to walk my Maisie in the sunshine. Now that she’s older she doesn’t enjoy the rain but makes the most of the sunny dry days.

My Sarah and I had a wonderful long weekend. There was a real buzz in the air in my little town as the Tall Ships Regatta was in our little port. The committee who put the event together did a wonderful job. I think the biggest hurdle to overcome was working out the parking situation. The council put out thousands of signs directing traffic to the designated park and ride areas. Sarah and I took a leisurely stroll to the port yesterday in the sunshine to see what all the fuss was about. It was the first time in the 23 years that I have lived in the UK that I have ventured out on a bank holiday!!! You know what??? I had a wonderful time. It’s been drummed into my head for so many years that we don’t go out on a bank holiday because of the crowds. Well we thru caution to the wind and headed out anyway. There were plenty of other attractions apart from the Tall Ships to see. There were street acts, food stalls, fairground rides and the main stage had a wonderful band performing songs that I actually recognised! The band consisted of 4 old dudes, my age, who played what I consider classic songs from the Eagles, The Beatles and local folk type bands but the song I enjoyed the most was Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol. It’s ages since I went to a gig to listen to live music. What a sheltered life I have lived since coming to the UK.

With the coming of Brexit, the British economy has suffered a little in recent times. As I understand it, house sales have taken a nose dive but the rental property market seems to be booming. I couldn’t imagine renting my house in 24 hours …..

Well now that the bank holiday weekend is over I guess it’s back to school time. I’m sure there are plenty of parents furiously trying to get their kids kitted out for school. I can remember the first day of school with fond memories. I wish I could turn back time. I would certainly have done things very differently given the chance.

So for this evening, this very happy and super ambitious quilt maker will be doing a bit of hand quilting on the Sweethearts Dozen quilt. I hope you have a super cosy evening doing some that makes you happy. Until you read me again,

Happy stitching ♥ ♥

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MORE GENTLE SUMMER BREEZES

Hello my lovelies. I hope you’re all enjoying a fabulous weekend. The warm sunshine and gentle breezes have been just wonderful in my little corner of the northeast of England. I can’t imagine a better place to be today. And although I have not even picked up a needle so far today, I feel like I have crammed a lot of living into this one day. I spent part of the afternoon writing an article. It all started as notes which grew into a full blown description of my life over the last twenty-something years. In my quest to rediscover myself I have learned quite a lot.  And I hope to help others work their way thru loss while trying to rebuild their lives.

My plan for today was to mark another area of my Sweethearts Dozen quilt in readiness for hand quilting but I got carried away with writing my article instead. I’ll have to catch up on the hand quilting this evening. I set myself a goal to have a certain area of my quilt hand quilted by Sunday evening and I believe I still have a chance of meeting the challenge on time. Quite often in life, things don’t go to plan. I think things happen for a reason. Perhaps this article that I’m writing, is more important than hand quilting a quilt.

So far it’s been a really good weekend. And I have two more days of peace before I have to face the real life again. Tomorrow I plan on being kind to myself. Once I have walked the dog and done a couple of household chores I plan on hand stitching to my heart’s content. I’m determined to catch up on the hand quilting I didn’t do today. I’m hoping for the same warm sunshine and gentle summer breezes we had today.

I’m going to leave you today with something to think about. Supposing you have tried and failed again and again. You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing we call “failure” is not the falling down, but the staying down. ~ Mary Pickford

So for this evening, this very happy and super ambitious quilt maker will be doing some hand quilting. I hope you have a super cosy evening doing something you thoroughly enjoy. Until you read me again,

Happy stitching ♥ ♥

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