Muffins & Stuff!

Yesterday on Facebook, I posted three photos about my blueberry muffins. Since then, there have been quite a number of people making comments about them, especially the small amount of sugar used.

I used parchment paper liners which don't stick to the baked muffins. 

The recipe came from The Treasury of Newfoundland Dishes. My mom has several of her favourite recipes printed in this book. This is my second copy as the original one that mom gave me decades ago, is literally in tatters!

 Here's the recipe:

These muffins use little sugar. If your sweet tooth isn't satisfied, cut one in half and spread some jam!

The cookbook is still available at Chapters and Amazon.

• Pinterest HERE has a few ideas for quilted muffins / cupcakes
• Cupcake applique HERE
• Template HERE
• Free Cupcake / Muffin Oven Mitt HERE 

Enjoy!

 

One of Twelve!!

I've been slowly working on Mary Corbet's Twelve Trees for Christmas, a collection of twelve 3" Christmas tree designs for hand embroidery. Seven of the twelve are done. This is the latest one.

Five more to go!!

The weather here in Pine Grove has been varied which has been great for landscaping. We have lots of deer resistant bushes and ground cover planted out front. At least, the deer have stayed away so far. Time will tell if they fill up on them or not! Mulch has been put around all the new plants and yesterday, lawn seed was sprinkled in place. It's slowly getting in shape.

• Embroidered Felt Star Ornament
• Twelve Trees for Christmas
• Christmas Tree Embroidery Pattern
  
• Owl Felt Ornament  
• Embroidery Trees on Pinterest  

Enjoy!

Stay safe and get vaccinated

 

 

Happy Mother's Day

 

A delightful drawing from my granddaughter, Gale.  The humming bird is the focus as I get them visiting the deck garden all summer. The pinkish lilly, shown below the blue flower, is the plant she just gave me for my garden.

• Flower Wall Hanging - pattern
• Poppy Quilts & Wall Hangings on PINTEREST 
• Bird of Paradise Block   
• Quilted Stained Glass Flower  
• Mother's Day Quilted Flower Hanging  
• Quilted Flower Blocks - free

Enjoy & Stay Safe!!

Spring!

Well, it finally moved from early spring to mid spring - I think! The spring weather here in Nova Scotia hasn't been as warm as last year and there have been lots of gray days. However, when the sun did shine, it was warm. On one of those sunny days, we made a trip to a couple of plant nurserys. 

Last fall, all the grass was stripped off the lawn between our two driveways  -  75' by 40' (and that doesn't include about another 40 feet on the other side of the driveways)! All the sod and a foot of clay was taken out and replaced with new topsoil and compost. There was also a layer of rocks put in front of the 'lawn' to keep the soil from running down the slope.

This year, the soil and compost were rotor-tilled together. We now have a two foot wide strip filled with ground cover plants across the front. I'm hoping these plants will spread down over the rocks. Of course, we get visits from deer and bunnies, so that determined the types of plants we used!

The next warm day, black ground cloth covered with mulch, will be installed around these plants. At the moment, we have no plans to replace any of the grass. I believe this endeavour will be a work in progress for the next couple of years. 

Four Gold Star Juniper - 3' x 6'

Five Blue Rug Juniper - Genevrier Wiltonii - 8" x 6'

Four 'Wiltonii' Juniper - 10 cm x 2.5 m

Twelve Periwinkle

Embroider a Garden:

• Kathy Thomas has lots of ideas on her Pinterest page 
• Stitch your own garden  Mary Corbet 
• More Pinterest ideas HERE,  HERE, 
  
• DMC - free embroidery patterns
• How to Hand Embroider Flowers    
• YouTube: 10 Gorgeous Flower Ideas  
• How to Embroider Flowers

Enjoy!!

Stay Safe 

 

Don't forget to check out my new website https://judycooper.ca  I've been adding photos, blog posts, etc. Take a look around!

 

Happy Valentine's Day

 A day late as I forgot to publish it! Darn!!!!

My granddaughter loves 'stuffies' as she calls all stuffed animals. She's never been one for dolls but has lots of stuffed creatures. Here's her Valentine stuffie bear. (we had a sleepover so she got this when she woke up)!

Tonight I also uploaded Lesson Two of Four, Garden Sewing Box, to the Virtual Threads group (Embroiderers' Association of Canada). They will have a busy two weeks.

 

• Valentine Gnome from Quilt Doodle (idea for next year) Lots of interesting projects on this site
  
• Mary Corbet's review on Making (Embroidered) Boxes - Books & Resources
• Embroidered Boxes on Pinterest   
• How to Make a Fabric Covered Box from Scratch
• Fabric Box and Basket Patterns (free)

Enjoy and stay safe!

Squash Squad Update

I've been making some progress on the 5 1/2 " wool applique, Squash Squad squares, by Sue Spargo. Monday, we start block 8 of 9. My seven blocks are in various stages of finishing. Here's six and seven:

Block 7 - Big Moon Pumpkin

Working on the vine.  Small buttons have to be added.

Block 6 - Knuckle Head Pumpkin

Couching the background woody vines. Small Detached Chains are to be randomly added for the base of the Bittersweet blossom. A small orange seed bead will be added to the base of each detached chain stitch. I also need to add more Raised Cup Stitches to the rest of the triangles.

• Blocks 1 - 4 
• Wool Applique patterns on Pinterest HERE, HERE, and HERE. 
• Using repurposed wool for applique    
• Wool Applique Tutorial    
• Tips and Tricks for Wool Applique
• Wool Applique   

Enjoy!!

Fantastic Fusion Workshop

For the past two Thursday evenings, I have participated in an online workshop, Fantastic Fusion, with Lisa Walton, Textile Artist, from Sydney, Australia. This was organized by the Mahone Bay Quilters' Guild for its members.

19 quilters were eager to learn something new. Many admitted that they were definitely out of their comfort zone. However, you couldn't tell that by the pieces that were created. Lisa was a wonderful teacher, quite prepared with samples, videos, photo gallery and live demos. It was six hours of fun! 

Using Zoom, we were able to see all 20 of us on one screen (thumbnails). We got to see what the other was doing, ask questions, make comments, chat . . . almost the same as been in a physical classroom. The other upside - no packing to go to a classroom, unpack etc. You know the drill. I was in my own space with all my 'stuff' at my fingertips. No, "Oh darn, I forgot to bring . . ." or "I have the perfect piece of fabric for this, but it's home". On that score, I prefer working here in my own studio!

These batik blocks are the result of week one. My colour scheme came from the colours in my back garden and the quilt my sister, Joan, made me for my July birthday, 2018. The blue represents the sky.

Week two

These are the same blocks from above. I chopped them up, cut extra strips and put them together to form this piece. I managed to fuse some of the pieces together but the rest are pinned to my board to do later. It measures approximately 18" x 26" and will be quilted and free-motion stitched.

My colour inspiration:

 

Thanks, Lisa. It was very nice meeting you.

• Lisa Walton on Pinterest HERE and HERE   
  
• Quilt Stories with Lisa Walton
• Abstract Textile Artists
• The Story of Abstract Design
  
• Abstract Textiles from Pinterest HERE, 
• Textile Abstract Art by Leah Gillette 

Enjoy! 

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving

 Happy Thanksgiving Weekend Canada! 

Wishing all my relatives and friends near and far, a very happy, safe Thanksgiving Weekend. 

In honour of this special holiday, I have the perfect autumn quilt, which was made by my sister, Joan, in Tennessee. She made it and hand delivered it in 2018, for my July birthday. 

This photo was taken today where the temperature reached 22C. I was lucky to get the full view of the quilt as it was a bit breezy. The wind reminded me of home in Newfoundland where it's windy most of the time!

The back fabric is all birch trees.

My back garden is displaying its gorgeous autumn colours, most of which, are in this quilt.

Links for your pleasure:

• Joan's creations on Instagram  
• My photos on Instragram   
• Free Quilted Projects  
• Free Leaf Quilt Blocks    
• Fall Quilt Projects   
• Autumn Leaves    
• Free Fall Patterns   
• Autumn Projects on Pinterest HERE    
• Pumpkins   
• Previous Thanksgiving posts HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE     
  

Enjoy!!

 

 

 

 

 

Book Review: Modern Quilt Bible

Modern Quilt Bible by Elizabeth Betts, is another new book that has been added to the Mahone Bay Quilters Guild library. It has lots of colourful photos of quilts and illustrations for piecing them. The book is divided into two sections. The first one focuses on ten design concepts and ideas for modern quilting: (or any quilting)

1. Colour
2. Fabric
3. Compositional Elements
4. Grids
5. Negative Space
6. Symmetry and Asymmetry
7. Optical Effects
8. Playing With Shapes
9. Modern Traditionalism
10. Making Your Way

Each one of these also includes a project to make.

The second section features techniques and step-by-step illustrations that are used to make the quilts. For example: various ways to piece together blocks (paper piecing, curved piecing), applique and then finishing of the quilt.

This book is an excellent resource for those of you who are interested in making modern quilted projects. If you are a beginner or have been quilting for a long time, it is worth a look!!

• Modern Quilts   
• Modern Quilts on Pinterest HERE     
• FaveQuilts  28 Modern Quilt Patterns and Ideas 
• Modern Quilt Patterns  (some great ideas)  

Enjoy!!

Squash Squad: Sue Spargo's Stitch Along on Instagram

Yesterday was the first day of Squash Squad, another of Sue Spargo's Stitch Alongs on Instagram. This is my progress so far. The metallic braid, by Kreinik, is couched on the squash with Valandi #8 perle cotton, colour 18. The chain stitch on the stem is Valandi O154.

Hopefully, I'll get the vine and leaf stitched tomorrow as well as playing catch-up!

• Free Projects for Fall
• Autumn Stitching     
• Fall Sewing Projects on Pinterest    
• Autumn Embroidery with Mary Corbet    
• Embroidery leaves on Pinterest (lots of inspiration for stitching)

Enjoy!!

 

 

 

First Circle Stitched - Instastitchwithsue

Here's my first circle stitched from Sue Spargo's instastitchwithsue on Instagram. I'm very satisfied with this one. The cream fly stitch, lime pistil stitch and burgundy colonial knots, are embroidered with Valdani threads. The bullion knots, variegated outer edge and center, are from Sue's collection which were purchased at Sew With Vision, Halifax.

I do have number 2 finished but I am thinking of adding another colour to it as I'm not happy with it. I'll post the before and after photos on my next post.

Stay safe, stay home and wash hands! I keep a fragrance free hand lotion on the bathroom sink to help with skin dryness.

A few links to check:

• Stitch Dictionary from Pintangle
• Mary Corbet's Needle 'n Thread stitch videos
• Tutorials from Shawkl Designs (Stitches for Crazy Quilting)
• Kelly Fletcher Needlework Design 
• Pinterest HERE (stitch tutorial from Kelly Fletcher)  

Enjoy

A Year of Blackwork

I have been participating in A Year of Blackwork, from Peppermint Purple SAL Group (facebook group), which is 52 weeks of a free stitch-a-long. This is my stitching so far:

• Needle n' Thread free blackwork patterns  
• Blackwork Embroidery
• Blackwork Freebies on Pinterest HERE 
• Russian Blackwork        
• Blackwork Charts

Enjoy!!

Tree of Life

January is going out with sunny skies and above freezing temperatures! It's a lovely day outside with no wind here in Pine Grove, NS.

On another note:

In case I haven't mentioned it before, I'm the librarian for the Mahone Bay Quilt Guild. As a perk of this job, I get to see the newest magazines before anyone else. The latest issue of Quilt Mania, The Quilt Magazine # 135, (which will be at guild on Monday), has a small applique felted wall hanging of a Tree of Life  This one is geared to Valentine's Day. To view a thumbnail sketch of the pattern, go to their site HERE. Scroll down and click on the picture to make it bigger. When I glanced at this particular pattern, I immediately thought that it could be adapted for various occasions such as Easter, Christmas, Autumn, Winter, Spring, Birthdays etc by adding pieces of Velcro to the background and to the small shapes to be used. It can be as simple or as complicated as you wish!The skies the limit!

 

See a few other trees of life HERE, HERE and HERE (this link has printables)

Enjoy!!

Studio Storage Solutions

Well, September has started out with a bang! Hurricane Dorian reached the South Shore of Nova Scotia yesterday. There were high winds and lots of rain. We were among the lucky few who had power so I spent the day in my studio.

The studio is still in transition. However, I will eventually share lots of photos of my 'Happy Place'. Today, I'm sharing a few inexpensive storage solutions that I am using.

Baskets

Cloth bin with rope handle from the Dollar Shop

Rope Baskets (also from the Dollar Shop)
Burlap Shopping Bag

A bucket from my sewing machine. Easy and quick to make! I do need more of these.

This rope basket sits behind my machine. It holds a single spool of Sulky Sliver Metallic thread that is threaded to the sewing machine. Having metallic threads further away from the machine allows it to unwind easily with less tangling.    

Ice cube tray with cover holds bobbins. Snap on lids is a way to transport bobbins for workshops.

Vinyl tote bag holds large plastic rulers on the side of my large cutting table.

3M hooks under my cutting table holds embroidery hoops

I have 3 of these owl Christmas Stocking holders that cost me $2.00 each at the Superstore last January. They sit on the half wall next to my sewing machine stations. They are metal so magnets can be used on them.

Woven wire basket

The blue paper recycling bin is extra tall and holds lots of stuff on rolls.

Stacking drawers hold lots of small things such as threads, floss . . .

I like visiting the Dollar shops, Value Village etc. It's not necessary to spend an arm and a leg on storage for your special space.

Did I mention the plastic scrap board boxes from Michael's. More about these later.

• For an earlier post about storage solutions, check HERE
• Pinterest Boards of Keile Haley -  lots of interesting things Also check out her web site Do You Sew
• Free patterns for armchair caddy and sewing organizers 

Check out my Instagram page for photos 

Enjoy!!

Visitors!

A couple of weeks ago, I happened to notice a "visitor" attached to the brick work on the front of the house.  It was there for several days. Apparently it was a luna moth and this one was a male.  It is considered one of the largest moths in North America with a wingspan of 4.5 inches. My granddaughter was fascinated by this creature and did a bit of on-line research about it. That's how we found out it was a male.

Another large moth landed on the side deck. At first glance, the brown part of the wings looked like dried up leaves. I've searched for this one but couldn't find anything out about it.

• Pinterest has some interesting quilts with butterflies and moths on them. Check HERE, HERE,
• Butterfly Scrap Quilt Wall Hanging
• Butterfly Outlines 
• Iris Butterflies Quilt (free pattern)

 Another quite frequent visitor to our back garden is the deer. Usually a family of them visit but on this day, only one showed up.
Enjoy!!

Cloth Book

Since my last post in May (did I say May?? -  time flies when you are having fun), I have been to St. John's, Newfoundland and back.We had a wonderful visit with friends, checked on my mom, spent some time with relatives along the way, met with two of my stitching groups, dropped off some art at the Craft Council of NL shop and at the Newfoundland Weavery and then drove back across the island to catch the Marine Atlantic Ferry. It's good to be back home in Pine Grove, NS.

I did hand deliver a cloth book, made by my sister, Joan, to our mom. The book has a page for each month with all the birthdays written down. The fabrics selected were interesting. In fact, I recognized a couple she found in my stash. Here's an example:

This is mom's birthday. She will be 98 in November!

April was the only month without a birthday listed. Good job, Joan!!

• Home made cloth activity book HERE  
• Making a fabric book cover  HERE  
• Fabric Books and How to Make Them on Pinterest HERE,    
• Soft Book Tutorial  HERE 

Enjoy!!