Thursday, August 07, 2025

A Nostalgic Trip and Hand Stitching

Hello and welcome 😎. Last week I was on a very nostalgic road trip with a friend. It was really great reminiscing about our childhood. It felt like we were saying goodbye after all this time. It's good to remember but it's also good to let go - and that's what I did.  

My Favourite Provincial Park


Although I spent most of my summers at our cottage, we did, as a family, spend a lot of time at Esker Lakes Provincial Park. We are blessed with many amazing Ontario parks, but this one is special! It was created by the receding ice age that deposited lots of sand, some huge boulders and gave us many beautiful spring-fed lakes. There are also has some awesome birch trees among the pines. This is truly impressive in North-eastern Ontario.😍

When I got home, I stitched on my Almost Daily Stitching tablecloth. It had been a long time - mostly because I don't usually know what to stitch! The Esker Park photos below inspired me to stitch a few blocks.

Esker Lakes embroidery

Embroidery of a close up of a fireweed 

Fireweed - the model for the embroidery

Here are a few more photos of Esker Park. This is at the beginning of Bog Trail. It really has a rugged beauty.

Swamp and lotus flowers

Rugged beauty

More rugged beauty

Here is the trail to the beach - you can see the birch trees. Unfortunately the sandy beach has mostly been flooded and taken over by the swamp. 

Trail to the beach.

View of the lake from the beach

Although the beach has been taken over by the swamp, there was still a bit of a sandy beach and space to swim. Amazingly enough for a spring-fed lake, the water wasn't as cold as I remember it.

When we drove to the other end of the lake where the camping area is, we saw and heard loons. They were crossing the lake and calling to each other. It really was magical. I was able to modify and upload my recording. Click here to listen to it.


In a ditch, next to the hotel in town, was more swamp - but look what was hiding in the shade there! 

Forget-me-nots hiding among the bull rushes

Embroidery in progress of a spotted Joe-Pye weed

View from the road - just a little blue peaking out!

On the way to Kirkland Lake we stopped in at the Quilting Barn in Earlton. What a lovely store. I was very reasonable 😁

Quilting Barn in Earlton

My purchases - a Christmas panel, some 5" fabric cuts and
this beautiful fabric designed by Peter Parling by Stof 

I also embroidered on the last space of the row of my Almost Daily Stitching project - it's a little smaller so I just stitched an abstract design in variegated thread.

Abstract design in the square on the edge

One Monthly Goal for August

I'm really going to try to get that Cowboy panel quilt done. I put on the inner border in July and now I'd like to get at least one outer border done. I suspect that once I have one border done, that I'll be encouraged to make the others. Here's hoping!

Going to get at least one outside border done in August

What I learned
  • Travelling with my friend was great. Among other things, we both love food, so we found some lovely restaurants along the way.
  • During the trip I did play with hexies but haven't stitched them together. I'm no sure if I want to use them for the Bloomers SAL - all of the different colours might distract from the appliqué. 
  • I'm considering either using all of the same colour for the hexies, and/or using larger hexie templates than ¾".
  • I've already started putting together some of those 5" fabric cuts that I bought. This month's Table Scraps Challenge colour is teal (aqua), so I've put together another BB quilt. I'm looking forward to sharing this with you soon.
Related links
Linking parties
I'll be linking up to many fun linking parties. You may want to check some out, after you've linked up below. One Monthly Goal Setting for AugustMonday Musings, Design Wall Monday, Sew & Tell, Put your foot downOff The Wall Friday, Finished (Or Not) FridayPatchwork & Quilts, 15 Minutes to Stitch 2025,

Free Motion Mavericks


Welcome to week 543 of Free Motion Mavericks! It was a very productive week! Thanks for linking up. Here are the projects from last week that included FMQ, ruler work or walking foot quilting.

Kate of Scrapbox Quilts has completed more Bear Hug quilts. She's FMQ one with an orange peel design.  The second image is of a baby quilt that she FMQ with various designs. The FMQ is really lovely.

Kat's Bear Hug quilt with FMQ orange peel design

Baby quilt with some lovely FMQ by Kat

Donnalee finished a lovely cactus runner using an oval circular template to quilt them.

Donnalee's Cactus runner quilted with an oval circular template

Quilting Gail finished her orange quilt for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge in July. Her design is lovely and based on the disappearing nine patch. Gail used the Silly Moon Charming ruler as well as FMQ some lovely swirls.

Gail's lovely Orange quilt with ruler work and FMQ

JanineMarie of Quilts from the Little House made a lovely Billie inspired quilt. What a lovely finish. You can check out her post for more pictures.

JanineMarie's Billie inspired quilt

Details of JanineMarie's quilting

It's now your turn.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Thursday, July 31, 2025

Scrappy Purple BB Quilt Finish and FM Mavericks

Hi and welcome 😊 The scrappy purple BB quilt for July's Table Scraps Challenge is done! This month's theme was English Country Garden or Bloom Time. It looks like I got both the colour and theme covered. ✓

A Finish - scrappy purple BB quilt


The binding was attached and I then FMQ the border. Since there were dots in the border, I just swung around from one dot to the next. When the border on a couple of sides didn't have two rows of dots, I just gently swung around as if there were.😁 In each corner of the quilt, I FMQ a little heart before going on to the next side.

Finished and washed! Very soft and cuddly

The back of the BB quilt


July's One Monthly Goal (OMG)

I had stated for my July OMG that I would work, at least a little bit, on the cowboy panel quilt. That's exactly what I did. I did have the project at hand and sewed on the first border in a darker brown than I originally planned. I like it. I'm be using the much lighter brown around each block. I hope that I can keep making progress on this project in August - we'll see!

First border added around the cowboy panel

What I learned
  • After finishing the BB quilt, I was a little nervous about the stiffness of the finished quilt. I do tend to FMQ every inch of my quilts. I washed it last night and it's as soft and cuddly as any quilt.
  • I'm really glad that I took the time to add the first border around the cowboy panel. It might be enough to keep me motivated to get this done.
Related links
Linking parties

Project details
Scrappy Purple BB (cuddle) quilt 
Made during the July Table Scraps Challenge
Size: 22" x 22"
Material: Many commercial fabric scraps
Technique: improve piecing and free motion quilting





Free Motion Mavericks


Welcome to week 542 of Free Motion Mavericks! Thanks for linking up. Here are the projects from last week that included FMQ, ruler work or walking foot quilting. 

Gail of Quilting Gail joined Melva's Christmas in July Blog Hop and made two very lovely placemats that will be giving through her guild to Meals on Wheels around the holidays. 

Front of Gail's two placemats - made with Island Batik fabric

The Christmas fabric back of Gail's placemats

Have you seen Joanne, the Canuck Quilter's newest quilt, Patchwork Wishes? It looks scrappy but coordinated because it comes from precuts. If you're interested in how Joanne quilted it, be sure to read her post - you might learn some useful tips!

Joanne's Patchwork Wishes

Joanne quilted all of it using her walking foot, including the lovely border!

Patchwork wishes - all quilted with a
walking foot by Joanne

It's now your turn!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Monday, July 28, 2025

Bloomers SAL and Hexies

Bonjour and welcome! Since I actually have some stitching updates, I thought that I would write this extra post. I don't want to overextend my welcome, so two posts per week, except around the holidays, is the most that you'll hear from me. I hope that you're enjoying the end of July - we'll soon be between the Summer and Fall equinox (Lammas Day). Summer is in full bloom but it's only a matter of time that the dog days of summer will be followed by cooler weather 😎.

Bloomers SAL - the First Appliqué


I finally got started on Denise's (A Quiltery) Bloomers Sew Along. I couldn't decide on what fabric to use as background, or what size to make it. I haven't made all of the decisions yet but I'm using the solid pink fabric from the backing of the Scrappy Purple BB Quilt. I've also decided to try making EPP hexie flowers to replace the hexies in the pattern. 

Bloomers' first appliqué

I haven't worked with my batik fabric in a while and I was happy to find that I had a nice container of scraps to start this project off. When it came to the flower stem, I embroidered it using a chain stitch in a variegated green perle cotton. I also used a stem stitch for the lines in the flowers. These were stitched with lovely linen and cotton thread.


Not a great picture but it works for linking up 







I made the background a little longer at the top with the hope of adding a hexie flower above each appliquéd piece. I'll make a few, and if it doesn't work out, we'll just go to plan B, or C...😉

Playing with Hexies


I spent the morning outside in the backyard with my coffee and breakfast, playing with ¾" hexies. I used the scraps that I used in July to make a baby quilt flimsy. I haven't quilted it yet - hopefully in August!

Enjoying the morning outside

Hexie flower in the making

A double flower with the outside hexies
from the baby quilt scraps

The scraps are from the baby quilt flimsy that I made at the beginning of July.

Baby quilt flimsy with the same scraps

What I learned
  • Once I had decided on batiks for the appliqué in Bloomers, it was easy to find the right scraps. I really enjoyed the process and my zig-zag stitches around the appliqués are getting better.
  • I'm looking forward to making the second appliqué set as well as some batik hexie flowers.
  • It seems that some of my creativity and energy is back. I'm really enjoying playing with hexies and no matter what I'm working on, I want to ensure that I'm not over doing it. Slow & steady is my mantra these days.
Related links
Linking parties
I'll be linking up to many fun linking parties - you might want to check some out!

Thursday, July 24, 2025

Inspired to Make a Purple BB Quilt

Hi and welcome 😊 It's been a busy week. I'm not sure what I did, but time flew, so I must have been having fun 😉. I got inspired by the wonderful BB (or cuddle) quilts that Frédérique took to the hospital last week, so I put two projects together (BB quilt and July's purple Table Scraps Challenge) and got going. It's almost done and will be finished by the end of the month!

Purple BB Quilt


I wasn't in the mood for anything challenging, so I started sewing purple scraps together. I find it very soothing. Sometimes these scrappy panels become something, and sometimes they sit there, waiting for an opportunity. It's all good, it's about relaxing and doing something I enjoy.

Purple BB quilt - almost done!

I started with scraps from my purple/pink basket and then went digging for scraps in the strips basket. There was more than enough to make the main section of the quilt. Then I added this amazing pink/red border. Because I'm accuracy challenged, I cut my border strips too small😕and had to replace them.

BB quilt pinned and ready to quilt, with possible thread choice

I started FMQ with the threads above but it was a disaster! My tension was horrible, so the front thread was really showing in the back. I almost never unpick my FMQ but there was no living with this - what a mess! Since I didn't trust my tension, I used the light pink thread for the top and bobbin. It wasn't perfect, but I could live with it!

Tension problems - what a mess!

Eventually the tension got better. Using the same colour of thread in the bobbin really helped.

Better tension and the same thread colour helped!

Here are some pictures of the FMQ - unfortunately they're not great images although they are enhanced a bit.

A better picture of the FMQ, as seen from the back

Flower with petals from the front of the quilt

Enhanced - the colours look weird but the FMQ is visible

The BB quilt finishes at 22" x 22" - perfect! I now only have the border to quilt and the binding to do. I'm going to use that yummy pink/red fabric to finish it off. I'm sure that's the best choice.

Lovely pictures in the back yard!

BB quilt from the back - guess who miscalculated again!

Growing in my back yard

As I sat having coffee in my backyard, I spotted some blue among the plants. I haven't mowed it in a while so many things are coming up! This lovely, as I identified it in the plant identification app, is a flax flower! In the summer of 1991 in South Porcupine, Ontario, I planted flax in my backyard garden.  Back then I was a weaver with dreams of spinning my own linen. I had a small yield of these beautiful little flowers but when I looked into what it took to get linen out of a flax plant, I gave all of my plants to another weaver who knew what she was doing!

Flax growing in my backyard

I was wondering how these random flax plants got into my garden - then I googled flax seeds in bird feed and the mystery was solved. Flax is good for birds and it's found in the feed. There are only about a half dozen plants, so not enough to process, just admire. I case you're interested, it's the rotting of the plant stem that is the first part of making linen. I know how smelly rotting plants get - that was my initial aversion to making linen. So this year, I am thankful for the pretty, delicate plants growing in the backyard! 

What I learned
  • I was trying to FMQ a couple of nights ago but couldn't see what I was doing. I was surprised that the pink thread didn't show up on some of the lighter purples.
  • It was easier during the day to FMQ - either my eyes weren't as tired or the natural light helped.
  • I FMQ all kinds of flowers and ferns into the quilt - it was so much fun!
  • I even used the FMQ (freehand flower swirls) design that Vicki used in her Criss Cross quilt. I love finding designs that aren't too difficult to draw. 
  • I managed to miscalculate the fabric needed for the backing - I guess that my subconscious wanted to make a pieced backing!
  • Now I just have the border to FMQ as well as sewing on the binding. I'll get this done before the link up to the July Table Scraps Challenge ends.
Related links
  • The last cuddle quilt I made: Sweet Yellow Cuddle Quilt
Linking parties
I'll be linking up to many fun linking parties. You might want to check some out! Please consider linking up below to the FM Mavericks party. Monday Musings, Design Wall Monday, Sew & TellPut your foot down, Off The Wall Friday, Finished (Or Not) FridayBeauties Pageant, Patchwork & Quilts15 Minutes to Stitch 2025, Oh Scrap!

Free Motion Mavericks


Welcome to week 541 of Free Motion Mavericks! It was a very productive week! Thanks for linking up. Here are the projects from last week that included FMQ, ruler work or walking foot quilting. 

Kat from Scrapbox Quilts is making more Lil Bear Hug Quilts for charity. They are so cute and the perfect opportunity to practice FMQ and to use up orphan blocks.

Lovely crosshatch and orange peel FMQ by Kat


Storm at Sea orphan blocks turned into Lil Bear Hug quilts by Kat

Vicki, from Vicki's Crafts and Quilting made two seasonal table toppers. She's now ready for the fall and Christmas!

Vicki's lovely fall table topper

Details of the FMQ and ruler work in Vicki's topper

The holly table topper, FMQ the same way by Vicki

Gail from Quilting Gail made this lovely quilt - I just love the white and purple, it's just so fresh looking! She quilted it following all of those curves.

Gail's pretty purple quilt, FMQ by following the curves

Sandra from mmm quilts! made another one of her Winter Blues pattern quilt, but this time it's called Kismet and is made with part of a jellyroll. Wow! She was right - it does work! 

Sandra's Kismet quilt - how lovely in that jelly roll fabric

Sandra couldn't just quilt it with straight lines!  From the back, you can see where she changed the direction of those lines. That's very effective!

From the back of Kismet, we can see where Sandra changed
the direction of her lines.

It's now your turn!


You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter