CINDY'S CRAFTY CREATIONS

Ruts

2011-06-28T11:42:00.000-03:00

Hello everyone.. It has been a little while since I've posted ANYTHING! Actually it's been awhile since I've sewed as well. I find sometimes you can get into a rut and not do anything, just sit on the couch after work and watch the tv mindlessly. It doesn't help that in the last 3 months we may have had 3 full days of sunshine. We in the maritimes are water logged and a little mildewy lol

How are all 20 of my friends doing? Are you girls sewing?

Drop me a line :)

2011 Blogger Quit Festival

2011-05-15T22:22:00.002-03:00

It's Blogger Quilt Festival time again - YAY!
Blogger's Quilt Festival is an event put on by the lovely Amy of Amy's Creative Side. It is an opportunity for us to each share a quilt with everyone. One that is special to us. It's not a competition... rather an opportunity to celebrate our quilts. I love it! So much great inspiration! Thank you Amy for putting on this great event!

This quilt is one of my favorites. It is very warm and cuddly :) I didn't quilt it a lot because I wanted a softer feeling quilt. I took a class with the famous Ken and had fun choosing the many greens and beiges to make the various trees. The quilt measures 57x72 and is a perfect couch blankey!

I'm back and I've been busy...

2011-04-26T16:12:00.000-03:00

Hello friends and followers :) Have you missed me? lol I have been trying to will myself to start posting again and just today I said "ok, enoughs enough" lol JUST DO IT! It's too bad I can't say that about my exercising or lack there of lol

Soooo, I want to show you what I've been up to. If you click HERE you will see everything that I have sewn for the past few months. I am currently participating in only (LOL) 5 swaps online. These are:
Fresh n Funky Bee-ginners
PeeB&J
Modern Swappers
Quilting Gallery Friends
Pretty {little} pouch swap

I absolutely love making the different projects. Whether it's individual blocks or complete projects they are fun and a learning experience. Are anyone of you in a swap on Flickr? Which one?

Some of the projects I have finished are: zippered pouch (my first) a half dresden wall hanging with matching mug rug, a few other mug rugs and I am currently finishing a quilted fabric basket.

What are you guys currently working on? Any pictures to share :)

Be Back Soon

2011-03-23T13:36:00.000-03:00

I have been away. Not away away, just away from blogging. I hope I haven't lost all of you :) Did you even miss me? lol

I will return with some cute projects I've been working on.

How about yourselves? What is new with you?

Cindy

Fabric Giveaway!

2011-03-03T22:52:00.000-04:00

Head on over to Perri's blog and enter to win this fantastic stack of 15 fat Quarters from 'Where the Wind Blows'.

Mug rug surprise

2011-03-02T21:15:00.000-04:00

Today was a great day! I have been anxiously awaiting my secret partners mug rug for the past 2 weeks and it finally arrived!!!! It travelled all the way from Tauranga, New Zealand. Not only did Toni make two beautiful mug rugs, but she also sent delicious candy, calendar and a postcard from NZ. The candies are delicious!! Thank you so much Toni..

If anyone is interested in joining an upcoming secret swap, there is a new one starting soon at Quilting Gallery on Flickr. We are going to be making a quilted basket... Go check it out and join in the fun!!

Sunday, February 27

2011-02-27T19:51:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone :) Hope you all had a great weekend. Ours was very nice! Busy Saturday afternoon with errands and then had a fun games nite with friends Sancia & Bryan :) Today was a nice Sunday... you know the kind... you putter around AND get things done! Right now we are watching the end of the Sprint Cup race at Phoenix.... hoping that Jimmie Johnson will win it!!!! GO JIMMIE!

Ok, so last week lol... was a bit better for completing goals. Here's how it went:

1. workout more than once: YES!!! I exercised 3 times last week... Today was a better day with 30 mins cardio (burned 269 calories) and arm exercises on the husband's Bowflex. can't have the hangy arms in my forties lol

2. cut fabric for dresden plates: Done... i absolutely love the colors... soo cheery and bright...I even cut two of each so that I can make one for myself too!!!!

3. make other blouse: NOPE :( Hoping for this week! and this time I'll take pictures of my process :)

Goals for this week:
1. Make blouse with pictures
2.Exercise 3 times with arm workout
3. Sew dresden plate together

Sunday, February 20

2011-02-20T21:07:00.000-04:00

Good evening everyone..Hope you had a fabulous weekend. I'm sitting here ready to tell you how my week went, listening to my husband sing and play his guitar. Life is GOOD!

We had the granddaughters over for the weekend and LOVED IT! I love love love being their Nanny... The oldest had a fever most of the weekend, so she stayed on the couch most of the time.. while the youngest entertained us.

So, last week goals went like this....

1.workout to the video "Turbo Jam"
not so much...actually I haven't worked out in a ~~couple~~ few weeks

2.start secret swap project

I did decide on the pattern (half dresden plate) and the fabric I'm going to use.

3.work on scrapbook

yup, my friend Sancia came over on Thursday and I did so a little bit lol

So, this week I hope to be a little more focused than normal. lol (if that's possible)

Goals for this week:

1. workout more than once

2. cut fabric for dresden plates

3. make other blouse

Sunday, February 13

2011-02-13T21:58:00.000-04:00

It was a birthday week! :)

I hope your weekend was what you wanted it to be. Mine was very busy... My birthday was on Thursday and so we celebrated a birthday bowling party on Friday. It was sooo much fun :) I'm still hurting...Then we went to visit the grandchildren and celebrated again with them :) They loved my number 45 balloons!!! lol

Goals from last week:

1.Exercise 3 times this week
uhmmmm nope... not even one time.. got to get my butt back in gear

2.Complete 2 mug rugs for the Quilting Gallery swap

YES!! and they don't look too bad... i'm looking forward to receiving my own

3.Make a blouse (yes...for real) lol
I did it! I actually made a blouse without a pattern. I used a top that I still wear and tried to replicate it.. It is not "exactly" the same but for a first time attempt I'm ok with that...

Goals for next week:
1.workout to the video "Turbo Jam"
2.start secret swap project
3.work on scrapbook

That's it.. nice and easy week :)
How are you doing? Let me know :) I'd love to hear from anyone out there in "blogland"

Block Party!!!

2011-02-08T22:58:00.003-04:00

I'm entering here at Quilt Story:

Traditional Block Category

Creative Block Category

Go see the rest or enter a block yourself :)

Sunday, February 6, 2010

2011-02-06T22:25:00.000-04:00

Wellll... here it is 10:00pm Sunday nite..... If you were following the dates, you might have noticed that I skipped last week.... I wasn't so productive the week before and then this week I was sick with a yucky cold.... still feel a tad weak but at least my nose has stopped running lol Anyone else suffering from a cold/flu?

So, in the last two weeks I did complete a few sewing projects:

1. Finished the January block for PBee&J quilting bee on flickr. It was called a liberated wedding ring using foundation piecing. I love the feel of fabric and paper together...

2.Packaged off the contents for February block with Fresh & Funky Bee-ginners Quilting Bee on Flickr. I'm asking everyone to make a chocolate strawberry four patch.. doesn't it sound delicious... I hope they like the fabrics and that it's not too hard to complete.

Goals for this week:

1.Exercise 3 times this week
2.Complete 2 mug rugs for the Quilting Gallery swap
3.Make a blouse (yes...for real) lol

Ok, that's it for now :) Hope everyone has a great week ahead ..... (reaches for the tissues) lol

Word Up Sewing Party

2011-01-29T12:26:00.000-04:00

Today is January 29th and that means it is "Word Up" sewing party over at Charming Chatter's blog from 1-5pm. This is our day to work on our sewing project that reminds us of our word for the year. My word is "Determination" and I am DETERMINED to sew/quilt this year, either finishing and/or starting my sewing and quilt projects. I am so using this word for my fitness goals as well... but that's another post lol

I'll be checking in later with pictures of my progress!!! WOOHOOOOOO.

Sunday, January 23

2011-01-23T21:39:00.002-04:00

EEKKKKKK!!! lol This week didn't go as well as last week! lol and there is no excuse but me... It is soo funny how easy it is to spend hours on the internet looking at thousands of pictures (yup thousands... one night it was over 10 000 pictures of quilts and the other night it was over 2 000) than to do something productive!

This week I did join a new quilting swap. This one is hosted by the Quilting Gallery. We are exchanging 2 mug rugs with our secret partners... I can't wait to get started...

Last week's goals:
Exercise 4 times:
I did manage to work out 2 1/2 times this week....yay me lol ... I also "attempted" to start some ball exercises but quickly realized that I needed MORE practice lol (Notice how I didn't beat myself up because I didn't get to 4 times....Positive talk only!)

2.Complete PBee & J January Quilt Block
This week lol

3.Post a picture of my Bargello quilt for the Quilting Gallery contest this week (please vote for me) lol
I posted the picture of my quilt and currently I have only 1 vote lol (my own) oh well....

4. My block for PBee & J quilting bee (February)
I believe I have the pattern in mind for the PBee & J quilting bee on FLICKR that I need to have packaged and mailed before the end of the month.

Goals for this week:

1.Exercise 4 times
2.Complete January quilt block (from above)
3.Make a blouse (yes...for real) lol
4.Gather fabrics for February quilting bee

Ok, that's it for now :) Hope everyone has a great week ahead .....

Thought I would leave you with a picture of our beautiful granddaughters we had stay with us this weekend....

Spa by Rosemary Lavin at Fat Quarterly

2011-01-18T20:58:00.000-04:00

Today I came home and found a beautiful squishy envelope in my mailbox. I was sooo excited....

You know what I'm talking about. A puffy squishy envelope means "FABRIC"!!!! and I have been waiting very patiently for this special package. A month or so ago I found out that I won a draw on Fat Quarterly, winning a package of Spa fat quarters by Rosemary Lavin. They are more beautiful in person :)

Does anyone else have this line of fabric? and if so... what have you done with it?

Sunday, January 16

2011-01-16T19:05:00.001-04:00

I was "DETERMINED" to finish my goals this week. I like my word of the year and it seems to be helping me change my focus. Whatever works right! lol

Last week's goals:
Finished quilting bee blocks

January Fresh & Funky Bee-ginners Quilting Bee

December PBee&J Quilting Bee

Exercised 4 times this week!!!!
This was surprising to me... I was actually very determined to get the 4 times exercising in...hopefully this will continue :)

Brought back donations for the Salvation Army (more to go in the future)
I was very happy that 1. I took the time to gather the stuff for donations and 2. that I want to do more. I would like to live in less clutter and less things these days...

Christmas decorations put away
sad that everything looks normal again lol

Tidy sewing room
This is still ongoing... I know that I am holding onto craft/sewing supplies that I really don't need... and that are taking up precious space

Goals for this week:

1.Post a picture of my Bargello quilt for the Quilting Gallery contest this week (please vote for me) lol

2.Complete PBee&J January Quilt Block

3.February is my month at Fresh & Funky Bee-ginners quilting bee, so I need to put together the mail packages this week

4.Exercise 4 times

So that's it for this week. Anyone else out there setting certain goals? How is it going? Love to hear from you :)

I see I have 18 followers (thank you) what are you doing this month?

Sunday, January 9

2011-01-09T20:28:00.000-04:00

Happy Weekend Everyone! What a weekend we had! We were Nanny & Poppa this weekend to the most delicious little girls in the world. We played, ate, went sledding, made a snowman and had lots and lots of laughs. Today we had to drive them home early because of a little snowstorm. I think we received 20 cms of snow...

So this is the first week for my goal setting plans. Hopefully by next week, I will have started/finished/maintained and with my "health" goals - LOST! lol

Goals for the week:

1. workout 4 times this week
2. finish December/January bee blocks
3. put away Christmas decorations
4. tidy sewing room
5. take items to Salvation Army (yes, I am actually giving something away) lol

Have a great week everyone!

DETERMINATION

2011-01-05T21:00:00.000-04:00

Kelly over at Charming Chatter has a great idea for the upcoming year. It's called Word Up!

She wants us to choose a word that we'd like to see reflected in our life in the coming year - a word to visit periodically, and to focus on throughout the year! It could be happiness, peace, joy, health, success etc.

Mine is DETERMINATION! I wanted to feel the determination in my gut to complete anything I need to do this year! Whether that is exercise, quilting, patience etc.

No more being wishy washy!!! lol

So how about you guys? Do you have a specific focus on something or a "word" or quote? Let me know :)

New Year - New Focus

2011-01-04T22:12:00.000-04:00

Happy New Year everyone. Hope you all had the holidays you wanted. I enjoyed a very lovely holiday with my daughter and her boyfriend, granddaughters and my husband. Very lovely. We really enjoyed our woodstove as well, sleeping in front of it on Christmas Eve... mmmmm.....

So; about blogging...I have been thinking for the last month how I want to use my blog this year. I know that I seem to do more sewing/quilting/crafting when I'm posting, but I seem to need structure to stay on track. Because I am a procrastinator, I will get something done, but it will be last minute. Sooo... this year I will be posting my goals for the week at the start of the week on Sunday, outlining what I want to start/accomplish/finish for the week as well as posting what I acheived from the week before.

I have also started back on the healthy bandwagon lol...ie. regular exercise/healthy eating.. I have to lose the weight that I gained after I lost it last year lol. Know what I mean? lol So I will also be posting those goals as well.

So, seeing that this is Tuesday already lol I guess I will start next Sunday lol

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

2010-12-23T23:05:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone... just a short note to say "enjoy your family & friends this holiday season" and, if you are alone, as I once was, enjoy yourself! eat whatever you want & do whatever you want!!!

I am thinking of changing how I use my blog next year.... stay tuned!!

merry CHRISTmas everyone!!!

I WON!

2010-12-20T14:08:00.000-04:00

I WON. I WON. I WON.... I actually actually won something on someone's blog!!! I can't believe it! Woohoooohooooooo..... You know you fill out for the contests but you never believe you will win, but then you say to yourself that someone has to win and why can't it be you.... and I did! AND.... it's FABRIC!!! woohooooooooooooooo lol

I won a fq bundle of Spa by Rosemary Lavin at Fat Quarterly. You can see my name there :) yehawww!!! lol

My secret present arrived!!!

2010-12-15T18:48:00.002-04:00

I have been anxiously waiting for the arrival of my Modern Swappers 2 secret partner goodies. Back in September we were paired up with a secret partner. We were to exchange fabric, handmade projects and little trinkets. For the past few months we answered several discussion posts about fabric we loved, projects we would love to have, color of our sewing room etc. This was to help us figure out what our secret partner and ourselves would love to receive. So today I walked up my stairs to my front door and there was a large parcel peeking out of the mailbox! WOOOHOOOO....

(I would have inserted picture of large said parcel but I forgot to cover up my address lol) oh well....

My secret partner was Jamie! and I never even quessed it.... As you can see, she made me a delicious mini quilt with one of my favorite fabrics "Frolic" with the cutest wittle birdie :) and I also have my first cute pincushion... another birdie!!! with the cutest pins too! She also made note that I love fabric with dots! and the thread colors remind me of the upcoming springtime! Thank you so much Jamie :) You are definately a very talented quilter :)

Kazera walks!

2010-12-05T17:39:00.000-04:00

sorry about the sideways video and the color.... i think my camera is slowly dying :( but... this weekend Kazera walked for Nanny & Poppa

Ho Ho Ho

2010-12-01T19:58:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone... I am trying to finish up the christmas cards tonight and I thought I would show a sneak peak at one of them.. The others I've made are red & green. The blue ones have a nighttime feel.

Anyone else making cards? Let see em!

Christmas Cards

2010-11-30T20:57:00.000-04:00

This week I am trying to finish making the christmas cards for my friends/family.

Every year I have huge intentions of making my own christmas cards. I have more than enough supplies/stamps to make them. But what happens, I wait to the last minute, realize I have no time left and end up buying a box at the store.

This year will be different! sneak peek to follow :)

The Dancing Dog video

2010-11-29T22:51:00.001-04:00

You have got to check this out...The Dancing Dog

By the way... I was making Christmas Cards tonight!! yes, it's true...really!!!

Sunday Funny

2010-11-28T11:15:00.000-04:00

This is a really funny video titled: Beware of the Doghouse Happy Sunday!

BURN BABY BURN!

2010-11-27T19:49:00.000-04:00

Just 2hrs.... all stacked...ready for the woodstove... to be installed next week!

Waiting on the wood

2010-11-26T19:55:00.000-04:00

It's friday nite! and my husband and I are laying on the couch drinking wine lol wowsers... we're real swingers lol This weekend we are decorating the house for Christmas and hopefully stacking our firewood in the backyard! I can not wait for the guys to install our new wood stove! hopefully this week.. weather permitting....woohooo....

I failed the challenge

2010-11-25T08:42:00.000-04:00

I was going to start this post off by saying it was a sad day yesterday, because I came home to no internet and no digital cable and still don't have any :( . But then I thought of the thousands of people dying of cholera in Haiti or the people in Cambodia who died in that horrendous stampede or the many other people fighting their own fight around the world, and I knew that wouldn't be the right title to use. Please give a little prayer today for everyone around the world.. EVERYONE...and thank your lucky stars of what you do have and not what you don't!

Because of the no internet I was unable to post last night thereby not being able to commit to the 30 days of posts in November... oh well... I really tried lol probably boring a lot of you by reading my mindless chatter about my life lol I hope I didn't lose anyone in the process :) Don't worry, I will still be posting more than I had been in the past.

This week I will be mailing my secret partner from the flickr group "Modern Swappers" her gorgeous package of loveliness (if I do say so myself) lol I hope she loves everything... and I cannot wait to receive mine :) It's just like Christmas but early :) I will post a picture of the contents as soon as the cable people come to do whatever they have to do to fix my internet!!!! lol

To my American friends, Happy Thanksgiving... and don't eat too much!

Is anyone out there? lol

2010-11-23T22:28:00.000-04:00

Good evening everyone. I'm wondering if anyone else took on the challenge of posting something everyday in November? yes? no? I would love everyone who reads my posts to leave a comment yes or no.... pleaseeee lol

I know in December I will not be posting everyday but I will post more often that before :)

I'm not ready for winter

2010-11-22T20:01:00.000-04:00

Holy moly... I can't believe what I see outside my window... Falling snow! yikes... I'm not ready... I need more time .. at least a couple more weeks of "cooler" weather to acclimatize my body to the freezing, snowy, icy weather to come.

PS. only 8 more days of posting something everyday for "National Blog Posting Month". lol

Nanny & Poppa's weekend

2010-11-21T17:00:00.000-04:00

dora, toopy & binoo, practice walking, potty training, bottles, diapers, naps, bunny, laughs, baths, cries, sooky & playing

goodnight... priceless!

What we are doing this weekend :)

2010-11-20T18:14:00.000-04:00

National Blog Posting Month

2010-11-19T21:30:00.000-04:00

This posting something everyday for the month of November is proving to be very challenging. It's hard to come up with stuff that might interest others if all you do is go to work and then come home to crash lol This weekend we have the grandchildren. We hope to get to the Holiday Parade of Lights tomorrow nite. It's beautiful to see all the christmas lights on the floats, with christmas carols playing in the background... and of course SANTA! Hopefully it won't be too cold for the youngins :) Have a great weekend!

Mug Rug

2010-11-18T19:39:00.000-04:00

In addition to the donut pincushion I had always wanted to make, a mug rug was another project I wanted to try. What do you think? It's going to my secret swap partner along with all the other goodies.

I actually "designed" the mug rug all by my little self, which is a huge accomplishment for me because I usually only follow others' patterns. (note to self: build your confidence) lol

Oh look... there's Cindy on the webcam lol... showing the mug rug because the batteries of her camera were charging at the time (granddaughters coming over tomorrow for the weekend..got to be ready!!).

Waiting on our woodstove

2010-11-17T17:54:00.000-04:00

I told the husband to start building the ark. We have had steady rain for almost 2 weeks now with one weekend of gorgeous weather. I don't normally complain about the weather because 1. you can't change it and 2.we shouldn't really complain about anything, BUT we are on a wait list for our woodstove installation. So, when it rains that means we wait LONGER :( I WANT MY WOODSTOVE!! lol I'm dreaming of either sewing, scrapbooking, watching tv or anything else in front of a roaring fire. Please rain stop, just stop.

PS. pictures of my first mug rug tomorrow :)

Tell all quiz

2010-11-15T22:44:00.000-04:00

I came across a really cool quiz at "Meet Me At Mikes" that I wanted to try out. Just write the first thing that comes to your mind..

Sweet or Savoury? savoury
Dresses or Jeans? dresses
House or Apartment? house
Shop Online or Offline? offline
DVDs or Downloads? downloads
Cocktails or Juice? cocktails
Chocolate or Strawberry? strawberry
Laptop or PC? laptop
Magazines or Newspapers? magazine
Facebook or Twitter? facebook
CDs or MP3s? cd
Kids or Pets? kids
Macaron or Cupcakes? cupcakes
Walk or Run? walk
Breakfast in Bed or Breakfast Out? out
Market or Supermarket? supermarket
Sourdough or Grainy? grainy
Heels or Flats? heels
Late nights or Not? late nights
Coffee or Tea? coffee
I'd love to read your responses :)

Donut Pincushion

2010-11-15T19:51:00.000-04:00

I finally made something off my to do list. It may not sound like a big thing but I have issues with picking ANY sewing project to start. I'm always thinking, "well I really should finish that quilt or "I need to finish that project. "

Anyways.... I made a pincushion!! and not just a plain ole tomato pincushion! I made a delicious donut pincushion with sprinkles!!! I've always thought that they were the cutest things, whether they were pincushions that looked like sweets or animals or flowers.

This is for my secret swap partner in the Modern Swappers group on Flickr. It was a little harder that I thought (I very much dislike hand sewing lol) but I did it. I got the pattern from here...

Check out the finished product :)
Hope it doesn't make you crave sweets lol

I LOVE FALL!!!

2010-11-14T15:07:00.000-04:00

count em.... 12 large bags and a very full green bin of tree and hosta leaves... pheww... it was a beautiful fall day... sunny and warm... How did you spend your weekend?

Quilt Show 2010

2010-11-13T18:07:00.006-04:00

I have been looking forward to today for awhile. At one of our christmas craft fairs in town they were holding a Quilt & Rug Sale!!! I knew I wouldn't be able to buy any of them but I wanted to be inspired by all of the more experienced quilters. My favorite from the show had to be one quilter who was an expert in applique.. You cannot even see her stiches. Take a look at some of her work from Piece O' Cake Designs:

Other quilts and rug hooked projects I loved included:

Can you see the kitty heads looking at the birds? Cute!

I love pictures of quilts hung out on the clothesline

and one more:

I want to do an applique project this winter :) lol I'll just add it to the list :)

It's Friday

2010-11-12T20:25:00.000-04:00

Today at work it was the longest day ever! Not sure why, but it was. The whole day I was watching the clock to see how many hours were left before I was able to drive home, get into my comfy clothes and cuddle with my hubby :)

But, the best thing about today was day 2 of sunshine and I hear that the weekend will be the same!

(gratuitous granddaughter shot) lol

I need to get in my sewing room this weekend (for sure) to start my projects for the Modern Swappers group I'm in. We need to mail our packages the week of November 29th. I am still undecided as to what I will make. Although I think I'm very close to choosing. I can't wait to receive mine from my secret partner :) I hope it is who I think it is! please please please :)

Have a great weekend everyone :)

Envelope back pillow #2

2010-11-11T20:38:00.000-04:00

Wellll..... I didn't actually get to my quilt blocks BUT I did finish a few small sewing projects. I thought I had better do this first one now since fall will soon be over and we will be decorating for Christmas. I am in love with envelope closure pillows. They allow me to use the same pillow form and just change the cover with the seasons/holidays. I found this fabric at our local thrift store for a steal. I was going to use it for curtains in the kitchen but didn't like it in the end. Sooo... I cut into it to make a pillow!!

I know it's not that glamorous but it fits very nicely into our living room.

My other completed project was a small doll quilt for my granddaughter Mikea :) It's kind of a cheater quilt because the fabric was already quilted (BONUS)! lol I still need practice on binding but she won't judge :)

She brings her dolly with her from home when she says over at Nanny & Poppas :)

So, even though I didn't start another quilt block, I did manage to start my sewing machine :)

The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow...

2010-11-10T20:17:00.000-04:00

literally... we will finally see the SUN. After a whole gosh darn week of darkness, rain, time change and anything else yucky, the weather person says that it will be sunny tomorrow. It will be a hallelujah moment. Ahhhhhhh..... See... there is hope :)

It will also be a day off for me so I will be SEWING!!! Yes, I am going to be busy in my sewing room finishing more blocks for my sampler quilt (completion date Dec 30). Pictures tomorrow of my progress :)

November 9th

2010-11-09T20:48:00.001-04:00

Writing everyday for the National Blogging Posting month is proving to be very challenging. What do I blog about today?

Do I write about the endless rain we've had for the past 6 days and no sign of sun? Do I write about the drive home from work that usually takes 6 minutes took over an hour in the dark and pouring rain going 5 mph? Do I talk about bringing my car to the dealer to have fixed and 260.00 dollars later nothing has changed?

Nawww.... I'll just say Happy Tuesday :)

Sampler quilt in progress

2010-11-08T20:32:00.001-04:00

It is now November and I am thinking more about quilting, must be the cooler weather. I have a ~~lot~~ few projects on the go and I would like to finish them up. I love reading other blogs where the person also has a "few" unfinished projects like myself. I can tell my husband that I'm not the only one with ufo's :)

Here is one of my ongoing quilts: The Sampler quilt. Wow, until I posted this picture I thought I had more blocks completed lol

I wanted to make this quilt so that I could try out different patterns. I am finding the various patterns on different websites as well as my virtual quilt bees :) I am going to put a challenge out into the internet world :) I would like to complete this quilt top by the end of this year. You guys can hold me to it!

Let's see your unfinished projects...

Wordless Sunday Smile

2010-11-07T16:43:00.000-04:00

Mikea's Bowling Party

2010-11-06T20:58:00.000-03:00

Day 6 of National Blog Posting Month!

Today was Mikea's 3rd birthday party and her mother planned a bowling party!! Mikea had not bowled before but her and her friends loved it!

Happy Birthday sweetheart :) Nanny and Poppa love you :)

What happens at Nanny & Poppa's

2010-11-05T22:34:00.000-03:00

Tonight, I thought I would share with you what every second weekend looks like here at Nanny & Poppa's house.

Every other Friday night, I pick up our two granddaughters Mikea and Kazera and drive them to our house for the weekend. The house would already be kid friendly ie. my large stack of papers and magazines would be hidden, laptop put away and coffee table pushed to the side. All of their toys would be brought out into the living room and the fun would begin. :) First we would have supper. Mikea prefers chicken and rice and Kazera ANYTHING :)

Then it's playtime :) This is our favorite time to act like a kid and make the girls laugh. We sing songs, take lots of pictures, play guitar like poppa while wearing his hat :) and read lots of books.

Then, thank goodness, we have a break and our girls start doing this:

and then this: ahhhhhhh

and then we start it all over the next day :) I love every 2nd weekend :) Oh by the way... usually by the time the girls are asleep, I start to hear something .... zzzzzzzz

Happy Friday everyone :) hug your babies tight :)

PBee&J quilting bee - September and October

2010-11-04T19:10:00.000-03:00

For my other quilting bee PBee&J, we made a spider web block. This one was very ~~hard~~ challenging lol. I love the look but it might be way to finicky for my skill set :)

For October we made a Wonky Log Cabin with christmas fabrics!!! It was soo much fun working with the red and green fabrics but I couldn't believe how hard it was to make something NOT straight lol

Check out www.flickr.com if you are interested in joining a virtural quilting bee.

Fresh & Funky Bee-gineers Quilting Bee - No 2 block FINISHED

2010-11-03T19:00:00.000-03:00

Last nite (a month ago) lol I finished number 2 block. It was a fun pattern, making a Windmill Style Block with HST's (Half Square Triangles). Although I made a teeny tiny boo boo I think it turned out ok. I love the contrast in colors.

October's Fresh and Funky Quilting Bee

2010-11-02T18:11:00.000-03:00

Friendship Star pattern

For the month of October in our Fresh and Funky Bee-gineers virtual quilting bee jcoomey725 asked us to make a friendship star using these delicious colored fabrics. I found this pattern quite easy to complete Here is a link to show you how you can make the friendship star. http://www.blockpartyquilting.com/2009/11/friendship-star-tutorial.html Let me know if you make it... I'd love to see it.

Boooo!

2010-11-01T19:18:00.000-03:00

This is the first post for National Blog Posting Month. I hope to post everyday this month.

Today I want to show you my two beautiful granddaughters Mikea and Kazera in their cute halloween costumes. Mikea was a beautiful fairy princess and Kazera was a cute little poodle. Poppa and I went trick or treating with the girls and had an awesome time. It was fun to experience halloween through the eyes of a 3 year old (birthday tomorrow).

Did anyone else have an eventful halloween? How many trick or treaters came to visit?

See you tomorrow :)

National Blog Posting month

2010-10-31T14:54:00.000-03:00

Happy Halloween everyone. I know I have not been very good at posting very much lately, so I have joined something that may help. Starting tomorrow November 1, I, Cindy, will post something everyday for a month. It is called National Blog Posting month (see right side) and I might even win a prize :) I will be posting anything and everything lol... such as sewing, scrapbooking, grandchildren, husband and maybe even some photography.

Maybe you would like to join me? Check it out and see if this is something you might like to do as well.

See you tomorrow.

PS. If I forget a day, let me know!! lol Keep me honest :)

Amy's Creative Side "Bloggers Quilt Festival"

2010-10-30T19:21:00.002-03:00

I'm going to try this again. Last time I tried to enter this quilt I was too late :( So this time i'm early :)

It's Blogger's Quilt Festival this week and I'm sharing my all time favorite. It's my Stained Glass Star Quilt I made in class at Atlantic Fabrics in Dartmouth NS. My teacher was the fantastic Ken :)

This quilt used to hang in my hallway and I loved it! Now it's all folded up in my sewing room. Hope you like it :)

Hurricane Earl!

2010-09-03T14:56:00.000-03:00

Good afternoon everyone and welcome to the hurricane watch.. It is t-minus 24 hours before Hurricane Earl hits Nova Scotia. We don't expect the eye to hit us directly but it will be a tad windy/rainy. We've batten down the hatches (lol) and have extra supplies ready. I'm hoping the power goes out for an hour maybe, no more than that though. Our power NEVER goes out! We were supposed to go camping for 3 nights (our first all year) but did not want to take any chances with the hurricane. Hopefully we'll be able to camp at least one time before it gets too cold.

I'm hoping that this long weekend I'll be able to finish a couple of my virtual online quilting bee projects. I have joined two more: Modern Swappers and PeeB&J on flickr.com I also hope to finish a few of my own projects: ie. kitchen curtains, granddaughters doll blanket/pillow and a harness to carry her bunny around. Last weekend we had the girls over and that's all we heard was: "Where's bunny" lol So Poppa thought it would be a great idea to make a pouch for bunny, that way he would be with her always! She soo loves her bunny :) I will show a picture of bunny next time :) He's been around lol

What are your plans for this long weekend?

Virtual Quilting Bee

2010-08-24T21:44:00.000-03:00

Recently I joined two online quilting bees on Flickr. Fresh & Funky Bee-ginners and PBee&J Quilting Bees. This is how they work. There are usually 12 members (one for each month of the year). When it is your month, you mail out fabric and a pattern to all of the members and then they sew up your block and mail it back. What a great way to get a quilt finished!!

Well, I just finished the first block, Chrissy's spiderweb block. What do you think? I can't wait for her to sew all of the blocks together and see the finished quilt :) My month is February and May... I'm already thinking of what colors and pattern I want to do.

Have you ever been in a virtual quilting bee?

Baby Boy Blanket Tutorial..finished!

2010-08-09T20:35:00.000-03:00

I have finally finished the baby boy flannel blanket before he was born!!!! I am very impressed with myself :)

Because of the process pledge, (see on right) I tried to document each step (kinda)....instead of just showing the end product.

First I purchased a ready made panel, warm & natural batting, the backing fabric and Gutterman thread to match.. I stacked the 3 layers on top of each other and then pinned it altogether!

I did quilt a little on the blanket... mostly straight line around the border and also around the star and moon. Once that was finished I trimmed the edges and started to sew the binding on. I always have to look up on the internet on how to properly attach binding. Thank god for the internet!!!

and here is the end result :) Yeahh!!! It's going in the mail tomorrow :) Have you ever used a fabric panel to make a baby blanket? Do you have pictures?

One Thing One Week Challenge

2010-07-20T16:11:00.001-03:00

Update: Although I did not finish my challenge within the week (I kinda forgot about it) I did "almost" finish the binding on the baby's quilt and that's progress! Plus! I am actually hand sewing the binding... I know... I know... I said HAND sewing lol I usually machine sew it on.... But this time I said to myself, Self, why don't you try it the right way... and it's not that bad....a lot slower but it looks great!

Did anyone else try to finish something they've been working on last week?

*****
Ok. So. Amy over at Amy's Creative Side is starting another really cool challenge. This one is called One Thing One Week Challenge. She is hoping to motivate us either to finish something or start something. What ever is reasonable for us to be able to finish in one weeks' time. Post your challenge in her comments section and then the next Tuesday, she will have a linky which we can link to our blog post to show off your met goal. I know I need something to kick my butt in gear.

My challenge for this week is to finish the binding on a baby quilt. I know I know.. that should only take an hour tops to finish, but I'm taking baby steps... nothing too overwhelming :) lol

Let me know if you post your challenge on Amy's blog so that we can be in this together. Remember it can be anything!!!

Cutting fabric with your Cricut!

2010-06-30T15:24:00.000-03:00

Oh my goodness! (i say that a lot) I cannot believe what I just came across. Cutting fabric with my lonely cricut machine. I haven't tried it personally, but please go see the awesome tutorial by allie b dallie. Just think of the possibilities: personalized pillows, decorated tshirs, onesies, bags etc. Let me know if you give it a try and I'll show you my results soon :) I promise! lol

Simple Sampler Quilt Along

2010-06-28T12:32:00.000-03:00

Good morning everyone!

I am participating in my first quilt along. I have been trying to sew a sampler quilt for quite awhile but have never finished it. Now Amy's Creative Side: Simple Sampler quilt along comes along and it is just what I need to get my butt moving! I'll be posting my finished blocks on my flickr page as I go along. Let me know if you are going to join me. We can do it TOGETHER :)

I TOOK THE PLEDGE!

2010-06-17T21:54:00.000-03:00

Look on the right sidebar!

When I came across Rossie's post about "the pledge", I totally agreed. Too many times we post the after of our projects and not the process and how we got there. I know when I look at other quilt blogs, I want to learn from them as well as see the end result. "The goal of the process pledge is to create a new sensibility in quilting blogs where we don’t just show finishes or occasionally confess about our moments of indecision, but chat openly and often about our works in progress, our inspirations, and our moments of decision. I know that many of us are already posting about our thinking on quilts and the processes involved from start to finish, let's do more! And let's post about quilts as we work on them. I want to see more half-done quilts, not just the finished thing with a journal entry about the process."

So in the future:

I, Cindy, pledge to talk more about my processes, even when I can’t quite put them in the in words or be sure I’m being totally clear. I’m going to put my thinking and my gut feelings out there.

Who's with me? :) Check out the link and let me know what you think? I love to hear from anyone in blogland :)

First baby boy blanket

2010-06-13T20:29:00.000-03:00

I finally get to make a boy (cheater) quilt for someone. Although I love love love girly fabric, I have wanted to try out blues/browns for sometime. I have just started a baby boy wallhanging/blanket for a special niece who is pregnant with the first boy in the family. I have never used blue/browns in a quilt so this is new and exciting. I'll update when it is finished. I'm also going to try and show the process for completing this project. I know I like to see how someone makes their projects as well as the end results. How is everyone doing with their projects this month?

My Bloggers Quilt Festival 2010 quilt entry

2010-05-29T11:25:00.002-03:00

OOPS!! I GUESS I WAS TOO LATE TO JOIN THE FESTIVAL...By the time I got the courage to upload my photo...mr.linky was closed... poop :( oh well...lol maybe next time. Go and check out all the other more couragous (sp) women who posted their quilts on time!

It's Blogger's Quilt Festival this week and I'm sharing my all time favorite. It's my Stained Glass Star Quilt I made in class at Atlantic Fabrics in Dartmouth NS. My teacher was the fantastic Ken :)

In my previous home I had it hanging on our hall wall. It is huge :) Hope you like it :)

Personalized Pillow

2010-05-29T11:15:00.000-03:00

I did it! I really did it! I actually made something start to finish. My friend Sancia's daughter Lilli is celebrating her 3rd birthday and I thought it would be great to make something for her with her name on it. Why not a personalized decorative pillow! The pillow measures 12x18 and is very colorful. I fused the letters on top of the white and then stitched around the each letter. Unfortunately, I didn't take pictures throughout the process; I'll do that soon when I make 2 more for my granddaughters.

Has anyone else made a personalized pillow? Let's see them :)

Garden from H E double hockey sticks

2010-05-19T11:20:00.000-03:00

Yup, that's how I feel :) We moved into our home a couple of years ago and I loved that it showed promise of lush gardens and trees etc. This was April when we bought and there was still snow on the ground. BUT! for the last two years we have been trying to reign the garden in. It is taking over the lawn. I think a previous owner was a professional gardener and planted everything she could find in the way of perennials, shrubs, fruit trees etc. I know what you are going to say, to be so lucky to have such expensive plants already in the ground.. but.... there is TOO MUCH.

Just in the backyard there were two plum trees, one nectarine tree, one peach tree, a crab apple tree, 50 hosta plants, 10 butterfly bushes, a hydrangea and the list goes on and on and on!!! The front yard had a huge yew plant which we dug out (it was gross) lol but now have a huge area left over. I am sure I have every kind of lilly growing out front of the house.

I am overwhelmed.. I have too much and I'm afraid to pull anything out because it might be a nice plant. I really can't tell the difference between a plant and a sophisticated weed lol.... I am quite familiar with the everyday dandelion weed lol

This is the picture of the house when we bought it. There's the yucky yew on the left. That is now gone.

Did anyone else have something like this? What did you do? Did you hire something to come in and fix it up? If so, what did it cost? I am going to get a few estimates to see if it is worth the money to just have something come in and finish it. Maintenance is no problem for us, it's just that it sooo overwhelming to start. I'll keep you posted for sure :)

The theme for this week’s virtual quilt contest is Spring Garden.

2010-05-14T11:36:00.001-03:00

I entered this week's quilt contest because of this cute little wall hanging I made a couple of years ago measuring 14 x 9. I was trying my hand at paper piecing and LOVED IT! It is definately more intricate working with such small pieces, and you also get to use up a lot of your scraps.

Go vote for your favorite spring theme quilt at: Quilting Gallery contest. Hopefully it is mine :) Voting ends Sunday nite.

We're Back from CUBA!!

2010-05-09T21:13:00.000-03:00

Oh my goodness... what a great time we had... 2 whole weeks of nothing but food, drink and sun. We stayed at the Blau Varadero on the eighth floor. Everything was great. The pool, the beach, our room.

I spent most of the 2 weeks in the shade, since I'm not really a lay in the sun and roast kinda girl,

reading 5 books! wowsers...

Hot husband alert!!! lol

We even spent the day in Havana on a guided tour. Very very interesting history.

Then back to reality. When we returned, we were greeted with green green grass and lots and lots of these. Aren't they beautiful... NOT! lol

I spent most of the day removing them with my trusty weed hound. It really does work, although kind of hard on the back...

The proof of my labour :)

We also had some fun too..

My next post will be asking for your assistance with outdoor decor.... Stayed tuned :)

ON VACATION

2010-04-17T09:51:00.000-03:00

I am on my way to rest and relaxation in CUBA for 2 weeks! Pictures to follow :) Maybe i'll even pick up some cuban fabric :) See you soon!

Dishing it with Amanda

2010-04-14T16:19:00.000-03:00

Amanda over at Serenity Now is hosting a blog party today. We are dishing it - or getting to know one another a little better.

How long have you been blogging?
I have only been blogging since March 18, 2010 <--- newbie :)

Why did you start blogging?
I started blogging because I wanted to start crafting again and I thought if I had to be accountable for new posts then I would get off my butt and do something :)

Tell me about your blog's title. Why did you choose it?
I chose Cindy's Crafty Creations because I love to do ALL crafts. I am naturally curious about how to do and/or make things.

What do you blog about?
Although I am very new in the blogging world I will be blogging about quilting, sewing, decorating, my granddaughters, small crafts etc.

What is your favorite thing about blogging?
I love sharing with people and seeing that someone is interested. lol

If you had to choose one famous person to become your blog's next devoted reader, who would you pick?
I would love it to be Oprah. She needs to take up a hobby :)

What's the funniest comment you've ever received on a blog post?
Not too many comments yet.

New Window coverings

2010-04-11T17:38:00.000-03:00

Since the smell of spring is in the air, I wanted to change my living room colors. I am loving the color blue lately and when paired with chocolate brown it looks fantastic. The other day I saw these gorgeous drapes with chocolate, green and blue striped colors. I wanted them sooo bad. But, the price was way too steep. Sooo, I thought I would make them. When I added up the price of four metres of similar fabric, it was still too expensive. Then I had a "Sell This House" moment. Sheets!! I would re-purpose sheets into living room drapes. I found these beautiful robin's egg blue sheets and all I had to do was cut the flat sheet in two, hem one side of each panel and the bottom. Taadaa!!!! I actually finished a project. I did! lol

I even used left over sheet material to cover a pillow :) and make a new pillow with pattern fabric. I was even doing this when my fav show was on... Nascar!

I love the way the living room is shaping up. It looks very fresh.

I even re-did my mantel with some blue, white & green accents. I still need to paint the family sign, black I think.

What do you think? Have you changed your living room colors this spring? Are you going to try a different color scheme. Let me see what you are doing as well. Happy Spring!!!

Get to know you...

2010-04-05T19:40:00.000-03:00

The questions..

1. Showers or baths? I used to love baths but for the last few years it's mostly showers

2. Do you have any crazy urges? I can be very impulsive, especially if I see a cool craft on someones' blog, I then have to go buy everything for it, right away! I may never do it, but at least I have the stuff.

3. What is one thing we don't know about you? I love history

4. Exercise..love it or hate it? Hate it! but it is a must....

5. Do you think you have a good body image? Yup :) I accept all my soft parts :)

6. Flour or corn tortillas? uhmmmm

7. How do you celebrate Easter? Ham dinner with pineapple

8. Hard boiled Easter eggs or plastic eggs? plastic eggs filled with Reese's eggs

Sewing Room Progress

2010-04-05T08:42:00.000-03:00

You are not going to believe it! There is progress being made on the ~~storage~~ sewing room!! woohooo.... Yesterday D put up shelving above my sewing table and we moved out a lot of non-sewing stuff. I can't wait to show you the before and after pictures. I also can't wait to show you the next project I'm working on as voted on by you :) Stay tuned!

Sewing room intervention

2010-03-31T20:20:00.001-03:00

This last week was another week wasted on the computer. If I could make a living off the internet, I would be ecstatic and rich. I think I have seen every quilting blog in the universe the last few days. I have a lot more ideas for projects I'd love to start including a scruffy quilt, raw edge circle quilt, disappearing nine patch quilt, squares askew and the list goes on and on.... but what about the ones I have already started? This is my problem.... my sewing room....

It is very hard to get motivated when your sewing room looks like this.

You can see the start of organizing by the piles of project ideas on the table lol

What I need is some serious shelving and organizers and a place to put all the other "non sewing" stuff. What do you do with all of your sewing supplies/fabric? help please! lol

Works in Progress

2010-03-28T19:19:00.001-03:00

I thought today I would show you my "procrastination projects" or WIP's lol. These are the quilts that I have started but have not yet finished.

Bargello Quilt

Christmas Quilt

Old Fashion Star Quilt

Sampler Quilt

Do you have projects that have been hanging around for awhile? Let's see them :)

Molly Monkey Pattern

2010-03-24T08:39:00.002-03:00

When I was blog ~~stalking~~ hopping today I came across this cute as a button Molly Monkey Pattern over at MMMCRAFTS that I would love to make for my 2 grandbabies. It doesn't look "that" hard lol What do you think?

Quilts!!!

2010-03-23T09:37:00.000-03:00

Last night I was thinking about what I would write about today. And the thing that comes to the forefront is quilts. Quilts. Quilts. Quilts. I have a whole room totally dedicated to making quilts. Well, except for the guitar cases, teddy bear display, extra toilet paper etc etc... being stored in there too. lol But it is still called the "sewing room". Do I sew? Do I quilt? NO! I have a "problem". I am a procrastinator! The best actually :) My friend Kathy sent me a quote she found that reminded her of me, "Procrastination isn't the problem, it's the solution. So procrastinate now, don't put it off" Ellen Degeneres. Good one. I want to quilt, I dream of quilting, I look at thousands of others quilts. So what will help me start to quilt? Maybe my new blog will help and then I can have feedback on what you think. Also, maybe I can get others to start quilting. I hear from a lot of people that they would love to quilt but are afraid. It is really not THAT hard if you take it step by step. So here goes my journey. The quilt above was made in a quilting class called the Stained Glass Star Quilt.

Day 4 of new blog!!

2010-03-22T10:54:00.000-03:00

Here it is Monday, March 22 and I'm still trying to make my blog look "pretty" lol. I have added my favorite blogs that I follow for inspiration and a new poll. I love polls! They are quick and easy to complete.

If you have any words of encourgement for a newbie blogger, please leave me a comment :) I need to know that there are other bloggers out there :) cya for now!

And here it begins....

2010-03-18T14:46:00.000-03:00

If anyone knows me, they know I like to collect things; hobbies mostly. Yes, I am a collector of hobbies. I love to try anything creative. Scrapbooking, tole painting, stamping, quilting, sewing, decorating, jewelry making, polymer clay, knitting, crocheting, plastic canvas (yes I admit it) lol and many many more. So why not start a blog. My very own blog. Where maybe people will come on a daily basis (like I do) and read about my crafting adventures. It's worth a try :)