The Necessary Clutch Wallet and Vulcan / Kirkcaldy Trip

This was my weekend to skip out of town and boy did that feel good. For some reason I am feeling really tied down with all of my commitments and I really just want to play. I'm sure I will get over this but for now this is how I have been feeling.

Two of my friends from Vulcan were planning to make the Necessary Clutch Wallet and invited me to come down for the weekend and learn along with them. What fun we had and we were able to accomplish the task and finish the wallet. 

 
It takes a fair bit of organization to cut out all of the pieces and and go through the steps of putting it together.

This was my first zipper and I was proud of myself for tackling it. Really, it wasn't as daunting as I thought it might be. I'll be on a roll now with this new acquired skill.

The fabrics I used were given to me by my daughter last year at Christmas. The fabric was just waiting for the perfect project and I think this was a good choice. I only had to purchase 1/2 yard for the inside pockets, the various interfacings, the zipper and the closing latch as I already had the two fat quarters.

I'm over the moon happy with my clutch! It's a good size and will hold coins, credit cards and even a cell phone. 

Wendy's is the blue one. Isn't it just gorgeous too?! Her daughter brought back the patterned fabric from England for her. 

What great daughters we have!!

I snapped a few pictures of the Kirkcaldy Hall and a view from the Hall. This little hall has quite the history. It used to be a school house and now is used for various gatherings like the quilting ladies of the area. 

It was a beautiful sunny day as you can see from the lovely blue sky. 

Have a great weekend!

Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts and Confessions of a Fabric Addict: Can I get a Whoop Whoop?

Shauna

It's The Quilt That Never Ends . . .

. . . it goes on and on, my friend.

Sometimes I think that I will never be finished my double wedding ring quilt.

I am now officially half finished so am starting to see an end.

 

For the second portion of my holidays, I spent time with my friend in Vulcan sewing up a storm.

Wednesday of last week we went out to Bow Bench Retreat for a sewing day.

For $25 you can go and sew for the day and have supper at the end.

Beautiful place and Nancy is a wonderful host.

Here's a view from the outdoor patio.

Wendy and I had a great time together.  

We got our hair done, went for lunch, sewed much and wandered through the cemetery.

I know that sounds strange - wandering through a cemetery.

I used to live in Vulcan so know quite a few people still who live there 

and many who have past on.

It was a great time of reflection about my 5 1/2 years there.

My heart is still there in many ways!

I did work feverishly on my wedding ring quilt - 3 rows now complete!!

Whoo hoo!!

Points are looking pretty good.

 

 My friend Wendy is a talented quilter also.

The quilt on the bed is the one that she was working on to get done.

Isn't it gorgeous!!  I'm in love with the colours.

Of course the other two wall hangings are ones that she had previously completed.

 

 

As I look out my window it appears that we are in for a bit of a storm.

Have a great week everyone!

Shauna

 

If You're Not From the Prairies . . . .

 . . . is the name of a children's book which has a beautiful poem about the prairies written by David Bouchard and illustrated with beautiful pictures by Henry Ripplinger.  A true Canadian book.

I just got back from a trip to Vulcan, Alberta which is in southern Alberta on the prairies.

**Warning I have posted lots of pictures**

(there are some quilting pictures further down)

 I love the old buildings and the wide open spaces.

The sky is always so beautiful in the prairies.

 

Vulcan is celebrating it's 100 years young the long weekend in August.  

Lots of activities happening so if you happen to be in the area, pop on down.

My friend, Wendy was part of the group of quilters who got together 

and put a 100 year quilt together.

It's made in three panels and has a lots of old pictures to hold your interest.

They did a beautiful job and it shows the pride of their town.

I have a soft spot for Vulcan as our young family used to live there. 

Both of our kids were born while we were there 

so there are many wonderful memories, friends and good times.

 Just look at the details and fun pictures.

The quilting is beautiful too.

 

The back of the quilt is almost as exquisite as the front.

 

 Wendy had worked on this panel.
Can you see the wheat?

 A couple of pictures around Joe and Wendy's farm.

Joe has an old Nash sitting on his farm so I took the opportunity to take a few pictures.

Of days gone by . . . .

 

 

I'm sure I have bored you enough so I will end with a couple of sunset pictures 

from Joe and Wendy's farm.

 

Hope you enjoyed your trip to the prairies 

and if you happen to be down in the Vulcan area 

the first weekend in August, enjoy the celebrations.

Happy birthday Vulcan!

Shauna

Coins are Stacked

The past weekend was a long weekend and I tacked an extra day on top so had 4 glorious days.  

Was so nice to have the time off work but 

I really should have gotten much more done around the house.  

Poked around the house for the first day and half and then I went down south of town to visit a quilting friend.  We enjoyed each others company, got lots of sewing done, went for a long walk through the back forty and helped her hubby move the cows from the corral to the pasture.  Not sure I was much help with that but I can say I ran with the bulls that day. (he, he, he)

I just love the beautiful song of the meadow lark and the wide open spaces of the prairies.

It really is like a breath of fresh air to get out of the city.

It was very productive sewing wise.  

The coin quilt is now quilted and I just need to get the binding sown on.

 For the backing I chose a bright and cheery yellow.

I really like the way this one came together.  I must say I am partial to pink and girly quilts.

I did all of the quilting myself.  

Nothing too elaborate here.

I did a honeycomb down the white sashing and then just did corner to corner on the coins.

Can hardly wait to get the binding on now and get it in the washer.

I have been working on this little quilt or wall hanging for quite some time now.  

I kind of got my second wind though and have it over 3/4's done.  

It was nice to have another quilter look at it

 and think it looks good so I'll push through and get it finished.

Cute panel though.

Well, I am heading off to the Festival of Quilts tomorrow.

I'm hoping that the rain will stop as it has been raining for at least 2 days straight now.

I'm linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts for my finish.

Have a great weekend all!!

Shauna

Folk Art

 

This summer I stopped off at Country Creations in Strathmore and found a lovely panel of folk art flowers in vases.  There were eight different ones on a panel and I heard them calling my name.  

  I then proceeded to pick out some fat quarters and some backing material that just matched perfectly.  The great thing was, everything was on sale and I feel like I got myself a great bargain.  

I have been itching to do something with them for a very long time.  Friday afternoon after work I headed down to Vulcan to visit a good friend for the long weekend.  

Her place is my prairie retreat!

We had a great visit and had lots of time to sew.  

Healing for the soul!

I was super productive while in Vulcan.  Got a few more blocks made for the Hidden Stars quilt, binding for Elyse's quilt, and four Folk Art placemats.  I'm only going to show to three of them as one I need to rejig and take apart.  

I was very pleased with my results and it felt so good to create original pieces of work.

Each placemat is different except that they all have the same borders fabric (all different sizes) and backing.   

Please ignore my pictures, that was a comedy of errors.  Since the move I have been unable to find the cord to my little Canon which I originally took the pictures on.  Then I tried to take the pictures on my little Fuji but the battery was dead so these are iphone pictures.  Not too shabby.

Road Trip

After my son went back home after our visit, I had a few days and was able to go on a road trip to visit a wonderful friend of mine in a place called Vulcan. 

Vulcan is a small farming community south east of Calgary where my husband I used to pastor a small congregation of wonderful people.  

It was in that small town that our children were born and I formed some life long friendships.  I've said it before and I'll say it again, I am the richest person on earth.  I have the most wonderful friends who are always there in good times and in the bad times.

When you are in Vulcan, you must visit the Star Trek display and have your picture taken as one of the crew members.

Clearly, I am looking too happy to be a crew member!  

Must make a note to be more stoic next time!

I love the prairies . . . they speak to me.  Maybe it's the open spaces and beautiful green grasses,

 

the gorgeous sunsets,

 or the yellow fields of canola.  

 

I'm not sure, but I feel at home there.

While on my trip, I dropped off two of my quilts to be quilted and I can hardly wait to get them back.  

This one is for my daughter in London.

And the other is for a house warming gift for myself.  This is by far my favourite quilt and I'm sure will remain so.  The colours are so vibrant.  I can hardly wait to get it back.

Lastly, while I was down it Vulcan it was nice to show off my quilt that I did at a retreat a couple of years ago.

Thanks for visiting and going along on my road trip with me.

Hope you are all having a wonderful, warm and special summer!

Shauna