Time for getting down to brass tacks!
I had offered to contribute to block of the month (but only one month) for quilt guild.
Now I have to find a nice block, make it up...write a little blurb for the newsletter, copy the instructions for the block and turn it in to the BOM lady at guild.
I chuckled when I told her I would do a month for her....she was giddy with delight.  I think she has to twist a few arms to get people to help.   What am I saying!!!??  I KNOW she has to twist arms to get people to help!
So I spent a few hours looking for a nice block, I visited  http://quilterscache.com a few times.
I wanted, or really needed, a simple block for my contribution.  Not that I needed to do a simple block, but if the block is too hard, or takes to long to make,  ladies will not participate.
So I found a couple that I liked and mulled it over.  I decided on a block called calico puzzle.
Not too hard (really easy) to scare anyone away, only two colours to deal with...hopefully it will be a winner for everyone.  And not too much stress for me.

Speaking of stress....I have given up my library helper's job for right now.  It was just too hard to get there with the girls here until 6.  Especially when I have to leave just after 6.
Next year, my daughter says the granddaughters will go to a different school.
Well, Hayley will for sure....she'll be in high school.  Mommy says Courtney will go to the school near them, and she can go home right after school, so my job will be done.
Hayley feels she is too old to be babysat and I agree with her.  I tell her that I am not babysitting  her,  just her sister.  She just comes here to "visit".   Poor girl is in a catch 22 situation.
Her school is here, her friends are here.  If she goes home, she won't see her friends after school.  If she changes school, she would need to make new  friends at school.
 Growing up is sure hard on kids!  Lol!!
               

The other night was the first meeting for the second quilt guild I belong to.
Dorothy, the lady who made the quilt in the previous blog, saw her quilt on the back of my chair.  She was thrilled to see it all done.  She says she doesn't see many after they are completed....this kind lady donates quite a few quilts to our Outreach program!

Dorothy's quilt

I told her of my trials and tribulations with the setting triangles and borders, but she loved how I had quilted it.  I am relived.  She does such beautiful work...the piecing was accurate, so it was easy to quilt.   I just didn't want to screw up such a beautiful quilt.
I've quilted a couple of her quilts for Outreach...one was a picture of a doll...such a cute little quilt.  not really little...it's cuddle quilt size!  It was a dream to quilt too!

We are celebrating our twentieth anniversary for this guild this year and the executive have a wonderful year planned for us.
We are having free workshops.  Everyone of us can sign up for a free workshop, we can also sign up for any of the other workshops they have planned..
We are having a challenge, the guild is giving everyone 3 fat quarters of our own choice, for a wide open quilt challenge!
We are having a fabric exchange.  Two and a half inch strips ...we should end up with enough strips to have a whole jellyroll.

We are going to have a FABULOUS year....

Boy, the weather has sure been strange this year.
Experts said we would have a hot dry summer, but it wasn't at all.
Then this last week we had a couple of  blistering hot days, then a couple of cold days.....Chances of FROST already!
Boy!!!
I love this time of year...the changing colours...the fresh crisp air.
What I don't like is the mildew on some of the plants and trees.  I am allergic to the mould.  I don't have really bad symptoms. But the constant headache and sinus pain is unsettling.
On the quilting front, I have finally finished quilting this quilt.

 I had it mostly done except for the setting triangles and borders.
I had a scroll that I planned to use.    made up all my patterns, pinned them in place and could not, for the life of me,  bring myself to sew them.  It just didn't go!
Then I saw a quilt on Pinterest and it gave me an idea.
I decided to quilt multiple rows, incorporating the borders and the setting triangles.
I really like how it turned out.
Took me a few days to sew the binding, and now it is all done and ready to be handed in to the OutReach program.

Courtney had a birthday this week...10 years old ...my, time flies!
Mommy said she could have a party.
Her party will be delayed a week or two for her,  Mommy doesn't like sending her to school the first week with a fist full of birthday invites.
And...
She wanted to make her own invitations for her party.
I went upstairs and used the oldest computer (that's where I had the program) and made up some cards...then, after school, Courtney came up and had a look at what I had done.
It gave her some ideas and she made her own....adjusting colours, pictures....just making it hers.
The printer connected to this computer is older and I can't seem to get the ink to flow (I've put new inktanks in and it still won't print).
Smart *ss me, I got the cord I use for the laptop and plugged the computer into the newer printer. 
Darn!  The computer recognises the printer and needs drivers....HAHA..I have the disk.
I loaded the disk.....crap..the computer isn`t compatible with the printer...I can't win!
So I decided to load the program into the newer computer...it took hours to load.
This computer is SLOW!  REALLY, really slow.
But then I was able to save her cards to a disk and open it on this computer.
She printed them off and gave them out. 
She is a very happy camper!

My Greatest  fear is
 when I Die
My HUSBAND  will sell my
 SEWING MACHINES

FOR WHAT I TOLD
HIM THEY COST

Quilt Guild has started for the new season.
I  stood at the front door as I was leaving and thought  "What have I forgotten?"
It wasn't until halfway through the meeting and I remembered!  Oh CRAP!
I forgot the cuddle quilt that I had made first thing in the summer!
I did have it on the bench at the front door so that I won't forget it and it got moved and I forgot it any way!
It was a fun meeting catching up with some of the ladies, checking out what is happening for the new quilt season.
There are a few local quilt shows happening this fall that I would like to attend.
So I need to mark them on my calendar and prep the mister with the details of where they are.
He doesn't want to travel too far.
The grand daughters are glad to be back to school and to see all their friends.
Dance has started for Courtney and Hayley has started music lessons.
Courtney wants a birthday party and wants to make some invitation with an owl theme.
My younger brother and my daughter have the same date for their birthdays...then less than a week later, it is Courtney's birthday!
I have most of the work down for my other quilt guild, I just have to work on my "sign -in" forms for the new season.
All in all....I had a busy week

Oh my legs... my shins and calves.....they are still sore from walking at the Falls.
I am not used to a lot of steep hills, and we did a LOT of walking that day.
The next day we drove to Port Dover. ( another steep hill to climb!)  It was  warm and windy, so we walked around downtown (it isn't very big), but before that we went to Len's Mills Store.  That's a large fabric discount store.  They carry fabric, threads, notions, patterns, wool, needles, crochet cotton, you name it!

I don't really need any fabric, but I got some anyway.

I looked for some nice Christmas panels for Courtney to use, but I didn't really see anything I thought she would like.
There were some cute Christmas fabrics, but again, not one I thought was suitable.
The mister helped me with the bolts over my head...Oh my gosh!  I never would have been able to see any of them!  The top shelf was THAT high!
In the next aisle, I found the perfect panel!!!!
OWLS! 
Courtney loves owls right now, soooo...
I purchased the cute pillow panel for her to quilt and sew, along with a couple of metres (2 yards and 6 inches)of over- all pattern of owls.

Well....
You should have seen her face when I showed her the fabric!
 She was so excited!
 She wants to start on them right away!
I then went looking for some fabric to make some t-shirts....nice fabric is hard to find!
I found a couple of nice  NEW LOOK patterns, one has a swing jacket type sweater in it...that is what I bought it for....and the other is t-shirts.  I have several patterns already, but I like this one too.
(As an aside....
A couple of weeks ago I was in Fabricland, and there was a big sign at the pattern dept. stating that because the prices to  them were going up 160%, they would no longer be carrying Simplicity and New Look patterns!  I was a little shocked by that!  )  :(

I browsed the store some more and found some vinyl that I thought would make a nice bag.
Next door was another store affiliated with Lens Mills...only this store was clothing, household goods and some crafting stuff.
There I picked up (of all things!) kitchen string!  I can never find it here   okay, okay... Dollar stores carry some different types, but this was a fairly big spool!  
I bought two.  I know the mister will take one for the garage! 
I got some rubber stamps for cardmaking .
And beads...I bought 4 vials of Czech beads.
Then Thursday came around...  we were planning on going to The St Jacob's Market.
I decided I would rather stay home.

Maid of the Mist

The granddaughters are back in school, their mother is on vacation, so the mister and I decided we would take a few day trips.
Tuesday we planned on going to St Jacobs Market again.  Pick up some fresh vegetables, maybe some fresh cuts of meat and have lunch there.
And.....


Horseshoe (Canadian) Falls

Oh crap!  The place burnt down to the ground a couple of days before!
Sooooo....we decided, since they have announced that they will  open the market on Thursday, we will go then and today, we will drive to Niagara Falls.
We didn't plan anything except to see the Falls, and have dinner.
I haven't really spent a lot of time as a "tourist" there.


The American Falls

The last few trips I went there were to do with moving my mother here and then, my mother's estate. 
So...this was a PLEASURE trip for me.
We walked around, enjoyed the natural beauty of the area.
We watched the Maid of the Mist chug up and down the Falls area
Then killed some time and 20 bucks at the casino.
Sorry, I just won't spend any more than that at such a pastime!
Then...
We had a very nice dinner and came home.

both Falls!