Still trying...

I'm still trying to find time to stitch together a quilt I've designed using Kaffe Fassett fabrics. A few of us got together on the weekend to work away at our various projects. The extra sewing time helped, but I'm not as far along on the project as I had hoped to be by now. Here's a photo of the cheerful jumble of partially-pieced petals on their way to becoming a quilt top:

The weekend weather was cool and refreshing so our sewing time was interspersed with lovely, long walks. And lots breaks for indulging in delicious food! 

No time to sew today, maybe tomorrow.

All the best,

Judy Ann

St. Patrick's Day Craft

We're having a St. Patrick's Day Ceilidh this Saturday from 2- 4 p.m. at the Byron Library. Jeff will be playing music with Celtic Knot, we'll have yummy (green!) refreshments and I'll be doing a craft with anyone who would like to participate. Here's what we'll be making:

I'm sorting through my buttons today, digging out the green ones and a few different sizes of black ones to make these cheerful Button Buddies. Way too much fun!

Enjoy your day,

Judy Ann

One last piece

On Sunday we celebrated my mom-in-law's 82nd birthday with a fun gathering at our house. There were 31 of us including all her kids, many grandkids and a bunch of great grandkids too. (The little ones provided most of the entertainment!) I baked a four-layer chocolate buttermilk cake, an oatmeal cake with pecan and coconut icing, and a large batch of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.

Other family members brought lots of yummy snacks and, lucky for me, many guests filled up on the snacks, leaving a bit of leftover cake. As of today, there's one last piece of oatmeal cake on the platter. I'm tempted to just gobble it up myself, but I guess I should likely wait until supper and share it with Jeff. At least that's what I'll try to do!

Enjoy your day,

Judy Ann

Quilting and math

I always forget how much math there is in quilting. I don't design very many quilts, but when I do, it takes me a long time to figure out how much fabric I need and how many cuts of a certain size I can get out of a selvage to selvage length of a certain width and how to best instruct quilters on the most efficient order of cutting the fabric. And so on. It sure feels good when I do figure it all out, but it is a slow process. For my friend, Barb , who has designed many, many quilts, the task is not nearly so time-consuming. With this new quilt, I'm starting with a design roll from Kaffe Fassett classics and a couple of yards of coordinating fabrics, so this makes the figuring out easier.

I had better get at it!

All the best, and Happy Leap Year Day!

Judy Ann

Sweet review

Every season the Canadian Children's Book Centre publishes a magazine called Canadian Children's Book News. The winter issue came out recently and in the "We Recommend" section there is a review of Reaching. The review was written by Senta Ross, a former elementary teacher and teacher-librarian in Kitchener, Ontario. Here it is:

     Who knew that the word "reach" could mean so much? At a family gathering, Baby experiences several variations of the word. Mama reaches to hold Baby in the air. Daddy reaches to kiss Baby's nose and give him a tickle. Sister, Grandparents, Aunt, Uncle and Cousins all reach out to Baby in different ways, be it by hugging, rocking, playing or reading. Even the family dog wants in on the action! And then it is Baby's turn to "reach" as he takes his first tentative steps and explores his world with curiosity and a glimmer of independence. At bedtime, however, Baby is once again ensconced in the loving arms of his parents who wistfully reflect that it will only be a matter of time before he is reaching beyond them for the moon and stars. But for now, they are grateful that Baby is still theirs.
     Judy Ann Sadler has written a touching tribute to the bonds of family love. Through lilting, rhyming verses, an assortment of affectionate "reaching" interactions between Baby and his relatives are described: "Grandma is reaching / Scoops Baby from Mum / She dips him, they dance / She rocks him, they hum. //Grandpa is reaching / His arms become reins / He plays horsey with Baby / They do it again!"
      Susan Mitchell's watercolour illustrations depict the warmth and serenity of an idyllic summer afternoon, where family of different generations revel in the joy of being together with a much-loved toddler. There are many familiar items in the artwork that any young reader would love to look at, be it a balloon, a cake, a puppy or a stuffed toy.
    Children and parents will want to reach for Reaching over and over again!

Isn't that sweet?

All the best,

Judy Ann

Slowly, slowly

A few weeks ago I blogged about some fun fabric coordinates that I was going to use for a couple of sewing projects. I managed to make two small wallets so far, one for Carly and one for me. I've been using my wallet for a few weeks now and still delight in pulling it out to fetch my Chapters or Tim's card.

Soon everyone I know will have one of these handy little wallets and then I'll have to come up with something new to make and give as a gift! In the meantime, I will slowly, slowly work away at making a few more.

All the best,

Judy Ann

Lovely welcome

I've had the privilege and pleasure of presenting to and crafting with tens of thousands of elementary school children over the past many years. Author visits always make for busy, interesting and fun days! It was such a treat to walk into the library at Jean Vanier Catholic School last Friday and be greeted with this display, put together by librarian Joanne Hughes:

photo by Cathy Hird, acting VP, Jean Vanier

We had a wonderful day of talking, show and tell, and making my signature craft, Button Buddies:

I'm always delighted with how excited students are when they get to make a craft. I still get very excited too!

Enjoy your day,

Judy Ann