This and That

Summer is here and things are as busy as ever.  I did find a little bit of time to work on my quilt top with my "Yellowstone inspired" fabrics.  All the blocks are in rows and I have 4 rows together. It is kind of a slow process as there are a lot of points to match, but I am happy with the results so far.  

Two bloggers that I follow - Michelle at mmm quilts and Vicki at Field Trips in Fibre both mentioned a tool a couple of weeks ago that I hadn't tried.  They both use a seam stick (a 1/2 round piece of hardwood) to help press seams open.  Since I need to press the long seams open between the rows of this quilt I wanted to give it a try.  I asked my hubby if he had something that would work - enter the broken handle from one of our homemade paddles.  (Good thing he hates to throw anything away!)

I have to say I was impressed.  The seams fall open much more easily when placed over the seam stick.  You can buy them commercially, but you can beat the deal I got on mine!

We really enjoyed being at home for Canada Day yesterday.  Here is a picture of Nolan chauffeuring Safety Bear in our local Agricultural Fair Parade that took place on the weekend.

 And here is part of yesterday evening.  I needed some quilted fabric for a boot bag I am making for Nolan, so I loaded the machine and a panto and had my two helpers give it a go.   They were not impressed with their results, but I think they did okay.  It was fun to have some company in the studio.