...and here she is...

I've called her my "Birdies Through the Year Redwork Quilt" and she makes me smile!

Here are alll the blocks (in case you missed them in month's past...)

This quilt was inspired by the very talented Corey of Little Miss Shabby fame.

I do love this quilt. Seeing it finally finished makes me want to bite the bullet and just finish my second, brighter, version off. Soon. Let's get through Christmas first!

*Click here if you'd like a little more info about this quilt*

A huge thank you to Marianne for your wonderfully beautiful longarm quilting... thank you! This quilt would not be nearly as lovely without your touch! I made you a little prezzie to thank you again... here's a little peek... hopefully we can connect soon!

Friday finish...

I decided that I couldn't wait for each block as they came and zoomed ahead on my Birdie Stitches project... and just this morning put the final stitches on the final birdie. I have two more blocks to stitch on the redwork version, plus a few additions to blocks here and there. I'm so happy with this (these) quilts... they just make me happy! Thank you, LMS, for the wonderful inspiration! (I'd snap a pic of the whole quilt on my clothesline if it weren't covered in beach towels, but since my clothesline covered in beach towels is one of my favorite things, I think I'll leave them there a while longer!) Click pic to enlarge...

August block in brights...

"My" version had to help me remember the tire swing my dad hung in the old maple tree many years ago...

{inspired by Little Miss Shabby's Birdie Stitches}

And now, my Tuesday timeout looks a little like this... head to the packaging store to pick up packing envelopes, head to the post office to mail two etsy sales, hit the grocery store because goodness knows we probably need something, stop at the quilt shop because goodness knows that's important, come home and knock a couple of things off the "please clean me" list, and then... work on the redwork version of this quilt and finish piecing the green and blue quiltie I posted about yesterday... in no particular order... meaning that I'll probably stitch before anything else because I'm excited to get it done. Not that errands and housework aren't fun. I'm sure you know what I mean.

*~Happy Canada Day~*

I hope you have a wonderful Canada Day! We'll be at the parade... Emily will be preforming with MEI's Screaming Eagles marching band... it's her first time taking on the piccolo! Yesterday we had fun with her flag inspired manicure...

This afternoon we're picking up the two Japanese students that will be staying with us for two nights. It's a very short homestay but we're looking forward to it! We'll have my girlfriend and her family and their two students over for a bbq this evening and then it's off to watch the fireworks... tomorrow we're planning on a day at the beach. We'll drop off the students bright and early Sunday morning... it will be a busy weekend but fun!

And here are my two versions of the Birdie Stitches BOM that I've been following along with... I went with fireworks as LMS did in the original... loving this quilt! Every time we look at them we start humming "Birdie, You're a Firework!" 

my Tuesday timeout...

Well Spring Break is over and it's business as usual. Feels like I haven't blogged in quite a while! Emily perked back up after a day or two and we're very thankful that she's back to normal. But what a week that was for her! Not a great end to Spring Break, that's for sure, but at least she didn't miss any school. During their time off, the girls were very busy creating. These are a couple shots of MY work space... even though the girls have both an art room and family room space downstairs where they can spread out their creations, they always seem to migrate into my space! They're working on dolls and sock monkeys (and handpainted twig pencils and scrapbooked cards) for an upcoming market in the begining of June. They're having so much fun with it and I hope it will be a profitable experience for them. Can you find my table under all the socks?

Today, being set aside as a stitching day for me, I decided to do my April block for the Birdie Stitches project. As usual, I switched it up a little to make it 'mine' and I'm happy with how it turned out. I left the birdie's tummy plain again this month... I think once all the stitcheries are finished I'll decide if I want anything more on the birds. Hope you have a great Tuesday!

block #3 finished...

...and I have to wait HOW long for the next one? (This quiltie is based on Little Miss Shabby's sweet stitcheries.)

Thanks to Sarah for hosting us crazy gals last night! You know, I never would have guessed that I could sew a straight line while laughing my head off! So... who's turn is it next month?

block #2... I'm on a roll!

I don't usually watch much TV, but last night I settled in for a couple of hours with my quiltie on my lap... and once 'American Idol' and 'CSI Vegas' were over, I was done the stitching on my February block. Guilt-free TV!

a brunch & a BOM... what could be better?

When friends get together to enjoy lotsa food, share lotsa laughs, and to stitch the first of lotsa quilt blocks, you know it'll be a good morning. And it was...

Oh and by the way, I went with the redwork and am loving it so far! One question though... do you think I should some detail to the snowman's tummy (the pattern calls for circles.) And how about the birdy...? Thanks!

And thanks also for your great ideas regarding my question yesterday... now I just have to muster the ambition and get painting!

almost totally bliss-full...

*sigh*

I really could look at this little block forever. I love it THAT much!

Since I'm jumping on board this BOM project with some friends, I thought I'd better get my blocks made and ready to go before we have our stitching day. I prefer to stitch through to the batting layer so I wanted to make the entire quilt top before I start stitching. The scrappy border is made up of Bliss, the three prints I picked up from Stampin' Up of all places, and a little Oh Cherry Oh for good measure. See what I mean? It's almost totally Bliss-full!

(Click on the pic to enlarge to see it better... I'm planning to stitch it in redwork since I don't know what each block will look like... what do you think?)

phew, I made a decision...

...and let me tell you, it took a lot out of me! A few friends and I have decided to hop on board a sweet BOM project and so that meant I needed to choose some fabrics. Believe me, it was easier said than done! Anyway, after much deliberation and changing my mind once or twice, this is what I came up with... I'm excited now that the hard part is over and I can get on with the fun part, the stitching!

And speaking of stitching, my two snowman stitcheries from my last post should be ready to list in the shop by Monday or Tuesday... and I've already started on another. But this one won't be up for grabs... it's a Valentines swap with my bloggy buddy Julie. Hope she likes it! Happy stitching everyone!