Total Pageviews

Friday, August 15, 2014

What I did Summer 2014.

Mug Rugs,

I made these for Bill's sister and family. Bill loved his coffee, he drank a quarter of a cup every few hours. Bill designed the logo for our Thunder Bay Senior Hockey team. Many years ago some of our senior hockey players played exhibition hockey in Flordia. We all think the Tampa Bay Lightning Hockey team logo was inspired by Bill's design. 
For Laila

For his son, Allan

More to come. 

Friday, July 4, 2014

My Wedding Day, 60 years ago.


July the month to remember the great men in my life, and my two dear friends.

Thursday, July 29, 1954.

Viljo William Maki married Betty Ann McDonald.


Viljo 23 years old, Ann 19 years old.
.
Thursday, July 29, 2004. The Maki's were married 50 years ago.

Bill and I went to the Prospector Steak House for dinner with Shirley Kapush and my sister Monica Osadec.

Betty and Bill Maki. A good time was had by all. Bill's quote.



Friday, July 29, 2014.

Betty Ann Maki without Bill.

God gave us 58 years.

60 years ago today, we were married.
Still miss you Bill, you were the best.





                                       My Wonderful Father-In-Law.

 Henrick Lahdesmaki, born July 29, 1904, died November 13, 1985.

Henrick was born In Teuva, Finland. He came to Port Arthur, February 1927. He worked in the bush for many years. He married Irja Sandstrom, November 16, 1930. Bill was born October 6, 1931. Mr. Maki left the bush work life behind and open his own Shoe Repair Shop. He then changed his name to Henry Maki, and built his own home, 95 Machar Avenue, Port Arthur, Ontario. The shop was in the front of his home. Henry Maki learned to be a shoe maker in Finland. It was the job he would have his whole life. 1938 -1939, Port Arthur Bearcats won the Allan Cup, their coach showed Mr. Maki how to crown a hockey skate. Till the day he died everyone who lived in this area and played hockey took their skates to Henry Maki. He was the most kind, gentle human being I have every know. His son Bill, was a very much like him, even during his last 19 days.


 July 23, 2014.                          John Joseph McDonald.

My Dad was born, November 5, 1871, died July 23, 1941. I was 6 years, 8 months old when my dad died overnight in McKeller Hospital, Fort William, Ontario. He was born in Quebec City, Quebec. Dad worked on the CNR as a Switchman. He was 63 yeras old when he married my mom, Barbara Erdenyi, 30 years old. Mom was born in  Hatalova, Slovakia,  June 5, 1904. She came to Canada, November 1927.



                                                       Our Nephew.

Laila & Mauri's son, Wayne was born on this day. Bill loved Wayne with his whole heart and so do I. He is a great human beign.



                                     
  A visit from Kathy and Barry.      July 4, 2014.

My dear friends came to visit me. Barry and Kathy were my neighbours until they moved to British Columbia. I have fond memories of Kathy and me sewing. She was a unconventional sewer, who freed me from worrying about how things were going to turn out, if I didn't follow all the instructions. All my sewing teachers demanded perfection. Kathy and Barry have always been there for me, come hell or high water.  I miss and love them dearly. Take care my friends, Barry and Kathy.

 Barry, I love you.




I have two sons, Allan and Chris, four grandsons, Jeff, Trenton, Avery, Brayden, one great-grandson, Brady. All are Maki men. Bill and I were always proud of them, and I still am.


Still trying to catch up on my old projects.

        July 4, 2014

Four years ago, a friend who works at 
Superstore gave me her work shirts. I cut
them up, put in a bag, put them away for 
another day. June 16, 2014, I dug them 
out. I had four 9 1/2” x 12’ and all the rest 
were 5 inch squares. Fortunately every 
fabric I needed was in my old stash. The 
shirt fabrics were knit, polyester, vinyl 
decals, and my cotton. I had no idea 
how this would turn out, I didn’t have a 
pattern. I did the math, put the pieces on 
the floor, moved them around, this is the
final result. 

The Fabrics. Red and white from Circle of 
Friends. Black from The Quilters Stash, a 
Christmas gift from Matthew Holmwood, 
and the light grey Fairy Frost. Fusible 
stabilizer, backing and the moss green 
sashing came from Fabricland. This is a 
Thunder Bay Quilt. 

The new colours for The Real Canadian 
Superstore are white and light blue. This 
quilt took two weeks to complete. I enjoyed 
making it because it was challenge.

I like the children's charity block. I couldn't sew on the vinyl, the colour was rubbing off.

For you, my dear friend Denise. Love you,
























                                 June 2014        Baby Isbel's Quilt

February I bought a panel for a baby quilt. I had planned to practice free motion quilting, but the ‘A’ board blew in my Janome Horizon machine. I was making this for Isabel Hawryluk’s grand daughter, Isabel, and she was getting old fast. So here is what I did. First, I made a quilt sandwich, using spray adhesive to baste the layers together. Next I quilted on the grid, following the lines I made with chalk and a ruler.I made a pillow case with the left over fabrics. When I was finished it was one on the few times I didn’t have any fabrics left over. This quilt is for Grandma to have at her house when Little Isabel comes to visit.





Thursday, May 22, 2014

Remembering Bill Maki. Thursday, May 23. 2013.

Here are my three grandson from the USA.

Chris and Nicole's sons.

These are my two favourite photos.

Taken a year ago for Bill's service.
May 21, 2013

Love that suit Trenton. 
Spring 2014.

They are such fun loving gentlemen. 




Just a few years ago. Trenton is wearing his cap like his Grandpa Bill. 

The Boys with their dad, Chris.


Sunday, May 11, 2014

Dia de los Muetos Quilt.

I took a few minutes out of my coffee time with Bill, at McDonalds in Walmart, to read a quilt magazine, 
Australian Patchwork & Quilting. This is what I found, November 2010.

Karen Lawrence - Remember; the Persistence of Memories.    

Dipping into my scrapbag of memories I remembered those people now gone who influenced me and helped me become who I am today. Their stories are captured on some of the coffin lids which - in a unique twist - open to reveal ... ? Even the backing gives a glimpse of what might be on ‘the other side’. This quilt has a sense of humour and abounds with visual delights just begging to be discovered. Enjoy!
The backing was the same as the border. 





Mexico's November 1st holiday is called, 'Day of the Dead - Dia de los Muertos'. The holiday celebration is part Christian, part pagan. I used Alexander Henry’s fabrics, Los Nocios and Calaveras (skulls). In my travels, I picked up a few skeleton fabrics to add to my stash. Chris and Al’s children love the Calaveras fabrics, which is the reason I bought them. For years I wanted to make this quilt. I didn’t have a pattern but I knew it was made with a ‘Y’ seam, and that’s what peaked my interest. Bill and I had fun putting these fabrics together. I finished piecing it before Bill passed away, but I found it very difficult to quilt, so I asked Wendy to do it for me.  This is not a regular quilt, but it has some good and sad memories. 

              The quilt Bill and I put together, Fall 2012. Quilted Feburary, 2014

Quilting by Wendy Currie. Here are her words, 'made by my friend Betty, this quilt I will admit stretched me a little… The quilt is comprised of European shaped coffins and the fabric used has skulls and roses etc.'
Here is her blog.  http://wendysquilting.wordpress.com

                                                          Persistence of Merories.





Here is something I found in an interesting article, 10 Things we don't know about  Mexico.  Good timing. 

Lot of cultures do ancestor worship, but who else turns remembrance of the departed into a thrilling fiesta? Mexico welcomes home it’s dead on November 1, aka the Day of the Dead. 





Sunday, May 4, 2014

From Wendy Currie, Wendysquilting.

A Very Special Quilt

POSTED ON 

I have been friends with Betty for many years, she is a wonderful and giving person with a heart full of love and compassion for others. She blesses many people with the gift of her quilting skills. This quilt that she recently made and had me quilt for her was extra special.


In discussing how Betty envisioned this quilt, quilted she said that she wanted me to do my thing but to incorporate butterflies as the girls really loved them. I once again used Judi Madsens inspiring book with her butterflies, dragonflies and flowers and freehand quilted for the most part. There is also some ruler work.
Image

Image


Thank you Betty for allowing me to add my touches to your special gift.

Wendy Currie, it was my pleasure, I love your creative work. Thank you from me, Jackie, Rick and her son, the dad, Ryan.  

I made this quilt for my friend and neighbour, Jacqueline Leclerc. Her 2 grand daughters, Serenity, Kiralyn and their mom, Joyce, were tragitically taken from her. Feb 13, 2014.
I hope this quilt will help you heal. Thank you Wendy Currie, for the awesome quilting. Thank you Dori's Sewing Studio & Quilt Shop, for all your help at the Ignace quilt retreat.

Friday, April 4, 2014

Snow in April, 2014.

I'm not the only one who thinks this is the worse Winter in memory.  I was born and raised in Fort William, now Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. You all know how old I am, so that says it all.  I was going to have coffee with my brother and sister-in-law today, but the roads were bad, I stayed in.  Three years ago, I accumulated many half yards of flannel fabrics to make another quilt for Bill. He liked the feel of flannel and it kept him so warm. I never got the chance, but I am going to make that quilt, so today is a good day to start. I'm back to sewing on my small Janome DC1050.
I could barely see out my front room window. March 2014.
                                   
Last night's snow fall on my car.  

The snow banks are so high. 
A Facebook quote from Verna, my neighbour, "Ok you know it's bad when even our Giant has left!"
Last week I had one corner in my basement apartment that was leaking. The rug was soaking wet. The landlord brought in a huge fan and told me the carpet would be dry in an hour. An hour and a half later, the carpet was still wet, I shut the fan off, the noise was so loud. Later I turned on my Janome Horizon 7700, a few minutes later it went dark. I took it to my neighbour’s' apartment, plugged it in, it still wouldn’t work. I bought it from Ace Sew & Vac, Pompano Beach, FL. My United States warranty was not valid in Canada, so I sent it back to Florida. Ellen Olsen was kind enough to take it to the border and mail it out for me. I think the mother board may be gone. Thank goodness I have my Janome DC 1050, that I bought from Ace Sew and Vac. To replace the mother board in Canada would have cost close to $400.00, plus labour. It has a five year warranty. Ace Sew and Vac were excellent to deal with. 


Here is the first block. I'm adding a beige sashing. The first frame is white, second frame is a dull green. In this photo the green doesn't show up very well. 

Thursday, March 27, 2014

My Great Nephew, Teddy McDonald.

January 2014.

I reconnected with Teddy at his dad's funeral, 2009, and it is fun getting to know him. Teddy asked me to make a King size quilt for his bed. His choice of colours were, Burgandy and Gold. I was fortunate, The Quilters Stash, was going out of business, everything was on sale. Maureen only had his colour in Batiks, so that's what I went with. The pattern is called, Five Yard Quilt.

The size was 95" x 105". It took me a week to sew the binding by hand.
Quilted by Mureen Belisle.
The quilt is my gift to Teddy, it's his heirloom. 









Saturday, March 8, 2014

February's Three Quilts.

Here is the first quilt finished.

 The pattern ‘Honeycomb’ from ‘A Bee in my Bonnet’ blog.

I used fabrics related to anything outside, bugs, flowers etc. 

 It's fun doing new things. 



Hexie Half Ruler


July 2012 I went to Utah for the first time in five years. Bill stayed at St. Joseph’s Heritage. Later he told me he didn’t like it there, he was lonely. Chris and his family took me to a quilt store, Quilt Etc, Sandy Utah. They had a quilt on the wall called, ‘Honeycomb. I bought the template so I could use the scraps I had in my stash. It was fun doing something new. I cut the fabrics at home, took the kit to our quilt retreat in Ignace, Ontario, February 2014.

I gave the quilt to Bill Nelson, he was a dear friend of Bill Maki, and still is mine, for his sister,  Heather's birthday. 
 She loves the outdoors, perfect quilt for her. 

Promises I Make to Myself But Rarely Keep.

My Promise. Make a quilt and finish it. 

I’m working on three quilts at the same time!  When I start one and just get bored with it, I start working on another one and continue in this vein until I finally finish at least one. Something happened and I needed to make a special quilt. I still have about six kits I made after Bill passing. In time I may just give them away. Patterns and fabrics are always changing, so do my likes and dislikes. 


Here is how it went during February. I bought Lori Holt’s new Hexie Half Ruler/Templates, while I was in Utah last summer. The pattern for the Hexie ruler is in, ‘A Bee in my Bonnet’ blog, called, ‘Honeycomb’. I used my scraps to try out this ruler. 
Nicole and I shopped at The Material Girls Quilt store last Christmas. We bought, Windham W Fabrics “Downtown” by LB Krueger. Nicole chose the pattern, Boomerang, by “Crazy Old Ladies”. I cut out the pieces and sewed them at our Ignace retreat. 
I put all this aside to make Jackie’s Memory Quilt. It will never replace her two beautiful Grandchildren who died tragically, but it will keep her warm. I took the top to Wendy Currie to quilt on her Longarm. She does a beautiful job and I won’t have to worry about sewing around those angelic faces. 

I have a panel quilt sitting on the floor waiting for me to practice my free motion quilting. It will probably sit there for a long time.

Friday, February 28, 2014

Nothing but snow, and it's cold outside.

Snow. More snow. This winter it was all anyone was talking about. Leaving my apartment to go to my car was like walking through a tunnel. The snow banks are as tall as me. 

Quote from Scott Sutherland - Geekquinox The same is true for Thunder Bay, Ontario. 

In Ontario, this is the coldest winter in 20 years for the city of Toronto, and in Windsor it has not only been the coldest in 35 years, but the city has also seen more snowfall than any other year on record.
In the Prairies, it's the coldest winter since 1978-79 for Winnipeg, and the third-coldest winter there in over 100 years. For Saskatoon, which is known for some exceptionally cold weather, so far this the coldest winter since 1995-96.

Sad. it’s snowing out again today, and it’s freezing cold. 





My apartment is some where behind this snowbank,
Then more snow came. 


My helpers. They clean the yard and my car.

Thursday, February 27, 2014

Our Ignace Quilt Retreat.
Me and Joan taken by Maria!!!

Maria
A few photos.




Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Quilt retreat, Ignace, Ontario, Canada.

Thursday, February 20, 2014.
Maria and Joan picked me up at 8:30 am, and we drove to Ignace, Ontario. It's almost a three hour trip. 

Cold, snowy, what better way to celebrate a winter than to attend a quilting retreat. Quilting retreats are truly more fun than should be allowed. Away from home for a weekend with my sewing machine, good friends, and a stack of projects I've been itching to stitch. Who can resist the lure of a quilt retreat. This quilt retreat had everything. Good location, wonderful quilting area, excellent food, and our hotel rooms up stairs. I had a great time, the atmosphere was welcoming and friendly, I stayed with friends. 
Dori's Sewing Studio & Quilt Shop from Sioux Lookout joined our retreat,
plus a few other vendors.
Dori sat behind me and she was an enormous help. She checked my Janome Horizon 7700 sewing machine and showed me how to do free motion quilting. I still haven’t perfected it but now I’m trying, which is more than I’ve done before. Having Dori around put my mind at ease. She is an excellent teacher, besides she sure knows her stuff.  On top of everything else, she was so much fun. 

Fortunately for us, we got to watch the Olympics in Russia. We watched the Canadian girls hockey team win a gold metal playing against the Americans. Sunday morning we watched the Canadian men hockey team win another gold playing against the Swedes. We had a player from Thunder Bay, on the Olympic team, Patrick Sharp.




Sunday, February 2, 2014

Donation Quilts.


If you never have, pick up a needle and thread and learn to sew a few stitches. It can be peace for the soul. Sometimes I go off wondering and worrying about stuff and cannot get it out of my mind. So to get rid of negative thoughs I sit at my sewing machine and try to creative a quilt someone will love. For me sewing is the best therapy.

I was given some fabrics to make donation quilts, and these are the two I made this month. I wanted the quilts to be fun, with plenty of colour that a small child would love. I chose the patterns, Snapshot and Disappearing 9 Patch. 

It has been a while since I’ve made a small quilt but that made it possible for me to use one of the fabrics for the backing without piecing.

I’m donating the quilts to The Faye Peterson House, a safe and supportive temporary shelter for batter women and their children. Sewing these two quilts brought me peace and joy, it silenced my mind.

          Thank you, my friend, for the fabrics.



Disappearing 9-patch,  front and back.

Snapshot, back and front.





       


Monday, January 6, 2014

My Quilts 2013. For Family and Friends.

Lisa

Larry

Mine

I made this pattern with fabric from my friend Heather, I am so happy with it that I made one for a young
women I have known since she was a little girl. I feel like she's my own. 
Kathy Douglas
Kathy's  Grand daughter Danica

Nicole M
 This one is still here

Sunkissed by Sweetwater, my favourite colours. It's mine. 
Connie


Isabel's great grand daughter

Brayden's Minecraft, my grandson.

My Sewing room

Brayden's other Minecraft Quilt.

My New Bag. I'm still using the pattern by Sharon Zack.
Thank you Sharon. 

Laurel Burch Fabric - Fabulous Felines. fabric left over from Connie's  quilt.

 


    Bristol McDonald my Great-great Nephew