Wednesday 23 December 2015

Happy Holidays

Two sleeps and the big day will be here. A lot of work and time spent for one day. But when surrounded by those we love it is so worth it.
For those who celebrate this Christmas season as I do, Merry Christmas. For those who celebrate this holiday season in another way, Season's Greetings - Happy Holidays. I wish peace, love,  joy and good health to all.

Merry Christmas!

Tuesday 15 December 2015

Medallion BOM Finished

This was slow going but at last I have a finish in plenty of time to give as a Christmas gift for my oldest son. You can read about this quilt here.  We have no sun which makes it hard to get good pictures. No snow either!


No snow yet! But also no sun.
The first border I added was simply HST's with a strip of background fabric added to each end to make the border fit. Then a strip of background fabric and a final strip of the same fabric as the sashing and inner border. It finished up at 70'' but after tossing it in the washer and dryer it finishes at 67 1/2''s square. I love a quilt fresh out of the dryer showing all the texture of the quilting. 

I did try out some ruler work with the ruler foot toe, you can read more about the foot here. Amy from Amy's Free Motion Quilting Adventures has a Craftsy class which I have already taken,this is an affiliate link. I only have one ruler but I know I will be buying more soon. 
It did take a bit to get used to moving the ruler with the fabric and I have, as my one granddaughter said a couple 'hills' where the I didn't move everything together as a unit. But overall I was impressed hills and all. As you can tell it doesn't take much to get me excited.

ruler work complete with 'hills'

harder to see the ruler work in this one mainly the background.

On top of that I have hardly any scraps from this project I made a scrappy binding, by sewing 1 1/2'' strips of all the red fabrics, together then cutting them at a 45 degree angle at 2 1/4'' for my binding width, then I sewed the cut strips together to make over 320'' of binding. I like the effect of the scrappy binding.

scrappy binding

By the way I fixed the block with the corners going the wrong way read about that here. I appliqued a  new piece over each corner and quilted them.  

all fixed

The colours in the quilt would have shown up better if Mr. Sun would have made an appearance.

hanging in a tree


I was going to make a table runner and a couple other things I had in mind for Christmas, maybe next year. I don't have a single thing wrapped and Christmas is next week....

Are you ready for Christmas?







Saturday 12 December 2015

How could I?

Did you ever have this happen? Apparently I need stronger glasses. I just can't believe I did this but the picture doesn't lie and it gets worse I quilted it and still didn't notice it.

big oops
Oh and of course the sashings are already quilted too. Now what? Do I rip it all out? I am already dreading even the thoughts of that idea. Do I leave it as is? The Amish are said to have a mistake somewhere in their quilts. Maybe I can pretend I'm Amish...  What would you do? Just in case you didn't catch it. See those HST's to the right they are turned in instead of out.



Sunday 6 December 2015

Sunday Stash Here I go again

I did it again...More Fat Quarters! I'm a sucker for them. I don't see any help in the near future of this problem getting any better. I bought these three bundles, I never buy bundles but I couldn't resist the temptation of these three, from Craftsy.  Craftsy is having 12 days of Christmas sale now. This is an affiliate link, I get a small compensation if you click on it. We have no snow! It is a little overcast, that is supposed to clear and the sun is going to make an appearance. Everyday that is a no shovel day is fantastic in my books. I know a Canadian who doesn't want snow, what can I say but pleaseee everyone else keep the white stuff to yourself. No sharing allowed!

Three bundles of quilty bliss

I haven't even opened these bundles yet. That will come later. First up this bundle of Michael Miller 10 piece Pastel Provence. One of my granddaughters is starting to collect all things Eiffel Tower. The bottom piece has Eiffel towers  on it. I am thinking of making a wall hanging for her using this bundle, for her birthday in March. At least I have a plan to use theses ones.

Pastel Provence bundle

Up next is Windham Fabrics Christmas Bundle. I am in short supply of Christmas fabrics and hopefully these are destined to become a table runner and pot holders. Maybe for next year as I don't see myself having time to get them done this year. But one never knows miracles do happen....

Christmas bundle 12 pieces

Last but not least is this 15 piece bundle of Traditional Windham Fabrics. No plan no ideas just a weak moment again. Who knows maybe an idea will appear. Maybe a BOM? 

Lovely bundle but sadly no idea on how to use them
I need to get to work on the quilting of my oldest son's Christmas gift you can read about it here. I bought a ruler toe foot and ruler for my DSM. I did some practicing on a quilt sandwich practice piece. I'm ready...kind of ....maybe to use it on my son's quilt. I'll have more about that in another post. In the meantime a sneak preview...at least it's all set up to start.












Sunday 8 November 2015

Charity Quilt

Every year my guild picks a charity and makes quilts during the year for that charity. Some of the quilts we have made and donated have been to Project Linus, the local women's shelter and community members in need of a little quilty love. This year we our charity is Victoria's Quilts Canada. They provide quilts to people in Canada who have cancer.

We sorted out fabrics and put them into colour coordinated kits, which we then put into large ziploc bags. The bag I took home had some pinks and greens. It also had various size cuts with no yardage. A little bit of a challenge, just what I need right now. I scoured the internet and pinterest looking for inspiration. I wanted a simple to piece project, heck I already had a big enough challenge with the sizes. I had various 6 1/2 inch blocks, some 2 1/2 inchish strips to name a couple.
I saw a quilt called Stacked Squares Quilt at Kitchen Table Quilting. You can download the pattern from the Moda Back Shop.  It uses a layer cake and jelly roll strips, but I thought I could adapt it to work with what I had.

I took the 6 1/2'' squares I had and added a 2 1/2'' strip to two sides and then darker 2 1/2'' strips to the those same sides, this gave me a 10'' finished block.This size block worked out great as I ended up with a 50 1/2 x 70 1/2 inch top. The sizes that Victoria Quilts wants are adult: approximately 50” x 70”, youth: approximately 48” x 60” and child: approximately 36” x 48”.

auditioning square and strips
 There were no whites so I used some of my own plus some additional fabrics for the squares and strips. It was an easy and quick top to piece. I think it turned out not too bad. I only hope it gives someone comfort in their journey, as battling cancer is not easy.
My version of Stacked Squares
I another picture with the sun just catching part of the top.

sun catching a portion of the top
Someone else in my guild will longarm it. My guild bought a roll of cotton batting and is also providing the flannel for the backs.

I am left with the following mostly 3'' squares a few 4'' and strips ranging from 1 3/4 to 2 1/2 inches. I could use some ideas for these. 

leftovers

How would you use them?


Sunday 1 November 2015

Black and White Stepping Out

Slow sewing is going to be the norm over the next several months as I deal with a health issue. I am trying to squeeze in a few minutes here and there when possible, as sewing is wonderful therapy.

I have been wanting to make a black and white since forever, well maybe not forever but for a long time. What better quilt to make than using my own pattern from the Quilt Bloggers Blog Hop, you can read about it in this post and also get the free pattern download. You can read about the fabrics I used here.

Black and White Stepping out top

I am trying to decide on borders. I scanned my fabric and played around in my graphics program with a possible idea of using some flying geese. 

flying geese borders
A narrow border of black and white and the flying geese centered on all four sides, and maybe white corners. I really like the blocks and don't want to take away from them.

I am also working on a charity quilt using fabric from my guild plus some of my own additions. You'll have to wait to see it in another post.

Until next time happy quilting!






Thursday 22 October 2015

Quilter's Planner

Stephanie from the Late Night Quilter has been hard at work on putting together a 2016 Quilter's planner. My block from the Fabri-Quilt Blog Hop is included in her planner! How very exciting! You can read about my block here and be sure to get the free instructions while you are there.

What a terrific and useful idea Stephanie had and to be able to put it all together in one planner is fantastic. I like to keep track of things on my calendar and can see what a help the planner will be with everything in one place.



This is what Stephanie has inside the planner:

Monthly calendars
Weekly calendars
Project planning pages
Swatch saver
Graph paper
Free motion quilting practice pages
Goal-setting prompts
8 full quilt patterns from amazing designers (Cheryl Brickey (Meadowmist Designs), Yvonne Fuchs (Quilting Jetgirl), Amy Garro (13 Spools), Lee Heinrich (Freshly Pieced), Mandy Leins (Mandalei Quilts), Pat Sloan (Pat Sloan), Kitty Wilkin (Night Quilter) and me).
52 original quilt block designs from awesome quilt bloggers
Gorgeous artwork pull-outs by the talented Kelsey Boes from Lovely and Enough
Reference section for quilting calculations and common construction techniques



Be sure to go to Stephanie's blog to read more about it. You can order one here. For a chance to receive a free PDF of the Project Planning Page go here.


Sunday 18 October 2015

Sunday Stash 2

I like fat quarters, they don't take up much room. And I really need more fat quarters.....NOT. It started with one and before I knew it this bunch was coming home with me. The worst part is I have no real plan in place for them other than stashing them. Is it just me or do other people have this problem?

fat quarters
I'm not a blue person and I even added a blue. I do believe I'm doomed, I have no resistance whatsoever when it comes to fat quarters.


Sunday 11 October 2015

Sunday Stash

I did a little retail therapy this week. It was good for me and a couple local quilt shops. A black and white quilt is in the making, more about that to come in a later post. A couple pink pieces made their way home, with four granddaughters one can never have too much pink.  It feels good to be doing a little bit of sewing even if it is slow sewing.

black and white fabrics
From left to right Maywood Studios Solitaire, Salt & Pepper by South Seas Imports, Maywood Studio Pearlessence, Kaufman's Quilters Linen, Salt & Pepper in white on black, and black Kona cotton. The pinks are on left a Kaufman and the other one I don't remember and the selvedge doesn't show the name.

It is also Thanksgiving weekend here. Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Canadians!
Fall is definitely here as can be seen in these photos I took early this morning.

Tulip tree leaves changing colour

changing colours in the flower beds

hydrangeas are a light pink now instead of white

Linking up with Molli Sparkles.

Saturday 19 September 2015

Rainy Days and Quilty Friends

When I first decided to start this blog, it was just to share the quilty things I make. I soon realized that this blog was so much more than that. It was also an introduction into the wonderful world of quilty bloggers. I now have quilty blog friends who understand my passion and addiction for quilting, but they also are so much more than quilting friends. Take Lara of BuzzinBumble for example. Lara went above and beyond being just a quilty friend, she is a compassionate caring person.


Henry Wadsworth Longfellow said  'Into each life some rain must fall' It seems like it has been a downpour here since Saturday, my DIL was rushed by ambulance for emergency surgery, she was 7 weeks pregnant. She lost the baby, I had surgery on Tuesday followed by a bad reaction to the tape on the dressing. In Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem he also says 'Behind the clouds is the sun still shining'. I know that is true and I'll just have to wait for the sun to shine, it may take awhile but it will shine brightly.

People like Lara are helping in their own special way to get the sun shining and it seems a little brighter thanks to her. You see I received a package in the mail from her filled to the brim with well wishes and gifts.

 A lovely bag that I know was sewn with prayers and well wishes in every stitch. The caramels will be enjoyed and gone in no time. The sudoku will definitely help to occupy my mind. Thank you seems so inadequate, but also so heart felt. Thank you Lara for being there and for being such a good quilty friend.

Monday 7 September 2015

Guild BOM

This is a quick post today. I have a flimsy done of the BOM I am doing for my guild. It is going to be a christmas gift for my oldest son and DIL when done. I am thinking about adding another border, they are both tall and this top is 55'' x 55'' not quite big enough to snuggle under. I have a couple ideas just need to work on them.

guild BOM
I sure hope my guild members like it. I like the designing aspect and may play around with designing more in the future. 

Summer is almost at an end, although it sure hasn't felt like it lately. We have another heat warning for today, thank goodness for AC.


Wednesday 2 September 2015

Fabri-Quilt New Block Blog Hop

Today I get to share with you the block I designed for the Fabri-Quilt New Block Blog Hop.



We were to design a 12 inch finished block using a bundle of 6 fat 8th fabrics generously donated by Fabri-Quilt.
Watermelon Summer Colour Palette
Chartreuse, Turquoise, Coral, Aqua, Lapis Blue, White

  Each day of the blog hop, the host for the day will be hosting a giveaway and the Inspired by Fabric blog will be hosting a giveaway. Each giveaway will be for a 1/2 yard bundle of the Watermelon Summer bundle we used to make our blocks. Todays host is Stephanie of the Late Night Quilter.  The blocks that have been made from the Fabri-Quilt solids are being turned into charity quilts by our generous hosts and being given to charity.

My block is a take on a log cabin block. One of these days I'm actually going to make a log cabin quilt, but not today. I called my block Stepping Out, I'm terrible at naming things.

Stepping Out Block


 I hope you like the block I designed for the blog hop. I have included both graphics and also some pictures for some of the steps. So lets get started.

Stepping Out Block

This is a 12 1/2'' unfinished or 12'' finished block.

 All seams allowances are a scant 1/4''.

Stepping Out Block


Cutting:

Coral:          A  cut (1) - 2'' x 6 1/2''
                    B  cut (3)  - 2'' x 5''

White:         C   cut (2)  - 4'' x 4''

Aqua:          D   cut (2)  - 4'' x 4''
               
Chartreuse:  E   cut (4)  - 2'' x 2''
                    F   cut (2) - 2'' x 3 1/2''
                    G   cut (2) - 2'' x 5''

Turquoise:   H   cut (3) - 2'' x 6 1/2''
                     I    cut (1) - 2'' x  5''

Lapis Blue:  J    cut (4) - 2'' x 2''
                    K   cut (2) - 2'' x 5''      
                    L   cut (2) - 2'' x 3 1/2''


Step 1:

1. On the back of both piece C's draw a diagonal line from corner to corner, on the wrong side. See diagram 1a.
2. Place the square on top of piece D. Sew a 1/4'' seam on both sides of the line. See diagram 1b.
3. Cut on drawn line. See diagram 1c.
4. Press HST's to the dark side.
5. Trim the HST's to 3 1/2'' x 3 1/2''
6. Make 4.

diagram 1

Step one
Step 2:

1. Draw a line diagonally, on the wrong side of all  E's. 
2. Using  background fabric piece B and one  E square.
3. Place E on  B matching corners and with right sides together sew on the drawn line. I prefer to sew one thread width to the outer corner side of the line.  See diagram 2a for proper placement of E. Do this for all three piece B's.
4. Trim a 1/4'' from the sewn line, on the outside corner. See diagram 2b.  
5. Press seams to dark side.
6. Repeat using the remaining piece E and piece A matching corners and with right sides together sew on drawn line. See diagram 2d.
7. You should have three shorter BE units and one longer AE unit.


diagram 2
Step two: three short units and one long unit

Step 3:

1. Draw a line diagonally, on the wrong side of all J's.
2. Using background fabric piece H and one I square.
3. Place an J on H matching corners and with right sides together sew on the drawn line. I prefer to sew one thread width to the outer corner side of the line. See diagram 3a for proper placement of I. Do this for two H pieces. Make 2.
4. Place the remaining J piece on piece H matching corners and with right sides together sew on drawn line. I prefer to sew one thread width to the outer corner side of the line. See diagram 3b. Make 1.
5. Place an J on G on the opposite corner, matching corners and with right sides together sew on the drawn line. I prefer to sew one thread width to the outer corner side of the line. See diagram 3b for proper placement of J. Do this for two G pieces. Make 1.
6. Trim a 1/4'' from the sewn line, on the outside corner. See diagram 3c.
7. Press seams to dark side.
8. You should have three longer HJ units and one shorter IJ unit.

diagram 3

Step three: three long units and one short unit


Step 4:

1. Sew pieces F, G K and L to HST unit from Step 1. See diagram 4.
2. Make 4.

diagram 4



Step 5:

1. Sew units from Step 4 to units from Step 2 & 3. See diagram 5. Press seams.

diagram 5
Step 6:

1. Sew the four units from Step 5 together. See diagram 6.

diagram 6

For my test block I did it in scrappy pinks. I'm making a scrappy pink sampler quilt for one of my granddaughters, might as well include a grandma original block. Two different looks just by using a different colourway. 

different colourway

I thought it would be fun to see what a layout or two would look like. The second layout is my favourite,  I just flipped every other block and it created a nice secondary pattern.

layout one


layout two

If you would prefer a PDF of the block pattern you can get it free here.


Today's hop participants are:

Host – Stephanie @Late Night Quilter
Hannah @Modern Magnolia Studio
Cindy @Stitchin At Home
Abby @Hashtag Quilt
Lisa @Sunlight in Winter Quilts
Carrie @Chopping Block Quilts
Eleanor @Cat Approved Quilting
Brianna @The Iron and Needle
Tish @Tish’s Adventures in Wonderland
Jan @The Colorful Fabriholic
Sarah @Smiles Too Loudly
Beth @Cooking Up Quilts
Leanne @Devoted Quilter
Liz @LizzyClips Design
Kim @Leland Ave Studios

Make sure to visit all the blogs participating in the Fabri- Quilt New Block Blog Hop, so you can collect all 60 wonderful blocks. Also you can enter to win your own bundle of the Fabri-Quilt colours used in these blocks.

The host and today's schedule are as follows:

Wednesday, September 2nd
Host – Stephanie @Late Night Quilter
Hannah @Modern Magnolia Studio
Cindy @Stitchin At Home
Abby @Hashtag Quilt
Lisa @Sunlight in Winter Quilts
Carrie @Chopping Block Quilts
Eleanor @Cat Approved Quilting
Brianna @The Iron and Needle
Tish @Tish’s Adventures in Wonderland
Jan @The Colorful Fabriholic
Sarah @Smiles Too Loudly
Beth @Cooking Up Quilts
Leanne @Devoted Quilter
Liz @LizzyClips Design
Kim @Leland Ave Studios


Monday, August 31st
Host – Yvonne @Quilting Jetgirl

Tuesday, September 1st
Host – Cheryl @Meadow Mist Designs
Wednesday, September 2nd
Host – Stephanie @Late Night Quilter
Thursday, September 3rd
Host – Terri Ann @Childlike Fascination

Have fun and happy block making.

Thursday 27 August 2015

WIP Jelly Roll Part 2

It's been awhile since I worked on my jelly roll/ wall hanging project. Since I decided that I wanted to make it into a wall hanging some fabric purchases were required. You can read about when I first started it here.

part one
 I didn't have anything that I liked for leaves on the tree branch or even the tree bark.  Finding the perfect fabric was not easy. I went to all my LQS and found something I thought would work. These were a few of the fabrics I picked up. Also needed was some fusible web, I like steam-a-seam lite as it's repositionable, great for doing applique.

auditioning fabric 
Next up fusing and cutting out leaves and daisies. One good thing about all the cutting it sure keeps the mind occupied and time does go fast. This is as far as I got. I don't like the bottom bush and need to work on that, but I did make a lot of progress and it is starting to look like it might be something worthwhile. It still needs to be fused down and I need to do some stitching. I also might make it narrower, by trimming it just past the end of the leaves. I think there is too much open space on the right side.

leaves and daisies added


 I also purchased from the Len's Mill store in Port Dover a heavy vinyl flannel backed piece to use as an additional design wall. My hubby put 4 grommets along the top and is going to put up 4 of the command removable hooks. I really like the size of it and it is completely portable and can be folded and put on a shelf when not in use. Like that will ever happen. The vinyl was 56" wide and I got a yard and half of it for a total cost of $7.99,  bonus we already had the grommets.  

new design wall