Winner! Winner!

The 'Crafted Applique' Blog Hop is still going strong. For a full list of hop participants go to Lara's blog BuzzinBumble.

You can read about my post and see my projects here.

I used Mr Random.org to choose a winner. There were 101 comments and the winner is number 87.

The winner has been notified.

In other news. I had an email from Sarah telling me I won. What a great way to start the day! Remember my Hands2Help quilt, which you can read about here. The grand finale and drawing of prizes was held by Sarah over at Confessions of a Fabric Addict. I won a Craftsy class! I love Craftsy classes. Now the big decision which one to choose. I have a few make that a lot wish listed.  Quilting or photography? I narrowed it down to these ones.

more quilting with rulers 

 or

or maybe

or maybe one of these

Which one to choose? I am leaning towards a photography class.

I hope your day is off to a good start!

This post contains affiliate links and I may be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links, thank you.

Round Robin Fun!!!

Four bloggers have conspired to have some fun with a round robin mini. The bloggers in question are Julie of Pink Doxies, Sandra of mmmquilts, Tish of  Tish's Adventures in Wonderland and little ole me.
It is a simple round robin were we each start with a 6 1/2'' centre block, which is then mailed to the next person to work on they add either  3'' to all four sides or maybe even 6 inches to two adjoining sides. With a maximum of 6 inches added to the quilt size.  And then off to the next person till it gets back to the original owner. By the time we get it back it will have grown to a maximum of 24''. Oh yeah and anything goes, paper piecing, improve, fabric, even shape. I admit to being a little apprehensive, but then I think of who is adding to it and have no hesitation at all. I know whatever they add will be fine. It will be better than fine it will be fantastic!

Without further ado here is my centre block. You can read about the creation of this block here.

centre block

Tish said she didn't think I could call it an oops block anymore. I've been trying to come up with a name for it with little success. So it will stay as oops for awhile longer, maybe till she has finished growing.

This is going to be so much FUN! And all of you get to see what we add to each other's quilt along the way. So please go take a look at the blocks of my fellow participants. Julie, Tish and Sandra. Want to have some fun of your own grab some friends and start your own round robin.

Linking up to
Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Freemotion by the River
Blossom Heart Quilts
Sew Fresh Quilts
Fort Worth Studio
Crazy Mom Quilts

A little Bit of Shopping!

Nothing like retail therapy to bring a smile to someones face. Especially mine! lol My LQS, Cherished Pieces was the recipent of said therapy. Petting fabric and ohhing and ahhing over it can be almost as good as ice cream on a hot day. We have been experiencing enough of those over the last few days. At 8:00 AM it was 22 Celsius with humidity it feels like 28 Celsuis, summer has arrived!

new fabric sweet bliss

The newest members of my stash are as follows. The light grey piece is Quilters Linen by Robert Kaufman. The green piece is songbird by Sue Beevers for Northcott. I love green anything green. The orange is Quilters Basic Perfect by Stof. The darker grey is Garden from the fushions collection by Robert Kaufman. The black is also from the fushions collection by Robert Kaufman. The gold is also from that same line by Robert Kaufman. 

I also took the plunge and bought this.

the plunge into more software

I have a couple different graphic programs such as Photoshop and Corel Paint Shop Pro. I can get around these programs relatively easy but EQ7 and I are not buddies at all. At least not yet. I see some visits to Mr. Google and you tube in my future. I would not describe this software as overly user friendly, but maybe that's because I haven't a clue what I'm doing.

You can also still enter the giveaway for a copy of 'Crafted Applique' here.  Please include your email address as I have had a number of no reply bloggers. 

Go to Lara's Blog 'BuzzinBumble to see the full list of the Blogs participating in the hop.

Do you use EQ7? Any tips or favourite tutorials?

No Reply Bloggers

I am amazed at the number of no reply bloggers I've had in the ongoing giveaway of 'Crafted Applique'. You can see my projects here and still enter the giveaway.

I like to reply to any comments I receive. I think it helps to interact with you who have taken the time to leave a comment and also it just seems rude not to reply.
BUT, if you're a no-reply blogger, it doesn't allow me to respond to your comment via email because your email address isn't listed, when I hit reply it instead sends to this email address: noreply-comment@blogger.com. Unfortunately most bloggers that are no-reply bloggers, don't even realize it. Are you one?

Here is a screen shot of what I see when I try to reply to a no reply blogger.

NO REPLY BlOGGER

See how when I hit reply next to her name it has (noreply-comment@blogger.com) I have no way of contacting her if she won or engaging her in a friendly conversation. So sad!

Are you a no reply blogger if so PLEASE take the time to fix this. I did a google search and found this site, she explains how to fix it.

http://www.venustrappedinmars.com/2015/04/what-is-no-reply-blogger-and-how-to-fix.html

no reply blogger

This is my neighbors cat. Every time I step out the door this kitty greets me, she loves to have her tummy rubbed. Now I understand why she is a noreply blogger. And I hope that if you are a noreply blogger that you won't be one for much longer.

Block Design Possibilities

Today is a holiday in Canada, Victoria Day, or as everyone calls it May two four. I  have been enjoying some of the day in my sewing room a great way to spend a holiday. This afternoon I plan on enjoying the beautiful weather we are having.

Block design part two has gone a lot better. You can read about part one here. This is one of the oops parts of part one.

the oops 

I knew if I thought about it I could use part of the oops block. I took the center of it and added a strip on all four sides first.

adding strips

Once the strips were added it was time to put the thinking cap back on. I wanted to add triangles and thought of have the trusty Tri Recs Ruler. I use this ruler set a fair amount.  I centered the triangle in the middle of the strips and added them to all four sides.

angled strips added

One rescued center turned into a not to shabby a block. I do have plans for this 6 1/2'' block. That's for another post.

paper pieced

I did take time to draw up a paper piece pattern for the original block idea I had. This is the 6 1/2'' version. Paper piecing was definitely the way to go with this one. I'm still working on the 12 1/2'' version. 

Of the two blocks the paper pieced and the 'oops' my hubby prefers the oops.

side by side comparision paper piece on left and oops on the right

Which block do you prefer?

If you haven't entered the giveaway for Lara's new book Crafted Applique there is still time. Just go here to enter.

I have added the pattern for the 'Whimsical Flowers Applique' from my post on Crafted Applique New Possibilites Blog Hop to my Craftsy store.

I am an affiliate for Craftsy, and as such may receive a small commission if you click on one of the links in the post above and make a purchase.  It does not cost you any more.

Crafted Applique: New Possibilities Blog Hop!

I am happy to be able to call Lara my friend, we met through QBL when she replied to a post I had written and our friendship blossomed. She is a true friend through and through!
So when Lara asked if I would be a part of her blog hop and review her book I said yes without a moments hesitation. Thank you Lara from Buzzin' Bumble for including me in your wonderful Crafted Applique New possibilities Blog Hop and giving me a chance to review your book.

The book is FANTASTIC and the unique method will change your look on raw edge applique forever! The projects in the book are wonderful and clearly show the talent that Lara has.

Applique and I have gotten along fairly well with my favourite having been fused raw edge with a buttonhole stitch around it in invisible thread. I never could get the turned edge with starch down pat, those little points would always look weird. I took a class from Joyce O'Connell using the appliquick rods and like that method if I want a turned edge.

Once I tried Lara's method I was hooked.  Lara goes into well written details of what to use and how, she covers it all so well in her book.

Want to see a project or two?

the oh not so lovely fabric

Somehow this fabric came to be in my stash, I'm not really sure how or why, maybe I had blinders on who knows for sure. At least that's my story and I'm sticking to it. But there it sat every time I straightened up my stash it seemed to jump out at me, screaming use me, use me. This had to stop I needed to do something with that fabric. I thought hmmm this piece would work to cut applique pieces from, so as you can see I have indeed cut into it.

alpha pin case

This project was so quick, once the prep work was done which really doesn't take long. I cut that cute little butterfly and the flower out. Followed Lara's excellent directions to fuse them down and then just straight stitched the applique pieces down using rayon thread, added some thread painting details on the flower.  I love the sheen that rayon thread gives. Now I have the perfect place to keep my alpha pins you can read about how I made them here. No fabric was harmed, it was only enhanced and I do say is much better for it.

Alpha pins all neat and tidy in there lovely new needle case

Next up was this little wall hanging. It is 9 1/2'' by 12''.

mini wall hanging

 The flowers are just a whimsical flower I designed and the dragonfly and butterfly are from that oh not so lovely fabric. I just straight stitched around the flower petals and added some thread painting to the dragonfly again using rayon thread. I may have gotten a little carried away with the thread work, but the applique is so easy to sew through and never gums up your needle! Even the long skinny pieces didn't fray. I love this new method of applique.

straight stitched even the skinny little stems

the back

I wish I could tell you her method so you can jump in and try it, BUT I'm sworn to secrecy so if you want to know what her method is you'll have to get a copy of her book. You can win a copy as Lara has generously offered to give a book to one of my readers just make sure to comment below.  Or you can get a copy for yourself at Amazon ( not an affiliate link) or AQS or from Lara herself.

I have more crafted applique in the works. This is one of the borders on a quilt I'm currently working on. I haven't started quilting it yet.

applique border

I also used the Crafted Applique method on my new machine cover, you can read about that here. Yeah I'd say I'm hooked maybe even a little bit addicted, but I love the look and no fraying at all.

Did you see her retro telephone project? Wowers, love it!!

Now for a chance to win a copy for yourself, leave a comment any comment is fine. If you need a topic you can tell me do you like applique. My followers get another chance just tell me how you follow.
I will draw a winner on May 29th , 2016.

Good Idea, Bad Followthrough

Did you ever have a vision of an idea that doesn't quite come out the way you thought? This is one of those bright ideas. It started out with a plan, I even had a fabric pull from some of my scraps. Always a bonus in my books, so how could it not work out you ask?

plan and fabric pull

Mistake number one! Flying by the seat of ones pants instead of a more detailed plan complete with placement line for fabric might have been a little helpful.

no accurate placement line

Mistake number two keep on sewing. And that's exactly what I did. In my defense I liked the way the fabrics were playing so nicely together.

mistake number 2 mistakes

Mistake number three try, and put all these not so accurately lined up parts together. The above photo is a couple examples of what happens when someone forgets that a seam allowance might be a good thing. NO wonder things didn't work out as I had envisioned.

three oops later

I finally called it a day and will redo my drawing complete with a 1/4'' seam allowance this time.

Am I ever glad I already have my project ready for Lara's Crafted Applique Blog hop cause who knows what kind of disaster I could have created with that. Although Lara's instructions for her new technique are so good disaster would have been cut off before it even had a chance to start. 

Crafted Applique and a sneak peak

Want a sneak peak of my project, it's peaking out from behind Lara's wonderful book that you can get at Amazon or at AQS or from Lara herself. I guess you'll just have to wait to see it until May 21st.

So how did you entertain yourself  today?

Hands 2 Help Finished

First off I would like to wish all mothers a happy Mothers Day! My day started with brunch it was yummy. Then a visit from my daughter and her family. My youngest son is up in Northern Ontario working this weekend and called at lunch to wish me a Happy Mothers Day. My oldest son I will see later today.

A finish is always a good thing, and when it's for a good cause it's even better. I used some novelty charm squares left from another project and put them to use in this quilt. I first blogged about it here.

Hanging out in one of my shrubs.

I quilted it all straight line quilting, which is something I don't usually do. It was hard getting some good photos today the sun just wouldn't come out and play nice. I put the squares up on the design wall with the solid blue and then sewed them in a nine patch configuration. A cool pattern quite by accident.

The center I quilted in a square and the sides in triangles.

My quilt holder upper was trying to keep it from blowing around in the wind. The center I quilted in the square and triangles on all four sides, it gives it a nice texture. I used Superior King Tut variegated blue thread for the main part and Essentials blue for the darker border straight line stitching. I am waiting to hear back to see if this quilt will be going to Ronald McDonald house if not then I will donate to Victoria Quilts for cancer. Both places are near and dear to my heart. One of our granddaughters had 4 surgeries in 6 years and my youngest son and his wife stayed at Ronald McDonald House in London. My granddaughter received a quilt when she was there last time, so I am hoping that this quilt goes there. Either way they require them to be washed first, as you can tell by the crinkly goodness I washed it already.

full front view I had to hurry up and get these pictures done as it was starting to rain

The back piece has fish and fishing stuff in the print. 

The back depicts fishing stuff.

And one last shot in my maple tree. This isn't the first quilt in the tree and I'm sure it won't be the last.

tree shot

The quilt finishes up at 54'' x 54'' after washing a nice cuddly size for a little one.