a quiltmaker's journal

Thread! All kinds of thread!

2012-02-13T08:10:00.000-05:00

I cleaned up my thread storage this weekend, and thought I'd share some pictures of my thread collection....
after winding bobbins from spools with little thread, and putting threads back to where they belong, I find I have room for even more thread!!

this little unit of drawers came from an old sewing cabinet, in here I keep most of my quilt making threads.

top drawer, bottom line thread, small spools of cotton 50 wt., aurifil colours, and a container of specialty threads including fusible, metallic, serging yarn, 12 wt., monofilaent

second drawer, variegated threads (mostly), different brands, Sulky, YLI, Superior

third drawer, Connecting Threads threads

fourth drawer, neutral Aurifl threads on larger spools that I use for piecing and quilting

this little container I keep near on a shelf near my quilting machine, it has silk and invisafil threads that o I'm starting to use in my quilting, and sometimes in my hand applique

the sewing basket here contains all small spools aurifil thread and 60 wt., for hand applique

this huge collection is all polyester thread, 40 and 50 wt., that I used for garment sewing...I used to sew a lot of clothes, almost all of mine, several for my very tall and skinny 6`4`` husband, and some for my kids when they were little...I hope to get back to garment sewing some day

I really enjoy collecting thread of kinds! I have jars of vintage thread in various places around the house, too!

Monday show and tell

2012-02-13T07:46:00.001-05:00

Lots of blocks from various quilts were made this week! I love working this way, I never get bored. When I saw this picture, I realized a mistake I made in the large red and white block...ooops! one quarter of the block is turned the wrong way and I never noticed it while sewing, ironung, or measuring it! (I think I've had this same kind of thing happen to me with a wrongly constructed block not noticed until I was quilting the quilt!). I made some log cabin blocks (decision made!) stars & sprigs applique, fundamentals 30's sampler blocks, dear jane blocks, and that mistake block for the Just Takes 2 series.

Pineapple? Log Cabin? Courthouse Steps?

2012-02-06T15:01:00.000-05:00

Now that I discovered a great selection of lights and darks for the Nature's Neutrals quilts...the ideas started. Stick with that quilt pattern? Make a log ...so many ways of designing log cabins! And I have Judy Martin's log cabin book with even more ideas! Courthouse Steps? I really like the Small Steps quilt by Jo Morton in American Patchwork and Quilting, Dec. 2010. And my friend Audrey sent me some very inspiring pictures of her pinepapple quilts!

Small Steps by Jo Morton

Many of the fabrics in my dark/light piles are wovens, and as I've already learned, they can be a bit unruly. If I were to do a pineapple quilt, it would be 8" blocks so I could paper piece them onto water soluble paper stabilizer. If I do a log cabin, I'd be checking for straightness, carefully, and often! I've started cutting everything into 1 1/2" strips, and a few 1 3/4" strips (for potential centres) and that's a start. If it's courthouse steps, I'd stick with the 1 1/2" strips as 1`strips, as in Small Steps, are just too small for the wovens.

Pineapple Greens, Penny P.

One thing that is keeping me from the pineapple idea, is I have stashed away a bundle of green batiks...it would make a fantastic two colour pineapple quilt, which was my thought I purchased the bundle.

I could stick with the Nature`s Neutrals, but the organization part is still bugging me, having to keep the same fabric for all four rounds around the square.

In the meantime, I made a couple of not-quite Funky Chickens! from Sindy R. at Fat Cat Patterns. I reduced the size to 6``, used wool and hand blanket stitch.

Quilt planning changes

2012-02-01T15:35:00.000-05:00

Early yesterday morning I was sewing the second of two blocks in the Mingelwood Sampler pattern..and I still wasn't liking how the project was going. The colours seemed so dull, even to me!, and I don't think my background fabric was working. This picture actually makes them look better than they are!(why can't my pictures always turn out that good!?) The wovens were unruly, curling at the ends even with lots of Best Press. If there was any un-sewing it was too easy to rip the fabric. Just lots of things wrong. I knew.that I really did have to start over on this sampler, something I kind of new at the beginning, but I was really hoping things would get better.

Now I needed to decide if this sampler really meant that much to me...and why...and what fabrics I'd use. I wanted to make the Minglewood Sampler for a few reasons...I don't have a full size Christmas quilt, I've never made a pieced quilt with red and green, I liked the idea of twelve inch blocks which are twice the size of the blocks I usually make, and I liked the applique centre....actually, there were a few good ideas in the book for setting the blocks. So I played in my stash and came up with these.. I'll see how it goes!

Update on the Minglewood Sampler....it is on hold indefinitely. I went to make up a block in the red and green, and while I want a Christmas quilt...I'd like the colours or design to be a little livelier than what I have...more prints maybe. I've also realized I'm tired of this quilt already! I'm going to see what Judy Laquidara (Patchwork Times) and friends are up to with their Christmas Town Sampler, starting in July, and in the meantime, keep on the lookout for bargains that might make up the Sampler.

I also very much wanted to make good use of the wovens. I browsed patterns, magazines, books, and EQ, made a few sample blocks from this or from that, and none were making me happy. There just didn't seem to be enough contrast in the fabrics themselves, and I couldn't find a neutral that would play nice. And then, ta da! I found this. Natures Neutrals, in American Patchwork and Quilting, August 2010. And I had a stash of fabrics that would work great. These are all fat eighth or smaller size pieces.The only thing that scares me about this quilt, is figuring out how best to cut and store the strips. How many at once? How to keep like with like? How to pull out what I want to sew at one time? Hmmmm...will require some thinking!

So now I've gone ahead and planned for two loooonnng term projects...and still nothing on the horizon for the quilts I should be thinking about, my cousin for her wedding in July, and my niece for college in August.

Monday show and tell

2012-01-30T06:32:00.003-05:00

I quilted Sunshine and Shadow. ..and even used my new found skill with free motion leaves to create a kind of vine border! A variegated orange/yellow was used to do the straight stitchng in the centre. This will be going into my son's room...he has nothing! on his walls. We moved house last summer; Scott moved from his childhood bedroom full of all the clutter and memories, into a "man cave" basement bedroom where he has a couch, bed, tv, and three different kinds of computers! Other than those things, he's turned into a minimalist, only unpacking what he might need at that moment.

The centre of Pick up Sticks got sewn, along with one border piece. Earlier last week I started on some of the border triangles so I could see the finished quilt might look like. I made the quilt a bit smaller, after the borders are added it will be 62 x 79 inches...I'm keeping this quilt for us! I think it will make a great couch quilt, and I haven't made us an everyday quilt for a long time. It will remind me that I *can* work in brights, and batiks!

Thoughts in Thread

2012-01-27T06:06:00.001-05:00

January's "Thoughts in Thread" block from Val Laird. I remembered a zip loc bag of black and whites, I thought I'd like to try something a little different from my usual style.

January Free Motion Challenge

2012-01-27T06:00:00.001-05:00

My husband was able to pick up my machine from the shop, and the first thing I did was the Free Motion Challenge!

Leaves have always been trouble for me, so I was glad to be able to work on this first! Working on solids will I hope will be a confidence booster for me...I like to hide my free motion work in a fabric print! So here's my finished sample...I think I'll practice more, to get the leaves closer together. One of my problems when doing any free motion design, is that I'll be sewing away, in the zone, then all of a sudden I "lose it", just forget what I'm supposed to be doing! When you look at each leaf, you'll see a couple that what happens when I stumble.

Weekend Sewing

2012-01-23T07:50:00.001-05:00

A couple of Minglewood Sampler blocks...

A few Just Takes 2 blocks, January part two

Lots of blocks for Pick up Sticks

And, I found some stitcheries...Herb Garden by Pearl P. Pereira. Stitched basil, but haven't completed the lettering yet.

My machine for quilting is still not home! Its ready to come back, but my husband isn't able to pick it up this week, so I'll have to wait a few more days. I *could* use my regular machine, but its all set up with everything I need in all the right places for piecing, and to move it to the bigger space for quilting would mean I'd be kinda messed up if I wanted to do some piecing or something other than quilting. So, I'll wait.

Quilt plans gone bad!

2012-01-19T04:50:00.000-05:00

This has been a slow week for me, without any machine sewing at all until yesterday afternoon. I've done some hand applique, finishing one block, and making progress on a second (two more to go in this set)...they are to set in the centre of the Antique Sampler.

I got back at the sewing machine yesterday, to work on a few wheel of fortune blocks. These are from the book History Repeated and I thought maybe they could make a nice quilt for my husband's cousin who is getting married in the summer. They are in their 30s and have a bit of a modern taste, but also traditional. I thought I'd set these in zig zag pattern, maybe with black. I' ve made about eight blocks so far, and I'm thinking...no matter how I set these, this isn't going to work for Linda and her fiancee. Now what?

And then I pull out another project, "pick up sticks" from a pattern in Fons & Porter magazine, September 2011. Hmmm,,,I don't think this is going where I want to either! This one was going to possibly be for my niece who is going away to school in the fall. On second thought, I just might continue on with this one. Its easy and making good use of my batik scraps.

So then I spent a couple of hours thumbing through patterns, and reviewing patterns on EQ, and here is the end of the story. I don't like to make a quilt particularly for a person in mind. I have to want to make the quilt because I like it, no other reason, and then as a bonus, at some point in the quiltmaking the idea would strike that oh! this quilt would be great for so and so. The people who have received quilts from me have, I know, really liked them and use them. The quilts represents what I think this person or couple would enjoy having, and I've enjoyed making them.

Reasons for blocks of the month

2012-01-13T09:54:00.000-05:00

I finished three applique blocks for the Stars and Sprigs quilt, design by Kim MacLean.

I give the blocks a little bath in the sink after applique, to rinse out any glue or markings. Then lay them on a towel, and they are ready to iron in a couple of hours.

Some sewing I've done this week brought to mind why I do paid blocks of the month. One very big reason is they they give me variety in fabrics, and "teach" me about colour and fabric choices. With quilts I make myself, I need to know exactly what fabric I'm putting where, and I'm pretty cautious in my combinations. I often like to start with a designer's fabric grouping. Definitely I still need to learn colour confidence, even years after quilting!

All of these sprig blocks have colours and fabric design that I myself would hesitate to put together...but it works! well! The bit of purple on that one block is an example of this. And look at this star block, I don't think I'd be brave enough to put all these together, but isn't it wonderful? In the 30s chain block pictured, I don't think I'd be inclined to put that yellow with the green, but it looks great and I could see dots of the exact same yellow within the green, so it does work. Also, I don't think I have near the variety of fabrics that I'm getting for these blocks, and I'd go nuts just doing one block at a time from my stash or scrap bin, with no thought of "matching" it to its neighbour although I do know that scrap quilts with lots of everything do look fantastic when all put together.

The other reason why I do paid block of the month is for motivation! By paying for and getting a package every month, I know that that pattern I love so much will get made, and any investment in fabric and time will result in a quilt I'm going to enjoy! So often in the past several years I have purchased fabric for a quilt, or put something together from my stash, that never got made...I just lost interest, changed by mind, jumped to another project!

I'm at home all the time, I don't belong to a guild, or sew with other quilters. So my fabric choices are my own, with two men in the house they're opinion is valued but not always helpful, lol. My stash is my stash and I don't trade with others. All my shopping is online, which can be both a benefit and a problem! I enjoy a lot of vareity, I enjoy flitting from this to that. The blocks of the month kind of keep me in line :)

I also enjoy the free blocks of the month that many designers offer. If I can feel comfortable with what fabric choices will work, I have a chance to learn something new, get motivated by the schedule, and benefit from seeing other's work on that quilt. So, did you know that Pearl P. Peirara will be offering a mystery applique b.o.m. starting in February (enter the Forums section from the menu on the main page); and Jinny Beyer has a pieced and optional applique basket quilt b.o.m. starting soon (sign up for her newsletter for details); and Val Laird will be announcing her new b.o.m. this weekend, I think. Just three of many on offer all over the 'net!

Having fun making blocks!

2012-01-11T06:00:00.001-05:00

I completed the group one January blocks for the Just Takes 2 quilt. The orange persimmon fabric arrived and I fell in love, but after much to-ing and fro-ing, I decided that I just might get tired of all that orange, and that red and white is what drew me to the quilt in the first place

Before cutting out the block pieces themselves, I cut strips of each colour in widths that were called for in the cutting instructions. I didn't cut widths that were something plus 1/4", deciding to use the 1/2" equivalent piece. I then labelled each piece on the selvedge with a pigma pen.

Some sewing, some applique, and even some red-work, and I'm happy happy!!

For that persimmon colour, I have an idea brewing... stay tuned!

I also got involved in a another sampler quilt (can't hardly say no those!), This is called Fundamentals block of the week, offered by Sew Sisters. I chose the 30s colours, as I don't do those much, and I could use some bright and cheerful in some of my work! Haven't they done a great job in picking fabrics?

Applique was the order of the day for yesterday, but not much done there. I'm feeling a little behind in my hand applique....maybe too many on the go! My hand applique projects are Stars and Sprigs by Kim McLean, Antique Sampler by Sue Daley, some Dear Jane blocks, and My Whimsical Quilt Garden, by Piece O Cake.

Inspiration has come to visit!

2012-01-09T05:45:00.001-05:00

I seem to be full of good ideas in the past several days...great colour choices, quilt design plans, and confidence in what I'm doing!!

I was supposed to be catching up on hand applique yesterday. But I ended up in the sewing room thinking I'd sew a block or two from a couple of projects, blocks that are already cut and ready to go.

Instead I found myself thinking about the Free Motion Quilting Project. I can't actually start it yet, as the machine I use for quilting is in the shop getting serviced, but I could prep for it! Well I had all kinds of ideas for the sampler quilt that was suggested here, starting with neutrals. Then I thought, wait, I have a drawer full of solids, I have a fear of quilting on solids or something that my free motion stitching will really show . So that's it, I thought. Well no, after a morning of pulling out all kinds of stuff suitable for this kind of sampler, I had decided to just make practice sandwich squares using some squares I had found already pre-cut. Then after a little bit of time, I went back to the idea of the solids sampler. I love it! I think I'll use grey thread throughout, and it will be a real confidence booster for me.

In my hunt for fabrics for the Free Motion sampler, I came across a pile of pre-cut dark brown squares about 8" big. An idea hit me. Combine those with these scraps, and I think that will be great for Jo Morton's Prairie Flowers...I think I'll machine applique these. I started on a sample, but haven't finished it yet.

I also got my batting scrap bin under control, and made enough pieces for four wallhangings and a bit more! All neatly bagged and labelled!

The Just Takes 2 quilt colour choices are driving me mad. I went ahead and did some strip cutting of appropriate sizes of the red and white...but I'm still interested in that persimmon solid that I'm waiting for. Now I've discovered that Tangerine is the colour of the year for 2012 (as announced by Pantone). Do I really want to use a colour of the year?! My interest in the Just Takes 2 started because I love red and white quilts. So I don't know yet.

Consider the Lilies

2012-01-07T10:45:00.001-05:00

I so much enjoyed working on Val Laird's 2011 block of the month, Consider the Lilies! I finished the first half, and completed the pumpkins block, and then I had to put it aside.

Yesterday was the day I got to complete it! The quilt top didn't turn out quilt like the one Val had designed . I had to make it smaller, as I want to hang it in my sewing room once it is quilted. I ended up taking apart the top half, sewing the cottage block, and shuffling the pieces around to make up a top that is about 22" square. I added a bit of embroidery to reference the bible passage (one of my favourites, which is why I had to complete it, and why I want it in my sewing room!). I haven't added a border, and I don't think I will...I like it the way it is now I think.

I'm looking forward to what Val has planned for this year's block of the month!

Twelve of Eleven

2012-01-06T05:12:00.001-05:00

I did finish the Electric Quilt Sampler b.o.m. and I have to say I am so proud of myself! It isn't that I am so immensely happy with the quilt itself, as I am happy that I stuck it out and finished it! And the quilt does look pretty good!!

Wednesday afternoon, I had something that looked like this. I used a background fabric from my stash that I thought would calm down the colours a bit, and a second fabric for the alternate columns. I was so disappointed. I was convinced that what I had planned and sewed would be wonderful! And you know that horrible feeling when you go to press some pieces and you open it out and say, oh ugh!! I just wanted to throw it on the floor and stamp on it!! (This picture doesn't really show how bad this beginning was!)

I had been working from a group of fat quarters for the sampler blocks, and with all the cutting up I was doing for the design process after drawing ideas in EQ, I was rapidly running out of fabric.

Thursday morning, I had just about decided to put the whole thing in a bag and let it age for a few months or more. I on-line shopped for fabric that might help make it into a good quilt. I huffed and sighed and played with EQ, and cut up some more bits. Took a deep breath and started at it again. By the end of the day, I finished this 42" wallhanging, called Twelve of Eleven.

I really need to learn how to use the camera, or how to fix pictures. This quilt looks like it has a different background than the first, but its the same!

Sunshine and Shadow

2011-12-30T15:24:00.002-05:00

First things first...I want to finish this quilt top and quilt it as soon as I can, to hang above the couch in the living room. I was flipping through patterns, trying to find something fairly simple to on that spot until I have an applique quilt finished. Above the couch is a great place for wall hangings, the couch is along the left wall as you come into the room, so the quilt isn't immediately obvious as other pictures and things attract your attention, but as you sit down the extra colour or design in the quilt catches you eye. This Sunshine and Shadow pattern is in a book called The Simple Joys of Quilting by Joan Hanson and Mary Hickey, it is just the right size and presented in just the right colours so there was no fiddling with the pattern or colour scheme.

And, here is a picture of the Remembrance in blue and white, pattern by Kim Diehl in her book Simple Seasons.

A New Year's Reckoning

2011-12-29T19:32:00.001-05:00

I have finally finished hand sewing the binding to the blue and white quilt...and I promised myself that no other sewing was allowed until its done...so I'm looking forward to tomorrow and hopefully some peaceful piecing.

For the new year, I have several quilts that need borders or re-setting. Several tops to be quilted. And a few new tops that are in various stages...these I consider to be works in progress...Christmas Traditions, Dear Jane, Blooming Nine Patch, Wheel of Fortune, and one called Pick up Sticks. Applique quilts in progress include Antique Sampler, My Whimsical Quilt Garden, Stars and Sprigs and parts of Dear Jane.

New quilts that I'll be starting, these are have to do's for me, is the new Just Takes 2 free mystery block of the month; and, Praire Flowers Encore by Jo Morton.

I'm really looking forward to the Just Takes 2 series, presented by two very talented quilters and inspired by the exhibit “Infinite Variety: Three Hundred Years of Red and White Quilts” . I will be using kona cotton snow for the "background" and one of the following for the second colour. The brown is has more red than the picture shows; I have ordered the solid orange which is called persimmon, and I have high hopes for using that. The red is from the Bonnie Blue Basics line.

A Quilting Marathon!

2011-12-23T05:32:00.003-05:00

Well, I'm just about done, and done in with quilting. I don't think I'll ever do this to myself again. Somehow I ended up quilting four quilts, all with a 'deadline" of sorts, all in about six weeks.

First came the red Thirties Sampler, a design by Eleanor Burns. I wanted that done for my daughter's return home from college, for use in the basement rec room where she hangs out. Bright and large for a couch quilt! (red is so hard to photograph, with a flash it looks awful, without a flash it just looks bad!)

Then came the Jelly Roll Quilt, which I wanted to finish for my niece before it became a Christmas present! I think I finished that one quick, with meandering stitches all over. (hubby took this pic, and I should have checked it before handing over the quilt!)

Finally it was time to quilt a Christmas quilt, which was a mystery block of the month by the Fat Quarter Shop. I really enjoyed sewing these bright colours, and the designs of the novelty blocks! This was for my son and his wife for Christmas, but I wanted them to have it for Christmas, or to use during the holiday season, and I was going to be visiting them on the 15th of December, so I wanted it finished by then. And it was!!

I had fun free motion quilting a different little design on each block...I think I used up all of my "library" of free motion designs on this one!

Then there was a quilt needed for the guest bed. It should have been larger, it could have been the Stars for a New Day top, but ended up to be Remembrance in blue and white, a pattern by Kim Diehl. First I needed to make the quilt bigger than it was, by re-jigging the final border design so it ended up to be 85" square. My Mom will be staying here for New Year's weekend, so I wanted this quilt to be both used that weekend and a present to take home.

I did this quilt all with straight stitches (which makes me laugh, because really so many of these stitched rows are not straight!! lol, but I do the best I can!). My sewing machine has been giving me fits, and needs servicing for a few issues, so I didn't trust that I could confidently free motion any of it. This picture doesn't show the border, which is a wider version of the sashing. Just the binding left to go, which I can do one day next week.

Thinking and looking and making a mess!

2011-11-18T16:04:00.002-05:00

I've been at a very low point physically for the past couple of weeks; this happens from time to time, but this is the longest I've been stuck for a while. As always, I spend this time with some hand applique, lots of magazines, patterns, books, and the internet! Starting and planning and thinking.

My sisters and I used to say, when we visited certain shops or exhibitions, that we wish that we could throw out everything in our house and just bring in that room! I started to feel that way about my stash, my projects, my finished quilts even! I'd wander into the sewing room and despair that I couldn't conjure up all the eye candy I had been looking at. I'd get a bit of energy and start flinging fabrics into piles that might make a quilt...then changed my mind...then do it again next time I got too fidgety. In particular, I couldn't settle on another applique quilt...Jacqueline's Album was just making me unhappy no matter what fabrics I thought of; Piece O Cake designs were too big for what I wanted (I think I have at least three bed sized applique on the go!). Well, I had a reason for not liking all the applique patterns and books I had! I did decide on a fusbile applique project...but its going to be a long winter if I continue to have relapses.

Sitting on the couch this afternoon, something triggered a great idea in my head. I had a charm pack of something! Oh...where was it? Blackbird designs...Antique Fair...oh! the colours are perfect for my new living room. Anna's Garden is a Lori Smith quilt that I've started umpteen times, and the size is just right for above our couch...and charm squares can be easily used on these small seven inch blocks! And, I found two packs of Primitive Muslin charm packs, which made into four patch blocks will make a terrific background for the applique.

I feel so uplifted to just have made some kind of decision...until tomorrow comes...I wonder if I'll change my mind again?

A finish, and, a I won't do that again!

2011-11-05T06:57:00.003-04:00

Here is Mary Ellen's Garden, pattern by Lori Smith. Its hanging over our bed, and once the walls are painted, will look better! I did fusible applique on this quilt, it was the kind of quilt that just called to me to get 'er done, and enjoy it!

And what I won't do again?

Free motion quilt with poly batting!!! Uggh! At least that's what I think caused all the problems. This is a portion of the almost finished quilt, the pattern Egg Money Quilts by Eleanor Burns.

I almost always use Hobbs Heirloom 80/20 cotton/poly quilt batt.. I really like how it quilts, how it launders, drapes, everything. For the Egg Money quilts, I bought a poly batt, thinking I would tie it. Well, one thing led to another. First I decide to just straight stitch on the sashing strips. Then, I make the regretful decision to free motion a bit on the blocks. There were skipped stitches, huge tension messes, broken threads, even two broken needles, lots of ripping out. I don't ever remember having this many problems, even as a beginner. I persevered, and I think I can call it done. Thank goodness this quilt was always destined for the basement rec-room to brighten it.

Honouring Emma re-set

2011-10-25T05:06:00.002-04:00

Well, here is the final Honouring Emma quilt top, now it needs a new name, I think! The new setting is a perfect wallhanging size, 45 x 45. I think it will be a wonderful spring quilt, and I look forward to quilting it in the cold of February :)

I made use of a new ruler I bought months ago, the Cutting Corners ruler. I really really like the effect I was able to get for the setting triangles...those three-fabric setting triangles were cut and pieced and placed easy-peasy! You could sew these as a strip set, and cut your triangles from that, but every other one would have the dark side on the long side rather than at the corner. The Cutting Corners ruler lets you sew and cut just the fabric you need.

The quilt started out as Honouring Emma by Lori Smith. Somewhere along the line, I decide to do a setting with some pieced blocks.
Then it got sewn together like this. I didn't particularly like the finished size (55 x 68)...too big for a wallhanging, too small for a bed, and I wouldn't want hand applique in a lap quilt! The new setting lost one applique blocks, and a few pieced blocks.

How quilts can become UFOs

2011-10-22T04:41:00.006-04:00

I'm the kind of quilter that will just say uncle! when a quilt or blocks no longer makes happy, due to the quilting, the design, the fabrics, whatever; I'll put it in the back of the closet, I'll throw it out (!); I'll bundle it up and toss it far into a corner to discover another day. On the other hand, there are quilts or blocks that I will work with for a loooong time to make right.

This has happened to a few projects that have been taking up "active" space in my sewing room lately. Roll Roll Cotton Boll has gone into the back of a cupboard and I don't care if I ever see it again. The quilting is the string pieced squares was just too much...a big oops on my part. There were a lot of seams in those squares, plus all that quilting, every time I went back to it to quilt the blue pieced squares, the string pieced squares just got heavier and stiffer. Not at all what you want in a comfy quilt.

The mystery quilts I had pieced over the summer? Well, the one with parts like this finished as a design that doesn't work all that well for my fabric choices. The green star points just disappear into the design. I've drawn the quilt several times on EQ, and layed it out on the bed, and it does need re-jigging. So, that's a quilt that will disappear for a quite a while!

The one with parts that looked like this has potential to be a fantastic quilt. Only problem is I didn't cut some of the long sashing and border pieces (or if I did, I can't find them!); I'm not happy with the background fabrics for the centre medallion; and I think I "borrowed" some fabric from the pile for another project, which means trying to figure out what substitutions I can make. Oh! While typing this I just had an idea. So maybe I'll keep this one still in my active drawers!

This is Honouring Emma, applique design by Lori Smith. I had so many ideas for setting this quilt, and I chose the wrong one. There is nothing terribly wrong with it, just not right to me. I think that this will be this weekend's project, finally taking it all apart and starting over with a new setting. I don't want this one sitting in the closet for another six months, waiting for its turn to be loved!

Do you have quilts in limbo? Those ones that you might refer to as a UFO, but deep down you know you don't really care anymore? And blocks or tops that you want to love, but need to fix?

Minglewood Sampler Quilt

2011-10-14T19:28:00.003-04:00

I love making sampler quilts. They are my absolute favourite type of quilt! I enjoy the variety, the feeling of marching toward a finished quilt, one by one. Each block gives me a different type of puzzle to fit together, the cutting can easily be done one block at a time, then put the whole thing away for another day.

Before we moved house I did a bit of stash building, and got a fat quarter bundle of some of these homespsuns. They are lovely and soft and light...I knew they'd make into something wonderful. Then I came across the book Four Seasons at Minglewood. A sampler quilt! With twelve inch blocks! I usually end up making samplers with six inch or smaller blocks, so the twelve inch size would be a nice change. I know I could easily make my own sampler with EQ, but its nice to have a book in front of you with all the design and cutting layouts already done.

Here's the first block, Arrow Star. I've discovered that the wovens are maybe a bit too soft and light...I did a little Best Press on the fabrics I used today, they wiggled and moved everywhere, and still frayed. But, the block still came out at 12 1/2"! But next time I'll use a much heavier coating of Best Press or maybe starch.

The book has a couple of other that are wallhaning size...the Turkey Tracks is one that will likely end up on my list.

Mary Ellen's Garden

2011-10-08T05:00:00.000-04:00

This is my version of Mary Ellen's Garden design by Lori Smith. I love her patterns!! The size is 45 x 52 and I think will be a terrific wall hanging for my new front hall.

While sick with the cold etc., I would go into the sewing room and cut out one or two pieces of fusible applique, playing with my box of civil war repro scraps. I was suprised it actually got put together this way, over the course of many days. I think because I wasn't working on something else at the same time!

When we were worrying about Emily and contemplating the outcome, I sewed like a madwoman on the piecing for this quilt. Before I knew it, before I was even ready to stop sewing, the piecing and top was done!

Not much quilty happenings...

2011-10-07T05:33:00.001-04:00

Its been a long couple of weeks. My little colds in September turned into a very bad cold and as a result I've been pretty much stuck on couch rest for the past while.

We had tragic news about my niece Emily and her babies, at 7 months pregnant they both died, about a day apart, before delivery. There are no words to say about something as sad and difficult.

The good news is that my two not at home kids, and daughter in law, will be home for Thanksgiving on Monday. It will be the best dinner a Mom can hope for! Also, Sunday we'll be visiting my sisters and brother and their families for Thanksgiving, its been since June since we've all been together in one place.

The past couple of days, neeeding the retreat of quitling, I have been doing a little applique, a little shopping in my pjs, and a little bit of sewing...pics soon!

Quilting Roll Roll Cotton Boll

2011-09-23T14:59:00.001-04:00

I've started quilting Roll Roll Cotton Boll, a scrap quilt designed by Bonnie Hunter. I realized while sewing together the blocks that I wasn't very successful at string piecing! My seam allowances were somehow too narrow in some places, and there were a few areas where the seams came apart. So the first order of business after sandwiching the quilt was to use a decorative stitch over those seams to close them up. Hardly noticeable, on the front.

I had to tackle quilting those big string pieced blocks. Up till now, I 've avoided any quilt with large open areas that have had to be quilted! I figured this would be a great practice piece. I can stipple, meander, echo quilt, do some leaves, make loops and circles, even M and W kind of lines and squares, but not much else...and I seem to always fall back on this type of free motion.

I have a few of Patsy Thompson's free motion quilting dvds, and I used her seashells idea to quilt these squares. A lot of work!! I've done one or two blocks a day, and it seems that I'm getting nowhere...just now I thought I had one block left, but I actually have two left, and the setting triangles to consider).

I can make the initial design, and basically keep going...but then, I kind of lose track and next thing you know I'm making some other echo pattern, or have worked myself into some strange space to fill up, or I've crossed a line or more...but, good practice, and I can see my stitches getting more even and I'm better at re-tracing a line. I'm pretty happy with it, but I think I should have made a different choice. It looks good, but because of all the seams in those blocks, and now the quilting filling it in, the quilt is getting a little too compact for my liking. So I'll have to do some real thinking on how to do the pieced blocks, as a quilt is supposed to have an equal or proportionate amount of quilting in all areas, but I don't want any more heavy quilting. Rule breaking here I come!

Applique Planning, continued

2011-09-22T12:55:00.001-04:00

The Jacqueline's Album quilt pattern arrived yesterday and I started to cut up my fabrics. I have found that for me to be at all successful in committng to an applique quilt on my own, without the benefit of block of the month mailings, I have to choose and cut out the main fabrics for each block prior to starting to sew.

I am really pretty comfortable with my colour planning skills with pieced quilts, but as I have said many times before, applique quilts just bring me trouble. I think its because I'm too busy thinking, would two flowers in the same bunch really have two different colours? would there really be that many shades of green in the leaves? should I match two flowers, and put something interesting as a third? etc.

I cut out a square of fabric for each main element of the block, not cutting out leaf or stem fabric. This gives me a good idea of how the colours or fabrics are being used block to block. Well, first disappointment working on this quilt was that gee, these fabrics are boring. They almost all read as solid. (I've thought often of doing an applique quilt with just solids, and this may be just the one! ). Then, as I'm getting to block three or four, I realize my oranges, which there are just two, are either not enough or not right. So switch the orange to pink, dig around my bits and pieces tub a bit more, and find a couple of more fabrics with a bit more range of colour. But...its niggling at me that these colours just aren't making me happy. The yellow is too bright, the purple and yellow combination in these shades are just not in my comfort zone. I gave up the effort after about eight blocks planned, and this morning I said to myelf I'd carry on and likely be happier as I see the blocks sewn.

However, applique quilts can take a loooong time to make, and with all the applique and handwork I've got going on right now, this one could easily take a year or more, especially with the border. So one has to be very happy and comfortable with the fabric choices...and this just isn't going to work.

I'd still like to stick with yellow in rememberance of my Aunt, but I'll have to find some other more subdued colour palette.

Applique Quilt Planning

2011-09-19T09:24:00.002-04:00

Lori Smith has a new applique quilt pattern called Jacqueline's Album. My mother's twin sister was named Jacqueline, she died from cancer far too young. Jacqueline gave me the opportunity to learn much from her while she was ill, and I would love to make this quilt while thinking of her. These are the colours I have selected, starting with yellow for the yellow daffodils from the Cancer Society fundraising, that I mark her remembrance with every Spring.

2011-09-15T03:57:00.000-04:00

Over the past couple of weeks I've enjoyed sewing a jelly roll sampler quilt for my teenage niece. It was the first time I've worked with a jelly roll, and I had fun planning the colours for each block, and that the pre-cut strips made for easy sewing and easier math! The pattern came from the book Jelly Roll Sampler Quilts by Pam and Nicky Lintott. A lot of great patterns in this book that I'm sure I'll be sewing!

My niece is a tomboy, and doesn't like anything that might be considered girl-ish. The prints in this quilt, Grande Finale by Sandy Gervais, did allow me to sneak in some flower-like doodles and leaves. Her favourite colour is yellow, so that worked for the sashing. And I chose a black solid for the setting squares and final border, to hopefully add some drama and take away anything feminine!

I also quilted a small version of Stars and Sprigs, pattern by Kim McLean. I really have a problem with batiks, which I know makes me an odd duck amongst many quilters! Although I like the look they give, and working with them never seem to be in my comfort zone. I seem to be stuck in the traditional fabric style category :) I'll be starting this quilt again, using reproduction fabrics as in the Kim's original quilt.

Quilts for Twin Girls!

2011-09-02T17:32:00.005-04:00

My niece is expecting her first babies in December...twin girls! Here are the quilt tops I designed and made.

My mother was a twin, and she tells me stories how she didn't like to be dressed or treated like her sister; but if they weren't dressed or treated the same she always felt her sister got the best! How's that for a predicament?

With that in mind, I made the quilts the same, but set slightly different and with different applique centres. The blocks were inspired by a quilt in "Country Threads goes to Charm School". I used their idea of setting the little blocks with sashing...from there I made four blocks into one block, forming an x or an o. Can you see it? One quilt has Xs in the corner, the other has Os in the corner. The applique are from an EQ collection by Sue Spargo.

After deciding to raid another planned quilt for its background fabric, from Lollipop by Sandy Gervais, I went online to look for other fabrics from that collection. I added a red and yellow from the collection, the rest from my stash. And I fell in love with the little fishies print. As it turned out, it didn't work in the quilt, but it made a great pieced backing; one with red, and one with yellow.

As twins are often premature, and these babies are considered high-risk, I wanted to have the tops ready to quilt! It should only take a few days to quilt them lightly, and I'll be sure to have them ready to go by the end of October.

Sewing Space

2011-08-24T09:18:00.007-04:00

My new sewing room is coming along nicely... my husband has put together an ironing board that's 5" bigger each way, a big improvement to me! We just placed an old board on an old sewing cabinet, covered with a wool blanket and cotton batting and stapled it all in place. He put wheels on the bottom so I could pull it out from the wall for ironing yardage and tops.

My biggest excitement is my cutting board! My father in law had an old melamine table top that fit exactly on to an old treadle cabinet...I can now fit an entire 36 x 24 cutting mat on the table, and walk around it!! This to me is a treat...I had to cut my old mats down to 30 x 18 to fit on my table, and the table was surrounded on three sides by a walls and shelf support. I'm in rotary cutting heaven!

I also have two doors now, one for a closet and one for the hall. On each closet I have hung a shoe storage bag, the one showing in this picture has some odd half yards stuffed in the pockets, and a couple of pockets hold various marking pens and tools. The other shoe storage bag holds lots of fat quarters!

I'm starting to quilt Stars and Sprigs, in a layout that gives me a long skinnyish wall hanging, 32" x 56", for a wall in the downstairs family room that is just needing a quilt that size!

I'm trying out something called Pinmoor, for basting the quilt instead of safety pins. So far they have my vote...much easier to remove from the quilt with quilting gloves on (or not), and just as easy or easier to put in than safety pins!

DJ hand sewn blocks

2011-08-15T05:01:00.004-04:00

I got sidelined this week, so not much quilting or sewing activity. I did eventually get going on these hand sewn or appliqued Dear Jane blocks...

The two blocks on the left were hand pieced...there's a great deal of satisfaction when you stick with something no matter how frustrating! The block on the bottom left, took me a long time to sew! I was sidelined this week, so I was working a bit slower and a bit more thoughtfully...I started sewing it early one morning and finished it just before dinner the next day! I think in all it took about two hours of actual sewing time! The one at the top right I thought would be more difficult, but that one went together a little quicker. It isn't completely symmetrical, but I'm happy with it. The two blocks on the left were a combination of machine piecing and applique.

An Applique Prep Day

2011-08-07T14:14:00.004-04:00

I stitch hand applique and other hand embroidery or sewing for about 15 minutes, two or three times a day. Any more than that and I end up with sore hands, arm, and shoulder! I usually stick to small blocks or simple blocks. I find applique prep to be really messy for my sewing room...bits of fabric to be flung and found, templates drawn or printed, glue, scissors, starch, light box, pencils, oh my! So I tend to do my applique prep in as big bunches as I can, so I have a basket of sewing ready to go when I am.

I'm just about finished the 13th block of a Whimsical Quilt Garden, designed by the ladies of Piece O Cake Designs. This was a really simple block! Also, a picture of the blocks sewn and complete with sashing; these blocks are designed so that some parts overhang onto the sashing, a couple of blocks even have parts that overhang past the sashing to the next block. You'll see that the middle block of the second row have parts that remain to be sewn.

I'm making this quilt as a block of the month; it seems about the only way I can really stick with an applique quilt is to be handed the fabric on a monthly basis so I will sew it! Homestead Hearth offered an option where the quilter gets to pick their background fabric, and the store sends the monthly block fabrics and completer fabrics; although, I have gone ahead and picked my own sashing fabrics. I'm also using a bit of wool on most blocks, just to give a bit of a different look.

Another block of the month I'm working on is called Antique Sampler, by Sue Daley, offered at Quilters Paradise (California). Here are the blocks I've made so far.

Each block has a reverse applique centre, with a very small applique on top. Here's the prep for the reverse applique. I used a double layer of freezer paper for the circle template, and I find a small olfa cutting mat just fine for a hard and kinda sticky surface for tracing templates.

Then, I have the most recent block from Val Laird's Consider the Lilies b.o.m. This is where my new wonder stuff really makes stitching life wonderful! Sulky's Sticky Solvy! It's not cheap, so I am careful to use every last scrap...and to me, it so worth the purchase.

I found this product when I was researching transfer-eze, and I think it might be similar. You can print on it from your printer, or trace out your design on to it. Cut it out, and it sticks Sticks really really well. But, it comes off just as easy when you're done appliqueing, or it washes out when you're done embroidering.

So for this little block, I used it in two places...for the pumpkin applique and itsembroidery embellishment, and for the embroidery directly on the block itself.

And, I'm almost embarrassed to say, I'm working on a third block of the month, a Dear Jane, which happens to be my third attempt at Dear Jane! Tomorrow, more about my adventures with preparing some of those blocks.

Stars for a New Day!

2011-08-06T06:30:00.004-04:00

Another top done! This one I'm very happy with, for how my fabrics and colours turned out, for sticking with each border, and for not losing any of the stars for the last border, that were pieced over the course of several months!

Stars for a New Day is designed by Sue Garman, offered as a block of the month by The Quilt Show for 2009. It took me a long time to get up the gumption to take on this quilt...the fabric choices just seemed so overwhelming...there was nothing I didn't like about the original, and I wanted mine to end up pretty close to that! I started my quilt last fall, so it did end up taking me about a year.

This quilt did turn out kinda wonky, unfortunately. I have had the good luck or good sewing skills to always end up with a nice square flat quilt top. I'm not quite sure why this one has a few ripples, I'm hoping to quilt them out.

Roll Roll Cotton Boll

2011-08-03T05:38:00.003-04:00

I got the pieced borders sewn together and on to Roll Roll Cotton Boll, designed by Bonnie Hunter, so another top done! I went a little bit crazy in planning quilts while I couldn't do any actual sewing, so I'm busy putting together tops that are almost done, just so I can get to my new projects! Stars for a New Day just needs the final plain borders sewn on, and that's another top. I have to start quilting soon, as my tops are quickly becoming inventory in my sewing room (10 tops to quilt....how did I let that happen!? ... some are not as well liked as others, and have been lurking on the to be quilted list for more than a couple of years). I need to find some large space in my new home, so I can get a top sandwiched, more boxes and stuff to unpack...yuck.

I had been thinking to give Roll Roll Cotton Boll to my nephew, who will be 15 in a few months...but my niece is interested in it too. It would a surprise for my nephew, and I really do think it would suit him better...its large, about 70" x 85". I had better find another quilt, done or almost done, for my niece.

Two mystery quilts ready for reveal!

2011-07-28T14:30:00.005-04:00

I had lots of practice sewing with my left foot as I worked on the machine applique for eight blocks of the mystery quilt that's being run by Quilters Newsletter. The quilt is called Garden Delight, written by Nancy Mahoney. There sure was a lot of variety in this quilt! Small pieceing, easy piecing, applique, and a challenging compass. Now, all the sewn parts are ready for the reveal when the next issue arrives in a month or two. I haven't fully completed the centre compass as I'm still thinking about the green fabrics that the pattern calls for; in this case, I think I'd like to wait till I see the quilt's complete layout.

I had put aside the fabrics for the quilt to work on during the move, not much required for storage and still gave me an opportunity to do a bit of sewing. The other mystery quilt that I ended up doing was the one in Quiltmaker, written by Debbie Caffrey, called Secret Window. I fell in love with the new flannel line at Connecting Threads called Sunny Day (they have now introduced another similar new flannel line!); at about the same time my niece announced she is expecting twins!! So I thought I'd order the fabric for the mystery and have another little project to work on while other stuff was in storage...this I might complete as one quilt, or use the quilt layout as presented and my ever-helpful Electric Quilt to produce two quilts for the babies to come.

I put the parts to this quilt out on the floor to take a picture, and, ummm, it doesn't look like much. And I have a lot of fabric leftover.....I'll have to take a look through the magazines and see if I missed a part :) Unfortunately, I didn't have as much contrast in two of the fabrics I chose and you can just barely see the pattern in the main blocks. This quilt will be revealed on the web, tomorrow, and in their next issue.

do you sew with your left or right foot?

2011-07-22T10:00:00.007-04:00

Well, I mean which foot do you use to operate the sewing machine foot pedal?

I've always used my right foot, but am learning to use my left foot. This is because after months of not sewing much at all (I can hardly believe that it was April that I last posted on the blog!), I finally got a chance to do some piecing, then I had an accident with my foot and some glass cooking dishes, resulting in a nasty wound and several stitches.

I haven't been making much using the machines as we have moved to a new home. The move process was something I would not want to repeat! Being without a sewing room for months, followed by trying to re-settle, then some very trying not-our-fault legal issues to do with the sale of our old house....finally able to get serious about quilting, only to be stalled again due to my foot....no wonder I'm learning to sew with my left! Desperation can sure lead to learning new skills!

Oddly enough, the first thing I've caught up on is "Consider the Lilies", which was my last posting in April! This free b.o.m. is offered by Val Laird; the message and the design have been just what I needed over the past while.

Consider the Lilies, part 3

2011-04-17T15:33:00.004-04:00

This is about all I accomplished this week. I packed part one, so I can't yet put together the block. The block series is presented by Val Laird.

Stars and Sprigs

2011-04-09T11:35:00.005-04:00

It seems like a very long time since I last sat down at my sewing machine! Weeks of cleaning, de-cluttering, and packing....the house sold, and we've bought a new home which we'll move into in mid-June. The boxes of projects I had put aside, the notions and thread, have been sorted through again, and I've re-acquainted myself with them.

I sewed the first row of stars for "Stars and Sprigs" by Kim MacLean. I had been working on the applique blocks by hand, finishing three, all the while considering the wonderful applique borders which to me just makes this quilt as wonderful as it is. I know that I will not have the patience to work those borders by hand, and I don't want to end up editing the quilt to avoid doing so! Today I made one of the applique blocks by fusible machine applique, and I think that will work nicely, especially knowing that I'll have at least a chance at the borders :) I do still have several hand work projects to do when once again I have to pack up my machine for the move, and while I wait to put together a sewing studio (larger than the old one!).

2011-03-14T05:11:00.003-04:00

We completed the sewing room re-do about a week ago, but I've been too discombubalated to post pictures. I am so tired of cleaning, and sorting, and packing - I really can't believe how much stuff we had stuffed in this house (after find a dresser full of old blankets and sheets, I was wondering if I had hoarder tendencies!). My husband took the last load of boxes to his folks, who are storing it in their basement, and he came home and looked around and said he was suprised we had anything left. But we do! I can live much simpler than I have been. Much of the "stuff" were things put away with a "this will be useful one day" idea, or the kids might need or want this...but a lot of that is now gone, decisions made. Three more days till the for sale sign goes out front!

2011-02-28T09:18:00.008-05:00

Here are some pictures of the long wall and nook in my now "old" sewing room - the wall is about 8 feet long. The real estate agent took a look at it and I wish I could have taken a picture of the disbelief on his face! The wall opposite isn't usable for much - it has the nook, and the entrance to a powder room. My husband has taken down all the shelves, and is repainting - and putting on the baseboard that I was too impatient to have installed when the room was being built! Soon I'll have pictures of my room transformed to a kind of office.

All Packed....

2011-02-23T04:05:00.003-05:00

I've packed just about everything in my sewing room, save a few projects that I can keep in a few shoebox type storage containers, and one roll-y cart. They also have to be sewing that I can do in a small amount of space, with the tools I've chosen to keep. I have Consider the Lilies, Val Laird's block of the month; the Electric Quilt block of the month, Henrietta Whiskers block of the month. For hand work, I have Stars and Sprigs by Kim Maclean, My Whimsical Quilt Garden by Piece O Cake, and wool applique using My Mother Taught Me to Sew by Faye Anderson.

I need a couple of machine pieced quilts, so I chose Winner's Bouqet by Atkinson Designs - easy to cut one block at time and assemble. I was going to work on the last border of stars for Stars for a New Day, but it was going to take far too much organizing and space to work on. So I dug up a quilt design that I had cut up years ago, the baggy simply labed Red and Green Log Cabin....from Kim Shaefer's book on Christmas quilts. The book has been packed, but thank goodness for Google Books, as I found a picture of the quit so I can at least see what her Log Cabin block design was.

Here's a picture of the second block of Consider the Lilies

Meet me at the Manor

2011-02-18T03:35:00.002-05:00

The last top done - or flimsy as some call them!

The pattern is a series quilt from Quiltmaker magazine, four parts ending in their March/April 2011 issue. There were to be stars in the final border, but I just made scrappy squares - I had been making so many stars for Stars for a New Day that I had had enough for now! Also, this ends it at a better size for my niece, who will hopefully be receiving the finished quilt some time this summer.

I've been sewing together tops to prepare for a move, and today the packing begins. We haven't sold the house yet, but my little sewing room off the kitchen would be much better presented as an office to prospective home buyers. So all has to be packed up, saving hand work and maybe a bit of piecing to keep me happy for the next few weeks.

BunnyHill Baskets

2011-02-11T06:38:00.005-05:00

I finally gave a home to the BunnyHill Baskets blocks, a 2009 block of the month from Anne Sutton at Bunnyhill Designs.

I do wish I had a place in my home to layout a quilt for proper pictures! This design started out as a quilt called "A Dresden Medallion" by Vicki Bellino in McCall's Quilting Sept/Oct 2010. I thought the pattern would be well suited to all my scrappy reds I had collected. However, the english paper piecing of the dresdens was driving me nuts - let me say right here that I don't think I ever want to attempt english paper piecing again!. After completing all but three of the dresdens, I realized this quilt would never be done because of those.

Then that wonderful lightbulb moment! The BunnyHill Baskets! The same block size as the quilt was based on! I did do a bit of redesign, eliminating the centre panel, and in the end I am so pleased with the result. The quilt is 66" square.

As a bonus, I made this wallhanging out of the extra blocks....and I still have a few extra blocks to play with in another quilt. The picture shows a black inner border to be sewed on, I'll have to find some border fabric that's red with black.

A Farmer's Wife Meets Jane, do-over

2011-02-01T15:37:00.000-05:00

Here's a (not so good) photo of the new setting of the Farmer's Wife Meets Jane quilt. I like this soooo much better than the original! I've had to order new border fabric, as the original is too short, and I chose a fabric a little brighter than the dark green that I had the first time. I do wish I had a huge design wall so I could have chosen which block goes where a little better, to arrange colour and design variations. I had some upsetting news on the weekend, regarding my Dad's death last fall, that had me ripping out that old top in record time! I even sewed it back together pretty darn quick. Quilting is great therapy :)

The Farmer's Wife Meets Jane - revision?

2011-01-21T11:33:00.000-05:00

I'm putting together part of Stars for a New Day, the block of the month from 2009 at the Quilt Show. I didn't start it till last Spring, so in my mind, I'm not that far behind! The way that this quilt is set has highlighted, to me, the flaws, for lack of a better word, that I was aware of with the Farmer's Wife Meets Jane quilt.

There really is not much at all wrong with the FWMJ quilt..,.but it could have been set in a numerous ways. I played with many different fabric ideas for the setting triangles in the middle border, but I felt that with all the prints and proportions of the blocks themselves, a plain fabric would be best - this leaves me with having to do some pretty fancy quilting in these spaces (ack!). Overall, I feel that the quilt is dark..more brown than I really wanted. And, I think I did make the last border too narrow. The Stars for a New Day uses lighter fabrics overall, I had long ago purchased some pretty florals for the setting triangles...and most importantly, when I designed the FWMJ quilt I did not realize that Stars for a New Day had a similar setting in one of its borders which will always make me think that I could have improved FWMJ.

I think this will bug me enough to wish I had re-set the FWMJ quilt. I think I will re-set it. Something like this - once I can purchase new fabric for the setting and borders. The fabrics shown here are ones I picked from the EQ fabric library.

Finished blocks for new 2011 Blocks of the Month

2011-01-20T08:38:00.000-05:00

Consider the Lilies is a wall hanging size series designed by Val Laird. The theme for the quilt, and the introductory Bible verse, is one of my favourites. A wallhanging size is a nice change from all the large quilts I've been sewing, and as a bonus, I was able to dig up enough scraps that might just last through the series. (Oops, I just realized that I forgot to embroider the stems on the leaves!)

Jewels in the Crown is a b.o.m. by Reeze Hanson. I had a set of fat quarters - 2 each of several colours - that I had bought recently as a bargain on EBay and I think they'll work well for this quilt. I have no idea what I'll do about the pieced sashing and borders, but I'll figure that out as I go along :) This is one of those pictures that really do not show true shading of the colours.

Roll Roll Cotton Boll

2011-01-18T14:10:00.000-05:00

Not a top yet, but all the units are finally made! And all the string pieced blocks, and six of the pieced blocks.

I never made a Bonnie Hunter mystery before, and never made a quilt with so many scraps of planned colours! So so much sewing! I had started out making all the required units in parts one and two, knowing the quilt was going to be bigger than I wanted. When she got to the assembly instructions, I found I could easily make a 20 block setting instead of a 30 block setting, so from there I cut down on the amount of required units.

I usually make my quilts in parts, spread out over a period of months, as that way I can enjoy a variety of sewing - a what do I want to sew today? But I got so hung up on the units of the Cotton Boll quilt, it was a mission for me to at least complete the units - I thought I'd be sewing for forever. But finally today I can take a pic of some of the quilt to be, and all the parts are ready to be sewn together when I'm ready. All I can say so far about what it looks like, umm, interesting.

Henrietta Whiskers....or Feathers?

2011-01-11T16:06:00.000-05:00

I fell in love with the squirrel in Anne Suttons new free b.o.m (Bunny Hill Designs), and also the quilt home that Henrietta the squirrel lived in. I quickly went through my stash and found all the fabrics that I would need for the quilt top, made the first background block, then looked again at Henrietta. Oh that squirrel is so cute! But really, do I or anyone I know need or want a squirrel on quilt or wallhanging? Hmmm.... I thought flowers, and baskets, and any number of things that I could applique. Then I remembered a bird that's just as cute as (well, almost) Henrietta. This bird is from the book Stitch Raw Edge Applique by Sue Nickels and Pat Holly, in the pattern "21 Birds". I decided to machine appplique the pieces, and used a 30 wt black thread on all motifs - I'll continue this throughout the quilt. I do hope I can adapt the rest of Henrietta's designs to my little bird.

P3 Designs 2010 mystery

2011-01-06T05:40:00.000-05:00

Pearl P. Pereira has offered a free mystery block of the month for the past two years. I very much like how she plans her sewing instructions so that the quilt is assembled as you go along...so, I had the center finished at the end of month 9. The directions for all months are still available, just click on the Forum link from her website and follow along from there.

This month is the final month, and she's given us templates and directions for a very nice applique border. However, this quilt is already about as big as I'd like, 51" x 72" - perfect for a couch quilt! The borders are 7" wide, so the quilt would end up quite a bit bigger. So now I'll do some thinking on how I want to finish it.

Honouring Emma (variation) and Open Window

2011-01-03T04:34:00.000-05:00

The applique blocks in this quilt top are from a pattern called Honouring Emma, by Lori Smith. The blue and yellow fabrics (Whisperings by Alex Anderson) were so pretty, I decided to set pieced blocks in the centre. EQ7 to the rescue, again! If you look closely at the enlarged photo, you can see I mitred the borders, and I think I did a pretty darn good job!! The finished quilt top is 55" x 68".

This quilt I'm calling "Open Window" The mini churn dash blocks that make up the centre of the blocks set in this quilt had so many time outs as orphan blocks, and many settings in EQ7. I'm glad that I pursued a setting for the blocks and I very much like how it turned out - the brighter colours are change of pace for me. I was thinking of my teenage niece when I did the setting - she has a physical handicap which means she as a very small frame. I wanted the quilt to be as narrow as I could while still using the blocks I had, that's why the strippy borders are only on the top and bottom. Finished quilt top is 55" x 65".

A quiltmaking marathon! A Farmer's Wife meets Jane.

2010-12-31T13:12:00.001-05:00

Over the past few weeks, I have been determined to assemble three quilt tops that I wanted *done* for the end of 2010. There are a few new projects I'm looking forward to starting, and of course more than a few projects still in progress, and I very much wanted to have these three quilts ready to quilt when I wanted. So here are pictures (not great pictures, as I had an uncooperative helper!) of the three I finished...the third finished just this morning...I feel I've sewn miles of borders!

Here's the one I'm most happy with...I'll share the other two tomorrow.

The Farmer's Wife meets Jane is 89 x 89. The final border is actually a medium green...and I wish I had it made it 8" wide instead of 6". The reason for the change in size is that I put a friendship star block in each border corner, to represent the stars that both Jane and a farmer's wife might have seen in the sky at their time. I might add yet another narrow dark border to better balance out the quilt. This is a few years worth of Dear Jane blocks and Farmer's Wife blocks. 64 Dear Jane blocks. 34, I think, are from a group attempt at the quilt, those are red, pink, and white. The remaining Dear Jane blocks were from a block of the month that I didn't complete. Quilt math is interesting, as it turned out, there are also 64 Farmer's Wife blocks, that I made from scraps while using the patterns from the book I designed the quilt using EQ7.

Do you know that if you click on the quilt picture, it will appear in a new tab, and if you click it again while in that new tab, it will get quite a bit larger? Great idea for all the wonderful quilt pictures out there on blogs!

Happy New Year!

Quilt Tops almost done!

2010-12-13T03:49:00.000-05:00

It looks like I'll be heading into the new year with a few quilt tops, ready to assemble!

This is "The Farmer's Wife meets Jane" - the centre square is a collection of Dear Jane blocks from two different starts on the quilt...the remainder of the blocks are from the Farmer's Wife quilt. I have the centre and the first border sewn together, and part of the third border. I just need to make final decisions on the colour and style of the plain border fabrics.

This is a variation of Honouring Emma, by Lori Smith. I have all the fabrics, and the applique is done.

And, I'm calling this one Open Window...the blocks were a result of a quilt gone wrong, but I think turned out great with this layout! All ready to go, all blocks pieced, and I have the border fabric.

Stars for a New Day, month 7

2010-11-15T04:48:00.001-05:00

I’ve been keeping up with my plan to work on Stars for a New Day on a monthly basis, but this month – arrggghh…I’m getting awfully tired of those little 1” hsts and all those stars, and all that paper ripping, this month’s set would have ended up in the garbage if I hadn’t been so determined!

All the hsts are sewn by using a paper piecing hst grid - kind of like Thangles but in a rectangle shape to yield the correct number of hst colour combinations. Then those have to be cut apart, and paper ripped off, and pressed. Then each of the "fancy stars" are made up of 8 rows of 8 hsts or plain squares. The little sawtooth stars are kind of fun to sew up, once I'm past the paper pieced hst part!

There are six month's worth of making up these sets - four "fancy stars" and 8 sawtooth stars - I've done four sets, and still have two to go. I just keep looking at the centre feathered star I had done earlier to make me keep going.

Four Winds (aka just kisses)

2010-10-29T04:51:00.000-04:00

I completed this quilt a couple of weeks ago, for my aunt.

The applique are four blocks from Sue Garman's b.o.m. at the Quilt Show. I had intended to make a quilt using all six of the leaf blocks, but when playing on EQ, came up with this layout. As is my habit, I don't usually go about making a quilt for a specific person but rather make quilts as I like to, then as I go along a receipient comes to mind. This one just called for Aunt Pauline.

I got a Kindle!

2010-10-05T05:59:00.000-04:00

My son kept telling me about ebook readers - and I totally rejected the idea because a book is a book - nothing better! But then I became aware that I haven't read a book in several months -which for me is more than unusual - because I can't afford or won't pay the high prices for new books; the library is hard for me to get to on a regular basis; and second hand stores don't seem to have the selection they once had. An ereader gives me instant books, and after testing out a Kobo, I found that it really was possible to lose myself in the story and forget that I'm reading it on a device instead of from a book. The page has no glare, no backlit, clear black and white printing, and is very easy on the eyes.

I so much wanted a Kobo, I guess because it looked like it had the most simplest form, and to me it was Canadian, and it supported epub books which are a bit more readily available than the Kindle format. But I just couldn't cope with the blue navigation button on the right front of the reader. It gave my thumb a cramp, as it required a bit of push; and its location made it very difficult to use with another hand or finger.

One very neat thing about the ereader is that I can put my pattern pdfs on to it, and save printing all those pages.

So, here's my new Kindle (a birthday present from my husband), along with a cover made from a pattern at Moda Bake Shop. I even used the kindle to read the directions for the cover, while making the cover!

Meet me at the Manor

2010-09-30T05:22:00.000-04:00

Quiltmaker magazine has introduced a four part series quilt called Meet Me at the Manor. I love houses, and samplers, and so I had to give a try to making this quilt from scraps.

I have collected quite a few pieces of what are to me "brights" - as compared to my usual 1800s repros I'm drawn to. Most of these were precuts of charm squares and eighths from Connecting Threads, some pulled from my stash, many of them already having been used as experiments in other quilts.

For this quilt I took a leap and did not do any sketching or colouring on EQ! I just went for it - which is really not in my comfort zone...I usually need to have a really good plan of what I'm putting where, especially as I don't have a large design board to arrange pieces.

The first part of this series required quite of a bit of sewing...nine houses, and some fusible applique - here's what I finished with and I'm really very happy with this beginning. These blocks will be randomly spaced out throughout the top, with smaller pieced blocks and sashings filling out the centre. I don't think I'll be doing the sawtooth star border that shows in the pattern (I've got enough stars going on with other projects!). There are lots of options flitting around in imagination that will make up the last border, or more!

Something from something else!

2010-09-21T06:17:00.000-04:00

I had an idea to give a quilt to my Aunt...thinking of what was Select Six put together some time ago. After taking it out of the drawer, I thought I would make it a bit narrower, so I played on EQ and took apart the top a bit, and re-designed it. Its looking okay, but I don't like the last brown border (unfortunately it doesn't show much on this picture)...so that will eventually come off and be replaced with something a little brighter, maybe a colourful small open design on cream.

Still wanting to give a quilt to my Aunt, I started thinking about the "just kisses" applique blocks I had made so far. Back to EQ, and after lots of playing, I came up with something I think will be wonderful for Pauline. This quilt is 68" square, all fabrics from the Golden Afternoon collection from Connecting Threads.

One more top is on its way, from blocks that I had made but didn't like. I made the mini churn dashes that formed the inner part of a block in a pattern called Odds and Ends from American Patchwork and Quilting. After completing a few blocks with those churn dashes, I was just not happy with the look. EQ to the rescue, again, and I came up with this idea, followed by a picture of the blocks made so far. This will eventually be a quilt for a niece, I think.

Show and Tell

2010-09-20T03:52:00.000-04:00

August was busy in the sewing room - I thought I'd finally catch up on the blog with some pictures of recent projects finished and on their way -

First is a quilt I made for my niece's first year in university residence. Its a variation of a quilt called CrossRoads in American Patchwork and Quilting, August 08. I revised the pattern a bit to accommodate charm squares. I used to packs of Rural Jardin charm squares, less the light ones, plus some odd bits from my stash. Finished size is 62 x 77.

I quilted Starlight Starbright for my daughter's graduation present

I finished a top to give to my Aunt, then decided another WIP might be more suitable for her, and its almost ready for quilting. I've re-designed another UFO that may be a quilt for a niece. I've been working on blocks from the Farmer's Wife book, and with a goal of 10 blocks a month, I'm up to 40 blocks.

I've also been very much enjoying the ease of applique from b.o.m. kits! Its an easy way out, I know, but absolutely no stress over colour choices, which seems to be my nemises for applique. I'm working on Baltimore & Bali, and a folk version (kansas troubles fabrics) of My Whimsical Garden. ). I'm also keeping up with Honouring Emma.

More pictures tomorrow,

Penny

P3 Designs block of the month mystery

2010-08-09T08:05:00.000-04:00

This series is up to month five - we have a centre, and four each of the blocks I've placed on the design flannel, to the side of the centre.

I find it hard to get enthusiastic about mystery quilts - I love the idea, but ensuring that I pick the fabrics correctly to get a nice quilt is a little intimidating. This year, for Pearl P. Pereira's mystery quilt, I found fabrics in my stash that have worked pretty well. The peach check (that make up the large flowers on the sides of the centre block) could be brighter - but it still works.

Pearl writes terrific instructions - which is a very good thing because these are not your usual blocks! I don't know how she comes up with her designs, but they are the kind where you stitch, cut and flip pieces until you end up with these interesting leaves and flowers. Very different, and a bit challenging - you have to follow the directions and work carefully step by step.

If you'd like to join in, all the previous month's instructions are still available. Go to Pearl P. Pereira's website, and click on the forum link in the menu on the left.

keeping up with Stars for a New Day

2010-07-31T15:24:00.000-04:00

Well, no I'm not really keeping up with Stars for a New Day, as this was the Quilt Show b.o.m. for 2009, but I am keeping up my own new schedule of sewing one month's instructions every month! A variation of this quilt is also offered at a few quilt shoppes as Washington Medallion, with a few less stars!

Sue Garman designed this quilt with excellent instructions...all of the star blocks are made with"paper pieced" half square triangles to make up the flying geese units and points...while this works very well to make up the colours and patterns she's suggested, it is unfamiliar to me. I almost always make my hsts and flying geese the traditional way, with triangles cut and sewn together without any sew, cut, sew methods. The hst grid which is provided with the patterns is a different way for me to work, but I'm enjoying the difference, and as Sue's cutting and layout instructions are all based on this grid, it doesn't make sense to try to convert everything to my usual way of doing things.

So here's my work so far...the next few months are more of the sawtooth stars, and what Sue calls border stars, which are sawtooth star variations.

Summertime Variation, quilted

2010-07-28T15:01:00.000-04:00

I wrote about this quilt on my blog here. I got the quilting done, and hung it up in a hallway before taking a picture. Since then, I've been waiting for the right time to ask for help to take it down, and take its picture. Well that doesn't seem to be happening, so here's the picture at an interesting angle.

And a close up picture, trying to show the quilting. Its hard to have a picture show the quilting! I just did a straight stitch design in the churn dash blocks, and some outline and squiggle free motion quilting on the applique blocks. If you click on the picture once, it gets bigger, and click on it again, it should get bigger again.

The big discovery for me was the border. I started off making a free motion line connecting a kind of flower doodle...but it didn't fill up the space right, and it looked kind of skinny and lonely. So I made a second squiggle line that overlapped and kind of ran parallel to the first line - I'm really happy that it turned out okay - better than having to rip and re-stitch! The binding was sewn to the back first, then brought to the front. To sew down the front of the binding, I decided to a machine blanket stitch to match the applique stitching.

Just Kisses...

2010-07-25T14:23:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I wrote a bit about making the crossed leaves blocks of the Hugs and Kisses b.o.m. pattern at the Quilt Show. Here's what I've done to date -

When I first started playing with the crossed leaves design, I thought it might be fun to make the stems curved and casual, rather than straight and formal. I kept thinking of wind. I started out making some trial leaves and stems prepared for machine applique with turned edge and starch...I quickly realized that that method wasn't going to work too well due to muscle fatigue and pain from the repetitious movements of the iron and tools.

I then thought I would use glue stick to turn the applique edges, but I didn't want to remove the freezer paper after sewing (I have done that on another project, and never again!). I decided to try the wash away foundation-applique paper from C & T (amazon.ca sells it for a good price). It certainly made preparing the leaves quick and easy - with a little help from Beth Ferrier's book, Hand Applique by Machine. I think it even made the machine applique a little easier, as there was a definite edge to the leaf to follow with the presser foot. The only thing I am not sure of, is that the finished applique blocks seems to be a little weight-y...I'm tempted to wash one in the sink and see what happens!

I made a drawing of symmetrical curved stem lines, to fit the block size. I've used that to lay out each block...I had to lose one leaf on the inner curve of each stem so it wouldn't be too crowded due to the curves. My intent is to make eight of the crossed leaves blocks (repeating two), and one of the wreath blocks, set in a 9 block setting, something like this:

The fabric I'm using is from the Golden Afternoon collection at Connecting Threads, and a salmon colour from my stash instead of the yellow from the collection.

The Fabric Shuffle

2010-07-24T16:00:00.001-04:00

Since January, I have been looking at, studying really, the applique b.o.m. from the Quilt Show. I very much liked the blue and green fabrics - the colour, print, style. I very much liked the crossed leaves blocks ("kisses") - but I wasn't at all sure about the wreath blocks ("hugs"). In an effort to end some indecision, I order the fabric kit when it went on sale. But...I didn't want to make the quilt exactly as shown. Days and days of mucking about on EQ, and playing with paper templates, and wondering what would I do with the kit fabric if I made the quilt with some other fabric?

In the end, I played with some red and green fabric to make a variation of the crossed leaves blocks. I liked that so much, that I knew that the blue and green were going somewhere else. The background fabric went to the Whimsical Quilt Garden blocks - the white on white dots were just perfect! In the end, I've used the blue and green for a block from Honouring Emma, by Lori Smith. I'm going to like making this quilt in these colours...in this picture I have used the yellow from the kit as an accent, but I'm thinking of changing or adding a bit of purple...there is a slight big of purple accent on one of the blue fabrics. I've done this block as hand applique, tomorrow I hope to finish machine applique on the fourth crossed leaves block and post a picture of the ones sewn to date.

July 23, 2010 - where did the time go?!

2010-07-23T04:52:00.000-04:00

I haven't written or posted pictures on the blog for a while...but it wasn't until now that I see that the last blog posting was May 31! Wow! I've been gone so long, that I see pop ups all over my blogger page to show off improvements to the service.

June I guess just slipped by...followed quickly by most of July! Middle daughter graduated from high school, daughter in law won 2nd place in our provincial bowling championships, youngest son continued to struggle with school and finding a place for himself. My mother has increasing dementia-like symptoms and my sisters and I are coping with how best to give her continued freedom while planning for the future.

I've been working on various quilt blocks and quilted a wall hanging. EQ7 arrived, which had me mindlessly preoccupied for quite some time! My favourite new feature is improved drawing tools, which makes it so much easier to trace scanned applique images.

So, here's a picture for today. It's the first block of Piece O Cake's My Whimsical Quilt Garden pattern - it's a b.o.m. kit from Homestead Hearth - so I can't take much credit other than for the hand applique sewing! I don't do "cute" blocks, and I don't do "bright" fabrics - so this is a real change for me. I love the birdie! The bird's tail isn't sewn down, it is meant to be overflow the block and be sewn onto the sashing, so I prepared the edges with starch. The beak and legs were done with a dmc floss and satin stitch.

2010-05-31T06:39:00.000-04:00

I've been sewing like a mad-woman for the past several days... my two teenagers are each at high drama points at this time (one about to be suspended from school for misbehaviour, the other graduating this June with a new boyfriend complicating things...). So what does a quilter do? Sew, sew, sew. All my frustration and worry went into each slam on the foot pedal, each rotary cut, each stab of the pin. When I wasn't in the sewing room, I was out on the porch, working on a redwork piece so furiously that I have bruised and peeling skin on my needle pushing finger!

I finished the centre portion of Stars for a New Day

And, I finished the quilt top of Select Six, but I'm still thinking of adding a small narrow border, the same brown fabric as in the sashing.

Eureka!

2010-05-25T05:57:00.000-04:00

I have been trying, for weeks I think, to re-design a quilt pattern. I have so many quilt sketches in my EQ file for this quilt, at one point there were over 28 design variations (despite deleting many), all using the same sampler blocks and nine patch blocks.

Here's the original block of the month quilt, which I fell in love with - the colours, the setting - I just had to have it! It is called Select Six, designed by Karen Montgomery at The Quilt Company. The finished quilt size is 76" x 89". This picture does not give a good idea of the wonderful variety of fabrics in the blocks and nine patches, and the setting triangles for the sampler blocks are actually a variety of golden browns.

As the months went by, though, I realized that the quilt was just a bit too big (we really need a new couch quilt, and I also have a couple of people in mind who would like to receive a quilt that size). Mostly, I was awfully afraid of quilting those large open areas - some people would be looking forward to creating some wonderful quilting in those areas, but me? Nope.

Here, finally, is my redesign. There are butterflies in the corners, just because I've always wanted a chance to put butterflies on my quilt! The finished size is 69" square. The sampler blocks aren't all the actual ones in the quilt, and the colours are just to give me an idea of what's happening on the quilt.

So now this is becoming a habit, joining b.o.m.s and then redesigning the quilt...this makes three this spring. So why join the b.o.m. in the first place? I enjoy the pace of receiving the monthly kit; I enjoying sewing it, putting it away, and not having to think about when I'll do the next part, or storing or searching for fabrics. Second, I do enjoy the process of redesign - its a wonderful challenge!

Stars for a New Day

2010-05-23T05:19:00.001-04:00

The Quilt Show presented a block of the month for 2009-2010, Stars for a New Day, by Sue Garman. Here's a picture of the quilt -

For the past several months, I've been going back and forth on deciding to do this quilt. The design really appeals to me...but finding all the "right" scraps, plus all those unpieced borders, kept putting me off. Finally, I decided that I had likely collected enough civil war period scraps to make up little kits for each month's steps, still sort of following the original colour scheme. The big sticking point was still those borders! Sew Sisters recently had a great sale, and I got very lucky, and found the just the right fabrics. In the meantime, I pieced "month two" which were the first pieced borders to go around the centre feathered star. So here's my work so far, along with the selected border fabrics -

Soon I'll be sewing the centre feathered star block, which will mean I can put to use some of these border fabrics and see how it all looks!

Summertime quilt - variation

2010-05-20T10:49:00.000-04:00

I've finished this quilt top - it is a wallhanging size quilt (about 45" square). It started out as block of the month hosted by Homestead Hearth, pattern by Primitive Gatherings (the original can be seen here)

I felt that the background fabric chosen for the b.o.m, was a bit dark, so I machine appliqued the pieces with a heavy gold coloured thread, which did lighten them up a bit. And, because I almost always want to make a pattern "my own", I set the applique blocks with a churn dash block on a slightly lighter background. The churn dash blocks are slightly stretched - a churn dash block is made with three equal proportions of 2" each for a 6" block, these are 7" blocks so I made the centre section 3".

I have the quilt top pinned to my design flannel, and I don't want to take it down to quilt it! I'm just so enjoying looking at it, I think it will (or has) become my favourite wall hanging.

Garden at Dusk - done and delivered :)

2010-05-12T15:40:00.000-04:00

I so much enjoyed quilting this quilt - lots of spaces and places to vary designs, although I did mostly did straight stitching arrangements, and some free motion meandering. I finished this quilt about two weeks ago, and my husband delivered to his brother, who will pass it on to Emily when she next comes for a visit.

The pattern is "Secret Garden" by Cindy Lammon in her book "Gathered from the Garden". I added the extra triangle border, just to make the quilt a bit bigger.

I started using the leftover fabrics from this quilt for the Crossed Leaves applique patterns, as written about in the previous post....but that's another story!

Orphan Blocks...or Oops!

2010-05-11T05:44:00.000-04:00

I think I'll call myself the Queen of Orphan Applique Blocks. I have countless applique experiments stuffed and hidden away - I am just too critical of my colour choices in applique, and there doesn't seem to be a darn thing I can do about it!

Here are three crossed leaves type blocks from Sue Garman's block of the month, called Hugs and Kisses, from the Quilt Show website. Nothing terribly wrong with them, but I just don't like them. I think its the choice of the dark stem that is bothering me.

The top left is my favourite - and using Electric Quilt I've drawn and idea of a small quilt to use this block, and some elements from other blocks in the vine.

I am so addicted to using Electric Quilt - and a new version is coming out in just weeks! I am almost counting the days to see what can be done with the new EQ7!

Evernote software for organizing your quilting works

2010-04-09T06:20:00.001-04:00

I use a wonderful - free - program called Evernote to organize all my quilting w.i.p.s, ideas, b.o.m.s, etc. The program can be used on Windows, and on various portable electronics, synced back to your computer. I've been using it for several months now and I find myself referring to it daily - here's a screenshot of what mine looks like

The first thing to do is set up notebooks - mine include online b.o.m., subscription b.o.m., ideas, stash (which means to me quilts in some kind of progress), to quilt, possibilities with fabric (different from ideas as I have fabric ready to go). Then you just list what you like within each notebook, each item can have as many pictures, web links, text, etc. as you want. (I've marked out the number of items for each notebook, ack!, don't want to have that information public, lol.)

In the screenshot are the details for Floribunda. On the left is the list of notebooks, in the centre is a summary of each item in that notebook (here it shows the online b.o.m. notebook) , and on the right is all the details of the highlighted item, complete with picture from EQ which shows what Floribunda might look like when its done.

Eventually I added tags - piecing, hand applique, machine applique, in progress. Now I can see the number (!) of quilts that I'm currently working on. And, for example, I can see that I have way too many hand applique projects ready to go!!

For me, Evernote is a quick way to stay organized because I can drag and drop info from places on my computer and from websites - I can refer to it often so I don't forget that great picture, pattern, or drawing. I also use it to pick and choose something to work on when I'm feeling less than inspired - that's how I ended up finishing these two tops this week.

Time to put together tops...

2010-04-08T12:08:00.000-04:00

I've been making up the blocks for the Remembrance quilt and realized it was time to work on the first border - so here is an almost completed top. The pattern calls for one more 5" border, and I'd

like to find a blue and white large print for that, but right now the quilt is 68" square which is a good size for a lap quilt, so I may end up putting a dark blue narrow final border.

I've also finished the blocks for Starlight, Starbright which I did as b.o.m. through Homestead Hearth. I've set the centre a bit differently than the pattern, and made it smaller. I've also changed up the border, and I should have that all done tomorrow.

Mountain Top done

2010-04-05T18:07:00.001-04:00

I've been quilting the Mountain Top quilt for the past few weeks - finally got the binding sewn on (all by machine) this weekend. I straight stitched through the inner block sashings - where the background meets the black squares, and a large meandering stitch up to and through the narrow scrappy border; then just straight line quilting through the outer border. The original quilt pattern didn't have a border, and it was set 4 x 5 blocks - I had laid many of the blocks on the floor and I felt it was all to overwhelming without somewhere "blank" to look at. The quilt still finishes at good size, 72" x 87".

Great stash digging results!

2010-03-31T05:32:00.000-04:00

Pearl Pereira is offering a free mystery block of the month - mostly piecing and some applique - just introduced last week. Mysteries are hard to commit to, and even harder to plan for...the not knowing of what you're going to get makes the fabric selection that much more tricky. Pearl's fabric choices showed red, 2 blues, 2 pinks, 2 greens. I decided that I'd participate only if I could find all of the pieces in my stash - after much digging, I got together a wonderful grouping of fabric, and even better, it included some pieces that I had just about given up hope of ever using. Instead of red I have a predominately peach floral, and the two pinks are peach.

Here's a mock up of the first block on my design flannel, I had a little grin on my face when I stepped back to see that with the fabrics chosen, I could be on my way to a very nice quilt. Beside it I put the second background and the remaining fabric swatches. I did have to order a little more of the bright green, and a little more of the second background - but, bonus! I caught the last day of a sale at the web store.

Anna's Garden

2010-03-24T06:14:00.000-04:00

Here are the first three blocks of Anna's Garden, pattern by Lori Smith. These are 7" blocks, and the background is a dark navy. Working on these blocks are like working on little applique snacks - just enough challenge to make it interesting, and enough leeway in the design to not worry too much about placement and fine details. I am happy with the colours, but I do find myself wavering.

After the first two blocks, I brought out some large pieces of mostly civil war era repros. I almost changed my mind right then and there. Something about those shades and tones that just make me feel like I could crawl right into the pile of fabric!

But, the style I'm working on now is just fine...nothing wrong with it...just do I want to do the whole quilt like this? It only takes a few charm packs to make up a quilt like this.. hmmmm. My goal is to do two to three of these a month; lets hope that in April I'm not showing a whole different set of colours and fabrics!

Stash organization really does help!

2010-03-20T06:00:00.000-04:00

I have had a great - fantastic - past couple of days in the studio, resulting in some great decisions on applique and pieced projects that I will keep me busy for at least a year or two!

A few months ago, I cleaned up my stash. I don't have a large stash, but I do have enough to keep me inspired, and fabrics that can act as starters for a project. While organizing, I was astounded at how many yellows and browns I had...about 6 yards of each. I also discovered a large amount of red and green scraps civil ware repro types (some large as fqs), that was about 5 yards total. And enough 30s repro, some cut into 2" squares, to consider a lap sized quilt...didn't realize I collected those! The strangest discovery was the brights, by sorting them by colour and putting them into bags, I had enough of those to start a quilt. Brights are not really my thing, and these must have been hatching in the dark. I also have several smaller "sets" of fabric that will work well into minis and small wallhangings that I used to enjoy doing so much.

So now I have all these baskets and bags of "collections" and colours. I felt I had to make sure I used them - and I have! The pink and blues already have been given to the Celebration sampler; the Riveria line of fabrics from Connecting Threads were perfect for the Floribunda project. The leftover Glace scraps from my neice's quilt is enough to do the Sue Garman machine applique.

There were three quilts I wanted to kit up for myself - and the last couple of days the ideas kept flowing as I moved fabric and patterns from pile to pile. The red and green scraps that were destined for a sampler by Lori Smith, ended up back in the basket, to maybe turn into a 4 block applique from the A Baltimore Album book. But that's a simmering idea. The yellow and brown, with white and odd bits of green, will make that sampler into a lively quilt. I discovered that the 30s repro could work really well in the Anna's Garden applique pattern by Lori Smith - I even found yards of a navy background to use. The brights and a few batiks I have can wait for some kind of inspiration.

I can hardly believe that I made up all these projects from my little stash. I really have no reason to shop. I am still doing some purchased blocks of the month, and will continue to do so, as they provide an opportunity to make a quilt from a pattern that is not readily available, or use fabrics in a way that is too hard for me to organize, or are just plain interesting! So kits mights still be on the shopping list, but nothing else. Is there a quilter's oath I can swear....that I promise to use the kits I made up, make no swaps to make new kits, to not even consider yet another I have to have it? Hmmm...

Commitment issues....

2010-03-18T06:09:00.000-04:00

I have been obsessed with applique patterns and fabrics. I haven't been able to make many firm decisions, and my fabric choices go around and around in my head - dancing with different partner patterns. I used to have many pieced projects on the go, now it seems I'm much more concerned with applique projects. I also have a problem making a firm decision - is this really how I want to use this pattern or fabric??

I have made so many full and partly finished applique blocks over the past few weeks (and years!) In the past couple of weeks in particular I have spent hours playing with my stash, reviewing patterns, internet browsing, and colouring quilts on EQ. Yesterday I finally smacked myself on the head and said, this is not a life changing decision! just go with something! you have enough sense to know that you're being overly particular and that really nothing is wrong with anything that you've tried so far - its like an itch that can't be scratched :) The point is to enjoy the sewing of applique, challenge myself a bit, and maybe at the end have a finished top that I can say, I made that with my own two hands :)

So, I made decisions....any bets if any of these quilt plans will result in that actual quilt? I think so - I'm done with playing, for now.... I also seem to need a lot of variety - I am not the type of quilter to start one thing and finish it (well, how many of us are like that?)

After giving up ever being happy with fabric choices for Baltimore n Bali by the Rabbit Factory, and making or prepping blocks one and two, way too many times, I've started another pattern by the Rabbit Factory called Celebration Sampler. This seems to suit my collection of blues and pinks that I thought would be an applique quilt - the Celebration Sampler will give me a bit of everything, the blocks in this quilt are just pieced, or a combo of piecing and applique, or all applique.

Then comes blocks from Sue Garman's quilt Hugs and Kisses, a b.o.m. from the Quilt Show. I'll be doing "just kisses", the crossed leaves patterns, by machine applique (applique pieces prepped with edges turned and starched). I enjoy machine applique, and if I did everything I wanted to by hand, well then I'd have a real problem. I'm using scraps of Glace fabric leftover from another quilt.

I'm going to continue to follow the Floribunda b.o.m., as I very much like my fabric choices here, and her style of drawing, so similar to Piece O Cake designs.

And, I'm still debating about one more hand applique project that will either be blocks from A Baltimore Album, by Marsha Radtke, or and old favourite of mine that never got started, Anna's Garden by Lori Smith.

So, it looks like I've ended up with a small amount of hand applique in the Celebration Sampler, a monthly hand applique block from Floribunda, machine applique every-other-month from Hugs and Kisses; and one other hand applique to be announced. That's pretty good decisions, now how about that commitment?

Floribunda

2010-03-02T04:54:00.000-05:00

There is a great new applique block of the month being offered by One Piece at a Time quilts - here is her blog link - take a look! I thought about this b.o.m. for a while, then remembered I had put away a collection of fabrics from Connecting Threads called Riveria - I so much liked this line of fabrics that I bought it, but couldn't decide when and how to cut it up :) This applique pattern I think will work well for the Riveria Fabrics. I've used needleturn applique for this block.

"Garden at Dusk"

2010-03-02T04:52:00.000-05:00

I did get the borders put on the quilt I'm calling Garden at Dusk. I love playing with border options on Electric Quilt. The original quilt, My Secret Garden, from the book Gathered from the Garden by Cindy Lammon, had a plain border...but I wanted more! This quilt will be going to my college age neice - I just kept thinking about her while making it.

Folk style sampler done and done :)

2010-02-24T05:29:00.000-05:00

I was so anxious to get this quilt washed and on the wall...next thing it's up there, but I hadn't taken a picture. It's place is on the front stair landing, a great spot for large wall quilts, but no place to get a decent picture. So this is all that I can share.

I use Hobbs Heirloom 80/20 in all my quilts - I love the crinkly effect that happens after a washing, its easy to quilt with on my home machine, and doesn't require a lot of quilting if I want.

I do hate hand sewing binding, so while I told myself that I wasn't allowed to do any other handwork until the binding was done. So instead I procrastinated by finishing the centre of Garden at Dusk - I hope to put the borders on today -

Lookee what I found!

2010-02-18T06:21:00.000-05:00

I am working on a Dear Jane b.o.m. through Stitchin' Heaven quilt shop. I was looking for a place to store last month's completed blocks, and my eye fell upon a large sewing box that was hidden under a scrap box, under my ironing board. That's where I kept some "orphan" Dear Jane blocks. The yahoo group Canadian Quilter's Online had started a Dear Jane group (in 2006), led by Sandy, who introduced the blocks for the month and gave us suggestions and lessons on the best way to make them. I have no idea now why I stopped... but I was surely shocked to find 41 - forty one! - Dear Jane blocks in my basket. I had to count them twice! That's enough to make a nice size wallhanging, or a medallion with a floral centre, or...or... Well, another project to think about :)

Folk Style Sampler quilting

2010-02-16T04:58:00.000-05:00

The quilting is done on the Folk Style sampler.

What made this free motion design work for me was to try to not make any kind of pattern - sew a few parallel or mirrored curves, but mostly try to fill areas in a random way, change direction, size and shape of the curves. For the most part, this wasn't hard - but there were a few times when I was so "in the moment" that I kind of woke up and realized I had got myself into a pattern, or stuck in corner, or somehow got myself into a position where my curves were going backward, or upside down, to where they should be. But it really didn't matter, because there was so many random moves of stitching that there are very few places for the eye to pick up a pattern - it mostly just looks like fill lines of random stitching.

I tried a few different free motion filler stitches in the light coloured column of sashing - but to me it just added confusion. To give the quilt some peace, I just straight stitched one line of quilting in the centre of each black sashing, and two lines of stitching in the plain sashing. The stitching in the black sashing was done in a dark brown, just to add some interest - it can't even be seen in these pictures!

Pick and Choose quilt finished

2010-02-11T05:17:00.000-05:00

Another quilt top finished! This is a scrappy quilt, using the Buckeye Beauty Block, from American Patchwork and Quilting. My original writing about it is at these blog dates where I thought it might be and ugly quilt (which it isn't!) and in this blog where I think about the quilting.

I had planned to do some machine embroidery quilting in the open spaces, but in the end decided to go ahead and free motion quilt in those areas. I did learn something in the process. Its too bad that quilting details don't show up in pictures - here's what happened. In the sashing I decided to free motion a large swirl on each side of the sashing in the open square, connected by a doodle line and one or two smaller swirls. When I was done, I was not at all happy. The connecting line looked scraggly and out of place. So I went back and kind of echo quilted that doodle line, branching off and making more swirlies in random places. It looks so much better - so twice quilted, twice as nice!

My son took off with it before I got a good picture - here it is on his bed - notice the sock in the bottom corner, and the clutter on the right side - I couldn't kick everything under his bed before the picture :)

A bit of this and a bit of that

2010-02-03T06:17:00.000-05:00

This past week I've been making blocks for quilts in progress; still playing with fabric settings for the Baltimore & Bali pattern; practicing paper piecing; and searching for just the right pattern or idea to use some Fig Tree charm squares I have.

No pictures - but I can say I did successfully finish my first block of Moonglow - not too much fun I must say, but when it was done I could say I learned a lot! I finished the second applique block with the theme I had in mind, but in the end I wasn't entirely happy with the result - so I bought some fabric which is on its way and will I hope solve that dilemma and get me stitching again. I also made several little blocks and mock ups of blocks with the Fig Tre charms (Dandelion Girl and Gypsy Rose); still not sure where that's going. I think I have a good idea for a spring wallhanging from a paper pieced block by Carol Doak, we'll see where that ends up!

I wanted to be quilting something - I pieced together a few large batting scraps so I could start quilting the Folk Style Sampler - got it laid out for spray basting and it was an inch or so short on one side...arrggghhh. So I'm waiting for batting so I can do that. I'm also waiting on getting the upgrade for my D1 installed so I can finish quilting the "Pick and Choose" with outline embroidery in some open areas.

I think that this mucking about with things will end by the weekend, and I'll be back on track to doing the quilting I want; and making blocks and things that are keepers :)

Paper Piecing Success!!

2010-01-25T07:49:00.000-05:00

I consider myself pretty adept at most techniques of traditional quilt making. Paper piecing, however, has always been a huge stumbling block. Every time I tried to paper piece a block, I thought that paper-piecing addicts must be a crazy bunch. Why would anyone put themselves through this? My ability to place and then sew and then flip a piece of fabric and have it end up where it should, despite cutting it almost twice the size necessary, always ended in frustration.

I have been forced though to confront my lack of paper piecing ability. I am starting (again) on a Dear Jane quilt - this time as b.o.m. through Stitchin' Heaven (their instructions are absolutely wonderful). Also, my youngest son has asked for MoonGlow by Jinny Beyer, as a grad present in a couple year's time, how could I say no?

I have been a past member of the The Quilt Show and receive their email newsletters. When I saw that Carol Doak - "the queen of paper piecing" - was a guest on an episode, I had to renew my membership. I am trying to cut down on quilting expenses this year, but I felt that the annual membership was less than the cost of some quilt classes, and as I don't attend any of those, then, here's my class!

I watched a wonderful demonstration by Carol, and I think finally the lightbulb moment has come. I attempted, successfully and without many arrggghhh moments, a paper pieced Dear Jane block.

Then I had to face my first Dear Jane triangle - paper pieced. Oh my. An hour later, voila! Yes, it took me that long....because I was doing a lot of talking to myself, and I did make a few errors.

So I proudly and happily carried my little block over to the cutting mat to square it up using my DJ triangle ruler that had been sitting unused for a few years. Acckkk! Why is my triangle so small? What on earth have I done? It turns out that the foundation paper I printed from my CD was the wrong size triangle. Ohhhhh...I wish you could have seen me after that discovery!

This morning, I'm starting again - on the correct size triangle - and I think I'll have it done in about a half hour - pretty good progress!

Folk Style Sampler top

2010-01-24T07:10:00.001-05:00

Machine applique block designs from Folk-Style Sampler, by Michelle Hill, Australian Patchwork & Quilting, vol. 12 no. 12 and vol. 13 no. 1

Trim and square large blocks

2010-01-21T09:36:00.002-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I finished the last block in a series of machine applique blocks, from a pattern called Folk-Style Sampler, by Michelle Hill, Australian Patchwork & Quilting, vol. 12 no. 12 and vol. 13 no. 1. I had received the first part of this series pattern as a Christmas gift a few years ago...then had to go and get the second part!

These blocks finish at 16" - I don't have a 16 1/2" ruler, and hardly have 16" of space on my cutting board. So I used freezer paper to help me out.

First I cut a large piece of freezer paper, folded it carefully into fourths, then, measuring from the two folded edges, measured a square 8 1/4" so the freezer paper would measure 16 1/2" when opened.

I marked a line on the freezer paper, 1/2" up from the bottom, where I want each vase bottom to sit. And, marked a vertical and horizontal centre lines (although for these designs, the vertical line was the only important one).

I can then iron the freezer paper on to the block, placing the marked line at the bottom edge of the vase, and centring the vertical line through the centre stem.

Now, I can take it to the cutting board and it doesn't matter if the block overhangs the edge a bit or is a bit crowded in the space. I can use my 24" long ruler to trim the extra fabric! Voila!

This worked so well, I think I'll try it on those Mountain Top blocks, although I'm not sure how well it will worked on a pieced block with lots of seams.

The original pattern for the Folk-Style Sampler called for a wide floral border; however, I want something smaller that will fit on to a certain wall in my hall. I think I'm going to go with a formal setting of a three-strip setting - black, background ivory, black; with nine-patch setting squares. This is a layout I did just to see what the black would look like in the finished quilt.

A week has gone by....

2010-01-19T04:04:00.000-05:00

and I never got started on quilting a quilt that I finally got sandwiched. Here is "pick and choose" that I made during the summer - posted here in my blog.

If I'm lucky, while sandwiching a quilt I can see where and how I might quilt it. I"ll then mark those areas with green tape so I won't lose the idea.

I've marked where I could do straight line quilting through the diagonal set squares; and something interesting in the square open space.

But, instead of getting started on the quilting, I got involved in planning yet another applique quilt. If you've read much of my blog, you'll know how much I struggle with starting and sticking with a hand applique project. I find lots of great patterns, then spend way too much time choosing fabrics, then I don't like it anymore, and start again with another pattern. I'm not going to say much at this time, because maybe I'll surprise myself and actually stick with this project. Let's just say that after several days of making up fabric sets that might work; internet shopping for ideas; and trial runs of actual sewing; I think I may have come up with an idea that I'll stick with.

A Tisket A Tasket blocks

2010-01-10T10:28:00.000-05:00

I'd thought I show a picture of my completed redwork version of BunnyHill Designs' 2009 block of the month, A Tisket A Tasket. I was happy to have kept up with this b.o.m., and finished the last block between Christmas and New Year.

I did the redwork with a brown floss, on a pale pink plaid background. Here they are shown, in no particular order, on a bright red floral fabric with a matching darker brown fabric. I'm not sure if I'll set these as a wallhanging, with sashing separating the blocks, or use the blocks as part of a bigger quilt. I'm in no hurry to make them into top just now.

Blue and White

2010-01-07T06:45:00.000-05:00

I have a bin full of blue fabrics - squares, scraps, strips, and a couple of fat quarters. I've been wanting to make a blue and white quilt for a couple of years - and everything blue has gone into this bin. I decided that this was the year to make a decision. Period.

I finally found the pattern I wanted - Rememberance, from Kim Diehl's book Simple Seasons - that uses just two fabrics for the entire quilt, it's almost a sampler of 15" blocks with pieced sashings and a pieced inner border. I've liked this pattern for a long time. I guesstimated how much yardage I had, and compared my size of scraps to the sizes that needed cutting. Then I got to cutting - and cutting - and cutting - by now my little workspace was full of baggies, bits, reject blues (those that were a bit too green) all over the floor and everywhere. I was down to the last few bits to cut. Where on earth was I to find 24 - 3 1/2 x 2 1/2 inch pieces, now? Arrggh... Then do I really have to cut 16 2 1/2" squares out of all these leftovers? And finally, how I am to get 3 1/2 x 7 pieces now! I really should have read through the whole list and cut the bigger pieces first.

This is about when I wanted to run screaming from the sewing room...and on return, toss everything blue into the garbage! But I didn't. I took a deep breath and re-assessed. It turns out the 3 1/2 x 7 pieces were part of the pieced border, which was one of my favourite parts of this quilt, but they aren't meant to be. I'll have to redesign something at the end.

This morning I couldn't wait to see if all my work would turn out a pretty quilt. So I cut up what I needed of the white background to make one of the blocks. Wonderful! I think I'll be very happy working on this, one block at a time.

Mountain Top

2010-01-05T07:20:00.001-05:00

I am having a lot of fun working on Mountain Top blocks, from a block of the month by Homestead Hearth, pattern by Laundry Basket Quilts.

If you are a terrific scrap saver (which I'm not) this is a great pattern to use up those bits. I chose to do it as a b.o.m., to keep from being overwhelmed, and because I wanted a huge variety of fabric. Three blocks a month don't take much time. Just looking at all variety of bits of fabric keeps me interested. I remember once doing a scrappy quilt from all my leftovers, that's when I was better at keeping scraps, and the memories! Recalling all the quilts and quilts-that-might-have-been!

This is a block where I use my favourite ruler - the Easy Angle ruler. You save a bit of fabric, as strips are cut 2 1/2" instead of 2 7/8" in the usual prep of hsts. And they are so accurate! Don't be concerned about sewing on the bias, especially with the small size of these triangles - every hst I've ever made with this ruler has been so accurate I no longer measure to check.

After sewing the triangles together, I take the whole chain to the ironing board and without cutting them apart, lay them out with all dark sides up, then just press them one after the other.

Here are some of the blocks laid out on the floor. This is a big quilt! It finishes at 79 x 94. I think I'll be giving it to a niece who is going off to univeristy this summer/fall. These are 15" blocks, with sashings, 30 blocks to the quilt. I've got about 20 finished this far, and I'm still thinking about making it smaller, or making a border which this quilt doesn't have. The original can be seen here.

Some sewing done over the Christmas break...

2010-01-04T05:15:00.000-05:00

I made up three Affairs of the Heart blocks - finally - after trying out different methods such as back basting and freezer paper on top. I finally decided that the pieces were just too small, I wasn't that comfortable in using the backbasting method; and with the freezer paper on top I was very concerned that I would not quite place the pieces right so that the symmetry would be lost. So I decided to machine applique them, with a fusible, using variegated threads to add some dimension. I did the embroidery stitching by hand. I was quite happy with the results but I'll only do a few more like this and then make a small wallhanging. I'm going to re-think my approach to these blocks as I know now they'll be machine applique rather than hand applique.

I made a couple of more blocks of Garden at Dusk (from Cindy Lammon's book, Gathered from the Garden), and was able to put together about two-thirds of the top. This quilt will be for my niece Emily.

Then there was practice in hand piecing. I made a Dear Jane block, hand pieced - it took nearly three hours! I surely hope I get faster if I plan to hand piece all 224 (I think) blocks in this quilt. I'll talk about my method as I get going on more of these.

Year-end reckoning....

2009-12-31T05:40:00.001-05:00

I keep a file on my computer with pictures of quilts that I'm actively working on - ones that are cut up, in progress, a b.o.m.,or kitted from my stash. I counted these yesterday - I have twelve picturesof these, three should be finished tops probably by the end of February.

So I then started to count what I got done this year - besides a scary amount of experimental blocks, half finished and hidden quilts, and miscellaneous false starts - I've got nine finished quilts (two or three are wallhangings or smaller); and three finished tops ready to be quilted. So I guess that *if* I don't add anymore to my current list (ha ha) then really my pile of want-to-do's this year isn't too bad.

I did go backing crazy yesterday, and pieced a backing for the egg money quilts (kind of ugly as it turned out); and two more backings from stash for the buckeye beauty and the border creek mystery. As soon as New Year's is over, I'll get to quilting the buckeye beauty (third from the left); then wait for a batting sale for the other two. I'm in no hurry to quilt these - and a couple of quilt tops I'm soon finishing are meant for gifts to be given in late spring so they'll get priority.

This past year my health has definitely affected my quilting activities. Things I could do fairly well in times past were a real struggle this year. Hand applique goes very slowly - and I have a constant argument with myself about why do I feel the need to pursue this when machine applique can be just as pretty? I've got back into hand stitching redwork - something I used to do, as well as cross stitch, in my 20s. And I've signed on to a Dear Jane b.o.m. so I can pursue hand piecing. All of this because I need more time on the couch, but at the same time these activities go slowly. My ability to quilt has been affected due to loss of strength to manipulate the quilt and sew a straight line (!) but I'm in the midst of solving this by upgrading my Designer 1 sewing/embroidery machine to accept a 6" spring hoop, and hope to get much of my quilting done by embroidery machine designs.

I'm going into my 10th year of quilting as my full time outlet for busy-ness, productivty, and creativity. That's a lot of time playing with a craft/hobby/art! That's why I'm looking at new challenges - such as hand piecing the Dear Jane and perhaps attempting the very-scary-difficult-to-me Moonglow quilt by Jinny Beyer (youngest son saw this quilt and couldn't stop talking about it - so he'll get it as a graduation gift in a couple of years) or a paper pieced quilt top.

So on to 2010 - Happy New Year and my wish to all is for a happy, healthy and creative year ahead.

The quilt that won't behave - update

2009-12-15T07:15:00.000-05:00

If you can see in the picture the simple squares on point I quilted in the border - well, that's it for border quilting. I'm pretty sure I'm breaking the rules here, the rule being that the amount of quilting in the border should be similar to that in the centre - and these squares are pretty light on quilting - but for several days I've been thinking about how to add to these, after sewing one border length a week ago. I like it like this, so its staying like this. I like the simplicity, and I don't think this quilt deserves any more work! I also didn't do any quilting lines in the little two patch scrappy inner border.

The good news is that the quilt was square when I trimmed off the excess batting and backing. Now that's a sign of a successful quilt - if despite all that goes wrong or might cause grief, if the quilt turns out square - its not bad at all. On goes the binding, into the wash, folded and tied with selvedge fabric, and it will be put away for when I see my sister next.

The quilt that won't behave

2009-12-15T05:36:00.000-05:00

I have been making a quilt for my sister. I think I now hate this quilt....not because I don't like the top's design, in fact I think its quite nice. But I hate it for a bunch of reasons - if this quilt was not supposed to be done for Carolyn, I would put it in quilt detention - those dark sealed tupperwares underneath my table, down in the basement, stashed around the house. There it would stay, until it learned to shape up.

The quilt centre started out as some orphan blocks from another quilt. Then many hours went into playing on EQ to figure out setting blocks and borders. When I had it sewn with the first pieced border, I decided that this would a great quilt for Carolyn - but she wanted it bigger. So more time spent figuring out a second border with the fabric I had - at this point the intent was to give it to her at Thanksgiving along with my other sister's quilt. I do enjoy this process of designing a quilt and I enjoy seeing the finished result.

When it came time to quilt it - well, lets just say the quilt fought back every step of the way. I have done so much sewing and so much ripping on this quilt. I don't remember the last time I had a quilt that created ripples, pleats, and wobbles as much as this one. I discovered poorly pieced pinwheel blocks hiding in the quilt (who made those? lol).

And now I have no love for it - I just want it gone - I have so many other tops I want to have fun with - including a winter/holiday wallhanging that I made that I wish I could be quilting. But this sister just won't understand if I don't hurry up and give her this quilt - no substitutions allowed at this point! (Because she knows that older sister already got hers, and she has seen it).

I think this darn quilt is part of the reason my get up and sew has gone - I haven't done any handwork - embrodery or applique - in the past few weeks, and in the past week I haven't even turned on a machine. I think today is the day I have to conquer this quilt once and for all.

A Wedding!

2009-11-24T06:21:00.000-05:00

My oldest son, Fraser, was married this past weekend to Kaitlyn. Fraser is the first of our kids to be married, and what an experience to be mother-of-the-groom! We didn't have much opportunity to take pictures, and I'm sure more will come my way - but isn't this one sweet? Their first dance.

It's wonderful to have Kaitlyn join our family - she is happy, mischevious and kind, and as a couple Fraser and Kaitlyn have always just complemented each other, like pieces of a puzzle put whole :)

Mini quilt done

2009-11-02T05:40:00.000-05:00

I forgot how satsifying it is to work on a mini - about three days work, for me, or maybe one day for a more industrious person, and you've got a lovely little wallhanging. The second picture shows it hanging from a shelf that came with our house when we bought it many years ago. Two of these shelves, with the hanging rod, were in the kitchen and we didn't know quite what to do with them at the time, only that they needed to be gone from the wall they were on. We installed the shelves on two opposite short walls in the living room and used them as bookshelves, and took away the hanging rod. Years go by.....and now its a perfect place to hang the minis.

After I hung the quilt, I realized that I forgot some quilting lines on the bottom right side...can you see where I missed?

I enjoy using the laptop computer that I've had for about a year now, but the ability to see colours properly does make me mad from time to time. The first border triangles are a lovely turqoise that picks up the little balck dots on the background print; the last border is a little lighter colour of the same turqoise.

A Lori Smith mini quilt

2009-10-30T06:13:00.000-04:00

I'm still in recovery and I so much need to sew! I've been in the sewing room the last couple of days, and everything I pick up just seems too overwhelming. So I've decided to do a little mini quilt from Lori Smith, called Josephine's Pride, in one of her fit-to-frame collections. I used to sew a lot of mini quilts and wallhangings, then somehow got caught up in lots of lap and bed sized quilts. I'm going to see if I can get this done this weekend.

Here's my cutting table after prepping the flying geese blocks that make up the sawtooth stars. I'm using repro scraps leftover from another quilt.

When I'm sewing small pieces, especially ones cut on the bias, I find I can get more accuracy and control by using my regular sewing foot, and moving the needle over to an accurate quarter inch. I have this spot written down! If you can do this on your machine, give it a try.

Now that my little flying geese are done, and I managed to get matching fabrics on each point, there's a little spring in my step already!

Egg Money Quilt

2009-10-28T07:41:00.000-04:00

I found my bits and pieces of Eleanor Burns' Egg Money quilts and realized there wasn't much sewing left to put the top together. The red background made it hard to get a good picture!

some hand-sewing done this week

2009-10-25T16:39:00.000-04:00

The October little stitchies block done -

And, the second block of Pushin Up Spring (available from Connie at Apple Blossom Quilts)

The flu sure seems to be good for one thing - lots of couch time for applique and stitching!