Well this week we took the 272 half square triangles we made last week and added a bunch of 2-1/2 inch squares to build 34 8-1/2 pinwheel blocks to add to our quilt. It now measures 80.5 x 72.5
Tag Archives: QAL
Week 6 Unity Update
This week Bonnie Hunter took pity on us, sort of. When I started reading the instructions, I gasped out load when I read that we had to make 272 half square triangles. The good news is that we aren’t making any blocks with these HSTs until next week.
Filed under QAL, Quilt-A-Long, Unity QAL
Week 5 of Unity
This week’s instructions were so much quicker to complete. The quilt is now changing from square to more rectangular. I should have worked more slowly because now I have to help sand and paint the deck until the next clue is released on Monday. 😉😂😫
Filed under Finish-A-Long, QAL, Quilt-A-Long, Unity QAL
Unity Week 4
Bonnie Hunter took pity on this week and gave us a bigger block but we had to make 32 of them. Each block was made up of 8 half square triangles (HST) and one plain square. That meant we had to make 256 HST….yikes! Being the lazy quilter that I am, I chose a technique that allowed me to make 8 at a time.
I had lots of trimming to do to square each one to 2-1/2 inches. It took me 5 days to complete this week’s blocks and attach them.
Filed under QAL, Quilt-A-Long, Unity QAL
Week 2 of Unity Quilt-Along
Wow there sure was a lot of cutting and piecing this week. I can’t believe how many hours I worked on the 3 new rows but it certainly kept my mind occupied and my hands busy. I’m so grateful to Bonnie Hunter for all her time and effort creating this Quilt-along to help keep us connected and creative during these crazy times.
Filed under QAL, Quilt-A-Long, Unity QAL
Week 1 of Unity
I’ve completed the first clue from the Unity quilt-a-long. It is the centre medallion for the finished quilt. I can’t believe how many people had the first clue completed within hours of it being released Monday morning. I made mine last a couple of days….now I just have to wait until Monday for the next clue to be released.
Filed under QAL, Quilt-A-Long, Unity QAL
Week 2 of the QAL
This weeks’s goal was to finish cutting all the neutral fabric and to piece 5 large and 9 small blocks. Goal achieved. If my math is correct, I have cut 1317 pieces of fabric to make a lap size quilt. Yikes!
Filed under Comfort QAL, Lap Quilt, QAL, Quilt-A-Long, Quilting, Scrap Quilt
WIP
It has been a while since I’ve posted any updates. I’ve finally finished the FMQ on Shoji Screen. It has been on my FAL list every quarter this year so hopefully I will get the binding on and have it as a 3rd quarter finish.
Urban Windows is a finished quilt top. I have a week of vacation starting on September 1st so I hope to get it on the frame then. I am so glad that I finally decided to play with my quick curve ruler. Coincidentally, Sew Kind of Wonderful has a new QAL starting the first week of September using the QCR and their Curve It Up pattern. I’m looking forward to participating.
I took a picture of the quilt top before and after the sashing and borders were added. It wasn’t until I was editing the pictures on my laptop that I realized I had missed putting the top and bottom borders on….so it was back to the sewing machine. I forgot to take another pictures after the missing borders were added.
Instead of finishing one of my WIP, I foolishly decided to start a new quilt. I’m my own worst enemy. It is Leftovers IV using fabric leftover from my Blue Odyssey quilt. It’s my first time trying a string block. They sure go together quickly.
Linking up to
Design Wall Monday @Patchwork Times
Show and Tell Tuesday @I Have to Say
Linky Party Tuesday @Freemotion by the River
WIP Wednesday @The Needle and Thread Network
I Quilt Thursday @Pretty Bobbins
Needle and Thread Thursday @My Quilt Infatuation
| 2014 WIP | Size | Current status |
| Urban Windows | Twin | quilt top |
| Leftovers IV | Twin | quilt top |
| Leftovers III | Twin | piecing |
| Waterlily | Wall hanging | quilt top |
| One block wonder | Queen | binding |
| Shoji Screen | Lap/wall | binding |
| Blue Hydrangea | King | FMQ |
| Dragonflies | Wall hanging | Binding |
| 2014 Completions | Size | |
| Jana’s Wedding | Queen | gifted |
| Triangle QAL | Twin | |
| Kimono | Wall hanging | Hung |
| Pink & blue batik | King | |
| Asian Shadow Box | King | |
| Little Warriors Charity (x7) | Twin | Donated |
| Charm Square Crib 1 | Baby | Donated |
| Charm Square Crib 2 | Baby | |
| Charm Square Crib 3 | Baby |
Filed under FAL, Finish-A-Long, QAL, Quilt-A-Long, Quilting, WIP, Work-in-progress
Triangle Quilt-a-Long Finished
With just 2 hours to spare before the midnight EST deadline I put the last hand stitch in the binding of my Triangle QAL. All things considered I am pretty happy with the final product. The one thing I love about working on a project that isn’t a gift or commission is that I have the freedom to just “wing it” with the design and quilting. I wanted it to be a little longer to fit a twin bed so I added a thick section about a third of the way down. The bonus is that it gave me a lot of whitespace to go wild with my free motion quilting. I also wanted the quilt to have a lot of loft so I used two layers of batter. Wool on the bottom and a polyester on top. Another plus…..this is my first FAL for the second quarter at The Littlest Thistle (here is a link back to my original post).
I grouped several triangles together and quilted them as one large triangle and I did some detailed quilting on the solid coloured triangles.
I like the way the quilting shows up on the backing.
Linking up to:
Triangle QAl @The Sassy Quilter
Sew Darn Crafty @Sew Many Ways
Making the World Cuter Mondays @Keeping it Simple
Sweet Sharing Monday @Say Not Sweet Anne
Show and Tell Tuesday @I Have to Say
Linky Tuesday @FreeMotion by the River
Show me what you got @Our delightful home
WIP Wednesday @The Needle and Thread Network
Whimsy Wednesdays @The NY Melrose Family
We Did It Wednesday @Sew Much Ado
WOW Me Wednesday @Polkadots on Parade
Wow Us Wednesdays @Savvy Southern Style
Needle and Thread Thursday @My Quilt Infatuation
Really Random Thursday @Live a Colorful Life
Whoop Whoops Fridays @Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Filed under FAL, Finish-A-Long, QAL, Quilt-A-Long
WIP and Triangle QAL
I’ve got all my rows sewn together for the Triangle QAL at the Sassy Quilter. I’m really looking forward to the FMQ so that I can use some of the techniques that I learned in my longarm class with Judi Madsen last week. Although all the fabrics are pretty busy and they will hide the quilting, I’m still going to let my inner ‘Madsen’ out to run wild and free. I haven’t trimmed the sides yet because I haven’t decided if I want to bother with bias binding to go up and down the points or take the easy way out and go with a straight seam.
Linking up to:
Linky Tuesday @Freemotion by the River
WIP Wednesday @The needle and thread network
Triangle Quilt-a-long @The Sassy Quilter
We Did it Wednesday @Sew much ado
Whimsy Wednesday @The NY Melrose Family
Wow Me Wednesday @Polkadots on Parade
Wow Us Wednesdays @Savvy Southern Style
| 2014 WIP | Size | Current status |
| Pink & blue batik | King | binding |
| Jana’s Wedding | Queen | piecing |
| Triangle QAL | Twin | FMQ |
| Waterlily | Wall hanging | quilt top |
| One block wonder | Queen | binding |
| Peacock | Lap/wall | FMQ |
| Blue Hydrangea | King | FMQ |
| Dragonflies | Wall hanging | Binding |
| Charm Square Crib 2 | Baby | binding |
| Charm Square Crib 3 | Baby | binding |
| 2014 Completions | Size | |
| Kimono | Wall hanging | Hung |
| Asian Shadow Box | King | |
| Little Warriors Charity (x7) | Twin | Donated |
| Charm Square Crib 1 | Baby | Donated |
Filed under QAL, Quilt-A-Long, Quilting, Work-in-progress
WIP, QAL and Judi Madsen class
Lucky me…..tomorrow and Friday I have a longarm quilting class with the amazing Judi Madsen from Green Fairy Quilts. I signed up for the class at the end of last year so it has been a very long wait.
I just managed to get my rows pieced for the Triangle QAL. I’m up-to-date and ready to start sewing the rows together next week. It is amazing how much the rows shrink up when you starting sewing all those 1/4 inch seams.
I haven’t made any progress on our Niece’s wedding gift quilt but that’s ok. I’ve got almost 6 weeks to finish it and I am hoping for some quilting inspiration from my longarm class.
Linking up to:
Linky Tuesday @Freemotion by the River
WIP Wednesday @Needle and Thread Network
| 2014 WIP | Size | Current status |
| Pink & blue batik | King | binding |
| Jana’s Wedding | Queen | piecing |
| Triangle QAL | Twin | piecing |
| Waterlily | Wall hanging | quilt top |
| One block wonder | Queen | binding |
| Peacock | Lap/wall | FMQ |
| Blue Hydrangea | King | FMQ |
| Dragonflies | Wall hanging | Binding |
| Charm Square Crib 2 | Baby | binding |
| Charm Square Crib 3 | Baby | binding |
| 2014 Completions | Size | |
| Kimono | Wall hanging | Hung |
| Asian Shadow Box | King | |
| Little Warriors Charity (x6) | Twin | Donated |
| Charm Square Crib 1 | Baby | Donated |
Filed under QAL, Quilt-A-Long, WIP, Work-in-progress
FAL Quarter 2 Wish List
It is time to commit to my list of projects for Littlest Thistle’s 2014 finish-a-long. I guess it has to at least include the 3 quilts that were on my Q1 list that didn’t get finished. My one block wonder from 2010:
And the two baby quilts:
I will add three more for good measure: king size “house” quilt for our Niece’s wedding in May, twin size triangle quilt-a-long and the Shoji screen wall hanging::
Filed under FAL, Finish-A-Long, QAL, Quilt-A-Long, Quilting
WIP and Triangle QAL
I’m enjoying the break from the house quilt and working on my triangle quilt-a-long. I love the fabrics (Summer Breeze I and II, some Kona solids and a misc print)….they just make me feel sunny and spring like which is a vast improvement over the cold, miserable weather we have been experiencing. I love the look of the starched fabric all lined up waiting to be cut up.
Here is my stack of 200+ triangles all cut and waiting for this friday’s new assignment.
Linking up to:
Linky Tuesday @Freemotion By The River
WIP Wednesday @Needle & Thread Network
| 2014 WIP | Size | Current status |
| Pink & blue batik | King | binding |
| Jana’s Wedding | Queen | piecing |
| Triangle QAL | Twin | piecing |
| Waterlily | Wall hanging | quilt top |
| One block wonder | Queen | binding |
| Peacock | Lap | FMQ |
| Blue Hydrangea | King | FMQ |
| Dragonflies | Wall hanging | Binding |
| Charm Square Crib 2 | Baby | binding |
| Charm Square Crib 3 | Baby | binding |
| 2014 Completions | Size | |
| Kimono | Wall hanging | Hung |
| Asian Shadow Box | King | |
| Little Warriors Charity (x6) | Twin | Donated |
| Charm Square Crib 1 | Baby | Donated |
Filed under QAL, Quilt-A-Long, WIP, Work-in-progress
WIP and a new Quilt-a-long
What started out as a gift of a lap quilt for our Niece’s wedding gift has now morfed. First it grew to a queen size. I went out and bought more fabric and I also purchased my backing fabrics. Well surprise…surprise….it is now a King Size Quilt. Yikes…..not only do I have to do some extensive fabric shopping for the quilt top but the two fabrics that I bought to use for the backing are now too short and there is no more on the bolt at the fabric store. Not sure what I am going to do but I guess it is going to be a pieced backing for sure. I don’t want to show any pictures of the completed blocks, I want the finished product to be a surprise, but here is a glimpse of the fabric explosion in my studio. I’ve got so many different fabrics that I am using to make the house blocks.
Even though I am on a tight deadline to get our Niece’s ever growing wedding quilt completed…..I’ve decided to join the Triangle Quilt-a-long. Am I crazy or what???? I was going through my bloglovin’ feed and came across a post about this new QAL. I like having more than one project on the go at a time cuz sometimes you just need a break….just to walk away from the current project you are working on to get a new perspective. I thought I would use my leftover collection of Summer Breeeze I and II fabrics (left over from making this quilt for my friend Sue) and add a few solids for contrast. If I like the final product it may be another charity quilt for the Little Warrirors Be Brave Ranch. Here is my stash…..I just need to officially sign up and iron and starch all my fabrics…..cutting starts this Friday.
There is one week left until the end of the first quarter finish-a-long hosted by Katy at the Littlest Thistle. All of my tops have been finished and they have been sandwiched and quilted. I’ve got to do some mad hand sewing to get all the bindings on in time.
Filed under Charity Quilt, FAL, Finish-A-Long, QAL, Quilt-A-Long, WIP, Work-in-progress
QAL is finished….just in time
I am thrilled to say that I have free motion quilted and bound my quilt for the Star Surround Quilt-a-long. I put the last hand stitch in the binding at 5:03pm……done with just hours to spare before the cutoff. We spent the last 3 days up in Slave Lake at a mock search so I really didn’t think I was going to make it. I worked on the binding during the drive up and back and any time I could get a few moments to myself .
To see more pictures of the finished quilt and to read more about the QAL…..click here.
Here she is……..
Filed under QAL, Quilt-A-Long, Quilting
QAL – Week 7
We got to assemble our quilt top this week. All my points aren’t perfect…..but I’m ok with that. I think that adds to the beauty/uniqueness of something that is hand made and not mass produced. I will only go back and redo something if it is really off and it bothers me.
We’ve got two weeks to sandwich and quilt our tops if we want to participate in the final quilt parade. I don’t know if I will get mine done….but I am happy to have the top finished. For a quilt with colours that are totally outside of my comfort zone…..I like the final product. It has a bit of a modern feel to it even though the blocks are more traditional. I’ve been playing around with free motion quilting ideas….but I’m not totally happy with my plan so far. I need to do a little ‘surfin’ and ‘pinteresting’ to see if I can fine tune my ideas.
Linking up to Happy Quilting Star Surround Quilt-A-Long
Filed under QAL, Quilt-A-Long, Quilting
QAL – Week #6
This week’s assignment was to assemble the pieces that fit around the centre star. With these pieces done, we were so close to assembling the blocks that I decided to go ahead and just sew them all the together to complete the full 16″ block. Here are all 16 of my blocks.
Linking up to Happy Quilting QAL
Filed under QAL, Quilt-A-Long, Quilting
QAL – Week #5
This week we have started to assemble our blocks for the Star Surround quilt-a-long. I am happy to say that I finished piecing my centres two days before the deadline. Wow that’s two weeks in a row that I didn’t finish at the last minute. I’m liking the results and looking forward to adding the colour around the stars next week. Linking up to Happy Quilting’s QAL
Filed under QAL, Quilt-A-Long, Quilting
WIP Week #5
I’ve managed to get all 35 of my 6×6 blocks done and 4 of the 24 3×3’s. I’ve ordered some fabric to use for my background but it hasn’t arrived yet so I am going to be in waiting mode soon.
We are starting to assemble our centre blocks in the Star Surround QAL. I’ve got one inner star completed…..only fifteen more to go.
Linking up to The Needle and Thread Network, Freshly Pieced:WIP and Happy Quilting: Star Surround Quilt-a-long.
| 2013 WIP | Size | Current status |
| Pink & blue batik | King | waiting for borders |
| Asian Shadow Box | King | waiting for border s |
| 2012 BOM ‘Blues’ | King | quilt top |
| 2012 BOM ‘Opera | King | quilt top |
| Kimono | Wall hanging | quilt top |
| Waterlily | Wall hanging | quilt top |
| One block wonder | Queen | piecing |
| Peacock | Lap | quilt top |
| Leftovers I | Lap | quilt top |
| Leftovers II | Lap | piecing |
| Star Surround QAL | Lap | piecing |
| Blue Hydrangea | King | FMQ |
| Dragonflies | Wall hanging | Binding |
| 2013 Completions | Size | |
| 2011 BOM ‘Spring | King | |
| Blue Odyssey | King | |
| Kassidy’s flannel | Baby | |
| Sue’s Summer Breeze | Queen/King | |
Filed under QAL, Quilt-A-Long, Quilting, WIP, Work-in-progress
WIP Wednesday #4 and QAL Week #4
I have the week off work so I’ve been able to play in my studio a lot more than I normally would. This is week four of the Star Surround Quilt-a-long (QAL) and this week I had to cut and piece 192 flying geese. Here are mine all pressed and ready to go. The past two weeks I have finished my assignments with just hours to spare before the deadline. This week I am finished 4 days early…..yeah me!!! Next week we start assembling our first block.
I also started working on Leftovers II. I had so many left over 1-1/2″ wide strips of fabric from my Blue Odyssey Quilt so I came up with a new quilt design to utilize a few of them. It will have thirty five 6×6 blocks of 1 inch squares and twenty four 3×3 blocks of 1 inch squares set on point and then a border of 1×1 inch squares. I haven’t decided if my background will be a bright white kona solid or a deep black. I’ve ordered both from my local quilt store and I will make my decision once I can lay out my blocks and see which one makes it ‘sing’.
Linking up to The Needle and Thread Network and Happy Quilting: Star Surround Quilt-a-long.
| 2013 WIP | Size | Current status |
| Pink & blue batik | King | waiting for borders |
| Asian Shadow Box | King | waiting for border s |
| 2012 BOM ‘Blues’ | King | quilt top |
| 2012 BOM ‘Opera | King | quilt top |
| Kimono | Wall hanging | quilt top |
| Waterlily | Wall hanging | quilt top |
| One block wonder | Queen | piecing |
| Peacock | Lap | quilt top |
| Leftovers I | Lap | quilt top |
| Leftovers II | Lap | piecing |
| Star Surround QAL | Lap | piecing |
| Blue Hydrangea | King | FMQ |
| Dragonflies | Wall hanging | Binding |
| 2013 Completions | Size | |
| 2011 BOM ‘Spring | King | |
| Blue Odyssey | King | |
| Kassidy’s flannel | Baby | |
| Sue’s Summer Breeze | Queen/King | |
Filed under QAL, Quilt-A-Long, Quilting, WIP, Work-in-progress
QAL – Week #3
Here it is late Sunday night and once again I am finishing my QAL tasks with only hours to spare. I got my HST done fairly quickly so I thought for sure I would be finished this week’s task days in advance…..little did I know how long it would take to square up 256 half square triangles. Look at the pile of trimmings…..man that’s a lot and my right hand is exhausted. I’m liking what I see so far…..can’t wait to get these babies all pieced together to see the full effect.
Filed under QAL, Quilt-A-Long, Quilting
QAL – Week 1
Well I have managed to complete my tasks for week 1 of the Star Surround QAL. It took me several trips to the various quilt stores in my area but I have all my fabric ready to go. I went way outside my comfort zone on these colours but I like them. They definitely have a modern aesthetic which appeals to me but grey…..never in my wildest dreams. I’m looking forward to the challenge.
Filed under QAL, Quilt-A-Long, Quilting
WIP Wednesday
OK I admit it, I am a quilt-a-holic with a touch of ADHD. Whenever I start a new project I am all excited about my vision, totally in love with my fabric and I can’t wait to get started. I can spend hours cutting fabric, piecing, pressing and creating blocks…..and then all of a sudden I start to lose interest when I have to make many copies of the same blocks or repeat the same type of piecing over and over again. And that’s when it happens…my mind starts to wonder and I start dreaming of new ideas, some beautiful fabric or a quilt I saw on Pinterest. Next thing I know I am moving my current project to the side and starting something new (hello……joining the QAL last week in the middle of working on Leftovers I). I am an addict and I need a 12 step program. I thought the FAL (finish-a-long) that I started in January was the answer to my problem….mmmmm not so much. I was good in the first quarter. I only started one new quilt and I finished all but one project and that was because the thread I ordered didn’t arrive. I lost momentum in the second quarter. I only finished one of my 4 projects. The deadline for the third quarter has passed and I didn’t even manage to pick anything that I wanted to finish. Last week I stumbled across a Canadian blog called the Needle and Thread Network that helps quilt-a-holics like me to keep all their works-in-progress (WIP) front and centre so that they cannot easily be ignored. I am hoping that this is going to help me get my addiction to starting new projects under control. This is my first WIP Wednesday post.
So here it is. I am working on a quilt called Leftovers I. I am making it with tiny 2-1/2″ x 1-3/8″ pieces of fabric left over from my Blue Odyssey quilt that I finished in January.
It is also week one of the Star Surround QAL. I’m visiting all my favourite quilt stores looking for 16 fat quarters, background, binding and backing fabric. Next week we start cutting.
Here is my list of 2013 WIP and completions:
| 2013 WIP | Size | Current status |
| Pink & blue batik | King | waiting for borders |
| Asian Shadow Box | King | waiting for borders |
| 2012 BOM ‘Blues’ | King | quilt top |
| 2012 BOM ‘Opera | King | quilt top |
| Kimono | Wall hanging | quilt top |
| Waterlily | Wall hanging | quilt top |
| One block wonder | Queen | piecing |
| Peacock | Lap | quilt top |
| Leftovers I | Lap | piecing |
| Leftovers II | Lap | piecing |
| Star Surround QAL | Lap | fabric selection |
| Blue Hydrangea | King | FMQ |
| Dragonflies | Wall hanging | Binding |
| 2013 Completions | Size | |
| 2011 BOM ‘Spring | King | |
| Blue Odyssey | King | |
| Kassidy’s flannel | Baby | |
| Sue’s Summer Breeze | Queen/King | |
Filed under Quilt-A-Long, Quilting, WIP, Work-in-progress
My first Quilt-A-Long
First it was block-of-the-month club and then came the finish-a-long. Today I am expanding my horizons and joining a quilt-a-long. Melissa at Happy Quilting is starting a Star Surround QAL on July 15th and I am going to give it a whirl. Not that I need another unfinished quilt in my house…but I just can’t resist joining. Hopefully I will be able to keep up with the weekly goals. Check out the QAL here.
Filed under QAL, Quilt-A-Long, Quilting
Life In The Dog House 