I can’t believe it. I just got an email from Sew Sisters Quilt shop telling me that I won their day 6 give-a-way from Blogathon Canada. I’m so excited. I won a fat quarter bundle of Stonehenge Oh Canada fabric. In my comment I said that the bundle would make a lovely Quilts of Valour quilt. Well I am going to follow through on that and donate the finished quilt to QofV. Thanks to Sew Sisters for hosting this wonderful event and for all the quilters around the globe that participated. I found some wonderful new blogs to follow.
Tag Archives: Quilting
Lucky Me…..I won!!
Filed under Charity Quilt, Quilting, Quilts of Valour
WIP Wednesday
Life is slowing getting back to a ‘new’ normal around here and I’ve started to feel like I am getting some of my creative mojo back. I’ve finished quilting Leftovers III and have the binding partly hand sewn on.
I’ve finished piecing Leftovers IV and it is now waiting for FMQ. I forgot to take a picture of the finished top but here is one I took once I had all the finished blocks laid out on my design wall.
I’ve got the pink and orange version of High Tea on my frame now and I’ve got it about 60% quilted. I went a little crazy with the FMQ. I can’t believe the number of hours I have put into it already. It has been my therapy and kept my mind occupied since losing our beloved Tango. Here is a sneak peak of the first layer of FMQ I did in the plain blocks. I added 3 more layers of quilting after this…..I know crazy!?!?!?!
Linking up to:
Design Wall Monday @Patchwork Times
Show and Tell Tuesday @I Have to Say
Linky Tuesday @Freemotion by the River
WIP Wednesday @The Needle and Thread Network
Let’s Bee Social @Sew Fresh Quilts
| 2014 WIP | Size | Current status |
| Urban Windows | Twin | Finished |
| High Tea Girls | Twin | FMQ |
| High Tea Boys | Twin | FMQ |
| Leftovers IV | Twin | FMQ |
| Leftovers III | Twin | Binding |
| Waterlily | Wall hanging | quilt top |
| Asian One block wonder | Queen | Finished |
| Shoji Screen | Lap/wall | Finished |
| Blue Hydrangea | King | FMQ |
| Dragonflies | Wall hanging | Binding |
| 2014 Completions | Size | |
| Jana’s Wedding | Queen | gifted |
| Triangle QAL | Twin | For sale |
| Kimono | Wall hanging | Hung |
| Pink & blue batik | King | Donated |
| Asian Shadow Box | King | For sale |
| Little Warriors Charity (x7) | Twin | Donated |
| Charm Square Crib 1 | Baby | Donated |
| Charm Square Crib 2 | Baby | For Sale |
| Charm Square Crib 3 | Baby | For Sale |
Filed under Quilting, WIP, Work-in-progress
High Tea Quilt Pattern Revealed
Adrianne from On the Windy side has released her new quilt pattern High Tea so now I can show you the quilts I made to test her pattern. It is a very quick and easy to make pattern that is pre-cut friendly (charms squares, layers cakes and jelly rolls) but also easy to make using yardage. I made a ‘boy’ version using green and gold sashing in support of our Edmonton Eskimos. I used charm squares and a few layer cakes for the 4-patches and yardage for the sashing. I followed her pattern exactly on this one:
For the girl’s version I used yardage rather than pre-cuts. I left every other centre block plain so that I could do some free motion quilting and I changed the sashing around the centre blocks so that the neutral sashing acts as a frame for the bright/busy 4-patch and the coloured sashing forms a frame around the FMQ.
When these quilts are finished, I am going to donate them to the Little Warriors Be Brave Ranch. Each child is given a quilt when they arrive at camp and when they leave they get to take it home with them.
Adrianne’s pattern is officially available for purchase starting today and for 48 hours it will be half off at her Etsy shop and on Craftsy. You can see mine and all the other pattern testers’ quilt tops on Adrianne’s website.
Linking up to:
Design Wall Monday @Patchwork Times
Anything Goes Monday @Stitch by Stich
Show and Tell Tuesday @I Have to Say
Linky Tuesday @Freemotion by the River
Show and Tell @SNAP creativity at your fingertips
WIP Wednesday @ The Needle and Thread Network
WOW Me Wednesday @Polkadots on parade
Let’s Bee Social @sewfreshquilts
Filed under Charity Quilt, Quilting, Work-in-progress
Shoji Screen FAL#3
I can’t believe that this quilt is finally done. I made it back in 2009 or 2010. It hung around my studio for years because I had no idea how I wanted to quilt it and I was afraid to tackle it on my domestic machine. It was on my 2nd and 3rd quarter FAL lists. I even had it on my frame 3 different times before I finally finished all the free motion quilting. I used two layers of batting: a stiff fusible one (so that it will hang flat and firm) and a high loft polyester. It gave amazing depth to the peacocks and the flowers. I put a sleeve on it so that it can be used as both a wall hanging or a lap quilt. I took pictures today in the shade and in full sun. Although the full sun pictures fade out the colours, they definitely show off the dimension created by the quilting and the double batting.
I just love how the quilting shows up on the back of the quilt….such dimension.
And of course there has to be a picture of little Tilly parked in the middle of my quilt as I hand sew the binding on. I love the bad-hair-day-mohawk-head. I looks like she was giving Don the evil eye because she was sick of the flash going off in her face repeatedly.
Linking up to:
Finish Along Quarter 3 Finish Party at the Littlest Thistle.
Design Wall Monday @Patchwork Times
Anything Goes Monday @Stitch by Stitch
Show and Tell Tuesday @I Have to Say
Linky Tuesday @Freemotion by the River
Whimsy Wednesday @The NY Melrose Family
WIP Wednesday @The Needle and Thread Network
Filed under FAL, Finish-A-Long, Quilting
3rd Quarter FAL Finish
Well the 3rd quarter is almost over and I finally have my first FAL finish (here is a link back to my FAL wish list). It is a one-block-wonder that I started back in 2010. When I initially finished piecing it, it was too small for a queen and I didn’t like the fabric I had for the border so I just added it to my pile of UFOs and forgot about it. I pulled it out in January and added it to my 1st quarter FAL list It got carried forward to the 2nd and 3rd quarters before I managed to complete it.
I removed some of the blocks in the upper right hand quadrant of the quilt top and replaced them with the blue background fabric. I used appliqué and trapunto to show off the two beautiful geishas that were the stars of the OBW fabric.
I really like how the geisha faces made interesting blocks.
This is what the original fabric looked like. It was made up of two geishas, rose and purple irises and a water like background.
Linking up to:
Anything Goes Monday @Stitch by Stitch
Design Wall Monday @Patchwork Times
Show and Tell Tuesday @I Have to Say
Linky Tuesday @FreeMotion by the River
WIP Wednesday @The Needle & Thread Network
WOW Me Wednesday @Polkadots on Parade
Let’s Bee Social @Sew Fresh Quilts
Needle & Thread Thursday @My Quilt Infatuation
I Quilt Thursday @Pretty Bobbins
Finish It Up Friday @Crazy Mom Quilts
Link A Finish Friday @Richard and Tanya Quilts
Can I Get A WhoopWhoop Friday @Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Filed under FAL, Finish-A-Long, Quilting
Pets on Quilts Blog Hop
Today I am joining the 2014 Pets on Quilts blog hop. Tilly loves to “help” by sitting in the middle of any and every quilt that I try to hand sew the binding on. She is so darn cute and flirty when she does it that I don’t have the heart to kick her off. Here are just a few of the many quilts her hairy, little body has graced.
She even likes to “help” with the piecing:
How can I sew with her cute face in front of the needle
Wally and Tango thought they should be included in the blog hop too:
Linking up to the Pets on Quilts blog hop at Lily Pad Quilts
Filed under Uncategorized
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
First Quarter FAL Wrap-up
Way back in the beginning of January I set my sights high and put 11 quilts on my list (I blogged about it here and here). This year the FAL is being hosted by Katy at the Littlest Thistle. Although I did finish piecing and/or quilting all of them, a few never got the bindings sewn on so technically they don’t qualify as a finish. Officially I have 8 finishes. I quilted all 5 of the charity quilts for the Little Warriors Be Brave Ranch (I blogged about them here, here, here and here). In the end, I actually FMQ 6 of them. I hope the kids enjoy them.
I was particularly pleased with finally finishing my Kimono wall hanging. It was on my FAL list 3 times before it actually was completed and hung on the wall.
Finish #7 was a baby quilt. I did my first test drive of a longarm machine with it. I enjoyed playing with the machine so much that I ended up buying my own longarm. This quilt was donated to a silent auction fundraiser for a friend’s daughter. (I blogged about it here)
And finally, this is finish#8. It is a monster 104″ x 116″ king size quilt filled with gorgeous, blue asian fabrics. I made my own pantograph for it. It is clam shell shape with 3 grass like fronds coming from the bottom left corner. I saw a similar design on line but it was a digitized pattern and I don’t have the computer module for my longarm so I couldn’t buy it. I used the old fashioned, pencil, graph paper and the bottom of a jar to make my design.
Filed under Charity Quilt, FAL, Finish-A-Long
Darwin – FAL finish #7
I actually finished this quilt in early December but I wasn’t able to post any pictures of it because it was a present for our son and daughter-in-law who subscribes to my blog. To read more about it and see more pictures please follow this link DARWIN.
Filed under FAL, Finish-A-Long, Quilting
Tropical Punch FAL finish #6
I can’t believe that I have managed to finish so many of my 4th quarter FAL projects. I finished this one at the end of November but I’ve held off with my ‘ta-da’ post because I didn’t want the recipient to see the quilt before she opened the present Christmas morning. To see more pictures and read about the making of this quilt click here.
Filed under FAL, Finish-A-Long, Quilting
WIP Wednesday/More FAL finishes
I am scheduled to take my first longarm class in a couple of weeks and I need to bring a small finished quilt top to work on. Wouldn’t you know that although I have more than 10 quilt tops waiting to be quilted, they are all large queen/king or small wall hangings that I want to do some special quilting on. Once again I looked to Pinterest for some inspiration for a quick baby quilt. I found this upsized charm square idea on a blog called Thumbelina. I changed it to run the stripes vertically instead of horizontally. I had 3 charm packs and a couple of co-ordinating fat quarters which will give me enough for 3 baby quilts.
I finished free motion quilting the last two charity quilts for High River. That gives me finish number 4 and 5 for the 4th quarter FAL at She Can Quilt.
I also finished piecing my final Christmas gift (lap quilt) but I can’t show a picture because it is a surprise for the recipient.
Linking up to
Wow me Wednesday @Polkadots on Parade
Whimsy Wednesday @The NY Melrose Family
Wow Us Wednesdays @Savvy Southern Style
We Did it Wednesday @Sew Much Ado
Needle and Thread Thursday @My Quilt Infatuation
Thursday Threads @627handworks
I Quilt Thursdays @Pretty Bobbins
Really Random Thursday @Live a Colorful Life
| 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 | Binding |
| Leftovers II | Lap | quilt top |
| Tropical Punch | Lap | quilt top |
| Blue Hydrangea | King | FMQ |
| Dragonflies | Wall hanging | Binding |
| Xmas Surprise | Lap | quilt top |
| Charm Square Crib | Baby (x3) | quilt top(1), piecing(2) |
| 2013 Completions | Size | |
| 2011 BOM ‘Spring | King | |
| Blue Odyssey | King | |
| High River Quilts | Lap (x5) | |
| Kassidy’s flannel | Baby | |
| Sue’s Summer Breeze | Queen/King | |
| Star Surround QAL | Lap/Twin |
Filed under Charity Quilt, FAL, Finish-A-Long, Quilting, WIP
Meet Milzie
I took the plunge….ok maybe it is more like a giant leap…and bought myself a longarm machine. I got an APQS Millenium but I’m calling her Milzie. Here she is being assembled by Matt (aka The Manquilter) and his father-in-law. When he pulled it out of the box it had a giant red bow on it. I feel like an overly excited kid with a new toy.
Here is my first quilt loaded and ready to go. It seems only fitting that the first one is a charity quilt for the folks in High River Alberta who lost everything during the record flood earlier this year. I have a total of 5 quilt tops that I am going to free motion quilt for them.
Filed under Charity Quilt, Quilting
4th Quarter Finish-a-Long
I took a break and skipped out on the 3rd quarter so I am primed and ready to commit to finishes for the final quarter of Leanne’s finish-a-long (FAL).
I am going to try and finish a whopping 8 (Update 2013OCT11) 13 projects. Most of them are quilt tops waiting to be quilted .
First, I have two Christmas present projects that are in the piecing phase. Both are lap quilts that I hope the recipients will enjoy. Can’t give too many details or pictures in case they see my post.
Next I have two quilt tops from the Quiltessential Co. 2012 block of the month program. I did the blocks in two colour ways: Blues and Opera. They both need to be sandwiched, quilted and bound so that they will be ready for the quilt show in early January.
Then I have Leftovers I (trim and bind) and Leftovers II (sandwich, quilt and bind).
My Kimono wall hanging is still waiting to be quilted. I think it was on my Quarter 2 list but never got any attention.
I still have the first quilt top that I ever made. It is waiting for the last piece of the border to be sewn on and then comes the fun part…FMQ.
(Update: 2013Oct11) And last but not least I have volunteered to free motion quilt 5 tops for the High River Quilt Project (read more about it here).
Boy this is a big list but I’ve got faith that I can make a significant dent in my pile of quilt tops waiting for some free motion loving.
Filed under Block of the Month, FAL, Finish-A-Long, Quilting
WIP Wednesday
I’ve made quite a bit of progress on Tropical Punch. All the blocks are finished and I’m just starting to sew them all together.
I’ve started working on another Xmas gift. I can’t show much because I don’t want the recipient to see too much and make the connection that it is for them.
Linking up to WIP Wednesday at The Needle & Thread Network and Freshly Pieced, Needle and Thread Thursday @My Quilt Infatuation and Linky Tuesday at FreeMotion by the River.
| 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 | Binding |
| Leftovers II | Lap | quilt top |
| Tropical Punch | Lap | piecing |
| Blue Hydrangea | King | FMQ |
| Dragonflies | Wall hanging | Binding |
| Xmas Surprise | Lap | Piecing |
| 2013 Completions | Size | |
| 2011 BOM ‘Spring | King | |
| Blue Odyssey | King | |
| Kassidy’s flannel | Baby | |
| Sue’s Summer Breeze | Queen/King | |
| Star Surround QAL | Lap/Twin |
Filed under Quilting, 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
WIP – Week #6
We are at the exciting step of assembling our Star Surround QAL blocks. Here is my first one…only 15 more to go.
No sign of my Kona solids order so I’ve given up on that idea and bought two other fabrics to use as background for my ‘Leftovers II’ quilt. I hope the idea in my head turns out as nice in real life. Tomorrow I will start laying out the blocks and see if I like the design…if not…then I’m going to have to come up with a new way to assemble the blocks. No worries, it is just all part of the creative process.
Linking up to WIP Wednesday @ Freshly Pieced and The Needle and Thread Network
| 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 Quilting, WIP, Work-in-progress
Help for premature babies in the NIC Unit
Today members of our Modern Quilt Guild got together for a sew day. Some worked on their own projects and others worked together to make quilted incubator covers for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the Royal Alex Hospital. These covers help block out the light to make for a more relaxing/soothing rest for the little ones inside. I was on quilt duty. I managed to quilt enough pieces for 2 covers. One with an overall grid pattern and the other with a large improvised baptiste fan design. I hope we get to see how they look when they are put to use.
Filed under Edmonton Modern Quilt Guild, EMQG, Quilting, Volunteering
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
WIP Wednesday #3
I am happy to announce that I have finished “Leftovers I”. It will now go into my pile of finished quilt tops waiting for cooler weather so that I can sandwich it and start the free motion quilting. I still have tons of 2″x 1-3/8″ tiny rectangles that I need to use up. Time to start designing a “Leftovers II” quilt.
The picture is a little dark. The background is a much brighter white on creamy white pattern.
| 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 | 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 FAL, Finish-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
2011 Block of the Month
I finally finished all 12 of of my quilt blocks for 2011 (these are Sep – Dec). In February, we will all get together to talk about different ideas on how to use these 12 blocks in quilt. I haven’t decided whether to make it a queen or kings size or who I am going to give it to when it is finished. There has been one person who really seemed to like the colour combination. Hey “Susu & Lulu” what size is your bed????
Filed under Quilting
More Blocks of the Month
Is has been a few months since I have posted my quilt blocks for the Quiltessenial Company 2011 Block of the Month Club. Here are May through August. We are two thirds of the way through the year and only 4 more blocks need to be completed before I can start thinking about how I am going to assemble them into a finished quilt.
To see all the blocks, click here.
Filed under Block of the Month
February Block-of-the-Month
I finished my quilt block for February. Not bad….it is February 22nd so I made it with 6 days to spare. This one was a little more tricky. We missed the demo class so we had to just go by the written instructions and hope for the best. My finished block looks like the picture so I guess I did it right. Both the January and February blocks have a lot of gray in them so I am hoping for a little more colour in the coming months. Next week we get our fabric and instructions for the March block.
Filed under Block of the Month, Quilting
Quilt club newbie
I just joined my first quilt club. It is called “Block-of-the-Month”. Once a month for 12 months we get together at a local quilt store to pick up our fabric and instructions to create the block for that month. In January 2012 we will have 12 blocks completed and then comes the task of assembling them into a quilt. The store owner will offer suggestions for piecing them together or you can use your own imagination to construct a finished quilt. We had 3 colour options to choose from: red/green Christmas theme, an earthy/fall bali batik collection or one called spring/summer. I chose the spring/summer group. Although I am not a big fan of brown, gray or beige, I thought it would be good to challenge myself to try something outside of my comfort zone. Here are the 6 fabrics that I will be using all year:
Each block will be constructed using the Lazy Angle ruler. I’ve never used anything like this before so I’m looking forward to learning new cutting/piecing techniques.
There is only one rule for this club. You have to finish your block for this month and bring it to the fabric pick-up for the next month to prove that it has been completed. If your block is done you get your next bunch of fabrics for $3.50….if not then you have to pay $5.50 for your fabric. Just a little incentive to help keep you on track. I just finished my block for January. Phew I made the first deadline….only eleven more to go. Here is my finished January block:
I’ve been quilting for a year and half now and to say that I was addicted would be an understatement. I have completed 1 baby, 2 lap, 2 twin, 2 double, 2 queen and 4 king size quilts. I also have 3 wall hangings, 1 lap and 2 kings size quilt tops in various stages of construction. Do you think I need an intervention???
Filed under Quilting
