Applique 'n Patch Quilting

Quilts loved by all!

2012-01-29T09:03:00.001-05:00

This quilt was made for another niece back in Nov. 2006 while she was going through her ear problems. She still uses it (or would like to) but someone else has claimed it. During the cold months, my sister does this with the quilt each morning before she heads out to work. Why, you ask?

To keep this feline warm! Each fall when my sister brings this quilt out of storage, Nike (the cat) cries when she sees it. She is getting old and has difficulty walking and she just loves this quilt to sleep under during the day.

So, after hearing about this, I made sure that our girls each had their own snuggly place to keep warm also.

This is where Miss Ashes spends most of her nights.

This is Miss Hank's hidey hole and she has just emerged from it after having a nice snooze.
We often see Miss Hank sit in front of the heat register to warm up when the furnace comes on. She definitely needs a warm place for sleeping.

So, not only do my family members love my quilts ..... the felines love them too!

Have a great day!

Baby thingies

2012-01-24T08:34:00.001-05:00

A niece is expecting her first baby this May and I will be busy making baby stuff over the next month or so. Since they don't want to know the baby's gender beforehand .... these will be made into a girl quilt and these for a boy quilt. I have had these blocks made since July/August 2004. They were just going to be made up for any baby, but when my niece saw me working on them, she said that she wanted them for her babies. So, they have been sitting on a shelf for a very long time and it will be such a pleasure to finally get them made up.

My niece even made up an order form for me (this is how they told me a baby was coming this year).

Flannel material has been collected for a year or so now to be made into receiving blankets. My DH keeps asking me how the baby stuff is coming along. Time will run out when my sewing machine, etc. gets packed away and I want all this stuff done before we move.

Have a great day!

I've been busy ....

2012-01-20T08:08:00.001-05:00

... finishing off this top and getting it ready for machine quilting. This quilt is intended for the cottage so no hand quilting for this one. A few more hexagons have been made for this project.

We've also been busy packing and sorting. Oh yes, these girls are coming with us ... for sure! They are definitely sticking close to us as we tape up boxes ready for packing. Both of them have been through moves before with their previous owners and they looked worried about this move, too. They have been getting extra loving to help calm them down.

Have a great day!

Still quilting along ...

2012-01-14T13:00:00.001-05:00

It has been 14 days since I started a schedule for doing some kind of hand quilting every day ..... and I'm still on target. Yeah ..... that is such a good feeling. My hexagon quilt is coming along very nicely. Seeing that schedule every day is sure motivating me to continue.Someone asked how do I hand quilt a large quilt without a hoop? The following photos show how it is done (there is probably a better way, but this works for me).

In Fig.1, with my left hand (I am right handed) make a ridge about a couple of inches high as shown below on the left hand side of the photo.

Fig.2 - fold the ridge towards the needle. My thumb is under the quilt where the arrow is indicating. My thimble is underneath the quilt where the needle is showing and my hand is fanned out supporting a portion of the quilt sandwich (you can't see my hand but please imagine it). My quilting is coming towards me. Sometimes, I can rock the needle and other times, only one stitch at a time can be done.

Fig. 3 - Here is another photo showing the needle after it was rocked a few times. As I progress towards me, my left hand moves down the fold until the whole quilt needs to be moved up a bit. I sit with my knees up and they help to support the quilt. The left hand part of the quilt is unquilted and the right hand side has been quilted and that helps to stablize the quilt and helps to eliminate puckers on the back. Does anyone out there have a better method?

Of course, a new project got started ..... It Just Takes 2 is the quilt-along that I'm following and here are a few of my blocks. The embroidery is different to what is being offered from the creators of this project. If you are interested in doing this project, you must sign up for the newsletter for downloading the blocks. Usually, I never do any mystery quilts, but this one captivated me from the start.

I have promised myself to start only 4 new projects this year and this is #1. Once four of my UFO's get finished, then another new project will be allowed. Is this reality? We'll see! :o)

Have a great day!

New year ... new goals

2012-01-04T11:43:00.003-05:00

The beginning of the new year has made me sit back and reflect on my quilting and what I really, really want to achieve in 2012 .... and that is hand quilting. There are a number of tops waiting in my battered old trunk for needle and thread. So, on Jan. 1 my Hexagon quilt got started and I'm doing this one without a lap frame. A lot of the European quilters quilt without a frame and I thought this quilt would be perfect for that experiment. My stitches are not as tiny or as uniform but once this quilt is done and washed, it will have that perfect old-time look. My new-to-me wicker loveseat has fast become my spot for hand quilting and the girls don't seem to bother me here at all. Can we say bonus? On the loveseat are my two current hand quilting projects.

Sitting on top of my battered old trunk is this floral box ...

.... which contains all of my hand quilting supplies.

To encourage me to stay on track for doing any hand quilting each day, is a schedule (that goes to the end of May (then it will be too hot to hand quilt). As long as I see a tick for each day, that makes me happy. There have been more ticks since this photo was taken.

This year will see a major change for DH, the girls and I .... as long as our house sells in the spring, we will be moving north. The process has started with the Xmas decorations. Wish us luck!

Have a great day!

My SSCS gift

2011-12-30T12:15:00.000-05:00

I thought this was going to be my last post for this year ..... but I was asked how the scalloped border was added and since it is still fresh in my mind, this is the right time to post about it. The pink scalloped section was appliqued onto the teal blue border. After the pattern was copied from the magazine and pasted together (I think the pattern was enlarged by me), the pattern was placed on the wrong side of the pink fabric and pinned in place really well. Then, a 1/4" seam allowance was cut away (see bottom right hand side) all around the pattern. Then the seam allowance was rolled to the back (fabric had to be clipped in places on the curves and dips to allow the fabric to be rolled back easily) and basted in place (using the English Paper Piecing method). Once the scalloped section was basted, it was placed on top of the teal blue border, making sure that there was enough of the teal blue fabric where the scalloped border dipped inwards. The scalloped section was then pinned really well in place and then appliqued.

I didn't take photos of the remaining steps, so you will have to use your imagination for visualising the rest of the steps.

The white diamond square had the 1/4" seam allowances rolled back and basted and then pinned in place on top of the scalloped pink section and appliqued on as well. Excess fabric was cut away from behind the white square and then the embroidery design was traced onto the white fabric using my light table.

Once the top was brought to the flimsy stage, it was placed on top of a piece of batting (it was basted a wee bit to hold all the layers together) and then the embroidery was done using an embroidery hoop. It was a bit bulky with the batting but I much prefer the look of batting with the embroidery. Once the embroidery was all done, then the backing fabric was added to the back and basted really well and then hand quilted.

There ... now you know how it was done.

When I'm working on something different, I often think that no-one will be interested to see how a project was done .... until they ask a question and then it hits me that there are people out there that are interested and that is when I regret not taking photos to show my process as I go along.

To the person asking about my blog .... it is just a standard template from http://www.blogspot.com/ Once there, look for a tab to Create a Blog. It was quite easy to set-up and it is free. One suggestion for photos is to use Picasa (free downloadable program) to downsize your photos as you will quickly run out of free space offered by blogspot.

Happy New Year to all!

SSCS from and to ...

2011-12-28T11:20:00.005-05:00

Once again, we all have to thank Miss Chookyblue for doing another fabulous job in organizing this swap and once again, I have received another wonderful gift ...... from Ilene in Australia. What can I say, except .... I love my tree hanging! I will have to try and figure out how she did this. There is a lot of fabric folding going on here and it is intriguing to me. I will enjoy my calendar this coming year. Thank you, Ilene for my treasures!

At last, I can reveal my gifts that were sent to Tracy. This moose plaster ornament was hand painted by me. I have been doing these for years and still have a nice stash waiting to be painted.

This is the wall hanging that she received.

Below photo shows some hand quilting being done ......

Tracey, you were so lucky that my package got sent off in a timely manner. Miss Ashes did her best to impede my hand quilting work by constantly putting her back paw on my hand.

A close-up shot of the hand quilting with all the markings washed out (Crayola Washable markers).

Those buttons really added to the final look.

I do like how the embroidery turned out.

Where did the ideas come from? Well, for a start, the scrolled pink border came from this pattern ....

.... in this magazine.

The embroidery pattern .....

..... came from this magazine.

This will be my last post for this year. I do want to wish you and your family all the best in 2012.

Have a great day, eh!

Design Wall

2011-12-18T11:15:00.003-05:00

My sewing studio has been getting an overhaul lately. It is that time of year to sort through and clean up in preparation for the new year coming. It is a good feeling to get organized.

On my design wall are 3 projects that were started and abandoned and it is about time to get back to them. There is hand applique, hand piecing and patchwork .... they are all so different and will keep me from getting bored too quickly and hopefully not start a new project ..... uhmm not too soon! :o)

My pinwheel top (on the table) is having borders added. Now, this is one quilt that will not get me stopped as I know exactly what to do with the borders. My SIL Jeanne recently sent a photo of a memory wall hanging that she made for a friend. When this lady's husband died, she set aside all his jeans, flannel shirts, ties and hankies and gave them to Jeanne to make something with them.

Jeanne represented in the design their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, wedding date of the couple, their flower of the month, zodiac signs, the Elizabeth Mountain and snow flakes. Jeanne, you did a lovely job!

Have a great day!

Thank you, Santa

2011-12-14T14:26:00.005-05:00

Santa has been good to me so far this year. You all know how much I love to recycle. What do you think of my find that I picked up off the curb last week? This wicker loveseat was being picked up by the garbage truck later in the day, but I got to it first? In pretty bad shape, don't you think?

Well, after wrestling this wicker loveseat into the back seat of my car, I drove home to see if DH could do a miracle with the seat. The wicker seating was rotten through and falling apart in places. The frame was still good and strong ... just the seat part. So DH went out and bought a 1/2" sheet of plywood and cut out a new seat. Meanwhile, I disinfected the whole loveseat with soap, bleach and water and left it to dry overnight. By soaking and left to dry, the wicker will only become stronger and I must remind myself to do that every year.
Once I got my hands on that new seat, out from my stash came foam, batting and upholstery fabric. This is what the new seat looks like now. The only money spent was $8.00 for the wood. Not bad, eh! In the spring, I'll spray paint the loveseat as the paint has peeled off in a few places. :o) Talk about being in the right place at the right time!This is what my new-to-me loveseat looks like in my wee nook in my sewing studio. Now, when We 3 Quilters (that is what our group is called .... Debra, no blog Mary and myself) meet, we will be comfy for sewing. All that is needed is one of the deck chairs to be brought inside and we are all set for our next meeting at my place The battered old trunk acts as a coffee table as well as holding all my finished tops and if one of the girls want to see such and such top, well they can just open the lid and dive in.

Last month, DH asked me what I wanted for Xmas and he was told about a pattern that I have been yearning for. Finally, today the pattern arrived from Australia. Oh, happy days are here again .... guess what I'll be working on in the new year?

Yep .... Santa has been very good to me so far!

For my SSCS partner .... my gift is still intact .... for now. :o)

Have a great day, eh!

Borders ... ugh

2011-12-11T20:00:00.006-05:00

My Pie in the Sky is assembled .... except for the borders. Now, usually this is where this project would get shelved .... but not this time. I am determined to get this to the flimsy stage. At first, I thought this was going to be a piece of cake. The outer border was definitely to be included and the inner border was auditioned. As in .... many times and finally decided on the darker blue. When my DH saw the mock up (#1), he questioned about the lack of contrast between the two borders. So more fabric was pulled for auditioning. Continuing with blues (#2 and #3) ....

.... and then 2 shades of green (#4 and #5) ....

.... with lots of stripes (#6, #7 and #8) in various widths and colours. Since my inner border is striped, my concern was can the outer border be striped as well? You know, I do love to break rules! :o)

Then a plain gold (#9) which really popped but does it give the eye a place to rest?

A neutral shade (#10) ...

Darn .... I think I'm stalling after all! Which one would you go with? Help!!!!

Have a great day!

French Knotted out

2011-12-09T15:13:00.003-05:00

At last, I can show you some secret stuff that has been happening in my studio. Debra and no blog Mary turned 50 this year and they needed to have a special gift. So, to work I went and created this for Debra ... ... and this for Mary. We're talking a gazillion of French Knots in these two pieces of wall art.

Here is Mary opening her gift last night. Debra received her gift last month and she posted about it here. Needless to say, both ladies were very happy with their gifts.

We've been getting together on Thursday nights for the last couple of months and usually we do some sewing. Talk about a great motivator our meetings are for us. But last night, after munching on delicious Red Velvet cake (it was a small cake just in case any of you thought we were a herd of ....)

.... all we did was browse through some magazines and chit chatted. I had been doing some shopping lately and had a lot of stuff for 'show and tell' time. Debra showed us a scarf that she is knitting and Mary showed us her problem for making a pair of PJ's for a friend. A few more blocks got pinned together for my Pie in the Sky. It was a lazy evening. Oh well .... next week we will all try to be more productive.

The pinwheel blocks you see on the design wall ..... well that is a story for another day.

It was a great evening and fun was had by all.

Have a great day!

Xmas ornament

2011-12-05T18:53:00.003-05:00

My Chookyblue's Secret Santa is being really secretive this time. I have no idea who sent this lovely ornament to me from Australia .... but I will find out eventually. For now, it is hanging from my caribou ornament on the fireplace mantle. The main gift in the package is just itching to be opened. I even tried to peek inside ... but she double wrapped my gift. Double darn. I don't think it will last until Christmas Day. :o) In fact, I know it won't stay unopened. My fingers are getting itchy..... very itchy.... Right now, I don't have too much that can be shown .... that will change come this Thursday when Debra and Mary meet up at my place for our weekly sewing evening. What fun we do have and we actually can get some stuff accomplished. There are a few more Xmas decorations to get up before they come over, so you all know what I will be busy doing. :o)

Have a great day!

Row by row ...

2011-11-27T20:09:00.004-05:00

.... my quilt top is getting sewn together. I'm at the half way mark and moving along quite nicely. :o) The bottom 4 rows are done, just in case you are wondering.Have a great day!

Sewing along ...

2011-11-22T21:12:00.007-05:00

... on my Slice of Pie. Here is Kim Diehl's version on the cover of her book and .... .... here is mine so far. A little bit calmer for my eyes.

The blocks were actually quite fast to do up. The sashing is not. There are a gazillion squares and since my design wall is upstairs and my sewing machine downstairs in the basement .... well, I just had to come up with a plan.

To start with, my squares get sorted into lights and darks and are sitting on two pieces of styrofoam boards (recycled bits). Do you like my pin keeper? It has a magnet on the bottom and my pins don't fall out. Very important with kitties helping me. BTW, I purchased this bowl at Wal-Mart in the automotive section. This layout allows me to pin a couple of rows onto the design quite quickly. We like quick, don't we?

Then, pieces of paper got numbered (two per number and two per alphabet letter). This is where it gets easy for me to get a pile of sashings and go sew them together. Follow me along ...

... to a row of vertical sashings. Yes, all vertical rows get the pink paper. Since I'm not working with the corner squares yet, I take one of the letters and pin it to the top of the row square. All the other 3 squares in this row will go to the back of this top square and this tells me what order to sew the squares together.

Now, what do I do with the 2nd. letter paper? It gets pinned to my design wall to tell me that the row A that I just removed will get returned to this same spot after it has been sewn.

For the horizontal rows, use the cheddar cheese colour paper squares and proceed using the same method (i.e. the purple will go on top of the pink and the pink on top of the turquoise and the turquioise goes on top of the navy print.). The corner squares will not be done at this time (they are the red/white/blue print on the left and the yellow stripe on the right).

There is enough in these two piles for 12 sashings. So, down to the basement I go to sew them together.

I have this obsession with keeping my squares to be sewn on the straight of the grain (sog). This dates back to my days of sewing clothes and nothing makes clothes fit better than cutting out the pattern on the straight of the grain. Same for sewing for quilting (except where the bias comes into play). In this case, for the vertical rows, arrange your squares with the straight of grain (sog) going up and down (or north and south).

For row D, this is the order which they were on the design wall. When you take your D pile, place the bottom square from the pile close to you and then place the next one from the bottom of the pile against that one and so on until you have the top square with the paper on it at the top of the row. Sew squares 1 and 2 together and then squares 3 and 4 together.

On the right side of this photo below, you will see how the above sections have been sewn together. Now take another pile (letter C) and arrange them going from bottom to top. Sew squares 1 and 2 together and then 3 and 4 together.

At this point, clip the threads holding row D (see the two sections above my scissors?).

Now, sew sections 1 & 2 to 3 & 4 as shown below.

Clip the threads holding row C (the ones above my scissors in the photo below).

Row C (photo below) shows the two sections that need to be sewn together.

In order that I don't get mixed up, all the vertical piles (pink paper) will get sewn together first. Then the horizontal piles will get sewn (cheddar cheese paper) following the same procedure as described for the pink paper vertical rows.

After pressing (in this case, the seams are being pressed open), here are my 12 sashings ready to go back in their correct places on my design wall.

To help me keep track of vertical and horizontal rows that have been sewn (believe me it gets confusing after a while and I got tired of checking and double checking the rows)), a pink and cheddar cheese paper gets tacked to the side indicating that the rows has been done and I can proceed to the row below and work on them. I guess by now you have realized that I am a bit of control freak, eh? What can I say, except my sign is Virgo! :o Anyway, this method has sure worked out for me.

Shall we do some more sashing? There is a ton more squares still to be added to the design wall. On the other hand, perhaps not. Miss Hank keeps showing up and I have learned not to try to move her off because she will get ticked off and one swipe of her tail and those squares will be everywhere. This is my cue to walk away and return later.

Have a great day!

Here in Canada, we celebrated our Thanksgiving last month. To my American friends, have a happy and safe Thanksgiving!

Slice of Pie, anyone?

2011-11-18T12:24:00.001-05:00

Who doesn't love Kim Diehl's patterns? This block is from her Simple Graces book called Pie in the Sky.I was captivated when I first saw this block at Debra's when we (there are 3 of us in this group) met at her place this past September and she had quite a few of these blocks on her design wall. Well, you know what happens when something is just staring at you in the face? Mary (the no blog lady in our group) went out and bought the book and she has been busy collecting some FQ's to make her version. Guess what happened to me ..... yep I'm making one too! Except (you know there is always an exception with me) my background has neutral fabrics. Again, these blocks keep growing ....

.... and growing.

Oh dear me, another project! :o)

Have a great day!

SSCS 2011

2011-11-14T13:30:00.001-05:00

This will be my fourth year that I've joined Chookyblue in her annual Secret Santa Christmas Swap. This is just a wee peek of what I've made for my swap partner and this is all that you will see until after Christmas! :o)Hmmmm .... I wonder what I'm getting this year? Dear Santa, I've been good this year!

Have a great day!

Off the shelf

2011-11-07T10:01:00.003-05:00

It is about time this project bin came off the shelf and those drated borders get put on. Bias strips for the vines are needed and they are being made while I watch TV in the evenings. Everything else is there all prepped and ready to go. These will be my final borders. The fabric was there in the bin just waiting to be pressed and cut. Sigh .... What can I say about borders, except ugh! :o)

Have a great day!

Simple hand quilting

2011-11-04T11:56:00.005-04:00

You all know how much I love hand quilting and still try to keep a hand in keeping that method alive. Over at Caron Mosey's blog, there is a list of hand quilters who are linking their blogs to a post that she did about hand quilting and how it is slowly but surely fading away. Sadly, hand quilting is going, going but not gone. Die-hards like me and others will ensure that it stays around. From time-to-time, machine quilting will show up on some of my quilts, but I save special quilts for hand quilting. So, hop on over to Caron's blog and go visit all those other hand quilters and help celebrate hand quilting. Since this post is about hand quilting, you should see some of my hand quilting up close. A lot of you have already seen my Klosjes (spools) quilt but you will be interested in seeing some photos again ..... right? :o)

The following are close-up shots ...

Whenever a basted quilt is on my lap (in a hoop or by itself), one of my girls always shows up to see what I've been up to ....

.... and sometimes, both girls show up at the same time. They know when it is time for me to take a break and sit back and relax and perhaps we all can have a snooze.

It is fall here and that is always the time to have a hand quilting project on the go. There are so many to choose from; but one top will get basted ready for those cool/cold nights that soon will be popping up. I know the girls are waiting for a new quilt.

Have a great day!

2011-11-01T15:33:00.003-04:00

I thought that any more trips to our cottage was over for this year, but I snuck in one more visit. It was cool, but a good wood burning stove kept us nice and snug. This morning photo was taken in the screened-in porch and you can see a bit of the screen. It was a beautiful morning ..... bright and cool with just a bit of mist on the far side of the lake. Fifteen minutes later and a thick fog rolled in. Still, the sun was trying its' best to peek through. It was so quiet and serene. A glorious morning.

One of the main chores for this visit was to remove the docks in the lake. They have to come out every year, otherwise the spring ice would demolish these docks. The boys are waiting patiently for more helping hands.

Frost on the dock makes for a slippery time with wet rubber boots.

I did get another 12 blocks of my Got Dots done ..... yep, I'm a happy girl.

Have a great day!

I Got Dots

2011-10-23T22:42:00.002-04:00

You know how it is, when you see something on blogland that has you spinning wheels wanting to make it. Well, I came across this pattern on Jovita's blog and she is offering this pattern for free. She based her pattern on an old antique one and I just love how she revamped it. There are just 3 blocks and you can make any size you want to. It is really that simple .... or not .... if you don't like doing applique and especially circles. For me, I'm in heaven. So these 3 blocks soon ..... ..... became this and ....

...... eventually became this. I can't stop making them. They are so addictive.

I took Jovita's pattern for the blocks and simplified them slightly by taking out some of the circles. This slight modification works for me.

So, you know what I'll be busy working on .....

Have a great day!

A trip to the cottage

2011-10-21T12:06:00.004-04:00

Are you tired of seeing my Trip Around the World quilts? Sorry, but here is another finished one. I love it .... and it is currently warming a family member living in Gatineau, Quebec. My quilts do travel around our country a wee bit. This quilt was machine quilted (except for some hand quilted stars in the border corner blocks). From start to finish, this quilt came together very quickly. Oh yes, I do so love these quilts and I just bought some new fabric to make another one.

Have a great day!

An Autumn Trip - Tutorial - Part 3

2011-10-18T19:13:00.004-04:00

Are your blocks all done? Now is the time to start assembling all those blocks. So, here goes ....

Row 1 - follow this order for placing your blocks.

Usually, a piece of paper gets placed on the top left hand block so that when my blocks for a row are sewn together, they don't get switched around and after sewing on a row, I always know where the top part is.Fig.1 – this is what the back looks like with all the seams pressed open

Row 2 – follow this order for placing the blocks.

Row 3 - repeat Row 1
Row 4 - repeat Row 2

Row 5 - repeat Row 1

Row 6 - repeat Row 2

Row 7 - read on
This is what your 3 rows should look like.

This is how your 4 rows should look like now.

Five rows ... you are doing good!

Yay you .... your 6 rows are sewn together!

Row 7 - Now .... before you start jumping to borders, there is still one more row to add on. When you take a look at the photo in Fig. 2 above, look closely at the top and bottom ... they do not match. The design in the top row is not complete.

In Fig.3 you will need to go back to your remaining tubes and pick apart those tubes until you have enough squares to match up with the colour and number indicated. If you don't have enough tubes to do the job, then that extra fabric that you have, cut out enough 2-1/2" x 2-1/2" squares that you are missing. See, there was a reason for that extra fabric. :o)

Fig.4 - Before sewing your squares together, please make sure that on each square your straight of grain (SOG) is going up/down. To help you with this, look at your unpicked square and look where the seams were sewn together that you ripped apart. Can you see your original sewn seam? Look for needle marks. That will be your top/bottom on how to place your square for sewing. The reason for placing it this way is to ensure that this last row will match any fabric that has a directional print otherwise your eye will be drawn to those fabrics that don’t look like the others.

Fig.5 - see where the arrow on the left hand side is pointing to? This is the order for placing your squares for sewing for this last row.

Now, once that Row 7 is sewn together and onto the top, your centre portion is now complete. Take a bow .... you deserve it!

Borders

Take your border strips that have been cut out (scroll down to Part 1 of this tutorial and look under Cutting) and start working on your borders.

I sewed all the blue strips together in one long strip and the rust strips in one long strip.

Measure the width of your top in 3 places, add them together and divide by 3. That is the number for cutting out your first border for the top and bottom (this method is not for doing mitered corners)

Sew your blue border pieces onto the top and bottom.

Now for the sides, measure lengthwise in 3 places, add them together and divide by 3.

Measure out your blue border strip to that number and cut and sew onto your top.

Do this same method for the rust inner border and for the outer blue border.

That is it ….. your top is done! Bravo!!

I have done my best to ensure that there are no errors in any of these tutorials and have checked and rechecked and rechecked, etc. I apologise in advance if you do find one. Please let me know immediately so that a correction can be made.

For this tutorial, you do have my permission to copy the photos, the tutorial, etc. and share amongst friends ..... please .... just don't use any of this tutorial for $ profit.

Have fun and have a great day!

An Autumn Trip - Tutorial - Part 2

2011-10-13T10:13:00.006-04:00

Now that I'm home again after visiting with family, it is time to buckle down and give you Part 2 of my tutorial for making this Trip Around The World. Are you ready?

Some blocks in this tutorial will have 6 strips per block and others will have 5. Just be sure to copy exactly as per each photo.

Block A - Here is the first block. The photos below this will show you how.Fig. 1 – To replicate the top block, take one of your tubes and locate the the cream on top and the rust right below. Rip out the seam where my seam ripper is pointing to, open and place just below the above strip.

Fig. 2 – Remember those 24 strips that were not sewn into tubes? Well, take one of those strips and place it in the same order as the top block.

Fig. 3 – Continuing the pattern, pick-up another tube and locate the yellow/darker blue colours and rip out the seam where my seam ripper is indicating.

Fig. 4, 5 and 6 – Follow the same pattern for each strip as shown and rip out the seams where my seam ripper is pointing to.

Once you have finished removing the seams for each strip indicated, sew the strips together (be careful not to mix them up) and press open the seams. When sewing the seams together, I used a lot of pins and it really did make a big difference in my seams matching up.

My favourite pins are made by Dritz. The pins slide easily through all the layers and hold very well.

When pinning the strips together, I placed 2 pins per seam intersection. By doing this, none of my seams had to be re-done. If you are not as fussy as me, do what you are most comfortable doing.

After all your Block A (did you make 3 of them?) have been sewn correctly, mark your blocks A with a piece of paper, etc. so that when it comes time to assemble you will be able to locate the correct block when they are called for. My favourite method, is taking a scrap piece of paper and write the appropriate letter, then clip the paper to the pile of blocks with a clothespin. This way, the blocks stay together in the pile and don’t come loose and get mixed up with other blocks.

The rest of the blocks:
Now that Block A is done, the rest of the blocks to be made are indicated below. All you have to do is locate the correct top and bottom colours on your tube and remove the seam between those colours and place them in the order exactly as per each photo.

Block Aa - make 3

Block B - make 6

Block C - make 3

Block Cc - make 3

Block D - make 6

Next tutorial will show how to assemble the blocks so that the pattern emerges.

For this tutorial, you do have my permission to copy the photos, the tutorial, etc. and share amongst friends ..... please .... just don't use any of this tutorial for $ profit.

Have fun!

An Autumn Trip - Tutorial - Part 1

2011-09-28T15:41:00.008-04:00

Well .... here is the start of my tutorial for making this quilt (Fig. 1). Writing up this tutorial has made me very nervious as I am terrified of making a mistake. So, with this in mind, my figures and instructions have been checked and rechecked a dozen times. So here goes ....

The quilt size (before quilting) is: 59-1/4" x 79-3/4" Yardage for centre portion:

You will need 3/4 yd. of 5 (five fabrics) (this includes extra fabric in case of any booboos and if you are like me you will need it ... trust me, I made a few mistakes in cutting and was glad to have the extra amount! If you are anxious about not having enough fabric, then buy 1 yd. of each fabric.)

Yardage for borders: (extra fabric has been included here)

For the inner and outer borders (light blue) you will need 1-3/4 yd.

For the middle border (rust) you will need 3/4 yd.

Cutting:

Of each of the 5 fabrics, cut 9 strips 2-1/2" wide x WOF (width of fabric)

For the light blue, cut 14 strips 3-1/2" wide x WOF - these will be used for the borders (you will be using 7 strips of this colour for the inner and outer border).

For the rust, cut 7 strips 2-1/2" wide x WOF - these will be used for the border

Sewing: Referring to Fig. 2, this is the order that the strips will be sewn together using a 1/4" seam allowance. Make 9 sections which will include all of these colours. A section will have 5 fabrics (one of each colour).

Fig. 3 - For this tutorial, press open your seams. For any of you wanting to quilt-in-the-ditch once your top is made up, this method with the seams will not work for you. You will need to chose another quilting idea. You can press your seams to one side, but it gets complicated later when making up the blocks.

Fig. 4 - Cut out 2-1/2" strips from each section. Can you see how masking tape is aiding me for cutting these strips? I had to put it there as too many booboos were happening. Also, when cutting the sections, the open seams are facing up. The section lies flat on my cutting board and it makes cutting easier.

Fig. 5 - After cutting out the sections into 2-1/2" strips, leave 24 of the strips as is; the rest will need to be made into a tube. To make a tube, take the bottom of the strip and bring it to the top and sew those seams together.

If you want a quicker method that eliminates sewing a tube for each 2-1/2" cut strip ...

Fig. 6 - Square off one end of the section, then bring the bottom to the top and sew those seams together. There you have a tube.

Fig. 7 - Place your tube on the cutting board and cut 2-1/2" strips.

Now, it is time for this part of the tutorial to finish. Besides, I have to go play with Miss Ashes. She has been begging for attention! :o)

So, until next week when my tutorial will continue, have fun!

Been playing hooky

2011-09-21T15:41:00.004-04:00

What can I say .... it is a border thing with me! This is always where my tops get stopped and ..... well ..... other things caught my attention. Anything will do, anything to not work on those borders will do it for me. But after a week of procrastination, I buckled down and started working on them for this project. Just two more borders to do (why or why did I chose to do 3 borders) and then the tutorial to make this quilt can get finished. The centre portion went really fast, it is just the borders that slowed me down.During my time off, I celebrated my 60th birthday by going to a quilt store in the morning with a friend. Afterwards, before heading home, her gift to me got opened and there was a lot of oohhing and ahhhing. Thank you, Mary, I love my gift from you; but next time, skip the mooncake, OK?

Fall comes along on Friday and I've been thinking of changing my header with some photos. So, we'll see how it turns out. My header hasn't changed at all in the last 4 years of blogging and since I have started a new chapter in my life (according to some I'm now a senior), perhaps it is time to change my blog header.

Have a great day, eh!

An Autumn Trip

2011-09-04T16:41:00.003-04:00

I'm taking a wee autumn trip ..... right down to my basement studio! :o) During the change of display quilts in our home from summer to autumn colours, guess what? There are not enough autumn quilts to go around. Well, I will just have to do something about that. So, after a bit of browsing through my fabric stash, these 5 colours were chosen ....... .... to make this Trip Around The World (otherwise known as TATW).

Since you have asked and commented about this design before on previous posts, why don't I just make another TATW quilt and give you a tutorial so that you also can make your own? Makes sense, doesn't it? Besides, I really do need another autumn quilt! :o)

For now, just bear with me as I work on this quilt and tutorial. Just think of what colours you would like in your own TATW.

Have a great day!

Two different borders

2011-09-01T12:15:00.004-04:00

It is interesting working on two projects at the same time. Now that the centre portion of this quilt has been machine quilted ...... .... the borders are getting a simple wiggly line in the border area. At first, I wasn't sure how this would look with the line being wiggly and not straight, but it looks just fine to me. Only 3 more borders to do.

The days will be getting cooler and it will be a pleasure getting back to doing some hand quilting on the borders of my pumpkin quilt. With Fall just around the corner, this just has to be done soon.

Can you see the simple leaf and vine? Only 3 more borders to go.

Now, I'm wondering which quilt will get finished first? :o) It really won't matter ..... as long as they get finished.

Have a great day!

This still needs a name ....

2011-08-27T20:59:00.003-04:00

While on my break, some time was spent at our cottage far north of Toronto. No ..... this is not our cottage!!! :o) This is a wood shed (for storing wood and anything else that can be used in the future for repairs, etc.) that my Dad built over 45 yrs. ago and it is still standing; albeit with a slight lean to the right. Is this not the perfect place for a photo op or what? I brought along this project to work on and after sewing on a number of verticals rows, I wondered what my top would look like draped over the door to the shed. A closer view of the blocks and don't you just love the scrappiness that is going on here? For the borders, perhaps a plain white border will be perfect and help to give the eye a place to rest.

Coming back to the title .... I still haven't come up with a name yet. While at our cottage, I should have taken a photo of our floor as part of this block is in the floor pattern. So, that being the case, this top will need to have the word cottage in it. Ymmm ... will have to do a bit of thinking on this.

Now, for those of you in the path of Hurricane Irene ..... stay safe! Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

New top and a break

2011-08-09T08:56:00.004-04:00

I'll be taking a blog break for a few weeks to catch up on outside chores, etc. We are in the dog days of summer and this is the time of year that I usually surface out of the basement and a/c house to enjoy days that hold less humidity and heat.

Before I go, here is another project that has been brought to the completed top stage. This is the first time that I did this type of saw edge border and it is rather effective. It was a tad tricky to do, but this is something that will be repeated again in another quilt. Now, my Love Is ..... is ready for some hand quilting. This embroidery BOM was interesting to work on and I do look forward to doing some more embroidery projects in the future.

So, see you sometime in September!

TATW

2011-08-04T22:48:00.004-04:00

Whenever I'm in need of instant gratification, a Trip Around The World pattern always draws me in. Don't get me wrong, I do love all the applique quilts that have been started and are all in different stages of completion; but sometimes, I just need something easy to do.

When I started looking at my photos of TATW quilts, it amazed me to see how many of these quilts were done using this pattern. Gosh, when did that happen? They are so easy to do and they keep adding up.

This yellow/blue/green quilt was my first one. This quilt gets hung up around this time of year in our dining room. It says 'summer' to me. This pink/green/teal blue/purple quilt was made for my Mom.

This bright quilt was made for donation to my niece's school to help pay for a school trip.

A change in the design resulted in this version and it was given as a wedding present. This quilt made me step outside the box and I will have to play around with more versions like this one.

This lap size quilt is currently being machine quilted and is intended for our cottage. This will be perfect to cuddle under during the cool evenings and mornings on the porch.

And, of course, I just had to start a new one! :o) A few weeks ago, there was a sale in a town not too far from where I live and the daisy border fabric and the blue fabric was purchased for $3.00/metre. At that price, they just couldn't be passed up and are perfect for my new quilt. Oh, happy days.

There are two more of these quilts in planning stages and a tutorial that is being worked on. I'm not the only one that has to make this pattern ... the more the merrier! :o)

I even asked DH for his 5 favourite colours: blue, red, yellow, bright green and turquoise.

Have a great day!

Love Is ....

2011-08-03T14:38:00.005-04:00

.... being worked on again. This project has never been shown here before and I guess it is about time it came off the shelf so that you can see what it looks like. This was a free BOM offered by this lady. Unfortunately, it is no longer available for free but can be purchased from her website. After all the blocks were assembled into a top, now it is the embroidery that is being worked on.

This is what the back looks like. Yes, I am embroidering with the batting in place. It is a bit harder and a tad awkward to embroider with the top and batting like this. It is manageable, though and I have developed a method to embroider with a bit of bulk in my hand.

Thank you so much for your comments on my last post. It was very interesting to see the effect that a small red strip in the border had on some of you. I'm still undecided on which way to go. So for now, that top will stay on my design wall to let me ponder on which way to go.

Have a great day!

Been busy ....

2011-08-01T12:19:00.002-04:00

.... well .... almost. I had just finished pinning one section of this top and had flipped up the other section to smooth out the backing and batting that were hanging down on the right hand side of the table. Miss Ashes was ticked off with me about something and after moving her x number of times off the table, I just gave up and worked on something else. Eventually, she moved and I was able to complete pinning this top together. Cats .... don't you just love them to bits? :o) Right now, I'm auditioning border fabrics for this top. That plaid is just yummy.

Does this top really need this red inner border? Hmmm, will have to think about this.

Have a great day!

A feature ...

2011-07-27T11:12:00.003-04:00

Hot dang ..... Becky over at Patchwork Posse asked me if she could feature my blog on her Trunk Show Tuesday section of her blog ..... and by gosh, by golly, I was tickled pink that she asked me! :o)

So go here and see moi and read about my blog and some of my quilts.

Also, if you want to see past featured blogs, go here and you will be able to click onto different photos and have fun reading and discovering interesting blogs.

Thank you, Becky, you made my day! :o)

Was stumped?

2011-07-24T09:46:00.004-04:00

Lately, my UFO's are being worked on this summer and this one had me stumped for quite some time and has been up on my design since last year. This project was started Nov.15,2010 and it went together quite quickly until the centre of the petal blocks. I just couldn't decide what to do. I like the idea of the white centers .... except some of those centers had been cut away. So, something else had to be done with them.

Some jumbo rick rack was purchased and a test circle was made up. It is not bad, but this idea just wasn't giving me the thumbs up.

Maybe it needed another smaller circle in the centre. OK, this is not bad.

Definitely not a plain yellow centre.

Now, we're talking .... a simple white circle with a nice bright contrasting smaller circle. Yep, this is it.

Now, I can concentrate on bringing this UFO to a top stage .... and that is such a good thing! :o)

Have a great day!

Sew quick ...

2011-07-21T20:16:00.004-04:00

Five different fabrics (9 WOF cuts each) and these strips went from this ... .... to this ever so quickly!

The borders are on and this top is ready for some quilting! :o

How hot is it here? Well, tonight after listening to Miss Ashes for half an hour wailing and moaning to go outside .... we put her outside and was going to walk around the back yard with her. She stood at the back door and wanted back inside immediately to the a/c cooled home. That is how hot it is in Toronto today.

Have a great day!

Hand quilting .... tips

2011-07-18T15:31:00.007-04:00

Every now and then, questions come to me about my hand quiltng. So, to help explain some of my methods, here are a few photos of my pumpkin quilt that is currently being worked on.

When I'm quilting around an item (my pumpkin and leaf), always work in a clock-wise manner. This way the pumpkin and leaf get puffed up and they look like they have been stuffed (but they are not).

Once the outside of the pumpkin has been hand quilted, then move onto the right hand side of the pumpkin and start hand quilting (see black arrows) beside the embroidered lines going from the top to bottom. Start at the far right and move towards the centre. My quilting will be on the right side of the embroidery lines. Then, quilt the next two embroidered lines (see green arrows) with the quilting being on the left side of the embroidered lines.

Follow the same procedure for the leaf (blue arrows). This photo shows my quilting beside the embroidered lines. Can you see how the centre portion is nice and puffy? Remember, clock-wise will make my pumpkin and leaf puffy.

For the grid work, there is also a pattern for quilting those also (see black arrows). My quilts gets marked up using Crayola Washable markers (the fine tip markers). If you want to read more about these markers and how to work with them, just go here and scroll through the posts.

All of my pumpkins, leaves and grid lines will be done in this manner. This way, there is nothing that gets distorted and looks odd after all the hand quilting has been done.

Hopefully, this post will help clear up some of your questions.

Have a great day!

Cool pumpkins

2011-07-13T13:47:00.003-04:00

There was a nice cool breeze blowing in through the windows and patio door today and I took advantage of it and did some hand quilting on my pumpkin quilt . Only 3 more pumpkins to finish and then the borders.

A while ago, someone asked how I come up with quilting ideas. In this case, my thoughts were of a farmer's field and rows of planted pumpkin seeds. For the borders, I haven't made any decision yet on what will go there. Once a decision is made, the borders will get marked up and then I will be good to go and finish up this hanging for the fall. A couple of weeks ago, some fabric and buttons were purchased to make a fall jacket. Ashes found the buttons and was having such fun playing with them. If any of the buttons go missing, guess who was responsible?

Have a great day!

What's new?

2011-07-11T11:04:00.005-04:00

Since I've been away for a week and a half, not too much has been happening in my studio. So, here are a few photos of some of my summer quilts and tops that are hanging up in my home. In the photo below, my basket top and hexagon top (on the quilt ladder) are still waiting in the wings to be hand quilted. Instead of having them sit in my battered old trunk, they are on display to act as a motivation ..... someday! :o) My red and white top is still a top and it got hung up for our July 1 holiday. Time to take it down and finish marking it up for machine quilting. As much as I would love to hand quilt this one too, reality has to be faced and a decision to machine quilt this one has been made. Considering how long it takes me to hand quilt, I just can't do all of them by hand.

While I was away, some hand work got done. My hexagon star top has been all assembled and is now just waiting for borders and a decision for applique. This was a huge accomplishment and I am absolutely thrilled with it.

Before I left, a new tote bag got started and it will get finished before my next trip this summer. The summer months don't see me at home much as I travel to visit with family and spend time at our family cottage.

Now that hot days are finally here, I will be spending more time at my sewing machine in our cool basement. So, perhaps next week you will see a bit more of my School House project.

Have a great day!

School house tutorial

2011-06-25T19:03:00.006-04:00

This has taken me a wee while to assemble and compose ... but here goes ... I'm not a pattern maker by trade and I've done my best to give your correct instructions. To make this school house block, here are your instructions.Fig.1 – draw a 12” x 12” square on a piece of paper (do not draw any seam allowances).

Fig.2 – shows some lines that have been drawn in and the measurements are shown below in Fig. 3.

Fig.3 – draw your lines according to the measurements shown.

Fig.4 – this is the section that we will be working on next.

Fig.5 – these are the templates for the window section (there will be measurements for a door for those that want a door instead of a window).

Fig.6 – the measurements below do not include any seam allowances.

A – ½” wide x 6” high

B and C – 1-1/4” high x 5-1/2” wide

D and E – 1-1/4” wide x 3-1/2 high

F and H – ¾” wide x 3-1/2” high

G – 1-1/2” wide x 3-1/2” high

Fig.7 – shows the placement for the door

Fig.8 – the measurements below do not include any seam allowance.

AA – ½” wide x 6” high

BB – 1-3/4” high x 5-1/2” wide

CC and EE – 1-3/4” wide x 4-1/4” high

DD – 2” wide x 4-1/4” high

Fig.9 – is the start of drawing in the roof section. Again there will be no seam allowances for this section.
From the right hand side, measure in 2-5/8” and make a dot at that measurement. Using your ruler, draw a diagonal line connecting the dot at the top to the bottom on the right on side.

Fig.10 – From your 2-5/8” mark, measure 6” to the left and make another dot. Draw a diagonal line as per the drawing.

Fig.11 – After you have drawn in your diagonal line, make another diagonal line that is ½” wide as shown.

Fig.12 – Following the diagram, draw another diagonal line to complete the triangle. At the top of the triangle, it should measure 2-3/4” from the left side of your block

Fig.13 – This is the chimney section. From the point of the triangle at the top, draw a line straight up using your ruler to act as a guide to get a straight line. The width of each chimney will be 1” wide. Follow diagram to draw in your second chimney.

Fig.14 - This is how your block should look.

Fig.15 - I took a couple of photo copies of my roof section, added ¼” seam allowance all around each template and stuck them onto MacTac Contact paper. My templates are hardy and easy to use when cutting out on the fabric.

Now, for those special blocks that fit into the bottom right side of my houses, I used my EQ software and BlockBase that goes with it.

Here are a couple of links where you can make 6" x 6" (6-1/2" x 6-1/2" unfinished) blocks:

Quilter's Cache

Cre8tive Quilter

My next post will show you how to assemble the block.

Have a great day!

Time to build .....

2011-06-16T14:57:00.005-04:00

.... my house blocks. Now that all of my 6-1/2" x 6-1/2" (finished 6" x 6") blocks have all been made, it is time to tidy up those scraps and pieces of paper and take out the sections of my house blocks and start sewing them together. Some of you have asked about this pattern and I am in the process of writing up a tutorial on how you can draft up your own house block pattern (this will not include the smaller 6" finished blocks) and make your own quilt. That tutorial will be coming up in the next week or two. So stay tuned for the tutorial if you are interested.

In the meantime, I wanted to show you how one of the more intricate blocks was made. Some of those blocks were so tricky that there was no other way for me to make them except using the English Paper Piecing method. Below, you can see some of the templates that were basted onto fabric and hand sewn together.

This is how the back looks like before being trimmed to size and all the basting and paper templates removed.

This is the block. See, is this not an intricate block?

Have a great day, eh!

Quilting Pumpkins

2011-06-11T23:08:00.003-04:00

We had a bad storm roll through our city last Wednesday and it has been cool ever since ..... so, guess what I've been doing? Hand quilting my pumpkin top. You know, Autumn is coming and I would like to have this hanging finished before the leaves change over to their fall colours.Finishing my Klosjes spool quilt has spurred me on to finishing up more of my tops.

Have a great day!

My Sweet Klosjes

2011-06-07T15:11:00.005-04:00

Let the celebrations begin ..... my klosjes spool quilt is done ... done .... done! This quilt is now gracing our dining room wall and DH and I are admiring it greatly. There was a lot of work in the making of this quilt. Hand piecing, hand applique, hand quilting .... oh yes, lots of work ... but so worth every single stitch! :o) A number of you were scared that the markings that I put on my quilt using Crayola Washable markers would not come out. Well, they did and on the first washing. We have a front load washer and it worked just fine.

I thank Valentina and all the other ladies for inspiring and challenging me to join in making a spool quilt. Just look what happens when we inspire and challenge each other!

The spool block comes from Block Base for EQ programs and is #3571 (The Spool of 1966). The flower border was made by me after being inspired by a pattern that was purchased from The Rabbit Factory. The pattern is #RF151 Blooms All Around.

Quilt size: 88" x 95-1/2" (top size before quilting was 92" x 98-1/2"). After washing and drying there was a loss of 4" on the height and 3-1/2" on the width. I always, always make my quilt at least 4" bigger so that after drying, the quilt will fit perfectly on our bed. All my fabric is pre-washed and 4" works for me.

Block size: 6" x 6"

Border block size: 6" x 7"

Design Source: EQ6 and Block Base software programs.

Time frame: Quilt was started on Mar. 21, 2010. The top was done Aug. 9, 2010 and finished being quilted on May 30, 2011. Just over one year for a hand pieced, hand applique and hand quilting. Now, that is not bad, eh!

I'm having a great day ... how about you?

School houses and Klosjes

2011-05-23T10:37:00.005-04:00

I'm back to working on this project .... just love how this is shaping up. Just 8 more small blocks to go and the houses can get made up. The small blocks are 6" x 6" finished and the house block is 12" x 12" finished.

This quilt will hang on our dining room wall .... but that won't be for a while yet. Mind you, some of my tops get hung up throughout the year. Hand quilting takes a while and I do like to enjoy my tops instead of them being stored away in a battered old trunk. There are only 10 more border blocks to go on my Klosjes quilt. I am so eager to get this done. My label is being worked on and can be added to the back when the quilt is done. Also, fabric has been pulled for a sleeve (my quilts get hung on the wall as well as being used on beds) for sewing onto the back. Soon, my friends, soon you will see this quilt finished.

Yesterday, 6 blocks got quilted and today my hands are sore .... so, today I will take a break and work on something else. Probably some more blocks for my school house.

Have a great day!

Letter Q

2011-05-21T10:27:00.003-04:00

Did you know that the word quilt starts with the letter 'Q'? Well, my 5 yr. old great nephew knew.

This is the e-mail that I received this morning:

Hi Aunt Rose,

Just had to write to tell you that Riley was "Special Helper" at school yesterday, meaning he got to bring in a show and tell item. The letter of the week was Q so what he brought in needed to start with Q. When I said that we would have to think hard about what he could show, he ran into his room and came out with the quilt you made for him and said "it's not hard, I'll bring in my special blanket quilt!"

It is an I Spy quilt and the fabrics were collected over a few years. For this quilt, there is cotton and poly/cotton fabrics. Whatever caught my eye, got bought.

Have a great weekend!

This is the quilt .....

2011-05-14T15:41:00.003-04:00

.... that changed my quilting style and fabric purchasing habit. Before, I used to buy a whole yard of bright, bold fabrics but now settle for charm packs, FQ's and 1/4 of a yard of fabric of medium value fabrics. Only large amounts of fabric is purchased for borders, backing and backgrounds.

This quilt changed me into a scrappy quilter. Leftovers from the above quilt were used to make my Dresden Plate and ....

.... my soon-to-be-finished Klosjes (spool) quilt. There are only 30 more blocks to hand quilt! Can you hear my feet warming up for the happy dance?

A pack of FQ's got me started on this hexagon quilt. This top is all marked up and I'm hoping to set this up on my floor frame. This quilt will have just simple straight lines (curved lines are hard for me to manoever on a floor frame) and that would be easy for me to handle. With our hot weather coming, there is no way that I can quilt with this on my lap.

From my grand stash, this basket top got made and it is stored away for hand quilting (maybe this fall).

Can you see where the same fabrics and values are being used over and over but each quilt looks so different?

Works in progress:

My diamond hexagon star

and leftovers from my hexagon quilt ...

... the same fabrics used in my Just Blessings top (which has been shelved for now) ...

.. and the start of a new scrappy quilt.

Ummm, I wonder how many more quilts will get made from this stash. As I am cutting out pieces, small pieces of scraps are starting to emerge instead of a large chunk of fabric. That is a good sign that part of my stash is starting to diminish in size and that, my friends, is a good thing!

This journey has been delightful and my style has finally been found. Oh yes, I love scrappy!

To change the look of future quilts, waiting in the wings is a shelf unit full of 1800's repro fabrics and I have already started 2 projects using those fabrics. They will be scrappy, too!

This post is my entry to Amy's Spring Bloggers' Quilt Festival and I look forward to browsing through all the other entries. Hop on over to Amy's blog and take a peek and enjoy the stories and quilts.

Have a great day!

Only 41 blocks ....

2011-05-11T13:44:00.003-04:00

..... left to hand quilt and 2 sides to bind .... and this quilt will be done! To help speed up my finishing, binding has been made and sewn onto 2 sides. This way, once all the blocks are done, I just need to add binding to 2 more sides, add a label, wash and dry and then you can see the finished quilt. Warmer weather is starting to come our way and that will end any hand quilting for the summer ...... so I'm making a final push to get this klosjes (spool) quilt done. Oh my, I'm getting excited!!!

Have a great day!

Now what?

2011-04-30T14:49:00.009-04:00

I have been merrily making templates, basting fabric to them and sticking the pieces onto my design wall. Once the bottom areas get squared off, this section will be 1/4 of my quilt and will measure approx. 40" square. This is going together very quickly.

But .... stop .... how the heck do I sew all those pieces together? At first, I was just sewing pieces together and then had to ask myself if there was an easier way to sew them together. So, a plan was devised.

First, the hexagon shape (with the inside square) would get sewn together. Then I would sew one square to the bottom of the top hexagon and start working my way down one vertical row (see how the vertical rows have been separated on the photo below and, yes, a few squares are missing on the left vertical row). You will have to decide if you want to run your thread (on the back seam allowances) to the next section or secure and break your thread and start on a new seam.

Once a few vertical rows are sewn together, then I start joining the rows together.

Any hand piecing project can be approached the same way. My hexagon star project that you see on the left side (top photo) was sewn together the same way. A method makes the job easier and much more enjoyable.

Once a few sections are together, then I can start to remove some of the basting and paper templates. It makes handling a lot better. The templates on the outside edges are not removed until I'm ready to attach outside borders. This way, the edges don't get stretched.

The large white diamonds as well as the white square in the 9-patch are a variety of white fabrics and the centre of the hexagons are a variety of beige/cream fabrics. A couple of times a year, I buy the Moda Muslims FQ pack of white, beige and cream fabrics. They really help to keep the look interesting and each time I buy, the fabrics are new designs.

My paper templates get re-used a few times before tossing into the recycle bin. They get stored into a small bin and ironed to remove any wrinkles and the iron strengthens them up again for the next round of basting and sewing.

Pretty soon, all my fabrics will be cut out and stored away in their appropriate bins (see my previous post about this) and I can start to clean up my studio again until the next time a new project gets started.

My source for this project is EQ6 BlockBase software program. I will have to come up with a name other then D046 (that is the block name) or Puzzle Tile. Something a little more catchy is required, don't you think?

Do you want to see another version of this block .... go here. Susis made a gorgeous quilt.

Have a great day!

Scrap quilts

2011-04-27T13:08:00.006-04:00

Whenever a new scrap quilt gets started, I try to have a game plan so that the overall look of the quilt looks even. I don't like areas where it is too dark or too light.

First off, my plastic cookie containers get pulled (love to recycle), my templates made (for hand piecing projects) and away I go. The photo below shows what is in those containers above.

Usually, my quilt gets broken down into four sections and gets labelled A,B,C,D. Some fabrics will show up in all four sections and other fabrics in just 2 sections (like A and C or B and D) and some sections will have just a single fabric in them so that the look is unique.

Below, the units in the poly bag are all basted up and ready to go. The fabric in the containers need to be basted and they will be perfect for on-the-go work.

My scrap bins and pre-cut strips are getting pulled left and right and my studio is such a mess ... once again. :o)

Wonderful, another quilt from my stash!

Oh yes, happy days are ahead for me.

Have a great day!

Travelling hand work

2011-04-19T20:01:00.006-04:00

Wherever I travel, hand work always comes along with me. This time around, a section of this project has been chosen to accompany me. I just couldn't transfer them onto a piece of batting as it was just too confusing to get them lined up properly. So, the stars and the connecting hexagons all got pinned together while they were still hanging on my design wall. It all looks jumbled and wonky. They got re-pinned and smoothed out onto another piece of batting ...

.... and this is how they look now. Neat and tidy. I will be very happy to finish this section while I'm away.

To all of you that celebrate Easter .... Happy Easter!

Hand work

2011-04-16T20:35:00.006-04:00

So, what do you do when the power goes out for a few hours (as it did today)? Why, pull out some handwork and sit back, wrap yourself in a quilt and sew. That is exactly what happened to us today and this is the project that was worked on. It has taken me a long time, but I think I have finally found my niche .... scrappy quilts. This is what I enjoy doing the most... that and old time patterns and hand piecing. Just can't get any better than that. These blocks were made using the English Paper Piecing method and they are all done by hand. Yumm .... To Geri in SC, you asked about my markers that I use? Go to the left-hand side of my blog and scroll down to the LABELS section and scroll down some more to MARKERS. Click onto MARKERS and read all the posts for do's and don'ts. Have a great day!

Rounding the corner ....

2011-04-11T10:05:00.003-04:00

Once this corner is quilted, my klosjes quilt will be close to being 3/4 done. So, for now, I'm just chugging along .... While hand quilting, my thimbles dull my needles and my handy emery board (the kind with foam layer in the middle) is perfect for sticking my needles into to sharpen up and I'm ready to go again.

At the end of every week, I can see progress and the light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter!

Have a great day!

Star gazing ...

2011-04-04T12:51:00.004-04:00

My Sweet Dreams top has me at a standstill .... indecision about the borders. There is a 2" pink border that has been sewn on and that is all that got done. I could put on a floral outer border which is the same fabric used in the 9-patch blocks or I could add some prairie points on top of the outer border in green to add some more interest. LuAnn is going to a retreat soon and will take a photo of this quilt that hangs at the retreat location. I'll see what that person did with her quilt and go from there. In the meantime, this top will be just hanging around. So, what do I work on next? After digging through my UFO's, this project is next in line for work. A ton of leaves have been prepped .....

... for the borders of this top. There are only a few more stars to make and the fillers to be added and then I can do some serious hand sewing. Warm weather is starting to head this way and I will need some handwork when it is too hot to hand quilt.

Have a great day!

Trimming time ...

2011-03-31T11:21:00.005-04:00

On my Sweet Dreams quilt, all the blocks are done, the rows put together and it is time now to trim the side and corner setting triangles. Whenever I make a quilt that is on-point, my triangles are always made a tad bigger than what is called for and then trimmed afterwards. Do you see those yellow round things at the bottom of the photo? They are weights and come in handy for holding my top in place while trimming. I bought these weights (pkg. of 4) but a couple of canned goods will do the job quite well too. Here is my centre portion of this flimsy. Just need to add borders to finish this top. Yeah, another flimsy almost done! :o)

Have a great day!

Be gone .... dye bleed-outs .... be gone!

2011-03-27T17:19:00.007-04:00

Today, while browsing the web, I came across a post about how to get rid of bleed-outs. This same problem has happened to me ..... even though my fabric is all pre-washed ..... a few times now. It is time to share with you my tips for getting those darn bleed-outs out forever. You may remember seeing this little wall hanging on a post back last December. It was my SSCS scrap gift to Peg in Australia. Years ago, before pulling a trick from my sleeve, this hanging would have ended up in the garbage .... I will show you why. This was the start of my dilemma. I had almost finished hand quilting the centre section but was not happy with the way the borders were marked up and I washed it to get rid of all the markings and laid it flat to dry.

Well, can you see the bleed-outs???

Before .... this would have left me in tears .... but now now! What to do about it? I got some Colour Catchers for an exchange of an item. We can't get any of this product here in Canada and the person couldn't get a certain item in her country. A perfect exchange for both of us.

The area of bleed-out covered so much of the center portion, I took two sheets and basted them directly over the areas that had the bleed-outs. If there was just a small area, just cut the Colour Catcher sheet to cover the area. No sense in wasting a whole sheet, eh (and in case you are wondering, yes, I am hoarding them. They are as precious as gold here in Canada)!

My hanging was washed 2 times and laid flat to dry.

These sheets not only pull out the excess dye from the background fabric, it will also pull out any extra dye in the material (or in this case the wool strands) that will release the next time you wash a quilt or hanging. Depending on the dye colour, you may have to wash more than once. If need be, just replace the Colour Catcher sheets until the dye bleed-outs are all gone.

There were bleed-outs in this quilt .... and it is with this quilt that the solution came to me. I wanted to enter this quilt in my guild quilt show but couldn't because of the bleed-outs. You can imagine my smile when my method worked and I was able to enter this quilt for the show.

While we were getting ready for our guild quilt show, the lady that washed this raffle quilt came to us in tears. This was the quilt from hell and we just didn't need another problem to deal with just before the quilt show. Lucky for us, my method was already put to use and the lady was assured the problem would be solved. I think she was doubtful at first, but the quilt was displayed and raffled.

This method works. Try it and let me know if you were successful. I have given these instructions to others and the feedback has been positive.

Have a great day!

Cabin fever .... be gone!

2011-03-24T12:50:00.006-04:00

It truly is amazing what a week in the sun can do for cabin fever! This year, our winter has been long, cold with lots of snow and a week in the Dominican Republic was most welcome. My sister and I stayed at Punta Cana at one of the Iberostar resorts. What can I say, except it was "wonderful".

This post is photo heavy, but bear with me as there is something about sewing at the end.

We stayed in this block of rooms and if only we took our bearings when we first arrived, we would not have roamed the resort trying to find our room later in the afternoon. The resort is huge and we walked different paths throughout our stay ... some more interesting than others. I just loved the wooden planks laying on top of the sand. Lovely colour combinations.

We walked the beach the first afternoon we arrived. Again, my sister and I forgot to take bearings and after 45 mins. of walking we turned around and headed back to our resort. Mmmm .... what did our resort look like from the beach? There were no signs posted and after seeing other people on beach longers wearing the same wrist bands like we had, we figured that was our resort. Phew .... lesson learned.

We walked the resort grounds which were absolutely beautiful. Lots of photos were taken from various vantage points. We had to walk off the wonderful food we ate each day otherwise the plane would never have been able to take off.

A day excursion into the countryside revealed the reality of this island life away from the resorts.

A quick swim at the local's beach was gorgeous and breathtaking. No development here .... just a beach as one would expect.

A day of snorkelling was amazing. Unfortunately, we had no underwater camera to take shots, but the mural on this bench gives a good reflection of what we saw.

We were quite happy to sit under a beach palapa .....

... and watch the world go by ....

.... and take a few snoozes like this trio during the hottest part of the day.

When I least expected it, inspiration snuck in and surprised me.

I did get some sewing done on the beach and late at night in our room. The lighting in the hotel rooms are always the pits, but I brought a book light (the kind that you just clip onto your book) with me and it really came in handy. My light has an adjustable goose neck and it was perfect to adjust to whatever angle I needed to see and sew.

Now, don't laugh ... but I just plunked my book light down the front of my top, adjusted the goose neck, turned on my light and relaxed back against the pillows and sewed away to my heart's content. This book light was under $10 and worked like a charm for me.

My sister laughed when she saw what I was doing but thought that it was a great idea.

Anyway, have a great day!

Half-way done and we're bored ...

2011-03-09T10:00:00.004-05:00

Recently, this pattern came in the mail for me. Teresa had asked me (when I first started making klosjes) if she could use my idea for making klosjes for a class and I gave her my blessings. It just warms my heart when a person gets inspired by something I've shown on my blog. This pattern is adorable and it is one that will have to be made to go along with my klosjes quilt.

Any of you wanting this pattern, please contact Teresa direct. Speaking of my klosjes quilt .... it is half done. Hallelujah and wax more thread as there are miles to go before this quilt is done.

While I was snapping photos of my klosjes quilt, I could hear some noise to my left in the dining room. Ashes was pulling herself over to be closer to Miss Hank. Right .... I know where this is going and it involves a bit of fur flying.

Getting closer ....

.... and closer ....

.... and away they go. DH and I step in when it becomes a tad too tense but for a little skirmish, we just let them go at each other. Better to do it where we can see them. During the night, they have little battles because we find chunks of Ashes' hair on the carpet in the morning.

It has been a long winter. The girls are bored. They want to go outside, but it has just been too cold. Miss Hank usually sits in front of the floor grate to catch any heat that the furnace gives off.

For me ... the winter has been long too. On that note, I'll soon be leaving for a week in the sun.

Have a great day!

School-house blues

2011-03-02T11:02:00.007-05:00

Five years ago, at the Kingston, Ontario quilt show, this school-house quilt captivated my attention. It was a raffle quilt but I didn't win it. Oh darn! Still, it has been on my mind to make my own one day. Debra was also at that quilt show and she bought $40.00 worth of raffle tickets and didn't win either. Double darn! Since we started getting together a few years ago, we have been talking and talking about this quilt and decided to make our own. So, last Saturday, Debra and Mary (no blog) came to my house and we sewed. Below is my progress to date. For our meeting, I just had the middle house block done. I'm making the small alternative blocks using EQ7 and am having quite the time (fun) making them. Some of my blocks are paper pieced and others (the more intricate ones) I am doing them the English Paper Piecing method. The school-house block finish size is 12" x 12" and the small alternative block finish size is 6" x 6". My quilt will have 25 blocks (5 x 5) and will finish approx. 84" square. I'm not sure what size Debra's and Mary's will be. Time will reveal all our blocks and quilt sizes.

Now, for my 'show and tell', I had quilts in 3 separate piles around my house. There was no way they could be shown all at once as it would have been quilt overload. Miss Hank had to be coaxed off this pile. Ummm ... can we say princess and the pea ... but she sure does look cozy.

This is the aftermath of one showing. To all those ladies who have given me giveaway quilts and swap quilts .... your ears must have been burning as your quilts were greatly admired. It was fun to show the ladies my quilts and other quilts from around the world. Both Debra and Mary are participating in swap quilts and blocks and they have shown me their recent exchanges.

Oh yes, we had a fun day!

If you want to see another version of a school-house quilt go here and scroll down.

Have a great day!

BTW .... oh yes, one more project to be added to my UFO list for a total of 33 projects and 7 tops to be quilted. What can I say, that is life! :o)

Quilt to the rescue

2011-02-21T11:13:00.004-05:00

I just couldn't take it anymore .... how cold has it been here this winter? So cold, that our front door (metal insulated) was transferring the cold from the outside to the inside. Standing anywhere near the front door, a person soon got chilled. So, what to do about it? I remember seeing on someone's blog where they put a quilt over their doors. Aha ... I can do that too. One of those removable extension curtain rods, some hooks and viola .... instant warmth. Should have done it years earlier, but we are now snug and warm. Perhaps next fall, I'll buy some nice heavy upholstery fabric and make a curtain for our front and back door to co-ordinate with our decor. For right now and our cold temps .... this works! More sashings and cornerstone blocks got done this week. My progress is coming along very nicely and not too many more blocks to do! :o)

Have a nice week!

Holey Cats

2011-02-14T14:07:00.006-05:00

Sigh ... it was bound to happen at some point. So, what do you do when one of your beloved felines puts two holes in an applique quilt? Well, you sigh and deal with it. Life happens.

Can you see the two holes just above the flower pin? They are not there anymore. I will show you how they got fixed. A - Looking around in my scrap bin, I was able to find a piece of that white background fabric. Now, that was unexpected. Guess there was a reason for keeping my scraps from previous projects. A straight cut was made from one hole to the other and the scrap fabric was cut slightly larger and inserted inside using a crochet hook.

B - the white scrap fabric was smoothed out so that it lays nice and flat.

C - Using reverse applique method, the top fabric was turned under a tad and sewn in place to the new scrap fabric.

D - Shows the repaired look. It is not perfect, but at least the holes have been dealt with and it won't enlarge over time. Sigh .... oh well, time to move on.

Since someone (you know who you are) requested updated photos of the girls .... here are a few.

I was quilting my klosjes quilt and Ashes wanted in on the action. I was able to convince her to lay not on my frame but on my chair foot rest. Not too long after, Hank made her way over and things became a tad tense.

Hank would not be persuaded to sit elsewhere and she settled down on top of my frame. Still tense ...

... until both girls settled down and started to snooze. Calm at last. Now what do I do?

Luckily, there is always hand work close by to grab and work on.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Progress is good

2011-02-11T12:37:00.004-05:00

I have been diligently working on my Sweet Dreams project and more sashings and corner stones have been made. Since I use Crayola Washable markers for marking placement guides on my sashing fabric, they got soaked to remove the markings and then dried and ironed. I just don't want to take a chance and put any heat to the markings. Here is my progress so far. Side setting triangles have been cut out and soon I will start sewing the blocks and rows together. I'm past the halfway mark for this top. Have a great day!

Galactic Craze

2011-02-07T09:35:00.004-05:00

Doesn't my quilt look gorgeous in the snow? What a contrast! I'm doing the happy dance with this one. All those crazy blocks look like they are coming from the galaxy ... hence my quilt name. Here is another shot ....

... and can I bore you again with another shot (showing the backing)?

This is a good lap size quilt and all from stash. Bonus!

So, this is #1 finish for the year and that is a good thing.

Have a great day!

Now what?

2011-02-03T14:31:00.006-05:00

Now that my Baskets Galore is a top .... what do I do next? Start a new project? As tempting as that is..... no, no, no. With all the talk going around blogland about finishing UFO's and challenges to help us along, I sat down and made an actual list. Gasp (oh yes, I gasped) .... I have 7 tops to be quilted and 31 projects started. So, guess what I'm going to be working on next.

Browsing my list, this project caught my eye. I found the container and started pinning the blocks on my design wall. These other blocks are just waiting to be pinned up. I still need to make some more sashings and corner stones, but good progress has already been made. Oh yes, time to get this project to the top stage.

So, now you know what my personal challenge will be for the next wee while.

Have a great day!

Baskets are tops

2011-01-31T10:44:00.004-05:00

I'm very happy with this version .... once all quilted up, it will be a lovely summer quilt. DH wanted me to hang this up in our dining room right away even though it is not finished. Soon it will come down and be marked up for hand quilting. Oh yes, I am thrilled with this one! :o)The size is 96" square. Once all quilted up, washed and dried ... it will not be hanging on the floor any more.

My pattern source: EQ6
My inspiration: all those other basket quilts that have been shown on the web. I believe the original designers are from Blackbird Designs.

Have a great day!

Questions about my quilts

2011-01-24T12:26:00.005-05:00

Lately, I have been receiving questions about some of my quilt patterns and have been unable to respond because of no-reply addresses to your comments. So, here goes ...

My hearts top was designed using EQ 7. Finished top size is: 39-1/2" x 55". You can use any heart applique that will fit into a finished 6" x 6" square.

The heart blocks are 6-1/2" x 6-1/2" (seam allowance included) and you will need to add the triangles around so that you can place them on-point. I'm not sure what the finished block size would be as that pattern has been deleted from my computer.

The sashing and corner blocks are 2" finished. The borders could be either 2-1/2" or 3" finished, but they can be made any size. If you are good at math, you will be able to pull this quilt together. Now, my Just Blessings is a bit more complicated.

Below, is the original pattern by Robyn Falloon. If you live in Canada or the U.S.A., her patterns can be purchased here. I fell in love and bought Robyn's pattern and quite enjoyed the initial process. Her petal ring and the circles are true to her pattern. I messed up the placement of the petal ring ...... and her stars and leaves in the centre just would not go properly. So, instead of a 6 sided star, my star has 8 points. My big ooopsie gave me a whole different look. I will leave you to decide which one you prefer.

I have stalled on this project and writing this post is making me want to work on it again. The border will be different as well. I made a few of the border petals and placed them on my quilt. It just was not working for me. It is so amazing how ideas for one pattern changes when a few substitutions are made.

So, instead of calling my quilt The Blessings, it became Just Blessings.

I hope this post has cleared up some of your questions.

Have a great day!

UFO quilting

2011-01-12T21:57:00.004-05:00

Besides working on my baskets, I am also machine quilting an old UFO that has been hanging around for a while. Nothing fancy, just a simple meander. While looking for my variegated blue quilting thread, I came across a polybag that had binding already made up. Can we say "bonus"? There is probably enough binding made for this quilt. I'm thrilled ... this binding will suit my quilt perfectly. Luckily, I had the hindsight to include the fabric leftover right inside the polybag if more binding is needed. Now, I'm wondering why it was made up in the first place and for what quilt? Usually, any binding or fabric for binding is placed in the bin along with the project.

I have only just started my meander quilting and already have encountered some puckers on the back (see the arrows). Not to worry, I have a plan for those and it does not include unpicking. A label will go on one of them and any others will have a patch of some kind. I hope to have a few more puckers as it will be more interesting than just one label and one patch.

You all know how much I love to recycle grocery items and here is a good example of how I use those cookie trays. Perfect for my pins and they are good for carting around to my different working stations.

Those trays fit perfectly inside one of the drawers in this small cabinet that sits right beside my sewing machine.

Have a great day!

Down to one border

2011-01-10T11:26:00.006-05:00

Thanks ever so much for all your comments about which version you liked the best. They made me look at my border decisions again and again. Blue was chosen for the side setting triangles and that helped to set the blocks apart from whatever the border turned out to be.

Here, the 9-patch blocks were lined up ... but I just found that they were still a bit too busy for me.

BTW ... these are not the true colours of my blocks but I just couldn't get a good photo so my photos were enhanced and they came out a tad too bright. So, I tried large rectangular scrappy blocks. Nope, too large. Ignore the section on the right where there are no blue triangles (those blocks have not been sewn together yet).

They got cut down a bit and the size is perfect. This is just the start of my layout and some of these fabrics may disappear. I think I'm happy with this but am not totally 100% yet decided. We'll see ....

Have a great day!

Bordering Decisions

2011-01-06T15:02:00.003-05:00

Thank you for all you lovely comments .... my basket quilt has certainly sparked a bit of interest.

A number of you have asked about the pattern. It was designed using EQ6 software program. I was inspired to make my version after seeing all the gorgeous basket quilts out in blogland and I just had to have one too.

While I'm in the process of sewing the basket blocks together, the time has come to think about borders. After playing around in EQ6, here are a few versions that I could go with.

#1 - 9-patch blocks in the outer borders #2 baskets and vines

#3 just a plain border

#4 scrappy blocks

Oh dear, decisions, decisions ... problem is, I love them all!!!! Yikes!

Have a great day!

Baskets galore ....

2011-01-02T23:49:00.005-05:00

With the dawn of a new year comes a new project on my design wall. It is not a new project as this has been ongoing since the spring (you saw a peek of my baskets this summer). Lots and lots of basket blocks were made and stored away in a tin until they were ready for a viewing.

Here is the start of placing blocks on the design wall ..... .... with more being placed on the design wall .....

9-patch blocks needed to be made up with an extra set being done at the same time (that will be for another project at some point). It doesn't hurt to have a few extra 9-patch blocks hanging around.

This will be my final layout. Not bad, eh?

This looks like a quick job, but there were many months of work involved here. Usually, my routine would be to make a few blocks and place them on the design wall and then a few more and so on. Months and months go by with the same project on my wall. This time was different and I think I like this better. Instant gratification.

My design is to have 9-patch blocks on the outer borders .... will have to re-think that as it just might be too much, too busy.

Have a great day!

Three for three ....

2010-12-31T09:59:00.006-05:00

That's right .... 3 quilts got finished for Finn's New Year's Eve challenge this year and I'm thrilled to pieces. Three quilts done!!!

My Flowering Stars was done back in November. That was a good start. Then my SSCS gift was done. The stitchery center piece was bought about 5 years ago at a North Bay thrift store for $.99 cents and it sat in a bin since the day it came home with me on the bus. It now has a lovely home in Australia and is abandoned no more.

My final finish is this sofa quilt that was a Xmas gift to a niece and nephew.

This has been a good year for finishes. At a glance, you can see what I've done this year by looking at the left side of my blog; scoll down until you see a bunch of quilt photos. I'm on a roll and am curious to see how many finishes get accomplished during 2011. The clock is ticking away here ...... and my fingers are just itching to stitch and quilt.

To all my friends and readers out there in blogland ..... have a Happy New Year and happy stitching for 2011!

SSCS gifts all around

2010-12-27T10:52:00.005-05:00

First off, I have to thank Chookyblue for hosting another fantastic Secret Santa Christmas exchange. Please visit her blog to see what has been sent around the world. She has posted photos of ornaments that we all received and opened when we got our gifts.

Now that Xmas is over, it is time to reveal what I received from Nicole. Isn't my doll adorable? Her name is Matilda. The last doll I received for Xmas (around age 5), she had beautiful long hair. I mention had because the next day her hair got cut off as I was really curious to see what her hair would look like short. As you can imagine, that was the last doll that was given to me. Nicole, I promise that I won't touch a single strand of Matilda's hair. :o)Matilda is a Christmas doll (her dress has snowflakes) and I wanted to display her properly. Before Xmas, DH and I were browsing at a thrift store and this huge sleigh caught my eye. Would this fit Matilda?

Yes .... perfect! Matilda is holding the ornament that Nicole made for me. Thank you, Nicole for my gifts!!

It is my turn to reveal what was sent to my exchange partner, Peg.
This wall hanging ...

... and this ornament.

There you have it, another year of world gifts.

Have a great day!

A little bit of this and that

2010-12-18T19:24:00.004-05:00

So far, on my klosjes quilt .... there are 58 blocks quilted up (182 still to be done). I was on target by completing 5 blocks a day. Then, my arms and hands felt like they were on fire. I was doing too much hand quilting and had to stop for a few days. Nowadays, only 2 or 3 blocks are getting done per day. That means the quilt will not be ready for the deadline entry for next year Quilts Canada in London, Ontario. Boo hoo!! I'm sad, it was going so well for me. Oh well ..... So, what to do instead? Well, I found this embroidery pillowcase to complete and have been working on that. These pillowcases will go nicely with my klosjes quilt.

As well, side triangles have been added to my Just Blessings top and a few rows sewn together. A few more of the little stars need to be made and then appliqued onto the top. Then it will be time to play with the borders.

Once my Just Blessings top is put together, there are other projects waiting in the wings for their turn on my design wall.

Have a great day!

Words and more words

2010-12-14T13:50:00.004-05:00

Three years ago, I was inspired to make this quilt. Tonya from Lazy Gal Quilting was having an on-line challenge for quilters to make a winter word quilt and I jumped in head first.

All of my quilts are so prim and proper and this type of quilt was totally outside of my comfort zone. I'm sure a few of my followers were probably wondering what was I thinking. :o)

I followed Tonya's tutorials for making the letters and the snowflakes, the wonky trees and the wonky house. There is a lot of me in this quilt and it is by far one of my favourites. Tonya's new and first book: Word Play Quilts is out and if you want to be brave and try something new, this book is a good place to start. Go over here to Tonya's post to see all the other links for wordy quilts and enjoy.

To read more about my WINTER quilt, go here and scroll down through the posts for the explanations as to why I chose my letters and the scenes.

For me, there are ideas for a SUMMER quilt just dancing around in my head. Perhaps 2011 will see a new wordy quilt coming along.

Thank you, Tonya for inspiring so many of us and best of luck with your new book!!!

Have a great day!

Quilting tools

2010-12-11T11:42:00.005-05:00

Thanks ever so much for all your comments and positive vibes for me to get my klosjes quilt done before the deadline for the quilt show entry. So far, I'm still on track .... yeah me!

There were some questions about what I use for batting and markers. To help you, these are what I use:

Batting - both are by Hobbs. Other brands have been used in the past, but these are consistent with the loft (no high and low spots).
Markers - you can go here to read about my workings with these markers. There are a few do's and don'ts. Just scroll down through the posts.

Thread - these are what I use for quilting thread. This thread doesn't break or snap when pulling on the quilt to make the bed. There is one quilt that needs to be fixed because the quilting thread snapped in places (I actually heard the thread snapping). Also, my thread gets waxed and if anyone is interested, a tutorial can be made up for you.

Needles - the head on these needles are bigger so that the heavy thread slips through the eye fairly easy.

There, now you know what I use for hand quilting.

Have a good day!

Klosjes Quilting time

2010-12-08T14:36:00.004-05:00

Here is a sneak peek of what my quilting looks like for my klosjes quilt. My goal is to enter this into Quilts Canada 2011 show that will be held in London, Ontario. Deadline for entry is Feb. 11, 2011. I have figured out that 5 blocks a day need to be done in order for me to finish by the end of January 2011 .... thus giving me a bit of a breather if one day that quantity is not met. So far, I'm on schedule. So, only time will tell how this turns out. Wish me luck!

Have a great day!

Klosjes basting

2010-12-05T19:58:00.004-05:00

Winter is here and the time has come to do some hand quilting. My queen size klosjes quilt is all marked up and ready to go. Usually, my quilts get basted on the floor; but it is just too hard these days to get down on hands and knees to do that chore. So, I'm trying this new method and so far it is much easier than I thought.

My two trusty assistants are on hand to help me out. Ashes is busy making sure that the basting thread doesn't get tangled up .... .... and Hank is making sure the backing and batting doesn't shift too much.

They were such big help .... that is until they both took off on a tear around the house. The working bit is over .... it is play time!

Have a great day!

Hearts are going

2010-11-29T20:08:00.004-05:00

This is the top that is going tomorrow morning to New Zealand. In my previous post, there is a link to the lady that is collecting heart blocks. I figured by the time my blocks are received, it might be a tad too late to do anything with them .... so that is why I decided to make them into a top to help speed up the quilting process. I hope that whoever receives this quilt finds some comfort during their time of sorrow.

My father worked in the mines for a very short time when my parents were first married. I know that he did not like going underground to work and thankfully he was able to find other work to support his growing family.

Top size: 39-1/2" x 55"

Have a great day!

Gathering hearts

2010-11-27T16:22:00.005-05:00

I just read this afternoon about a call for heart blocks to be sent to New Zealand to be made into quilts for the families of the 29 miners that perished this week. All my hearts have been cut out and I am in the process of sewing them onto the 6-1/2" square fabrics. If you are interested, please visit Shirley Goodwin's blog and just scroll down to read all about the Healing Heart blocks. So, my hearts will be going to New Zealand early next week.

Have a great day!

Times are busy

2010-11-25T11:49:00.003-05:00

More circles and leaves have been prepped ..... ... to do the final 3 blocks .....

.... as well as marking up this challenge UFO for machine quilting. Oh yes, times are busy around here.

To my American neighbours .... Happy Thanksgiving!

Have a great day!

Finish # 1

2010-11-22T08:00:00.005-05:00

Well .... it feels so good to have my first UFO finish for Finn's New Year's Eve Challenge. This is it .... Flowering Stars! Here is a side view so that you can see some of the hand quilting effect.

One down .... two to go.

Have a great day!

Needlepoint Display

2010-11-20T00:42:00.007-05:00

Many thanks again to Chookyblue for organizing another weekend of cross-stitch and needlepoint 'show and tell'.

I've done a few pieces and to start off, this one is of the hotel at Lake Louise. When we drove to the west coast of Canada many years ago, I so wanted to drive to Lake Louise. Instead, we went to Banff and were equally awed with our visit there. This piece has shown its' age and I will need to replace the mat. This piece never got framed. The mountains and the lake and the colours just called my name.

This was a kit that my Mom bought for me just after DH and I were married. This was a labour of love. The mountains and the church just speak to me. I think the setting of this scene is from Austria and that is where some of my ancestors came from.

I did a few tissue holder boxes....which we still use today.

There are 2 UFO's that need to be finished. This one of iris flowers is really hard on my eyes. The canvas is single strand and that is the reason for me shelving it (over 25 yrs. now). My other UFO is a kit that I bought in England ... but I can't find it .... will have to go on a hunt for it.

My Mom made this one of an English cottage garden. She did many needlepoint pieces and I'm lucky to have two from her.

... and she made this one of blue flowers and gave it to me a few years ago for Christmas.

She has 2 UFO's that I will finish for her.

So, now you have seen another side of me other than quilting.

Go on over to Chookyblue's post for a list of people that are participating this weekend and enjoy!

Have a great day!

Got to out-smart

2010-11-16T10:48:00.004-05:00

I finally figured out a way to out-smart Miss Hank to keep her off my quilting hoop.

I've been marking my klosjes quilt for hand quilting and switch between quilting my star hanging and working on my klosjes top. Usually, whatever I'm working on, Miss Hank has to climb onto it and lay down for a nice long snooze. You can imagine how frustrated this has been for me. So, I keep the other project close at hand and when she climbs onto my quilt frame, I just reach over and drag the other project over to my chair, fiddle around with it a bit and then Miss Hank hops over and settles down for a snooze on that ... ..... leaving me to quilt to my heart's content or mark my klosjes quilt top. For my star quilt, there is only one more border to do and then the quilting part is done.

Yeah me, for figuring out that little trick; otherwise it would have been a very long winter with a lot of the cold shoulder treatment from Miss Hank.

Have a great day!

X stitcheries

2010-11-12T19:36:00.004-05:00

Chookyblue is having a display of cross-stitch projects and invited others to join her. Here are just a few of my stitcheries.

A very long time ago, I used to do cross-stitch and needlepoint and crochet and knitting and a lot of clothes sewing. Those hobbies have taken a back seat now that I spend most of my time quilting.

This stitchery dates back to the 80's when orange and yellow/gold and browns were the colours that were very much in vogue. These were the colours of our living room furniture and dining room which I loved very much. Times have changed and those colours are very much gone from our furniture and our rooms ... but I still love them and looking at this stitchery brings back fond memories. These tree ornaments were made during the 90's. I had forgotten about them while routing through my stuff to see if there were any more stitcheries hanging around. I found a bag with another 6 of these gold frames as well as the pattern booklet. Guess I should have another go at making more of these ornaments.

I had forgotten about these X-stitch blocks and unearthed them while looking through bins. These are about 10 yrs. old and the time has come to do something about them too. I'm thinking of doing these blocks as a 'quilt as you go' project ... but will have to wait until the new year to do anything about them. Ummm ... I see another UFO in the making. :o) My SIL bought some blocks at the same time and she just finished her quilt this year.

There is another x-stitch pillow that I made ... but it is at our cottage and that is a 5-1/2 hr. drive away from here ... so it will be a no-show for this show and tell.

Next Saturday, I will show needlepoint stitcheries.

If you would like to see more cross-stitcheries .... visit Chookyblue's post and enjoy.

Have a great day!

English Paper Piecing

2010-11-08T12:43:00.005-05:00

Today, I'm going to write about English Paper Piecing (aka EPP) and applique. Making hexagons first started me on this method. In the past, I have tried needle turn, freezer paper, liquid glue and glue sticks. They all worked for me; but I was just curious to try different methods of applique. EPP is the last method and my favourite so far (that is until something new comes along). It is a bit time consuming but I like the fact that my applique pieces are firm and they don't tend to move around a lot when being appliqued.

So, here is how it is done (only for hand applique - this will not work for machine applique):

A - Cut out your paper template (remember .... your paper template) without any seam allowance. Place template on the back of fabric and pin in place. Be sure to leave enough material all around the paper template for seam allowance. B - Here is my template cut out showing seam allowance.

C - When I'm ready to start basting, the pins are transferred from the back of the template to the front. If the template is large, place a couple of pins in the centre of the template to stop your fabric from stretching too much when the fabric is folded over the edge of the paper. Before I figured this out, my completed fabric template would not lay flat as the fabric stretched and pulled the paper template out of shape giving me a slight bowl shape.

Continue folding and basting the fabric all around the edge of the paper template. On the curves, take your scissors and make tiny clips so that the fabric will fold over nicely on the curves.

D - This is what the front will look like once complete .... see ... nice and flat.

E - This is what the back will look like once your template has been basted.

F - This is what the back looks like after the fabric template has been appliqued to the background fabric (the background fabric has been trimmed away).

G - The basting threads have been removed from the front and the paper template has been removed.

If you don't want to remove the background fabric; then just make a slit in the background fabric (anywhere inside the applique edges) and insert your finger into the slit and remove the paper template.

H - Follow the same steps for the stems and leaves.

i - Shows all the paper templates removed.

J - The finished block.

This is the layout for all my applique. The fabric templates have all been pinned in place and now all I have to do is pick a block and sit down and applique while watching some TV. This pattern will be a lap quilt ....

.... while this top is a wall hanging. I still have not completed the embroidery for the vines but will continue working on this hanging after it is taken down from the wall. I'm waiting for the beginning of December to roll around so that I can replace this top with a Xmas hanging.

Can you see why I love pumpkins? These are all my pumpkins that have been collected over the past few years and I suspect a few more will be added as time goes by.

Now you know how I do my applique.

Have a great day!

Projects, projects, projects

2010-11-05T12:01:00.006-04:00

So far this year, I've finished more quilts than last year and that pleases me very much. It is November and soon the year will come to an end. Finn is having another of her yearly challenges and I'm on board again this year. Below are my quilts (these 3 have been pledged to finish) that I really, really want to finish. The first one was to be a Xmas gift last year; but life got in the way and I had to go out-of-town for a few weeks and this top never got quilted.

You've seen this one below .... it is time to finish off this wall hanging.

This top just got finished this week. I'm happy with the way it turned out and it will be a nice big lap quilt.

My extra will be my project that I'm working on for Chooyblue's SSCS swap. Time is running short and I must get this one done first.

So, there you have it .... my projects for the next 2 months. If you want to join Finn's challenge you still have time to join.

BTW .... all of these tops were made from my stash and that is a bonus that I love!

Have a great day!

Sharp ruler

2010-11-02T10:12:00.004-04:00

So ... is this ruler worth the money I paid and does the ruler live up to its' claim? Are you interested in finding out? Read on .... So far, my findings (based on two sharpened blades) are as follows:

How can this ruler sharpen my blade? On one edge of the ruler, there is a diamond carbide edge (that is embeded into the plastic edge) that sharpens the rotary blade as you cut your fabric. As the rotary cutter moves along the special edge, you can hear the blade and the edge grinding so you know that you are doing it correctly.

I could see an improvement with my blade each time the ruler was used.

Once the blade was sharpened, the ruler was stored away and I started using my regular ruler again. My plan is to keep this ruler only for sharpening my blades. As with everything else, the diamond carbide edge will eventually wear away. I bought this 6-1/2" x 6-1/2" ruler since that is the size that I use a lot for cutting my fabric. Also, this size was a lot cheaper than buying the larger size rulers and I didn't want to pay lots for a ruler that didn't work.

In order to ensure that the full blade got sharpened (this is because I bought the smaller ruler), the ruler was placed on the fabric and without lifting the rotary cutter, the ruler was moved along the width of the fabric so that the blade was sharpened all around the circumference. You do have to remember to dismantle your cutter and turn your blade over so that both edges are sharpened. You also have to remember to use the side of the ruler that has the special edge. A couple of times ... I forgot. :o)Let's face it, a new blade is sharp and there is no way to match up to that with any sharpener that you buy. Even though my blade has been sharpened, I do have to apply a bit of pressure while cutting with any ruler (this new one and my regular rulers).

Will this ruler sharpener take out nicks? My blades had small nicks and they were removed. Large ones, I doubt it.

Once my blade starts to dull, I will take out my new ruler and re-sharpen my blade again. At some point, a brand new blade will need to come out of storage and my old one will be scrapped.

I do have about 5 new blades still in their packages; but this new sharpener is easy to use and (for me) it was worth it to buy this new ruler.

BTW ..... I am not affliated with the manufacturing company and they are not paying me anything to give my opinion. There is a chance that my opinion will not agree with someone else. It is your decision if you want to purchase one of these rulers or not.

Have a great day!

Autumn Jacket

2010-10-29T12:39:00.004-04:00

I'm participating once again in Amy's Blogger's Creative Festival and my entry is my flannel jacket in autumn colours. I just love wearing this jacket .... so nice and cozy warm and bright! Bright ... oh yes ....

I went through my jacket sewing patterns and picked one that was simple and just started cutting out my flannels and making some 4-patch blocks. The pattern was enlarged slightly (about 1" overall) because once it was machine quilted there would be a decrease in the finished size. One thing that is missing is pockets. That is something that will be added as I really do miss putting my hands in my pockets to keep them warm when out for walks. Now what kind of pockets that will not interfere with the overall look of the jacket? Will have to think about that. DH and I were out for a walk and he commented that I blend in well with all the swirling leaves that are on the ground.

So, go and take many peeks at Amy's post and enjoy all the other quilts that are being shown. So, so, so many gorgeous quilts!

Have a great day!

New Stuff

2010-10-24T11:12:00.006-04:00

Recently, I received this dreamy book from Jennifer. She lives close to Nundle (which I have heard so much about from Aussie girls)and she bought this book for me from Kerry Swain's quilt shop. A year ago this month, Jennifer and her DH visited their son in Toronto and we met up and the rest is history. We had a few lovely outings around Toronto. Thank you, my friend, for this lovely book.

Snow has already showed up in places just north of the city. Autumn is definitely here and winter is soon to follow. The temps. are getting colder (mind you we are to have a few nice days this week). So, the question remains: 'will we have a white Christmas?'

On Friday, I visited the Creative Festival here in Toronto. Besides picking up backing fabrics and some FQ's and a scallop ruler and books, this new ruler was on my list to buy.

So, to check out this ruler to see if it lives up to the hype, I had to start cutting fabrics and started on this new pattern. These fabrics were already laying out in my studio and since pumpkins are my favourite autumn items .... well I just had to start this pattern that I also bought at the Festival. More to follow on the ruler and this pattern.

Have a great day!

Just Blessings again

2010-10-18T09:50:00.004-04:00

Here is my progress with this layout. Slowly, but surely, I am making headway with my blocks. My side setting triangles will be white (the blue and pink parts that you see is just my design wall). Five blocks are completed with 8 more to finish. This is the back of my rings. I use English Paper Piecing method and whatever scrap paper on hand gets used. My fabric gets basted onto the paper template and then hand sewn together.

I have tried so many different applique methods; but find myself coming back to English Paper Piecing. Whatever works for us is the way to go.

DH and I had company this past weekend. My niece, Nicole (she is wearing the pink top), ran in the Good Life Fitness Marathon and she completed 21k. Congratulations!! This was her first marathon and she breezed through the finish.

In the background, you can see some of the fall foliage that we saw when we were waiting at the Finish line at Queen's Park in downtown Toronto.

Have a great day!

Pumpkin pattern

2010-10-12T10:25:00.004-04:00

Someone asked if my pumpkin pattern was my design .... wish I was that clever! :o) Nope, this is the book that the pattern came from.

When I did the pumpkins, I followed the templates for some .... and then .... the shape of two of the pumpkins (the large one and the small flatish pumpkin) were slightly altered as well as some of the stems. You will have to go down to my post below this one to see the differences. Just click onto the photo and see if you can spot them.

Very rarely do I follow a pattern. I need to make it my own. When I first started to quilt, one quilt pattern was followed exactly and everytime I look at it now, it reminds me to do any future patterns my way.

Have a great day!

Pumpkin time

2010-10-11T09:26:00.004-04:00

These pumpkins were the fastest applique job that I have ever done! I just can't believe how quick they were to do! Once my blocks were done, I sewed the blocks into rows and then the rows got washed to remove any markings (Crayola washable markers). I just did not want to tempt fate and iron those markings. Once the rows were dry and ironed, they all got sewn together. Usually for me, this is where borders and procrastination come into play ..... .... but with Miss Ashes cheering me on .....

.... those borders got done! :o)

.... then with the help of Miss Hank (she always shows up when I play on the design wall and sits on the chair), the leaves got pinned in place and the vines for embroidery were drawn .....

.... and this is where my top is at today. The leaves have all been appliqued and some of the vines embroidered.

Here in Canada, today is our Thanksgiving holiday and we have so much to be thankful for.

So, to my fellow Canadians ... Happy Thanksgiving.

Change ....

2010-10-08T10:20:00.005-04:00

Do you remember this hanging from a few posts back? Well, there was something in the large star that was bugging me and I decided to make a change. Better now than later. Below, do you see those two pieces with the flower pins .... I've decided to take them out and replace them with other fabrics. Since the backing behind the star circle has already been cut away, it is a bit more complicated and I will show you how it was done.

First, I took my Crayola Washable marker and where you see all the arrows, I traced the edge so that when I applique the new edges together there will be a line to follow.

Then, do small basting stitches (see long arrows) as these edges need to be stablised for sewing the new patches to them.

I'm doing English Paper Piecing method and my new patches have been sewn together and they are now ready to be sewn to the large star. Where you see the large asterisk (*) that is the point to start sewing. The arrow down the one edge shows the direction to sew.

Below, looking at the back of the new insert, you can see that the one edge has been sewn. I've put an arrow on the back of the insert and also an arrow on the next edge that need to be sewn together.

Next, the new insert has been pinned to the background fabric (navy blue) by following that line that was marked with my Crayola marker. This edge will now be appliqued to the background fabric.

Below, you can see the back of the star with the paper pieces still in place. They will be removed and the process is done.

... and there you have it. The change has taken place. I've started to mark up this hanging and soon will start to hand quilt it.

Have a great day!

Charming

2010-10-04T10:02:00.004-04:00

... and that is the name that I've given my latest finish. It is finally done!

Why 'Charming'? This whole wall hanging was made out of charm squares. I changed the pattern a bit (what else is new, eh?) as all those squares were to be appliqued onto a piece of background fabric so that the fabric showed up as sashing. Too fussy for me. This is a side view so that you can see the hand quilting.

This close-up shows more of my hand quilting and it also picks up the beads in the flowers.

Pattern Source: McCall's Quilting, April 2007

Have a great day!

Pumpkin time

2010-10-01T10:07:00.003-04:00

Now that it is October, the time has come to gather up some pumpkins. I have a nice collection of different size pumpkins for display which will be put out soon. I need to change around my summer decorations for my fall decorations. I don't have many large fall wall hangings and decided it was time to make a pumpkin quilt.

Below are some of my pumpkins that I've made using the English Paper Piecing method. I cut out paper templates and basted them to my fabric.
This is what they look like once appliqued to fabric and contour lines on the pumpkins have been embroidered.

There will be only 25 blocks in this hanging .... so it won't be long before this hanging will be finished.

Have a great day!

Hexies

2010-09-26T09:11:00.001-04:00

I've just done a post at The Great Hexagon Quilt-along. Go here to read all about it.

Have a great day!

A little bit ....

2010-09-23T11:03:00.004-04:00

Is it not amazing how a little bit of applique ..... ..... goes a very long way ....

.... to changing the whole look of a hanging?

Have a great day!

Reveal ...

2010-09-20T08:34:00.004-04:00

This is what Miss Hank would not let me show you. She finally moved off the tray! :o) Stars, stars and more stars. I'm doing these by the English Paper Piecing method and it is working like a charm for me. My scrap bins got raided to make these stars. Bonus. This is the layout for this hanging. I love that striped blue fabric for my sashings. It came from a thrift store shirt and has some poly in it. It works for me in this hanging.

I have a lunch date today ...... it is my birthday and DH is taking me to lunch. :o)

Have a great day!

An old UFO

2010-09-16T11:20:00.003-04:00

Well, today I tried to show you an old project ... but Miss Hank won't let me reveal it. When she doesn't want to move, she doesn't want to move .... .... even after getting up off my chair and walking around with Hank on top of the tray, she still didn't jump off. I'm saying to my DH "she won't budge" as he snapped photos.

Oh well .... perhaps next time!

Have a great day!

Quilts by the Bay

2010-09-13T22:49:00.007-04:00

I'm back from my trip to North Bay, Ontario. While there, I attended the Quilts on the Bay quilt show .... everytime I visit their shows, that guild just amazes me with their quilts. These are some of my favourites ... there were more, but my camera died on me and these are all I could take. Enjoy!

Stack and whack blocks that were trimmed into circles.

I can see myself making this heart quilt with all my thrift store shirts that have been collecting in a bin. The embroidery in this hanging was done by this quilter's aunt 50 yrs. ago. Lovely!

Something with a soft touch.

This lamb quilt was sweet and then when you look closer there are little blocks that have been cross-stitched.

Beautiful applique ...

... and I do love that border!

I've seen this pattern before, but I do like the variegated colour of leaves in the border.

A calender year of Sunbonnet Sue.

Then there was a slew of these woven ribbon log cabin quilts. Very eye catching.

I hope you enjoyed the show!

When we move to North Bay, perhaps some of my quilts will be hanging in one of their quilt shows?

Have a great day!

Just Blessings

2010-09-09T07:51:00.005-04:00

Back in the spring, I purchased this pattern that Robyn Falloon designed. Fell in love with it and just had to have it. Made 2 blocks right away to see if my fabric choices would work .... they did and then put it away so that I could finish up some other tops.

Brought this project out recently and made some more blocks. Not happy about that star. Searched around and found another star pattern.

Yumm .... love this look now!!! The large star was reduced by 30% and will be used in the corners of each block.

And with the addition of leaves ..... oh yes, this one is calling my name.

My quilt will be set on point instead of horizontal as per the original pattern and there will be no sashing.

I've been auditioning different fabrics for the setting triangles and still haven't found anything that I like yet. Perhaps, I'll just settle for plain old white and let the blocks float. Mmm .... that might be interesting.

In the morning, I'm off to take the train to North Bay. My sister and I will be making relish and there is a quilt show up there this weekend. I so enjoyed their last show that I attended and am looking forward to the beauties they will have on display this year.

Have a great day!

BTW ... for those in Canada and U.S.A. interested in this pattern, it can be purchased from this Canadian store.

A few cool ones

2010-09-06T09:46:00.004-04:00

We've been having a few cool days lately and I have taken advantage of it and have been back to doing some hand quilting.

Often times, when I get to the sandwiching stage, there is no complete plan of the design I want to hand quilt or the design gets changed as I go along. I let my quilt talk to me and tell me what it wants and any markings that were there are ignored. Changing plans after sandwiching becomes hard to deal with.

As you see below, the cross hatch stitching was definitely a go and those lines were marked before this quilt was sandwiched. The areas around the flowers were left unmarked as there was no plan yet for that area.

When the quilt is in my hoop, it is nice and taut; but out of the hoop, it relaxes and and the areas that have been quilted bunches up making any more marking almost impossible or lopsided. In the past I've always put a book or something solid that will fit underneath the hoop and mark in areas on the quilt as I go. It was always a hassle and wobbly. Enter my lovely DH. He cut out a piece of wood that will fit inside my hoop.

It fits nice and snug.

Which then allows me to start marking as much as I want. Once all the marking is done for this area, the board is removed and I'm ready to start hand quilting.

This might sound silly to some of you; but for me it works like a charm.

Have a great day!