Applique 'n Patch Quilting

Break time

2009-06-26T10:20:00.004-04:00

I have decided to take a month-long break. The hot weather has finally arrived and I want to enjoy it as well as doing some research.

Family genealogy has taken a back seat while I have been busy with quilting. There is a suitcase of photos and photo-albums just waiting to be scanned into the computer. That will be my task. It needs to get done and distributed amongst family members. Recently, I discovered that I am distantly related to the actress Anna Paquin. It was something that I just knew but had to take the time to trace her family roots to mine and found that we share a common ancestor back to 1717. So, when I say distant, I really mean 'distant'.

I will leave you with a teaser of a UFO that was finished a few years ago, but never quilted up. There was just something about this top that didn't sing to me and I have finally decided what to do with it.

So ..... I will be back in August ...... and until then you will just have to wait and see what this is.

Have a great summer, eh!

Done is done

2009-06-23T10:38:00.004-04:00

With the help of Miss Hanky Panky anchoring me to my chair, threads were popped into the quilt center and the binding sewn on and down ... ... and this quilt is done! :o) Oh happy days, for sure.

..... and since I do the erky jerky stitching so well, included that on the hearts (thus turning a negative into a positive )....

.... and did some stipple with loopies and once washed and dried, it is oh so crinkly and lovely.

Now is the time to send this little quilt off to a wee child in Italy who was affected by the devastating earthquake early this year. All the donated quilts will be given to children in September at the start of their school year.

Pattern source: EQ6 software helped me make this design.

The top finished at 54-1/2" x 63-1/2" and once all quilted up, washed and dried, the quilt is now 50-1/2" x 59-1/2". A loss of 4" all around. Interesting, eh!

Have a great day!

Quilts of Summer

2009-06-19T14:50:00.006-04:00

With summer just around the corner (we have not had a nice spring at all) and the promise of warm weather, it was time to change around the quilts in our home.

In our dining room ....
In the bedrooms .....

and in our hallways ......

What quilts do you have on display in your home?

Have a great weekend!

Top of Siggies

2009-06-16T09:12:00.004-04:00

Oh dear, I had a couple of oopsies with this top .... one I can easily fix (it is the top border), but the other one is a signature block, which is upside down and not easy to fix. So, it will stay and it will become my humble block.

By the time this top is finished, it will be a good twin size and perfect for taking a snooze under on the sofa.

The checkered border had to have a wee bit of coaxing to fit. So, now I just have to add some more borders to the other sides.

Two more blocks are needed for the borders. I have now made one and the other one is coming from a lady that was in the second group. As soon as that block arrives, the borders can be finished.

For any of you in the second group, you may have enough blocks to make a smaller lap quilt following this same layout. You would need to increase your sashings to 2-3/4" x 6" (cut 3-1/4" x 6-1/2"). If any of you are interested in border sizes, etc., please let me know and I will work that out for you.

Have a great day!

Exchange of siggies

2009-06-12T09:11:00.002-04:00

Early this year, I joined an international siggy swap and this week, my siggies arrived from our hostess and after playing around with EQ6, this will be my layout.

There are still 2 siggy blocks that are not in this layout but they will be used in my border as corner blocks. Also, two of my blocks were returned to me as two people dropped out and instead of tossing them, they will be used in the body of my quilt.

I am so happy with my treasures and so many thanks to Connie for organizing this swap. There was a lot of time and effort put into the tasks involved …. but just look at my beauty that will soon be mine.

Have a great weekend!

A mission, I am on ...

2009-06-08T11:25:00.003-04:00

... to get this quilt done with help (of course) from Ashes!
I tried something fancy .... yuck .... and after unpicking that work, simple is the way to do it. I should have followed the advice from those that commented on my last post; but I really thought I could do something different. My hat is off to those who can do machine quilting without doing the erky jerky movement.

.... had an oopsie moment and after taking a much needed break, corrected this problem and moved on. Just have to do the hearts now and the borders and this quilt will be done.

Have a great day!

Guess what ....

2009-06-05T10:28:00.005-04:00

......... I will be doing this weekend! My donation top is finished and batting scraps were pulled out and after some whip stitching together this top is ready for sandwiching and quilting.

My machine quilting will be simple .... I can't do anything fancy as I just don't know where to start. Really, either I just buckle down and do it or take a class.

Have a great weekend!

Double Duty

2009-06-01T10:29:00.003-04:00

Since putting this quilt on the bed, I have noticed that Ashes doesn’t like to sleep right on top of the quilt. Why …. I don’t know? Instead, she sleeps on my afghan. I wonder if it is the white backing that she doesn’t like.

BTW, this is the back of this quilt from an older post.

That is what I like …. to be able to use both the front and back of a quilt. There is so much hand quilting which you really can’t see on the front but shows very well on the back of this quilt.

A number of years ago, I took a class on how to make a whole cloth and one of these days, I will get out my tools and start to draft a design so that there will be a real whole cloth on my bed. For now, this works for me.

Have a great day!

New applique project

2009-05-28T11:47:00.003-04:00

This is my latest applique project that I'm working on. Yep, another new project! :o)

All of those leaves are from my green scrap bin and I have already seen a reduction ... the cover closes quite easily now.

The pattern is from Tea In The Garden by Cynthia Tomaszewski and I fell in love with the pattern first time I saw it. This will be a good project to work on during the summer months. The quilt will be queen size, so there are lots and lots of applique to do.

The pattern was changed slightly. In the book, there is a 16-patch that has been replaced with a 9-patch block and all the blocks and sashings were increased in size so that I could make the quilt into queen size.

Have a great day!

Time for some elbow grease

2009-05-25T10:52:00.004-04:00

Every now and then, there comes a time when a person just has to buckle down and do a bit of sorting ..... and my studio needs a wee bit of tidying up! :o)

I bought some new boxes to store my stash and they sure have made a difference .... they hold a lot more fabric than what was there before!!!! Now, no more spilling out of the basket and onto the floor. Seriously, they do help to make my studio look a bit more organized and cleaner looking.

Mmmmm ... perhaps my stash is telling me something. Anyway, a good sort is what will be going on this week in my studio.

During my travels, I bought a couple of stamped pillowcases for embroidery. I haven't done any pillowcases for half a century and thought it was about time to do some more. Half a century .... did that catch your attention? :o) When I was very young, my Mom started me with embroidery and knitting and they were crafts that I caught onto very quickly. I was quite proud of my embroidery and I am enjoying this pattern and the work is coming along very nicely.

Have a great day!

Traveling patches

2009-05-16T14:32:00.003-04:00

A few days ago Crazymom wanted to know how we were doing with our make-one-a-day 9 patch challenge. Well, so far, I have 22 made! Not bad, eh!

But that will be my tally for a while as I’m off tomorrow to visit family.

What will I be taking for hand work?

A little bit of this …. Hexagons of Hope, which need to be finished and sent off by June 15. I will be making a few pincushions and enclosing thread in my zippy bags. Those thimbles will be going too. BTW …. these thimbles are fantastic for sewing. They are not rigid and are pleasant and easy to wear. No, Ashes …. they are too small for you!

And a little bit of appliqué.

And that is it, my friends, for one week!

Have a great week!

Borders to go

2009-05-12T09:31:00.004-04:00

Only the borders left to do and then this top will be finished and ready for quilting.

These are my fabrics for the borders. Don't you just love that heart fabric!

Have a great day!

Much going on

2009-05-08T11:07:00.003-04:00

I can do bright …

While I’m making my 9 patch blocks for the challenge in my previous post, another batch is being made out of bright fabrics that were in my stash. These blocks will be made into a quilt and will be sent to Italy for the children of Abruzzo. So much was lost in their devastating earthquake. If you are interested, you can email Roberta for more information at roberta.sperandio@alice.it I’ve sent blocks and a top to Australia and I can do the same for Italy.

My 9 patch blocks are so easy to do (with many thanks to Bonnie Hunter’s system). I had a bunch of 3-1/2” blocks all ready cut out. All I have to do is just sit and sew. So fast ……..

In the evenings, I have been quilting my Dresden Plates. There are only 3 more plates to do. Most evenings that is what you will see me doing …. that is if Ashes and Hank allow me. They each want to take turns on my lap for a cuddle and a snooze. Now you know why I got my hexagon quilt done up so fast.

….. and in my garden, I have ONE trillium. A beautiful red trillium. What a surprise. It takes between 7 to 10 years before they bloom and that is about the time it and others were planted. This is the only one to survive. If you want to see more trilliums, go to this post.

Have a great day!

A challenge?

2009-05-04T10:06:00.003-04:00

There is a challenge over at Crazy Mom Quilts to make one 9-patch every day until the middle of the summer. I have joined the challenge ……. because I love 9-patches and I have been waiting for some time to make another blue quilt. So, these will be my leaders and enders and I only need 61 of these blocks to do.

The beige fabrics will be my sashing and I’m just auditioning different shades to determine which value I want and have decided to go with the lighter beige and the big piece is the fabric of choice as there is enough fabric to do my sashings. My plan is to make this quilt entirely out of my stash.

I like this look ..... very cottagey.

So, if you are interested in joining this challenge, join now and start making one a day.

Have a great day!

Won the lot......

2009-04-29T11:42:00.003-04:00

Well …. Not the BIG lottery, but that is what it feels like to have just won these beauties! :o)

Marcie was having a giveaway and she flipped a coin between me and another lady and I won these. Talk about my lucky day!

She included a bag with enough fabric to make a few more flowers and from the time this photo was taken, I’ve already completed one flower.
The timing was perfect as I have just completed all the flowers for my hexagon quilt and was looking for some handwork project to start. Yes, perfect timing.

Marcie surprised me by including a pattern (that she designed) from her store.

Thank you, Marcie and I will finish a quilt with these flowers that you started.

On my previous post I showed my hexagon quilt with my border quandary. Many thanks to all that gave me support and suggestions. Your comments made me re-think my border idea and this is what I’ve come up with. The top border is what I first showed and the mock-up border on the right is what will be. The flower border between the striped fabric has been ordered and as soon as it arrives, I will get my borders on. Thank you, I do appreciate your up-front comments and they were a big help to me.

Have a great day!

I don’t know …

2009-04-27T09:50:00.003-04:00

I’m not sure about my borders for my hexagon quilt. I think they are OK, but are they? I was not looking for a sharp contrast but a gradual contrast and perhaps this is it. My vision is a perennial flower bed where you go from the tallest flowers in the background, to a border of some kind in the front and then onto the grass. Have I achieved the look?

My original plan was to have a lighter fabric for the border and do applique. The plan just didn't work for me at all, so that idea was scrapped and this is Plan B.

On another note, Ashes refused to budge from this spot while some cutting was going on. She wanted her supper time treat and I was a bit tardy in giving it to her. Engrossed on a mission to get at least one complete border on one edge, time just slipped on by. So, on strike, she went.

Have a great day!

Learning curve

2009-04-23T11:09:00.003-04:00

It has been one year since we took in the girls and in that timeframe, Ashes has learned to wail. Whenever Ashes saw a stray cat, all she would do is make ‘puff, puff ’ noises and slink real low to the window or patio door. Hank would wail at a strange cat and Ashes would just stare at Hank and then stare at the strange cat and her head would be going back and forth. Suddenly one day this winter, Ashes echoed the wail (very tentative and she kept looking back at Hank to see if she did it right) and the two of them continued to wail together at the stranger.

So ….. a wailing they go! Too funny!

Have a great day!

P.S. In case anyone was wondering, a neighbour feeds the stray cats and there is usually 6 cats sprawled out on their porch whenever we go for a walk

Busy, busy

2009-04-20T10:21:00.004-04:00

Not much quilting this past week ….. DH and I were out buying furniture at IKEA. I just love the cottagey look and our new bookcases fit right in with my quilts and quilt ladder.

This is the view when you walk into our home.
The view from my chair. Not bad, eh?

There is still painting to be done (walls, baseboards and coffee table), but this is a good start. Company was coming this weekend and there was no time to clean the crystal before transferring them to these cabinets. When we move these out to paint, I will do some purging and clean then. We just wanted to get these assembled and the old pieces donated before the weekend.

Have a great day!

Moving along

2009-04-13T09:24:00.003-04:00

Half of my ‘An English Garden’ top is done and I am now working on the bottom half. It’s coming along nicely ….. chug, chug…….

Have a great day!

Claim to Fame

2009-04-07T09:24:00.004-04:00

Have you ever submitted a photo to a magazine after you made a quilt that was featured in their magazine? Well, I have a few times now.

Fons & Porter’s Love Of Quilting had this quilt in their May/June 2000 magazine.

I loved it …. but the layout was tweaked by me …. which is usual. I hardly ever make a quilt exactly as shown. I look at a pattern and see something entirely different and usually go my way.

So, the quilt was made; a photo submitted to their Show and Tell department. All was forgotten until one day a few years later ….. an envelope arrived with a letter and a magazine. What a thrill for me!

Yes, that is me showing off my quilt. How very kind they were to select my photo and letter to publish.

So, there, my claim to fame! Neat, eh! :o)

Originally, my plan was to make a queen size quilt and I made enough blocks for that size. Instead, my flower blocks were made into a twin-size quilt; thus resulting in leftovers. My previous post shows what was made with those extra blocks. Now, I never throw anything away. You just never know when something will come in handy.

Have a great day!

Orphan to a top

2009-04-03T09:23:00.003-04:00

This twin-size top started with left-over flower blocks that were in a bin for a very long time now.

With the need for quilts/blocks for the Australian bush-fire projects, I decided that these blocks could go for that cause.

So, with the addition of a few nine patches and some additional appliqué …. viola, this top will soon be on its’ way to Australia. Kiera is collecting the blocks and is sending these and others down to her MIL, Jennifer, in Australia. Jennifer is arranging the bocks to be sewn into tops and quilted by some ladies down under. I just took my blocks a few steps further and gave Kiera a completed top to help speed up the finishing process.

I hope whoever receives this quilt will give it tender, loving care and that they will enjoy and find comfort within its folds. :o)

Have a great day!

Quilt folding

2009-03-31T10:27:00.004-04:00

After reading an article (Quilter’s Newsletter Magazine, December 2006 issue) on folding quilts on the bias, the information changed the way that my quilts are stored. To those who do not have access to this issue, here is how you can fold your quilts.

For this tutorial, I have taken a rectangle and a square quilt to show you how to fold each.

I think the arrows in each photo are self-explanatory. If anyone needs further instructions, please let me know and I will edit this post.

This new folding method is:
a) Better for my quilts overall.
b) Eliminates fold marks when my quilts are taken out of the closet and hung on the wall
c) More room in the closet for storing quilts. For some reason, the fullness is taken out of the bulk when folded and I actually can get more quilts on the shelf. Why? I don’t know but it is true.

Have a great day!

On the floor no more ....

2009-03-27T10:05:00.003-04:00

Yes, I’ve learned my lesson and will not be putting my blocks, top, etc. on the floor anymore. I don’t need to have one of my girls cough up hair balls on my work. A few days ago, a hair ball was on the landing on the stairs going down to my studio. No, I don’t need to find surprises on my work.

So, what to do? Walls in my design studio are almost non-existent except for one area where there are sliding doors and I have a piece of batting type of material clipped in front of the doors and that is used all the time. Problem though, it is not tall enough and you all know by now that I make mostly large queen size quilts.

DH came to the rescue. He went out and purchased some rigid Styrofoam boards 24” wide x 86” high. My boards fold up like a screen (accordion style) to store out of the way when not needed.

Tape the seams as shown.

A piece of flannelette sheeting is pinned in place (with an exception).

Because the boards are to be folded, pin the sheet in place until you reach the seam that was taped on the backside. Smooth the sheet as shown by following the arrows, pinning as you go. Now try closing like a screen to see if it works. If not, make adjustments until it does fold properly.

Here is my Lover’s Knot on the board.

Here it is all folded up.

I use a LOT of pins for sticking my blocks in place and you will need pins if you plan to close it up with just single blocks on the board or if you move the design wall around from place to place.

The added bonus to these boards is turning it around and placing another flannelette sheet on the backside and another design wall is ready to use. Two in one ….. now how is that for space saving?

I hope that this helps anyone out there that has a problem with lack of design walls.

BTW …. my girls love to play hide and seek behind my board.

Have a great day!

Abandoned no more ....

2009-03-24T08:51:00.004-04:00

These are two of my projects that I’m working on these days.

First off ….. I’m making a pie ….. Humble Pie is the name of the quilt and it is from Kim Diehl’s book

The rail fence blocks have all been done …. just need to put them together now and that should go fairly quickly. You will be seeing more of this one again soon.

….. and my Lover’s Knot is back again. I decided to add one more row to one side and bottom. The top was OK when this was last shown but it just wasn’t big enough to fit comfortably on my bed. The borders would have been too large to make up the rest of the sizing and it would have looked awkward. So, once the blocks are done I promise to get borders on asap and not shove it on a shelf again.

I took these photos last night and just cleaned up after Ashes was sick this morning ... just a fraction of an inch away from a block in the bottom row. I could hear her but was not quick enough to move her away from my top. Lesson learned, no more blocks on the floor. I will just have to be patient until one of my design boards become free.

Have a great day!

On my wall

2009-03-22T12:40:00.005-04:00

Now that Spring is officially here, the time has come to change my wall hangings. Some are small, medium size and full bed size. Regardless, they are like a breath of fresh air.

Four of these quilts were made by me and three are swap quilts.

What is on your wall for Spring? Let us see them! :o)

Have a great day!