Thursday, November 21, 2013

At Long Last: An Update!

Wow, has it really been more than 2 months since I updated my blog?! 
Wherever does time go?

Here is what I have been up to...

I had my "Floating Stars" quilt quilted by my friend Dalene, and here is the finale, complete with binding.

Don't you just LOVE the pattern?


I finished the Aim for Accuracy Quilt top.  
Backing & batting purchased, now awaiting quilting.


This pattern is a small version of Heather Spence's "Dan's Climb" quilt


I added a brown chenille as the backing. 


I participated in Heather Spence's bi-annual mystery quilt, and this is the finished quilt top for the Fall 2013 Mystery Quilt.  It is called "Mum's the Word".  
Isn't it delightful?
The border looks like strawberries on this photo but it actually is flowers, and it is Moda fabrics that match quite closely to the jelly roll fabrics "Vin du Jour".
I will finish the backing next year.


We visited family in BC in October for Canadian Thanksgiving, and I took this quilt along so I could finish off the binding... and then leave it at my parents' place so they could pass it along to my niece, Miss B, who wanted this quilt.  

This "Plenty of Fish" quilt is huge!  


I love the stars & swirls pattern that Dalene did for this quilt!



So... with a baby on the way, I wanted to do some sewing... but a sewer I am NOT!!!!!
I botched up this fitted crib sheet.
Somehow I messed up the measurements then cut the corners of the fabric, realized my mistake, then had to add inserts (2, not 1 - duh!!) into the centre of the crib sheet.  
Ok, just fire me!  Fail!!
Thankfully, it is a busy pattern, and it isn't a main show piece, so hopefully baby will not be bothered by it.
Sigh!


I made a nursing pillow cover from the same Dr. Seuss black/white/red fabric.


I haven't finished my last block from Traditional Pastimes's "Vintage Plates" Freebie 15 series, so nothing to show for that one.

This year's theme for the Freebie 15 is Spice Bazaar.
It will be comprised of squares & rectangles.
Sounds easy, but a lot of the instructions are in 1/16" measurements - ugh.  
Here are the new Freebie 15 blocks: the Freebie (left - "Anise") and the companion (right - "Cinnamon") as well as 20 4-inch 4-squares.  
(Photo taken on iPhone, thus the lousy colour quality.)


Seven more weeks until baby's due date!!!

Saturday, September 7, 2013

August Crafts & Sewing Projects... and a Bit o' News

August was a busy month with crafts and sewing, and for some reason, I just haven't put photos onto this blog...until now... but with the downpour of rain outside, what better day to do that than today!  

I found this candy bouquet idea on Pinterest.
Inside the large canning jar are 2 slinkies with small Hot Wheels cars inside them, and jelly beans around/under/on top of the slinkies.
A big piece of foam on the jar mouth, poked with lollipops.
Gummy worms between the lollipops to make the present more boy'ish.
Tied with a ribbon & some boy-coloured balloons.
All set for a fun boy birthday gift.


I signed up for another fun Mystery Quilt by Heather Spence Designs.  
This MQ starts October 4.
Here is the fabric that I purchased for the MQ.
Oooh, ahhh, so exciting.


One of my nieces, Miss S., posing on the quilt she received from her quilty aunty. 


Sister J also received a quilt from me, same pattern but different colours.


My niece, Miss K, has requested a quilt in green, purple and teal.
Here are some of the blocks thus far (quilt still not finished) for the Aim for Accuracy Quilt Along.











My mother-in-law made these quilt blocks last year as part of her local quilt store's BOM.
MIL was involved in a car accident in January this year, and because of residual nerve/muscle damage, she is unable to complete this quilt, so she gave me fabric for the quilt top, backing and binding, and she asked me to complete the quilt for her.
Here is the finished quilt top.
Quilt is now at the quilter's for "sandwiching."


I recently participated in the Plenty of Fish quilt along, andI used up my scrap fabrics (although I did need to purchase whites/creams and greens).  Here is the finished quilt top - big enough for over a double bed.
This one is now also at the quilter's awaiting completion.


And Finally...
A New Baby Quilt.
Yup, I am preggers and Flutterbug is due January 8, 2014!!

We have no idea if this will be a boy or a girl, so I am sewing boy and girl blankets.
I couldn't find any girl blankets at one store I visited, but I did find this sorta-neutral, but probably-more-boy quilt top, and I added a light green chenille to the backing.
(Girl blankets yet to be purchased and sewn.)


Saturday, July 27, 2013

Busy, Busy!

My sewing machine was repaired and was away for TWO WHOLE Weeks!  Gasp!   Oh, how I was itching to do some quilting therapy again!!  Thus, I did a lot of sewing when I got my machine back!!

Today, I removed the "corners" of the May 2013 'Freebie 15' block.  The theme for this year's Freebie BOM is "Vintage Plates" and I felt that the block did not look like a plate... so now it does look more plate-ish.


June 2013 Vintage Plate (Freebie 15 series blocks)

"Royal Ruby Glass" Vintage Plate
Royal Ruby depression glass was made by the Anchor Hawking Glass Company.  Made between 1938 & 1960 the Royal Ruby name was patented so that only glass made by Anchor Hawking could use the name.  This glass was made for many years therefore a large variety of pieces are available at reasonable prices.  


This lovely purple/blue/mint green block is this month's Freebie block.  I didn't quite get the centre-points lined up, but I am not going to get fussed about that.  

"Doric Patterned Glass" Vintage Plate
The McKee brothers in 1896 manufactured the Doric pattern also known as crowfoot.  Another pattern referred to as fine cut & feathers is similar to the Doric pattern in that it has scallop shapes.  The fine cut and feathers are filled in with cross-hatching giving it the name fine cut.


I finished my Scrappy Stars quilt.  This is a sentimental quilt for me because 11 or the 12 stars were blocks of the month from Freckles Quilt Shop here in Calgary...and then they closed the store as the owner retired.  I LOVED that quilt shop!! 
I love the colours and vintage-ness of this quilt!!


I had a special request for 2 special little ladies: 2 of my nieces were in need of summer quilts and the colour request was purple.  I needed to get them made quickly so I made this fun but quick pattern.


I joined the "Plenty of Fish" quilt along (on-line) and so I dug into my fabric scrap stash.  What a great way to use up scraps!  I only had to purchase creams, some whites and a few greens.
While the sewing machine was in for repair, I cut, cut, cut fabrics for steps 1-9, and then I frantically sewed when I got the machine back.  Add Step 10 and here we are, although this photo does not show all the blocks; there are 30 star blocks, 20 of the other block plus 6 long strips.  I will have to wait until the next clue before I can start doing any more sewing for this quilt.


One website/blog I follow is The Quilting Gallery and Michelle who runs that site has started the "Aiming-for-Accuracy Quilt Along"... and another special little lady (niece) has requested a quilt with purple and green and teal so I dug into my stash and have put these 5 blocks together so far... and hopefully Miss K will like this quilt.
Block patterns come out weekly (I'll have to wait a week for Lesson 6) and the quilt top won't be done until mid-October... so perhaps it will be done for Christmas.





Saturday, June 22, 2013

Flooding and Waiting...

I live in Calgary and parts of our city are in a state of emergency: major flooding has affected the downtown (business) core and thousands of people have been displaced from their homes.

We are safe and dry, but my husband will be off work for a while, how long we do not yet know.  He works in the downtown core, and since there is 1) flooding, 2) power has been cut to that area, and 3) no transportation is allowed of available to the downtown core, he just might be on a bit of a vacation.  Unfortunately, he probably has to use up some of his vacation or discretionary time, but it is better than nothing.  

Worse case scenario: I work full-time and he stays home.  

At home, I have not been able to do much sewing: my sewing machine is in for repairs!!  :(
One of the ?gears? was starting to go and last weekend it started making a horrible screeching noise, so I packed it up quickly before I caused more damage to my electronic baby.  

So... what's a gal to do??

Cut fabric for  my "Plenty of Fish" mystery quilt... it's all ready, just needs sewing/ironing.
The lights are whites/creams.
Mediums are yellow/orange/pink.
Darks are blue/green/purple.
And best of all... most of the fabrics are from my stash - gotta love stash-bustin'!


I also pinned 2 quilts that I wanted to quilt on my machine.  These 2 quilts are for my nieces (special request) and the pic below is the backing for the 2 quilts.  
I was half-way quilting the bottom quilt when I had to pack up my machine.
(I sure hope my machine is salvageable!!)


I managed to get a book read, and I am ready to get another book started.  
I also have binding to finish on a small lap-size quilt, but I really have been procrastinating on that one, even though I love that quilt!

Once I pick up my machine in a few weeks, I have the 2 purple quilts to complete (& bind), 3 more quilts to finish up, do up a quilt block, fix up a few more "old" blocks, and start on my "POF - Plenty of Fish" quilt top.  

Thursday, June 6, 2013

A Quilt Block & A Quilt

First of all, here is the May 2013 "Freebie 15" block from Traditional Pastimes here in Calgary.

Now, here's the issue... these blocks are supposed to be a "vintage plate" series, but how in the world is this possibly a plate of any sort??  
This "plate" stumps me.
I simply cut the provided fabric and follow the directions.
It was an easy pattern, but I will admit the fabrics & colours are not my favourite.
Perhaps it will look good when all the blocks are put together.  :/
Com si, com sa!

May 2013 Vintage Plate Block

The Laughlin China Company
Homer and Shakespeare Laughlin, two brothers from east Liverpool Ohio, started a pottery ware factory in 1871.  At this time white ware pottery was gaining popularity from the local yellow ware.  The East Liverpool City Council offered 5000 dollars in seed money to anyone who would build and operate a plant for white ware.  Sometime in 1873 the Laughlin brothers had built a 2-kiln plant on the Ohio river and by 1876 their white granite ware won an award at the United States centennial exposition in Philadelphia.  In June of 2002 Joe Well the 3rd, was elected president and CEO of the china company.  Since the reorganization the company has experienced growth and is moving forward with the Well family pledge to continue providing quality American made china thereby providing jobs for potters of the Ohio valley.
16" x 16"
*****

I finished off the binding on the New Year's Day Quilt Along, which was run by Heather Spence.  I deviated from the final piecing instruations, so I have called my version of this quilt along:
"X Marks the Spot".
(The 2.5" x 2.5" square in the centre has the numbers "1 2 3" printed on it.)

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this quilt!!
My friend Dalene did a fabulous job on the pantograph quilting.
Quilt measures 74" x 80".
Jelly roll for this quilt: "Odds and Ends" by Moda Fabrics.

Close up of one of the fun jelly roll strips.

The Backing & the pantograph quilting pattern.



Saturday, May 25, 2013

The Big Reveal... Sand and Sea Glass Quilt!

When it rains and pours (as it has been for the last few days) it is perfect for staying indoors and sewing!

I finished off a quilt top for my church's quilt group. 
Someone else had sewn most of the quilt top, but I finished it off.
It's a lap size quilt: 50-something" x 70'ish".
The quilt will be for someone dealing with cancer. 
Purdy, eh?!


The rain STOPPED!  
And the SUN came out!
... And I needed a pick-me-upper after getting off a dreaded night shift
(oh the joys of being a R.N.)

So... I hung my SAND AND SEA GLASS quilt on the wash line...

The Back
I used a few extra hourglass units on the back.  Left and right sides are from a few meters of fabric I found at Fabricland, the centre strip (which has old-style writing printed on it) I purchased at Traditional Pastimes.
My friend Dalene did an AMAZING job with a seashell pattern!
I just LOVE it!


 THE QUILT TOP
Close up of borders and the blocks 

Some of the blocks

Some more blocks

HERE IT IS... THE BIG REVEAL...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

89" x 89"

EEEEEKK!!!  Don't you just love it!!!!  (And to think I wasn't too keen on it initially.)

Quilt started October 2011, completed May 2013.

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Getting Some Work Done!!

I have plowed ahead and got lots of sewing done in the last few weeks!  Woohoo!

First of all, I finished this purple/pink/grey star & thus was able to finish the purple/pink/grey (design by Blue Patchwork Quilts) Quilt top!
(I want to use the leftover pinks and purples in a scrappy quilt... using my scrap fabrics.)


Not a vibrant-coloured photo but at least you can see the quilt top done.
Approx 61" square

I also finished the top for Heather Spence's Spring 2013 Mystery Quilt, and this quilt is called "Connect the dots"

Fabric is "Pieces of Hope" by Riley Blake - "inspired" by autism.
 

The finished quilt top: 74" x 57.5"

Binding done on a scrappy quilt.  I used scraps for this quilt, just a crib size, but I like the designs.

33" x 41"

Quilts in progress:
  • 2 more quilts to bind
  • 3 quilt tops to quilt (need backing for 2 out of the 3, and batting for all 3)
My very BIG EXCITING NEWS is that I have COMPLETED my "SAND AND SEA GLASS" QUILT.  Yup, I just finished the binding last night... but it is raining and it is a huge quilt so I have to wait for a nice day before being able to take a photo of it... I just LOVE this quilt!!!!!!!  
You'll just have to wait for good weather before I can post a pic!!