Niki's Spirit-At Last!

I am back home in Toronto and all the pressure is off to work on wedding stuff. Now, it is my turn to play and have some fun with fabric and play is what I will be doing over the next few days. I need a fix! In the meantime, there is lots to show you about the wedding and that will come in installments (after all, I do need to find something to write about for you).

First though, I do have to say many thanks for all the compliments that I received for my Blue Buds quilt. Golly, I am still blushing! :o) Just so you know, I purposely shot that photo at an angle so that you could not see my mistakes. Mind you, a young niece visited when this quilt was hanging up and she very quickly pointed out the error of my ways. So there, they are definitely there!

At last, this quilt is finished and it has been delivered to the bride and groom.

The bride has been peeking at my blog in hopes of seeing their finished quilt, but I only gave her (and you) bits and pieces of their quilt.

Here is a close-up of the quilting. When I look at this pattern, it reminds me of gingerbread trim on houses.

How do you think I did on this one? My next post will show you that it wasn’t so pretty on my ‘before’ shot. So, come back and visit to see what I am writing about.
Have a nice day!

Storage Case

This is the first time that I made a case to fit a finished quilt. Next post will reveal the finished quilt that was given as a wedding gift.

Quiltmaker, issue #31 had instructions for making a case and it was quite easy to make.

The instructions for folding quilts on the bias and fabric swatches from the quilt will be stored in the pocket.

The fabric used to make this case is just a piece from my stash. What a great way to get rid of excess fabric. Does the case fabric have to match the quilt inside?

So, this is the first time but I will be making more of these in future to store my own quilts. Right now, my quilts are just sitting on a shelf in closets and a few in a basket. I must take the time to protect them now.

Have a great day!

At least three decades old UFO

After reading a number of blogs where the oldest UFO’s are found and revealed, I knew that my oldest was only four years old.

Then, a few months back, I started doing embroidery on a new project which I am quite enjoying. Suddenly, it struck me …. I have a very old UFO project which involves embroidery squares for a quilt! Originally, they were to have been painted using those paint tubes with a ball point tip, but I decided they would look better done in embroidery. OMG, they are over 30 years old … yes 30!

So, now that I found them, there is a slight problem. Silly me, I put a straight pin holding a piece of paper onto each block in the upper left corner. Yes, they now have rust spots. Does anyone have any ideas on getting rust out of fabric? If I can’t get rid of the rust, then it’s time to become creative and work around the problem.

Originally, these blocks were going to be a bed quilt, but that idea has changed to a wall hanging. It will be quicker. :o)

Looking further at each block, I think embellishments and colouring the flowers with crayons. Yes, I think that will work quite well. Stay tuned for more on these as time goes on. There is a lot (A LOT) of embroidery to do and it will take me a while. What the heck, they have languished for 30 years now, so what is the hurry?

Have a nice day!

Close-up of Quilting

Here are close-up shots of my hand quilting for those who want a better peek!

I am going to be away until next week and will be unable to visit blogs and leave comments.

You know the guy from ‘behind the scenes’? Well, he will be posting for me. :o)

Have a bunch of great days!

Blue Buds

I took this photo well over a month ago, but simply forgot to post it.

This quilt was worked on during the period when my Mom was dealing with breast cancer and my mind was pre-occupied and not enough attention was paid to the placement of the appliqué pieces. The appliqué is a bit crooked in a few places and I’m OK with that. In the past, those areas would have been ripped out and re-sewn. Now, I find that it’s not the end-of-the-world if my quilts are a bit wonky as there are more important things to fret over.

This pattern was designed using EQ5. The appliqué block was altered to make it my own design and there is a lot of hand quilting in this quilt.

Have a great day!

Flower Girl Dress

This week has seen me hunched over my machine sewing like a mad woman but not on anything quilty! :o)

Isn’t this dress just adorable? The young lady that will be wearing this will look like a princess.

Have a great day!

Pincushions coming from and going to Iceland

It is a hot, hot day here in Toronto and what a day to be out and about doing errands. It is all for a good cause as I had to buy a bubble mailing envelope for my pincushion exchange with Guðrún at http://www.atsugan.blogspot.com/.

So, after a hot morning of trudging around to pick up wedding goodies and other goodies, I arrived home to find a package from Iceland waiting for me!

Look at that pincushion …. it is adorable! Many, many thanks Guðrún for making this for me.

As her pincushion arrived today, tomorrow out goes my pincushion to her. What fun this has been! A new friend, a new pincushion, goodies … what more could a gal ask for! :o)

Have a great day!

Line Drying

Normally, my large quilts are machine washed and then line dried. I like to have two lines fairly close together and hang my quilt this way. This set-up takes away any weight stress as the bulk is distributed evenly and not just hanging down which would put stress on my hand quilting. Popped stitches do not make me a happy person. :o(

This is my summer set-up and there is a winter set-up in my furnace room.

My quilts are refreshed occasionally by being thrown into the dryer and air fluffed to help get out dust.

In my last post, there was a question about how my blog pages are printed out. Right after posting, I go back into my blog and start to copy the last post just where the date is and go all the way down to wherever I want to stop. When copying, it doesn’t pick up any of the side bar info.

For my quilt journal, at the back, there are blank sheets just sitting in those clear plastic protector sheets and whenever a new project is started, I just take a blank sheet and start jotting down date started, source of pattern, etc. and then put the sheet back into the clear plastic. Whenever new information is to be added, I just flip the pages in my journal to the project sheet that I want, pull it out and write down thoughts, world events, etc.

When the quilt is done and it’s time to print out a journal page, I just go to my computer file and fill in the blanks. On the left (see my last post) of each line of my journal page, that information is pretty standard and on the right is the information that will change with every quilt that is made.

This works for me. It’s never too late to start a journal. Thirty years after I started my first quilt, the information is there along with photos and I am really glad that the time was taken to jot down information and snap a photo. It’s not too late to start your journals at whatever stage they might be. You will be glad you did! :o)

Have a great day!

Quilt Journal

Guðrún at http://www.atsugan.blogspot.com/ wanted to know what is written on the pages. It’s hard to see the pages in my quilt journal (guess I need to get myself a copy of Blogging for Dummies to find out what I’m doing that won’t allow the photos to be enlarged), so here is a copy of one of the pages.

QUILTS by ROSE MARIE _xxxxxxx
QUILT #: 53

Quilt Name: My Fantasy Garden

Block Name: Daffodil, Petunia, Zinnia, Apple Tree, Foxglove, Weeping Cherry, Snapdragon, Fuchsia, Crepe Myrtle flower on Ginger stems

Pattern Source: “Fantasies & Flowers” by Kumiko Sudo

Block size: 11-1/4” x 11-1/4”
Quilt size: 45” wide x 44-1/2” high (top finished at 47-1/2” x 47-1/2”)
Batting: Micro safe poly scraps (purchased at xxxxxxxxx)
Date quilt started: January 31, 2005
Date quilt finished: April 23, 2007 Toronto, Ontario
Machine pieced by: Rose Marie xxxxxxxxxx
Hand appliquéd by: Rose Marie xxxxxxxxxx
Hand quilted by: Rose Marie xxxxxxxxxx

Label: The label has the following information on it:

Made by: Rose Marie xxxxxxx
April – 2007
Toronto, Ontario
“ My Fantasy Garden ”

I took a quilting course at xxxxxxxx given by Connie xxxxxxx. All these blocks are from the book “Fantasies & Flowers” by Kumiko Sudo.

Picture taken: Pictures were taken at xxxxxxxxxx, Toronto, Ontario

When I saw the hanging at the quilt store, I just had to sign up for the class. It’s not very often that I do take many quilting classes, but this quilt I had to make.

This quilt is part of the Yorkshire Rose Quilter’s Guild UFO Challenge and I’m glad that it is finally done.

The following occurred during its’ making:
1. January 2005 had its’ share of snowstorms in Toronto.
2. Visited my friend Susan xxxxxx new home in xxxxxxx, Ontario in Feb.2005. Saw Jason xxxxxx rap video that he had produced.
3. Niece Nicole xxxxxx visited Feb. 2005. She called our home “icicle house”.
4. More snowstorms.
5. Had most of the blocks made before the second quilting class.
6. Brought up the blocks to North Bay for Mom’s 87th birthday, Mar.9, 2005.
7. Worked on Apple Tree flowers during my visit with Paul and Marian xxxxxxx, Mar. 2005
8. We had our front and back maple trees trimmed Apr.11, 2006.
9. Had our living room ceilings done Jan.30, 2007
10. Started a quilting blog “Applique ‘n Patch Quilting” www.appliqueandpatches.blogspot.com on Feb. 22, 2007
11. Apr.16, 2007 - mass murder of students and faculty at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va. U.S.A. (33 dead).
12. Built a stone wall around maple tree on our front lawn and planted hostas.

Each quilt that I make is numbered in the journal as well as on the label (only started doing this a few years ago). Text information is on the Page 1 and quilt photos and a copy of the label is on Page 2. I don't keep record of fabric used. It becomes just to hard, especially when it is a scrapppy quilt.

Does this help anyone? It's a great trip down memory lane for me whenever I glance through the pages and a great way to document the quilts that I am proud to say that were made by me.

Have a great day!

Blog Journal and Quilting Journal

Tanya at http://tttl1998.blogspot.com/ Taniwa requested to see photos of my journals as she was interested in having one also to show her Mom. So, Tanya, this is for you! :o)

The photo above is my Blog Journal.

And, this is my Quilting Journal. The closed binder on the upper left, has my records of the first 50 quilts. The open binder is the start of my next 50. :o)

Have a great evening!

Behind the Scenes

Just thought you would be interested in seeing how I get some of my photos. This is my faithful helper, my husband. He is always suggesting ideas for shots and what I should do with the camera. In his younger days, he took a photography course at university. I just need to pay more attention to his instructions. :o)

Those poles holding up the quilt are 10 ft. long electrical conduits and are attached with an elbow at each end. We can move around to any place we want to take a photo ..... we are mobile! You have seen a lot of my quilts lately and know that they are big ones, so the 10ft. poles can accommodate them.

Why do I put so much effort into taking a photo? Well, besides having fun finding the perfect spot around our home, I do have a blog journal and a quilt journal and it is nice to have good photos to look at, especially when I need some inspiration to get moving and get something accomplished.

Each time I visit my Mom, my blog journal comes with me and it gives her a chance to look at my photos and to read my posts. The flowers are an added bonus for her as she can no longer visit my home.

To my neighbours to the south, Happy Independence Day!

Have a great day!

Pincushion Exchange and A Year of Celebration Quilt

I am so delighted that my swap partner for the Pincushion Challenge is Guðrún at http://www.atsugan.blogspot.com/. She has posted a photo of two uncompleted pincushions that she will do and send one to me. Oh, I wonder what it will look like.

In the meantime, I need to get busy and make her pincushion. There are a couple of ideas and decisions, decisions. I’ll be on tenterhooks hoping that she will like what I make.

I had a request from a visitor (there was a no-reply email address on your message) for the pattern that was used for my A Year of Celebration. Unfortunately, there is no pattern, but here were my sources:

January – Quilter’s Newsletter Magazine #239
February – my Guild, but any heart pattern will do (mine are done with 1” finished squares)
March – Electric Quilt 5 software program
April – my Guild
May – Electric Quilt 5 software program
June – my Guild, but you could use any birdhouse
July – my Guild, but any maple leaf block can be used. For this block, I made it slightly smaller and sewed white strips around the block so that the leaf floats. The maple leaf in the center was copied from a Canadian flag motif and coloured in with crayons.
August – my Guild
September – my Guild, but any schoolhouse will do
October – Quiltmaker Magazine, #93
November – my Guild
December – my Guild, but any tree block would work.

The block finished sizes are 10” x 10”. The sashes and border are 2” x 2” finished. Finished top size is 38” x 50”

Even though there is no pattern, why not be creative and do your own version. I would love to see what you come up with.

Have a great day!

A Year of Celebration

I am re-posting this photo again. For some reason, you can not click on to enlarge and it is really hard to see the quilt at this size.

So, enjoy and have a great day!

Happy Canada Day

July 1 is our nation’s birthday and we are 140 yrs. old! We’re celebrating in our own way, quietly but with pride.

This is my only patriotic quilt that I have and it is called ‘A Year of Celebration’. There is a maple leaf block with our flag in the middle and it’s the July block of the month. The idea came from my Guild and when I first joined, the lady doing BOM suggested that members could make a block for the monthly draw and make an extra block for a quilt. A few blocks were changed in the making and here is my version.

There are all kinds of decorative buttons sewn onto this quilt and it is hand quilted.

This is my label. Fun was had with crayons for colouring in the squares.

Have a great day, eh!