Oh, those challenges

I have been a busy lady working on my challenges that I signed up for.
This is my red/white challenge.....
..... and this is my Joseph's Coat.

For both these projects, a few more FQ's had to be bought to help even out the scrappy look. Otherwise, it feels so good to be dipping into my stash to make all those blocks.

Have a great day!

Diamond Stars

Once I finished my hexagon top, my fingers needed another English Paper Piecing project to work on. This new project was started this spring but I never got around to showing it to you.

So far, this is half of the diamonds made (it will be queen size). The hexagon fillers are made out of two different fabrics to give it an added surprise. Actually, I didn't have enough of either fabric to use, so decided to use both and I have to say that the look is rather interesting.

I was having a little bit of problem with my star points meeting in the centres, so added the little hexagon to hide them and I much prefer the look.

I want to do something different with the borders, but don't know what yet. Probably applique....

Have a great day!

Happy .... eeerk .....happy again

Back on my post of Sept. 24, I showed this UFO that is part of Finn’s challenge. This hanging has been on my design wall for quite some time now (as in many months ...) and I just didn’t know what to do with it. Now, I could have done any appliqué design and it would be fine … but what appliqué design? Lordy me, but I was stumped.

I showed it to Debra, she knew exactly what should be done …. it was staring me in the face all this time. She said (Oh, wise woman) to replicate the fussy cut flower in the 9-patch. Oh, my …. what an idiot I am ….

And that is exactly what I did. I copied the flower and blew up it gazillion of times to reach the desired size. Then, using CLOVER water soluble marker and my light box, the design got drawn onto the large white area of my top.

Merrily, I went doing my appliqué and making some more adjustments to the placement … until finally it was done. How happy I was! Note the ‘was’ word here.

The top was finally ready for sandwiching, but first I drew my quilting lines using Crayola washable markers. I was not happy with the quilting lines, so a quick wash and dry and start all over again was in order. This is where I became a very unhappy woman.

The blue CLOVER marking lines (that should have easily come off) turned from blue to yellow and they would not go away. I tried just about everything. A quick email to CLOVER for help was ignored. It is their product and they should care about problems like this. The Crayola washable marking lines went away just fine …. but not CLOVER.

Finally, I pulled OXY GEN out and using full strength, let my top soak overnight in their solution.

Eureka! It worked like a charm. Those ugly yellow lines are gone, gone, gone! I thought for sure that this top was a candidate for the garbage bin, but not now! :o)

Now, I will re-mark my quilting lines using Crayola and then I can finally get this UFO quilted and done.

Have a great day!

P.S. The same Clover pen was used on my Joseph’s Coat and those lines disappeared just fine. Why? Is it the material that is causing this problem? For my Joseph’s Coat, I used Moda muslin and for this top, I used Kona cotton. Both cottons were pre-washed and dried removing any chemicals. It is indeed, a mystery.

Joseph's Coat

Along with many others, I have signed up to make the quilt over on Don’t Look Now blog. These are my colours that I’m going with. The plan is to make 1-1/2 blocks per week. So far, I’m behind a bit but I have enough petals prepped for 6 more blocks so all I need to do is cut out some more background fabric and just sew, sew, sew.

Have a great day!

Basket case

Last week, when I was at Debra’s for lunch and a sew-in, what did my eyes spot, but this beautiful expanding sewing basket (the one with the legs and handle).Many years ago, my parents had given one to me, but it was too small to hardly hold anything and it fell apart (all the moving parts that I should have looked after, went missing) and I gave it away. Oh my, how foolish of me …..

This past year, I have been looking for another one, but larger this time. I’ve been browsing the thrift stores but no luck.

So, here at Debra’s is THE basket that I have been lusting for and she wasn’t using it except as a table to put our cups of tea on. Debra had bought it from another lady that was getting rid of stuff and I (oh, lucky me) bought it from Debra. Joy, joy, joy!

It is huge and holds so much stuff in it and I have been using it since coming home with me. This basket really helps to keep my sewing area in our living room tidy.

Do you see the other large wicker baskets on the left? I bought those at thrift stores and they hold hand projects that I am currently working on. Again, they help to keep that area neat and tidy.

Now, onto another subject. Last month, Phyllis was looking for a pattern of a quilt that I showed on my blog. I sent her the pattern and in return she made this ATC. Isn’t it beautiful?

I was also able to help Elfriede with my Lover’s Knot pattern. She, in return, sent me a CD with all kinds of needlework stuff on it and a piece of fabric. Thank you, my dear friends for being so kind to me.

That is what I love about blogging ….. we help each other with projects or problems and really the world is just a click away.

Have a great day!

1 UFO Done!

Well, here it is .... my siggy or signature block quilt ..... it is done! This is finish #1 for Finn's challenge that I signed up for ..... yeah me! :o) Instead of doing a label for the back of the quilt, here is my label block (I was short one block for the border corners). With this photo, you can see the backing that was used and some of my stipple machine quilting and my hand quilting in the borders.

Thank you, Connie for taking on the responsibility of hosting this block swap .... just look at what came of those blocks!

I wanted to take photos of this quilt down at Scarborough Bluffs where Jennifer and her DH and I went for a walk a few weeks ago. Today, it was too sunny for photos and too breezy. There will be another photo opportunity with another quilt.

Have a great day!

Pattern source: EQ6. Quilt size: 72-1/2" x 94" (top size before quilting 76" x 100").

Edit Nov.13,2009 - there is a slight bleed out with some of the blocks, so when you wash your quilt, use a product that will help absorb any excess dye.

Also, a couple of the signature blocks washed out the writing and some others faded a lot. Advice .... take photos of your blocks and then if any writing washes out, you can re-write the info. on the blocks.

Fabric holders and cat fight!

When I am thinking about a new project, fabric is pulled from my stash, ironed and placed on various holders in order to keep the fabric pressed and at hand for when I’m ready to start cutting.

Here is a clothes dryer (and it sure is sturdy) that holds the bulk of the fabric.

A quilt rack (purchased at a thrift store for just a few dollars) and rigid Styrofoam boards.

Here is all the red fabric for my red/white challenge quilt.

The girls ….. you thought they were sweet and adorable ….. well …. they are, but a few times a week they fight. I still can’t believe that I caught them in action. Peace and quiet prevailed a few moments later.
Tomorrow afternoon, I will be making my way over to Debra’s place for lunch and a sew-in. She will have lots to show me! :o)

Have a great day!

What's missing?

You know, , I’m really a blue/green type of gal (there are 3 totes of blue and 2 totes of green in my stash) and you can easily see that with these quilts.Then, just to spice things up a bit, here are some of my quilts with every colour under the sun thrown in …

… and then the softer side of me comes through with these quilts.

So, what is missing? Red and white quilts.

You know, I don’t have one single patriotic quilt …. not one!! Jennifer (way over there in Aussie land) made a table runner to help her Canadian friends celebrate Canada Day this year. How embarrassing is that?

After she left our house, it got me thinking …. a lot. I have been looking at red/white quilts for a while now and even did some designs in EQ6 some time ago … but I haven’t done anything about it.

Now over at Allyson and Nicole’s blog (were these gals reading my mind?), there is a challenge going on to make a red/white/cream quilt and I signed on. Step 1 is done.

Looking around in my stash, I have found these so far. Where in the world did they come from and how come so many found their way into my stash? Remember, I’m a blue kind of gal. Step 2 is done.

Here are a few of my blocks so far. Step 3 is started and that is a good thing.

Looking at my stash of reds, I predict there will be a few more red/white quilts to talk about.

Have a great day!

BTW ..... if any of you want to know more about the quilts shown above, just click on Quilts at the bottom of this post (last line where it says Labels: Quilts, Challenges) and there are pages and pages and pages for you to read and where you can look at my quilts more closely.