It was a good year!

At our last day guild meeting, all members were asked about their word that they chose to concentrate on for 2014.  Mine was 'finish'.

Only three quilts were completed and while that number is low, I am still pleased about that:

It was my goal to tackle my PHD's and do something about them.  A lot of tops got to the flimsy stage and I could not be more thrilled.  Twelve tops .... one for each month of the year.  Such a good thing!

 

Two queen size hand pieced projects .... whew .... that was a lot of work!:

Two lap size tops:

 

Two wall hangings:

 

Two fall quilts .... notice that they each have the same striped borders?  Gosh, I so love that striped fabric and there is lots more of that fabric in my stash!

These last two have been on the shelf for quite some time.  It feels so good to have them as completed tops.

My word for 2015 is still 'finish' and I will be concentrating on getting some of these tops quilted.  That is my goal.

The next top that is up for quilting is this one:

The batting and backing have been cut and I'm ready to go.

Have a great day and a wonderful start to 2015 and a very Happy New Year!

It's a finish!

It feels so good to have another quilt finished and gifted away.  Once I started machine quilting it, it was done within three days (binding and label included in that time frame).  Yikes, N.E.V.E.R. before has a quilt been finished so quickly by me!!

I was on a mission to get this quilt done and gifted to this lovely young couple for Xmas.  They will be nice and warm when they start their new life together on the east coast of Canada in the new year.

Simple grid quilting all over ... except in two corners.

The back is a gorgeous flannelette.

A few hand quilted circles to help break up all the grid work in two corners. 

My label was quick and easy to make.  Just a square of fabric folded on the diagonal.

Seconds after taking a photo of the label, Miss Ashes had to check this quilt out and decide if it was worthy of her.

Yep, she sure made herself cozy.

Have a great day!

Long awaited sandwich

It has been about 2 yrs. since the last time a large quilt top got basted.  After assembling all my items needed and checking on Ashes (she was fast asleep) ....

 .... I got busy pin basting this top until Miss Ashes had to come see what was going on. 

It feels so good to have a quilt ready for machine quilting.  There are a few more tops that will get sandwiched for machine or hand quilting.  It is time.  With 23 tops waiting in queue, the time has come to tackle them.

Have a great day! 

A Scrappy Garden

With Xmas only a few weeks away, I need to start finishing up a few gifts.  They can't be shown right now .... but here is something new that I've been working on since the beginning of December:

The progress has been amazing.  Thanks to my stash, it has been a blast going through and pulling fabrics out of bins.

The more pieces got made and pinned onto my design wall, the more I wanted to just work on this project.

 Just a few more pieces to be added and then this will be 1/4 of the quilt (queen size).

Just one patch makes up this triangle.  It is known as Colonial Garden.  My quilt will be called "A Scrappy Garden".  To get a good flow of colour throughout, a dark, medium and light value fabrics are used for each triangle section.  Simple as that.

My triangle is made using the EPP (English Paper Piecing) method, but only three sides are sewn together by hand.

 Below are two triangles sewn together by machine with the seams pressed open.

This new project brings my EPP projects on the go to number three. My other projects are my Apple Core and Split Apple Core.  Oh joyful days are ahead for me!!

There will be a fourth EPP project ... but not just yet.  Have you seen this on:  http://faeriesandfibres.blogspot.ca/p/patterns.html.  Click onto
81 – The Giant Monstrosity by Karen H 2014 (just below the photo) and it will bring you to a link for her pattern that she has made for free.  To me, Karen is The Hexie Queen and she has offered tutorials on how to do different hexagons and stars!  You really need to check out her blog.

Have a great day!

Can't cut this up!

I'm doing something totally different .....  I just can't cut up this piece of fabric.  The fabric design is perfect as is.  So, here is a different version of a quilt. 

Backing needs to get made and then this top can be sandwiched and quilted up.

Have a great day!

Second finish

This top was originally finished in August 2010 ..... put on a shelf because something just didn't fit right.

Another border was needed and it finally got put on.

Now, it will get hung for the holidays and I will enjoy it even more!

Have a great day!

Bumper Crop

This UFO has come together very quickly in the last few months.  Why ever did I wait so long????   Oh well, at least it has finally come to this stage and that is a good thing.

Now that the vines have been drawn on, I will be spending some time with embroidery thread and needle to finish this top.  While looking at this photo, I just realized that the grooves on the pumpkins need to be drawn on and embroidered as well.

Have a great day!

That's better!

All the triangles are now basted onto the borders of my Kaleidoscope and the borders have been sewn back on.  I'm so much happier with the final look.   All I can say is "wow"!  What a huge difference.  :o)

So, now all those triangles need to be appliqued onto the border and the top will be finished. 

Have a great day!

Just can't leave it alone ...

When I took my Kaleidoscope top to my day guild meeting this week for show and tell, I looked at all the other Kaleidoscope tops and quilts and my border was really, really plain.

Once home, the top went back up on my design wall and I started playing with ideas for the border.

My first thought didn't go over well with DH.  He simply didn't like it.  No photo was taken as it was no longer a contender.

So, playing around again, the triangles was another idea that we both liked:

 Once the triangles were more refined, they were placed around the border.

This will be the final look.  More triangles need to be added to complete the border.  What a huge difference bits of scrap leftover strips can make!

 I do love playing the "what if" game.

Have a great day!

Kaleidoscope

After a couple of days of sewing, pinning, sewing, pinning, etc. ..... this is now a top!

I do have to say that while it was a tedious task, the reward was worth all my sweat and tears. 

 This top will go so nicely with my other red/white/blue and red/white tops and quilts. 

So, there are now 22 tops and 35 UFO's. 

Have a great day!

Starry blades

A bit of progress has been made on my Lone Star.  All the blades are now done and the star is all sewn together.  Just the corners and triangles to sort out.

During this process, my seam ripper and I became very well acquainted ... even though the seams were matched up and pinned very carefully!    Grrrr   It was a bit tedious, but I simply hung in there and the results show well.

The above photo is a mock-up of what I want to do.  A border of cream background fabric will need to go all around the star blades. If the cream border is not there, my blades and points will just fade away into the striped fabric instead of standing out.

My brain will need to do the math for figuring out the measurements for the corners and triangles.  Math is not my strongest subject .... so, this will have to take its' time to be worked on.

Have a great day!

Gallery of Lone Stars

This past weekend, Debra Anger (Patchwork Sanity) came up to North Bay to teach a two-day workshop on Lone Stars.  We used Eleanor Burns book and her method is very well explained and very easy to follow.  Debra is a wonderful teacher and had us sewing up a storm for the two days.

By the end of Sunday, this is what the participants achieved:

Then on Monday night, our night guild had their monthly meeting and Debra got to see finished Radiant Lone Star tops:

Debra then presented her trunk show and she showed us her Lone Star and inspired us to step out of the box and see what can be made using Eleanor Burn's method.  Now, this is a huge Radiant Lone Star and what a beauty!

Debra's trunk show was amazing.  She is not afraid of colour and she encouraged us to have fun with our backings and borders and to participate in quilting swaps!

While Debra and I were so busy at the workshops and guild meeting, DH babysat her dog and I do think Buddy made himself quite comfortable in our home:

It was a great weekend .... a great visit .... it is so nice when friends come for a visit to our great white north!

Have a great day!