Ten .... ten .... ten .... ten

Ten years!  Today marks my 10th year of blogging.  Ten years.  Holy scrap, where did the time go?  Really, I can't have blogged for 10 years?  Really?

Yes, I checked.  Feb. 22, 2007 is when I first started.  Here is my first post.  Short and sweet.  LOL.  Lordy, but I have come a long way in my writing and posting.

I remember that day.  I was so nervous to actually be starting a blog.  Would there be enough to talk about?  Would anyone read my posts?  Well .... yes to both questions.

Last month, my page views were:  20,289
Page views all time history:  570,968+

Thank you to all my followers (442 last checked).  Thank you to all my readers that keep coming back to check out what I've been up to.

What actually drove me to start my blog all those years ago?  To help other quilters.  I would leave a comment on their blog to describe how to solve their problem.  But how many people would that comment reach?  Start a blog and talk about these issues.  So, that is how my blog came to be.   Many tips and tutorials have been given throughout these years.  When someone had a problem, I was able to help them out and do a post about it.  If I had a problem and was able to solve it, then a post could help others as well.

So much has happened in 10 years.  I won't bore you with all the details.  You can go through my blog and see for yourself.  Mind you, it will take a bit of time.  :o)

How much longer will I blog?  As long as I can and as long as there is something to write about.  At some point in time, my eyes and fingers will start to give out on me and that is when my quilting life will start to slow down.  This is not being pessimistic, this is reality.

So, what am I working on on this 10th year of blogging?  Applique, of course.  Right now, I am so obsessed with Antique Sampler (by Sue Daley).    I can't seem to stop working on it.  This pattern has so much to offer.  EPP and applique combined.  Perfect choice for me.

I had a question on where to buy this pattern.  Just Google Sue Daley quilt patterns and links will show up where you can buy them.  My pattern came from a shop in Australia.

The other thing that has consumed me over the years is EPP (English Paper Piecing).  Many tops/quilts have been made using this method.  I'm still amazed how this method has creeped into my life.  There is always one EPP project on the go for take alongs on trips and to the cottage.

This EPP is from a photo that I saw in a magazine and the rest is history.  The pattern was figured out and away I went with it.  This will be worked on until it is time to go to the cottage where all those pieces will be sewn together.  Lovely days are coming.

Ten years.  A lot has happened in my life in 10 years.  It is nice to go back to past posts and reflect on those days.

Life is good!

Have a great sewing day!

Quilting in the Garage

It has been a while since I last posted about quilting with my friends in the garage.  This past Saturday was our latest get-together.  It snowed a lot overnight but the temperature was a good -6C.  Not bad for venturing out for a day of sewing.

Jeanne and Karin (who is in sunny Florida) were not sewing with us that day.

Let's start with Claudia:

Here is her finished Antique Sampler.  She started this last March and finished it in February this year.  Hand appliqued and hand quilted.  Absolutely gorgeous!

Her hockey top that she is in progress of making.  Now, there is a story about acquiring fabric to make this top.  Both Claudia and I bought the panel and two fabrics at a store in New Liskeard (2 hr. drive north of us) a month ago.  They didn't have much else to go with it.  Then, a few weeks later, I found the remaining fabrics we both needed at a store in Sudbury (1-1/2 hr. drive west of us).  Now, we can both finish making our hockey quilts.  Yeah!

After Claudia saw my sheep quilt, I gave her the pattern and she did her own version.  Love it!

Meet Lois.  Lois was our guest that day for quilting with us.  Lois is president of our day guild and Claudia is president of our night guild.  Lordy, but Darlene and I had to be on our best behaviour that day!  Lois is showing us her bag that uses a piece of metal tape measure as a closure for the bag.

She made two feather blocks.

Here are Claudia and Lois both making one of those bags.

Darlene (who is the owner of the garage) was working on her Antique Sampler.

This is her progress so far.

This is me with Coach (garage dog).  If he is not sitting on Darlene's lap, he is on my lap.  LOL .... I look like I'm snoozing, but actually am working on my Antique Sampler too.

So, it was another fun day and from looking at the photos, gosh so much inspiration abounds at our sew days!

On another note, as I'm sitting here working on this post, a noise to my left gets my attention.  Miss Ashes the Cat is trying to open the door into the treat cupboard. She has the door open but can't get her head inside.  Guess she wants a treat!  LOL

Anyway, the snow banks are getting higher and higher each day.  DH has already snowblowed two neighbours' driveways this morning.  Right now, snow flurries are coming down.  Another good day to stay indoors and work on my Antique Sampler.

Have a great sewing day!

My kind of basting

I think the older I get, I'm getting smarter for using tools to make quilting easier.  That is the beauty of ageing.

Anyway, in the past, my knees and back used to suffer sandwiching quilts on the floor.  It worked.  There were no puckers on the back of my quilts.  But, boy did it hurt.

Eventually, I did end up putting two folding tables together and using lots of masking tape (same as I did for the floor), but puckers were always there, no matter how much I tried to keep the backing taut.

Enter Styrofoam boards and flower pins.

This quilt is the last one that I did using this method.  Binding has yet to be cut and sewn on, so no full photo of this quilt just yet.

Below photo shows two full sheets (24" x 96") of Styrofoam taped together.  My dining room table is the perfect spot for this job.  See those arrows?  Lots of flower pins at the side and the front.  I just had to be careful not to put the flower pins too deep and scratch the table.

Then, the right side of the backing was stretched slightly and pinned in place.  Lots of flower pins about every 2".  No pins were placed on the side that is closest to the quilt you see hanging on the wall.  The batting and top were placed on top and then I could start to pin baste.  

The flower pins stay pinned into the Styrofoam.  The process of pin basting (using quilting safety pins) can start.

Once I moved the whole section forward towards me, I don't bother placing any flower pins where you see the arrow.  Gravity does a wonderful job.  Flower pins are placed on the backing (just the backing), starting on the left side and then stretching the backing slightly and more flower pins are placed on the right hand side. 

At the end of machine quilting .... no puckers on the back.  Wonderful.

The down side to this?  Miss Ashes can't help me anymore.  She is not allowed on the dining room table.  Lordy, but she sure does protest this new method!  LOL

Next time I sandwich another top, I will use strips of wood on my top just to make the smoothing easier each time the section is moved forward.

Like I said, I'm getting smarter.

Have a great day!