Where, oh where

I'm still binding those 5 of 7 quilts that came back to me last month.  In doing so, I got to thinking where, oh where are these going to go?  I'm running out of storage space.

There are still 22 tops that need to be quilted.  Plus 30ish projects on the go.  Some will be gifted, some donated, but most will be staying here.  Some forward thinking needed to be done.

So, where are my quilts stored right now?

As well as on three beds here and two at the cottage, two more quilts can go on this ladder.

My mini quilts are in a basket

This wall in my dining room always has two hanging; plus a few in the basket in the corner (you can just barely see the basket).

On the opposite side in the dining room, another one hangs there.

My display cabinet can hold another big one or two small ones.

 The foyer always has a quilt hanging as well as one quilt or two on the railing.

This quilt hides (very cleverly) a baby chair and all the odds and ends required for eating.  Once that baby chair is no longer required, it will be stored away and a pile of quilts will sit there instead.

In the family T.V. room, another quilt could be squeezed into this basket.

 This basket in the corner could hold one or two more quilts.

So .... that is it.  No more display space.

I've been trolling Kijiji for a cabinet of some sort.  Something sturdy is needed.  One was found.

Next step was to tell DH my plan.  He was sitting outside enjoying the moment.  I sat down beside him and one look at my face told him that I was up to something.  "What is going on?" he asked.  I let out a big sigh and told him we needed a bigger house.  LOL  We don't need a bigger one, this one is big as it is.   So, I told him of my plan and he agreed that we needed something else to store quilts in.

Out we went to look at the bookcase and it is sturdy.  Way too heavy for us to take home.  We needed help.  The Kijiji man offered to deliver the bookcase to us.  We didn't barter the price.  If he was willing to deliver, that was a great deal.  Later that afternoon, the bookcase arrived and soon after, it got spray painted and Varathaned.  One more sanding and a coat of Varathane and it is ready to be moved and ready for my quilts.

This bookcase is huge.  86" high, 16" deep and 42" wide.  This bookcase will hold many quilts.

Here is the bookcase with just a few quilts.  I figure that it could hold at least 32 (8 quilts per shelf) big queen size quilts plus more if the quilts are smaller.  The bookcase still needs another coat of Varethane and a good sanding to ensure there are no rough spots for my quilts to rub against.

Another quilt added .....

Yep, I'm happy now.

When I mentioned to Garage Girl Darlene about my new bookcase and how it will hold 32 big quilts, the topic lead to how many tops to be quilted and how many UFOs did I have.  I mentioned that all these items were on a computer file.

So ... how many finished tops waiting to be quilted by a LAer or by me?  There are 24 in total so far.

How many UFOs are there?  How about 38?  There are a number that have never been talked about on my blog.  One day there will be a story about them.

Oh dear God, we will need a bigger house!

Have a great day!

Need a name

Well, well, well .... my top is done!  Oh my, I didn't expect it to turn out like this.  So, so glad that I went with my initial decision to put those flowers on the border.  It was something that I wanted to try but didn't have THE quilt to do it on. 

This top was designed by me (using EQ7) back in April 2014.  Some flowers were doodled to see the effect.  Yes, yes, yes .... it just had to be done!  It was a lot of work, but, oh .... so .... worth .... it!

This pattern needs a name.  So far, it is called 9-patch circles.  Not very creative, eh!  Don't worry, something will come to me.

So, onto another UFO!

Have a great day!

Getting the applique done

Amazing how one border proceeded to two borders done!

Then a third border soon followed.  I am on a mission to get this done quickly.   As I was looking at this photo before download, it was noticed that some of the plain blocks on the outer part may need to be changed around a bit.  In this photo it seems that the right hand side looks a bit darker than the left side.  Best to fix this now before it heads out to a LAer.

In case your are wondering how I deal with the bulk while appliqueing, this is what I do.  The body of the top is folded just shy of the border (so that it doesn't interfere when I'm ready to do applique) and pinned in place.  It is easier this way to tame the bulk and do my applique without shuffling all the top each time I need to move the top in order to applique better.

Have a great day!

Three down ....

Three tops are now done from this original set of five UFO's.  Happy dance going on here!

 Here she is!  Doesn't this top look lovely!

Remember all those circles (you can see the tray of circles at the bottom of the photo) and leaves that I had been working on?  Well, this is my plan for them.  So, even though the borders are on, it is still officially not done yet.

Now, I've been asked about why I do applique on my borders after they are applied.  I've done applique on my borders before being applied and after.  I actually prefer after.  The con for this is that there is a lot of bulk of the top to deal with.

A few days later and almost one side complete.

Anyway, guess what I'll be busy working on?  :o)

Have a great day!

Up for the Challenge

Now that my wall hanging is blocked and dried, here it is hanging in our dining room.

Now for the details of how this hanging came to be.

This was a night guild (Northern Lights Quilter's Guild) mystery challenge back in 2014.  I'm not good at mysteries.  I have to see everything before even starting to work on something.  So, month after month the challenges were given out and saved by me.  After 6 months, the challenge was over and I could finally start.  I knew what to do.

First month, we were given the challenge fabric (the fabric on the right hand side of photo) and the directions were to make a flower.  We were instructed to think outside the box.  Why not a yo-yo flower?  How about four flowers?  That works for me.  A bit of red behind the flowers gave them a bit of pop.

Notice all the red buttons?  They were saved from all the thrift store shirts that have been bought over time.  I knew they were destined for something.

Don't forget to notice the hand quilting.  First time red thread was used.  My thread is not quilting thread.  I use Coat's Button and Carpet thread.  It is thicker, but not as thick as perle cotton.

Next month was a heart.  Could I manage a yo-yo heart?  It would add to the theme.  The heart was a bit tricky, but it worked out.  Again, a bit of red behind the heart to make it sparkle.

Then an insect.  Nothing elaborate here.  Just fussy cut out a butterfly.  Three butterflies to be exact.

Another challenge fabric was given out and a bird to make.  Hard as I tried,  I couldn't fit a bird into my design.  Think outside the box, we were told.  So, I did.  Put the bird on my label.  :o)

 Then an object.  I know, how about a ribbon with the challenge fabric on it.  Works for me.

The final part to the challenge was to make a block, any block of our choice.  A churn dash block was my choice.  The size of this block was 24" x 24" finished and it would frame my flower bouquet perfectly in the centre.

To finish off the look, a bit of embroidery was added here and there along with red buttons.

Overall size is 36" x 36".
So, that is how my challenge quilt came to be.  Think outside the box.  I think I did!
Have a great day!

Whirlygigs

Another quilt has been bound and ready to use!  Only five more to go .....

Whirlygigs

Thanks to Tella in Toronto for quilting this for me!

There is no pattern for this quilt.  It came from a little ad for a magazine (which no longer exists) and I fell in love with the quilt.  EQ7 came to the rescue and this is how my quilt came to be.

Although it is officially not autumn yet (not until September 22), it sure feels like autumn is here.  Leaves are changing colour, the nights and days are cooler.  Our spring and summer has been awful.  Cool with lots of rain.  All that rain means the leaves will put on a gorgeous display of colour.

So, the quilts around our home are getting changed to fall quilts.

The other thing that I have been meaning to do for many years is to get this project done.  So, time to dig out my paints and have some fun!  These letters were bought a few years before we moved from Toronto.  Five falls have come and gone ..... but not this year.  It is time to 'geterdone'.

Have a great day!