A little bit of sewing.

A little bit of sewing has been going on in my studio.  In between the lull before Xmas.  Gift wrapping to do; Xmas decor is now out and on display and those pesky last minute gifts to get.  Just a little bit of time to do some relaxing sewing and hand work.

This UFO (just the star blocks) hasn't been touched since 2005.  LOL  I was thinking of adding some crazy blocks because the decision was made to reduce the original size of the quilt to a lap size instead.  I just want to move this UFO to a flimsy stage and be done with it.  Will it get done before the year is out?  No, but at least it is out in the open to work on again.

A neutral beige to surround those crazy blocks will give me the look I want.  This UFO is on one design wall.

This project is on the other design wall.  Time to get this project out and worked on as well or it will be shelved and become an UFO.  Side and top/bottom filler pieces are being added to the section on the left.

Oh look, another deer in our neighbour's backyard.

Soon, it will be time to look back this year and see all the quilts and tops that got done and was it a good year or not.  For me it was.  Quite a lot of quilts got finished which is such a good thing.

I have an elderly aunt (she is only 15 years older than me) that is sick with cancer and has only a few months to live.  That is my motivation to get those tops that have been sitting in a bin out and get backings done and move them on to my LAer to work her magic.  No point in procrastinating any longer.  Just get stuff done.

2020 is fast approaching and that will be the next time I post.  Too many other things to take care of for now.

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!

Stonehenge challenge .... the journey!

This is my secret project that I've been working on since September.  I don't know why, but it was hard for me to get motivated to finish this project.

For the Northcott challenge, we had to buy 12 different kits and all the fabric on the front had to be from the Summer Solstice line of the Stonehenge fabric.

My friend, Darlene (owner of the garage we sew in), had her husband pick up some of the kits for us as he travelled by some of those towns/quilt stores for his work.  Some kits we ordered on line and some kits we got when we did a shop hop one day with friends.  We actually ended up with more than the required 12 kits and were able to pick and choose which ones we liked or needed to complete our top.

Darlene and I are both making a quilt for this challenge.  We really want to win the trip to England and Stonehenge.

Slowly, one by one, those kits got made up into blocks.  Some blocks were really complicated and others were simple.  One kit was short on fabric to complete the block.  That was annoying.

Then, my quilting groove came back.  Block by block they were getting done.

Then, Revvy came along and things kinda ground to a halt.  She was just so fascinated with everything I did in my studio.  She gave a helping hand quite often regardless if I wanted it or not.

 

My blocks even got the smell/taste test!

My top was coming together.

I was able to get things done while Revvy was keeping busy looking outside or sleeping.

Some Celtic applique was added in the centre.

 

A close-up of the applique.

For some strange reason Revvy was quite fascinated with my blocks hanging on my design wall.  

Oh, oh, when her mouth opened up, I knew finally what she was going for .... the pins.  In the mornings when I came into my studio and looked at this project, some of the pins that were pinned in the upright position were in the down position.  Revvy got to them during the night and dragged them down or right out and some pins were found on the carpet.  I was ever so careful with my box of pins and they were always hidden away in a drawer.  On the design wall was another thing.  They were up for grabs.  Quite literally!

 Hmmmm .... I don't quite like this block!

Finally, a large piece of fabric had to be hung to hide the pins.  The look on her face says it all.  She is not happy!  I took her fun away!  Bah humbug!

With and without her help, this top finally was finished and off to the LAer it went.

To make a long story short,  Miss Revvy was finally packed up and relocated to my sister's home.  Another escapade with pins and a visit to the vet and a $329.00 Xray later, Miss Revvy was not good to have around in my studio.  I didn't want her to get hurt or injured.  She was also fascinated with the needle on my sewing machine going up and down and knew it was time before that needle got into her paw.  She also loved to chew on the lever that raised/lowered my sewing foot and I had to hide that from her with a big piece of fabric weighed down with weights so that she could not get under it.  Nope, it was time for her to move on.   Her owner (my sister's youngest daughter) will be here in a few weeks and she will take her back home after her visit here.

It has been a week since she moved out and we actually do miss her, but not enough to want to catsit her again.  She was a handful.

Now that both Darlene's and my quilt are done, we met in her garage for photos.

This is Darlene's version.

This is my version.

Both have now been submitted to Northcott and it is in their hands now.  Will we be a contender or not for one of their prizes?  We shall see.

Well, I have rambled on for a bit and time to post this and move onto something else.  Perhaps a UFO?

Have a great day!

Humble Xmas Quilt

I've been promising photos of this quilt for a while now and finally got around to taking it outside looking for that perfect shot.  The day was dreary and my quilt sort of gleams against the brick wall and the wee bit of snow on the ground.

The backing on my quilt has deers on it.  So sweet!

Quilt Details:
Block size:  8" finished
No pattern name/source available.  Had the pattern, adjusted it to my taste and added the trees and then lost the pattern.  Oh well, that happens, eh!
Started:  April 2015
Top Finished:  January 2019
Quilt Finished:  September 2019
Quilt Size:  55-1/4" x 73-3/4" (before quilting, washing and drying:  58-1/2" x 74-3/4")
Quilt Batting:  Hobbs poly/cotton 80/20
Machine pieced by me.
Machine quilted by Kat's Quilts

This was a fun quilt to make.  It is amazing what one can make out of scraps from a lady who was moving to another city and wanted to have a purge of her quilting stuff.  With the help of her friends (Karin and Jeanne) they asked if I wanted some of her scraps.  YES!  Some of the fabric pieces in this quilt had to be sewn together to make the exact size strip/square needed.  To me, this is a humility or a very humble quilt.  Just make do with what you have and go from there and unless you look really close, no one will ever know.  Absolutely fun!

So, there you have it, my "Humble Xmas" quilt.

A few days after taking these photos outside, this is what it looks like now .... a Winter Wonderland.

 Oh look, a deer!

Have a great day!

Aren't I clever?

Just look at this quilt!  Beautiful, don't you think!

How many hours did it take me to do all those blocks .... the applique?  Why haven't you seen them before on my blog?  Because .... I didn't .... make .... them.

This is a cheater panel that I bought from someone's stash (thank you, Kelly), cut the blocks up, added sashing and borders and viola, a completed top.

For a while now, I've been wanting to have my lovely LAer (Kat's Quilts) try something different and she was willing to give it a go.

Look closely at the machine quilting.  Five different edge-to-edge (E2E) panto quilting designs instead of just the one E2E panto design.  This was a learning quilt and a sacrificial quilt in case it didn't turn out well.  We both learned what works well and what doesn't and the next few quilts will be better.

Now, this is not my idea.  Nope.  The clever person that showed a quilt done like this on her blog is none other than Edyta Sitar of Laundry Basket Quilts.  I don't have that link to show you, but you can browse through her blog and find that quilt.  It is from a blue/white sew-along that she had from her book "Patches of Blue".  I now have that book and it is on my 'to do' list.

Both hubby and I love this quilt and it is currently hanging in our dining room.

So there, a quilt but not really my quilt!

To my American neighbours, Happy Thanksgiving! 

Have a great day!

It has been a while ....

I forgot to post about what I've been up to lately.

This feline is keeping my hubby and I busy.  She is only a few years old and wants to play, play, play .... and then sleep the day away.

Anything and everything is a toy for her.  Ripping plastic bags .... why not!  Especially when those plastic bags hold a kit for a block.  Sure rip away and hopefully everything can be found afterwards when I need those small pieces of fabric!

Your block instructions can improve with a few holes in the paper ..... right?  Yep, rip away!

Plastic bags are fun and the bigger, the better!

Looking out the window at the passing world is interesting!

Squirrels in the backyard is keeping her attention!  She was a street rescue and has lived the last few years in high rise apartments or a basement apartment that don't look out onto street life.  Our home is perfect for that and is a novelty to her.

On the other hand, she is a great helper!  Sometimes!  LOL  Do you need any help holding this thing that I'm sitting on in place?  Actually, I do need some help, thank you, Revvy!

I was putting a sleeve onto this top.  More photos about this later.

What do you mean I have to move?  I want to stay right here, thank you!

Now, onto quilty stuff.  What in the world are these cylinder things?  Pool noodles with sleeves on them.  I brought in a wall hanging to be appraised at our quilt show in September and when the appraiser saw just the noodle, she told me to put a sleeve onto it to protect my hanging from any chemicals in the noodle.  So, that is what I've been busy doing.

See, quite a number of my larger wall hangings are rolled up around a sleeved noodle.  This way, they will not have those dreaded creases when it's their turn to be hung up.   

Soon, I can reveal my secret project.  Lots of photos have been taken during the process, so you can follow along as all is revealed.

Revvy is sleeping now and I can get some sewing done without her help.  Thank heavens for small mercies!  LOL

Have a great day!

An original

It seems that comments are not coming to my email again.  Can I remember how that got fixed last time?  To all of you who left comments on my last few posts, that is the reason why your comment wasn't replied to.

Nan V left a comment about this quilt.  Do I remember the pattern?  Yes, it is my own pattern that was designed because I so wanted colours of autumn on a tree branch that was not yellow or green.  Perhaps one day this pattern might be written up for sale ..... some day, one day ......

Then, another request for the pattern for this quilt.  Sorry, but this is another one of my designs.  Two requests within days of each other.  Is that a sign that I need to really think about selling my patterns?

 

We've been busy ..... with this feline cat.  Her name is Revvy.  We are just babysitting her for a month while her owner is away on business.  We've forgotten what it is like to have a cat in the house and are enjoying her a lot, but not enough to want another cat again.  It broke our hearts when our two girls passed on and we just don't want to go through that again.  Plus, we are getting older.  That is something to think about also.

My studio and house had to be cat-proofed.  She gets into everything.  A major cleanup had to happen in my studio.  She seems to like pins for some odd reason .....  Anyway, the cleanup was good to have happen.  

A bit of quilting on a secret project has been going on.  Reveal will be in a few months' time.  Be patient.

Hubby got the snow blower working.  We are expecting about a foot of snow on Friday, so we needed to get that machine up and running.  A new pair of winter boots were bought this week.  I'm ready!

Have a great day!

Pumpkin time!

Finally, my newest pumpkin quilt:  "A Taste of Autumn".  So perfect for this time of year and I'm so thrilled with it!

Quilt Details:

Block size:  10" x 12" finished

Quilt Size:  57-1/4" x 78-3/4" (top size before quilting, washing and drying: 60-1/4" x 81-3/4")

Top Started:  Nov. 2018

Top Finished:  Nov. 2018

Quilt Finished:  Sept. 2019

Pattern Source:  based on quilt by Thimblecreek Quilts called "Rotogravure"

Batting:  Hobbs polyester

Machine quilted by:  Kat's Quilts

This quilt was made as a sew-along with my friend, Mary, from Toronto.  When I showed her my finished quilt, she laughed because that was the quilt that was on their bed.

To go along with my new pumpkin quilt, here are my other autumn quilts. 

It is our Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada.  Time to celebrate all that we are thankful for with family and friends.

Have a great day!