Concentration?

What concentration?  What can I say ... I saw this fabric and it spoke to me and I just had to start playing with it.

I just cut the fabric into squares to make a basket weave effect.  So effective and so easy, it is almost like cheating. 

Have I abandoned my other projects?  Nope,  they are still in my face and they are still being worked on.  This one sort of sneaked in!  :o)

However, I did stay focused long enough to finish two borders on my Gumball quilt.  Only one more to do and three circles in the centre section.

Some of you have wondered if it is a Baptist Fan that is being used?  Yes ... but cut off.  My blocks finish at 12" and the fan design is alternated every 6".  Makes for a total different look.  Again, at first, I wasn't sure if I would like this or not.  YES.   I'll definitely be using this design again.

Have a great day!

Did the shuffle ....

Hubby and I were wondering what it would look like if we moved a piece of furniture and changed things around a bit.  All my wall hangings  just seem to overwhelm this piece of furniture.  So, without further ado .... this sideboard was moved ...

to this side of our dining room.  It looks way better here and we can enjoy the workmanship
that went into making it.

Now, it frees up space and we can get around our dining table easier.  Also, my wall hangings will show up better.   I'll be making some larger quilts for this wall.

Now, back to quilting.  A few more circles got quilted on this quilt. Can we say yeah!!  I finally figured out what to do with the borders.  The rest of the hand quilting will go quickly now.

Ummm ..... well, ummm .... I did get side tracked with this girly project.  It only took a few days to get this all put together.  Then, the decision was made to make this quilt into a bed size, so two sections will have to be added onto the length.  I haven't figured out yet what they will be, but it will come to me soon enough.

Finally, this porcupine stayed around our hill for two days.  He was in our pine tree and hubby and I climbed through the ice and snow to get a better look.   This was as close as I wanted to get.

Have a great day!

Something different

Something totally different for me.

This type of pattern is not my usual style ... but what the heck ... why not try it out.  Our day guild is making this pattern and I had a bin full of blue fabric scraps.

Gumballs from McCall's Quilting, April 2008.

Guess what?  Before I knew it, one border got sewn on and then the outer borders.  Bonus ..... this top didn't sit on the shelf at all waiting for borders.  That is not like me at all.  What is going on????

Since I'm on a roll, I really should get this top marked up for machine quilting and just get it done!

Top size:  63-1/4" x 87-1/2"  

Have a great day!

A New Creation

Back in the summer of last year, We 3 Quilters decided to do another fabric exchange to make Bonnie Hunter's Scrappy Mountain Majesties pattern.   Throughout the summer and fall, the blocks were worked on here and there and eventually they were all done.  They just sat in a box until yesterday and viola ..... up on my design wall they went and talk about instant gratification!

What colours did we choose?  Reds and neutrals.  Below is the layout that I decided to go with. 

Now, I promised my friends that my version would have a twist.  So, my twist is adding my trademark stars!  Are any of you surprised?  :o)

My Promise of Spring is a top .... I just need to take a photo of it and will be doing a post sometime soon about it.

Oh, my, my ..... good progress being done here!

Have a great day!

Promise of Spring

I have wanted to make this quilt (Kim Diehl design ... love, love, love her patterns) for some time now (as in years) and finally bit the bullet and started it.  Also, a break was needed from working on my UFO's all the time and to be honest, I was getting a tad bored with them.  So, it was time for something new!

In my stash, there is a bin of plaids and another bin of stripes.  Perfect for this quilt.  Here is my first block ... and .... no, I'm not following the pattern exactly (nothing new there)!  The pattern templates have been reduced by 80% to fit onto the lighter squares.  Block size is 24" square (as per the original pattern).  That is a big block for me and something that I don't really do a lot of.

It is great to have another design board on hand so that my big design wall doesn't get disturbed and I can play with something new, while still keeping my UFO's in my face so that they can be worked on between blocks.

A bit more prepping and all the applique is ready for sewing down.  Yes, it feels good to start something new.

Have a great day!

Coming along well ....

My Angles and Squares top is really starting to take shape.  I just need to make a few more star blocks and finish sewing everything together.  I'm still tweaking the block placements as I go along.  Since taking this photo, blocks got moved around and they will move again. 

For the stars, I tried using just one colour, but they just didn't sing .... so the red and blue stars will stay.  The borders will pick up those same colours to help calm the middle section and give the eye a place to rest.  Oh yes, I am very happy with this layout.

This project was started Oct. 17 .... can I get it to the top stage within a month of starting?  This is not normal for me to be this quick, so we will see .....

Have a great day!

Angles and Squares

Last month, I joined the Near North Quilting Guild here in North Bay and signed up for two classes with Heather Stewart (who was the guest teacher).  Angles and Squares was one of the classes and we learned a short-cut for making this block.  You can go here to read Heather's post about her time at our guild.  Heather is a fantastic teacher and I truly learned so much from her and have incorporated many of her tips ..... except for pinning.  What can I say, I'm the queen of pinning and quilting is just not comfortable without my straight pins.  :o)

Heather did ask us to be creative with our layout and that is what I am aiming for.  This layout is OK but it needed something more.

 

What about the addition of some stars.  I couldn't decide on red or blue stars and may just go with the two colours. 

 

Can you see what I'm doing with the striped fabric?  This will make it more interesting instead of having the stripes going all the same way.

We'll see if it stays like this or those stars get taken out.  That is all part of the creative process.  Playing around with the 'what if ' ideas.

 

I will be posting about the other class that I took from Heather.  Log Cabin Chevrons and I tell you, log cabin blocks and I do not get along well.  But that is another story for another day.

 

Have a great day!