My 2020 Temperature quilt

A great distraction for me in 2020, in the midst of lockdowns and other public health restrictions etc etc,, was to make a temperature quilt.  What is a temperature quilt?...It is made by creating a range of temperatures and assigning one fabric to each set of numbers and then create a block for each day using the designated colour of fabric to denote the high and low temperature of the day.  I used a pattern by Canuck Quilter and you can find her free pattern HERE.  Thanks to Joanne for a fun, easy little block and the inspiration to carry on and finish this project. 

You will note that I did not choose blues for winter temps as you may think would be the thing to do.  I guess I would rather have a shot of sunny yellow in the winter. All the fabrics on the front are Kona cottons. Each repeat of the pattern is for six days. You can sew your block each day or like I did, every six days.  To finish the top off, I added paperpieced letters and numbers.   There are lots of different ideas for temperature quilts that you can find online. 

I pieced the backing together using a panel called Wonder by Carrie Bloomston.  I had some fabric from the same line in my stash so I added enough to make the backing fit.  

I quilted in free motion on my Pfaff PowerQuilter using Aurifil 50wt thread in a medium yellow shade in the coloured areas and white in the white areas. 

  

(as I posted this photo, I noticed I missed echo quilting an entire row)  I will fix that! 

It's not too late to start yourself a temperature quilt.  Lots of patterns and ideas on line to inspire you. Hope you had time to do some quilting today.😊 

Well, that was a fun quilt to make!

I just finished taking this sweet little quilt out of the dryer and I am in love!  It is so soft and crinkly.  It is from the pattern by Amy Ellis called "Dart" .  As soon as I saw this pattern online several months back, it called to me.  I could see all my low volume print scraps and my aqua/teal print scraps just having a ball. 

It was a lot of cutting and pressing scraps but I do love that part!  The blocks are 6" finished and my quilt ends up at 60" x 72".

There were hits of a corrally red in a few of the prints so I chose corrally red prints for the binding and I love how it picks up that colour in the quilt.  

I free motion quilted a horizonal loop-de-loop  

 

On the back,  Doiland Gloss Silver by Katarina Roccella for Art Gallery, and a narrow strip of Speckled in Metallic Turquoise by Rashida Coleman Hale and also Kona "Bahama Blue"  

Nice to finish up something! 

I can't believe that my UFO pile has only one quilt top left to finish. It's a wedding quilt and that will have to wait until next year (hopefully!) 

Have a quilty day! 💖

My ScrapSnap Quilt

Great big thank you to Kari at quiltsforthemaking.blogspot.com for the wonderful, scrap busting quilt along   If you go to the link you can check it out and join in at anytime.  The quilt along was to sew 10 blocks a month for 12 months but I ended up sewing 11 rows of 10 blocks each all at once.  I came up with a setting design that I love. I have enough scraps cut to sew another version but I think I will wait for a while.  

60" x 66"

 

For backing, I chose "Cafe Cup" from the Clover collection by Alexia Abegg (which I bought at Sparrow Quilt Co. in Edmonton a few years ago) and a strip of "Eclipse" by Sarah Watts
For thread on bottom - Aurifil 40# white

                                                   

For quilting -  These colours in the coloured strips and Aurifil 40#wt in the low volume areas.  

Lots of thread changes but worth it I think.  Gotta have good tension with coloured thread on top and white in the bottom. There was one small area that I just couldn't get the tension correct (ended up being a needle problem) but decided I didn't want to take it out. 

Here's some close up of the quilting I did in free motion on my Pfaff Powerquilter 16.0  

love that little pink raccoon peeking out!

  

This was a super fun quilt to make. Check out #scrapsnapquiltalong on Instagram for lots of inspiration.

Hope it's sunny and warm, not too hot, where you are. 😊 

"Tokyo Subway Map Quilt" done and dusted!

Here is "Tokyo Subway Map Quilt", a pattern by Elizabeth Hartman..  I sewed it up last August and just got around to quilting it this past week.  Only took me two afternoons so I don't know why I procrastinated for nearly a year!  

It consists of 1,600 x 2 1/2" squares.   so ends up approx. 80" x 80".

A fun project.  I loved picking out all the colours,  a lot from the scrap basket..  The background is Kona White .

      

I pieced the backing using my precious "Nummers" along with some "Simultaneous" by Katarina Roccella and a bit of Kona. 

I free motion quilted on my Pfaff Powerquilter 16.0 using Aurifil 40# in colour 2024 White.  

Hope all is well with you and that you are getting some things knocked off your list. 😊 

"Aviatrix" is now off The List

I bought the pattern for "Aviatrix" by Elizabeth Hartman a few years back.  I sewed it up into a top last July and quilted it during Stay the Blazes Home May.  Another one off my mind and also off my list of  "I have to make that quilt" quilts!

I used Elizabeth's Winter Palette. Because I'm a winter!  The solids were all from stash.  If I didn't have the exact Kona colour I used one on either side of it on the Kona Colour Card.  I did have to buy a bit more of  Robert Kaufman Essex yarn-dyed linen blend in Steel for the background and I had plenty of the Kona Snow for the block accent fabric.

I really enjoyed sewing this pattern.  The instructions were very good I made a point of slowing down and making sure that each border was measured perfectly before adding.  It sure was nice to get to the end and not have to square it up hardly at all.  It measures 80" x 80"

I started the free motion quilting in the centre block and then quilted each successive border in turn. That worked really well.  It gave me lots of time to figure out what I would quilt in the next border. A ton of quilting and I was worried I would not get the usual crinkly, soft goodness that I love but it did not disappoint. After a turn in the washer and dryer I have a huggable, snuggable quilt for me.  

I used Aurifil 40wt  #2610 Light Blue Grey on top (except for white areas)
in the white areas I used   Aurifil 40wt  #2024 White 
In the bobbin  Aurifil 50wt #2615 Aluminum

On the back -  "Fragile" by Zen Chic  
Binding  -  Kona "Gotham Grey"    

 

 

    

Hope you had time lately to finish up some projects.  😊

My "Reminiscence"

I bet my MMQG friends will be surprised to see that I have finally finished this quilt.  I have been dragging it back and forth to our Sew Ins to work on for several years now trying to get the handquilting finished.  I lost interest in finishing it when I discovered that I only wanted to be a free motion quilter and my handquilting came to a standstill. There was a only a bit done on it and I had a long way to go but I didn't have time for handquilting anymore.  With the Stay at Home thing going on I figured now was the time to get the handquilting finished up.  I am in love again!  It turned out so soft and cuddly and lovely and get this....I stopped handquilting at the borders and finished up the two borders with free motion quilting on my Pfaff Powerquilter 16.0.    I threw a little modern into a traditional quilt.  I made it mine! Awesome!

A bit about this quilt.....

From the pattern by Rabbit Factory ..."Reminiscence" 

I only did 9 blocks and omitted the swag border.  My thought was to use mine as a wallhanging in my livingroom which, at the time, I had painted to match the tan colours! Change of plan...this will not be going on my livingroom wall now. I know someone who will love to own this.  It will be gifted. 

All the fabrics for the applique were given to me in kit form by some awesome friends of mine who were members of the Marco Polo Quilt Guild in Saint John, NB, when I lived there in the early 90s.  I hand appliqued the blocks using the back-basting method taught to me by a wonderful friend and amazing appliquer, Kathy Barton.  Miss you!  

May 2011 - There are 175 - 3" nine patch blocks to make up the sashings.  Each of those has a triangle sewn to each corner. That's 700 triangles!  

March 2013 - started handquilting 

May 2020 -  Finished!  Yahoo!  Off my list and off my mind!

My favourite block  

Take care, stay safe and I hope you get something finished up.  It's a great feeling!
Linda
                                                                  💖

Blogging break over!

Guess I took a blogging break!  Nearly six months since my last post!  Yikes! 

During this time of staying home, I figured it was time to check in and see if all is well with you.  

I am doing ok and sewing away, organizing scraps, basting quilts and quilting up a few.  I am trying not to start any new large projects until I get a few more quilted and off the UFO list.

Here is one that I finished up today with no one in particular in mind as of yet. A great way to use up a  layer cake from a few years ago.  I threw out the label so I don't remember which line or designer these squares are from.   I separated the layer cake into blues/greens for the front and gold/orange/brown for the back, added the 10" grey squares for a simple design. Took a while to get everything to line up during basting so that the back was in synch with the front or at least close. A reversible quilt.   

55" x 65"

lol  a blue one escaped from the front!

I free motion quilted with a zigzaggy weave design.  I used a variegated light to dark grey Aurifil colour number 4670 in 40wt. 

Not my favourite quilt or my best job but I did use up the layer cake that was kicking around for a few years.  I am trying to use up stuff while we are staying at home for who knows how long. 

Take care of yourself and those around you.

                            💗 Stay The Blazes Home 💗

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XK6UnPoQhhA

Star Quilt Maker by Lesley

Just had to pop in and show you the sweetest little quiltlet ever!  Made for me by Lesley the Cuddle Quilter.  My sweet friends and I (NSQBQ), for the past several years, have swapped quilted items.  This past year our theme was "words".  Take a look at this little gem that I received. Look at all the detail that Lesley has sewn into this.  It is called "Star Quilt Maker".  Lesley is one herself!  Look at the cute little detachable letters, each one free motion quilted and bound, held on by elastic and a star shaped button.  The background in selvedges, my fave!  And the back, with the binding hand stitched on the back.  So much to see.  Lesley used every text print she had and even wrote freehand on one piece herself.  Note Lesley's very own fabric in the lower left corner.  She has captured most of my quilty likes in this one little 20" x 24" creation.  This will hang proudly in my sewing room.  Thank you, Lesley! 💖

Friends who quilt are the best!!!   Have yourself a wonderful quilty day. 😊

Deer Me!

Lots of sewing in my world since my last post. I want to show you the wallhanging that I finished.  It has been on my To-Do List for a long, long time. I first saw this pattern, "Oh Deer" by Laura Heine a few years ago and I was drawn to it even though I am not a big fan of deer on my quilts. Go figure!   I bought an entire bolt of the fabric with the deer.  It is called Doiland Gloss Silver by Katarina Roccella and then I spent a long time gathering just what I wanted to create my collaged deer.    I enjoyed the entire process.  My first time making a collage.  Cutting all the flower motifs from my yardage was fun but I sure made a mess.  

I raw edged appliqued the outer deer shape and the collage in free motion and quilted the background in free motion too.  A fun project!  It hangs in my family room.  
Here's a shot of the back.  

I hope you are having a great summer and also getting time to work on your projects.  😊

Quilt Canada and Family

Just popping in to let you know that Quilt Canada 2019 is happening starting tomorrow, June 12,  and running until the 15th of June, in Ottawa.  Since RetiredHub has family in Ottawa/Kanata, we have combined attending the quilt show and visiting with family for a few days.  I will probably be at the quilt show on Thursday so if you happen to be there as well, shout out to me.  I may be lurking around my lovely little guild's concurrent show which is also happening and we are all very proud of the work of our awesome members.   I was happy to have a quilt, that I worked on with my sweet friend and fellow quiltmate,  Karen of KaHolly, chosen to be part of the display.  You can see more about this quilt, called "Best Friends Share, here.  I am just about to hop a plane so maybe I will see you there.   

Have a wonderful, quilty day! 😊

Potter's Wheel Interrupted

Just finished up this 42" x 52"  quilt that I made using 12 blocks from the Potter's Wheel pattern by Briar Hill Designs.  I wimped out at 12 blocks, 8 on the front and 4 on the back,  mostly because I didn't have enough fabric to do what I wanted to make a large quilt and I just didn't want to buy more fabric so I opted for something smaller. I set the blocks so that I had lots of negative space to try my hand at free motion baptist fans. I didn't pre mark the fans and things got a bit wonky and I decided to just go for it and quilt the way that makes me happy.   I used three different colours of thread..mint, pink and grey.  The prints are Tula Pink and the solid background is Kona Gotham Grey.  

Hope you had a day filled with quilting! 😊

14 quilts in 12 weeks! Goal Accomplished!

The last quilt in my "Golden Oldies" Quest is now complete!  WooHoo! 
This last one will be called "A Finish for Ann". 
The front is made using string blocks that I sewed on telephone book pages.  
You can read about the significance of this quilt top I made in May of 2010 HERE. 
 I used another UFO on the back.  This was not pieced by me, it was pieced by my quilting buddy Ann so I thought I would make a reversible quilt with both sides being connected to my friend.  For me, it is a memory quilt.  Well. that's it!  No more older quilt tops to finish.  All in all, since Jan. 1, I have completed 14 quilts, 10 of which were my older UFOs.  I am going to take a little rest from basting and quilting and binding.  I still have to make labels but that will get done in the near future. 

58" x 75"

I quilted in freemotion wavy lines using Aurifil 2024 white.  

Thanks for following along with me on my quest.  It was fun and also cost me a bit of money....1 x 30 yrd bolt of Hobb's 20/80 batting, 6 cans of spray baste, 3 boxes of Colour Catchers, 2 large bottles of Dawn.  Maybe I should sell a few!! 

Hope you are getting some older projects finished up too.  It's a great feeling!  😊