What's Happening

 I want to share with you my latest finish.  This is my creation as part of my lovely little guild's Executive Challenge for this year.  The challenge was to take a traditional block pattern and put a modern spin on it.  I chose ShooFly and here is my modern take.  I made 3, 6 and 9 inch shoofly blocks in an array of solid colours, bordered them to bring them up to 10 1/2 inches unfinished and then sliced them through the middle horizontally and then mixed up the tops and bottoms and sewed them back together. The solid fabrics in the blocks and the two inner borders and sashing are all Kona Solids and the prints in the blocks are "Modern Marks" by Christa Quilts.  And for the last border...my fave...Nummers.   I free motion quilted back and forth, this way and that way.  What fun!  And finished up with pieced binding.  

"3, 6, 9 - It's Shoo-Fly Time"

For thread...I used  Aurifil #50wt  colour 2975 a deep gold in the blocks.   This colour was amazing!  I will definitely be using it in future projects.   In the dark grey border I used Aurifil #50wt colour 5004 and Aurifil white #50wt in the white borders and in the bobbin.  

Hope you get time to create something today! 😊

A few finishes for ME

I have a few finishes to share with you.  I have been sewing a lot this past month and I am happy with how things are turning out. 

First, my "Sewing Machine Quilt"
pattern by Cheryl Arkison

Measures - 50" x 70"  

35 x 10 1/2" unfinished blocks (some blocks are to the pattern and some are improv pieced)
Fabric - Sewing Machines Blueberry Park by Karen Lewis
Background - various low volume fabrics
Backing - Crosshatch by Carolyn Friedlander in Caramel 

Binding - Manatee by Free Spirit (with bits of Blueberry Park)

Free motion quilted by ME on my Pfaff  PowerQuilter16 "Petunia"
55,743 stitches
Thread - Aurifil 50wt #2024 

My second finish is "Banner Year" 
designed by Andrea Tsang Jackson, 3rd Story Workshop

Measures 69" x 88"
Fabric - Banners are made from some Alison Glass, Libs Elliott
Background Fabrics are Kona solids from white to dark grey
Backing - 100% cotton sheet with Canadian city names
Binding - Manatee by Free Spirit

Quilted in free motion by ME on my Pfaff PowerQuilter 16.0 for a total of 237,817 stitches!
using Aurifil 50# thread
 in colour numbers 2024, 2600, 2606, and 5004

and lastly, A Jelly Roll Rug.  A fun project! I made this from 
a Bali Pop that was probably 10 years old.  

That's it for now.  I am now working on my creation for my guild Executive Challenge.  I chose Shoo Fly and the challenge is to take a traditional block pattern and update it.  More on this soon.

Hope you had time to create something today.  😊

What's Happening!!

April is here...no snow on the ground...still cool and I am getting ready for a much-needed getaway...Maritime Modern Quilt Guild's 3rd Annual Quilting Retreat at beautiful White Point Beach Resort by the ocean near Liverpool, Nova Scotia., April 12 to 15.  Here is the link to a live webcam of the view we will have. 

 I have spent time precutting a few projects that I will be working on over the retreat weekend.

First up, "Banner Year" designed by Andrea Tsang Jackson of 3rd Story Workshop. A Canadian designer! My fave!

 "Banner Year" made by Adrienne Klenck of Seam Work. (with permission) It is so lovely in person. (and so is Adrienne!😊)

 Andrea is my friend and guildmate and she will be attending retreat so she will be nearby if I have any questions or problems.  Check out her website to learn about her amazing quilting journey.  
I will be doing something different for the background using Kona solids and for the banners I am using Alison Glass and Libs Elliott fabrics.  If you follow me on Instagram I will probably be posting progress pics from retreat.  

My second project that I will be sewing up at retreat is "The Sewing Machine Quilt" by Cheryl Arkison, another awesome  Canadian designer. 

I bought this pattern in Calgary when I visited last year.  Cheryl will be spending time with my lovely little guild, MMQG, in the fall with a class and a trunk show.  Can't wait!

I have 35 x 10 1/2" blocks made using my collection of Blueberry Park fabrics by Karen Lewis to make the sewing machines and assorted low volumes for the backgrounds.  It was super fun to make.   I love improv piecing so I was in my glory making this one.  
Just need to sew the rows together and get it basted and quilted.  This one is for me!

I will also be taking a few small items to sew and of course there will be some guild projects to work on so I think my weekend will be full. 

Less than a week to wait for total quilty immersion! 

What about you?  Do you retreat?  

My Giveaway Winner and 2 finishes

Congratulations to Jennifer @Little Black Cat Quilting! She is the winner of my 10th Anniversary giveaway.  I have contacted her and her prize of a jelly roll of batiks is on its way in the next few days.

I have been sewing a lot the past week or so.   A while back I had sewn a bunch of selvedges onto leftover batting strips.  I finally decided to do something with those strips.  I sewed them into columns with a narrow strip between each and added borders.  I free motion quilted using Aurifil 50# thread in white.  I quilted right through all the selvedges and tried to mimic the dots on the selvedges in the quilting at the bottom. I thought it would be hard to quilt through especially since the selvedge strips were sewn onto batting and then I used batting again to sandwich the whole thing, but no, it didn't make a difference at all. 
 I used my favourite grey solid, Free Spirit Manatee for the binding.

What! No Blue?   40" x 46"

a Moda print on the back.  

a close-up

Another finish.  I made this to show my guildmates what you can make with a 10 degree wedge ruler.  I am not mathematically inclined so I won't attempt to explain angles etc.  I will tell you that I had no idea how my little quilt would end up when I started to cut out wedges.  I knew I wanted a circle and I knew it would take 36 wedges to make that circle.  I had two WOF 5" strips of fabric and just laid the ruler on where it pleased me and cut away!  I am totally happy with the result.    

"Ombre Feathers"  26" x 26"

The circle fabric is Ombre Metallic Confetti by V and Co.  Soooo pretty! I raw edge appliqued the wedges onto the background fabric, which is Doiland Gloss in Silver from Katarina Roccella's "Indelible" line by Art Gallery.  I stippled the background using Aurifil white.   I quilted the feathers using Aurifil 40# in colour 4093 using a 90/14 Superior topstitch needle.  I topstitched the binding, Kona Glacier, on with a specialty stitch on my Pfaff QE 4.0. 

 Have you seen the awesome quilts that Christina Cameli makes with the 10 degree ruler? 

Here's the backing fabric I used.  I purchased this while visiting Quincy's Quilting in Leduc, Alberta last September. 

 

That's it for now.  I hope you get a chance to finish up a project today.  It sure feels good! 😊

Happy News!

I have been so preoccupied with life lately that I didn't notice that my 10 year anniversary passed by last month.  Wow! 10 years!  I don't post as much on my blog as I used to  and that is only because Facebook and Instagram have wiggled their way into my life.  I do like those platforms but my blog is my all-time love.  It is my journal, my diary.  I know I need to spend some time updating things but please know that I will get to it.  So, that being said, I think I need to have a giveaway to say thanks to all my loyal followers.  I have a sweet little jelly roll of batiks that I will send the lucky winner. I will choose a winner by random generator from my followers to date.  I will choose a winner on Sunday, March 11.  Good Luck!   UPDATE:  My giveaway is now closed.  A winner has been chosen and once I confirm via email I will announce my lucky follower.

Now for some exciting news!  I have been awarded a spot in the  Feedspot 20 Top Scrap Quilt Blog.  I am #17!  Isn't that awesome!!  

Moving right along....

The first two months of 2018 have seen very little quiltmaking in my world.  All my attention has been on my parents.  Sadly, my sweet Dad passed away on Feb. 17.  I was there to hold his hand . 

Life goes on and I am just getting back into the swing of things.

 I have signed up for a quilt along with Emily Dennis at Quilty Love   .  A few of my quilty friends are signed up too so should be fun. 

Here is a shot of the fabrics I am using for this quilt. 

Ombre Confetti Metallic by V and Co for Moda

I want to tell you about a class I will be offering soon.  My sweet friend, Adrienne, is living her dream as she has opened a sewing studio/classroom in Dartmouth, NS.  It is called Seam Work.  You can read all about it if you click on the link....

Seam Work

My class is called "Scrapmaster and Friends" and will be held on March 17.  I will be sharing all I know about storing, cutting, sewing and loving fabric scraps.  I have been busy the past few days sewing up samples for the class.  It will be a ton of fun.  There are still a few spots available and I would love for you to join me.

  

My lovely little guild, the Maritime Modern Quilt Guild is having a block lotto coming up soon.  That means that you make the chosen block or two or more and for each block you make you get that many chances to win all blocks.  You could win enough to make a decent sized quilt.  I made two blocks so I get two chances to win. Fingers crossed.

Well, I have a ton of sewing to catch up on so I better get moving.  My to-do list is mostly selfish as I don't have any time sensitive quilts to make in the near future.  No weddings, no babies so far this year.  That could change quickly! 

Hope you get time to do something quilty today!💖

My First Quilty Finish for 2018!

My normal routine has been upset lately so I haven't been sewing very much.  My 90 year old Dad fell and broke his hip which required surgery and a hospital stay so I have been spending time with him and also making sure that my 86 year old mother gets back and forth to be with him.  A lot of uncertainty right now so it's one day at a time and keeping positive.  Sewing helps me do that!

I made four of the Preppy the Whale blocks by Elizabeth Hartman .  Two pink and two blue.  I like oversized designs so I enlisted the help of a very talented quilty friend who enlarged the whale pattern for me.  I had already used one of the whales, a pink one, to make this baby quilt for my great niece.

 and I used one of the blue ones to make a quilt for a special little baby boy who shall remain nameless as I want it to be a surprise.  Think I will make matching pillowcases with the remaining two whale blocks. This little quilt is my first finish for 2018. I don't have a name for it yet.  

43" x 48" 

The grey strips and border squares are from the scrap bin

quilted on my Pfaff QE 4.0 in free motion  and also using a preprogrammed serpentine stitch in every alternate grey strip with Aurifil 50# 

And the back.....This is called Hook Line and Sinker from the Dark and Stormy collection from Dear Stella fabrics with the addition of Kona Bahama Blue, which was also used for the binding

Sooo cute!  

I hope you get some time today to do something you love. 

Gift updates

The Happy Couple, my awesome nephew Adam and his beautiful wife, Emily, in Calgary, Alberta, posing with their wedding quilt that I made for them.  I am so happy with how this quilt turned out and so happy with how much it is loved. They are off on their honeymoon today.  

apparently Cody the Cat loves the wedding quilt too!

another secret gift revealed....made for my new great niece so that her Nana could fill it with lots of wonderful gifts on her first Christmas.  

Happy New Year! 🎆

Bring it on, 2018!

As promised, here are the last photos of my 2017 projects.  I am very lucky to be able to sew whenever I want .  Life is good!



Here are two cushions I made a few days ago.  A gift for an admirer of bears and foxes.  They measure 14" x 20".  I made the black piping for the edges. It adds a lovely finishing touch.

A cute Dear Stella fabric on the back

A tree skirt for my brother and his wife.  I used a 10 degree wedge ruler to cut the 36 wedges from 24" strip sets and then sewed them together to make a circle. easy peasy.  Then I quilted in the ditch (not my fave), added binding and done.  A fun, quick project.  I have requests for two more for next year.

A stocking for a baby's first Christmas. 

and the back...

And I made a tuffet!  I used some special batiks that my sister brought me from Malaysia several years ago.  I won't say it was easy but I am happy with the result.  I plan on making another one.  

some paperpiecing fun

Pattern by Tartan Kiwi

Pattern by Quiet Play

My plan for 2018 is to get a few of my older pieced tops quilted, but I said that was on the top of my 2017 list and it did not happen so I am only a little bit hopeful.  

Merry Christmas to you and yours and all my best in 2018. 🎄 

What's Happening!

2017 is ending soon and I am feeling very pleased with myself.  Not pleased about my horrible blogging lately but very pleased that I made a plan for myself at the beginning of the year and I stuck to it.  I learned how to prioritize better and mostly I learned how to say NO.   I am going into next year minus that horrible feeling of being overwhelmed by projects.  Hope you knocked things of your list too.  It feels so good!

I have a few things to share with you. If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram you may have already seen the following projects.

First up, a baby quilt for a new great niece born in late November. 

I used Preppy the Whale pattern by Elizabeth Hartman. A friend of mine enlarged the whale pattern for me.   All Kona solids.   

free motion quilted on my Pfaff PowerQuilter 16.0 using Aurifil 50# thread in three different greys.

The back..  Daddy is a photographer so  I could not resist this paper pieced camera pattern by Whims and Fancies.  I used a gradated grey stripe fabric for the binding. 

The camera block became the label for the quilt.  

Next up, a few Necessary Clutch Wallets.

A table runner and matching cushions for charity. Made from a 5"charm square pack and two 2 1/2" mini charm square packs.  

A few bibs for babies

A removable pouch for my Sew Together Bag

A hooded bath towel for baby

A Santa Pillow - "Jolly Old Saint Nick" by Art to Heart

that's enough for now.  I have lots more to show you, after all it has been two months since my last post,  but I think I will continue in another post.  Take care and I hope you have all your Christmas sewing and baking done and ready to go. 🎄