Ima Quilter

Chloe's dollhouse quilt - updated pics

2011-06-11T11:53:00.000-07:00

Is finally done =) This one took me a while! Crystal designed the layout, and drew a few of the blocks but had some health issues, so me and my pencil got busy. I'm sure the blocks aren't as nice as what Crystal would have created, but yay its done!

Lots of pictures because I'll be sending it off to Chloe, this is for the piecinghope.org project. Chloe is the third child I have made a quilt for, I really hope she likes it.

Of course I still need to bind it, I found some nice striped fabric in pinks, yellow etc. I think it will look cute.

dollhouse progress

2011-03-25T07:18:00.000-07:00

I've got the first row of rooms finished and stitched together, I will add more details with the quilting, as always my pictures suck! lol its really not crooked!

I stitched Welcome and Chloes House on the door, but I dont think that shows up in this picture. Today I will work on the sitting room, I've drawn out some pieces, I'm not a very good artist I've discovered! lol but I think it will work.

I'm hoping to get the middle row done today as the bathroom is done, altho I'm still debating if I want to redo that. I didn't think to add stablizer, was the first block I did, and it puckered quite a bit...not sure if I can work it out with the quilting or not, I'll decide once I get the rest of the blocks done.

Dollhouse for Chloe

2011-03-20T11:13:00.000-07:00

I'm making another quilt for one of the piecing hope children, this time for a lil girl named Chloe. She likes playing with dolls so I had this idea of making her a dollhouse quilt. Searched the net in vain, other than a couple of very expensive pattern sets.

Crystal offered to design a pattern, yes really! I still can't believe it, but she has and I've been busy working on building a house! =) Crystal will be offering the patterns as a BOM on her blog later at http://quiltedpecan.blogspot.com for anyone that is interested. thank you, thank you Crystal!

So far I have the front door and the bathroom done, next up the living room! =)

Lime green strings

2011-02-27T07:25:00.000-08:00

The heartstrings group project for Feb/March is lime green centered string blocks. I actually didn't have any lime green *gasp!* lol I found this fabric at fabricland on the 3.00/meter table, I guess its not super bright lime green, but I thought it was pretty anyway. I bordered each center strip with a 1" stripe that had lime green in it to give it a lil more controlled look and tried to incorporate the same yellow fabric in each block as well.

In my infinite wisdom....because I hate binding sooo much...I thought, hey, I'll do prairie points 'cause yanno I've got this go cutter now and cutting the squares will be super fast. So yup that part was, but ummmm it would have been easier to do the binding lol! especially considering I've never done prairie points EVER, had no clue what I was doing...oh well lol

I quilted it with an all over freehand daisy type flowers, I don't think that shows up in the pics, nor do the pics really represent well the actual colours, but yea, ima get a new camera one of these days! Pretty sure I have enough airmiles to get one, just need to decide what to get out of the selection they have, really, I mean I just want point and click and my pics to actually look like the real thing! is that so much to ask? lol

This one will go to the Womens shelter, working on a stack to take there. I think I will make some totes to take as well, I trialed a tote pattern last week that turned out really nice, and its fairly quick to make, took me a morning or so I think.

hmm I forgot the other stuff in that post lol

2011-02-15T06:26:00.000-08:00

Its not looking like anything is going to be corrected re the used Accuquilt GoCutter, guess if I ever do something like that again I won't tell the store I'm coming from Canada! I did let Accuquilt know because I thought they should be aware of the situation with one of their distributors. Its not their fault, and all the said was to call the store manager, which yea, but they aren't interested in doing anything about it.

So...rather than focus on that, after all, I can buy a new mat for like 10.00 and I've enough fabric here to make my own cover, better that I just let it go out of my head and enjoy it! To that end I spent the day yesterday tidying and making a designated spot for it. The desk is a bit low, I may get some wood and try to raise it a bit, which I've been meaning to do with my banquet table I use for cutting for hmm years? lol

Anyway, here's some pics of my sewing cave, I know it prolly still looks messy but its a whole lot better than it was! lol

Jesse's quilt and other stuff

2011-02-15T06:14:00.000-08:00

Here's some pics of the quilt for Jesse, as always my photography stinks! lol Its actually blue and white, the top was pieced by Sarah B, she sent it to me a while back and said to finish it and donate it. I'd been saving it for something special and I can't think of anything more special than Jesse. I hope Sarah likes what I did with it. I embroidered all the white areas with everything Jesse likes; soccer, playing drums, bike riding, and he wants to be a pilot someday. His fav colour is blue =)

Piecinghope asks you to name the quilt, took me a while there, I'm not good at that! So I asked my friend Barbara snd within seconds she said "Skies the Limit", perfect!
The label says the name and made with love for Jesse by myself and Sarah.

Not sure if you can see the center embroidery but its a train with engine and caboose, and each car has a letter of Jesse's name spelling out Jesse.

I hope he likes it.

Accuquilt GoCutter - disappointed a lil bit =(

2011-02-13T13:00:00.000-08:00

yay! well sort of. Joann Fabrics had a sale starting today, but that meant a 2 hour drive, dealing with the border etc., still, the price was good, and I've been looking at them for a while, none in this area that I could find. Sooo...I called 2 of the ones nearest me earlier in the week, they said to call Saturday and make sure they still had them.
The closest store did not. Ok...the other one did, so I had them put it on hold.

They had none left on the shelf, but had put it away. Got it, a couple of dies and mats, headed home. Had to pay at the border but I knew that, still made it a pretty good deal.

All excited and ready to play...open the box, and the dust cover is filthy dirty and ripped. Made me sad =( but its just a dust cover I can deal with that. Opened the value die only to find the mat was well used and a mark on the die itself. I'm really disappointed. Its just too far to take it back, plus they don't have anymore left, plus I already forked out the duty/taxes at Customs.

I tried it out, it works ok, but it kinda took the joy away if that makes sense. Its clearly been used and a fair bit at that, I don't know if the store used it or it was a return, but it was something I really had to save for and I hadn't expected something I bought at a store to be used.

On a happier note, Jesse's quilt is all finished and in the dryer. I will ship it to piecinghope this week and hopefully it will get to Africa soon. I'll post a pic tomorrow if I can get my camera to play nicely.

I finished a whole bunch of lime green strip blocks for the heartstrings Feb/March project. They are really cute. Will post pics of those too when I have them all together. I only have 8 sewn together so far.

Happy sewing!

Planet Patchwork Mystery

2011-02-11T12:27:00.000-08:00

Well I finished the mystery quilt that Diane created, the top anyway.
Its a bit busy, I would have chosen a different background fabric if I'd known what the pattern was going to end up like, still, its different and I think when its all quilted it will be neat. I need to think on how I want to quilt if for a lil while, will probably do it in black tho to try to subdue the background a bit.

Catching up

2011-02-06T14:58:00.000-08:00

I finished the silent auction childrens hospital fundraiser quilt, in fact the event is long past! I'm terrible at updating this thing!

here's some pics of the finished quilt:

Yesterday I finished a quilt for Jesse, another lil boy at the same orphanage in Africa as John. I do need to make a label and put a binding on it, then that will be done.

Today I worked on the super bowl mystery quilt, so fun, but I'm a ways from being finished yet. Off to work on it some more =)

On my Design Wall

2010-06-25T05:46:00.000-07:00

I'm working on this little baby quilt for the childrens hospital silent auction.
I just need to sew on the top and bottom border and it will be ready for quilting.

Everytime I look at it, it makes me smile. I think the frog is my favorite.

I'm looking forward to quilting this one, should be tons of fun.

I'll post another picture of it when its all quilted and bound, hopefully in the next few weeks, assuming I remember to update my blog lol

homespun blocks for heartstrings

2010-06-25T05:43:00.000-07:00

I'm not a fan of homespuns, so when the heartstrings group made this their new project I didnt think I would prolly participate.
But, a friend had given me a bag of fabrics and in it were a few homespuns but they had been cut into squares already. I wasn't able to get a lot of longer length strips from them but made as many blocks as I could.

These are being sent to Sue who will add them to other peoples blocks to make donation quilts.

Bright and Happy

2010-06-25T05:34:00.000-07:00

I made this lil wallhanging from a free pattern at All People Quilt.
Part way thru I began to wonder if I'd lost my mind...soooo much applique!! tracing and cutting out all those bits...yikes.

Still, its so bright and cheery I do like it, I just freehand, no plan quilted it and that was fun.

Eight Year Old UFO

2010-06-25T05:21:00.001-07:00

yup, really. not only that, all it needed was trimming and binding! but, somehow over that time I stopped liking the quilt. I don't like the colours or all the flowers, so I guess I just really dislike the fabrics, I like the overall pattern and I like the embroidered pansies and butterflies I did way back then, just not the fabric, which heck is the biggest part lol

I quilted this before I had a longarm, its freehand something but I'm not really sure what exactly =)

Anyway, its done, I have no idea what I'm going to do with it, I thought about donating it but really I dislike donating anything I myself don't like so I have a feeling this may end up in the trash.

Something different aka not a quilt

2010-04-27T06:36:00.000-07:00

I've had the sewing bug lately, making some clothes and this diaper bag from an Amy Butler pattern. I am definitely not a seamstress, so I was really pleased with this patterns directions, very easy that even I was able to do it! I am happy with how it turned out.

There are tons of pockets inside, even for baby bottles, and the change mat fits into the drawstring case which all fits nicely into the bag. There is even a cell phone pocket on the lower part of the handle.

Pretty cool I thought anyway.

More Quilts!

2010-03-05T15:08:00.000-08:00

I finished another donation quilt the other day, from some leftover blocks that Sarah B sent me.

This went to the Womens Community Shelter along with 7 others on Wednesday.

Now I'm working on a purple 'thing', lots of scrappy in it but controlled with thin black strips and of course lots of purple.

Picked out some fabrics today out of my stash for a neat diaper bag (Amy Butler pattern), will start on that prolly next week.

I received a lovely email from Alex at piecinghope, they received John's quilt and it will get sent to him soon I think, I hope that he likes it.

String Top

2010-03-03T05:59:00.000-08:00

Heres a lil string top that Sue's Mum sent that I quilted and bound the other day.
this one will go to the womens shelter along with 7 others I completed over the last month or so.

not a great pic but your used to that by now, right? lol the blue center fabric is Harry Potter, I think this one is perfect for a lil boy to cuddle under while reading or watching TV.

piecing hope

2010-03-03T05:49:00.000-08:00

Here is the quilt I made for John, a lil boy in Africa. I sent this by UPS over a week ago to the central location collecting quilts for the 40 children. Hopefully it made it there ok, the website etc isnt great about communication, but apparently neither am I since its been months since I updated this blog lol

Anyway, some info was given about each child, John likes playing with cars and playing soccer, his fav colour is purple. I tried to incorporate all these things into this quilt I designed for him. The applique patterns are from fatcat patterns, the embroidery designs from emblibrary.com I quilted Caution, Stop, Go into the yellow, red, green borders, freehand cars into the outer black borders, a soccer game in one of the grassy areas (ok my drawing skills suck so my soccer players look almost alien) but E for effort? lol

Trying again...

2010-03-03T05:44:00.000-08:00

Well...I see my last post was in August 2009..really?! where the heck did the time go inbetween? heck idk. but I have been quilting...lots and lots!

Heres some pics of the inner peace quilt, these are of the center medallion area.

Getting there!

More Inner Peace

2009-08-16T07:42:00.000-07:00

Since my omg I'm in a pissy mood yesterday, fitting to work on my Inner Peace BOM right? =)

Sometimes I question my sanity when I quilt stuff...its like k why must u pick things that take forever and a day? and why must my perfectionism make me never happy with anything I do? blah....will I ever make something that I'm ok with? I remember this friend of mine used to say 'use the 3 foot rule' basically meaning stand back and dont focus on every little mistake or wobble...well yea, but sometimes I think maybe if I rode by 300 feet away on a galloping horse? lol oh well, guess we all have our own private demons.

Anyway..heres some more terrible photography of the inner peace quilting progress.
the borders really are jet black and the other fabrics deep deep rich colours.

Its hot and humid. I love the heat, but not so enraptured with the humidex. Yesterday I tackled weeds in the backyard. I have a seriously amazing crop of them this year, matched only by my lack of interest in all things garden related. However, the neighbours are surely by now sick of my lack of interest in the 4 foot thistles...therefore it is required that I make an attempt at taming them. My tomato plants are the saddest looking things in my garden, the thistles are spectacular tho. If only weeds were an acceptable beautified object, well then I'm sure some home gardening mag would feature my yard! its all a matter of persepctive, right? =)

An economy rant

2009-08-14T06:16:00.000-07:00

So the other day I get a notice from Rogers that hey the CRTC is adding a fee for u know Canadian programming...to the tune of 1.5% of my bill. But Rogers is quick to point out that we are just collecting this fee, we make absolutely NO profit on it...umhmm. Bottom line to me is I dont give a rats ass whose profiting from it, my Rogers bill is already like 300 every 2 months, u think I care where this insane increase is going? because I dont. I care that in the roughest economy ever where our unemployment rate is thru the roof, u are charging another 1.5% of my bill, for the lousiest TV lineup possible. 4 mins of program, 8 mins of commercials. and I pay a lot of money for this....I'm so sick of these companies.

Hydro, oh we have to initiate a sewer surcharge cause yanno the sewers all need replacing..but dont worry! its temporary...how many effing years ago was that?! still there and not only that now often times the surcharge is more than my actual water bill. Oh and hey now we charge more in the summer than the winter cause we know darn right well its the time ur using ur a/c and when ull use the most hydro.

Banks. So the government infuses them with money to 'help' them. My money btw. yup the taxpayers money. So when the interest rates go down to jump start the economy I get a letter from my bank. "Since the interest rates are so low and we cant afford to lend money at that rate, we are upping your line of credit interest rate by 1%" wait, what? we had a contract at a set amount of percentage above prime...u cant just change it now?! but oh yes they can, cause in clause 26 of their dumbass contract it says that the bank can change any and all terms of this contract at any time by sending notification by regular mail. Gee, I cant do that now can I? if I lose my job, I cant send them a regular mail notice and say oh btw I lost my job and I need to reduce my interest rate...but they can? with money the taxpayers gave them to reduce interest costs to move the economy....unbelievable.

And is there anything that can be done about these injustices to the Canadian people? nope, just try to find a governing body contact info..ull get bounced from one place to another for days. and in the end, all they will say is 'working as intended'

yup good thing we pay politicians and governing bodies insane salaries while we slug it out working 2 jobs a piece to pay them, cause yanno they can speak French so they gotta be worth the salary, right?

yes its true, I'm pissed off today! lol

A shout out to the ppl of Toronto

2009-07-30T05:23:00.001-07:00

Ok so I confess, I'm as bad at directions as I am at photography.

So yesterday I went to the ROM to see the Dead Sea Scrolls, been really looking forward to it, thought I had it all planned out, you know, google maps, printed this and that, yes, def I have this under control! ummm....well, actually I did get there easily enough, despite the usual Ontario highway summer construction that seems mandatory in the province to delay all travelers, altho I'm so used to it I prefer to see it as a 'slow down and smell the roses' opportunity...lol

Side note here: the exhibit is spectacular. Kudos to the museum for doing justice to such an awe inspiring subject. Only complaint...where the heck were the audio headsets?! me and a bunch of students were all looking for them...nowhere to be found.

Anyway, I digress. I haven't been in downtown TO for a while, I've always found the people there to be exceptionally friendly and helpful in the past, but, ya know these days that sort of courtesy has gone by the wayside in so many places, it was absolutely refreshing to find that the people of TO have maintained this mostly lost art. In such a busy metropolis, with people everywhere, cars backed up for miles, motorists stopped, let me in to lanes, waited patiently as I tried to decipher street names and figure out where the heck I was going. Stopping at lights, asking other drivers, hey...am I going the right way? taking time to answer my questions and directing me, reassuring me that yes, 3 more blocks etc.

But the big surprise was when leaving, I decided since I'd come in on the QEW, onto Spadina then all thru China Town that perhaps it might be faster to go back on the 401. But where oh where were the 401 exits?! After some missteps, I asked a taxi driver stopped at a red light. Explaining to me where to go, the light had long since changed, and we were still sitting there. ok so ppl were patient but it was time to move for sure, so off we went. Next light he pulls up beside me, explains more. Next light he gets out of his cab, hands me a hand written note with directions. Next light he says, dont be nervous, stay in this lane, then that lane etc etc. Next light he says, you know what, follow me, I'll take you there.
He was so kind and patient, just amazing to me that someone would take time out to do that for me. I believe the taxi company was "Beck"? anyway, he got me safely to the expressway and his notes made it easy to find my way from there, even including what lanes to be in so I wouldnt miss my exits.

I came home tired but bubbling over with what I had seen and learned at the exhibit. I also realized how much quilting affects my life and thoughts...some of the patterns on various ancient relics...oh wow what great quilting patterns those are going to make! I can't wait to incorporate them into future quilts.

So people of TO...high five! you rock.

Inner Peace BOM

2009-07-28T12:55:00.000-07:00

finally finished piecing this top! so excited to have that done, well the piecing anyway lol

I tried to take a pic of the top but its too big to get a decent picture right now, but might give an idea of what it looks like, altho this is really only the center of it, sides are folded over.

quilting has begun, here is a peek at what I've started.

the borders are actually black, as usual my photography leaves much to be desired! =)

happy quilting!

A nice giveaway

2009-07-25T05:46:00.001-07:00

at heart and hands site

I have not seen the book or technique but it sure sounds interesting, so I entered the giveaway, even tho Ive never won a thing in my life lol but hey there has to be a first time sometime right? lol

Head on over and read about the book and enter your own comment for a chance to win, it really does look like a fun book.

oh and I got the right side border on Inner Peace...3 borders to go! then to agonize over how I want to quilt it =)

well....

2009-07-23T06:37:00.001-07:00

I really am not doing well at keeping up with this blogging stuff!
Maybe because its summer, maybe because I've been too busy *cough* =) really I have been busy but I'm sure I could find time to update this once in a while at least...

Here's some pics of another happy block quilt I completed gosh idk at least a month ago, I think more actually...and one more after it as well but I havent taken pics of it yet, I will get to that soon...but maybe really pics arent necessary, I suppose they are all basically the same idea and those who view this blog (which really not sure anyone ever comes here)lol are tired of seeing them.

I have been working on finishing up the Inner Peace BOM tho, its actually nearly done, I have the final row to stitch to the top, then the borders to make. It was one of those 'omg I'll never make another one of these' tops. The 12 months of blocks were easy to keep up with but the finishing step required 24 more blocks to be made...along with putting it together and borders. Good thing I really like the quilt or it would have def become another UFO.

Raining again today...not sure where summer is exactly, but it seems to have missed this town lol

The backing on this one is from the heartstrings group, the ladies donate fabric and Sherrie puts the backs together along with binding to match. It was so nice to just be able to load this on the frame once I finished the top and then get the binding on right away. I always stumble at the binding part, so this worked out really well.

I have more of these quilts finished and will post pics soon (I know u dont believe me but I will lol) Some of them have been donated, but I am saving a couple of them to donate in the fall when the need will be greater as winter sets in.

/wave bfn

Pink Happy block quilt

2009-06-05T06:39:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics of the finished quilt, well all but binding anyway =)
Still have that binding block in my head...ugh.

I quilted this with freehand flowers, leaves and swirly tendril type thingys, good that I know so many quilty technical terms dont you think? lol

I used Superior Rainbows thread in a soft pink, yellow, green, mauve and Superior Bobs in the bobbin. backed with pink fabric that I got for a great deal at the Marsh Store during a nice sale they had in February.

Todays project

2009-04-04T05:29:00.000-07:00

Heres the layout of some more happy blocks on my design wall. I used the pink, mauve, and purple framed blocks to make a girly quilt. I added in a few yellow and green for interest. These will get sewn together today and on the frame.

I am so low on larger bits of fabric, but think I have some pink that I can piece with another fabric for the backing.

I will decide once on the frame how to quilt it but just looking at it I'm seeing butterflies, flowers and maybe some fairies.

Unfortunately my roof decided to bite the dust, it is leaking into the bedroom =(
Put a big tarp over it but thats not going to do for long. With the GM scare, I just dont know what I'm going to do. Things are so unpredictable, but the roof has to be done, trying to not stress. Sewing today will help.

Boys sports quilt

2009-04-04T05:24:00.001-07:00

Sarah made this cute sports quilt for a boy, I used my circle lord to make circles in the fabric squares then freehand quilted in the lines and curves to make them into basketballs. The sashings are done in continuous S shapes, the black triangle borders in piano keys and the white parts in squiggles. The white corner stone blocks are quilted in melon thingys (yup I dont know the terminologies for these quilting patterns lol)

The pictures dont really show the quilting but I think the quilt is really cute and will make a lil boy very happy.

Yellow strings

2009-04-04T05:21:00.001-07:00

Sarah made this pretty yellow string quilt, I just love the colours she chose.

I quilted it with freehand all over feathers in yellow aurafil thread.

Newest things

2009-04-04T05:12:00.001-07:00

I have been busy quilting, just bad at keeping things up to date on the blog it seems!

Sarah B sent these lovely and bright childrens blocks to make into happy block quilts, a project running at the heartstrings group. This is the first top I put together from those, will suit either a boy or a girl I think.

I quilted it with the popcorn panto, and a bright yellow/orange varigate thread.
I made a multi coloured binding for it to add to the fun look.
I always hand stitch my bindings but this time I machine stitched it because I think these quilts will get a lot of use and washing, it did not turn out too bad, you cant really see the stitching of the binding. I also used a little heavier batting than I usually do to make it more cuddly.

and a close up of the quilting and part of the binding

Laura Jeans Heartstrings quilt

2009-03-11T06:28:00.000-07:00

I finished quilting and binding this lovely string quilt that Laura Jean on the heartstrings group pieced. I did freemotion heart wreaths in the white parts, free motion loops in the red connecting strips and freemotion hearts in the multi-coloured areas.

This took me longer than anticipated. Not just the quilting but life just keeps getting in the way lately. bunch of things among being sick, doctor shortage here is so bad, that even tho I have a doctor, she was gone for 2 weeks...so tried to self help (bad idea), finally succumbed to sitting at a walk in clinic all day *sigh* Considering now we have a medical tax, how is it that the medical services have become so poor. who knows what the government does with all this money...all I know is every service is being cut. /end rant.

Anyway, need to get this to UPS and get it back to her, today hopefully, just need to find a box. I hope she will like it.

New heartstrings quilt

2009-02-27T12:26:00.000-08:00

Finished quilting this top today, when I pieced the top I used dark and light strips in separate blocks to give it a little different look. Quilted the light squares with a ginko disk pattern and the dark ones in a different pattern.

I started making this for a particular person but sadly she passed away the other day.

I will bind it and donate it to someone else eventually, just maybe I think I may let it sit for a lil while, I guess thats weird but I feel a whole bunch sad about it just now.

Done ala Bonnie Hunter

2009-02-07T06:14:00.000-08:00

I finished this yesterday, the border is made from the trimmings of the blocks, I stitched them as leaders/enders while putting the blocks together. My first time doing something like that, thanks to Bonnie Hunter over at Quiltville, loving using up the scraps!

I added a tiny yellow flange before the binding to cover the less than perfect points lol but also thought it added a nice bit of brightness to the edge.

I used the circle lord tiles straight/wave block square to quilt it, it is 18" square so had to move things along to do the whole quilt with it, was a good learning experience, not perfect in every spot but think the next time will be better now that I've figured out a method of doing a whole quilt with the small board.

Strips and Strings done

2009-02-04T05:37:00.000-08:00

Thanks to everyone for the ideas on bordering this scrappy devil, I really did want to use the red border idea that most suggested, but, I'm on 'no-buy', not officially but with me and myself =) and had zero red! how does that happen?! not sure...but yikes hardly any red left in my stash, nor yellow either and def no orange. I *might* have to break down and buy a little bit but will wait until I absolutely must have some. Think that a semi local quilt shop has their 30 percent off sale in March, so hopefully can hold off until then.

Anyway, here are pictures of the finished quilt, I am really quite pleased with it, considering its made from all scraps, amazing that I used to toss out the 'bits' of fabric! YIKES! =)

Ugh I think I have ADD

2009-02-02T10:29:00.000-08:00

Well...I did get the Indian Hatchet backing 1/2 loaded...but well people on the stashbuster list keep talking about these fabric baskets so I checked it out and suddenly I was making one.

Good news is you may or may not notice I made it out of triangle scraps from the lil girls Tiny Treasures quilt I made a few months ago, the trimmings from the pinwheel blocks, so thats a good thing...right? =)

It is perfect for putting my crochet cotton and needles in for the bandages, so it wasnt a total waste of time lol

The tutorial for these is at Pink Penguins blog. Go there if you dare! lol j/k, but they are fun to make and quick really, I made mine bigger than the tutorial, think mines about 13" x 8.5" or something in that range.

Indian Hatchet

2009-02-02T06:19:00.000-08:00

Managed to get the top finished up over the weekend, feels so good to have a UFO
almost done! The backing is pressed and ready, hopefully will get the quilting done today and maybe even the binding, altho I'm still hand sewing the binding on the lil
string/strip quilt. Need to get that finished up today and I'll post a picture of it, quite pleased with how that one turned out, even tho I didnt have any red fabric to do the border which was the most voted colour for it and what I wanted too. But I am trying so hard not to buy any fabric so made do with what I had.

I should have finished the binding last night but instead I have got a bit sidetracked with making leprosy bandages, they need to be delivered by March 1, so been knitting those in the evenings.

I think Heroes might be starting back up tonight, seems forever since they have had an episode, but if its on I'll finish the binding while watching that, I watch very little TV maybe thats why I dont get the bindings finished! lol Big bang is on tonight tho, and I do watch that, funniest show ever imo, but its only 1/2 hour and I am the slowest hand sewer in the entire world. Ok I dont have any scientific data to state that as fact, but it seems it is probably true when I read on stashbusters how ladies report having sewn 2-3 bindings on in one night...good Lord, I'm lucky to get one side done in one night! lol

off to load the hatchet top, think I will do crosshatching or something like that on it.

oh and happy almost valentines day! Thought this blog background was cute for the season.

January 2009 Fabric Report

2009-02-02T06:08:00.000-08:00

Fabric Used:

Happy Blocks: 1.68 yards
Heartstring backing and binding: 3 yards
Indian Hatchett top: 4 yards
Small string top, backing and binding: 3.5

Total Used: 12.18 yards

Total Added: 0

Border or not?

2009-01-25T06:10:00.000-08:00

Finished this scrap experiment yesterday and tried interviewing a number of different
fabrics for a border last night, but so far nothing seems to be 'it'.

What do you think? no border? or if a border what kind/colour do you think would work with it? Thought about a small 1" black? then maybe a strip pieced outer border but maybe too busy?

Help!? drawing a big ol'blank here.

Heartstrings - Sarahs quilt

2009-01-24T05:35:00.000-08:00

Finished quilting, labeling and binding this really beautiful heartstrings quilt that Sarah made. I just love the colours and the setting that she used.
I used King Tut thread on it and I so hope that Sarah likes what I did with it, going to send it UPS today so it hopefully gets back to her within a few days.

Sarah is going to donate this to a man recently diagnosed with lung cancer, I thought of him with every stitch and hope that it brings him some small comfort over this difficult time.

I really enjoy the heartstrings group, the ladies there are so giving and caring, there are no restrictive rules really, some guidelines but all in all Mary supports us making whatever we are able and wish to make. She is an amazing lady.

Playing with Strings

2009-01-23T11:18:00.000-08:00

Wanted to try something a little different with strings today, Sarah B sent me some lovely ones to play with, thank you Sarah!

I stitched several stratas from strings and then cut out wedges, stitched them together and ended up with this twisted block affair. I think it looks kind of neat. Saw the idea in fons and porter magazine, made a lil differently but same sort of thing.

Its about 21" square, going to make a few more and see what I end up with =)

Finished.. woot!

2009-01-19T06:16:00.000-08:00

I have now completed the quilting on all 4 of the quilts and am so happy they are done! Will deliver the last 2 today and then can start on Sarah's lovely heartstring top which I loaded last night. I keep fluctuating on it, custom or overall, its such a pretty top, all my favorite colours. Will decide today, but am leaning towards an overall because of the number of seams.

Here are pictures of the blue batik. the first 3 photos are of the back, shows the quilting more I think. One of these days I need to learn to take better pictures.

suggestions?

2009-01-15T08:12:00.000-08:00

almost done ripping out the stitches around the multi-star quilting, but I really
dont know what to do in the area around it? The larger triangles outside of the squares I will do the arrowhead feathers as I have on the rest of the quilt, but
any suggestions as to what to do around the star? Just keep coming up blank, everything I have tried so far just doesnt look right...

one of those days

2009-01-15T06:04:00.001-08:00

So yesterday it didnt seem to matter what I touched it went wrong.
So wrong that I was ready to put my machine up for sale, curl up in the fetal
position and lay there for the rest of my days! lol

Instead I let myself get into a funk, flipped on the TV which I hate, nothing on, grumbled tons, went to bed early.

Today I will unpick yet again, McTavishing is not my forte, or, it just isnt right for this quilt, or wrong kind of thread, or or or...either way, instead of after 20 passes or so with my head saying 'nope this isnt right' I continued on thinking 'maybe more will make it look better', which just means a lot more to unpick! ugh ugh ugh.

off I go, ripper in hand....course then there is the problem of all the needle holes...wish me luck!

See I dont post for weeks and then....

2009-01-13T06:12:00.000-08:00

I'm terrible at updating this thing regularly!

Oh well, maybe make it one of my New Years resolutions? nah..I never keep those lol

Here is an apron I made for a lil 7 year old girl who loves fairies and pink and purple of course =) Soon as she opened it she put it on and wore it all day, made my heart smile.

I found the directions to make it on the net somewhere, great little tutorial, I changed a couple of things but this took all of about an hour to make, 'cept for the embroidery which took a lil while. design is from emblibrary. Their embroidery designs always turn out so nice. I used metallic gold and bronze for the whirly gig thing shes sitting on, and I flubbed up on the wings, somehow changed to the wrong colour but oh well, she didnt seem to mind =)

She rang me the other day and said Guess what?
Me: What sweetness?
Her: I'm helping Mama make lemon meringue pie!
Me: Yummmmm
Her: And guess what else?
Me: hmm your eating more than your making?
Her: no Mama won't let me, but I'm wearing my apron!!
Me: Awesome dudette!
Her: oh...this is Lauryn....

lol

Freehand jelly feathers

2009-01-13T06:04:00.001-08:00

Decided to give the jelly feathers a go on this quilt of my friends,
I think they turned out 'ok'.

I did freehand leaves on the bottom, the jelly feathers on the top, to me this
quilt looked like a garden.

sometimes the best intentions..

2009-01-13T05:57:00.000-08:00

Well its done but I don't think I will ever be happy with it.

One of the problems of doing quilts for others, at least for me is, what if
you really dont like the thing? In retrospect I should have done a panto on this
baby panel, but I had this idea in my head that somehow I could make it better..
this was a panel, with added borders, I am not sure what it is about it, maybe the colours?

I guess thats what makes us all individuals, we all have different tastes and thats
a very good thing! and for me, well I'm glad its done and gone lol

A most difficult day

2009-01-03T07:12:00.000-08:00

I know the world is filled with problems and in respect of all that mine is so small, but my stomach is in knots, I can barely breath and the tears are just so close that my eyes are burning trying to hold them back. I have to or else I will just reduce into a blubbering fool and that isnt going to help.

My sweet cat and friend for so long is sick, so sick that he has become so thin and dehydrated that he is just wasting away. He tries so hard to eat, the vet gave him subcataneous fluids but still today he is in very bad shape =( His bloodwork shows nothing that they tested for save elevated white blood cell count but he has no fever, she feels indictive of something ominous, likely cancer. She thinks he will die soon, and thinks he is probably suffering. They have reserved a spot for him today and just waiting on me to call with a decision.

How does one decide such a thing? I truly don't know. What if its wrong, what if he could get better and I end his life? How do I drive my faithful friend to the vets, look into his eyes and end his life. I just dont know.

I mean I do know. I dont want him to suffer, he doesnt deserve that, he deserves for me to be strong and do what is best for him, not for me, for him.

Still, what if we are all wrong, this thought is haunting me.

He isnt sick in the picture, that was in October, he looks so healthy and happy there, how can things change so quickly? this feels like a horrible nightmare.

/sigh

just off the frame

2008-11-28T08:55:00.001-08:00

This pretty Quilt of Valor pieced by I am not sure who, but from the Heartstrings group. What an awe inspiring group of people they are.

I used a panto called Water World, and r/w/b King Tut, I think it turned out fairly well. Have the binding cut, will spend this afternoon getting it stitched on and hand stitched over the weekend, washed, then off to Alycia on Monday is my goal.

Helping out

2008-11-28T08:50:00.000-08:00

A local elementary Grade 2 class needed some help making these little Christmas books, spent Wednesday cutting, pressing, stitching the covers for the pages, and putting them together. Got all of them done, the wee ones were so excited lol

Guess not a lot of people sew? or maybe just really busy not sure, but glad they didn't end up having to scrap the project and it really wasn't hard, took maybe 6 hours or so with coffee breaks in there too =)

Tales from the Longarm

2008-11-24T07:36:00.000-08:00

Well phew! this quilt is finally finished, it belongs to a friend and I quilted it.
Here is it pre-quilted.

I looked at it for a few days and tried to talk myself out of sashiko quilting it but meh sometimes u just gotta do what u gotta do lol It took an awfully long time because of all the stops and starts around the embroidery...by the final row of blocks I complained loudly and frequently, mostly to the dogs who did not really care, altho my youngest dog thought it was a grand opportunity to consistently bring me her toy to throw for her. when Mama is standing, Mama must wanna play is her philosophy lol

Here is a close up of the blocks and sashings quilted.

Course once u do geometric, straight line design, the border just screams for a similar treatment...oh yes, I can honestly say I have mastered the diamonds are a girls best friend ruler! Still, much as we 'bonded' I think me and that ruler need
a lil break from each other, say oh about 2 years? lol

Heres some pics of the finished quilt, well less binding, my friend gets to do that part =)

The quilt is a gift for her friend.

Today I will piece some backings for a couple of heartstrings quilts and get those on the frame, been waiting for some new pantos to arrive, not a big fan of the pantos but need something pretty but quick to do this time around, lil break from custom quilting.

In weather news, couple of feet of snow...ew ew ew, way to early!

Progress and not

2008-11-08T07:44:00.000-08:00

I have been working on quilting this quilt, a true labour of love, but it has been taking me a long time to get done. Today I am going to remove it from the frame even tho it isnt finished because I just have too many November deadlines and I really dont want to rush the finish. All the blocks are stabilized and embroidery centers quilted, but still need to do the pieced areas, sashings and borders.

Here are some pics of a few of the blocks so far.

Center block:

Others:

Found UFO and completed

2008-11-05T08:33:00.000-08:00

I actually don't even remember when I started this, but it was all finished except for
stitching on some beads to use for hangers and putting on a binding.

Embroidery designs from emblibrary. my favorite embroidery design place.

So...after several days of hand sewing...ew ew ew ew...I finished it! Woot!!!

And yes its to early to hang up but I did anyway, 'cause after all the work I figure 25 days just isn't enough to justify several years of waiting to be done =)

Pics are blurry and nasty as usual but its done!! oh yes done, I LOVE that word!!

Winter...yup its coming

2008-10-08T06:55:00.000-07:00

Not sure why every year I have this thought that maybe just maybe winter will forget to come...never happens of course and gosh it seems to be coming early and fast this year! I refuse to turn the heating on yet, but have had the fireplace going at night in my studio along with sweaters, socks heck even a blankie if necessary lol
Stubborn I am, I dont wanna pay for gas, after all 100.00 buys fabric! yanno cause I need more of that :/

Anyway...here is a snow people wallhanging I made, fun thing to look at to pretend that there is something actually fun about winter...

Its embroidered on snowy type fabric, found the snow people fabric border type stuff somewhere years ago, where I do not recall, but really went nicely with the embroidery I thought.

*usual disclaimer* my picture suxs. =)

A Thingy

2008-10-03T07:07:00.000-07:00

Some years ago I experimented with some mathematical equations based on chaos theory.
The images I created using this formula inspired me to create them in thread. I had sort of forgotten about them until my friend visited from Australia and saw one of my samples. She loved it and wanted to try one of my designs.

Here is the result of our efforts. Sadly the picture really does not do this justice, they are really 3D with a build up of thread colours and textures that meld together to create quite an intricate and interesting visual.

She has left now on her way to explore more of North America, it was the first time we have actually met but have been computer friends for a long time. Its mind boggling to think of the things we have shared over the years, I feel very fortunate that we got this chance to meet no matter how brief. I am missing her being here, place seems awfully quiet again =(

In a Slump or something idk

2008-09-20T07:54:00.000-07:00

Well, this is frustrating. I was going good, got 1/2 a string quilt pieced and rows put together, as well as about 100 indian hatchett blocks or whatever they are called, happily busting some stash, using up scraps and so forth.

Then boom, suddenly seem to have hit a brick wall this entire week I have not turned on the sewing machine...one day I turned on the iron and went outside with my coffee waiting for it to heat up (its definitely on its last legs), but by the time I came inside, looked around, my head said meh, dont feel like it. *sigh*

Not sure what the problem is, its not like I did much of anything else...and I need to be. My friend is visiting from Australia next week, I'm excited to see her, but have plenty I *should* be doing, I don't get it.

Well, sitting here venting and surfing the web isnt really helping me get off my butt.

blah, maybe more coffee will help.

Longarm Quilting Music

2008-09-18T17:28:00.001-07:00

My current favorite. I actually cant sit still when I listen to it.
I love quilting to music, helps me keep a good flow when doing freehand or even pantos, my personal favs are R&B, underground hiphop, but whatever makes you smile is what you should listen to. Sometimes I just have it playing from my computer, sometimes hook myself up to my iPod.

Oh speaking of which, iPod phone and iPod touch has an awesome free game called Tap Tap Revenge, its like Guitar Hero (and seriously who doesnt LOVE guitar hero!) only you tap the screen to the beats. Lots of music you can download (free) for it, really fun and great for eye/hand coordination (ok not really but I have to keep giving myself excuses for my game addictions), still, I figure it limbers up the wrists, hands and fingers for quilting, shhh dont blow my theory! =)

My three criteria for enjoying and setting myself free while quilting:
Relaxed shoulders
Glass of wine
Great music

Tiny Treasures quilted

2008-09-07T10:51:00.000-07:00

Yippee! another completion, well mostly .. binding and a heartstrings label still to do but basically done lol

I think with the quilting it has a bit more personality, hopefully some lil girl will like it anyway.

Finally done

2008-09-06T07:07:00.000-07:00

Well I finally finished piecing this Tiny Treasures quilt, took me 2 weeks of on and off working on it, I must say it gave me lots of troubles and I'm not super happy with
it, but, its on my to do list today to quilt and I'm hopeful I will like it better once
its quilted.

As usual my picture sucks lol

Funky Caterpillars

2008-09-06T06:52:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I finished up this little quilt from Becky's pattern. I'm not sure where it is going yet, but I think it will be ok for a wee one to cuddle in. Anyone have any suggestions? It is quite bright and crazy but I rather like it, used up some stash and some hand dye that I did years ago, that well isn't the greatest but I think its turned out sort of fun looking.

I pieced the back, made another caterpillar block for the center, and put a heartstrings label on it.

Being as its been dubbed the caterpillar block, I quilted it with butterflies and leaves.

Quilted the border with a circle template, overlapping them.

Thanks for looking, have an awesome weekend!

The Great Debate

2008-08-18T06:59:00.000-07:00

Ok so I'm not a gardener, but I do love fresh tomatoes, so this year I decided to stick
a few plants in the ground along with some cucumber plants. I rationalized this with myself as 'how hard can it possibly be'.

As luck would have it, for once in a very long time, we have had insane amounts of rain, instead of brown dried up grass like we should have this time of year, we actually have to keep cutting it! Lucky for the tomato and cucumber plants because its not like I would have thought to water them.

In any case the great debate has been ongoing for 4 days now about one lil tomato on one gigantic plant, that IS red...yup it is, and yup it is ready to eat! However, the person on the other side of the debate keeps saying, no it is NOT ready, leave it there.

Well, my anticipation got the better of me and I picked it on Saturday.

And we ate it...and its true (and I hate being wrong), it really wasnt ready...but it looks ready dont you think?! =)

Chinese Coins/Striped Fabrics

2008-08-18T06:50:00.000-07:00

I had so much fun testing Becky's write up on making these funky chinese coin blocks, I didnt have any coins tho so used a neat striped fabric I've been dying to use for a long time.

I will only have enough of that stripe to do a 3 block across, 5 block down, did a few more blocks on Sunday. Seemed every time I sat down to sew this weekend, something interrupted me .. dang.

Walking and Wii Fit Progress

2008-08-15T08:19:00.000-07:00

not quilt related but maybe there are other people considering the Wii fit
program and I thought it might be useful to share some thoughts on it.

I've been doing the Wii Fit thingy for 6 weeks now, but truth is not everyday...*gasp*, are you surprised? lol

Still, it is doing something because I am seeing results. I started out at 114.9 pounds and after 6 weeks (no change in diet) I'm at 113.4. I'm actually not trying to lose any weight, just trying to get toned, so the inches mean more to me. And surprised myself when I measured, it actually is working. I have lost 1" off bust, 1" off waist and 1.5" off hips. Considering I average 3x a week, I thought that was pretty good really. I am noticing a lot more definition in my legs, mind you I'm walking everyday too which probably has a lot to do with it, but my upper body strength is a definite improvement, and for sure my weakest area.

My Wii fit 'age' has decreased significantly, the first Wii fit age was like umm are you kidding me?! lol but I personally think that has a lot to do with getting used to the board itself, so I'm using the 2nd week as a more realistic marker. Which would put me a lot of years decreased since I've been doing this thing. Go me! =)

Started out with 2.5km walks daily, 1/2 of that uphill, and increased it to 3km this week. Its a ton easier than when I first started out, there is one giant looming hill that used to make me gasp for air, but now seems quite easy to get up there and walking with a faster step too. What used to take me 35-40 mins is now around 25 mins.

Its nice to see improvement, now if only I could sleep at night....

Permission to let go

2008-08-15T06:29:00.000-07:00

A few months ago I joined a yahoo group called Stashbusters. True to the lists I belong to, I'm not much of a contributor but I read while having my morning coffee.

I've learned quite a lot from Stashbusters about my purchasing habits, quilting habits and hoarding....yikes, in every other area of my life I am a very simple person, truth be known I don't even own a sofa...and yet....I not only have drawers full of fabric, apparently I can't even throw out scraps.

I've been thinking a lot about this, in the past few weeks I've sold a few items of sewitsforsale list. It was a lil painful. Packaging up some patterns that I bought because I loved the quilt I saw finished hanging in the quilt shop, but realizing that ok I have probably 4 or 5 McKenna Ryan pattern sets...and I've made lets see umm 0 of them! Well one is in progress, and I did finish a small one that I gave to my Mum, but essentially they have sat there for years.

Yes its a loss to sell this stuff, but its also freeing and its better to recover something? I've started looking at things a lil differently if I'm tempted to purchase them, if its a don't need item that is, I look at the price tag then figure out how many hours/days/weeks/months of work it costs me to buy it. Its quite a sobering thought actually, and more than a lil scary.

For the rest of this year I want to finish up the UFO's I have, but allow myself to give away, throw away those that I know in my heart I will never finish. They are weighing me down with guilt and "I shoulds".

Kathy made a list on her blog that I think is great, I may do that as well, altho I'm a little scared to actually see it in print! Kathy is very brave.

I am going to try to organize my time better too, I think that will help, setting some goals and time frames.

Busy but bad at updating blog

2008-08-10T11:47:00.000-07:00

Finished this heartstrings top to send to Alycia for her Quilts of Valor project, windy day to take a pic but camera or the operator, not sure which lol, takes blue cast type photos inside. I bet there is a setting to eliminate that problem, if only I could a) find the manual b) have the patience to read one =)

anyway, here is the quilt and a shot of the back and label.

I've been working on this little girls quilt from Fons and Porters most recent mag, using up some fabrics from my stash, so the fabrics and colours are a little different, but I think all in all once quilted it will be pretty. I will give this one to the Women's Shelter when its complete. I was going full steam ahead on it but the pinwheel blocks for some reason have been giving me a hard time so have been putting off finishing the remaining 5...however, I've left it in the middle of my cutting table, determined NOT to put it aside, because well we all know what happens if we do that =)

This next quilt I will be loading on the longarm today or tomorrow, my dearest friend Judie tested this pattern and designs for our friend who passed away very suddenly this year. Judie did a beautiful job with the embroidery, piecing and colour choices.
The pattern and embroidery designs were going to be a BOM that Vicki was going to offer. I feel very privileged and quite emotional that Judie has given this to me to quilt. She said she does not want the quilt, I am not sure what I will do with it when done. The selfish side of me wants to keep it forever, I miss her so very very much, but the other side of me wonders if I should send it to her husband, either for himself to keep or perhaps give it to one of their children.
I will ponder these things as I work on it as well as celebrate all that she has meant to me and to countless others.

Distractions and a Finish

2008-07-19T06:24:00.000-07:00

This week I quilted this pretty heartstrings quilt top and digitized a heartstrings label, stitched out 2 of them for the 2 tops.
These quilts work up quite heavy, I had intended to mail them to Alycia for her QOV
contributions, but I may donate one locally to the battered womens shelter and mail one to Alycia, but will ask Mary about that.

I quilted in a beadboard border and did a freehand overall hearts and loops, with a feather medallion center.

I uploaded the embroidery file of this lil label to the heartstrings group site.

I've managed to join another yahoo group, Stashbusters....very nice group of friendly people, still working on busting my own stash. Seems every project I start, I am missing at least one colour that I just must have! ugh...use some, add some....its just not going to get thinned out this way!

Yesterday I broke yet another promise to myself...upon getting my Wii, for fitness purposes only, which is great btw, I really am enjoying Wii fit and its definitely helping to keep me moving...still, given my terrible addiction to video games, I promised I'd never use the Wii for playing games. But, but, but Mario Galaxy...ok so I've collected 5 stars already lol BUT, I'm NOT turning it on today...today is quilt day, and on that note, I'm off to load and baste the quilt top.

In other news, its still hot, humid, muggy, all around stay in the basement sewing room day. And coffee, I need more of that =)

Done

2008-07-10T06:39:00.000-07:00

well the quilting isnt perfect, still getting used to the new machine, far be it for me to not just jump right in lol but I think it turned out not too bad. Binding is stitched on, partly hand stitched until night came when blah do u think I can see to thread a needle?! /sigh. Will finish stitching it today, have a heartstrings label on it and pop it in the post tomorrow for Project Linus. I'm so grateful to Mary for starting the heartstrings list, what a wonderful feeling it is to be able to share our love of quilting. While I was making this I imagined a lil child snuggled into it. Makes me smile all over.

I freehanded the whole quilt, main area is just a meander since there are so many seams, some wavy lines thru the hearts and center blocks to define them and 4 freehand feather hearts in each of the whitespace corner areas. A freehand feather border completes the quilt.

over the weekend

2008-07-06T20:44:00.000-07:00

I pieced together this heartstrings baby quilt out of some scraps from the wedding quilt I made in March and some other bits and pieces of fabrics hanging about =)

Hopefully I'll have time to get it on the frame tomorrow and bound, I think this one will go to Project Linus.

Other than that, some weeding, cleaning, visited with my brother, nothing very exciting =)

June's Block of Inner Peace and incorrect pattern directions

2008-06-28T10:38:00.000-07:00

I am now all caught up on Planet Patchworks 2008 BOM, woot!

For anyone that is making this quilt, the pdf file is incorrect. The green and yellow rectangle measurements in the directions state 4.5 x 2 inches, it should be 4.5 x 2.5" I am not sure if they have fixed it since I downloaded this a few weeks ago, but double check if you are making this.

well at least I accomplished something today even if it is a small thing, I think I will work on some more D9P blocks, have the first 2 rows of that stitched together.

And OMGosh, I hear chewing right behind the wall as I type this...do I have a mouse?!
Must go secure fabric! to heck with the food...its the fabric that counts!

Summertime Fun!

2008-06-28T06:05:00.000-07:00

Great contest here
for the cutest sandcastle quilt kit!
Unreal how generous people can be! You need to leave a comment and if you have a blog and
link to it from your blog you get to be entered 2x =) I want to win this one! o.O that sounds terrible doesnt it? lol

In other news, idk whats wrong with me the last few days =( just can't seem to get motivated.
Today I think I will 'just do it' instead of looking at every link on the cyberquilters list and dreaming of 3 million quilts I want to make....I love the net, but ugh I sure can waste a ton of time here! lol

one more coffee....save me from myself someone! =)

Another one done

2008-06-21T17:52:00.000-07:00

I got May's block of the Planet Patchwork BOM done today, one more and I'll be caught up ready for the July block when its posted, woot! =)

I played a little bit with a tumbling block paper pieced pattern from Quilters Cache today, not sure if I'll have the patience to do a full quilt of those tho, I'll have to think about that =) While researching the block I did come across some interesting reading tho. Apparently it is thought that the tumbling block may have been part of the Underground Railroad Quilt Code. Interesting theory, altho it would seem the whole code thing has caused much controversy amongst historians. Still, I enjoyed reading both sides of the theory.
Here are the links of the things I was reading the other day.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/02/0205_040205_slavequilts.html

and a lot of very detailed reading at the next one basically taking apart the book that introduced the idea of this quilt code theory, however, some really interesting facts about that time in history I thought.

http://www.ugrrquilt.hartcottagequilts.com/rr3.htm

No wonder it takes me so long to make quilts, I seem to have a great need to read all the history of each and every block I stitch, not to mention look at a gazillion pictures of ones that have been made. it is fascinating tho, quilts really do tell a story of our historical and societal journeys. Wonder what the quilts we made today will tell future generations about us?

Making the disappearing 9 patch blocks

2008-06-21T17:11:00.000-07:00

Thought I would share how I've been doing these blocks, seems to be going along quickly.

I stitched 3 different strip sets of 3 strips each, each strip 4" wide. Dark, light, dark; dark, red, light; and light, dark, light.

I cut the strip sets into 4" sections.

I did this with all 3 strip sets.

stitch one of each into a block (the center, my red here, will become the lil squares when done)

Cut the block thru the center both vertically and horizontally.

Turn the upper right and lower left pieces as shown. Stitch everything back together and ur done =)

Using up the proverbial stash

2008-06-18T08:58:00.000-07:00

Well, I admit I got a lil bored with the b,w and red blocks, I will finish them tho =)
I found a BOM from planet patchwork that I really like the look of, it started in April,
but thats ok, I'll work at doing them before July hits.

Here is my April block that I finished this morning.

Darn camera won't show the colours properly, if I get the purple to show more like the purple then the yellow looks orange! lol anyway, its purple, blue and a mottled lemon yellow.

I would have liked a deeper yellow but I am determined to limit my fabric buying and use whats in my stash. Overall when the other blocks are done (there are reds, greens, black, b&w), I think this yellow will be ok.

Back to piecing I go, laterz =)

The Weekend

2008-06-16T08:07:00.000-07:00

The weather was great this weekend, finally got around to patching the grout in the brickwork, however, I have learned that I suck at using a caulking gun....still, a lot of hot water, my finger and a rag made it look while not exactly professional, at least passable. Why Rona feels that everyone in the world has grey grout I do not know, but hopefully Benjamin Moore can match the colour with some paint, and I can hide that "yup I am the worst handy-woman in Canada".

After such an ordeal I busied myself putting the binding and hanging sleeve on this, and hanging it in the kitchen, it felt great!

Sunday I went to the cemetary. I took some flowers and reflected on how much your life affected mine. Living without you is the hardest thing I've ever faced, it still hurts so much yanno? The nightmares are less frequent but the pain in my heart still stabs at me. Perhaps because of my mood, the black and white fabrics appealed to me, but just like you taught me, the red punches will signify that life is full of surprises and finding joy even in the darkest moments is what makes us who we are.

I don't care for the featured quilt too much from this quilt kit so set about making up a pattern. Here is my prototype block, I've since made 8 of them.

and....I think I've figured out how to put the pictures where I want them! ok so next up, take better pictures! lol

Ok back to my strip sets, itunes blaring, sun is shining, does life get any better than this? =)

oh and Hi Cara!!! have an awesome day!

I know its odd

2008-06-12T22:28:00.000-07:00

This is my interpretation of the Turning Twenty quilt pattern. I've called this one Turning Twenty One as it was for a 21st birthday and actually includes 21 fabrics. All the fabrics are remnants from things made for the birthday boy over the last 21 years. I know its odd to see so many completely different fabrics, that seem to have no rhyme or reason, but they actually do to the person who received it.

In fact it brought about some watery eyes by the receiver, that really did make my day.

The only new fabric is the border, thats to signify the future.

You can't see it in the picture (refer to earlier posting about my inability to take a decent photo) lol, but there are many words from this persons life quilted into the quilt, scattered in the all over meander. The borders are quilted in piano keys, music having been one of many bonds we share.

The other picture is the label for the quilt, made but /sigh needing to be stitched on lol I did give the quilt, but took it back to finish the binding and attach the label. My goal is to someday give a quilt that is completely finished on time before I die....I know I can do it! =)

I can't for the life of me figure out how to insert the photo where I want it, oh well, maybe next time =)

Announcing "Vicki"

2008-06-08T22:22:00.000-07:00

Here she is =) well, if I could take a decent picture that is. I do get this lousy picture taking ability honestly tho, I don't believe my Mum has taken a picture that ever included heads yet. She does however have some outstanding shots of unknown people from the neck down =)

anyway, here is my new baby, I've named her Vicki, in honour of a very special person who touched my life.

As you can see I've been using up scrap batting and fabric to practise with her, she is indeed a great playmate so far.

6 hours

2008-06-06T19:37:00.000-07:00

well....thats 6 hours of my life I'm never gonna get back! but...d-d-d-drumroll please.....the new machine is together! woot!!!! and better yet, I *think* its even together more or less correctly...double woot! No spare parts anyway, so hey, that's gotta mean something?

And...it works! wow...does it ever work! I'm loving it so far, although she is a lot bigger than Ultii, but can you say electronic channel locks!!! and....fabric advance! omg, I've died and gone to heaven =)

I'll post some pics soon, when I find my camera that is, amongst the packaging, directions, tools, I mean really, you didn't expect me to tidy up before I put some fabric on her did you? =)

Farewell to an old and faithful friend

2008-06-05T09:05:00.000-07:00

I wonder if it says something about me to have become so attached to a machine? but I actually felt sadness as I disassembled Ultii to make way for her new big sister.

I suppose its not really that odd, considering her and I worked through so many quilts, each one
depicting some aspect of my life at the time. Joyous moments putting the finishing stitches on a welcome to the family baby quilt, sadder ones when with each stitch I remembered something of my Dad. I think only another quilter might understand.
I hope to find her a new loving home.

In the meantime there are 7 gigantic boxes in my studio, a manual I could use to become the next Miss Muscle Universe, and what looks like a whole lotta hours ahead of me using strange contraptions like allen wrenches. Who calls a wrench Allen anyway?

I will repeat over and over, patience is a virtue, maybe I will even put it to some awesome beats and rival the likes of Lupe!

Wish me luck! =)