Two Tops Complete

Two tops complete this week!  And if you are reading this as one of our class members, don't read any further as they will be part of my Show and Tell on Tuesday this week.  

I was shamed into finishing the Toes in the Sand top by C, well not exactly - it was time, she too has the pattern for this quilt and was keen to hear about its progress.  Well........this was a block of the month kit I bought way back in October 2013. 

My Finished Top with the Pattern

I mentioned it here and here.  It started off very confusingly with a big mix up - not blaming anyone but I thought I was buying the block of the month kit which included the pattern book Eh no! So that was an extra purchase, I did know though that I had to purchase separately the specialist Hex and More ruler.  (Which I can recommend for all sizes of hexis, half hexis and triangles of various sizes). Then there was the mix up over the amount being taken each month from my bank account which had to be sorted out too.  As the monthly packages dropped though my letter box each month I was getting a bit more disheartened.  They were neatly folded and packed in little cellophane bags all very nice but......

The Little Cellophane Bags - not so neat now but with all the left over scraps (what will I do with them?)

 

...... as the months progressed I had the feeling I had bought something I didn't like.  I was enjoying making the triangular blocks - but I didn't like the fabrics.  Liberty prints were mixed with ditsy prints, voiles with heavier fabrics, oakshott type woven with whale prints and primitive snowmen, sea urchins and batiks. A very eclectic mixture which in my eyes just didn't gel together.  However I had started and too late to change things around or swap out the materials. I eventually pieced all the blocks but then all 24 triangular blocks lay in the basket.  Frequently I would look through them and return them to the shelf.  Yes here it is on the second shelf, next to the Farmers Wifey blocks and above the Night before Christmas WIP's

My WIP Baskets

I took the bull by the horns this week and ran into yet another issue when cutting the white background triangles.   I think most quilters cut their shapes with double fabric as it comes off the bolt and I'm no exception.  Beware!!  I started cutting and very quickly realised I was not going to get the number of triangles out each strip as required due to a rather large printed black name on the selvedge.  To do this without a huge waste of fabric and also running out of said fabric supplied, each triangle had to be cut out individually!!  There have been a lot of pitfalls with this kit but I may do some of the individual triangles in the future - I also think it will make a lovely scrappy quilt or perhaps a multicoloured rainbow one to use up some of the smaller pieces in your stash or even a Fat eighth bundle.  It's now all squared up and will probably go into the display case until I summon up enough courage to sandwich and quilt it - it's only taken me 18 months so far to get to this stage.  I don't think I will buy a block of the month kit like this again.  I have just proven to myself (as if I didn't already know) that I like to choose my own fabrics and colour combinations.

The second top was produced using a piece of fabric found on its own in a package at the bottom of my wardrobe.  Now this fabric is old, I think I made a cushion for my elder son when he was younger and long before I started quilting.  I fussy cut the fishes and turned it into a quick Exploding Block.  Yes I know I had had my fill of this block but it was just crying out for this fabric.  Result! teamed with a nice bright stripey yellow fabric for the border yet another Linus quilt almost complete.  It's now sandwiched and ready to be quilted.  I am sure it will be treasured by a little one. 

I didn't manage the spring clean of the summerhouse this week and it looks quite forlorn this morning in the cold, damp and wet.  The acers are beginning to burst their leaves, bright against the grey sky,  hopefully the garden will soon have some colour again and it will be warm enough for us to sit in the sunshine.

Until next week, enjoy what's left of the holiday weekend.

   

A Quilt For My Nephew

My 11 year old nephew was due to get a new quilt.  I have made a couple for him in the past, both of which he still has and are still used.  They were both made as  playmats for his cars and construction vehicles when he was much younger.  One stayed at home and the other was left at Gran and Papa's.

I thought it was time he had a change.  He is a big fan of Transformers and has a few of the characters which 'transform' into cars.  Although I am not an expert I believe there are films, games and all sorts of toys.  I was lucky enough to purchase some fabric recently.  When the lady from Linus visited our group to collect some quilts we had made for the charity, she brought along some fabrics and quilts which had been made especially for boys.  Transformers was one of the prints and as soon as I saw it I knew I just had to make a quilt using thus fabric for R.

I am really pleased with the outcome, I fussy cut Optimus Prime and Bumblebee I used bright solids sandwiched between black and grey to break things up.  R was delighted with the cosy quilt which has a nice red fleece on the back.  He immediately wanted to take it to show all his friends.  The only disappointment was I hadn't included 'Ratchet' who apparently is the mechanic who fixes the others when they are broken.  Oops!  I'll need to see if I can find a picture of him to print on the backing of the cushion cover I am in the midst of making with the leftovers. I even managed a photo outside this week.

The Zandra Rhodes Midnight Lace fabrics are coming together nicely using the T intersection pattern as shown on the Missouri Star Quilt Co Tutorial.  I added another solid teal fabric from my stash  to break things up - too many patterned fabrics were making me dizzy.  The blocks were put together totally randomly - not an easy thing to do if you are a quilter.  It's a well known fact quilters don't do random, we always try to match things up.

The top is almost complete so I might manage a photo of it for next week.

We have been lucky this week and have been able to enjoy nice bright days and glorious sunshine.  I even managed my morning coffee in the summerhouse, although I was sitting amidst the winter debris and cobwebs.  That is this week's project - to give it a good spring clean, dust down the cobwebs and return it from the winter storage dumping ground to what it should be - a nice place to sit in the garden for morning coffee, afternoon tea, or a quiet half hour stitching or reading.  

Enjoy your week ahead.

Using Up The Confetti

Where are the weeks disappearing to?  I've had a good week although busy, a little bit of spring cleaning, the usual lunch and shopping trip and an outpatients visit for Dad.  So my own activities have been a bit curtailed.  I seem to be getting my own house in order very slowly and hope to start very soon on an exciting and long over due, long term project. Maybe in the next couple of weeks.

I did manage a few more Farmers Wifey Blocks - but as I said last week I was running low on the layer cake fabrics, don't want to buy more but I have lots of left over scraps.  Hmmm what to do?  Light bulb moment!  15 minutes of play.  Do you remember this post and this one shows a finished quilt (4th photo down) using the blocks?  Perfect for all those little bits of confetti.  I am very pleased with the results and three more unique blocks to be added to the mix.  You know I'm not one for throwing things away.

Kim Higgins of Biggar Stitches came along to visit us at class as arranged on Tuesday.  What a fun night!  A lovely lady with a fantastic quilty vision for the future.  Kim has a newly developed business plan and an online shop.  She is based in the next town and it's good to have a local presence for quilting notions and fabrics.  Kim brought along some of her stock and a few samples, she spoke of her dreams and how they came to fruition and plans for the future and how they are gradually falling into place.  We were all focussed and enjoying her chat and the time passed too quickly.  We had the opportunity to buy some of the pre-cuts she had brought - mini charms, charms, jelly rolls, layercakes and fat quarters, all of which she is selling online here together with all kinds of quilting notions and supplies.

I thought you might like to see my purchases  - 6 little fat quarters. Yes I know, I know, you know my mantra -  I don't like buying fat quarters -  and there were a few comments by the ladies,  but I do have a plan in mind and it is fat quarter or layer cake friendly.  Kim had not (understandably) brought bolts and I needed a solid to compliment these little attractively folded and stacked fat quarters.  Aren't they cute!  

Kim agreed to send me the Bella solid I wanted, and this little package arrived yesterday

all neatly folded, wrapped and packaged with a little note.   I don't normally advertise here but I wish Kim at Biggar Stitches all the very best and I am sure she will have a few more customers from our group. 

I best get on now and get the never ending bundle of ironing done.  I hope you all have a lovely week whatever you are doing and have time to stop and enjoy the lovely spring flowers which are appearing in the gardens.

Sunshine After The Storm

............ is finished.  

Block 5 is finished too (with a little bit of artistic licence) apart from the embroidery so I am pleased with my efforts this week and it's done just in time for the allotted timescale at class.  

I have just realised though I have a reprieve.  Normally we show our Night Before Christmas progress on the second week of the month at class.  This week we are having a visitor though.  A lady has set up an online quilting shop in the next town and she is coming along to class to talk to us and show us some of her stock - how exciting I'm really looking forward to this.  As I have said before we don't have a fabric shop in our local area so this might be a bonus for us.

A couple of weeks ago at class we started chatting about threads.  Which thread do you use?  Have you considered changing?  Why does one manufacturer's thread seem thicker than another?  This got me thinking and I am about to embark on a trial using different threads by different manufacturers.  There are so many out there but which one is best for piecing and is it all that important.  Gutterman, YLI, Robison Anton, Superior, Aurifil and so the list goes on.  This may take me some time but I will give you an update when I have the results of my findings.

I have also managed to sort out the fabrics I brought home from Canada, that was fun!  Nothing here that I could make a complete quilt with but a lot of blenders and binding fabrics to add to my stash.   I also bought some novelty prints to add to the pieces I have been collecting for some time  to make an I spy quilt for my little grandson then I will use up the leftovers for linus quilts.

This week I hope to do a few of the Farmers Wifey Blocks - I think I mentioned before I am getting towards the end of the layer cake and I'm finding it more difficult to find enough for each block.  I might manage another two or maybe even three blocks if I'm lucky.  I am no where near finishing all the blocks in the book but I knew that before I started, I have a good selection to make up a lap quilt which will do me just fine.

Have a good week whatever you are doing.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter 

It's all in the preparation, or so we are always told.  Prepare well and you will do well, hmmm I'm not so sure.  I'm still struggling with this block No 5.  To be honest I will be glad when it's done and that's my problem - procrastination again.  I need to get this behind me, so I am forging ahead with it this week so that it will be finished for the 2nd Tuesday of this month when I can show it at class with everyone else's.

So as well as completing Block 5 I need to get this binding on and a label for Show and Tell this week at class..........two more sides to go!  Then Sunshine after the Storm will be finished.

Short and sweet this week, sorry I missed last weeks post - let's put it down to jet lag!  I hope you have a lovely long weekend and the Easter bunny leaves lots of lovely chocolate - but don't eat too much at once.  

The Things You See on Holiday

Well would you expect to see this .........

 

The drive to a lovely Sunday afternoon tea at Engedine Lodge took us past one of the film sets of Leonardo DiCaprio's new film the Revenant.  This production is being filmed all around Alberta at various locations including Kananaskis and Canmore.  The film is based on a novel by Michael Punke and DiCaprio plays a frontiersman in the 1820s who is out to seek his revenge on fellows who left him to die after he was mauled by a bear!   Exciting stuff Eh!  Unfortunately no filming was being done and no signs of any activity at all by the tepees or the stockade.  I did manage to capture this shot without the snow cannon and the truck just sitting off to the left!  I guess they wouldn't have been around in 1820.

Or this .......

                                  

Technology of a different kind - Aliens landing? - no just another film crew.  As we were minding our own business, having our afternoon tea and marshmallow crispy square by the edge of a frozen Barrier Lake a group of a dozen folks emerged from a camper van and trucks.  Silence shattered but fun to see the antics.  We think this was perhaps footage for an advert or tourist clip.  The drone flew high overhead twisting and turning, soaring and diving at speed while the operator twitched the joystick on his little harness,  watching all the time the recording on his mini iPad monitor.  All good fun for a Saturday afternoon.

Or this.......

Back to nature, a little furry muskrat, who was taking advantage of the open water and the sun at Vermillion Lakes he obligingly swam to the edge where we managed to sneak a photo or two without disturbing him.

Further along the lake road these two geese swam gracefully along honking loudly at times to their fellows on the other side of the icy lake.  They eventually took off and flew into the distance followed by the other members of the flock - such a noisy departure!

As you can see we have been out and about this week so not a lot of sewing going on although I have managed a few stitches in the evenings when all is quiet.

Block 5 - did I tell you I really do not like this block? - I do not like those sleeping children or the flying 'sugar plums' in their dreams.  Ok I know, I know it's essential to the story but I don't have to like it do I? Well it's almost done but for their faces.  I still might make adaptations.

This is what is happening with that bunch of new fabrics from connecting threads - log cabin blocks with a difference.  Whilst browsing around the usual sites I discovered Missouri Star Quilt Co have issued a new magazine called Mod Block.  I liked the sound of it so thought I would take a punt and pay the $5 to download it electronically.  Now I'm not usually one for digital magazines I like to turn the pages and see the instructions in front of me so that I can make notes, however this was a delightful surprise - I would almost go as far as to say I could see myself making all of these beautiful quilts.............if only I had the time.  Well my first project from this magazine is River Log Cabin by Amy Ellis, using my connecting threads fabrics and more.

Sadly we are coming to the end of our break here, again the time has flown but we have enjoyed the peace and relaxation that holidays usually bring.  So we will soon be packing the bags once again for our return home.

The next time you hear from me I will be back in Scotland once again, until then enjoy your stitching.

Important Step

It's been a lovely week here temperatures rising to low mid teens and bright sunny days.  This is quite unusual for this time of year.  Unfortunately it's not so good for those who ski, the snow is melting on the ski hills and soon will be very little left for those arriving for Easter break.  So I hope you will appreciate that once again there has been little sewing done.  Yesterday was a bit more like our days at home - the clouds were down, no mountains in sight, rainy and wet and somewhat cooler.  So I managed a bit of sewing.  Well not exactly sewing, the bunting blocks have been completed and are now neatly trimmed up to 6.5in squares.

As I was sitting enjoying this process I wondered how many of you quilters out there skip this step thinking it a waste of time?  It takes quite a while to trim as you sew and if you leave the trimming until all the blocks are done do you just think, oh they look ok I'll just go ahead and join them up?  I have been known to skip the trimming step in the past but times change as you quickly realise it is a very important step in order to keep your quilt squared. Even although you think you have cut the pieces accurately, sewn the exact quarter inch seam, and pressed the seams flat, sometimes, just sometimes things can slip around.  If you have lots of squares and each one is out just a smidgen your final outcome could be a wonky top.  If you do miss this important step please think again and consider it for the future.  Just look at the little nest of slivers produced from 80 blocks!

Time is slipping by and we are just over our half way mark for this holiday.  A shopping trip is on the agenda for this week into the city.  We are not looking for anything specific but it's good to see what's available on sale in the shops here and we usually manage to pick up a few bargains. 

Today is Mother's Day back in the UK so Techie organised with his Dad to buy me some lovely flowers for the occasion. That was a lovely and unexpected surprise!  So Happy Mother's Day to you all.