Alpaca / Wool Pressing Mats

/ quiltinggail / 10 Comments

One of the fantastic products I received in my July Island Batik boxes is the Alpaca/Wool Pressing mat from Prairie Spirit Alpacas.

I absolutely LOVE this mat! When I use it, all of my seams come out crisp and perfect! (provided I’ve sewn with an accurate 1/4″ seam! LOL!)

As well, when I was pressing the fabric for my September project, the creases came out without the need for any spray! (Sorry, I can’t show all the fabrics to you!)

My friend, Carmen owns the alpaca farm and I wrote a post about it HERE. There is also a slide show where you can see several of the alpacas. Carmen LOVES each one and has lovingly given each a name. When you are with her, she can tell you the parentage of each alpaca.

Let me tell you a bit about the mats: The  alpaca fleece is combined with wool from Alberta.   The fleece/wool is sent to Mississauga, Ontario where it is felted and cut into mats. So, they are totally 100% Canadian made!

I find that there is very little, if any, “wet dog” smell! I’m allergic to wool and the mat does not make me sneeze or make my skin itchy if I touch it!

Many pressing mats (usually made in China) will tell you that you can use the mats directly on furniture! I find this an erroneous statement as I know that the heat can go through the mats and can ruin the finish on furniture. I use my mat on my ironing board or on a protective surface.

Commercial sprays (like Best Press or Terial Magic) can make the mats dirty. I use a cover on my mat if I’m going to be using anything besides water. Using a fine spray of water on the mat enhances the pressing wonder!

If you are interested in a mat, you can purchase one at Prairie Spirit Alpacas. While you are there, browse through the website. The socks are fantastic! (I’m always COLD and the socks keep my feet warm and toasty! I can’t live without them in the winter time! The yarn is soft and easy to knit with! And the dryer balls! Perfect for the drier! No need to use commercial dryer sheets – they make the clothes come out soft and shorten drying time!

And, just an FYI: I do not receive any money for your purchase. I am just a thrilled customer!

I was Featured

My Tree of Life Quilt was featured by Susan of Quilt Fabrication , Jennifer of Inquiring Quilter and Kelly of My Quilt Infatuation. You can read about it HERE.

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Linking to:

Marvelous Minis with Island Batik!

/ quiltinggail / 14 Comments

Here is what Island Batik told us: “A Miniature Quilt is a wonderful way to explore a piecing or quilting technique or make a pattern without a huge investment in time and fabric. They are defined as small versions of full sized quilts and range in size between 12 to 24 inches on a side to being no larger than 24 inches square.”

Earlier this year, the Boundary Bay Quilters Guild had Candyce Grisham as a speaker. It was interesting to look at dresden plates in a different light.

Then, at a guild retreat in March, two of the ladies had the book “Dresden Quilt Blocks Reimagined.” Within a very short period of time there were a zillion different dresden plates being made all over the retreat. It was definitely contagious!

This book has great directions to make all sorts of different dresdens … all different sizes, stratas, pointed, curved, notched … with lots of different suggestions for quilts and wall hangings!

The following pictures are from the retreat. SEW much dresden fun!

Fast forward to July, and a few of us got together on a sunny day and made Dresden plates … missing is the host, Linda (she took the picture) and a LOT of the Dresden plates were not shown on the design wall.

I decided to make Dresdens for my August Marvelous Mini Island Batik project. It was a new-to-me technique and a perfect time to experiment with a variety of Island Batik fabrics.

After making a bunch of Dresdens:

  • top left: I laid them out, cut out the centres
  • top right: Extra fabric was removed, then the Dresdens were glued them all in place
  • a picture of the cut-outs
  • the final layout before quilting.

The colourful fabric in the bottom left picture is “Jellybean” and the binding is Bubbles-Periwinkle-B. The rest of the fabrics are scraps left over from various projects or from stash builder bundles.

Quilt Stats:

  • Size: 24″ x 24″
  • Hobbs Batting: Thermore
  • Dresden’s made on a Singer Featherweight, Quilting and Binding done on a Janome M7

Aurifil Thread  used are:

  • 2600 Dove (piecing and quilting)
  • 4225 Eggplant (quilting)
  • 2515 Light Orchid (quilting)
  • 2610 Light Blue Grey (attaching binding)

I don’t have pictures, but I did use a Schmetz needle on my featherweight. Also, I used my Prairie Spirit Alpaca Alpaca/Wool pressing mat after gluing the Dresdens in place! The mat assisted the glue to dry and the Dresdens were lovely and flat and ready for quilting.

We went Redwood Park, to the Fairy forest. This park is here in Surrey and the Fairy Forest is in the park. It’s pretty cool. There are hundreds of birdhouses … all shapes, sizes, colours … and every time we go, there are more and more birdhouses! People just bring them and set them in the forest! It was the perfect location for a photo shoot of my whimsical mini quilt!

Thank you!

Disclosure: The fabrics, batting, thread and needles were generously supplied by the following companies: Thank you, Island Batik  Aurifil Thread  Hobbs Batting  Schmetz Needles and Prairie Spirit Alpacas !!

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

PHD in 2022: July Report

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Seen on Facebook:

OK … 7 months of the year have passed … how are you doing on your PHD??? If you look at the Chances of Success – at what stage are you at? Only you can change your chances! What are you going to do?

I’m between “I THINK I CAN” and “I AM” depending upon which UFO I’m think of.

July’s Accomplishments!

I finished ONE UFO this month. The UFO blog hop was definitely the push I needed to get it done! You can read about it HERE.

And the Squirrel Quilt is finally finished! It’s not a UFO, but it is a “Start in 2022” finish! It was a fun quilt to quilt … wild quilting or graffiti quilting … All of the fabric came from my stash!

The Tally Sheets

Here is an Excel File for you to use (if you want).

PHD Tally 2022- with formulasDownload

And here is the link where you can find the colourful Task Sheet at Ms P Designs.

The Linky Party

Show us your PHD in 2022 Progress!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter
https://fresh.inlinkz.com/js/widget/load.js?id=c0efdbe6b4add43dd7ef

New Classes this Fall

I pieced 2 tops that I will be teaching at Essem Textiles in the fall. Essem is going to do edge to edge quilting on them. I must admit, it felt VERY VERY weird to hand over quilt tops for someone else to quilt. I have never done that before! Ever. I have always quilted my own quilts.

The fabrics for both of these quilts are available at Essem. The one on the left is a fat quarter bundle and the one on the right is an assortment of grunge.

The dates for the classes have not been decided – yet. But, if you are interested in either or both quilts, let Essem know. And, if you have a preferred date, let them know that as well!

Stitching Time

‘

Kate, from Life in Pieces, is hosting “Stitching Stuff” and the goal is to sew for at least 15 minutes a day. I use Kate’s guideline, but my personal goal is to sew for 30 minutes a day. On those “blah” days, it does motivate me to sit at my machine and 30 minutes often turns into several hours. Thank you Kate for the motivation!

  • January – July: 178 / 211
  • August:  0 / 0
  • Total:  178 / 211
  • Percentage = 84% 

Stash Report

Donna at Quilt Paint Create hosts a weekly linky party where you can display your stash numbers. This has really kept my stash from growing (somewhat!) Before I buy anything, I am always mindful of the fact that I need to report it on my blog … That sometimes stops me in my tracks!

The Squirrel quilt (above) used 9.5 yards from my stash.

I bought 2.25 yellow flannel for a backing

  • Fabric Used since the last report    9.5  yards
  • Fabric Used this year:       62 yards
  • Fabric Bought this week:   2.25 yards
  • Fabric Added this year:    14 yards 
  • Net Fabric used                 48 yards 

To Do

Linda from Texas Quilt Gal is hosting “To Do” every week.

The To Do list from the last report:

It’s been 3 weeks – so it’s not surprising that I got everything done!

  1. Finish  Island Batik Christmas in July quilt. This HAS to be my priority!!! No more procrastinating on “how do I quilt this?” √   DONE and posted HERE
  2. Sandwich  3 Yard Quilt √   DONE
  3. Quilt Squirrel Quilt √   DONE
  4. Work on August Island Batik Marvelous Mini project  √   DONE
  5. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder!  √   DONE
  6. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes √   DONE

This week’s list:

  1. Start piecing Island Batik’s September project
  2. Quilt:  3 Yard Quilt
  3. Work on project for “See Ya Later” Blog Hop
  4. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! 
  5. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes

Design Wall

Donna, at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts, host a linky party for “What’s on your Design Wall” every week.

Piecing:

  1. September Island Batik Quilt
  2.  Summer Mystery Quilt: I will be hosting a mystery quilt here on the blog … I’m in the process of writing the pattern and sewing it. When it’s almost ready, I’ll announce the dates and all the details. This is slow going because I’ve been focusing on other projects
  3. “See Ya Later” Blog Hop

Quilting:

  1. 3 Yard Quilt. needs to be quilted. And, since I have a plan for the quilting, it doesn’t have to languish waiting for me to decide on how to quilt it!

Upcoming Blog Hops

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting! 
Gail 

Friday Finishes

/ quiltinggail / 16 Comments

I don’t have anything new that is finished … but I have had a couple of finishes in the last week or so.

The first finish was my July Island Batik project that used the Accuquilt Tree of Life Block on Board. The 73 pieces of the block can be cut in one run through of the die. But of course, I had to do it differently and make it scrappy. You can read more about the quilt at this BLOG POST.

I must admit that I am very pleased with how this quilt turned out.

Yes, this quilt used Island Batik fabrics, Hobbs batting and Aurifil thread for the quilting.

Oh, and Cheryl at Meadow Mist Designs hosts a favourite quilt of the month linky party, and this happens to be mine!

My 2nd finish is my post for the UFO blog hop. This kit had been languishing in my “To Do” box and was on my UFO list both last year and this! You can read about it HERE. Here’s a picture:

Monthly Colour Challenge

Jen, of Patterns by Jen holds a monthly colour challenge. This month’s challenge is purple.

Here is my purple block, made with the rich colours of Island Batik fabrics!

And all of my 7 blocks so far for this year … I think it will be a very pretty quilt when it’s finished!

I don’t have a lot of purple quilts … but these are a few that I’ve done in the past couple of years.

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Linking to:

Island Batik Unboxing Video July 2022

/ quiltinggail / 10 Comments

My 2 boxes from Island Batik arrived earlier this month. They were full of all sorts of wonderful fabric and fun items!

A Summary of the Contents:

Hobbs Batting generously supplied the following:

  • Throw Size Silk
  • Queen Size 80/20 Heirloom Natural
  • Queen Size 80/20 Heirloom Black
  • 2 1/4″ batting strips
  • Queen size Thermore

Fabric from Island Batik included:

  • A surprise Bundle for the November project
  • 1/2 yard cuts of 12 different fabrics: (ice, midnight blue, ravine, bluebelle, dot-tin, wavy dot bluebird, cherrio-navy, bubbles – grey, solid orange,green, fuschia, and cobalt
  • A stack (40 – 10″ squares) of Cheers plus 2 yards of Mini Flower-Carnation and 2 yards of Dandelion-Plum
  • 2 packages of stash builder bundles
  • 20 half yard cuts of Flourish, plus 2 yards of Dots-Brown Brownie and Vertical Vine-Orange (September project)
  • 6 yards of “Rice”
  • 4 yards each of solid White, Grey and Black

Accuquilt sent the Tree of Life, Block on Board (July project)

Prairie Spirit Alpacas sent a alpaca/wool pressing mat.

ByAnnie sent me EVERYTHING I need to make “A Place for Everything 2.0.” The Island Batik fabrics are Humming Bird Nectar, Dots-Multi Blue Green and Honeycomb – Purple, all from the “Bee Kind” fabric collection. (October project)

Studio 180 sent the Corner Pop ruler (September project)

Thank You!

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting! 
Gail 

UFO Blog Hop

/ quiltinggail / 37 Comments

This blog hop came from the creative mind of Joan at Moose Stash Quilting!

Many of us have lots of UFOs ! These are known in the quilting world at UnFinished Objects. In the past I had over 100 UFOs. I thought I only had 80-something, but I kept finding more and more! On my blog, I run a PHD in (the year). PHD stands for Projects Half Done, but is a cute play on the academic PhD. The idea is to complete at least 12 UFOs and finish every project you start that year. This Blog Hop fits nicely into my PHD in 2022 and I managed to get another UFO finished!

One of my UFOs on the list was called “Kit – Narrows.” This was a Row by Row kit from Fiber Lilly in St. John’s, Newfoundland. I bought the kit 5 years ago when my husband and I were there. Fiber Lilly is a lovely quilt store, and one I would frequent if I lived nearby!

I know that I’ve been frequently known to call applique “CR-APplique.” I have hated applique. But, I am determined to do more and hopefully, one day, I might even like it!

I used Hobbs Thermore for the batting. It is a thin polyester batting that is low loft and does not beard. I find it is perfect for small projects!

Here is the quilt, after the pieces were fused on and before the quilting.

Then, it needed quilting and the button houses attached. The land, and boat were all outlined with an applique stitch. I did a large meander for the clouds in the sky and waves in the water. The iceberg is easy to see, but can you spot the whale’s tale?

I took my time with the quilting and used the following Aurifil Threads:

  • # 5004 – Grey Smoke (land, whale & motor)
  • # 2311 – Muslin (Iceberg, boat, fisherman)
  • # 4655 – Storm @ Sea – variegated (sky)
  • # 4669 – Stonewash Blues – variegated (water and binding)

In my latest Island Batik box, I received a lovely pressing mat from Prairie Spirit Alpacas. I’ll talk more about it in a future post, but I LOVED using it !

Visit the other UFO bloggers:

Monday July 25

Tuesday July 26

Wednesday July 27

Thursday July 28

Friday July 29

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Mayne Island Quilt Show

/ quiltinggail / 14 Comments

I went to this quilt show on Saturday. It was absolutely fabulous!

A friend picked some of us up at 5:45 in the morning (that’s super super early for me!) and we caught the 7 am ferry. Here are a bunch of us on the ferry … Amazingly, we are all awake! Although several people needed a few cups of coffee! {grin}

The quilt show was held in the Japanese Garden. It was a delightful venue and the weather was perfect!

The theme was “Hats Off to Quilting” and they had hats scattered throughout the garden. I didn’t take a picture of every quilt. but here are a few that caught my fancy! And, I realize that there are a few quilts that I loved, but didn’t take a picture of! {groan}

Beautiful Spools!
Beautiful Hexies
Pink waterlilies in the pond
Beautiful rooster with the sun shining through
Houses and more houses
Flowers and Waterlilies
Hats in the Garden
Sewing machine – I saw the start of this at a guild retreat!
Lots of different technics
I need this in my quilt room!
I LOVE elephants!
A photo booth!
Cool zebra!
Beautiful Christmas trees!
The eyes looked real!
Sisterhood Swap
The sun was shining through – just perfect
Love the truck!
Loved the variations of a class projects!
Kafe Dresdens
Quilt from the Days for Girls card
Love the colours!
Browns and Beiges – so pretty!
Colourful star!
81 blocks from a book of 100 blocks
HST – so Pretty!
Love the variety of colours!
Greys – well organized!
Greys … I want to cuddle up in this one!
Double row of houses
Beautiful!
Optical illusion!
This is NOT waving in the wind … it was made to look like it!
SEW cute!
Canadian Flag!
Love the 3-D effect from this quilt haning on the bridge!
A mistake is simply another way of doing things!
Our lunch time view!

I hope you enjoyed a small portion of the show!

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Christmas in July with Accuquilt

/ quiltinggail / 23 Comments

Here’s what Island Batik told us about this challenge:

AccuQuilt just launched its exciting GO! Tree of Life Block on Board Die! This die assists quilters in quickly cutting the seventy-three pieces needed to create a 3-color, 14” traditional tree of life (also known as the tree of paradise) quilt block after one pass through a fabric cutter. The GO! Tree of Life Die was specially designed with no y-seams – making it accessible to quilters of all skill levels. There is no need to cut all the pieces by hand or use multiple dies to create this popular quilt block.

When you finish, AccuQuilt would like you to give the project you have made to someone you know who needs a little joy or donate it to a charity of your choosing to gift it to someone. When gifting the completed project, be sure to take photos, so this moment of kindness and love can be shared on social media!

Here is a picture of some of the purples cut with the Accuquilt Tree of Life die:

All of the Island Batik Ambassadors received an Pressing Mat from Prairie Spirit Alpacas. I used it to press everything as I made this quilt. The Alpaca/Wool mat made the seams crisp and perfect!

And here’s a couple of pictures of the quilting in progress. I used Silly Moon rulers for a lot of the quilting. The left hand picture shows me using the 8″ Beanie ruler and the right hand picture is some border quilting using “Rocket”. The burgundy “thing” is called “Dude” and is perfect for measuring exactly where the ruler needs to sit. Aurifil Thread #2600 (Dove) was used for the quilting.

For a unique photo shoot, we went to Redwood Park here in Surrey. Here’s what the City of Surrey says about the park:

The unique forest found at Redwood Park is a legacy of Peter and David Brown, twin brothers born to one of Surrey’s earliest pioneering families. In 1893, their father gifted them this large plot of land, logged and ripe for farming.
However, the brothers instead filled the vast space with their favourite trees from all around the world. Fully committed to their forest sanctuary, the eccentric duo built a treehouse where they lived in solitude until their deaths in 1949 and 1958.
Today, a replica of their treehouse stands in the centre of the park.

A picture of the quilt at the treehouse.

And under the Treehouse:

And in the Fairy Forest:

My finished quilt is being mailed to a dear friend of mine. I would LOVE to be able to hug her in person, but that is not possible at this time.

Quilt Stats:

  • Size: 49.5″ x 49.5″
  • Fabric: Scraps of Island Batik from many collections along with Solid White. The purple tree and the binding used Roast.
  • Hobbs Batting 80/20 Natural
  • Aurifil Thread #2600 – 50 wt – (Dove) was used for the quilting and piecing // #2360 – 40 wt: (Chocolate) was used for the binding
  • Piecing, Quilting and Binding done on my Janome M7

Too many HST!

Yes, I made too many half-square triangles … I did not figure out how many I needed for the borders and I certainly did not count how many I made!

So, I made this little zipper bag …

Thank you!

Disclosure: The items needed to make this quilt were generously supplied by the following companies: Thank you, Island Batik  Aurifil Thread  Hobbs Batting, Accuquilt, Schmetz Needles and Prairie Spirit Alpacas !!

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

No finishes today … just quilting

/ quiltinggail / 8 Comments

I’m still quilting my July Island Batik project … just working on the border with Silly Moon “Rocket” ruler and “dude” to ensure its lined up properly! I’m using Aurifil thread (2600 – Dove) and you can see Hobbs 80/20 batting poking out!

I was Featured

Jennifer featured this sweet panel from last week. You can read about it HERE.

Andrée / Free Motion Mavericks featured my Pop Star Quilt. For more details read this POST.

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting! 
Gail 

Linking to:

Monday Moments July 11

/ quiltinggail / 10 Comments

Dianne’s Quilt

 Dianne emailed me in May asking for the pattern for 3D Pinwheels. She made the quilt and said, “All piecing and quilting were accomplished on my workhorse 1952 Singer 15-91.  She’s a joy.  I like the looks of this quilt, which will be donated to Firehouse Quilts of Colorado.”  

I think Dianne did a fantastic job making 3D Pinwheels! Isn’t it great that she pieced AND quilted this on an antique Singer? Just shows that you don’t need the latest and greatest newest machine with all the bells and whistles!

Thank you, Dianne for sharing q picture of your quilt with me and giving me permission to post it on my blog! I’m sure the Firehouse Quilts of Colorado will love receiving this beauty!

You can read more about the original 3D Pinwheels quilt HERE and HERE.

Stitching Time

‘

Kate, from Life in Pieces, is hosting “Stitching Stuff” and the goal is to sew for at least 15 minutes a day. I use Kate’s guideline, but my personal goal is to sew for 30 minutes a day. On those “blah” days, it does motivate me to sit at my machine and 30 minutes often turns into several hours. Thank you Kate for the motivation!

  • January – June:  149 / 180
  • July 1 – 11:  11/11
  • Total:  161/ 192
  • Percentage = 83% 

Stash Report

Donna at Quilt Paint Create hosts a weekly linky party where you can display your stash numbers. This has really kept my stash from growing (somewhat!) Before I buy anything, I am always mindful of the fact that I need to report it on my blog … That sometimes stops me in my tracks!

No shopping, no fabric added, no finishes …

  • Fabric Used since the last report      0  yards
  • Fabric Used this year:       53.5 yards
  • Fabric Bought this week:   0 yards
  • Fabric Added this year:    11.75 yards 
  • Net Fabric used                 41.75 yards 

To Do

Linda from Texas Quilt Gal is hosting “To Do” every week.

The To Do list from last week:

  1. Finish  Island Batik Christmas in July quilt. top is done, quilting is not done
  2. Work on 3 Yard Quilt √   DONE
  3. Quilt Squirrel Quilt not done
  4. Tidy up and organize my Island Batik fabric √   DONE and does it ever feel good to have it organized!!
  5. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder!  √   DONE
  6. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes √   DONE

This week’s list:

  1. Finish  Island Batik Christmas in July quilt. This HAS to be my priority!!! No more procrastinating on “how do I quilt this?”
  2. Sandwich  3 Yard Quilt
  3. Quilt Squirrel Quilt
  4. Work on August Island Batik Marvelous Mini project
  5. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! 
  6. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes

Design Wall

Donna, at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts, host a linky party for “What’s on your Design Wall” every week.

Piecing:

  1. August Island Batik Marvelous Mini
  2.  Summer Mystery Quilt: I will be hosting a mystery quilt here on the blog … I’m in the process of writing the pattern and sewing it. When it’s almost ready, I’ll announce the dates and all the details. This is slow going because I’ve been focusing on other projects
  3. UFO blog hop project

Quilting:

  1. 3 Yard Quilt. needs to be sandwiched! And I have a plan for the quilting !

2. Island Batik Christmas in July quilt … it’s sandwiched and I just need to decide on how to quilt it and then quilt it!

2. Squirrel is sandwiched and I have a plan for the quilting! – but this is taking a back seat for now.

Upcoming Blog Hops

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting! 
Gail 

Linking to:

A Friday Finish

/ quiltinggail / 7 Comments

This was a super fun, easy panel to finish. I quilted this sweet panel for Essem Textiles. It was a fun panel to quilt! I love how soft and cuddly it is.

If you would like this panel, Essem offers fantastic online service. They are quick and efficient! (They can also send you the darker blue binding fabric and the fabric I used on the back! If you request it!)

I was Featured!

Jennifer, from Inquiring Quilter, featured 4 of my projects from last week:

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting! 
Gail 

Linking to:

A Road Trip

/ quiltinggail / 12 Comments

Last month my husband and I made a quick trip to Edmonton to visit my sister. Of course, it included going to a few stores. We went to Lori’s Country Cottage where my sister picked out what she wanted to buy at their longest day of the year sale. And she also picked out fabric for the Flower Window Hanging Class that we did together. (The class was by Epida Studio and I highly recommend it!)

Then we went to Winfield, a small town SW of Edmonton. The quilting store is Country Stitches Quilting and Fabrics. They had a LOT of Island Batik fabrics and I bought the “flower” and “background” fabric that you see in my Flower Window Hanging. My sister fell in love with a panel and bought enough fabric to make a decent sized quilt. (See picture below!) I resisted and only bought the 2 Island Batik fabrics! And, since it’s IB fabric and already used, I’m not adding it to the stash report.

Here’s some pictures of the store! It’s packed with lots of fabrics, IB fabrics, panels and more! They also sell online.

Lots of panels

Stitching Time

‘

Kate, from Life in Pieces, is hosting “Stitching Stuff” and the goal is to sew for at least 15 minutes a day. I use Kate’s guideline, but my personal goal is to sew for 30 minutes a day. On those “blah” days, it does motivate me to sit at my machine and 30 minutes often turns into several hours. Thank you Kate for the motivation!

This week I’ve been doing more “unsewing” than sewing … but it still counts, right? And, I’ve been gallivanting around with my cousin, so that has cut into sewing time.

  • January – June:  149 / 180
  • July 1 – 5:  5 / 5
  • Total: 154 / 185
  • Percentage = 83% 

Stash Report

Donna at Quilt Paint Create hosts a weekly linky party where you can display your stash numbers. This has really kept my stash from growing (somewhat!) Before I buy anything, I am always mindful of the fact that I need to report it on my blog … That sometimes stops me in my tracks!

No shopping, no fabric added, no finishes …

  • Fabric Used since the last report      0  yards
  • Fabric Used this year:       53.5 yards
  • Fabric Bought this week:   0 yards
  • Fabric Added this year:    11.75 yards 
  • Net Fabric used                 41.75 yards 

To Do

Linda from Texas Quilt Gal is hosting “To Do” every week.

The To Do list from last week:

  1. Mail Island Batik Catalogue quilts to California. √   DONE
  2. Work on 3 Yard Quilt √   DONE
  3. Quilt Squirrel Quilt not done
  4. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder!  √   DONE
  5. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes √   DONE

This week’s list:

  1. Finish  Island Batik Christmas in July quilt.
  2. Work on 3 Yard Quilt
  3. Quilt Squirrel Quilt
  4. Tidy up and organize my Island Batik fabric
  5. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! 
  6. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes

Design Wall

Donna, at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts, host a linky party for “What’s on your Design Wall” every week.

Piecing:

  1. 3 Yard Quilt. My cousin, Connie, kept talking about 3 yard quilts that her guild did. I looked at one of her patterns, cut it out and started sewing … Here are the fabrics I’m using (from my stash)

2. Summer Mystery Quilt: I will be hosting a mystery quilt here on the blog … I’m in the process of writing the pattern and sewing it. When it’s almost ready, I’ll announce the dates and all the details.

3. Island Batik Christmas in July quilt … I’m using an Accuquilt die and am loving how all of the pieces are cut perfectly!

Quilting:

  1. Squirrel is sandwiched and I have a plan for the quilting!

Upcoming Blog Hops

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting! 
Gail 

Linking to:

PHD in 2022: June Report

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YES!!! You can do this!!!!

Are you feeling overwhelmed by your UFOs or New Starts? That’s OK! The feeling is real and you can’t deny it! However, if you arise from your computer chair and go forth to your sewing machine, you WILL conquer a little bit and that will decrease your overwhelmed feeling!

June’s Accomplishments!

I did not finish any UFOs this month. I did finish 2 Island Batik catalogue quilts and they are on their way to California – but I can’t show you for many moons. However, I can show you my “Here Comes the Sun” project and my Pop Star quilt. Both finishes for this month! You can read about them by clicking on the links. I also finished a little zipper pouch and you can read about it HERE.

A Christmas panel was quilted and I took it to Essem before I remembered to take a picture of it! However, Simina sent me a picture of it and some of the quilting this morning. If you’d like the panel, contact Essem Textiles. It’s such a cute panel with Santas, reindeer, bears and snowmen!

The Tally Sheets

Here is an Excel File for you to use (if you want).

PHD Tally 2022- with formulasDownload

And here is the link where you can find the colourful Task Sheet at Ms P Designs.

The Linky Party

Show us your PHD in 2022 Progress!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter
https://fresh.inlinkz.com/js/widget/load.js?id=c0efdbe6b4add43dd7ef

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting! 
Gail 

Linking to:

Here Comes the Sun Blog Hop

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Carol, from Just Let Me Quilt is hosting this blog hop. Here comes the Sun is a great title for a June blog hop. However, I live in Western Canada … on the WET coast! We haven’t seen much sun and it has been cool! On the news, they are calling it “June-uary.”

What is the challenge for “Here Comes The Sun”?

Sew something that has a summer theme like: sunglasses, beach items, sunny skies, and/or yellow colors. It can be a quilt, a bag, a toy, or whatever you want it to be.

So, I took a class from Elizabeth at Epida Studio and made this great window hanging with the sun inside the flower! (She has several different classes and is a fantastic teacher! I highly advise that you look into taking a class from her)

The technique to make this was totally new to me. It’s called Pojagi. It’s a technique that Elizabeth learned in Korea. The seams make it look like stained glass.

And here’s a picture of it in the window!

The fabrics are Island Batik … The yellow is Ogee Petal Sunshine, the flower petals are Floral Wonders and the background is Butterfly Blooms.

Once this was stitched together, it was a bit flimsy, so I sprayed it with Terial Magic and it was perfect!

Here’s the list of all of the blogs that are participating! Enjoy the sunny eye candy!

June 20

June 21

June 22

June 23

July 24

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting! 
Gail 

Linking to:

Sunday’s Thoughts

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My cousin, Connie, is visiting from Ontario and we’re having a blast! We spent one day at Quilt Canada, with my husband enjoying it as well! (I’ll talk about Quilt Canada in a future post). Then we did a tour of Trend-tex (a fabric distributor). Today, we went to a fabric sale in a home and to a fabric store. Such fun! There’s a few more days before she heads home … who knows how much trouble we can get into?

Pop Star

Pop Star is finished … and I will be linking to the Pop Star QAL Final Parade. If you want the pattern you can find it HERE. MMM Quilts has some fantastic designs! I LOVE making her patterns!

This quilt was made with Island Batik fabrics: the background is linen, the light blue is pool, and the dark blue is raven. It was sandwiched with Hobbs 80/20. I backed it with a light yellow flannel.

Here’s a closeup of the quilting in the corner … the star used Silly Moon’s Twinkle ruler.

Stitching Time

‘

Kate, from Life in Pieces, is hosting “Stitching Stuff” and the goal is to sew for at least 15 minutes a day. I use Kate’s guideline, but my personal goal is to sew for 30 minutes a day. On those “blah” days, it does motivate me to sit at my machine and 30 minutes often turns into several hours. Thank you Kate for the motivation!

This week I’ve been doing more “unsewing” than sewing … but it still counts, right? And, I’ve been gallivanting around with my cousin, so that has cut into sewing time.

  • January – May:  119 / 150
  • June 1 – 20:  15 / 20
  • Total: 134 / 170
  • Percentage = 79% 

Stash Report

Donna at Quilt Paint Create hosts a weekly linky party where you can display your stash numbers. This has really kept my stash from growing (somewhat!) Before I buy anything, I am always mindful of the fact that I need to report it on my blog … That sometimes stops me in my tracks!

I was at Quilt Canada last week … and I absolutely fell in love with this beautiful fat quarter bundle. I’m not sure what I’m going to do with it … but I do LOVE it. It’s called Bluebird, by Edyta Sitar and I bought it at the Chitterchatter booth. There is a total of 5.5 yards.

When Connie and I went on the Trend-tex tour, we did get a lot of swag … but I’m not counting it because it’s too hard to calculate different sizes of fabric and I didn’t buy it. Also included was a water bottle, a scone and a delicious treat! I have no idea what I’ll do with the fabric, but it’ll be used or it’ll go to the guild’s free table.

The Pop Star quilt used 1.25 yards of background …

  • Fabric Used since the last report      10.5  yards
  • Fabric Used this year:       53.5 yards
  • Fabric Bought this week:   5.5 yards
  • Fabric Added this year:    11.75 yards 
  • Net Fabric used                 41.75 yards 

To Do

Linda from Texas Quilt Gal is hosting “To Do” every week.

The To Do list from last week:

  1. Work on Here Comes the Sun  blog hop project √   DONE
  2. Finish 2 quilts for an upcoming Island Batik Catalogue … I’ll show you once the catalogue is out.Quilt  not completed
  3. Pop Star Quilt √   DONE 
  4. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder!  √   DONE
  5. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes √   DONE

This week’s list:

  1. Finish both Island Batik Catalogue quilts
  2. Make something … but I’m not sure what!
  3. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! 
  4. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes

Design Wall

Donna, at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts, host a linky party for “What’s on your Design Wall” every week.

Piecing:

  1. Even I’m surprised that I don’t have anything being pieced at the moment!

Quilting:

  1. Squirrel is sandwiched and I have a plan for the quilting!

2. The Island Batik Catalogue quilt tops are done – one is quilted and needs the hanging sleeve and the other is in the process of having all of the quilting removed and will be re-quilted … I used an OLD Aurifil Variegated Rayon thread that looked great on the top … and the back was HORRID!!!! Of course, I did not check the back until I was done! Call me dumb, call me stupid, but it serves me right for not checking the back!

Here comes the Sun Blog Hop

This blog hop starts this week! My day is on Tuesday!

Island Batik Blog Hop

Have you been following the latest Island Batik Blog Hop? With quilts featuring the New York Beauty pattern? It’s been quite a variety of wonderful quilts!

I posted mine on June 6 … you can read about it HERE. Here’s links to the blogs that will be posting this week:

June 20:

Claudia Porter, Create with Claudia
Brianna Roberts, Sew Cute and Quirky

June 21:

Gail Renna, Quilt Haven Threads
Preeti Harris, Sew Preeti Quilts

June 22:

Megan Best, Bestquilter
Leah Malasky, Quilted Delights

June 23:

Suzy Webster, Websterquilt
Emily Leachman, The Darling Dogwood

Opportunity to win!

You can win a fat quarter bundle of Tranquility or Woodblock Bouquets … both wonderful collections! Just follow the prompts in the Rafflecopper giveaway below

a Rafflecopter giveaway https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

Some of my followers tell me that the Rafflecopter doesn’t work for them … if that’s you, go to Island Batik’s blog and enter there.

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting! 
Gail 

Linking to:

Fons & Porter: Love of Quilting

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Have you seen the latest issue of Fons & Porter, Love of Quilting? I am super excited about this issue!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I’ve been looking high and low for it, with little luck. Until today! YEAH!!!

Why? you ask … Because, I have a quilt in the issue. They did a fabulous job photographing it. I absolutely LOVE the table in front of it.

I was so excited to see this in the magazine! A few people emailed me saying that they had seen it – but I hadn’t! It was pretty cool to see it in the magazine!

Quilt Stats:

  • Designed, pieced and quilted by ME!
  • 42.5″ x 42.5″
  • Island Batik fabrics: Contempo and
  • Hobbs 80/20 Batting
  • Aurifil thread (yellow)
  • Free motion quilting on my domestic machine
  • Backing is Fireside

The directions for the quilt are in the magazine. If you make it, I’d love to see a picture!

Here’s a picture of my quilt where you can see all the quilting!

I was Featured!

Jennifer from Inquiring Quilter and Kelly from My Quilt Infatuation both featured my quilts from last week! You can read about it HERE.

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting! 
Gail 

Linking to:

Monday Moments: June 13

/ quiltinggail / 22 Comments

I have a finish to show you. I finished this quite a while ago, but couldn’t show you. It was the latest mystery quilt that the guild did! The pattern is from a book, but I re-wrote the instructions to use strip piecing. It makes it so much easier to construct the quilt. And because the original directions were from a “Mystery Quilt” book, I cannot share them with you! Sorry!

This quilt was made with fabrics from my stash. And I only put on the one border … the original directions called for 3 borders.

Here’s a close-up of the quilting … it sort-of looks like feathers, but in reality, it’s just an elongated swirl – way easier than feathers to do!

Stitching Time

‘

Kate, from Life in Pieces, is hosting “Stitching Stuff” and the goal is to sew for at least 15 minutes a day. I use Kate’s guideline, but my personal goal is to sew for 30 minutes a day. On those “blah” days, it does motivate me to sit at my machine and 30 minutes often turns into several hours. Thank you Kate for the motivation!

Not many days of sewing this week.

  • January – May:  119 / 150
  • June 1 – 13:  9 / 12
  • Total: 128 / 162
  • Percentage = 79% 

Stash Report

Donna at Quilt Paint Create hosts a weekly linky party where you can display your stash numbers. This has really kept my stash from growing (somewhat!) Before I buy anything, I am always mindful of the fact that I need to report it on my blog … That sometimes stops me in my tracks!

The guild mystery quilt used 9.25 yards

  • Fabric Used since the last report      9.25  yards
  • Fabric Used this year:       52.25 yards
  • Fabric Bought this week:   0 yards
  • Fabric Added this year:    6.25 yards 
  • Net Fabric used                 43. yards 

To Do

Linda from Texas Quilt Gal is hosting “To Do” every week.

The To Do list from 3 weeks ago:

  1. Quilt Pop Star Quilt √   DONE (you’ll see this on the 15th!) access the steps at MMM Quilts HERE.
  2. Work on Here Comes the Sun Pop Star Quilt blog hop project √   DONE
  3. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder!  √   DONE
  4. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes √   DONE

This week’s list:

  1. Work on Here Comes the Sun Pop Star Quilt blog hop project
  2. Finish 2 quilts for an upcoming Island Batik Catalogue … I’ll show you once the catalogue is out.
  3. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! 
  4. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes

Design Wall

Donna, at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts, host a linky party for “What’s on your Design Wall” every week.

Piecing:

  1. Here Comes the Sun project

2. Island Batik Catalogue quilts (2)

Quilting:

  1. Squirrel is sandwiched and I have a plan for the quilting!

2. Once the Island Batik Catalogue quilt tops are done – they need to be quilted.

Island Batik Blog Hop

Have you been following the latest Island Batik Blog Hop? With quilts featuring the New York Beauty pattern? It’s been quite a variety of wonderful quilts!

I posted mine on June 6 … you can read about it HERE.

June 13:

Jennifer Thomas, Curlicue Creations
Maryellen McAuliffe, Mary Mack Made Mine

June 14:

Pamela Boatright, Pamela Quilts
Anorina Morris, Samelia’s Mum

June 15:

Michelle Roberts, Creative Blonde Gifts
Lisa Pickering, Lisa’s Quilting Passion

June 16:

Denise Looney, For the Love of Geese
Connie Kauffman, Kauffman Designs

Opportunity to win!

You can win a fat quarter bundle of Savannah or Santorini … both wonderful collections! Just follow the prompts in the Rafflecopper giveaway below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

Some of my followers tell me that the Rafflecopter doesn’t work for them … if that’s you, go to Island Batik’s blog and enter there.

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting! 
Gail 

Linking to:

Saturday 

Jewel Carvings and TGIFF

/ quiltinggail / 35 Comments

I’m hosting TGIFF this week … see the Linky party below ….

A long time ago, in my quilting studio, I had the opportunity to use the fantastic Island Batik collection “Jewel Carvings” by Kathy Engle. It was for a quilt for the Island Batik catalogue. You can check it out HERE – on p.99. I absolutely LOVED working with this collection. It is SEW pretty with the teals, greens and soft yellows and purples …

Here is the quilt I made using Island Batik’s solid black fabric for the background.

My friend, Amy, tested my pattern and made the quilt with a light background. This quilt used the exact same fabrics with “Milkshake” as the background.

Here’s the 2 quilts together … which one would you make?

You have an opportunity to win!

If you’re loving the fabrics in these quilts, Island Batik is giving away a fat-quarter bundle of Jewel Carvings and Nightshade! Both lucious collections! (But you better hurry, the offer ends on Friday night)

Follow the rafflecopter instructions below!

a Rafflecopter giveawayhttps://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

These quilts were made with Hobbs Batting and  Aurifil Thread

TGIFF

Join the Linky Party and show us your Friday Finish!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter
https://fresh.inlinkz.com/js/widget/load.js?id=a8b40ada7693d64e5923

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Linking to:

New York Beauty

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Way back in December, I received this “Surprise” package in one of my Island Batik boxes. I didn’t know which line of fabric it contained.

Along with the 1/2 yard cuts of Harvest Night, I received 2 yards of Wheat Leaves Latte and 2 yards of Midnight Blue.

We were instructed to make a “New York Beauty” quilt.

P.A.N.I.C.

YIKES!!!! Google “New York Beauty” and you’ll see why I was in a panic!

EQ to the rescue! They have plenty of blocks to choose from. I chose to do a Checked Arc Beauty. Then, in order to have enough fabric for the design I chose, I foolishly chose a 9″ block. If I had been wise at the time, I would have chosen a 12″ block. But, I might have run out of fabric making those 9 blocks that run down the centre.

I printed out the pattern, taped the necessary parts together and started to sew. It took me over 3 hours to sew my first block. Oh my … what had I gotten myself into?

When I paper piece, I do NOT sew on the paper. This way, I can chain piece my pieces and use a regular sized stitch … and the bonus – I don’t have to remove paper!!! AND it’s easier to “unsew!”

When I was doing the curved seams … I pinned, pinned, pinned. I wanted those points to match up. And for the most part, they did! That was a LOT of pins for me to use – especially since I rarely use pins!

Here’s an assortment of pieces of one block …

I went to a retreat in March. I took my project with me … I only got 4 blocks completed on the weekend! Sigh!!! But, I must admit, I was busy visiting, taking pictures, eating, visiting, eating, taking pictures, visiting and only sewing in between!

Once I got home from the retreat, it was pedal to the medal and the quilt top was done.

This quilt told me it needed a simple, fairly skinny border which finishes at 1 1/2″. The dark border is “Midnight Blue” and the light border is “Wheat Leaves Latte.” Both of these fabrics are foundations that are available at any time.

To sandwich the quilt, I used 505 Spray baste and Hobbs Batting 80/ 20. It hung on the design wall for several days while I decided how to quilt it. There is a LOT of stitch in the ditch and some 1/4″ outlining … it took awhile to quilt! Aurifil Thread #2370 (Sandstone) was used. Schmetz Needle microtex chrome 70/10 was used for the quilting. The scrappy binding used each of the 20 fabrics.

Here is a close-up of the quilting. And yes, I like this thread so much, I’ve almost used a cone and a lot of a large spool! (Not all on this quilt!) I hate having to unthread my machine to wind a bobbin – that’s why I like to have the extra spool – just for bobbins!

I didn’t have enough of the Wheat Leaves Latte for the backing … SEW … I cut what I had in half diagonally, put it up on the design wall and measured what the distance was between the 2 pieces. I took some of the left-over pieces and made the center strip. Then I had a backing that was big enough – and pretty as well!

Here is a closeup of the quilting on the back:

There is a give-away!

Island Batik has a give-away! You have the opportunity to win a fat-quarter bundle of Jewel Carvings or Nightshade! Both lucious collections! Follow the rafflecopter instructions below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

Visit Elizabeth

Visit Elizabeth at Epida Studio. She received the same surprise bundle of Harvest Night as me. I can’t wait to see her New York Beauty!!! I bet they look totally different. But I need to wait until she posts to see it!

Thank you!

Disclosure: The fabrics, batting, thread and needles were generously supplied by the following companies: Thank you, Island Batik  Aurifil Thread  Hobbs Batting & Schmetz Needles !!

Blog Hop Schedule

Everyone is making New York Beauties this month! Be sure to visit each of them. You are in for a lot of fantastic eye candy! Here is the schedule:

June 6:

Gail Sheppard, Quilting Gail
Elizabeth DeCroos, Epida Studio

June 7:

Reed Johnson, Blue Bear Quilts
Andi Stanfield, True Blue Quilts

June 8:

Sandra Starley, Textile Time Travels

June 9:

Jennifer Fulton, Inquiring Quilter
Mania Hatziioannidi, Mania for Quilts

June 10:

Blog Hop Round-Up Week 1 and Giveaway

June 13:

Jennifer Thomas, Curlicue Creations
Maryellen McAuliffe, Mary Mack Made Mine

June 14:

Pamela Boatright, Pamela Quilts
Anorina Morris, Samelia’s Mum

June 15:

Michelle Roberts, Creative Blonde Gifts
Lisa Pickering, Lisa’s Quilting Passion

June 16:

Denise Looney, For the Love of Geese
Connie Kauffman, Kauffman Designs

June 17:

Blog Hop Round-Up Week 2 and Giveaway

June 20:

Claudia Porter, Create with Claudia
Brianna Roberts, Sew Cute and Quirky

June 21:

Gail Renna, Quilt Haven Threads
Preeti Harris, Sew Preeti Quilts

June 22:

Megan Best, Bestquilter
Leah Malasky, Quilted Delights

June 23:

Suzy Webster, Websterquilt
Emily Leachman, The Darling Dogwood

June 24:

Blog Hop Round-Up Week 3 and Giveaway

June 27:

Jane Hauprich, Stitch by Stitch Custom Quilting
Brenda Alburl, Songbird Designs

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail