I made 4 travelling pillows in all. When my sister saw that I was making some, she asked for one … so, she got one.
Year: 2019
Beat the Heat Blog Hop
Nothing like sitting by or in the pool to “Beat the Heat!” This is the finished quilt, just chillin’ by the pool! Continue reading
Monday check-in
I’ve been trying out the arrangement of my sewing room. So far, just a few minor things have been moved around. And I’m loving it! If you missed the tour – check out this Blog Post.
Design Wall:
Piecing
It’s not quilt related. I’m working on some travelling neck pillows. I made them before, but didn’t have a loop/button at the front and it was a real pain in the neck to not have it. (did you get the pun?) As well, I’m making them a little bit longer. I put zippers in the top and we stuff them loosely with clothes. It gives us a little bit more room as we try to only travel with carry-on. These are being made out of flannel.
New Sewing Room!
I am mostly moved into my sewing room!!! YEAH!!! It’s a big room, but I still don’t have everything in it! All of my batting will eventually find a spot. But at least I have all my machines (except a treadle, named Stella) and my tools in one room! My treadle is named “Stella” after the lady that gifted it to me!
In the video, you will see the serger on a table behind my Janome 8900 – the machine I do all my quilting on. When I move the serger, it gives me a bigger table space for my quilt! Which is perfect for quilting those large queen sized quilts!
My New Design Wall
As I move into my new sewing room, my hubby knew I wanted a design wall against one wall at the end of the room.
Island Batik – Beat the Heat Blog Hop
I’m sure you’ve noticed a thinning of blog posts lately! I’ve been away – not sewing (very much) and have not had internet connection for most of the past 2 weeks.
However, I do want to let you know about the fabulous blog hop that is happening NOW. This blog hop is featuring the Spring 2019 fabrics. And there are give-aways! Be sure to enter each week for your chance to win some of the wonderful fabric!
Click on BEAT THE HEAT BLOG HOP to go to the Island Batik site to see the schedule of events. My day to post is August 22 and this is the wonderful fabric I’m making a quilt with:
It is a fun line of fabric! And my quilt will showcase each and every fabric!
One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!
Happy Quilting!
Gail
8 x 16
When I was sorting through all my fabric, I found a bunch of 6″ squares. All blue fabric (my favourite colour!). I found it totally weird that I had cut 6″ squares, not 6 ½”! Sew, with the help of a friend (thanks, Dawn), I was able to figure out how big to make the quilt.
Dawn had made a quilt with 5″ blocks. She started with 6 blocks across and 12 blocks down. Then she cut it diagonally, in 2 places. Then she sewed the 3 triangles together, resulting in a small quilt, wth the squares on point. Even with using 6″ squares, I knew the quilt would be too small for my purposes. The pattern idea originated at Quiltwoman.com and can be found HERE. Their demo page shows a slightly different method.
SEW – I stared out with 8 squares across and 16 squares down. Cut them in the same manner that Dawn did. (Drats – I should have taken a picture.)
But here is the finished quilt! 
Unboxing Video
Island Batik
I received another box from Island Batik. Watch the video to see all the wonderful Island Batik fabric, Aurifil thread, Hobbs batting and the Accuquilt die that I received!
The video was filmed in my new sewing room … I’m still in the process of moving in! WhooHoo!!! Continue reading
Summer sewing
We had some delightful company from Ireland visiting! It was a lot of fun to visit with them. I did get a little bit of sewing done when they went to be tourists in Vancouver! But, I’ve also spent a LOT of time moving into my new sewing room. Yes, I’ll show you pictures when I have things where I want them. I did sort through ALL my fabric … and I have a ton of it ready to go out … I mentioned it on our guild’s FB page and a few people have showed interest in it. I just need to get organized and get it to them!
I did manage to sew up three little bags. The white fabric is “colouring fabric.” My daughter gave the plain, uncoloured rectangles to a couple of little girls. They came for dinner the other night and I had them pick out zippers. It was lots of fun to watch them pick out the colours they liked, with no regards to the finished project! They just picked out what they liked! Perfect! I stitched their initials on the tabs. It was a fun way to stitch them!
Continue reading
Baby Quilt Marathon – Finish Line
OK … so how did you do? Did you complete 26 hours of focus sewing on your intended project? Here’s how I did:
Webbing a Quilt
In the spring, at our guild, I demo’d how to web a quilt. They asked me to provide written instructions. Well, that proved extremely difficult for me. SEW … as I was webbing my demo quilt for the Baby Quilt Marathon, I decided to do a video. You can see it on YouTube HERE. The quilt in the video is below.
PHD in 2019 – June report & 1/2 marathon …
Artsy-Fartsy with Aurifil Thread
At first I was Scared
This challenge scared me! I’m not an artsy-fartsy quilter. I don’t do “art.” The challenge directions were: Use any fabric art/non-traditional quilting/sewing/thread painting technique using 3 Aurifil thread weights. Oh me, oh my … what to do? I literally had NO idea. None at all. I was wondering if I could skip this challenge? Perhaps pay someone to do it for me? no … that’s not my style … I couldn’t live with the guilt!
Inspiration
Then, I was looking at a crazy quilt hanging in a sewing machine store and it hit me!!!
R-e-l-i-e-f !!!
YEAH!!! Suddenly, I knew what to do. I would do a crazy quilt block, embroider it with at least 3 weights of Auriful thread, make it into a little bag and call it done! What a relief to have a plan!
And, thankfully, I had the perfect fabric left-over from my Christmas RAPPing table runner. (see HERE). Along with pieces from the Island Batik Stash Builder bundles.
In April, we travelled across the country, which meant a few LONG plane rides. I quickly made my crazy quilt blocks, sewing them onto Hobbs 80/20 batting. One was partially embroidered on our trip.
Here is the first block
Happy Canada Day!!!
July 1
Is Canada Day! And the start of:
Earlier this spring, Jennifer Strauser. an Island Batik ambassador, reached out and asked if any of us would like to do a Quilt of Valor. I said, “yes,” provided I could do a Canadian one. The answer was “yes!” SEW, I knew I would be using only the white and red fabrics. We were all sent a stack (like a layer cake) of red, white, and blue fabric. Along with yardage: a solid white, 2 reds and 3 blues. It was a bit of a challenge to use just the red and white in the package. I did end up using one navy with red poppies on it. Also, I needed to use a red fabric from a stash builder bundle and some white=ish fabric left over from my “Stars on Ice” quilt.
Here is a picture of the stack from the Freedom line:
This quilt is my own pattern “Ivan’s Diamonds” and I’ve made it several times. You can check them out HERE, HERE, and HERE. Although, this is the first time I’ve put a maple leaf in the middle. I used the Artistic Cutter to cut out the Maple Leaf.
The quilt will hang in the Quilt of Valour display at the Ladner Car and Quilt Show in August. After that, Lynn, our guild’s Quilts of Valour volunteer, will deliver it to a representative from Quilts of Valour and it will eventually be presented to a past or present member of the Canadian Armed Forces who is ill or injured as a result of their service to Canada.
Here is a close-up of the centre of the quilt. This picture shows the true colours better than the above picture. It is grafitti quilted with a light grey, Aurifil #2600 and Hobbs 80/20 batting. I did bind it with a dark navy as there was not enough red fabric left for binding.
Visit the other blogs in the hop.
Today it’s
Becca Fenstermaker — Pretty Piney
Denise Looney — For the Love of Geese
Gail Sheppard — Quilting Gail You are already HERE! 🙂
Tomorrow, July 2
Pamela Boatright — Pamela Quilts
Anne Wiens —Seams Like a Plan
Wednesday, July 3
Bea Lee —Bea Quilter
Carla Henton — Creatin’ In the Sticks
Thursday, July 4
Emily Leachman — The Darling Dogwood
Joan Kawano — MooseStash Quilting
Jen Strauser – Dizzy Quilter
Friday, July 5
Steph Jacobson — Steph Jacobsen Designshttp://Dizzyquilter.com
Leah Malasky — Quilted Delights
Anja Clyke — Anja Quilts
Maryellen McAuliffe — Mary Mack Made Mine
Disclaimer: The products featured in this Blog post were given to me by Island Batik, and their program partners: Aurifil, Hobbs Batting & AccuQuilt!
Happy Quilting!
Gail
Baby Quilt Marathon – are you ready?
The Marathon starts tomorrow!
Here is an Excel Sheet for you to track your hours: Hmm, I can’t seem to embed the excel sheet … If you want one that will add your hours up, email me & I’ll email the sheet to you
Here are the quilts I plan to finish: 2 strippy quilts (only 1 picture) and 3 star quilts.
- Both strippy quilts need borders, sandwiching, quilting and binding
- The first star quilt needs to be webbed, borders, sandwiching, quilting and binding
- The 2nd star quilt needs the backing enlarged, sandwiching, quilting and binding
- The 3rd quilt is webbed and needs to be sewn together, borders, sandwiching, quilting and binding
There is a link-up at the end of this post.
Design Wall:
Piecing
I have started piecing my August Island Batik project … and of course, I can’t show you until the actual blog hop. Sorry … I know you hate secrets!
Quilting
A few weeks ago, I showed you the border of a commissioned quilt. I’m now quilting the said border. And then it needs a label and binding and then it will be finished.
Stash Report
Nothing finished this week and no fabric bought so there isn’t a lot of change in my stash …
- Fabric Used this week 0 yards
- Fabric Used this year: 101.6 yards
- Fabric Bought this week: 0 yards
- Fabric Added this year: 57.05
- Net Fabric used 44.65
- –
- Husband’s Purchases 9.5
Stitchin’ Time
- January – May: 122 out of 140
- June – 27 out of 30
- Year-to-date: 149 out of 170 = 87%
For more Stitchin’ Time, you can check out Kate’s blog: Life in Pieces
Happy Quilting!
Gail
Link up if you want to show us your plans for the marathon. I will try to have a link-up at the half-way mark and at the finish line.
If you don’t have a blog, you can always link to an Instagram post or a Pinterest picture.
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Linking to:
- So Scrappy Saturdays @ So Scrappy
- Sunday Stash @ quiltpaintcreate
- Oh Scrap @ Quilting is More Fun than Housework
- Monday Making @ Love, Laugh, Quilt
- Design Wall Monday @ Small Quilts and Doll Quilts
- Moving it Forward Monday @ Em’s Scrapbag
Something Different
About 9 months ago, I bought a Janome 500E embroidery machine. I’ve been making quilt labels on it and also a few other projects. I absolutely LOVE making “in the hoop” zipper bags. They are SEW fun.
This first one is an Anita Gooddesign. I altered it a bit because I was suppose to use “see through” fabric – which I don’t own. The fabrics were Island Batik.
This next one is a free pattern from Sweet Pea in Australia. It was a fun way to learn “in the hoop” applique and zipper insertion.
Who knows what I will make next?
My Daisy Chain Mystery was featured on Free Motion Mavericks. Check it out HERE.
There are LOTS of people going to join the Baby Quilt Marathon. Some are making baby quilts, others will be working on their own projects.
All that is required is a concentrated effort to work on a project for 26 hours during the time from July 1 to July 15. Are you going to join us?
Happy Quilting!
Gail
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Linking to:
- Let’s Bee Social @ Sew Fresh Quilts
- Midweek Makers @ QuiltFabrication
- Wednesday Wait Loss @ Inquiring Quilter
- Happy Needle and Thread @ My Quilt Infatuation
- Andrée / Free Motion Mavericks @ Quilting & Learning – What a combo!
- Put your Foot Down @ For the Love of Geese
- Can I get a Whoop Whoop? @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict
- Finished or Not Friday @ Busy Hands Quilts
- Sherry @ Powered by Quilting
- Michelle @ From Bolt to Beauty
- TGIFF @ Alycia Quilts
Whirlwind Week
Yes, the last week has been a whirlwind. I had a 12 hour drive up north to help a friend, then came back a few days later. The bonus was that I got to see a neice and a few old friends for a little visit! Unfortunately, I missed seeing a ton of other people!
Then, just as I got home, we picked up my quilting cousin, Terry! (She blogs occasionally at TLC Quilts).
My Cousin Time
Terry helped me cut and sew some border strips … unfortunately I didn’t get a picture. Since the binding flange strips needed to be cut the same width as the 1st border, she cut those as well. Then, I had a glass of wine and decided it was totally unsafe for me to either cut or sew …
This is a secret commissioned project, but I figure that I can show you a bit of the 1st border without giving too much away.
Terry and I hit a couple of local quilt stores. She fell in love with “Dragonfly Quilting and Gifts” To quote Terry, “This is heaven.” She bought a few fabrics to go with her future projects and she bought a beautiful beautiful piece that is simply beautiful. To my credit … I resisted buying that beautiful fabric. However, Dragonfly is only about 3 km from my house … but I’m not going there!
While Terry was here, she was talking about needing scraps of fabric for a couple of future scrappy quilts. I just grinned and grinned. And I grinned some more!!! She tackled my bag of red, blue and brown scraps and took a fair amount – but why are the bags still full???? I didn’t measure the fabric – so I can’t use the amount in my stash count this week. But, at least she has scraps and doesn’t need to go buy fabric to make her quilts. If she sends me pictures, or blogs about the quilts, I’ll be sure to let you know!
Terry then sorted my green scraps … and made a comment that a certain tone of green was predominant in my green scrap bag and there was likely enough for a quilt there. She’s probably correct and I may use that green in Bonnie Hunter’s 2019/20 mystery quilt.
Feathers
Terry also showed me how she does her feathers. It uses a “bird” and “sun” for guidelines. I’ll have to get the link of the youtube. Sew … she had me practicing different feathers. FUN!
Quite a few people have expressed interest in joining us for the Baby Quilt Marathon. Not everyone will be making baby quilts – but I will. You can see more details HERE. One person is planning on making a string quilt, another is going to be sewing up a bunch a baby / Christmas panels, and another plans to make a baby quilt from start to finish!
Are you going to join us?
Design Wall:
Piecing & Quilting
I showed you the little bit of border that I’m finishing piecing and will soon start quilting.
Stash Report
I finished the Quilt of Valour quilt. And, although the fabric from the top was from Island Batik, the backing was from my stash. It used 4 yards of fabric.
- Fabric Used this week 4 yards
- Fabric Used this year: 101.6 yards
- Fabric Bought this week: 0 yards
- Fabric Added this year: 57.05
- Net Fabric used 44.65
- –
- Husband’s Purchases 9.5
Stitchin’ Time
- January – May: 122 out of 140
- June – 21 out of 23
- Year-to-date: 143 out of 163= 88%
For more Stitchin’ Time, you can check out Kate’s blog: Life in Pieces
Happy Quilting!
Gail
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Linking to:
- So Scrappy Saturdays @ So Scrappy
- Sunday Stash @ quiltpaintcreate
- Oh Scrap @ Quilting is More Fun than Housework
- Monday Making @ Love, Laugh, Quilt
- Design Wall Monday @ Small Quilts and Doll Quilts
- Moving it Forward Monday @ Em’s Scrapbag
Baby Quilt Marathon … starting … soon
A few blog posts ago, I mentioned that I have 3 UFO baby quilts and 2 new baby quilt starts. A couple of readers suggested that I have a Baby Quilt Marathon and get those little quilts done!
SEW … that germinated a few seeds and got me thinking … What would a Baby Quilt Marathon look like?
According Merriem-webster, one of the definitions of a marathon is an endurance contest. It can include an event, an activity or requiring concentrated effort.
Typically runninmarathons can be around 26 miles or 42 kilometres.
Now, I know that I can not sit at the sewing machine for 26 hours, let alone 42 hours … SEW … I decided that I can concentrate on these baby quilts for 26 hours … over the space of 2 weeks. That’s less than 2 hours a day. I can do that! And so can YOU!
SEW … are you going to join me? All you need to do is keep track of your hours and make a concentrated effort to work on baby quilts and get them done!
OK OK …. so you don’t have 5 baby quilts that you need to finish? … that’s OK … you can work on whatever project you want. But it has to be a concentrated effort to a goal of finishing the project.
What happens if you don’t sew for 26 hours in 15 days? Absolutely nothing. But you need to make an honest effort to do so.
When people run marathons all sorts of things happen. I did a half marathon several years ago (before my back became nasty about it) and I was SLOW!!! My son text me when I was about the 1/2 way mark and said he was finished!!! That made me a bit mad, but also made me determined to finish. Some people that were running didn’t finish … but at least they tried. That’s all that I will ask of you … that you try! 🙂
I won’t show you all 5 of the baby quilts, but I will show you one of the new starts … I have started to add borders.
One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!
Happy Quilting!
Gail
A UFO is done, done DONE!!!
Try It!
Try It!
The Island Batik challenge for this month is: “Try a Technique” Challenge. Oh, lots and lots of things to choose from!!! I had been wanting to try Angela Walter’s “Free Motion Challenge, Layered Quilting.” Sew, that became my project!
Angela Walter’s
Quilting Gail 