This bag measures 5″ x 9½” … a request from my daughter. Continue reading
Month: January 2020
January Unboxing Video
Here is my January 2020 Unboxing Video with all of the goodies I recieved this month!
What do you do when you hate …??
I Hate sewing curves.
I Hate sewing circles.
Last year, I got a Block on Board die from Accuquilt … Cleopatra’s Fan … it had curves. I perservered, and made several blocks. I was not happy. I liked the block in the end, but I was not happy sewing it!
This year, I received another Block on Board die … it has CURVES. (Can you hear the loud groan??? !!!)
The guild was offering a one day workshop on sewing circles. SIGH!!! I figured that I better take the workshop. Here’s a sample of what happened at the workshop. Lots of curved piecing.
Another UFO??? Finished!
Yup! I finished another UFO … this one was not on my official list for PHD in 2020 (see HERE). But, it was a UFO that I found last year as I went through ALL of my bins as I was moving into my studio.
These were left-overs from a Seminole quilt that I made eons ago. The left-over strips were too nice to just discard, so I made them into pouches. The photo above shows the 4 zipper pouches that were made. Each side is different from the other.
I needed a gift for the “secret” gift exchange at the retreat last weekend … and I thought, “why not finish up a UFO?” So, I did! The one one the bottom right was the one that was gifted.
Island Batik Unboxing Videos
This month, all of the Island Batik Ambassadors are assigned a day to show their unboxing videos. (My date is Jan. 29). As this post goes live, the ambassadors that have already posted are above the arrows ⇒⇒⇒ and I have provided direct links so that you don’t have to go searching their blogs. Everyone gets different lines of fabrics … it’s worth going to see, so you can drool over the fabric!
- Carolina Asmussen ~ Carolina Asmussen
- Megan Best ~ Best Quilter
- Pamela Boatright ~ Pamela Quilts
- Jennifer Fulton ~ Inquiring Quilter
- Vasudha Govindan ~ Storied Quilts
- Joanne Hart ~ Unicorn Harts
- Mania Hatziioannidi ~ Mania for Quilts
- Carla Henton ~ Create in the Sticks
- ⇒⇒⇒⇒⇒⇒⇒⇒ ⇒⇒⇒⇒⇒⇒⇒⇒
- Connie Kauffman ~ Kauffman Designs
- Emily Leachman ~ The Darling Dogwood
- Denise Looney ~ For the Love of Geese
- Leah Malasky ~ Quilted Delights
- Sally Manke ~ Sally Manke
- Maryellen McAuliffe ~ Mary Mack’s Blog
- Kathleen McCormick ~ Kathleen McMusing
- Carol Moellers ~ Carol Moellers Designs
- Gail Renna ~ Quilt Haven Threads
- Sharon Riley ~ Sew Riley Designs
- Michelle Roberts ~ Creative Blonde
- Gail Sheppard ~ Quilting Gail
- Jennifer Strauser ~ Dizzy Quilter
- Jennifer Thomas ~ Curlicue Creations
- Alison Vermilya ~ Little Bunny Quilts
- Sandra Walker ~ mmm! quilts
- Suzy Webster ~ Websterquilt
- Janet Yamamoto ~ Whispers of Yore
I was Featured!!
THIS quilt by Quilt Fabrication!
NEXT Friday,
I’ll be hosting TGIFF … so be sure to visit and link what YOU are working on!
One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!
Happy Quilting!
Gail
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Linking to:
- 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
- My Bijou Life @ Creative Compulsions
- TGIFF @ MMMQuilts
- Can I get a Whoop Whoop? @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict
- Finished or Not Friday @ Alycia Quilts
Monday, Monday …
Yesterday, I showed what I got done at the retreat and I just knew you’d want to see more details!
Ode to 30’s
When I started this quilt … a long time ago … I wasn’t aware that there was a quilt genre called “30s.” I just picked the pink fabric (1st border) and picked out complementary colours.
I did a diagonal backing on Ode to 30’s. I love how some of the blocks really shine through with the sun shining! When I made the back, I was tired of putting a stripe vertical or horizontal … I’d worry about it looking crooked. SEW, I made sure that the diagonal did not reach the corners … this way, if the diagonal was off a degree or 2 (or 10!), it wouldn’t matter. I think it worked!
Some custom quilting in Ode to 30’s … and some blocks just had an all-over motif in each block.
My husband loved the birds in the tree!
Details:
- 58″ x 66″
- Hobbs 80/20 batting
- Pieced with Aurifil thread
- Quilted with Glide thread
- Binding is 2 colour/flange binding (1¼” dark & 1½” light)
Design Wall
Piecing:
Summer Solstice: I did not work on this at the retreat. Pat, one of the other retreaters, helped me get my head around the lone star piecing, so I hope to make some progress on that this week!
Frolic: Bonnie Hunter’s Mystery: The reveal came out on Friday … I have some cutting to do before I can start putting the blocks together. I think I will like it when it’s done!
52 Blocks in 52 weeks: Need to make the last 4 blocks.
Quilting:
Hope to sandwich and start quilting Bento Box “Rag Log Cabin.”
TO DO
I’m linking up to Roseanne & Sue’s “TO DO” Tuesday. Their blog is “Home Sewn by Us.”
A Gladys Taber quote “Contentment is a list with half of it crossed off.”
This week my list is ALL crossed off!
Last week’s list:
- Finish Ode to 30’s √ done
- Work on
Bento BoxRag Log Cabin UFO √ done - Make Maple leaf block for Australia √ done
This week’s list:
- Sandwhich Rag Log Cabin
- Start Quilting Rag Log Cabin
- Make at least 2 “Frolic” blocks
- Make the last 4 “52 blocks in 52 weeks”
- Put “52 blocks in 52 weeks” on design wall and arrange
- Start the lone star portion of Summer Solstice.
Stash Report
The 2 finished quilts used 21 yards of fabric, plus ½ yard for the maple-leaf blocks for Australia. I did go shopping at the retreat but only bought zippers and a thingy-ma-jig to hold stuff at my machine. No fabric added.
- Fabric Used this week 21.5 yards
- Fabric Used this year: 21.5 yards
- Fabric Bought this week: 0 yards
- Fabric Added this year: 0
- Net Fabric used 21.5
- –
- Husband’s Purchases 0
Stitchin’ Time
- January 1-19 : 12 out of 19 100%
For more Stitchin’ Time, you can check out Kate’s blog: Life in Pieces
I finished 2 UFOs. And I’ve finished 2 of my 2020 starts. There’s another 2020 start for Island Batik that I’ve put in the sheet, but I actually haven’t started it yet.
If you are working on your PHD in 2020, be sure to link up to the mid-January linky party and show us your progress! (HERE)
One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!
Happy Quilting!
Gail
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Linking to:
- What I Made Monday @ Pretty Piney Quilts
- Monday Making @ Love, Laugh, Quilt
- Design Wall Monday @ Small Quilts and Doll Quilts
- Moving it Forward Monday @ Em’s Scrapbag
- To-Do Tuesday @ Home Sewn By Us
- Colour Inspiration Tuesday @ Clever Chameleon Quilting
The Retreat – January 2020
The retreat I went to earlier this week was fantastic! (I know, aren’t they always?)
It was a lot of fun!
Here is a slide show of the people and the projects … and I’m sure that I missed some of them! You will see several “52 blocks in 52 weeks” quilts, bags, games of Left-Right-Centre, Secret gift exchange, Maple leaf and tree blocks for Australia, and lots and lots of eye candy!
Here’s pictures of what I got done!
2 quilts quilted and bound: The photo shoot happened at home during a break in the snow!
French General Layer Cake – a UFO from 2012
This was quilted with a large meander following the back fabric. It was fun to do, but I doubt if I’ll do it again. As I quilted, when I hit a seam, it would sort-of startle me. I think when I quilt from the front, I know where the seams are and can prepare myself for the bumps that may be coming.
75″ x 58″ 
Ode to 30’s – a UFO from 2009
58″ x 66″
Maple Leaf Blocks
I made 3 maple-leaf blocks for the Australian wildfire relief.
Rag Log Cabin
Worked on what I was calling a rag bento box … but have since changed the name to a “Rag Log Cabin” quilt. It’s definitely NOT a bento box! Prior to the retreat, the centres were all fussy-cut at 6 ½” and the strips were cut at 3 ½”. I had to cut more strips to finish the blocks. Thankfully, I had taken the extra fabric with me.
It’s such a simple quilt design, but oh my … the ripping I had to do. It was hard to wrap my head around “sew WRONG sides together.” At least all the wrong sides together part is done!
Once I got home, I put the blocks up on the design wall and have webbed the top together.
One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!
Happy Quilting!
Gail
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Linking to:
- Tish @ Tish’s Adventures in Wonderland
- Sunday Stash @ quiltpaintcreate
- Oh Scrap @ Quilting is More Fun than Housework
Lets Get Scrappy!
I LOVE Scrappy Quilts!!!
It was fun to go through my box of Island Batik fabrics and make a scrappy quilt. I wanted one that would cover my embroidery machine. I ended up making 2. The first one, I used my Accuquilt cutter and cut a zillion half-square triangles. I love that the triangles were cut perfectly and were SEW easy to so and made for perfect HSTs. However, I was not happy with the end result. With the great variety of scrappy pinwheels, it just ended up looking disjointed. Not something to make me smile when I walk into my sewing room … so it became a bag to keep my Accuquilt Go cutter in. You can read about it HERE.
The 2nd quilt is one that I’m VERY happy with and will enjoy seeing it covering my embroidery machine! I used fall colours, many left-over from the “Soil and Seeds” collection that I used in a blog-hop quilt. (See HERE) And, I used other co-ordinating fabrics from Island Batik foundations, basics and stash buster bundles. The background fabric is “Coconut,” an Island Batik foundations neutral. I LOVE this neutral!
The 4 patch blocks are made with 2″ squares and end up being 3 ½” finished in the quilt. The batting is Hobbs 80/20. The binding is 2″ scraps, left over from making the blocks.
Jan. 15 PHD in 2020 Progress Report
Hi Everyone,
Here is the link up for the mid January Progress on you PHD in 2020. You don’t need to have a finished project, just show us progress. Hopefully you have some! If you don’t, show us what you plan to work on!
If you have a finished project, that’s fantastic! Show us that!
Remember, it’s not only the UFOs you need to complete, but all of your NEW starts in 2020!
1. Analysis
On January 1, I discussed analysing your UFO to discover why it became a UFO in the first place. Did that help? You can see the post HERE.
2. Track your Progress
Tracking your progress is a great way to see encourage yourself and to know that you are getting a project done. Which is our goal, right? Enter the Link Party to help you track your progress! Also, using the Excel sheet PHD-Tally-with-formulas 2020 will also help.
My progress?
UFO Status:
#1 Summer Solstice – one set of blocks are completed …
#2 Ode to 30s … quilting has begun …
2020 Starts:
I completed a small tote bag to hold my Accuquilt Go machine. You can read about it HERE.
One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!
Happy Quilting!
Gail
Monday … and I’m off to a retreat!
YEAH, I LOVE retreats!!! They are always lots of fun! Lots of chatting and laughing and eating and sewing and laughing and eating and … oh ya, lots of fun!
I hope to work on a few UFOs … we’ll see how that goes!
Design Wall
Piecing:
Summer Solstice: This section of 8 is done! Spending 15 min / day worked! Often it turned out to be closer to an hour … it takes a LOT of time when you need to take out the little tiny stitches that you can barely see!
Frolic: Bonnie Hunter’s Mystery: All caught up .. and everything fits in this container. I suspect that the reveal may come soon … either this week or next … and I’ll be ready! Continue reading
Sometimes mistakes happen
Oh yes, they do!
Most of you know that I absolutely LOVE scrappy quilts. Occasionally, I do sew a quilt with only a couple of fabrics, but for the most part, I love scrappy. A few years ago, I made a series of quilts with my Grandmother’s fabric. You can see them HERE. I used pretty much all of the fabrics, without much consideration to colour. The only rule was that 2 squares of the same colour couldn’t go next to each other. There was every colour in the rainbow, shades, tints and tones and they all got mixed up together. In my opinion, all of the quilts turned out just fine.
Then came the Island Batik January’s challenge to make something scrappy! I smiled and smiled. I knew I wanted to make a cover for my embroidery machine and it would just be a small quilt, not shaped or anything. I have scraps from all the Island Batik projects that I made last year. I decided to make pinwheels. I used my Accuquilt Go to cut the pinwheels (talk about accurate!) and was mostly happy with each pinwheel. Individually, they looked pretty good. They all went well with the Island Batik grey solid. Then, when I put them together, it was blah. Like yuck! gross … ULK!!! Not something I’d like to look at every time I walked into my studio!
I quilted it with blue thread (Aurifil 1128), hoping that would add some cohesiveness. It helped … a little … but … Not doing it for me. ULK!!!
When I compared this to some of the quilts I made with Grandma’s fabric, I realize that in each of the blocks (some were the same size as the pinwheels in this piece) that the colours were all mixed up together. In this piece, there isn’t the mixed variety … each pinwheel is only 2 colours. My conclusions are that: 1. If I’m going to do scrappy pinwheels, I need to stick to a certain theme or colour. 2. Scrappy quilts work best with lots of variation and a solid, or calm piece, to pull it all together.
It’s LEARNING … and I’m just fine with that!
When I was looking at this quilt, I was wondering what I could make with it. I had said on the blog that I had started Secret Project #1 – so, I couldn’t just ignore it and hope that it would disappear. It was a project started in 2020, and therefore, needed to be finished in 2020. And, I couldn’t wimp out on my PHD in 2020! Especially this early in the year!!!
I have always fought with the bag that the Accuquilt cutter came in because it just fits and there isn’t a lot of wiggle room. AND, to top it off, the bag ripped when I pulled it out to use it to cut the pinwheels. An AH-HA moment happened. This piece would be come a bag for the cutter. A perfect solution, don’t ya think?
Here it is … and I’m thinking that it doesn’t look too bad as a bag. And the Accuquilt Go fits in it with ease!
This is NOT my official Island Batik scrappy project for January but it is a completed project. It did use Island Batik fabrics, cut with the HST Cube 8″ Accuquilt die, Aurifil thread and Hobbs 80/20 batting. I had labelled this Secret Project #1.
There is still time
to join in PHD in 2020!
If you want to decrease your UFOs … and not make your UFO list any bigger, Join me for your PHD in 2020! Check out this blog post for details … and scroll WAY down for the linky party so that you can join in! You can join in on the PHD in 2020 until Jan. 14. Then on the 1st and 15th of each month, there will be a linky party for you to show your progress.
Now, you don’t have to have a blog to join … you can use Pinterest (start a separate board) or Instagram … post the direct URL in the linky party and you’re IN! Come and join us!
I was Featured
By Jeniffer at Inquiring Quilter with This POST about 2 works in progress. Thank you to Jennifer for hosting the Wednesday Wait Loss. By the way … it’s worth going to her blog to see all the wonderful works that are featured this week.
Disclaimer: The products featured in this Blog post were given to me by Island Batik, and their co-sponsers Aurifil, Hobbs Batting & AccuQuilt!
One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!
Happy Quilting!
Gail
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Linking to:
- 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 @ Alycia Quilts
- Sherry @ Powered by Quilting
- Michelle @ From Bolt to Beauty
- Off the Wall Friday @ Creations – Quilts, Art, Whatever
- Peacock Party @ Wendy’s Quilts and More
- TGIFF @ Slice of Pi Quilts
I’m SEW excited!!!
I am SEW privledged and honoured to be chosen as an Island Batik Ambassador this year!
First Monday of the Roaring 20s
OK … so things are NOT roaring around here … they are plodding along … slowly …
If you want to decrease your UFOs … and not make your UFO list any bigger, Join me for your PHD in 2020! Check out this blog post for details … and scroll WAY down for the linky party so that you can join in! You can join in on the PHD in 2020 until Jan. 14. Then on the 1st and 15th of each month, there will be a linky party for you to show your progress. Continue reading
First Friday of the Roaring 20’s
No finishes … yet …. But, I’m off to a roaring start for this year!
I have been working on a couple of UFOs.
Ode to 30s
The picture on the right was the state it was in before Christmas … I made a few more blocks and added sashing and it is now sandwiched … the quilting can begin! Oh … and I need to decide HOW to quilt it … it will definitely be a decision I’ll need to make with each block!
Summer Solstice
This picture, taken before Christmas, showed the only sewing I had done on this project. One block … However, all the pieces were cut and had been placed in numbered bags! Whew … at least I didn’t have to figure out what fabric goes where.
To tackle this UFO, I decided I would work on it for ½ hour each day that I sat at the machine. Well, the first day, it took me about an hour to figure out what I was doing and got started. Today, I have 8 blocks to the stage below. 
PHD in 2020
Have you joined in the PHD in 2020? There is still time! You can go to THIS POST for details and to add your link … you have until Jan. 14 to join!
The first part in tackling your UFOs to acheive your PHD in 2020 is making your list. Many of you have already done that!
The next step in tackling UFOs is to do an analysis of each project. You can read about that HERE.
One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!
Happy Quilting!
Gail
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Linking to:
- Midweek Makers @ QuiltFabrication
- Wednesday Wait Loss @ Inquiring Quilter
- Muv / Free Motion Mavericks @ Lizzie Lenard Vintage Sewing
- Put your Foot Down @ For the Love of Geese
- Can I get a Whoop Whoop? @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict
- Finished or Not Friday @ Alycia Quilts
- Sherry @ Powered by Quilting
- Michelle @ From Bolt to Beauty
- Off the Wall Friday @ Creations – Quilts, Art, Whatever
- Peacock Party @ Wendy’s Quilts and More
- TGIFF @ Devoted Quilter
PHD in 2020 – Jan. 1
Happy New Year everyone!!!
I know that today, some of you will be sewing … others will be busy doing other things … at any rate, sewing will likely be in your plans in the next couple of days!
Have you joined in the PHD in 2020? You can go to THIS POST for details and to add your link … you have until Jan. 14 to join!
The first part in tackling your UFOs to acheive your PHD in 2020 is making your list. Many of you have already done that!
Now, let’s look at analysising how you can best tackle your UFOs.
#1 Analysis
The next part is to take out the first project you are going to work on. Ask yourself, “Why did this become a UFO?” If you can honestly answer that question, you are on the way to avoiding the same pitfall and letting that project languish as a UFO for more time. If you can’t answer that question, here’s a few hints as to why it happened:
- did you get bored with the project?
- is it too repetative?
- did too many squirrels (other projects that took priority) interfer?
- is there a technique you dislike doing? or is too hard to do?
- did you get too busy to even make it?
#2 Analysis
The next question to ask is, “Is there something that will make the finishing of this project easier?” A few solutions that I have used are:
- treat it as a leader & ender … do small parts while working on another project
- work on it for a limited time (set a timer if you need to) each time you have the opportunity to sew
#3 Analysis
You’ve already analyed the potential problems with your project … now, to quote Nike, “Just Do It.” Now Go and SEW …
The UFO I’m going to work on …
Summer Solstice. I have chosen this project because I think that it has the most road-blocks for me and I’d like to get ‘er done!
As I Analysed it … the answer to “Why did this become a UFO?” was hard to answer. I think part of it is that it is a paper-pieced pattern and I can’t do Leaders and Enders while working on it.
As to “What can make it easier?” I’ve decided that I will spend at least 15 minutes a day working on this project.
Link up and show us the project that you are working on! Remember, you can link to an Instagram post, Pinterest post or a blog post … it’s totally up to you!
One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!
Happy Quilting!
Gail
Quilting Gail 