If you need more information on the SAHRR … you can go to THIS POST.
Centre Block
Here is my centre block. The birds and the flowers were cut with Accuquilt dies that I borrowed from our guild’s die collection. (Go! Birds and Rose of Sharon). This piece is 9.5″ x 12.5″. I will do the applique stitching when I quilt it. I used Island Batik fabrics from the Baby Bloomers collection (by Kathy Engle for Karen Overton) and solid white. I initially used the Baby Bloomer fabrics for a Lone Star Quilt you can see HERE.
Now, you Need to go to the co-hosts blogs and see their center blocks! Their links are in the schedule below.
If you do not have a way to join the linky party, email me your photo by Sunday noon, and I’ll post it on my blog the following week. (quiltinggail@yahoo.ca)
Next week?
Roseanne & Sue will tell us what to do. Make sure you follow their blog, Home Sewn by Us .
Relax … this is easy … and it’s only one round each week!
Our Wonderful Sponsors
We will be drawing for prizes from our sponsors after the March 13 Parade.
Here’s a list of the sponsors and their generous gifts!
I’ve made and posted all of these during the past year! Enjoy!
January
This was a UFO from the “Any Which Way” mystery that was hosted on the blog in ’21. See HERE for the finishing details!
The first Island Batik challenge of the year was to use a Fat 1/4 bundle of Tantalizing Teals. You can see details on this challenge HERE.
February
I used Kelly Young’s book “Scrappy Improve Quilting.” You can see details of it here.
This was a quilt I made for Island Batik’s catalogue featuring the “Evergreen and Pine” fabric collection. See the link HERE.
This quilt was made for Island Batik’s catalogue featuring the “Contempo” fabric collection.
The February Island Batik challenge was to create a quilt with the Row by Row theme. I used the “Vintage Lace” collection, designed by Kathy Engle. You can read more about it HERE.
I made this cute little basket using Deco Revival fabrics. You can read about it HERE.
March
Here is the Stay at Home Round Robin that I made using the Flutterfly collection and Island Batik’s solid white. You can read more details HERE.
We were challenged to create a piece based on the Italian thread that we received from Aurifil. I received “Pompeii Red” colour builder set. See HERE for more details.
This was a table runner that I made for the Quilt as You Go class that I taught. See HERE.
I made these little coasters with left-over fabric blocks from my SAHRR. See HERE for details.
This quilt was made for the Time in a Bottle Blog Hop. I used fabrics that were left-over from my gradation quilts (January). See HERE for more details.
April
April’s challenge was to make a Funky Friend. I chose Gregory Gorilla. He was a lot of fun to make!! See all the details HERE.
This little zipper pouch was made for the “World of Colour” Blog Hop. Details can be found HERE.
May
The following 3 projects were made for Island Batik’s challenge called “Triangle Tricks. I found the first one very difficult to make, but the last 2 were quite easy! See HERE for details.
June
June’s Challenge was to make a New York beauty and I was given the Harvest Night fabric collection. See HERE for details.
These 2 quilts were made with the “Jewel Carvings” fabric collection (designed by Kathy Engle) for the Island Batik catalogue. My friend, Amy, made the one with the light background and I made the one with the dark. See more details HERE.
This quilt was my very first magazine publication. It was in the Fons & Porter Love of Quilting July/August issue. See HERE for more pictures and details.
This quilt was designed by Sandra Walker at MMM Quilts. You can see more details of it HERE. If you want the pattern you can find it HERE
I made this window hanging in an on-line class with Epida Studio. Elizabeth is a great teacher! More details of my window hanging can be found HERE.
July
Island Batik’s challenge for July was “Christmas in July with Accuquilt.” We were all given the Tree of Life die. This was a super fun quilt to make and it was super fun to give it to a dear friend on mine! See more pictures HERE.
I had left-over HST from the Tree of life, so I made this little zipper pouch!
August
August’s challenge was to make a Marvelous Mini Quilt. I was inspired by a speaker we had at the guild, as well as many different Dresdens made with friends. This was my mini. Details HERE.
September
I received the “Corner Pop” tool from Studio 180 and was challenged to use it, along with a 1/2 yard bundle of “Flourish” by Kathy Engle It was a lot of fun to make this quilt using the tool, along with other Studio 180 tools! See HERE for details.
These were made using “Left-overs” from the above quilt. See HERE for details.
This was made for the Queen of Gadgets Blog Hop. You can read about all the gadgets I used to make this quilt HERE I used a 10″ stack of Pumpkin Spice and the background is “Celery”.
October
October’s challenge was a ByAnnie bag. I chose to make the “A Place for Everything 2.0” bag and paired it with fabrics from the “Bee Kind” collection. The pattern was easy to follow and with supplemental videos – it came together easily! See details HERE.
This tree skirt was made for Island Batik’s catalogue using the Winter Sky collection. I just LOVE the blues!
This quilt was made for Pinktober. October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. My heart is all a flutter when I think of the story behind the gifting of this quilt. You can read about it HERE.
And little bags made from the left-overs from the Pinktober quilt.
November
Island Batik’s November challenge was to make a Christmas stocking. These were fun to make! You can read about how I made them and used an Accuquilt die for the snowflackes … HERE.
This quilt was made with a 2 1/2″ strip pack of “Citified.” It was fun to make and I had a blast quilting it! You can read about it HERE.
This was made for the class I was teaching called “Travel Posts.” You can see class participants’ quilts HERE.
These little baskets were made with left-over fabric from making the Winter Sky tree skirt (see above). You can read more about them HERE.
I did a trunk show for Boundary Bay Quilter’s Guild – with ONLY Island Batik quilts and projects that I have made in the past 4 years as an Island Batik ambassador. You can see a glimpse of some of the trunk show HERE.
December
Island Batik’s challenge for December was to make a Lone Star! It was SEW rewarding to have this quilt turn out so nice! You can read about it HERE.
Left-overs from the Lone Star quilt turned into this cute quilt! Read about it HERE.
Little Pencil cases made with the left-overs from the Lone Star and the Baby Quilt:
The Scrappy Fall Mystery Quilt, background is “Linen,” all scraps from my Island Batik scrap bin:
This was my Spicy BOM Colour challenge Quilt. You can read more about it HERE.
A Winter Branches Table Runner … made a bit bigger to fit on the top of my piano.
In July, I received an awesome Surprise package in my Island Batik, box and this is what I got: 20 half yard cuts of fabric from the Baby Bloomers collection, a signature collection for Karen Overton. Also included was 2 yard of Dots-Pink Carnation and 2 yards of Cow Moon Clouds – purple.
The only Lone Star I’ve made was a Judy Niemeyer pattern and I didn’t really want to purchase one of her patterns. I knew that there must be other options!
So, what to do??? EQ8 to the rescue … I downloaded the Baby Bloomers fabric collection and started to play! I’m not sure when, but I must have followed a tutorial at one point, because I found a folder called “Lone Star Practice.” Bingo! I found exactly what I wanted to make. I substituted the original fabric with the Baby Bloomers fabric and came up with this:
When I searched the Internet for “How to make a Lone Star Quilt,” I came across a few tutorials by Donna at Jordan Fabrics. WONDERFUL!!! Here’s the tutorial I mostly followed: One Jelly Roll, Lone Star. However, in order to make the quilt I wanted to make, I needed to make some adjustments. Mainly with the purple going up each point of the star.
I needed to make a strip set of my fabrics, I used my 2 1/2” Accuquilt die and made perfect strips very quickly!
I laid out the strips and pinned them onto my design wall.
I sewed the strips together (picture above) and cut according to the directions. And forgot to take a picture of the cut pieces!
Then, I made sure to mark Every. Single. Intersection. to ensure almost perfect points … (hmmm, that didn’t always work according to plan!)
Yes, I used “Dude” from Silly Moon Rulers and a pencil to mark the intersections. Then I used the forked pins to hold the intersections in place. I’m usually not a pinner – but it was a MUST in this case!
When I put the light pink from the collection up on the design wall with the star pieces I had assembled, my immediate thought was “what in the world were you thinking?” It did NOT look good. It looked washed out. I started digging through my stash! Many different fabrics were auditioned. I found this slightly darker and brighter pink tied up with one of my Island Batik precuts and BINGO, it was perfect for the quilt. It is called “Floral Carnation” and is from the Blenders collection (available at all times).
I quilted it with Aurifil Thread, #2515 (Light Orchid) on the top and Aurifil #2423 (Baby Pink) in the bobbin. When auditioning the threads, I felt that the Baby Pink was too light for the top but the Light Orchid was perfect. However, I didn’t know if I had enough Light Orchid to use for both the top and bobbin. I used Aurifil #4225 (Eggplant) to attach the binding.
Quilting Close-ups
The Finished Lone Star
Be sure to visit Maryellen at MaryMackMadeMine! She had the same fabric collection. I haven’t seen her quilt, but I just KNOW that it will be a totally different Lone Star!
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This week I taught “Travel Posts” to 2 lovely talented quilters! Travel Posts is in the book Color Block Quilt Making by Elizabeth Chappell. It’s a great book and if you’re looking for quick and easy patterns – this book is for you! Essem may have this book in stock.
This is the quilt I made for the class sample. Simina helped pick out the fabrics: the coloured portions are grunge.
Anyhow, the class participants came very prepared and had their fabric all cut and labelled and were ready to roll! They finished the tops in class! Aren’t they great?
Here’s the 2nd one I did using Island Batik fabrics from the “Mystery Collection” and Island Batik solid grey.
Oh ya!!! I started ANOTHER new project. When my cousin, Connie and I were shopping at the Cloth Shop, we saw these super nifty bowls. I fell in love!!! However, they did not have the pattern in stock. But a couple of weeks later, I was at Chitterchatter fabrics and they had the pattern. Of course I had to buy it! There are 7 different sizes included in the pattern. The pattern is “Goodness Bowl” by Jean Paccagnan. There is even a great youtube video to go with the pattern! And BONUS: Jean Paccagnan is a local designer!!!
I know it’s English Paper Piecing, but if I only sew for about 10 minutes a day, I’ll eventually get it done!
I decided to use some beautiful blue scraps of Island Batik fabric.
The first thing I did for this stocking challenge was to find a stocking pattern. I printed it out and I didn’t like I. My husband adjusted it, making the toes larger and I liked it way better!
For my first stocking, I cut out 2 pieces of Hobbs Batting 80/20 and drew lines on it to guide me as I did the striped quilt as you go. I used 2″ strips of each fabric. Prairie Spirit Alpacas/Wool pressing mat made everything lie perfectly flat!
I needed to be careful to ensure that I covered the batting with the fabrics … Jack the ripper came out to play here …
The stockings needed to be trimmed. I used the 1/4” mark on my ruler and worked around my template. (Yes, I used the page from a large calendar for my pattern!)
The 2nd stocking was a crazy patch that I attempted to do as a quilt as you go – but I had drawn too many intersecting lines to make it work … so it became an improvised crazy patch stocking.
I used “Pinecone – Dark Teal” and the red is #121913380 from Season Splendor (Fall/Winter 2019 collection) for the stockings and “Coconut” for the snowflakes. The snowflakes were cut with Accuquilt dies that I borrowed from our guild’s die collection.
Appliqueing the snowflake and marking the stocking for the crazy quilting.
Aurifil Thread # 2021 (Natural White) was used for the applique process. #2692 (Black) was used for quilting, assembly and the hanging tabs.
I wanted a little flange on the cuff – so the red was cut at 1 1/4” and the green at 3.” This made it possible to fold it 3/4” of the green to the inside so that the lining didn’t show. I used Island Batik solid white fabric for the lining.
Here’s the first 2 stockings hanging on my design wall.
I think the stockings look a little more Christmasy pinned to the wood pile! The third stocking is for our grand-dog, Daphne! The larger stockings are 21″ long and Daphne’s is 17″ long.
Oh me, oh my! What a blog hop this promises to be!!! Gadgets, gadgets, gadgets … I have a few! Do I need to pick just one??? Carol, from Just Let me Quilt, organized this blog hop and I signed up right away!!!
But before I started, I decided that I needed to actually define what a “gadget” is. According to Mirriam-Webster a gadget is “an often small mechanical or electronic device with a practical use but often thought of as a novelty.”
Hmmm, to me, I have always considered a gadget something that makes my quilting easier. Sometimes the “gadget” is electronical, sometimes mechanical, but always is practical and useful. Hence, I’m going with my own definition of “gadget.”
I will show you the gadgets that I used for this project. I doubt this will make me the Queen of Gadgets, but even I was surprised at how many I actually used!
Gadget #1
EQ8
I used EQ8 to design this quilt using Island Batik’s “Pumpkin Spice,” a signature collection for Sarah Fabian, designed by Kathy Engle. I had received a 10″ stack, along with a 2 yard cut of “Celery” (which I used for the background) and a 2 yard cut of “Bluegrass” which I used for the binding.
And yes, just in case you were wondering, I recently upgraded from EQ7 to 8. A tiny learning curve, but lots of features I really really like! Well worth upgrading! Wish I’d done it sooner!
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.
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
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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!
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:
Squirrel is sandwiched and I have a plan for the quilting!
This little bag is made with 2 pieces of fabric that I got from the Trend-tex tour I took. It is a DrEAMI project. A Drop Everything And MakeIt. Sandra, from MMM Quilts hosts a DrEAMI linky party each month. You can see all of the DrEAMI projects HERE.
Here’s what we were told, “The Triangle Tricks Challenge is designed to take you out of your comfort zone with square or rectangle blocks and have you work with triangles. Have fun!”
I’ve done oodles of triangle quilts, half-square triangles, tri-recs triangles, flying geese is all about triangles … Lots of different quilts … and I have a current leader and ender project that is also all about triangles, but I wanted something a bit different.
I spied Triangle Stars in our guild library … it looked great … it said “Deceptively Easy.” Time to try it out!
I chose to use the precut “Starry Night” that I received last year. Isn’t it a beautiful collection??? And with my favourite blues …
Here’s the first triangle I made …
Lots and lots of triangles … They are paired with Island Batik black solid with either white solid or rice. The black, white and rice are basics and available all the time.
Sew, I put all these triangles together and was thinking, “yeah, I’ve almost got this top done.” THEN, I went to iron it … oh my … I told a friend that it was a mess with multiple Double E sized bra cups all over it. Groan … I tried to press it into submission, but nothing worked … and I forgot to take a picture.
But, lots and lots of unstitching …
Then I realized that the triangles were off! They were SUPPOSED to be 60 degree triangles … so they all got squared (triangled?) up to be 60 degrees. I’m not sure that you can see much difference in the picture, but the one on the right is a 60 degree triangle and I have no idea what the one on the left is …
but there was a LOT of trimming! Depending on the triangle, there was anywhere from 1/2″ to 1/16″. That in my book is way to much variation. I checked my templates … yup – they were correct. I checked my seam allowance … yup – they were all the same 1/4″ … I have NO idea what happened! But I do know that IF I EVER make this quilt again, I will draw out a paper piecing pattern and there will be no templates used!
Here is the finished quilt! I must admit that it went together much easier once I made the triangles all the same size. And there were no Double E bra sized lumps … there was one “A” sized one, but that was easily quilted out!
I used Hobbs Batting BLACK 80/20 batting … it was perfect for this quilt! The stars and the shadow stars were quilted with Aurifil Thread #4644 (Smoke Blue) and the rest of the black was swirled with #2692 (Black). I used a microtex from Schmetz Needles.
Wait, there’s more!
As I was cutting up the left-over fabric to use for my leader and ender project, I thought “why not use it right away?” I do need 2 small table toppers for the newly painted and carpeted guest room – so I should make them now!
I used my 8″ Cube Accuquilt #4 & #5 dies to cut out triangles with the left-over Starry Night fabrics. Then I cut tons of triangles with #5 die using Chevron – Iceberg … my plan was to make something cool with HST and flying geese. I made lots of HST and flying geese, but my plan did not come to be. That was OK … I decided I’d make one topper with HST turned into pinwheels and another with the flying geese.
I believe the guild Garage Sale was a success. I got rid of a LOT of stuff! It was great! I was very happy to only bring a small amount home!
I also was able to donate about 10 quilts to the baby quilt and comfort quilt guild charities! That also freed up a bunch of space!
As my dear hubby was helping to load the car, he gently told me that perhaps I might not want to bring home as much stuff as I took! I had to laugh, as I had absolutely NO intention of shopping at the garage sale …
However, when things are staring you in the face, you HAVE to shop! The blue fleece was at the table next to me and after an hour, I broke down and bought it. It will back 2 baby donation quilts. And the ruler handle … oh yes, the ruler handle. Whenever I’m at a retreat with Patti, she always has a long ruler with a fantastic handle on it. I gravitate to that ruler and absolutely LOVE the extra stability the handle adds. So, of course, I HAD to have it!!!
Now … to get things back in order in my sewing studio!
Overhauling the Craft Room
For awhile this past week, my studio looked WAY worse than it did when I first posted pictures … but that’s OK … sometimes, you have to make a mess to clean up, right? Anyhow … here is the progress this week:
Here’s Before and After pictures of the same spaces!
It looks a little cluttered behind the sewing machine on the right … but that’s my leader & ender project … and it’s allowed to stay there – ready for sewing! Yes, several rulers hang behind this machine.
Another area … The bags on the floor were emptied and things put away. The sandwiched quilts and various other things are in appropriate spots. Finally, there is a permanent home for my Accuquilt … with the Island Batik scraps ready for cutting … much better than putting it away all the time!
My quilting area … the SAD light stays and the laptop gets moved so I can view whatever as I’m quilting or zoom quilting or ??? Another leader and ender project ready when I piece on this machine and the area is clear for quilting. So, hopefully, I won’t quilt spare pieces of fabric into the back of whatever I quilt!
All that is left is my ironing board, cutting table and computer desk! GROAN …. but I will work on them …
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!
I missed 3 days of sewing this week. Two because I was getting ready for the garage sale and one on the day of the garage sale …
January – Mar: 90 / 90
Apr 1 – 24: 21/24
Total: 111 / 114
Percentage =97%
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!
Finishing this baby quilt used 2.5 yards of fabric.
1. Foodie Blog Hop: These fabrics are from my stash. You’ll just have to wait until May 24th to see what is happening with this fabric!
2. A Squirrel Attack: As I was going through my containers … I found left-over strips from a jelly roll quilt … well, they spoke very loudly to me and said, “USE ME NOW.” Well, I have learned that it’s usually worth listening to fabric when it speaks to you. This is one half of them and there will be sashing added between the rows.
3. I have started Sandra Walker’s Pop Star Quilt … Sandra is a fabulous designer and I absolutely LOVE making her quilts. This one is a sew-a-long … Each week, there are directions on what to do. I have chosen some Island Batik fabrics and they are cut out and waiting. The first sewing directions are available … so I need to work on it. You can access the steps at MMM Quilts HERE.
Quilting:
I still have several baby quilts left to quilt!
Since I have several baby panels to quilt and last week I counted 2 as 1 UFO. I’m going to continue that. It’ll be at least another week or 2 before I get another one finished! So the only change is that I’ve added my new starts.
This quilt was made with Island Batik fabrics (Flutterfly collection & solid white), Hobbs white 80/20 batting, and Aurifil thread.
And here’s some close-ups of the quilting!
Friend’s Quilts
When she sent me the picture, she said, “This is where I’m leaving it Gail. Thanks, it was fun.” I think it looks great!
Kathleen said, “This is my finished project, it was definitely a learning experience. Because I started with such a small center block, some of the other blocks, size wise, were a bit of a challenge. Thank you for facilitating this project.” I think you did a fantastic job, Kathy!
Here’s Mary’s. She was running low on fabrics so she got very creative. I love the final result.
Donna also ran low on fabrics but made it! Shadowed quilted stars and diamonds and elephant footprints in negative spaces. Great fun!
Here’s Dawn’s: I love all the greens she used!
Jacomina wrote: I have no blog and I participated on a lark in the SAHRR2022. I put on a last round of borders and it is a disaster so they will have to come off again. It was fun in a way, as I like improv sewing, but it is not a very good quilt. I enjoyed the challenge even though that was not in my programming for this year. It just happened because I was in the Netherlands and all quilters were asked to make heart blocks for the victims of the flooding this summer when the rivers broke in Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. I made one following the directions and later a second heart thinking that I knew the dimensions and it turned out to be much too small. So here I was with this orphan block. Well, I totally disagree with Jacomina! I think this is a beautiful quilt! I love the hearts in the outside corners … it’s Lovely!
Edited: 2 more, sent in a little late
1. Charlene
Except for the background Charlene used her scraps of batiks for this quilt. She still has the last 2 sides of sho fly blocks to make. She had to go buy more background fabric! WOW!!! This looks fantastic!
2. Chere says: Well round 6 is done . I’ve got shoofly blocks, and some spacers in between. This quilt is far bigger than I thought it was going to get. But it’s OK. Hope to get it sandwich together next week and quilted. It will have purple binding. Have a few scraps left, have to see what I can do with them. Overall it was fun . I ended up learning new block names and blocks ,along with new techniques. Look forward to the next one.
I’m glad you had fun, Chere! Your quilt is beautiful!! And I agree that the purple binding will be perfect!
Now, it’s your turn to show us!
Show us your completed SAHRR or the one in progress!
It can be one block or 100 blocks…totally up to you.
You can make a quilt, a bag, a potholder, or whatever.
Just have an hourglass block in it somewhere.
Here is my first Hourglass block:
I had a few 60 degree triangles left over from the Island Batik “gradations” project that I made in January. You can read about it HERE.
But, I needed 45 degree and 90 angles to make the hourglass block. Accuquilt to the rescue! I paired all of these triangles with Island Batik’s solid grey material. 50 blocks later, the quilt was put together, the border added and the quilt was finished.
And, for the most part, my gradations are all gone! It’s bitter sweet. I was able to have fun using them and I actually got 3 quilts out of the fat quarter bundle they sent!
This quilt was sandwiched with Hobbs 80/20 and I use Aurifil #2600 (Dove) to quilt it. I started with my walking foot and a small serpentine stitch to outline all of the triangles, then I free motioned a swirly flower “thingy” in the grey areas. The binding is a scrappy binding and it is used with the same serpentine stitch that I quilted with.
This quilt will be donated to the Boundary Bay baby quilt committee.
Here is the list of Time in A Bottle Bloggers
Visit each of them to see their interpretations of the theme!
I was walking by a fitness studio and saw this sign in the window … I pondered it for awhile and then thought, “This makes a lot of sense.”
When you think about working on a UFO, that’s what you’re doing. Thinking. However, if you take the UFO out of the box and start working on it … that’s Action. How many times have you been working on something and all of a sudden, it’s “Let’s get this done!” That’s Motivation. I find that often happens to me. So I Need to take some Action and work on a UFO … who knows – maybe in March, I can show you a finish!
So how are you doing with your PHD in 2022 February progress?
My Tally Sheet
No UFO finishes this month, but two, Macaron Mystery and the SAHRR are seeing some progress.
The first chart shows my overall PHD standing and New Starts … the 2nd more colourful chart shows all the tasks, or steps I need to take to complete my UFOs.
This first one is my February, Island Batik project “Row by Row.” I had a beautiful fabric collection called Vintage Lace by Kathy Engle. You can read about this quilt HERE. I used Hobbs 80/20 batting, Aurifil thread and Schmetz needles. As well, I used the Accuquilt Qube 8″ die set to cut all the blocks.
This is my favourite finish in February. I’m linking to Meadow Mist Designs.
I’ve already talked about this little basket. You can read about it HERE.
DrEAMI
Then there is the DrEAMI I made. DrEAMI stands for Drop Everything And Make It. You know about those projects! Sandra, of MMM Quilts has a linky party each month for us to show our DrEAMIs. They are also known as Squirrels …
Here’s how my DrEAMI came about: On the guild Facebook page, one of the members posted a cute Thread-catcher … my comment at the time was “No! No! No! I’ve got NO time to make these!!! But why oh why did I bookmark the page????????? And I’m thinking about what fabrics to use ….” It was bugging me … I just HAD to make it!
The pattern / tutorial can be found at The Sewing Chick, HERE.
I used Island Batik Fabrics. The main fabric is Buildings-Peon, the lining is Chevron-Gaze and the binding is Columns-Olive … all from the Deco Revival collection. The small pieces are scraps from the same collection. Along with the canvas, Hobbs 80/20 batting was used and it was quilted with Aurifil thread.
This basket didn’t take long at all. Less than 3 hours, and that included the hunt for the canvas (it wasn’t in my sewing room), writing down the fabrics used and re-cutting the lining because I goofed when cutting out the corners (my own fault). The pattern is easy to follow!
Stitching Stuff
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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 1-30 – 31 / 31
February 1-27 – 27 / 27
Total: 58 / 58
Percentage =100%
Stash Report
Donna at Quilt Paint Create hosts a weekly linky party where you can display your stash. 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! However, I am human and I do break down and buy fabric!
This week … the Wagon Broke … and I bought fabric!
I can easily justify it. (Can’t we all?) It’s Island Batik fabric!!! And I found it at a store within about 3 miles of my house! Castle’s Sewing Center. They don’t have a lot, but they have 8 bolts!!! That’s a start! Especially since I haven’t been able to find it anywhere else in the lower mainland! (I’m talking at least 100 miles or more). Yes, Over the Rainbow in Washington carries Island Batik fabric, but it’s a huge hassle to cross the border right now and return to Canada – so I’ll be staying put!
I bought 3 m of the neutral … It’s a chevron with hints of blue … of course I fell in love right away. And, I DO have a plan for it!
The fabric basket used 1/2 yard of fabric and my DrEAMI used 3/4 yard.
So, last week, after having a root canal, I taught a Basket class at Essem. There was only one participant in the class, Wendy. She was super speedy and was able to finish up her basket very quickly! She’s used a variety and Kafe fabrics and her basket is stunning! Don’t you agree?
Here is my basket. I used fabric from my stash. I used 2 fabrics and like the effect! If you’d like to learn how to make this basket – let Simina or Rajan at Essem know and they’ll start a wait list.
Machine Binding Class
On March 10, I will be teaching a binding class at Essem. You will learn how to attach binding totally by machine! There will be lots of time-saving tricks and the results will be amazing! I’ll be demonstrating regular binding, scrappy binding, and flange binding. Bring projects ready for binding and you will leave with the binding completed! Contact Essem Textiles to sign up for the class. There are only a few spots left!
Did you see my Row by Row Quilt?
This week, it was my day to share my February Row by Row quilt on Island Batik’s Blog Hop! It was such a fun quilt to make, with beautiful fabrics from a collection called “Vintage Lace” by Kathy Engle. You can read more about it HERE.
This quilt is 50″ x 60″. I used Accuquilt dies to cut the whole quilt. It’s quilted with a Schmetz needle, Aurifil thread, using Silly Moon’s “Beanie” rulers, and has Hobbs 80/20 batting.
Same Quilt, Different Fabric
Last week I showed my finish “In the Woods” featuring Evergreen and Pine by Kathy Engle that is in the Island Batik Catalogue. You can read about it HERE.
This week, my pattern tester, Carol, posted a picture of her quilt … it has a totally different look using different fabrics! I love it. You can read what Carol has to say about the quilt pattern HERE. Thank you for testing the pattern, Carol!
I am always fascinated by how different quilts look when you use different fabrics!
Let me know if you would like to purchase the “In the Woods” pattern!
Chris from Chrisknitssews has chosen Shoo-fly blocks. These blocks were cut with my Accuquilt, using 2 Qube 8 dies. As I was making these blocks – they looked too busy side by side, but putting a plain white sash between them worked. It also helped with the measurement! So all is good!
This is the last round – I may or may not add a small white border … and then it’s going to be sandwiched and quilted. I will be doing my own quilting on my Janome M7.
My SAHRR has used “Flutterfly,” a beautiful Island Batik collection, paired with their solid white. It makes a very ‘crisp’ quilt! I did add a 2 1/2″ border … and it’s now ready to be sandwiched and quilted.
Be sure to link to Chris’s blog … and then return on March 21 for the final parade!!!
Friend’s Progress
I just found this picture from Dawn W on my phone … she sent it awhile ago and I missed it! I LOVE all the shades of green and how each side of the quilt is different, with the tops the same! Awesome, job, Dawn!
Here is Stella’s … she says, “I have almost caught up again- just have to applique my hearts on…this afternoons project….I have run out of a few of my fabrics – the stash only goes so far! But I am happy that I’ve made it this far without needing to shop! Hahaha Depending on Monday’s round- this may be my finished project….I like this size as I can handle the quilting here in my own space. And I may even have a backing sitting on the shelf already. This is SEW pretty! I Love how the black really accents the fabrics!
Chere says: Actually like the rails. Probably because I also like piano keys ☺️ Hope the purple got toned down a bit but not lost. Thought I’d bring back in the flower appliqué. Hummm , what is that final round? I’m happy so far , for a first time SAHRR. It’s looking great, Chere! Well now you know what the final round is!
Charlene says: Yeah…another round complete…loving my picket fence…53 x 66…will be a good size throw once I do round 6! Charlene, I love your take on “rail fence” blocks … the picket fence looks great!
Visit the other co-hosts to see their blocks!
Here’s a list of the other co-hosts. Make sure that you go to their blogs and follow them so that you don’t miss a single post!
I received “Vintage Lace” collection, designed by Kathy Engle. It should be in the stores in February.
The top and bottom rows have 4 colours each, the other 4 rows have 3 … which means that I used all 20 fabrics in the blocks. The sashing is a basics called “Snow” and the cornerstones and binding are “Hunter.” (All of the fabrics are pictured below.)
The name of the collection made me think of traditional blocks and I pulled out my Accuquilt cutter and this wonderful book “GO! QUBE” by Quilt in a Day / Eleanor Burns.
I drew out many of the blocks in EQ and used the program to colour in the blocks.
Using the Accuquilt ensures perfect size quilt pieces … in this case the 2 1/2″ half-square triangles. Once sewn together, there will be no dog ears to cut off and, as long as my 1/4″ seam is accurate, the block will finish at 2″ square.
As I was piecing many of the blocks, the colour combinations made me think of my grandma. I didn’t get to visit her often, but the fabrics reminded me of her sofa and doilies … I know she had a rocking chair that was similar in colour to the lighter green fabric … perhaps that’s where the memories come from!
There was nothing in my Island Batik stash that was large enough for the backing, so I cut large squares from the left-over fabric and used the following fabrics:
Here is a picture of me just starting the quilting. I used Silly Moon “Beanie” rulers and quilted a Baptist fan over the entire quilt. And, just in case you’re wondering, I did take out that stitching (see the skipped stitches?) and changed the needle (the previous one had pieced this quilt and probably 2 others!) … much better results!
Here are pictures of the individual blocks.
Make sure that you visit The Inquiring Quilter, Jennifer also received “Vintage Lace” and I’m dying to see what she made with this great collection!
Visit the other Ambassadors!
The other Island Batik Ambassadors . make sure you visit each one … they all have beautiful quilts!
TGIFF stands for Thank Goodness It’s Finished Friday and I’m hosting the linky party this week.
Here is my finish
This was a “secret” quilt that I was working on in the fall. It’s for the Island Batik catalogue. It was a fun quilt to make and I loved fussy cutting the animals … they are SEW cute! The Fabric collection is Evergreen and Pine by Kathy Engle. It should be in stores this month! And yes, I used Aurifil thread for piecing and quilting and Hobbs 80/20 batting. Let me know if you would like to purchase the pattern!
And here’s a picture of each of the fabrics that is in the quilt! I used all of them … can you find them in the quilt?
This was a super fun quilt to make. It’s made with Island Batik scraps. You can read more about it HERE. The pattern is from a great book that I highly recommend! “Scrappy Improv Quilting” written by Kelly, of My Quilt Infatuation.
I was Featured
Both Jennifer, from the Inquiring Quilter, and Kelly from My Quilt Infatuation featured the quilt I showed last Friday, 3 D Pinwheels. Please contact me if you would like to purchase the pattern.
As an Island Batik Ambassador, I am to make 12 projects, one a month using ONLY Island Batik fabrics. This is my 3rd year as an Ambassador and I have a bit of an Island Batik stash. The projects below are either the monthly challenge or ones I have done on my own. As you might guess, I LOVE Island Batik fabrics!
January
Between Christmas and New Years 2020, I hosted a Holiday Seclusion Mystery here on the blog. You can see a summary of it HERE.
These are the 2 quilts I made to test the mystery. The first one uses an older Island Batik that I bought, but neglected to keep record of the name of the fabric. It is paired with solid white. Although it was started in 2020, it was not finished until 2021.
This one was made with Scrapbuilder bundles in blue, teal and green, along with a solid grey. I love the overall graffiti or wild quilting on it!
January’s Island Batik challenge was to make placemats. I LOVE blue and LOVED making these placemats! You can read about them HERE.
I joined in the monthly Scrap Happy Table Runner challenge hosted by So Scrappy. January’s colour was PINK. Here is the mug rug I made.
February
These 2 baskets were a free byAnnie pattern and you can read more about them HERE.
This quilt was provided as a mystery quilt for the guild. The Designer is Sue Pontifex, from Piece Arch Quilters in White Rock. This is a variation of the original design. You can read more about the quilt HERE.
February’s Island Batik challenge was “Create for a Cause.” Each ambassador was to create a quilt to give to a charity of our choice. The guild I belong to gives “comfort” quilts to a local cancer agency. This quilt is destined to go there when they start receiving quilts (after Covid). You can read more about this quilt HERE.
This quilt used the beautiful “Mystery” collection of fabric designed by Claudia Pfeil.
This month’s colour for the Scrap Happy Table Runner challenge hosted by So Scrappy. was yellow. You can read more about this mug rug HERE.
March
Scrapbusting ws Island Batik’s challenge for March. What a fun fun challenge. My 2 quilts are shown below …
The Scrappy Irish chain with the star was a LOT of fun. Lots of 2″ scraps from every collection that I have had as an ambassador!
Is a quilt that started out small and became bigger as I really liked the colours. It initially started as a sample for a ruler quilting class.
This is a quilt, designed by an Island Batik alumni, Sandra Walker, you can read more about this quilt HERE and Here and HERE.
The Island Batik challenge for this month was “Spread Love & Joy with Accuquilt.” Boy, did I have fun! I love using the Accuquilt cutter and the precision cutting. You can read about my 2 quilts HERE.
In March, I took a course “Speed Dating with Improv” by Krista from PoppyPrints. It took me a while to get the facing done, but it was finally finished in June! I used Island Batik solids for this piece.
I finally put the facing on my Story-less Improv and you can read more about it here, here and HERE. This was from a by Krista’s classes @ Poppyprint. It has the super fun title of “Speed Dating.”
Purple is June’s Scrap Happy Table Runner challenge hosted by So Scrappy. You can read more about this coaster HERE.
July
July’s Island Batik challenge was “Never Too Early.” I made a mini quilt and a basket. You can read about them HERE.
August
Try a Tool was Island Batik’s August challenge! Oh! Did I have fun with this one! Check out the details HERE.
Another quilt designed by Island Batik alumni, Sandra Walker. This is “Let your Star Shine.” You can read about it HERE and HERE.
This quilt was created for the “Orange you Glad” Blog Hop. You can read about it HERE.
This month’s scrappy table runner challenge was “aqua.” I wanted to try paper piecing a “Storm at Sea” block and ended up with this 14″ x 14″ square table topper. You can read about it HERE.
September
Island Batik’s September challenge was to make a byAnnie bag. I made this wonderful “Round Trip Duffle.” Read about it HERE.
This table runner was made for the Table Scraps monthly challenge (orange) and the Falling For You blog hop … you can read more about it HERE.
Kelly Young launched her newest book “Scrappy Improv Quilting” and I couldn’t help but enlarge this quilt and make a baby sized hot air balloon. You can read about it HERE.
October
October’s Island Batik challenge was to use Aurifil thread related to our assigned Endangered Species. I was given the Pangolin … it was fun zen-doodling the scales … you can find out more details HERE.
Then, I was involved in a blog hop, featuring Kelly Young’s book, “Scrappy Improv Quilting.” I made this ornament wall hanging for the blog hop. See details HERE.
November
The challenge for Island Batik, for November was the “Storm at Sea” block. I made 2 totally different quilts using the same block. You can read about them HERE.
I finished another quilt – with inspiration from Kelly Young’s book “Scrappy Improv Quilting.” This quilt used a lot of orphan log cabin blocks … For more details see HERE.
December
English Paper Piecing was the challenge for December. It was a HUGE challenge for me, but I got it done! And I’m happy with the result! See more details HERE.
This is another hot air balloon from Kelly Young’s book, “Scrappy Improv Quilting.” You can read about it HERE.
Catalogue Quilts
There were 3 quilts that were published in the Island Batik Spring/Summer 2021 Catalogue. You can access the Catalogue HERE.
Left to right: Modern Squares, Feather Chain & Flutterfly Stars.
Disclosure: The fabrics, thread, batting and needles were generously supplied by the following companies:
Quilting Gail 