AccuQuilt

Island Batik, March: It’s All Up To You!

/ quiltinggail / 23 Comments

I decided I would make a scrappy quilt for the March challenge. I had have a large bag of green Island Batik scraps. I started out making 4 x 4 blocks with 2 1/2” squares all from the scrap bag. But, I didn’t count very well and made way too many blocks.

I didn’t like the look of the 16 patch blocks with a plain block in between. I know I had seen a quilt with 16 patches, alternating with a plainer block using half-square triangles. Do you think I could find it? Nope. Not a hope. So, I went to EQ8 and designed the first 2 blocks. I quickly realized that I could cut the 3rd block with my Accuquilt Cube 8″ dies (#5 for HST & #10 from Corners) and eliminate making a ton of half square triangles.

And this quilt was born.

Once I had the blocks up on the design wall, I decided I didn’t like it. It almost seemed unfinished to me. So I added half blocks all the way around with a 4 patch in each corner. The alternating blocks use a soft green called ‘mint.’ It’s an Island Batik basic and was the perfect choice for this quilt!

By the time I finished the above quilt, I still had lots of 2 1/2” squares left, many in 16 patch blocks. So, I pulled out ‘Ghost’ to make the neutral blocks and this quilt was born. I added a 4 1/2” border around it using Vegi Garden – Green Gr from the Fruit and Veggies collection. I used this collection last year for my Puff Quilt (see HERE). There was the perfect amount of this fabric for the borders and to bind the 2 quilts with about 1/2 yard left.

Then, I started to tidy my sewing room and guess what I found? MORE 2 1/2” squares!!! a couple of 16 patch blocks!!!! and a few of the neutral blocks using ‘Mint.”!!! I guess that’s what I get for not being consistent in my cleaning!!! So, there was enough to make Quilt #3! And just the right amount of the green fabric for a border … This quilt was destined to have a scrappy border. I just did plain straight line quilting in this one. It’s OK … but it again showed me that I much prefer to do custom quilting as seen in the 2 quilts above.

When this quilt was complete, I did have a few stray neutral blocks and some green 4 patches, but not enough to do much with. I still have a fairly big bag full of green scraps, but they are all smaller than 2 1/2” square.

Here’s a picture of all 3 of them on the clothesline. A couple of them will definitely be donation quilts.

Quilt Stats:

  • Size:
    • #1 48″ x 62″
    • #2 40″ x 54″
    • #3 40″ x 40″
  • Hobbs Batting 80/20 inside
  • Aurifil Thread:
    • Piecing #2600 (Dove Grey)
    • Quilting #2835 (Medium Mint)
    • Binding #2890 (Very Dark Grass Green)
  • Schmetz Needles: Microtex 80/12
  • Quilting Rulers:
    • #1 Silly Moon Drop & Rocket
    • #2. Silly Moon Rocket & a long curve

My Oliso iron was used every step of the way! I’m still not used to leaving it flat, but it’s definitely a smooth iron and is plenty hot!

For now, I’ve put all my green scraps away … I think it might be a while before that bag is touched again … maybe …

Thank You!!

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

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Pin Dot Floral and other things

/ quiltinggail / 17 Comments

This Island Batik collection is absolutely gorgeous!

This collection is for Megan Best. She is an Island Batik Ambassador and we always had plans to meet. We only live about 17 miles apart … however, she lives in Washington State and I live in Canada 🇨🇦. I don’t need to tell you why it took over 3 years for us to meet in person.

Anyhow, last year, I needed to go down to Washington and I stopped by her place. She gave me a tour of her awesome studio! (Sorry, no pictures) and she showed me the beautiful quilts she has made with this collection. All of them are absolutely stunning! Then she asked if I’d like to make a quilt with this collection. Well, of course, I said “yes!!!”

I was gifted a fat quarter bundle … and then it was time to play. EQ 8 to the rescue!! But nothing said, “make me!” … So, I went to my Accuquilt dies and saw the Kite die in the 8″ Qube Angles box and paired it with the Triangles in a Square die. And I started cutting.

It’s such pretty fabric, it’ll make pretty blocks, right?

Well, no! It was too busy … and I hated it. And I didn’t take any pictures of the not-so-nice blocks. So I cut more triangle blocks out of white fabric and came up with this quilt:

The white set off the beautiful fabrics from the collection. I was happy! I used Hobbs 80/20 batting and quilted it with Silly Moon “Rocket” to make the straight lines. It is bound with a scrappy binding with left-over pieces. It is 44″ x 52.”

Then, I had the dilemma of what to do with the side pieces I had cut. I didn’t want the quilts to look the same, so I cut out lots of black triangles, using the Triangle in a Square die.

I add all of the side triangles I had cut with Pin Dot Floral and this quilt was born:

Such a different look with the same fabrics! For this one, I used Hobbs black batting. It’s perfect for dark quilts and doesn’t dull the beautiful colours! And again, I used Silly Moon’s “Rocket” for the straight line quilting. I love how the markings on the ruler make it super easy to have a pattern without marking the quilt! This quilt is 44″ square.

And a close up of the quilting:

I still have some left-overs of this beautiful fabric and I have a plan in mind!

Commitment

Do you remember, way back in January, I told you that my word for 2024 was Commitment? You don’t? Well, don’t worry … I had sort of forgotten as well.

I didn’t have enough UFOs to run the PHD in 2024 and Ms P Designs took it over. See HERE. But, I knew that I needed to be accountable and at least finish what I had started in 2024 … thus “Commitment.”

So far this year, I have started 10 projects and have completed half of them! I’m totally fine with that because I KNOW that none of them are being placed in a bin and hidden until who knows when! They will get done! Unfortunately, none of the UFOs have been completed – YET … but they are in the works … and the SAHRR ’24 needs to be completed for the SAHRR parade in March. It will get done!

Temptation!

Scrappy quilts have definitely been on my radar recently! The project I’m working on for March’s Island Batik challenge is definitely scrappy! Then our guild recently had Cheryl Arkinson speak.  She’s all scraps and scrappy. And then I attended a Zoom presentation by Carola from Carola’s Quilt Shop and it was all about scrappy quilts. Carola’s blog has lots of ideas and easy to follow!

The problem: I now have TOO MANY ideas!!! I want to start at least 20 of them!!! How can I even resist starting half of them?????

Favourite Finish of the Month

Yvonne from Quilting Jetgirl has a Linky Party at the end of each month where we are to choose our favourite quilt of the month!!! Oh me, oh my. How do I choose just ONE Favourite quilt? As an Island Batik Ambassador, I get to work with many, many beautiful fabric collections!!! They are all quite different and beautiful. Each has a unique beauty! I must admit, I LOVE my Island Batik quilts … and these 3 are the favourites for this month!

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting! 
Gail 

Linking to:  

SAHRR Round #5

/ quiltinggail / 32 Comments

For the SAHRR ’24, I am using Island Batik fabrics: a 10″ stack of Limerick in addition to “Teal”, “Egg Shell” and “Cherio-Iris.” For more information on a SAHRR, see THIS POST.

Round #5 is hosted by Me! Right here on my blog. 

My choice for this round is “4.” You can do whatever you want – but it needs to have an element of “4” in it. You can choose 4 colours, 4 different blocks, 4 of one block … it’s YOUR choice.

I chose to make a friendship star … there are 4 points to a friendship star … so that fits the 4 in this round. As well, each point of the star is a different fabric … so I could say that was another “4” that fit into this round. If you want some more ideas, visit the other hosts (links below) to see what they did! Or come back and look at the people that have posted in the Link party (below). I used my Accuquilt Cube 8 to make the star. It finishes at 6″ x 6″.

The stars were placed on the top and bottom of the quilt. 

Next week is Round #6! Our final round!!! Come back next week to check it out! 😋

Link Party

Show us what your Round #5 is like! Remember, every time you enter a link party for the SAHRR, you have an opportunity to win one of the prizes from our sponsors!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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

Other Participants

These are the SAHRR in progress by those who do not blog or have IG. The images must be sent to me by midnight on Saturday to make it into my blog post.

Heather F., Charlene B., Jacomina, Robin B., Kathy P., Judy B., Heather F., Regina S.

We have Sponsors!

We reached out to several companies that we all LOVE and many of them agreed to sponsor the SAHRR 2024!!! We will keep track of all of the participants that link to our Linky parties each week. We will make a list and use a random number generator to choose the winners for each prize! So, if you link up to 3 Linky parties, you will have 3 opportunities to win!

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is screenshot-2023-12-15-at-4.47.12-pm.png

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

SAHRR #4

/ quiltinggail / 18 Comments

For the SAHRR ’24, I am using Island Batik fabrics: a 10″ stack of Limerick in addition to “Teal”, “Egg Shell” and “Cherio-Iris.” For more information on a SAHRR, see THIS POST.

Round #4 is hosted by Brenda @ Songbird Designs.

Brenda gives you a choice. Do something “on point” or a square in a square. I chose to do the square in a square. I used my Accuquilt Cube 8 dies to make them. If you don’t have the dies, the centre square is just shy of 3 3/8ths of an inch. The added triangles are the same size as for the 2 1/2” half square triangles. My blocks finished at 4″ square. I was amazed that the blocks were a perfect fit for the tops and sides. I was totally prepared to add some extra background to make them fit, but I didn’t have to! Can I say that I did a happy dance?

Today’s 4th Round:  Brenda @ Songbird Designs. Visit Songbird Designs to link up

  • February 19:  5th Round: ME!!! @ Quilting Gail
  • February 26:  6th Round:  Kathleen @ Kathleen McMusing
  • March 18: Parade: showing all of your finished SAHRRs!

Other Participants

These are the SAHRR in progress by those who do not blog or have IG. The images must be sent to me by midnight on Saturday to make it into my blog post.

I am truly amazed by the creativity of everyone!

Regina S (Round #2), Robin B., Gail H., Charlene B., Judy B., Regina S. #1, Regina S. #2, Jacomina, Rosie, Donna R #1., Donna R #2, Kathy R., Donna #3.

We have Sponsors!

We reached out to several companies that we all LOVE and many of them agreed to sponsor the SAHRR 2024!!! We will keep track of all of the participants that link to our Linky parties each week. We will make a list and use a random number generator to choose the winners for each prize! So, if you link up to 3 Linky parties, you will have 3 opportunities to win!

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is screenshot-2023-12-15-at-4.47.12-pm.png

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

SAHRR #3

/ quiltinggail / 23 Comments

For the SAHRR ’24, I am using Island Batik fabrics: a 10″ stack of Limerick in addition to “Teal” and “Egg Shell.”

Round #3 is hosted by Emily @ The Darling Dogwood.

Emily chose “Triangles.” It’s totally up to you how you make your triangles, what size they are and how you want to arrange them.

My triangles were cut with my Accuquilt 8″ Cube die. They were 2 1/2” and finish at 2″ in the quilt. The triangles fit perfectly across the top and bottom, but were a little shy on the sides. I didn’t want to fudge like I did with the piano keys because then I would loose my points. So, I just added a little sliver of background on each end of the triangle row … and now they sort-of fit.

Here is the 3rd Round.

Today’s Round: February 5: 3rd Round:  Emily @ The Darling Dogwood

  • February 12: 4th Round:  Brenda @ Songbird Designs
  • February 19:  5th Round: ME!!! @ Quilting Gail
  • February 26:  6th Round:  Kathleen @ Kathleen McMusing
  • March 18: Parade: showing all of your finished SAHRRs!

Other Participants

These are the SAHRR in progress by those who do not blog or have IG. The images must be sent to me by midnight on Saturday to make it into my blog post.

I’m loving the variety of each of these SAHRRs in progress. They are each so different! Awesome!

Judy B., Robin B., Stella, Kathy R., Donna R #2, Donna R #3, Heather F., Jacomina, Rosie, Donna R #1, Kathy P.

We have Sponsors!

We reached out to several companies that we all LOVE and many of them agreed to sponsor the SAHRR 2024!!! We will keep track of all of the participants that link to our Linky parties each week. We will make a list and use a random number generator to choose the winners for each prize! So, if you link up to 3 Linky parties, you will have 3 opportunities to win!

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is screenshot-2023-12-15-at-4.47.12-pm.png

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Vanishing Hunter’s Star

/ quiltinggail / 8 Comments

In July, my Island Batik box contained a surprise package of Celtic Fields by Kathy Engle. It came with Doughnut (the neutral, on the left) and Celtic Mini Knot Red-B (from the Celtic Fields collection, on the right). I used some of the fabrics from this collection to make the 2 Take a Stand bags (see HERE) (I was given extra for this) and I still had the 1/2 yard cut of the collection. It was the perfect collection for a Turkey Trot Blog Hop where I chose to feature fall fabrics.

I used the Hunter’s Star Accuquilt die to cut out all the pieces for this quilt. There wasn’t enough of the ‘Doughnut’ neutral for this, so I added several other Island Batik neutrals to the mix. Some were unlabelled small pieces, but larger pieces of Snow and Egg White were added in.

My intent WAS to make a scrappy Hunter’s Star quilt. Then, when I was dividing the blocks up by colour, it emerged into this:

I decided to border 2 sides of the quilt with “Large Netting Pineneedle” (dark green) and the other 2 sides with Celtic Mini Knot Red-B (from the collection).

My quilting friends decided that I should call it “Disappearing Hunter’s Star.” But, since the Hunter’s star block wasn’t actually cut (like most disappearing blocks), it has morphed into “Vanishing Hunter’s Star.” That’s it’s official name now. 

Quilt Stats:

  • Size: 65″ x 75″
  • Fabric collection: Island Batik Celtic Fields, Doughnut and various neutrals
  • Binding: Island Batik “Doughnut”
  • Pieced with Aurifil #2600 (Dove)
  • Quilted with Glide Shell using Silly Moon Rulers: Drop & Rocket for the blocks and 6″ Beanie on the border. 
  • Batting: Hobbs 80/20

Stitching Stuff

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 –November:  316 / 333
  • December:  24 / 24
  • Total:  335 / 357
  • Percentage: 93%

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 Vanishing Hunter’s Star used 14 yards of fabric.

Yearly Total:

  • Fabric Used since the last report: 14 yards
  • Fabric Used in 2023:    254 yards  from non-IB: 105
  • Fabric Bought this week: 0 yards
  • Fabric Added this year:    37 yards 
  • Net Fabric used:             218 yards 

Just an FYI: I do not count any fabric that is given to me (Island Batik), but this year, I am going to count it as fabric used.

To Do Tuesday

Carol from Quilt Schmilt is hosting “To Do” every week.

To Do List from Last Week

  1. Finish Quilting and Binding “Not a Hunter’s Star“ ”Vanishing Hunter’s Star“. √   DONE
  2. Sandwich, Quilt and Bind “2023 Fall Mystery Quilt” not done
  3. Piece “SS 24 Catalogue Quilt” quilt partially done … piecing in progress
  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 To Do List:

  1. Sandwich, Quilt and Bind “2023 Fall Mystery Quilt”
  2. Finishing Piecing & adding borders “SS 24 Catalogue Quilt”
  3. Work on SAHRR ’24
  4. Finish Quilting “Gardenia“
  5. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! 
  6. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes.

Design Wall

Judy, at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts, hosts a linky party for “What’s on your Design Wall” every week. Sorry, no pictures to share!

Piecing projects:

  1. Island Batik “SS 24 Catalogue Quilt”
  2. SAHRR ’24 (yes, I’ve started!)
  3. Plan White Rabbit Blog Hop Quilt

Quilting:

  • “2023 Fall Mystery Quilt”
  • Finish Quilting “Gardenia“

Here’s a picture of Gardenia prior to being a flimsy and partially quilted. This was started in February. It’s hard to say if it will be totally done before the end of the year.

Upcoming Blog Hops

Just Let Me Quilt: White Rabbit (January 23. 2024)

Moose Stash Quilting: It Moose be Love (February 20, 2024)

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

December: Celebrations Challenge

/ quiltinggail / 18 Comments

December’s Island Batik challenge is to “Select a holiday that holds special meaning for you, such as Halloween, Christmas, Diwali, Thanksgiving, Easter  etc. and make a project of any kind.”

Here’s my story:

When we went to Newfoundland in August, my niece and her fiancé graciously took us to the East Coast Quilt Company in St. John’s. As they waited for me, sitting on this fabulous sofa, I told them to look through the book I was buying (The Quilted Stash) to see if there was anything they wanted.

They chose the dark blue tree skirt (photo on the right) … and the pattern was not in the book! No fear, it was early in our trip and I knew I’d be visiting a few more quilt stores. I looked for the pattern, but with no luck. After I got home, I looked on-line and the stores I searched were sold out.

That’s no problem!!! I figured I could use some of the appliqué designs in the book, add a few others and the tree skirt could happen. (As it turned out, I used none of the designs in the book!)

The extra bonus (for me) was that Island Batik’s December challenge was to create something inspired by my chosen holiday!!! The inspiration was Christmas and the dark blue tree skirt.

Elements of the Tree Skirt

The reindeer and the sleigh were cut with the Accuquilt die “Go Sleigh & Snowflakes. ” The trees were cut with the Go! Holiday Medley.

A simple zigzag outlined the sleigh and reindeer, while a stitch with intermittent stars outlined the trees.

I found a free colouring book page of some Jellybean Row Houses (famous in St. John’s) here. I simplified the page and made a row of 5 houses. Here is a couple of pictures of some of the actual Jellybean Row Houses, followed by my 5 houses.

Some of the family ancestors were fishermen. My husband fondly remembers many fishing days in a small dory.

The dory was from a Row by Row from Fibre Lily in 2017. I finished the Row by Row in July ’22 and you can read about it HERE.

Many older houses in Newfoundland are called “Salt Box Houses.” I found a colouring picture of one HERE.

The rugged coast of Newfoundland has many lighthouses! The lighthouse is a simplified and smaller version of one I designed in 2019.

Here is the tree skirt, prior to the applique, with snowflakes I decided to not use. The skirt was spray basted onto black 80/20 Hobbs Batting … and then the appliqué began.

The first picture shows a tree mid-appliqué. The garland was stitched first, and then the outline. The stars were quilted using the smallest “Twinkle” ruler from Silly Moon Quilt Company.

The Tree Skirt

Here it is on the design wall, before we took it for a photo shoot.

The photo shoot was a bit of a bust. We went to a nursery that has tons of trees, but it was hard to get pictures with the trees squashed together. Then we went to a hardware store, and again, it wasn’t easy. Most of the trees had huge cones around them. I have a geranium still blooming and it worked for the centre, as well as the shrub. I refuse to dig out my own Christmas tree until later in the month, so, it will have to wait until it travels across the country and arrives at it’s destination!

Tree Skirt Stats:

Size: 52″ diameter

Fabrics:

All Fabrics were from Island Batik: The tree skirt body was cut out with 18o wedges and was made with “Ravine.” I love the mottled dark blue/navy. The reindeer and trees were from “Celtic Fields.” The sleigh was from a 10″ square from the “Cheers” collection. The rest of the elements were from my Island Batik scrap box. The binding is “Ice” … I had to chuckle at the name of the fabric as it was perfect for the binding and very typical of Newfoundland winters!

Thread: I used a large number of Aurifil Threads

  • #2325 (linen): outline reindeer
  • #2250 (red): outline sleigh, interior of tree garland, lighthouse door
  • #5007 (light grey blue): garland, reindeer harness, stars
  • #2840 (loden green): tree outline
  • #2692 (black): house and lighthouse definition, lighthouse window
  • #2134 (spun gold): lighthouse light
  • #2000 (light sand): lighthouse outline
  • #5004 (grey smoke): outline houses and windows
  • #2309 (silver white): snow
  • #6724 (40 wt) (moonshine): binding
  • monofilament: quilting

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,   Accuquilt

Island Batik Ambassadors

Visit the rest of the Ambassadors to see what they are celebrating and their chosen projects!

Brenda Alburl ~ Songbird Designs
Renee Atkinson ~ Pink Tulip Quilting
Pamela Boatright ~ PamelaQuilts
Susan Deshensky ~ Lady Blue Quilts
Brittany Fisher ~ Bobbin with Brittany

Preeti Harris ~ Sew Preeti Quilts
Mania Hatziioannidi ~ Mania for quilts
Reed Johnson ~ Blue Bear Quilts
Victoria Johnson ~ Forever Quilting for You
Randi Jones ~ Randi’s Roost

Connie Kauffman ~ Kauffman Designs
Emily Leachman ~ The Darling Dogwood
Denise Looney ~ Quiltery – For The Love Of Geese
Leah Malasky ~ Quilted Delights
Maryellen McAuliffe ~ Mary Mack Made Mine

Elita Sharpe ~ Busy Needle
Gail Sheppard ~ Quilting Gail. You are here!
Sandra Starley ~ Textile Time Travels
Jennifer Thomas ~ Curlicue Creations
Suzy Webster ~ Websterquilt

Anorina Morris ~ sameliasmum.com
Lisa Pickering ~ Lisa’s Quilting Passion
Sarah Pitcher ~ Pitcher’s Boutique
Claudia Porter ~ Create with Claudia
Lana Russel ~ Lana Quilts

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting! 
Gail 

Turkey Trot

/ quiltinggail / 30 Comments

Carol, from Moose Stash Quilting is our wonderful host for the Turkey Trot blog hop.

Here is the Challenge: Think turkeys, thankfulness or Thanksgiving fabric. November also means beautiful colors of fall, so sew something with oranges, golds, brown, greens or cranberry reds.

Well, I had the perfect fabric for this: Celtic Fields by Kathy Engle. It came with Doughnut (the neutral, on the left) and Celtic Mini Knot Red-B (from the Celtic Fields collection, on the right). It certainly looks like fall, doesn’t it?

When I was at a retreat a few weeks ago, I used the Accuquilt die “Hunter’s Star” to cut all my fabric. I knew I didn’t have enough of Doughnut for the quilt, so I went through my Island Batik stash and picked out all the neutrals I had. I had a scrappy Hunter’s Star cut out in a few hours.

Of course, I had plans to have the quilt totally finished by the blog hop. But alas, that didn’t happen! However, I did get the top (minus the borders) done … and I ended up with a variation, using the blocks, but not in the star pattern. I will show the finished top when it’s finished!

Where can I find Celtic Fields?

Here’s a list of a few of the stores, plus you can ask your Local Quilt Store:

  • Creekside Quilts – OR
  • Bird in Hand – PA
  • Laurals Fabrics and More – MN
  • Sew Ewe Quilt Shop – WY

Turkey Trot Blog Hops

I hope you enjoy visiting all of the Turkey Trot blog hoppers. I promise there will be lots of eye candy for you to see!

Monday November 13

Tuesday November 14

Wednesday November 15

Thursday November 16

It’s In the Bag Blog Hop

This is the start of Week 3 of Island Batik’s Blog Hop with by Annie bags. Also lots more eye candy and if you visit Island Batik’s blog, you have an opportunity to win some awesome fabric!

This week Island Batik is giving away a Fat Quarter bundle of Red, White and Blooms and a Fat Quarter bundle of Vintage Charm collection, both by Kathy Engle!

November 13:

November 14:

November 15:

November 16:

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Linking to:

A Beautiful Friday Finish!

/ quiltinggail / 20 Comments

That’s right, I have another finish!!! And, in my humble, or not so humble, opinion, I think it’s beautfiul!

I finally finished “Splendor.” This is a free pattern from Sew Can She. You can access the pattern HERE. The original pattern uses 3 yards of fabric, but I made mine larger and used 10.5 yards, including the back and binding. The main blocks were cut with my Accuquilt 8″ Qube dies.

Although I LOVE the fabrics and colours in this quilt, it is not made with Island Batik fabric. Again, I was reminded about how much I LOVE Island Batik quilting cottons. They are easy to work with, they have little if any stretch and don’t fray. But, I also need to use up my stash!

And, here’s a few more pictures: A close up of the quilting using Silly Moon’s “Drop,” “Rocket,” and “Kite” rulers. Drop was used in the squares, Rocket for all the straight stitching and Kite in the borders. I pieced the back since I didn’t have quite enough to make it with the purple polka dots.

Quilt Stats:

  • Size: 60″ x 73″
  • Fabric from Mr. Overseas in Abbotsford (bought when I was at a retreat in May)
  • Batting is Hobbs 80/20
  • Pieced with Aurifil thread
  • Quilted with Glide “Amethyst”

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Linking to:

Sunday Synopsis

/ quiltinggail / 23 Comments

A Heavy Heart

It is with a heavy heart that I tell you about my friend, Carmen’s, devastating fire. This newslink has more details. Some of you may have Prairie Spririt Alpaca/wool pressing mats, bought the WARM socks or her yarn …

Carmen is OK. She’s mourning the loss of several alpacas, chickens and the alpaca guard dog, not to mention the barn and the winter’s supply of hay. There is a go-fund me page, if you’re inclined to donate.

Mystery Quilt is happening!

WIP-B-Gone

Leanne, of Devoted Quilter is hosting a WIPS-B-Gone ’23 challenge. This fun challenge started October 1, 2023! It’s not too late if you want to join! It’s totally up to YOU as to how you want to use the challenge.

As I said in an earlier post, my sewing room is was a total disaster. So, I decided that the challenge for me will include DAILY cleaning/tidying and Sewing. The blue portion of the sewing machine is Tidy/Clean and the Orange is Sewing. The sewing room is looking better, my embroidery thread drawers are neat and tidy!

Cleaning???

Hmmm … the rest of my house is not being cleaned! Does that mean I’m sewing enough?

Stitching Stuff

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 –September:  256 / 273
  • October:  15 / 15
  • Total: 271 / 288
  • Percentage: 94%

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 finished this Pattern Test quilt for Songbird Designs. It used 10.5 yards of Island Batik fabric. You can read about it HERE.

Yearly Tally:

  • Fabric Used since the last report: 10.5 yards
  • Fabric Used in 2023:    169.5 yards  from non-IB: 69
  • Fabric Bought this week:  0 yards
  • Fabric Added this year:    17.5 yards 
  • Net Fabric used:             159 yards 

Just an FYI: I do not count any fabric that is given to me (Island Batik), but this year, I am going to count it as fabric used.

To Do Tuesday

Carol from Quilt Schmilt is hosting “To Do” every week.

The To Do list from last week: 

  1. Quilt and bind “Splendor” progress, but not finished
  2. Make flange binding and Bind “Pin Dot Floral” Quilt #3 √   DONE
  3. MAKE on “Monster Mash” project progress, but not finished
  4. Cut out Malted Mystery Fabrics Not done
  5. Work on November IB challenge progress, but not finished
  6. Quilt and bind “Dashing Through the Snow” Not done
  7. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! √   DONE
  8. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes. √   DONE

This week’s list: (purple highlight is priority #1 , 2 & 3)

  1. Finish Quilting and binding “Splendor”
  2. Finish “Monster Mash” project
  3. Cut out Malted Mystery Fabrics
  4. Finish November IB challenge
  5. Quilt and bind “Dashing Through the Snow”
  6. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! 
  7. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes.

Design Wall

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

Piecing projects:

  1. Work on “IB November” project
  2. Work on “Monster Mash” project

Quilting:

  • “Splendor”
  • “Dashing Through the Snow”

Upcoming Blog Hops

Moose Stash Quilting: Sew It – Show It: Monster Mash (My day is Oct 26)

Island Batik November Blog Hop: (November 1 is my day)

Moose Stash Quilting: Sew It – Show It: Turkey Trot (November 13 is my day)

Just Let Me Quilt: Virtual Christmas Cookie Exchange and Christmas Blog Hop (December 4)

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting! 
Gail 

Linking to:

Friday, Oct. 13th

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One of my sweet followers sent me this meme on Instagram. I obviously fell in love with it! Thanks ioleene!

Now unlimited sewing supplies! That’s up my alley. On Thanksgiving weekend, a local fabric store (if you can call 30 minutes away, local) had a 50% off notions sale. I went over and bought a few goodies. Nothing too exciting … pins to use on my design board, iron-on 1/4” tape for helping with zipper insertion, some magnets and a few zippers.

Pattern Testing

I tested the “Starry Path” pattern for my friend and fellow Island Batik Ambassador, Brenda. She has this and another pattern available on her blog, Songbird Designs (click HERE).

And yes, I did change the pattern a bit … but isn’t it gorgeous? I used the “Wild Blooms” fabric collection along with solid white. The Half Square Triangles were cut with an Accuquilt die. Brenda’s pattern provides instructions for using Accuquilt dies. Hobbs batting (80/20) is in the middle. “Ghost” is the fabric on the back. The The custom quilting used various rulers and quilted with my domestic Janome M7.

Here’s some more pictures of the quilt: It almost looks like stained glass from the back with the sun shining through. In June, I showed you the unquilted back when I posted about Kelly Young’s book, “Perfectly Pieced Quilt Backs.”

Island Batik Ambassador

Have you ever considered applying to become an Island Batik Ambassador? They are accepting applications NOW. Here is the LINK. The application explains what is expected from Ambassadors and the benefits being an Ambassador. It’s a challenging program, but I absolutely LOVE it!

If you apply, just make sure you take my email off and put your own in! In the past, I’ve had a few people ask me to ‘vote’ for them or ‘put in a good word’ for them. It doesn’t work that way … each Ambassador needs to apply each year – even we don’t know if we’ll be accepted or not. But fill in the application if you’re interested!

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Linking to:

Falling for Accuquilt

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I LOVE ❤️ using Accuquilt dies and this month is no exception. We received the “North Carolina Star” and were told to use it “to showcase our quilting skills and creativity.” It was suggested to use fall colours and to make any project that we wanted!

The North Carolina Star die is a “block on board.” This means that each of the pattern pieces are included on the die.

We were also told that we didn’t have to make the North Carolina Star, but could make anything using pieces from this die. I briefly thought that I could use the square (in the middle) and make a simple 9 patch quilt. But, that would also be called ‘cheating,’ in my opinion.

I have many different collections of fall fabric, thus it was easy to choose one. Autumn Wings looked promising!

I made a trial block:

The trial block will be made into a tote bag sometime in the near future.

I went to EQ8 and got a North Carolina Star block, but it wasn’t the same … it didn’t have the quarter square triangle sections and a few other details. In my attempt to draw the block, EQ8 and I had a disagreement, with EQ8 saying that it couldn’t convert my block to something or other. And, I admit, that my EQ8 skills are lacking. So I had to use the block in the library.

I came up with the middle quilt, but felt it was too busy … the quilt on the right was more to my liking.

I forgot to take pictures as I made the blocks! But I will tell you that I had the instructions right beside me. There are so many pieces and my seam ripper was occasionally friendly with me! 😁

Table Topper Stats:

  • Size: 27″ x 27″
  • Fabric: Island Batik “Autumn Wings” collection and Ghost (available anytime)
  • Piecing: Aurifil Thread 50 wt: 2600 (Dove Grey)
  • Quilting: Stitch in the Ditch with Aurifil Thread 50 wt: 2370 (Sandstone)
  • Batting: Hobbs Batting: Thermore (I like the lightness for table toppers!)
  • Needles: Schmetz Needles

It was a beautiful fall day when I took the pictures in my yard! I really like the pictures on the burning bush and ornamental maple!

There are many places you can find Autumn Wings, but the few that caught my eye are:

  • Quilt in a Day – California
  • Castles – Langley BC. 🇨🇦 This is about a 15 minute drive from my house!!!

I would like to thank Island Batik,  Aurifil Thread,  Hobbs Batting,  Schmetz Needles,  and Accuquilt for providing me with the fabric and supplies I used to complete this project!

Island Batik Ambassadors

Visit the other Island Batik Ambassadors as they show their beautiful creations using the North Carolina Star die.

Brenda Alburl ~ Songbird Designs
Renee Atkinson ~ Pink Tulip Quilting
Pamela Boatright ~ PamelaQuilts
Susan Deshensky ~ Lady Blue Quilts
Brittany Fisher ~ Bobbin with Brittany

Preeti Harris ~ Sew Preeti Quilts
Mania Hatziioannidi ~ Mania for quilts
Reed Johnson ~ Blue Bear Quilts
Victoria Johnson ~ Forever Quilting for You
Randi Jones ~ Randi’s Roost

Connie Kauffman ~ Kauffman Designs
Emily Leachman ~ The Darling Dogwood
Denise Looney ~ Quiltery – For The Love Of Geese
Leah Malasky ~ Quilted Delights
Maryellen McAuliffe ~ Mary Mack Made Mine

Anorina Morris ~ sameliasmum.com
Lisa Pickering ~ Lisa’s Quilting Passion
Sarah Pitcher ~ Pitcher’s Boutique
Claudia Porter ~ Create with Claudia 
Lana Russel ~ Lana Quilts

Elita Sharpe ~ Busy Needle
Gail Sheppard ~ Quilting Gail You’re HERE!!!
Sandra Starley ~ Textile Time Travels
Jennifer Thomas ~ Curlicue Creations
Suzy Webster ~ Websterquilt

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting! 
Gail 

Linking to:

PHD in 2023: August Report

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Did you decide to join us with PHD in 2023???

Are you determined to finish a bunch of UFOs and to NOT increase the number of quilts or projects on your UFO list???

Congratulations on making that choice!!!

Slow Progress

Last month I talked about Celebrating the little things … When we celebrate the little things, the bigger goal becomes a closer goal. It is progress … and progress is good!

I must admit, when I look back at the sewing I’ve done in August, I’m feeling a bit discouraged. I had hopes to finish at least one UFO … but alas, with all that was happening around here and going on holidays, that didn’t happen. However, I need to take my own advice and celebrate the little things: the small amount of progress that I did make.

  • My Island Batik September project is moving along
  • I did a small amount of work on my Upholstery wallet (UFO #11).
  • Part of the Colour Challenge (UFO #10) is being done as a leader and ender

SEW, I’m going to celebrate this little bit of progress! These projects will be finished eventually!

Keep on Celebrating and progressing!

My Tally Sheets

This month, I finished the “Call Me” pouch, my housecoat/robe for August’s Island Batik project and the Composition Cover. You can read more about them Call Me HERE, Housecoat/robe HERE and the Composition Cover HERE.

I didn’t finish any UFOs this month.

Here’s my tally sheet:

If you want to keep track of your own progress, please feel free to download the 2023 Template.

template-2023Download

Here’s my Task Sheet of my UFOs. This helps me keep track of what I’ve accomplished and what I need to do. This hasn’t changed since last month.

You can download your own Task list from Ms P Designs HERE.

Linky Party

Show us your progress with your PHD in 2023! Or show us what YOU are celebrating in the quilting realm!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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

Favourite Finish of the Month

Cheryl, from Meadow Mist Designs hosts a monthly linky party where you post your favourite quilt of the month.

I’m loving my housecoat / robe. It’ll be so nice and cozy in the cooler weather!

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting! 
Gail 

Linking to:

Sunday Summary: August 13

/ quiltinggail / 10 Comments

This Made Me Smile!

I couldn’t resist taking a picture of the animals reading amongst mushrooms and beautiful flowers!

Stitching Stuff

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:  209 / 212
  • August:  13 / 13
  • Total: 222 / 225
  • Percentage: 98%

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!

My Housecoat / Robe took about 6 yards of fabric. I used Hobbs silk batting, Accuquilt dies and Aurifil thread, along with a multitude of Island Batik fabrics. For more details, see this BLOG POST.

Yearly Tally:

  • Fabric Used the last week: 6 yards
  • Fabric Used in 2023:    146 yards  from non-IB: 59.5
  • Fabric Bought this week:  0 yards
  • Fabric Added this year:    15.5 yards 
  • Net Fabric used:             130.5 yards 

Just an FYI: I do not count any fabric that is given to me (Island Batik), but this year, I am going to count it as fabric used.

To Do Tuesday

Carol from Quilt Schmilt is hosting “To Do” every week.

The To Do list from last week: 

  1. Finish August IB challenge √   DONE and posted HERE.
  2. Get “Splendor” Quilt to flimsy stage Not done
  3. Work on September’s IB challenge √   DONE but still In Progress
  4. Work on Pin Dot Floral Quilt √   DONE but still In Progress
  5. Cut out Malted Mystery Fabrics Not done
  6. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! √   DONE
  7. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes. √   DONE

This week’s list:

  1. Get “Splendor” Quilt to flimsy stage: FIX those mistakes !!!!!
  2. Work on September’s IB challenge
  3. Work on Pin Dot Floral Quilt
  4. Cut out Malted Mystery Fabrics
  5. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! 
  6. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes.

Design Wall

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

Piecing projects:

  1. “Splendor” Quilt: Fix mistakes and adding borders
  2. Island Batik September challenge … lots of Paper Piecing blocks
  3. Work on another Pin-Dot Floral quilt

This picture shows “Splendor” blocks and part of the August Island Batik challenge and part of September’s Island Batik challenge.

Quilting:

  • Nothing at the moment

Upcoming Blog Hops

Moose Stash Quilting: Sew It – Show It: Call Me Crazy (My day is August 21)

Island Batik: Pieced to Perfection (My day is September 11)

Just Let Me Quilt: Sew It – Show It: It’s a Dog’s Life (September 18 is my day)

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting! 
Gail 

Linking to:

August: It’s All Up to You

/ quiltinggail / 29 Comments

So, this month, Island Batik has given us freedom to make whatever our heart desires. My heart has many desires, but unfortunately not enough time to make everything!

When I was at a retreat at Over the Rainbow at the beginning of April, one of the retreaters, Dana, was wearing her quilted housecoat / robe and it looked great. It is super scrappy and very beautiful!! I’ve been meaning to make my own for some time. I’m always cold these days, so a quilted house coat will be perfect for me. Pamela, from Pamela Quilts made a quilted jacket for the Island Batik Fly Away challenge and I fell in LOVE. You can see her jacket HERE.

Now blue and teal are my favourite colours, so that was an easy decision to make. I went through my old garment patterns and found a few housecoat patterns. I pulled them out and none of them would be good for what I wanted to do. BUT I had a silk robe (that was bought in China eons ago) that was perfect. Boxy sleeves, a rectangle front and back. So, with seam ripper in hand, deconstruction began. I made my pattern pieces from the deconstructed robe.

I started out with cutting Hobbs silk batting larger than my pattern pieces; wanting to leave extra room in case the quilting shrunk the pieces too much. I drew the 45o lines on the batting and then using, a Brilliant Blues gradations strip pack that I received in January, I did a quilt as you go and got the sleeve bases done.

My plan was to do the quilt as you go on the batting and then later line the housecoat/robe with rayon.

The housecoat/robe was basically designed as I went along …. After I had fun making the sleeves, I pulled out my AccuQuilt Tree of Life block and made it. It was quilted onto the back.

This picture is making sure the dark blue border around the Tree of Life is the correct width! I was turning the edge under 1/4” so that the other pieces could be added.

I was zoom sewing with my sister and she said that with having a Tree of Life, I needed something “earthy” below. These Prairie Dreams strips were left-over from a Bargello quilt that I made for our March “It’s All Up to You” Challenge. You can read about it HERE. I did it as a quilt as you go under the Tree of Life and slipped each piece under the dark blue border around the Tree of Life.

Then I made 10 Glorified 9 patches, made with the Accuquilt die. These squares use “Rice,” a lovely neutral, a variety of dark teals along with “Nautilus teal” from Claudia Pfeil’s Mystery collection that I received a few years ago. These are intended for the front of the housecoat.

And here are the pieces laid out on my design wall. Once I had them on the wall, I realized that the sleeves made with the Brilliant Blue strips was a “NO.” They are beautiful and I’ll use them in another project – they won’t be wasted.

I dug through my Island Batik stash and found the teal/gold print with turtles on it. It’s a piece I’ve been hoarding keeping for something special. So why not use it for my cozy housecoat? A much better fit, right?

The edge of the robe, the tie, and the back lining is made with an Island Batik rayon “Night Moves” that I received a few years ago in one of my boxes. The half stars above the tree of life were made with Studio 180 Wedge Tool using a blue fabric that was in a stash builder’s roll.

Housecoat / Robe Stats:

  • Fabrics: Variety of Island Batik cotton and rayon
  • Needles: Schmetz Microtex
  • Thread: Aurifil:
    • #2785: 50 (very dark navy) wide binding and hem
    • #4661: 40 wt (variegated mint julep) sleeve quilting
    • #4655: 50 wt (variegated storm at sea) Tree of Life quilting
    • #4182: 50 wt (dark turquoise) Glorified 9 patch quilting
    • #2600: 50 wt (dove) piecing
  • Hobbs Batting: Silk
  • Accuquilt dies: Tree of Life, Glorified 9 patch
  • Studio 180 tool: Wedge

So would I make this housecoat/robe again? The answer is “not this way!” If I were to make another one, I’d quilt the lining as I quilted the top and simply serge the inside seams. But that won’t be happening anytime soon! 🤪

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,   Studio 180 Designs, Accuquilt

Island Batik Ambassadors

Visit the rest of the Island Batik Ambassadors to see what they have made for this challenge:

Brenda Alburl ~ Songbird Designs
Renee Atkinson ~ Pink Tulip Quilting
Pamela Boatright ~ PamelaQuilts
Susan Deshensky ~ Lady Blue Quilts
Brittany Fisher ~ Bobbin with Brittany

Preeti Harris ~ Sew Preeti Quilts
Mania Hatziioannidi ~ Mania for quilts
Reed Johnson ~ Blue Bear Quilts
Victoria Johnson ~ Forever Quilting for You
Randi Jones ~ Randi’s Roost

Connie Kauffman ~ Kauffman Designs
Emily Leachman ~ The Darling Dogwood
Denise Looney ~ Quiltery – For The Love Of Geese
Leah Malasky ~ Quilted Delights
Maryellen McAuliffe ~ Mary Mack Made Mine

Elita Sharpe ~ Busy Needle
Gail Sheppard ~ Quilting Gail
Sandra Starley ~ Textile Time Travels
Jennifer Thomas ~ Curlicue Creations
Suzy Webster ~ Websterquilt

Anorina Morris ~ sameliasmum.com
Lisa Pickering ~ Lisa’s Quilting Passion
Sarah Pitcher ~ Pitcher’s Boutique
Claudia Porter ~ Create with Claudia
Lana Russel ~ Lana Quilts

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting! 
Gail 

Linking to:

Monday Moments: July 24 ’23

/ quiltinggail / 10 Comments

One Gift a Month

July’s gift is a Trivet. You can go to Days Filled With Joy for information and the link to her tutorial (when you go to Raewyn’s blog, click on the Patterns & Techniques tab.) Or, you can visit Kaye Wood’s youtube video HERE. (That’s where Raewyn originally got the instructions).

So, I’ve made progress. I just need to sew the binding down … hopefully it will be done by next week. Why is it that sometime changing your thread is such a huge task??? sigh …

So far for the One Gift a Month, I have made gifts for January, February, April and May.

Stitching Stuff

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:  178 / 181
  • July:  23/ 23
  • Total: 201 / 204
  • Percentage: 98%

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 had to buy backing … 3 yards to be exact … I’ll be using it soon … well, maybe soon, I still need to make the top, but I knew the company had gone out of business, so I had to buy it soon! YUP, that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it!

Yearly Tally:

  • Fabric Used the last week: 0 yards
  • Fabric Used in 2023:    131.5 yards  from non-IB: 52
  • Fabric Bought this week:  0 yards
  • Fabric Added this year:    15.5 yards 
  • Net Fabric used:             116 yards 

Just an FYI: I do not count any fabric that is given to me (Island Batik), but this year, I am going to count it as fabric used.

To Do Tuesday

Carol from Quilt Schmilt is hosting “To Do” every week.

The To Do list from last week: 

  1. Finish Mystery Quilt (making and writing). √   DONE And one of my pattern testers is working on it now!
  2. Continue working on August IB challenge. √   DONE In Progress
  3. Quilt and Bind “Pin Dot Blossoms” #1 √   DONE
  4. Quilt and Bind “Pin Dot Blossoms” #2 √   DONE
  5. Quilt and Bind Island Batik October challenge √   DONE
  6. Finish binding “Test” quilt … come on, Gail! It’s almost done! √   DONE
  7. Continue piecing “Splendor” Quilt In Progress
  8. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! √   DONE
  9. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes. √   DONE

This week’s list:

  1. Finish August IB challenge
  2. Get “Splendor” Quilt to flimsy stage
  3. Work on September’s IB challenge
  4. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! 
  5. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes.

Design Wall

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

Piecing projects:

  1. “Splendor” Quilt – was cut with Accuquilt dies
  2. Island Batik August challenge
  3. Island Batik September challenge
  4. Work on another Pin-Dot Floral quilt

This picture shows “Splendor” blocks and part of the August Island Batik challenge (using left-overs from the “Prairie Dreams” bargello quilt (you can see it HERE.). And no, it’s not another bargello quilt.

Quilting:

  • Nothing at the moment

Upcoming Blog Hops

Moose Stash Quilting: Sew It – Show It: Call Me Crazy (My day is August 21)

Island Batik: Pieced to Perfection (My day is September 11)

Just Let Me Quilt: Sew It – Show It: It’s a Dog’s Life (September 18 is my day)

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting! 
Gail 

Linking to:

Island Batik: Unboxing July ’23

/ quiltinggail / 10 Comments

Here is my video:

The fabrics from Island Batik!

This is a surprise pack … sorry I can’t show it to you, yet!

A 2 1/2 ” strip pack Of Pin Dot Floral by Kathy Engle, a signature collection for Megan Best. It is paired with a 2 yard piece of Azure (from Brilliant Blues) and a 2 yard piece of Icicle (from Tantalizing Teals).

6 Yards of Fondant! Awesome! I have purchased several yards of this fabric from Castles and have LOVED it … and used it!

A 10″ stack of Precious Pinks … luscious! MMMM … what will I make with this?

Cool! A 2 1/2 ” strip pack of Glorious Greens!

1/2 cuts of

BlendersGradation BasicsSolids
Round Petal Floral – Can … Cactus (Glorious Green)Red
Large Netting – Pineneedle (blender)Bronze (Breathtaking Browns)Pink
Cherio – Bermuda (blender)Acorn (Opulent Oranges)Lime Green
Bubbles – Raspberry (blender)Lagoon (Tantalizing Teals)Orange

This is a yard bundle of “Copper Patina,” designed by Kathy Engle. Paired with 2 yards of “Egg White” and 2 yards of “Swirl Teal Jade” from the collection.

  • 12 wt: 8079: Lana Wool Blend: soft blend of 50% Acrylic and 50% Wool: Linen Heather
  • Cotton Floss: 6 strand: #2225: Salmon
  • Monofilament
  • 80 wt: 2000: Light Sand
  • 50 wt: 6723: Fairy Floss

Fantastic Hobbs batting:

  • Thermore: great for wall hangings, placemats, table runners etc.
  • Heirloom Premium Wool Batting: Queen Size: nice and cozy. Also shows the quilting beautifully!
  • Heirloom Natural Cotton Batting: Queen Size
  • Tuscany Cotton Wool Blend: Throw size (60″ x 60″)

Everything I need to make by Annie’s Take a Stand: both the Small and Large size. Fabric is from Island Batik and ALL the other supplies are from byAnnie’s!

Accuquilt is a wonderful fabric cutting system.

North Carolina Star is a Block on Board. The entire block can be cut at one time!

Disclosure: The fabrics, batting, thread and Accuquilt die were generously supplied by the following companies:  Island Batik,  Aurifil Thread,  Hobbs Batting,  Accuquilt and ByAnnie

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting! 
Gail 

Monday Moments: July 17

/ quiltinggail / 18 Comments

A Heart-warming Email

This weekend, I received an email from the local coordinator of Quilts of Valour. The quilt I made was given to the longest serving combat doctor in Canadian History! How cool is that? And now I wonder if he’s aware that the quilt was designed and made by a former nurse educator?

I’ve given a few Quilts of Valour over the years, but never knew what happened to them. It’s truly an honour to know where this quilt went! Dr. W, I’m glad you were the recipient!

The quilt was made with Accuquilt “Maple Leaf” die and dies from the 8 ” Qube. I used Island Batik fabrics, Hobbs batting and Aurifil thread. You can read more about it HERE.

One Gift a Month

July’s gift is a Trivet. You can go to Days Filled With Joy for information and the link to her tutorial (when you go to Raewyn’s blog, click on the Patterns & Techniques tab.) Or, you can visit Kaye Wood’s youtube video HERE. (That’s where Raewyn originally got the instructions).

I found my Insul-Brite!!! (remember last week I asked if anyone knew where I had put it?) It was in the space under my ironing board, tucked behind my bolts of fabric. Not exactly where I would expect it to be! But I found it when I was searching for something else! Hopefully next week I can show you my finished trivet!

So far for the One Gift a Month, I have made gifts for January, February, April and May.

Stitching Stuff

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:  178 / 181
  • July:  16 / 16
  • Total: 194 / 197
  • Percentage: 98%

Stash Report

Donna at Quilt Paint Create hosts a weekly link 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 had to buy backing … 3 yards to be exact … I’ll be using it soon … well, maybe soon, I still need to make the top, but I knew the company had gone out of business, so I had to buy it soon! YUP, that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it!

Yearly Tally:

  • Fabric Used the last week: 0 yards
  • Fabric Used in 2023:    131.5 yards  from non-IB: 52
  • Fabric Bought this week:   3 yards
  • Fabric Added this year:    15.5 yards 
  • Net Fabric used:             116 yards 

Just an FYI: I do not count any fabric that is given to me (Island Batik), but this year, I am going to count it as fabric used.

To Do Tuesday

Carol from Quilt Schmilt is hosting “To Do” every week.

The To Do list from last week: 

  1. Finish Mystery Quilt (making and writing) In Progress I figured out what I need to do.
  2. Start August IB challenge. √   DONE. it’s started!!!
  3. Sandwich, Quilt and Bind “Pin Dot Blossoms” #1 In Progress it’s sandwiched
  4. Sandwich, Quilt and Bind “Pin Dot Blossoms” #2 to flimsy stage In Progress it’s sandwiched
  5. Sandwich, Quilt and Bind Island Batik October challenge In Progress it’s sandwiched
  6. Finish binding “Test” quilt In Progress no change from last week
  7. Continue piecing “Splendor” Quilt. √   DONE. still more to be done, but it’s being worked on
  8. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! √   DONE
  9. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes. √   DONE

This week’s list:

  1. Finish Mystery Quilt (making and writing)
  2. Continue working on August IB challenge
  3. Quilt and Bind “Pin Dot Blossoms” #1
  4. Quilt and Bind “Pin Dot Blossoms” #2 to flimsy stage
  5. Quilt and Bind Island Batik October challenge
  6. Start working on September IB challenge
  7. Finish binding “Test” quilt … come on, Gail! It’s almost done!
  8. Continue piecing “Splendor” Quilt
  9. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! 
  10. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes.

Design Wall

Judy, at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts, hosts a link party for “What’s on your Design Wall” every week.

Piecing projects:

  1. “Splendor” Quilt (blocks in progress in the picture.
  2. Island Batik August challenge (I finally decided what I was going to do!)
  3. Island Batik’s September challenge

Quilting:

  • “Pin Dot Blossoms“ #1
  • “Pin Dot Blossoms“ #2
  • Island Batik October challenge (A secret … obviously until October)
  • Finish Binding Secret Project (Test quilt)

Upcoming Blog Hops

Just Let Me Quilt: Sew It – Show It: Picnic Party. (My day is July 20)

Moose Stash Quilting: Sew It – Show It: Call Me Crazy (My day is August 21)

Island Batik: Pieced to Perfection (My day is September 11)

Just Let Me Quilt: Sew It – Show It: It’s a Dog’s Life (September 18 is my day)

Here’s a list of the Picnic Party bloggers;

July 17

 July 18

July 19

July 20

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting! 
Gail 

Linking to:

Accuquilt: Covering the World

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This was a Hugs and Kisses quilt that used various Island Batik pinks, purples, and greens. If you recall, I made a blue & green Hugs & Kisses quilt and cut out too many greens (you can read about it HERE). So not wanting to waste those blocks, I cut out the pinks and purples and joined them up to make the following quilt.

I used the Accuquilt Go! to cut the pieces: Die #10 from the 8″ Qube ‘Corners’ collection paired with Die #5 from the 8″ Qube set. It made piecing the Hugs and Kisses very simple. Each Hugs or Kisses block uses 4 mini blocks composed of 1 Die #10 and 2 Die #5. Then the blocks are arranged to form a Hug or a Kiss. I added sashing and borders and the quilt was a flimsy!

Hobbs 80/20 is in the middle and I used Odif 505 spray baste to hold the layers together.

It was quilted with both the 3″ and 4″ Cupid ruler from Silly Moon.

This quilt was donated to the “Comfort Quilts” committee at the guild and will be given to the B.C. Cancer Agency at Surrey Memorial Hospital. Here I am giving the quilt to Dawn, one of the volunteers of the “Comfort Quilts” committee.

Why did I choose “Comfort Quilts” as my charity? I don’t know anyone that hasn’t been touched by cancer. We all know family members and friends that have dealt with cancer. When I was working as a nurse in the hospital, we cared for cancer patients daily: it didn’t matter what department I was working in. It’s a heart-breaking disease and the treatments can often be grueling and harsh as one fights an uphill battle. If providing a quilt can give someone comfort, I’ll all for it!

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Linking to:

Monday Moments: June 12

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Did you see?

Did you see my Island Batik Fly Away challenge? I had a lot of fun making and quilting this!!! You can read more about it HERE.

This table runner used Island Batik’s “Maple Island,” Solid grey & Midnight Blue fabrics. The Wing Clipper Tool by Studio 180 was used to make the flying geese. It was pieced with Aurifil, on my Singer Featherweight, using Schmetz needles. The quilting was done on my domestic sewing machine, Janome M7.

Remember: I’m wondering if I’m Going Crazy?

Last week, when I was wondering if I was going crazy and I had said that I didn’t swear (the walking foot on my sewing machine would not work) see HERE for the full story.

Pat had commented in the comments, “Sometimes you just need to use your ‘sewing words’ eg “Oh, baste it!” Or mutter mutter- “edgestitch”. It’s the tone that matters and often, by the time you’ve said something like, a smile comes to your face. I encourage ‘sewing words’ and find others come up some I’ve never considered like “Rotary cutter” or something other.”

I LOVE this idea!!! 🩷 🩵 💜 So, in the future, if I’m sewing with you and I use my ‘sewing words’ in THAT tone of voice, you can smile and laugh with me!

One Gift a Month

May’s gift is Soup Bowl Cozies. You can go to Days Filled With Joy for information and links to several different on-line tutorials.

So far for the One Gift a Month, I have made January’s, February’s, and April’s gifts.

May’s gift was Soup Bowl Cozies … mine were made in June! I found 2 more squares of Pumpkin spice and made 2 bowl cozies. The pattern I followed was HERE. I did 2 things differently. (1) Before turning the cozy right side out, I clipped all the corners, ensuring that I did not clip through the stitching. (2) I did 2 rows of top stitching … the 1/4” as directed, then I added an 1/8” so I wouldn’t need to hand stitch.

June’s One Gift A Month hasn’t been posted yet … hopefully soon!

New Classes

I’m teaching 2 classes at Essem. The first one is the Hugs and Kisses quilt. You will come with your fabric and use my Accuquilt to cut out perfectly sized pieces! The quilt will go together easily!

The other class is a Quilt-as-you-go table runner, using decorative stitches on your machine. Come and have some fun with this technique.

Once you make the table runner, it’s easy sailing to make a quilt!

Stitching Stuff

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 – May:  147 /150
  • June:  11/ 11
  • Total: 158 / 161
  • Percentage: 98%

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 fabrics for the Quilt-as-you-go Quilt were from Essem, so they don’t count. However, most of the fabric from the Quilt-as-you-go table runner and the bowl cozies were from my stash, as was the Flying Geese table topper. 4.5 yards

No shopping. No fabric added!

Yearly Tally:

  • Fabric Used the last week: 4.5 yards
  • Fabric Used in 2023:    115.5 yards  from non-IB: 51
  • Fabric Bought this week:   0 yards
  • Fabric Added this year:    12.5 yards 
  • Net Fabric used:             103 yards 

Just an FYI: I do not count any fabric that is given to me (Island Batik), but this year, I am going to count it as fabric used.

To Do Tuesday

Carol from Quilt Schmilt is hosting “To Do” every week.

The To Do list from last week: 

  1. Finish Mystery Quilt (making and writing). In Progress … the quilt is quilted … I just need to sit down and finish writing the pattern.
  2. Make the Crazy quilt with Decorative stitches for Essem … I’m teaching this class in a few weeks. √   DONE
  3. Finish the Secret Project #1 for Kelly Young’s new book – I’ll be telling you all about it later this month! In Progress
  4. Finish the Secret Project #2 for Kelly Young’s new book In Progress
  5. Lone Star Left-overs – get it to a flimsy stage √   DONE (see photo under “design wall”)
  6. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! √   DONE
  7. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes. √   DONE

This week’s list:

  1. Finish Mystery Quilt (making and writing)
  2. Finish the Secret Project #1 for Kelly Young’s new book
  3. Finish the Secret Project #2 for Kelly Young’s new book
  4. Lone Star Left-overs – make back
  5. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! 
  6. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes.

Design Wall

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

Piecing projects:

  1. #1 Secret Project for Kelly Young’s new book (mostly the purples and greens from the Island Batik Napa Valley collection) Top is done … back is being pieced
  2. #2 Secret Project for Kelly Young’s new book. (Island Batik, “Wild Blooms”) Top is done … back is being pieced
  3. Lone-Star Left-overs (Island Batik “Naturescape”) Top is completed, back is being pieced

Quilting:

  • I’m hoping to get the piecing projects to the quilting stage this week!

Upcoming Blog Hops

Moose Stash Quilting: Sew It – Show It: When Pigs Fly (My day is June 19)

Just Let Me Quilt: Sew It – Show It: Picnic Party. (My day is July 20)

Moose Stash Quilting: Sew It – Show It: Call Me Crazy

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting! 
Gail 

Linking to: