AccuQuilt

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

/ quiltinggail / 20 Comments

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

/ quiltinggail / 10 Comments

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:

A Fun Friday Finish! May 26

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I LOVE having quilty finishes!

This was a Hugs and Kisses quilt that used various Island Batik blues and greens. I used the Accuquilt Go! to cut the pieces: Die #10 from the ‘Corners’ 8″ Qube 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!

Unfortunately, I didn’t count very well and I had too many green blocks … so I cut some pinks and purples and I’ll show you that quilt next week (if it’s finished!)

One person that saw this quilt called it my “Sea Hawks” quilt. I’m not a sports fan … but I know lots of people that are and I get that it’s the colours of the team!

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

I was zoom quilting with my sister and cousins at the beginning of the month. I wasn’t sure how to quilt it, but I knew I wanted an all-over pattern. My cousin, Terry (machine quilter extraordinaire! ) suggested these curly c’s that go every which way and back-track on themselves. I gave it a try, I must admit, the back-tracking was not fun, but it was well worth it in the end and I LOVE the look! I’ll be using that random pattern again! Thanks, Terry for your fabulous suggestion!!!

I was Featured

Andree from Free Motion Quilters featured my Studio 180 Wedge Star Quilt with Island Batik Sandalwood fabric collection. You can read about it HERE.

I hope you all have a great weekend!

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Linking to:

Monday Moments: April 9, 2023

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More Retreat Pictures

Judy sent me her pictures from the retreat! The first ones are the view from the house, the house, and a garden down the road. The next is an example of the yummy food we had … and of course, pictures of quilts in the making!

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 – February: 59/ 59
  • March: 31 /31
  • April: 9 / 9
  • Percentage: 100%

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!

Well, I was at a retreat at Over the Rainbow last week and that’s just plain dangerous as far as fabric purchases go. I bought 5 yards of Island Batik fabric … a solid white and that yummy fan fabric. Plus I bought a panel that I’ll quilt in the near future (you’ve got a peek view of it at the top of the picture).

Nothing was finished this week, but LOTS of things in progress!

  • Fabric Used the past week:  0 yards
  • Fabric Used in 2023:        51.5 yards from non-IB: 20
  • Fabric Bought this week:   5.5 yards
  • Fabric Added this year:     8.5 yards 
  • Net Fabric used:              43 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: I didn’t get a lot ticked off on my list … maybe this next week!

  1. Quilt Melodic Mystery. Not Done partially done. Binding is ready
  2. Quilt Gardenia. Not Done partially done
  3. Bind Chilhowie Not Done binding is cut
  4. Quilt Bird Panels. Not Done
  5. Quilt Nutcracker Not Done
  6. Finish April IB project. √   DONE. If it ever quits raining, I’ll take some pictures!!!!
  7. Finish Mystery Quilt (making and writing). Not Done
  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. Sandwich, Quilt & Bind: IB Catalogue Quilt
  2. Quilt Melodic Mystery. finish quilting and bind
  3. Quilt Gardenia. This will be finished after I teach the class. It’s now hanging at Essem.
  4. Bind Chilhowie
  5. Finish Mystery Quilt (making and writing).
  6. X’s & O’s: Add Border, Quilt & Bind
  7. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! 
  8. 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.

Lots of Piecing projects:

  1. May IB challenge : can’t show you the fabric yet – and it’s not started yet!
  2. June IB challenge (The luscious teal and green 10″ stack)
  3. Baby Stars #2
  4. Xs & Os. #1 & #2. – cut with Accuquilt dies

Quilting: These are all sandwiched and ready to quilt …

  • Melodic Mystery – in progress
  • Gardenia – in progress
  • Nutcracker
  • Bird Panel

Upcoming Blog Hops

Moose Stash Quilting: Sew It – Show It: Say What? (my day is April 19)

Just Let Me Quilt: Sew It – Show It: Rose Colored Glasses (My day is May 16)

Moose Stash Quilting: Sew It – Show It: When Pigs Fly

Just Let Me Quilt: Sew It – Show It: Picnic Party

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:

A Fun Retreat!

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We were at Over The Rainbow Lodge on Camano Island for almost a week. It’s a beautiful place to retreat! And, since we’re an established group, we’re booked in until 2030!!!! WOOHOO!!!

I think all 12 people that attended the retreat enjoyed themselves … lots and lots of sewing and laughter!

We took turns cooking supper and had fabulous gourmet meals!!! DELICIOUS!!!

As I was preparing this blog post, I realized that I didn’t get any pictures of the food, the snack counter (TONS!), or of the 12 people sewing in one room and having fun!

I didn’t get a picture of each of the projects that people were working on … there was a great variety and a LOT of creativity happening! Here’s a few pictures of what was happening:

Pillow cases, kits from quilts, jelly roll quilts, quilts using templates, hand sewn hexi quilt, tiny tiny pieces, 3 yard quilts, scrappy quilts, coordinated quilts …. so many different things happening!

I know someone is going to ask … the dog chart was found on Pinterest and Kandy used 5″ blocks to make the quilt.

What did I work on?

I attempted to quilt my Melodic Mystery, but it was difficult on a smaller machine, eventually I gave up. The Black & white photo is of an Island Batik catalogue quilt and the top is completed! The blocks for the X’s & O’s were completed and the top is almost done. I just need to add the border …

The Melodic Mystery is made with Kansas Troubles fabric. The other 2 quilts are Island Batik fabric. The X’s & O’s were cut with Accuquilt

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Linking to:

PHD in 2023: March 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!!!

Let’s re-visit Procrastination!

OK … this is me … today

This week I’ve been SEW busy, I honestly can’t believe where the time has gone!

First, it was working with the hosts of the SAHRR to choose the winners, contact the sponsors and just get everything organized. Finally, on Wednesday, the last piece was put into place. (see the list of winners below).

Then, I was attempting to finish 2 quilts before I leave for the retreat. Neither will get totally finished.

Next, I need to gather all the junk wonderful fabric and supplies that I want to take.

  • Project #1: cutting fabric, counting blocks, making sure that I have enough pieces (baby stars #2)
  • Same for Project #2. (X & Os)
  • Project #3 is ready. (haven’t touched it since I went to the last retreat!) (UFO – wallet)
  • Project #4 I need to figure out what thread I’m going to use for quilting … (Melodic Mystery)
  • Project #5. …. Really Gail, do you NEED to take 5 projects? But I will take the Island Batik catalogue quilt … just in case I run out of things to do!

This retreat has us doing our own cooking … so there was baking involved … and gathering food items.

I need clean clothes to take to the retreat – so there’s laundry to do …

So … what do I do now?

First, I need to take a deep breath and realize that I can’t do everything!!!

Prioritize what NEEDS to be done.

  • First, I can’t possibly finish the 2 quilts before I go. So they will have to wait.
  • My laundry must be done. I can’t take dirty clothes to a retreat when I’m surrounded by other people!
  • Do I really need to do the baking? Can I buy what I was going to bake? Of course I can!
  • Do I need to gather food items? Yes.
  • Do I need to prepare projects for the retreat? Absolutely!!!

My Tally Sheets

I finished 1 UFOs this month. It’s my SAHRR ’23!!! I’m in LOVE with this quilt! (it used Island Batik fabrics, Aurifil thread and Hobbs batting). You can read more about it HERE.

4 NEW starts were finished this month. The Little Green Apple Clam-Up bags, the bags for the guild, the Ruler Quilting Quilt and the Bargello Quilt. All used Island Batik fabrics, except for the bags for the guild.

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.

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

Linky Party

Show us your progress with your PHD in 2023!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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

SAHRR Winners!

Here’s a list of the winners! Congratulations to each one! And a special “Thank YOU” to all of the sponsors! We couldn’t have done it without your generous gifts!

  • Island Batik fat quarter bundle:  Mari @ Academic Quilter
  • Island Batik fat quarter bundle: Julie Ann @ Quilts and Costumes
  • Island Batik fat quarter bundle: Janice @ Sing Read Sew.com
  • Hobbs Wool Batt: Bernie @ Needle & Foot
  • Aurfil Thread:  Heather F
  • Oliso Mini Iron : Laura Kate @ Daily Fiber Fun
  • Pattern from For the Love of Geese (Denise): Dawn at Quilting by Dawn
  • Prairie Spirit Alpaca Pressing Mat: Diann at Little Penguin Quilts
  • Gift Certificate of choice from Chris: Carol @ Quilt Schmidt
  • Fat Quarter Shop Gift Certificate: Gretchen from Gretchen’s Little Quilts
  • MSQ Gift Certificate from Roseanne: Joy at The Joyful Quilter

And again, the picture of Roseanne, Anja, Gail & Emily doing the draw! We had the list, a random number generator and a fun time!

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting! 
Gail PHD

Linking to:

A March Finish and TGIFF

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TGIFF

TGIFF is Thank Goodness Its Finished Friday. There is a linky party every week.

You can link up your FINISHED project here. The link opens at 2 PM (PST) and will remain until midnight (PST) on Saturday, March 18. I can’t wait to see your finishes!!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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

My TGIFF this week

Earlier this week, I showed you a picture of my finished SAHRR ’23!

I’m in LOVE with this quilt! It was so fun to host the SAHRR with 5 blogging friends! I couldn’t have done it without them!

My blog post with the Parade of all of the finished (or almost finished) SAHRR can be found HERE. I started this quilt in the fall, and with the recent finish, it counts as one of my completed UFOs! YAY!!!

Quilt Stats

  • Size: 48″ x 58″
  • Pieced and Quilted with Aurifil Thread #2311 – Muslin
  • Hobbs 80/20 batting inside
  • All pieced blocks and appliques were cut with Accuquilt dies
    • Go! Birds (BBQG guild)
    • Rose of Sharon. (BBQG guild)
    • Qube 8″ dies (my collection)
  • Fabric used: Baby Bloomers collection (by Kathy Engle for Karen Overton) along with solid white

I was Featured!

Jennifer from Inquiring Quilter featured my Baby Stars quilt!

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Linking to:

SAHRR the Parade!

/ quiltinggail / 47 Comments

If you need more information on the SAHRR … you can go to THIS POST.

My Finished 2023 SAHRR

I used the Island Batik fabrics from the Baby Bloomers collection (by Kathy Engle for Karen Overton) along with solid white.

When I had the guild’s Accuquilt, I originally cut out the birds and flowers for the centre block. I then proceeded to cut out more shapes. When I put in the coping strips, I purposely made them wide enough for the small appliqued shapes. Once the shapes were added, I then quilted the quilt, ensuring that the appliqued shapes were quilted into place. It was actually fun to do!

Here’s a close up of some of the quilting! It was so fun to quilt!!!

Now, you Need to go to the co-hosts blogs and see their quilts! Their links are in the schedule below.

Linky Party

Here’s the Linky party so you can see everyone’s Finished Quilts … or partially finished quilts! The Link party is open until midnight on March 20. A few days following, the SAHRR hosts are zoom meeting to choose the winners of the wonderful prizes provided by our sponsors.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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

Non-blogger’s Quilts

This is what Jacomina had to say (she didn’t make it in time for the Round 6 blog post): “The squares within squares are made. The round is not yet fully ready. I used up the braid from the scrap bags first to add some filler rounds. Now I am very curious what you will make us do this week as that scrap bag has lots of strips already sewn together and it would be fun to use them too. By now it has become a triple challenge: the assigned blocks; the retirement ladies scrap bags; and my own green orange improv crumb blocks“

Here’s what she said when she sent in the final picture: “Top done. Almost all from donated fabric or cuttings on my table so I will pass it on for donation. Hopefully someone will enjoy this mix of fabrics, blocks and focus on finding little gems in the scrappy blocks or the Thanksgiving border. I will also use donated fabric for the back and binding. Thanks for a fun challenge.”

And then she sent a picture of her back! So fun!

Ioleen’s has definitely a ‘heart-felt’ theme! She says “I will be adding a small border.” And the 2nd picture has the borders added!

Charlene is loving hers! (Can you blame her? LOL)

Here’s what Kathy P has to say, “have attached my row of pinwheels for this week.  It is always a fun block to do, versatile and has a lot of movement,  just digging thru my “grab” bag contents to find more colorful fabrics to put in my baby quilt top.  Now to tie them all together by next week.“

Enclosed is a near final photo of my baby quilt that becoming a very large “baby” quilt.  Need to get the  upper section larger so it goes with the center panel.  I had set the hourglass block before the square in a square row info came out so that row works for both weeks.   I  substituted the “attic window” for a challenge instead, now to get the upper portion to fit the center panel.  Note to self:  “Chasing fabric when working from the grab bags makes the project  a lot harder.“

Here’s what Heather has to say, “Thanks for a fun round Robin. Top is finished. Hope to quilt it in the next week or so “

Here’s Chere’s! She says “Just enough fabric to finish!”

Sarah says, “It’s a flimsy.  I really like how this came together.  The hourglass blocks have been exiled to the parts department, and I skipped the pinwheels.  This is supposed to be for my daughter for Christmas, but we’ll see.”

Quilt Stats

  • Size: 48″ x 58″
  • Pieced and Quilted with Aurifil Thread #2311 – Muslin
  • Hobbs 80/20 batting inside
  • All pieced blocks and appliques were cut with Accuquilt dies
    • Go! Birds (BBQG guild)
    • Rose of Sharon. (BBQG guild)
    • Qube 8″ dies
  • Fabric used: Baby Bloomers collection (by Kathy Engle for Karen Overton) along with solid white

Our Wonderful Sponsors

Here’s a list of the sponsors and their generous gifts!

The Linky party for the 2023 SAHRR is open until March 20. Following that, the co-hosts and I will zoom together, use a number generator and choose who wins the wonderful gifts from our sponsors. We will announce the winners on our blogs.

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 


A Finish … Baby Stars

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This quilt was finished quite a while ago for Island Batik’s catalogue. Quite awhile ago, I designed it, made it and sent it to California for it’s own photo shoot. Jerry Khiev of Island Batik always does a fabulous job with the photography and makes the quilts look fantastic!

This was made with the Bamboo Blooms collection by Kathy Engle and to quote Island Batik’s Instagram post, “Inspired by the classic Asian motifs, the line features mums, cherry blossoms, and ginkgo leaf designs in a vibrant color palette of pink, magenta, blue, turquoise and green that are sure to make a statement.”

It truly is a fabulous and fun collection.

Bamboo Blooms is available at the following stores. The stores may have Strip Sets (2.5″ strips), Stacks (10″ squares) or yardage.

  • A Royal Quilt Shop: Longs, SC
  • Appletree Fabrics, Auburn, MA
  • Cotton & Chocolate: Sim Valley, CA
  • Creations Quilt Shop: Clouquet, MN
  • Pine Tree Quilt Shop: Salem, NH
  • Sew N Bee Cozy-AK: Seward, AK
  • Swifty Stitches-CA: Carmichael, CA

Quilt Stats:

  • Size: 44″ x 44″
  • Cut with Accuquilt 8″ Qube dies
  • Pieced and Quilted with Aurifil Thread
  • Free Motion Quilted on my domestic Janome M7
  • Hobbs 80/20 batting is on the inside

Quilt Pattern is available with both regular rotary cutting and Accuquilt directions. Please email me if you are interested (quiltinggail@yahoo.ca)

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Linking to:

SAHRR Round #4

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If you need more information on the SAHRR … you can go to THIS POST.

Round #4

Anja @ Anja Quilts has chosen Flying Geese blocks for the 4th round!

I continued to use Island Batik fabrics from the Baby Bloomers collection (by Kathy Engle for Karen Overton).

To be honest, I have NO IDEA how the math worked out on this!!! The hourglass blocks were 3″ finished and the flying geese are 2″ x 4″ … and it worked out on all sides! Boggles my mind!

Now, you Need to go to the co-hosts blogs and see their first rounds! Their links are in the schedule below.

How I made my Flying Geese blocks

I used the Accuquilt 8″ Qube die #4 and die #5 to make the Flying Geese blocks. They finished at 2 1/2” x 4 1/2” and when sewn into the quilt will finish at 2″ x 4″.

Linky Party

Anja @ Anja Quilts will have a linky party so you can see everyone’s 4th Round!

Non-blogger’s Rounds

Here’s Heather’s:

Jacomina said, “I found these braids in the bags received from quilters going into retirement homes.  A nice filler round. Now 23″ by 15.5”

This is what Chere has to say, “Playing catch up on this .  My centre block is a Japanese  Sashiko block which I did the running stitch in cream and red. Had purchased a few Japanese cotton fabrics to go with block, but not much. Hoping to keep it small so I’ll have enough fabric left .”

Great job catching up, Chere!

Next week?

Emily @ The Darling Dogwood will tell us what to do. Are you following her blog?

I hope you’re having fun!

Our Wonderful Sponsors

Here’s a list of the sponsors and their generous gifts!

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

SAHRR Round #3

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If you need more information on the SAHRR … you can go to THIS POST.

Round #3

Chris @ Chrisknitssews has chosen Hourglass blocks for the 3rd round!

I continued to use Island Batik fabrics from the Baby Bloomers collection (by Kathy Engle for Karen Overton).

Now, you Need to go to the co-hosts blogs and see their hourglass rounds! Their links are in the schedule below.

How I made my Hourglass blocks

I used the Accuquilt 8″ Qube die #4 to make the Hourglass blocks. I then trimmed them to 3 1/2.” They will finish at 3″ x 3″ in the quilt.

The math for this round was pretty easy. The star round ended at 21″ x 24.” With the hourglass blocks finishing at 3″ square – it meant that the 7 hourglasses across and 8 down were the way to go.

If I was having difficulty with the math, I likely would have put a few empty white blocks between some of the hourglass blocks to make it fit. Depending on what I needed, they might have been 1/4″ spaces or 1″ spaces … whatever I need to make up the difference.

Other’s Rounds

Here’s Heather’s:

Here’s Charlenes … Stars are done…called eccentric stars

Here’s Jacomina’s … She’s waiting to see what Round #3 is to fill in the borders …I found some very interesting orphan blocks and hope to incorporate those …

Sarah’s been ill and only has 1 of her 4 stars done … that’s OK … I hope she feels better soon!

Linky Party

Chris @ Chrisknitssews will have a linky party so you can see everyone’s 3rd Round!

Next week?

Anja @ Anja Quilts will tell us what to do. Are you following her blog?

Relax … this is easy … and it’s only one round each week!

Our Wonderful Sponsors

Here’s a list of the sponsors and their generous gifts!

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

SAHRR Round #2

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If you need more information on the SAHRR … you can go to THIS POST.

Round #2

Wendy @ Pieceful Thoughts of My Quilting Life has chosen Stars for the 2nd round! I would usually piece stars for a round robin quilt, but since I had access to an accuquilt die with small stars, I opted to use them. I’m determined to get better at applique this year.

I continued to use Island Batik fabrics from the Baby Bloomers collection (by Kathy Engle for Karen Overton).

Now, you Need to go to the co-hosts blogs and see their star rounds! Their links are in the schedule below.

More Round #1

Here’s Jacomina’s. Aren’t her improv blocks great?

Here’s Heather’s: I watched her work on some of these at the guild sew day!

Here’s Sarah’s. She says, “Resized the spools and changed the proportions” … looks great, doesn’t it?

Here’s Charlene’s. She says, “Spools are done, think I’m doing row by row, still deciding on end blocks for my snowman row.” It’ll be fun to see what she decides to do!

If you’re not on social media, send me a photo of your progress (quiltinggail@yahoo.ca) by noon on Sunday and I’ll post your photo on next week’s blog.

How I made my stars

I used an Accuquilt die and cut out the stars … at the moment they are ironed in place, but will be appliquéd when it’s quilted.

Linky Party

Wendy @ Pieceful Thoughts of My Quilting Life will have a linky party so you can see everyone’s 2nd Round!

Next week?

Chris @ Chrisknitssews will tell us what to do. Are you following her blog?

Relax … this is easy … and it’s only one round each week!

Our Wonderful Sponsors

Here’s a list of the sponsors and their generous gifts!

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

SAHRR Starts! Center Block!

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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.

Show us your Center Block!

The link is open from now until Saturday night!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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

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!

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

2022 Island Batik projects

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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.

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting! 
Gail 

Island Batik’s December Lone Star Challenge

/ quiltinggail / 46 Comments

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!

My Prairie Spirit Alpaca/Wool pressing mat made for perfect points!

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).

Hobbs Batting 80/20 was used as well as an assortment of Schmetz Needles for piecing and quilting.

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!

Lone Star Blog Hop Schedule

Week 1:

December 5:

Maryellen McAuliffe

Gail Sheppard YOU ARE HERE!

December 6:

Megan Best

Brenda Alburl

December 7:

Preeti Harris

Emily Leachman

December 8:

Jennifer Thomas

December 9:

Visit Island Batik’s Blog for your opportunity to win!

Week 2:

December 12:

Reed Johnson

Suzy Webster

December 13:

Jennifer Fulton

Gail Renna

December 14:

Denise Looney

Claudia Porter

December 15:

Leah Malasky

Andi Stanfield

December 16:

Visit Island Batik’s Blog for your opportunity to win!

Week 3:

December 19:

Mania Hatziioannidi

Michelle Roberts

December 20:

Pamela Boatright

Connie Kauffman

Sandra Stanfield

December 21:

Jane Hauprich

Lisa Pickering

December 22:

Brianna Roberts

Elizabeth DeCroos

Anorina Morris

December 23:

Visit Island Batik’s Blog for your opportunity to win!

Hashtags for industry (only if you are actually using the products): #hobbsbatting #accuquilt #accuquiltgo #schmetzneedles #doyoueq #janome #bernina #juki #dritz #olfacreates #junetailor #brothersews #cloverusa #oliso #studio180design #omnigrid

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 & Prairie Spirit Alpacas!!

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail