BLOG HOP

Wonderful World of Colour: Blog Hop

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Joan, from Moose Stash Quilting, is hosting this great blog hop! and she said, “The sky is the limit. Color, world, let’s face it anything fits this theme, don’t you think?”

I went to pack up some “stuff” to take to a class I was teaching and I wanted a small bag. But alas, I didn’t have one! I must have given it away. So, with this blog hop coming up, it was the perfect excuse to make one! Don’t you agree?

I don’t recall making anything with ROY-G-BIV (red/orange/yellow/green/blue/indigo/violet) before – so that made perfect sense for the challenge! I went through my Island Batik stash to see what I had … and voila! I had the perfect random sized strips/scraps for the bag!

The Retreat Bag is a free pattern from Emmaline Bags. You can access the bag pattern HERE. I decided to do a Quilt-as-you-go type of thing and cut out some Annie’s Soft & Stable and stitched the colours on it. If you do this, you don’t need to use the wires that the pattern calls for. The Soft & Stable was left-over from another project. Once the strips of random widths were sewn on, I took a strip of black and put it across – just ’cause. Then I cut the pieces to the size directed in the pattern and continued to make the bag as directed.

And here is a peak at the inside

Now I have the perfect sized bag to put all my junk stuff in!

Visit all the other bloggers that are participating: You’ll be in for a LOT of wonderful eye candy!

Monday April 18

Tuesday April 19

Wednesday April 20

Thursday April 21

Friday April 22

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting! 
Gail 

Time in a Bottle Blog Hop

/ quiltinggail / 65 Comments

Carol, of Just Let Me Quilt is hosting this blog hop.

Here is the challenge:

  • Create something with an hourglass block in it. 
  • It can be one block or 100 blocks…totally up to you.
  • You can make a quilt, a bag, a potholder, or whatever.
  • Just have an hourglass block in it somewhere.

Here is my first Hourglass block:

I had a few 60 degree triangles left over from the Island Batik “gradations” project that I made in January. You can read about it HERE.

But, I needed 45 degree and 90 angles to make the hourglass block. Accuquilt to the rescue! I paired all of these triangles with Island Batik’s solid grey material. 50 blocks later, the quilt was put together, the border added and the quilt was finished.

And, for the most part, my gradations are all gone! It’s bitter sweet. I was able to have fun using them and I actually got 3 quilts out of the fat quarter bundle they sent!

This quilt was sandwiched with Hobbs 80/20 and I use Aurifil #2600 (Dove) to quilt it. I started with my walking foot and a small serpentine stitch to outline all of the triangles, then I free motioned a swirly flower “thingy” in the grey areas. The binding is a scrappy binding and it is used with the same serpentine stitch that I quilted with.

This quilt will be donated to the Boundary Bay baby quilt committee.

Here is the list of Time in A Bottle Bloggers

Visit each of them to see their interpretations of the theme!

March 14

March 15

March 16

March 17

March 18

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Linking to:

So Scrappy @ Scrap Happy
Oh Scrap @  Quilting is More Fun than Housework
Frédérique  @ Quilting Patchwork Applique
Monday Making @  Love, Laugh, Quilt
Design Wall Monday @  Small Quilts and Doll Quilts

Teaching a Fabric Basket class and More

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Baskets using Batting!

So, last week, after having a root canal, I taught a Basket class at Essem. There was only one participant in the class, Wendy. She was super speedy and was able to finish up her basket very quickly! She’s used a variety and Kafe fabrics and her basket is stunning! Don’t you agree?

Here is my basket. I used fabric from my stash. I used 2 fabrics and like the effect! If you’d like to learn how to make this basket – let Simina or Rajan at Essem know and they’ll start a wait list.

Machine Binding Class

On March 10, I will be teaching a binding class at Essem. You will learn how to attach binding totally by machine! There will be lots of time-saving tricks and the results will be amazing! I’ll be demonstrating regular binding, scrappy binding, and flange binding. Bring projects ready for binding and you will leave with the binding completed! Contact Essem Textiles to sign up for the class. There are only a few spots left!

Did you see my Row by Row Quilt?

This week, it was my day to share my February Row by Row quilt on Island Batik’s Blog Hop! It was such a fun quilt to make, with beautiful fabrics from a collection called “Vintage Lace” by Kathy Engle. You can read more about it HERE.

This quilt is 50″ x 60″. I used Accuquilt dies to cut the whole quilt. It’s quilted with a Schmetz needle, Aurifil thread, using Silly Moon’s “Beanie” rulers, and has Hobbs 80/20 batting.

Same Quilt, Different Fabric

Last week I showed my finish “In the Woods” featuring Evergreen and Pine by Kathy Engle that is in the Island Batik Catalogue. You can read about it HERE.

This week, my pattern tester, Carol, posted a picture of her quilt … it has a totally different look using different fabrics! I love it. You can read what Carol has to say about the quilt pattern HERE. Thank you for testing the pattern, Carol!

I am always fascinated by how different quilts look when you use different fabrics!

Let me know if you would like to purchase the “In the Woods” pattern!

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Linking to:

Saturday 

Island Batik: February Row by Row Blog Hop

/ quiltinggail / 28 Comments

I received “Vintage Lace” collection, designed by Kathy Engle. It should be in the stores in February.

The top and bottom rows have 4 colours each, the other 4 rows have 3 … which means that I used all 20 fabrics in the blocks. The sashing is a basics called “Snow” and the cornerstones and binding are “Hunter.” (All of the fabrics are pictured below.)

The name of the collection made me think of traditional blocks and I pulled out my Accuquilt cutter and this wonderful book “GO! QUBE” by Quilt in a Day / Eleanor Burns.

I drew out many of the blocks in EQ and used the program to colour in the blocks.

Using the Accuquilt ensures perfect size quilt pieces … in this case the 2 1/2″ half-square triangles. Once sewn together, there will be no dog ears to cut off and, as long as my 1/4″ seam is accurate, the block will finish at 2″ square.

As I was piecing many of the blocks, the colour combinations made me think of my grandma. I didn’t get to visit her often, but the fabrics reminded me of her sofa and doilies … I know she had a rocking chair that was similar in colour to the lighter green fabric … perhaps that’s where the memories come from!

There was nothing in my Island Batik stash that was large enough for the backing, so I cut large squares from the left-over fabric and used the following fabrics:

  • Cheerios-Jungle Water
  • Medallion Lace-Amazon
  • Medallion Lace-Raspb
  • Medallion Lace-Fall F
  • Floral Swirl Lace-Butter
  • Floral Swirl Lace – Corn
  • Floral Swirl Lace – Spin
  • Floral Swirl Lace – Cha
  • Dots – Pineneedles
  • Dot – Vine opal
  • Dot Floral-Opal
  • Dot Floral- Plum
  • Paisley Lace Beaujois
  • Paisley Lace – Peony
  • Mini Floral Vine-Fall F
  • Mini Floral Vine-Corn

I used Hobbs 80/20 batting, a Schmetz needle and Aurifil # 2375 Antique Blush.

Here is a picture of me just starting the quilting. I used Silly Moon “Beanie” rulers and quilted a Baptist fan over the entire quilt. And, just in case you’re wondering, I did take out that stitching (see the skipped stitches?) and changed the needle (the previous one had pieced this quilt and probably 2 others!) … much better results!

Here are pictures of the individual blocks.

Make sure that you visit The Inquiring Quilter, Jennifer also received “Vintage Lace” and I’m dying to see what she made with this great collection!

Visit the other Ambassadors!

The other Island Batik Ambassadors . make sure you visit each one … they all have beautiful quilts!

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 !!

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Tickled Pink Blog Hop

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Carla, From Creatin’ in the Sticks, announced this blog hop WAAAY back in December and I immediately knew what I was going to make! I pulled the fabric and … set it aside … but I got back at it in January and actually finished it pretty quickly!

This little mini quilt is made of scraps of Island Batik purple and pink, plus a couple of strips of pink hearts from a Scrap Builder’s bundle that I received in December. I used Hobbs 80/20 batting and it was quilted with a light mauve thread.

The pattern is from the book “Scrappy Improv Quilting” written by Kelly, of My Quilt Infatuation. It’s a fabulous book … and I’ve made a few quilts and mini quilts from the book!

Visit the other bloggers!

I promise that there is a plethora of eye candy if you visit these sites!

Monday, February 14th

Tuesday, February 15th

Wednesday, February 16th

Thursday, February 17th

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Tuesday’s Chatter …

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Have you been following the Island Batik Row by Row Blog Hop? There’s been some pretty amazing quilts during the Row by Row! Lots of amazing new fabrics coming to stores soon!

Here’s the line-up for this week! I can’t wait to see everyone’s creations!

February 14:

Michelle Roberts, Creative Blonde
Jane Hauprich, Stitch by Stitch Custom Quilting

February 15:

Claudia Porter, Create with Claudia

February 16:

Anorina Morris, Samelia’s Mum
Preeti Harris, Sew Preeti Quilts

February 17:

Elizabeth DeCroos, Epida Studio
Gail Renna, Quilt Haven Threads

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 1-30 – 31 / 31
  • February 1-13 13 / 13
  • Total: 43/ 43
  • Percentage =100% 

Stash Report

Donna at Quilt Paint Create hosts a weekly linky party where you can display your stash. This has really kept my stash from growing (somewhat!) Before I buy anything, I am always mindful of the fact that I need to report it on my blog … That sometimes stops me in my tracks! However, I am human and I do break down and buy fabric!

Our guild had a Valentine’s SEWscial on Saturday. It was lots of fun! SEW good to see people in person! There were 2 venders there and lots of fabric, but I resisted and didn’t buy any. However, I did whip out the credit card and did do some shopping! A cone of Aurifil thread, 4 spools of thread, a Silly Moon ruler for ruler quilting, a marking pen, pins, a purple thang (mine is broken) and a Clover seam ripper (my favourite!)

The little cutting mat was free if you spent more than $100. Which was easy to do with this haul!

SEW this meme is still true!

  • Fabric Used this week      5.0   yards
  • Fabric Used this year:        6.5 yards
  • Fabric Bought this week:   0 yards
  • Fabric Added this year:      0 yards 
  • Net Fabric used                  6.5 yards 

To Do

Linda from Texas Quilt Gal is now hosting “To Do” every week.

I had 2 weeks to work on my previous To Do list … let’s see how I did …

The To Do list last week:

  1. Finish Round 5 of SAHRR √   DONE
  2. Finish Catalogue Quilt √   DONE
  3. Work on Macaron Mystery √   DONE
  4. Work on Time in a Bottle √   DONE
  5. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! √   DONE
  6. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes √   DONE

This week’s list:

  1. Finish Round 6 of SAHRR
  2. Work on Macaron Mystery
  3. Work on Time in a Bottle
  4. Complete March’s Colour Challenge
  5. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! 
  6. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes

Design Wall

#1 SAHRR is in progress … This is Round 5 … You can read details about this round HERE.

#2 Time in a Bottle: This is for a blog hop in March … this is still in progress, but progress has been made! I am using Island Batik fabrics – small bits and pieces left over from my gradations quilts and paired with the wonderful Island Batik solid grey!

#3 Macaron Mystery. Block A is done. 2 of Block B are completed. All the fabrics are from my stash.

Quilting:

No quilting happening … I’ve got to get some flimsies done!

The first chart shows my overall PHD standing and New Starts … the 2nd more colourful chart shows all the tasks, or steps I need to take to complete my UFOs.

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Linking to:

Monday … stats and stuff …

/ quiltinggail / 19 Comments

Lots of things happening in the Studio. My husband came in and said, “what are you working on? Whatever it is, it looks weird.” I then explained that I was piecing 4 different quilts. A catalogue quilt, the SAHRR, Macaron Mystery and a March blog hop quilt. He shook his head and said “ah, you don’t like stress, do you?”

There’s been some pretty amazing quilts during the Row by Row

February 7:

Emily Leachman, The Darling Dogwood
Leah Malasky, Quilted Delights

February 8:

Suzy Webster, Websterquilt
Connie Kauffman, Kauffman Designs

February 9:

Reed Johnson, Blue Bear Quilts

February 10:

Brianna Roberts, Sew Cute and Quirky
Sandra Starley, Textile Time Travels

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 1-30 – 31 / 31
  • February 1-6 6 / 6
  • Total: 37 / 37
  • Percentage =100% 

Stash Report

Donna at Quilt Paint Create hosts a weekly linky party where you can display your stash. This has really kept my stash from growing (somewhat!) Before I buy anything, I am always mindful of the fact that I need to report it on my blog … That sometimes stops me in my tracks! However, I am human and I do break down and buy fabric!

I love this meme that I saw recently (but can’t find the source) …

  • Fabric Used this week      5.0   yards
  • Fabric Used this year:        6.5 yards
  • Fabric Bought this week:   0 yards
  • Fabric Added this year:      0 yards 
  • Net Fabric used                  6.5 yards 

To Do

Linda from Texas Quilt Gal is now hosting “To Do” every week.

I had 2 weeks to work on my previous To Do list … let’s see how I did …

The To Do list last week:

  1. Finish Round 4 of SAHRR and start Round 5 √   DONE
  2. Work on February Island Batik project √   DONE
  3. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! √   DONE
  4. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes √   DONE

This week’s list:

  1. Finish Round 5 of SAHRR
  2. Finish Catalogue Quilt
  3. Work on Macaron Mystery
  4. Work on Time in a Bottle
  5. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! 
  6. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes

Design Wall

#1 SAHRR is in progress … This is Round 4 … You can read details about this round HERE.

#2 Time in a Bottle: This is for a blog hop in March … it should be fun! Of course, I can’t show you until the blog hop! But I can give you a teaser that is using the LAST of my Island Batik gradation fabrics and Island Batik solid grey.

#3 Macaron Mystery. Block A is done. All the fabrics are from my stash.

Quilting:

Catalogue quilt. This is a quilt for Island Batik’s next catalogue which will feature a new line of fabric. It’s pretty awesome fabric and I’m sure you’ll want to get some for yourself. However, I can’t even give you a sneak preview of the fabric. You can be sure that I will show you one the fabric has hit the stores!

The first chart shows my overall PHD standing and New Starts … the 2nd more colourful chart shows all the tasks, or steps I need to take to complete my UFOs.

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Linking to:

So Scrappy @ Scrap Happy
Sunday Stash @  quiltpaintcreate
Oh Scrap @  Quilting is More Fun than Housework
15 minutes to Stitch @ Life in Pieces
Frédérique  @ Quilting Patchwork Applique
Monday Making @  Love, Laugh, Quilt
Design Wall Monday @  Small Quilts and Doll Quilts
To-Do Tuesday @ Texas Quilt Gal

 

Island Batik Blog Hop … and Studio Happenings!

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Row Row Row your Quilt

The February Island Batik Blog Hop starts on Monday! The theme is Row by Row …

Make sure you visit each of the ambassadors to see what they made … and some of them may have a giveaway and you could have a chance to win some awesome Island Batik fabric!

January 31:

Jennifer Thomas, Curlicue Creations
Denise Looney, For the Love of Geese 

February 1:

Pamela Boatright, Pamela Quilts
Andi Stanfield, True Blue Quilts

February 2:

Megan Best, Bestquilter

February 3:

Maryellen McAuliffe, Mary Mack Made Mine
Brenda Alburl, Songbird Designs

Did you see?

My Island Batik quilts for the January challenge? These were for the challenge “Step by Step” using 20 gradations of Tantalizing Teal. Of course, Island Batik fabric was used with Hobbs batting and Aurifil Thread.

Here are the pictures, but you can read more about them HERE.

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!

Last year I managed to sew 97% of the days. What will this year bring?

  • January 1-30 – 30 / 30
  • Total: 30 /30
  • Percentage =100% 

Stash Report

Donna at Quilt Paint Create hosts a weekly linky party where you can display your stash. This has really kept my stash from growing (somewhat!) Before I buy anything, I am always mindful of the fact that I need to report it on my blog … That sometimes stops me in my tracks! However, I am human and I do break down and buy fabric!

I love this meme that I saw recently (but can’t find the source) …

The Teddy Bear quilt took 5.5 yards of fabric. You can see the post HERE.

  • Fabric Used this week      5.0   yards
  • Fabric Used this year:        6.5 yards
  • Fabric Bought this week:   0 yards
  • Fabric Added this year:      0 yards 
  • Net Fabric used                  6.5 yards 

To Do

Linda from Texas Quilt Gal is now hosting “To Do” every week.

I had 2 weeks to work on my previous To Do list … I’m starting to realize that if I give myself 2 weeks, I can usually accomplish what I want to do in one week. Hmmm … What does that say about my expectations?

The To Do list 2 weeks ago:

  1. Finish Round 3 & start Round 4 of SAHRR √   DONE
  2. Sandwich and Quilt Polar Bear Plunge √   DONE
  3. Work on Tickled Pink project … it’s actually finished! √   DONE
  4. Finish Island Batik January Project and posted HERE √   DONE
  5. Finish Macaron Mystery – January clue √   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. Finish Round 4 of SAHRR and start Round 5
  2. Work on February Island Batik project
  3. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! 
  4. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes

Design Wall

There are a few things on my Design Wall and I can only show you little bits of what’s there!

#1 SAHRR is in progress … You can read about it HERE and HERE

#2 … February Island Batik project Row by Row … Here’s a picture of the fabric that I’m using. It’s the Vintage Lace by Kathy Engle and should be shipping to stores in February. Aren’t they soft and lovely?

Quilting:

Nothing is being quilted at the moment!

2 UFOs finished this week! The Polar Bear Blog hop and the Tickled Pink Blog Hop quilts!

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Linking to:

Polar Bear Plunge Blog Hop

/ quiltinggail / 62 Comments

When Joan at Moosestash Quilting first announced this blog hop, I just couldn’t resist!

I knew I was going to make a teddy bear quilt for this challenge. The book, Fat Quarter Baby, has the cutest teddy bear quilt! A Christmas gift bundle of Fat Quarters was the perfect choice.

Here is a picture of the quilt – prior to me adding eyes and a mouth. It’s cute, but a teddy must have eyes and a smile – right?

The eyes were appliqued on (gasp!) and the smile was stitched with a fairly tight zigzag stitch. Simple “in the ditch” quilting finished this little guy!

Make sure you visit all of the other bloggers in this hop! There’s a lot of creativity happening!

Monday Jan 24

Tuesday Jan 25

Wednesday Jan 26

Thursday Jan 27

Friday Jan 28

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Linking to:

What’s Happening in the Future?

/ quiltinggail / 10 Comments

Sew … What’s in the Future on my blog?

Mystery Quilt

This mystery is a quick and easy quilt. The first clue (and fabric requirements) will be announced on Boxing Day, Dec. 26. There will be 5 clues and I’m 100% positive that many of you will have it totally completed before 2022 rings in!

It will be 40″ square … and the rest is a mystery!

SAHRR

5 Blogging Friends and myself will be hosting another Stay at Home Round Robin (SAHRR). What’s a Round Robin, you ask? Well, typically, in the quilting world, a round robin goes like this:

  • Quilter #1 creates their own centre block
  • The centre block is passed on to Quilter #2 and they add a border, depending on what the directions are.
  • The centre block, plus border 1 is passed on to Quilter #3, who adds the next border.
  • And on it continues

With the SAHRR, the blocks and rounds stay home with you. You are the one that is in charge of your Round Robin.

There is nothing to join … you just need to follow each of our blogs so that you don’t miss a thing!

If you go to this post, you will see my completed top from the 2021 Round Robin. And This Post shows my completed tops from 2020.

We haven’t decided on a start date … but we have all decided what is chosen for each round. And, no, I’m not going to tell you. Of course, we are all working on our Round Robins so that they’ll be ready at the start! AND … I’m laughing and laughing because we all have good intentions … but the follow through does not always happen!

My Blogging Friends are

Yes, I will be hosting a PHD in 2022.

What is a PHD??? In the quilting world, a PHD is a Project Half Done. As a former academic, who did not get a PhD in nursing, it’s just a play on the initials.

In order to get your PHD in 2022, you have to complete at least 12 UFOs (Unfinished Objects / or projects) AND … here’s the big catch: You MUST complete everything you start in 2022. Yes, EVERY new project. Otherwise your UFO list will just increase and we’re trying to get rid of them, right?

There are a few exceptions to completing what you start in 2022. If the project carries over into 2023, such as a BOM or Bonnie Hunter’s mystery quilt, then it would be impossible to complete it in 2022. And, those last minute projects that are started in December 2022? They don’t count either. But all of the projects you start in 2022, must be completed. This includes labels and quilting and binding – not just completing a top!

In the meantime, you can gather up your UFOs to get ready.

Monthly Color Challenge

I will be participating in this monthly colour challenge! I plan to make the entire quilt, but have signed up to be part of an occasional blog hop with the monthly blocks. The first block will be announced on January 1. You’ll be able to see the block at Patterns by Jen. The block patterns are free for the month they are posted. If you miss a month, they will be available for a nominal fee. Will you join me?

Blog Hops

I often participate in various blog hops. They are so fun! And full of lots of eye candy and ideas. So far, I have signed up for 2 in the new year.

Joan, from Moose Stash Quilting is hosting a Polar Bear Plunge.

Carla, from Creatin’ in the Sticks is having a “Tickled Pink” blog hop in Feb.

And here is their proposed blog hops for 2022! Lots of fun in store!

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting! 
Gail 

What’s Happening in the Studio?

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First, I need to show you a finish … not a quilty finish, but a finish. While I was at Essem Textiles, I spotted some super cute knit teddy bear fabric. I LOVE teddy bears! Years ago, in the last century, I made a cute nightshirt with teddybears on it. That nightshirt was loved for years and years. This summer, I noticed that it was pretty thread barren and it’s time was near! Well, I might have noticed it much longer than just this summer! When I saw the fabric at Essem, I just knew I had found the perfect fabric to replace the nightshirt with. And the old night shirt is re-purposed as cleaning cloths in the garage. However, I did rescue the button off the old one and put it on the new one!

I’m not going to model it, but here it is on my design wall:

It was fun to use my serger and complete a project in less than a day! That doesn’t happen when I’m quilting!

Island Batik’s Storm at Sea Blog Hop

Did you get to see all of the Storm at Sea quilts? They were all based on the Storm at Sea block. Some people used Paper Piecing (me), some used Studio 180 rules, and some used the Accuquilt Block on Board die. Andi (from True Blue Quilts) made a great youtube video that showcases all of the quilt. Watch it and Enjoy!

Design Wall

#1 Scrappy Improv Quilting …

Absolutely NO change from the last month! None at all!

#2.  A Christmas Tree Skirt

These are fabrics from Essem Textiles. I have started piecing the tree skirt … such pretty fabrics to work with!

Quilting: 

#1  The last Secret Island Batik project is being quilted

#2 Scrappy Improv Quilting This is from the pattern “Prismatic … just made bigger … lots bigger … (from Kelly Young’s book “Scrappy Improv Quilting.” This book is SEW much fun … make sure you order yours before it’s too late!

  • Fabric Used this week     0  yards
  • Fabric Used this year:       100.25 yards
  • Fabric Bought this week:  0 yards
  • Fabric Added this year:      50. 75 yards  (my husbands amounts as well)
  • Net Fabric used                  49.5 yards 
  • Husband’s purchases:  0 yards (which are added into my total amount of Fabric added this year). For those of you who don’t know … my husband often buys more fabric than I do … so, I’m keeping track! Unfortunately, he doesn’t sew!

Stitchin’ Time

  • January – October –  292/ 303
  • Nov – 21 / 21
  • Total: 313 / 324
  • Percentage = 96 % 

For more Stitchin’ Time, you can check out Kate’s blog: Life in Pieces

To Do

Linda from Texas Quilt Gal is now hosting “To Do” every week. You can check out her blog HERE.

The To Do list from 2 Weeks ago:

  1. Quilt Island Batik Secret #2 √   DONE 
  2. Quilt Island Batik Secret #4 in progress
  3. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS!  Got inspired to make a tree skirt  not done
  4. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes   √   DONE  

This week’s list:

  1. Finish Quilting Island Batik Secret #4
  2. Finish Tree Skirt
  3. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! 
  4. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes

I have finished enough UFOs for my PHD, but I still have a few “Starts in 2021” to finish …

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting! 
Gail 

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No Ring Blog Hop

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I bet you’re wondering what the No Ring Blog Hop is all about, right? It’s about Mug Rugs … so that you don’t leave a ring on your furniture from your drinks! Now, I bet it makes sense!

Last week, on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, I worked at Essem Textiles. The lovely couple that own the store were having a traditional Indian wedding. They had previously married, but because of Covid, there was no celebration. So, with restrictions lifted, it was time to have the formal ceremony.

I usually take a water bottle with ice in it and it sweats and leaves RINGS where ever it is placed. I needed to make a mug rug and this fit the bill! It’s a free embroidery design from Kreative Kiwi. Kreative Kiwi has a LOT of free patterns and the directions are easy to follow. I added “Essem” to personalize it for the store.

The fabrics were from my scrap pile, I used Hobbs batting and the thread was an assortment of Robison-Anton, Aurifil and Madeira.

Here is the Schedule:

Monday, November 15th

Tuesday, November 16th

Wednesday, November 17th

Thursday, November 18th

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting! 
Gail 

Week 3: Island Batik Storm at Sea Blog Hop

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Here is the line-up of fabrics and links to the ambassador’s blogs for Week 2! Again, I’ve seen a sneak peak of some of them and we’re in for some wonderful eye candy!

November 15:

Elizabeth DeCroos, Epida Studio

Andi Stanfield, True Blue Quilts

November 16:

Brianna Roberts, Sew Cute and Quirky

Michelle Roberts, Creative Blonde

November 17:

Sally Manke, Sally Manke Fiber Artist

Leah Malasky, Quilted Delights

Suzy Webster, Websterquilt 

You could win!

Click on the rafflecopter link for your opportunity to win some beautiful fabric! 10″ Stack of Sail Away or a 2.5″ Strip Pack of Twilight Glow!

a Rafflecopter giveaway https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

A Review of Last Week’s Quilts!

Island Batik’s Blog has the full line-up of quilts from last week. Visit it HERE.

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting! 
Gail 

Friday’s summary!

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My finishes this week include the quilts I shared on Monday for the Island Batik Storm at Sea Blog Hop. My surprise fabric was the fabulous Bellingham Bay collection by Kathy Engle. Two very different quilts, both using a 12″ Storm at Sea paper piecing block (From EQ). You can read more about these quilts HERE.

Island Batik Blog Hop

To see all of the quilts in this week’s collection, check them out at the Island Batik blog HERE. There is also an opportunity for YOU to win either a strip pack or a stack of beautiful Bellingham Bay fabric!

October’s Island Batik Challenge

A fellow Island Batik Ambassador, Andi, from True Blue Quilts, put together this great video that showcases most of the completed challenges. We were all given 3 spools of 40 weight Aurifil thread and told to create a wall hanging that is inspired by the endangered species. It is well worth the look!

Mine was the Pangolin and you can read about my creation HERE.

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting! Gail

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Storm at Sea Blog Hop!

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This month, the Island Batik challenge was to make a Storm at Sea quilt with the following guidelines:

  • Project Type: Quilt
  • Size: Lap size or larger
  • Must use the Summer 2021 bundle, wrapped and labeled “Surprise”
  • Any technique

My Surprise package in Box #2 was Bellingham Bay. I was in LOVE immediately!!!! I LOVE the colours … the rich greens paired with a few deep purple … just wonderful!!! These should be available in stores soon!

I searched for a Storm at Sea that was a bit different. I found several quilts with diagonal waves and I really liked them. I went to my EQ program and came up with this:

I know that I would easily become confused with which piece of fabric went where … so I printed out the quilt outline and numbered the main fabrics. I was hoping that if I took my time, I’d be able to paper piece the quilt with the correct fabrics in the correct spots.

In order to keep all of the fabrics in the correct wave, that’s how it was pieced … one wave at a time. I knew that I would get it all mixed up if I did it by blocks …

Each element is paper pieced – without sewing on the paper. I really dislike removing the papers after I’ve sewn on them.

Here’s a picture of my piecing without sewing on the paper.

The quilting was done on my domestic sewing machine, with a walking foot and a Schmetz quilting needle.

I used Aurifil #2600 (Dove) for the quilting and the scrappy binding was attached with Aurifil #5012.

This quilt is 57″ square. And, I LOVE it!!!

For some reason, I didn’t use all of the fabrics in the main quilt. I have no idea why. So, I made a 2nd quilt using Coconut as the background and 4 of the lightest coloured prints from Bellingham Bay.

You could win …

That’s correct, you have an opportunity to win some wonderful Bellingham Bay fabric … Click on the Rafflecopter link and follow the instructions.

a Rafflecopter giveaway https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

The Photo Shoot

Bellingham Bay is just a short drive from my house. However, since the USA border is closed to Canadians driving down, I had to content myself with going to a local beach to take pictures. It was a blustery windy day … very windy … but I did manage to get some shots!

The Blog Hop

Pretti, from Sew Preeti Quilts also made a Storm at Sea quilt using the Bellingham Bay fabric collection. Make sure you visit her blog!

Here is a list of all the ambassadors participating in the Storm at Sea Blog Hop. I’ve already had a sneak peek of some of them – they are all pretty awesome! Make sure you follow along!!!

November 1:

Gail Sheppard, Quilting Gail 

Preeti Harris, Sew Preeti Quilts

November 2:

Pamela Boatright, Pamela Quilts

Jane Hauprich, Stitch by Stitch Custom Quilting

November 3:

Denise Looney, For the Love of Geese

Megan Best, Bestquilter

November 4:

Gail Renna, Quilt Haven Threads

Claudia Porter, Create with Claudia

November 8:

Mania Hatzioannidi, Mania for Quilts

Jennifer Fulton, Inquiring Quilter

November 9:

Joanne Hart, Unicorn Harts

Connie Kauffman, Kauffman Designs

Jennifer Eubank, Archipelago Quilting

November 10:

Jennifer Thomas, Curlicue Creations

Janet Yamamoto, Whispers of Yore

November 11:

Emily Leachman, The Darling Dogwood

Maryellen McAuliffe, Mary Mack Made Mine

November 15:

Elizabeth DeCroos, Epida Studio

Andi Stanfield, True Blue Quilts

November 16:

Brianna Roberts, Sew Cute and Quirky

Michelle Roberts, Creative Blonde

November 17:

Sally Manke, Sally Manke Fiber Artist

Leah Malasky, Quilted Delights

Suzy Webster, Websterquilt 

Thank you!

The making of my Storm at Sea quilts would not be possible without the generosity of Island Batik, Hobbs Batting, Aurifil Thread, and Schmetz Needles!!

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting! 
Gail 

Scrappy Improv Quilting Blog Hop

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In July, Kelly, of My Quilt Infatuation, emailed me and asked if I would be willing to participate in a blog hop promoting her new book. I felt honoured and of course, I said, “YES.”

She asked me to make an improve ornament mini quilt! This is the quilt she asked me to make! Isn’t it cute?

Sew … I gathered a bunch of blue and purple Island Batik scraps.

Then I sewed them together sort-of following the directions in the book. A lot of my scraps had weird angles in them … so mine aren’t totally square … more improv!

I followed the directions for making the ornaments. They were very clear and easy to follow. As directed, I did use my Tri-Recs rulers for making the purple ornament.

I used Island Batik solid “Turquoise” on the purple ornament and “Amethyst” on the blue ornaments. The strings were made with “Dark Grey.” And the background is “Rice.” I absolutely LOVE Rice!!!

This mini quilt is quilted the same as in the book … stippling in the background and organic straight(ish) lines on the ornaments. I used Aurifil 2600 – Dove to quilt it. And yes, I did stitch in the ditch around the strings and the ornaments.

This was such a fun quilt to make! I’m sure I will be making more mini quilts from this blog!

I have already made “Up, Up and Away,” using Kelly’s instructions on enlarging the quilt. I made it baby sized. I posted about it, and your can read about it HERE.

To me, Kelly’s “Scrappy Improv Quilting” book is one that EVERYONE should have in their book collection! There is a HUGE variety of mini quilts and you can make them bigger as well! I know I already said this, but the book is very well written. The directions are clear and easy to follow!

I actually have 2 more quilts from this book in progress … and I will show you them when they are completed!

If you want to buy the book, I know that Essem Textiles has a few in stock. As well, I will be teaching several quilts from this book at Essem later this month. Contact them to sign up for the class.

Blog Hop

Here is the Schedule for the Blog Hop: (All links up to Oct 11 are direct links to the original post, so you won’t have to hunt through the blogs! … you’re welcome!)

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

I’m Falling for You Blog Hop

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This blog hop is organized by Calico Joan of Moose Stash Quilting!

In January, my Island Batik box contained this fantastic maple leaf die from Accuquilt. I made 2 different quilts with it.

And now, I’m using it again to make a table runner for the I’m Falling For You blog hop. What is more FALL than Fall leaves??? As well, the scrap table runner challenge for this month is Orange … so I’m making a 2-fer.

We’ve been away for almost 2 weeks. I took this with me to finish while we were travelling. (Yes, I take my featherweight and sew when I can and when we have power.) Well, I definitely was NOT meant to finish this on our trip! I didn’t take enough of the background fabric AND … once I finished the top, earlier today, I realized that I did not take enough batting or backing … groan … Anyhow, thankfully I was able to find everything I needed and get this table runner done! I stippled the background and did straight lines on the coloured portions of the leaves.

Table runner stats:

  • Fabric: Island Batik – from the Autumn Wings collection, background is Custard
  • Batting: Hobbs fusible
  • Quilting & Piecing: Aurifil thread
  • Size: 19″ x 37″
  • Accuquilt die: Maple Leaf

Here is the Full Schedule for the blog hop:

Be sure to visit all of the bloggers and be inspired by their “I’m Falling for You” creations!

Monday September 20

Creatin’ in the Sticks

Samelias Mum

Quilting Gail

Vroomans Quilts

Quilt Schmilt

Tuesday September 21

Just Let Me Quilt

Just Sew Quilter

Days filled with Joy

Kathy’s Kwilts and More

The Morning Latte

Wednesday September 22

Elizabeth Coughlin Designs

Beaquilter

Inflorescence

Selina Quilts

Sew Many Yarns

Thursday September 23

Karrins Crazy World

Words and Stitches

Patchouli Moon Studio

Karen’s Korner

That Fabric Feeling

Scrapdash

Friday September 24

QuiltFabrication

Mrs P Designs USA

Lianne Makes Stuff

Quilted Delights

MooseStashQuilting

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting! 
Gail 

Scrappy Improv Blog Hop is happening!

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This is a Blog Hop that I’m super excited about!!! Kelly, of My Quilt Infatuation, has a wonderful book out and it is absolutely wonderful!!! My official day is Oct. 11. But, I am too excited to wait that long (well, I’ll wait for that day for my assigned mini quilt!

Yesterday, Sandra @ mmm…quilts! posted her Up, Up and Away Quilt! Isn’t it great???

So, I’m going to show you my Up, Up and Away quilt. Kelly has instructions in her book on how to make the mini quilts larger. So, I followed her instructions to make this into a baby quilt. However, I must confess, I had to fudge a bit because I didn’t have quite enough background fabric.

The fabrics are all from Island Batik. But for some reason, the scraps didn’t decrease at all!! (Ya, I know, scraps multiply when you have your back turned! )

I quilted wavy up and down lines on the balloon and wavy organic lines on the background (sky).

This is one of the quilts I’ll be teaching at Essem Textiles in Cloverdale in October! Make sure you sign up and join in the fun!

Here is the full Schedule for the Blog Hop:

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

PHD in 2021: August Report

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This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is phd-in-2021.png

How are you doing with your PHD in 2021?

Are you feeling overwhelmed with the number of UFOs? Try just taking one UFO and focus on it. Perhaps write down all the steps you need to do to complete it. Even if the list is LONG … tackle the first step. I promise that you will feel much better about it! Then later, or tomorrow, tackle the next step. Pretty soon it will be done!

My PHD tally hasn’t changed a lot. Well, no UFOs are finished, but quite a few of the Starts in 2021 are completed. I’ve been working a LOT of my November Island Batik challenge. I am SEW glad that I started early! It’s taking a LOT of time and a LOT of concentration. You’ll see why in November.

Linky Party

Link up and show us your PHD in 2021 Progress.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter
https://fresh.inlinkz.com/js/widget/load.js?id=a8b40ada7693d64e5923

My Favourite Quilt this month!

GROAN …. How do I choose which quilt is my favourite when I think I made 3 fantastic quilts? I know I’m biased … but I LOVE each one of these quilts!

DrEAMi

This month, I had a DrEAMi … (Drop Everything And Make it) This was a pattern from Sandra Walker (from Musings of a Menopausal Melon) and after seeing that several people made it … I just HAD to. The pattern is “Let Your Star Shine.” You can get the pattern from Sandra’s Etsy shop: HERE. It is a pretty quick quilt to make!

A NEW Blog Hop

Kelly Young has a AWESOME new book that has just been published. She is having a blog hop starting later in September. This book is fantastic! There are 22 mini quilts and they are SEW easy to make.

If you check out Kelly’s blog, My Quilt Infatuation she has an overview of the book HERE.

I have made one mini quilt for the blog hop and am in the process of making another for myself. I will show it to you after the blog hop is over. I don’t want to ruin the surprise of all the mini quilts that you will see during the blog hop.

I must say that this book is really well written! (I have my own copy!) The directions are easy to follow and there are a ton of fun projects to make!

If you live locally, Essem Textiles has the book in their store.

I will be teaching classes of projects from this book in October at Essem Textiles. Dates are TBA.

Rainbow Scrap Table Topper

The monthly table topper is run by So Srappy. The colour for August was aqua. I wanted to try a paper pieced Storm at Sea block … so that’s what I made! It’s 15″ square. Made with Island Batik fabrics, Hobbs fusible batting and Aurifil Dove thread.

Design Wall

Piecing:

#1. November Island Batik project

It’s being paper pieced, and the project is a secret … but I can show you this …

#2. Second project from Scrappy Improv … which I can’t show you until after the blog hop

Quilting: 

Nothing at the moment!

Stash Report

The backings from the 3 “favourite” quilts this month, plus the aqua table topper were all from my stash and totalled 11 yards.

  • Fabric Used this week     11 yards
  • Fabric Used this year:       99 yards
  • Fabric Bought this week:  0  yards
  • Fabric Added this year:      27.75 yards  (my husbands amounts as well)
  • Net Fabric used                  70.25 yards 
  • Husband’s purchases:  0 yards (which are added into my total amount of Fabric added this year). For those of you who don’t know … my husband often buys more fabric than I do … so, I’m keeping track! Unfortunately, he doesn’t sew!

Stitchin’ Time

I’m aiming for at least 30 minutes a day. Many days there are more than a few hours spent in my studio. We were away this past weekend, so there was 2 days that I did not sew.

  • January – July –  209/211
  • August – 26/29
  • Total: 235 / 240
  • Percentage = 98 % 

For more Stitchin’ Time, you can check out Kate’s blog: Life in Pieces

TO DO 

Chris from ChrisKnits is hosting “To Do” every week. You can check out her blog HERE.

The last To Do list: (from weeks ago)

OK … so I had 2 weeks to accomplish my To Do list. I kept the list light because I want some more time to enjoy the summer! Consequently, it was easy to get it done. I’m keeping this week’s list light as well!

  1. Piece and Quilt Let Your Star Shine √   done 
  2. Start Aqua Table Topper for the monthly Table Topper challenge √   done 
  3. Start “Orange you Glad” project! √   done 
  4. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS!   √   done 
  5. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes      √   done  

This week’s list:

  1. Complete Island Batik’s November project
  2. Complete 2nd Project from Scrappy Improv
  3. Prepare more fabric for Island Batik’s December project
  4. Write the directions for the guild’s Fall Mystery quilt
  5. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! 
  6. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting! 
Gail 

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Friday’s finish!

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Let Your Star Shine is finished!!! YEAH!!!

You can read more about this quilt HERE.

The fabrics were all Island Batik scraps … The purple and dark pink are all gone … there is a few scraps of the background and light pink. In some ways, I’m sad to see the end of these fabrics … but I’m also glad that I was able to use them! And, they make for a pretty quilt!

If you are looking for a quilt pattern that is easy and fast. This might be just what you are looking for! Sandra Walker of MMMQuilts is the designer. You can purchase the pattern HERE. 

Quilt Stats:

  • 42″ square
  • Hobbs fusible batting
  • Quilted with Glide “Cool Grey.”
  • Some free motion quilting / some ruler quilting.

Week 2 of Island Batik’s Try a Tool Blog Hop

You can see the schedule HERE.

Be sure to visit Island Batik’s blog to see a re-cap of all the wonderful quilts and don’t forget to enter the draw for some awesome fabric!

Did you see my quilt for the blog hop? You can read about it HERE. But here’s a picture!

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting! 
Gail 

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