BLOG HOP

Quilt Modern! Blog Hop

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In March, I took an Improv class, hoping that I would learn something that I could use to make the quilt for this month’s challenge! And I did. (You can see information about that class and what I learned HERE. I decided to use the freehand curved piecing technique (more pictures below).

The fabric I was given for this blog hop is Napa Valley, designed by Kathy Engle. I LOVE the colours! They are so rich! The motif’s on the fabric are so fun! There are grapes, wheat, pumpkins, corn, leaves and dots! Such a fun collection! And of course, the fabric is fantastic!

I started by pairing an 8″ square of Napa Valley with an 8″ square of Island Batik grey solid. Then I free-hand cut the quarter circles.

I sewed the print and the grey together without using pins. In the picture below, you can see the print of the inner circle with the grey on the outer circle. The reverse is just below it. The blocks were then trimmed to 6 ¾”.

The blocks were arranged on the design wall. And, I forgot to take a picture! The quilt was webbed together, sandwiched and then the quilting began. I used Hobbs Heirloom Natural Cotton batting.

I used Schmetz Quilting Needle 90/40 for both the piecing and the quilting.

All of the quilting happened on my domestic machine: Janome M7 Continental. Aurifil #2600 (Dove) was used. I love how is contrasts slightly with the grey solid fabric!

And, a close up of the quilting

And a picture with the last of the pink “snow” (cherry blossoms)

You have 2 chances to win fabric!

  1. Island Batik is giving away precuts of Glacier Bay: Click on the Raftercopter link
a Rafflecopter giveaway https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

2. From Me! If you want to win fabric from me you have to be from Canada (and sorry, not Quebec). In the comments, answer the following questions: (they won’t be published)

  • where in Canada do you live?
  • have you made a modern quilt?

For those of you that have difficulty leaving comments, you can email me with your answers (quiltinggail@yahoo.ca)

Each entry will be given a number and I’ll use a random number generator to pick the winner.

I’m giving away 19 pieces of Napa Valley that are 8″ x 9.5″

Next:

Be sure to visit Emily at the Darling Dogwood. She used the same collection of fabric and her quilt is stunning! And totally different than mine!

Disclosure: The fabrics, thread, batting and needles were generously supplied by the following companies:

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting! 
Gail 

Pleasant Surprise!

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You know what? Years after you have gifted a baby quilt, it’s lovely to see it actually being used! This was a quilt made with left-over blocks from watching an Eleanor Burns video around 2017. This quilt was gifted to my daughter’s co-worker and they recently sent her this picture! I don’t know about you, but knowing that my quilts are being used makes my heart smile!

Here’s the original quilt … it looks like I did a diagonal serpentine stitch with the walking foot.

Blue Mountain Quilt Guild

Just a shout out! Thank you for having me as your speaker last week! I thoroughly enjoyed your show and tell! And it was fun to show some of my quilts and answer all your questions!

Week 2 of Island Batik “Quilt Modern” Blog Hop

First, here are the blogs to visit this week and at the end is the link for your opportunity to win fabric!

May 10:

May 11:

May 12:

May 13:

This week you will have the opportunity to win one of the pre-cuts from Glacier Bay. Click on the link below!

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

Design Wall

Piecing

#1  Follow your own path:  

3 sets of arrows are made!

#2 Thailand Batiks:

I have pieced these together now … they are waiting to be sandwiched.

Quilting: 

#1 Speed Dating still needs a facing. “Story-less Improv.”

#2 Born to Be Wild (blog hop later this month) is being quilted and it’s taking forever!!!

Stash Report

Nothing finished … so nothing to add to Fabric Used … and no shopping … so nothing to add to Fabric Bought this week.

  • Fabric Used this week     0   yards
  • Fabric Used this year:       42 yards
  • Fabric Bought this week:  0  yards
  • Fabric Added this year:      9 yards  (my husbands amounts as well)
  • Net Fabric used                  33 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.

I have stitched for over 30 minutes each day

  • January – April–  120 / 120
  • May: 9 / 9
  • Percentage = 100 % 

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

TO DO 

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

Last week:

Again, I did not focus on my “To Do” list … but a couple of things got done.

  1.  Follow Your Own Path: work on next step √   done
  2. Thailand Batiks: finish top √   done
  3. Healthcare Hero’s Mystery: Make backing not done
  4. Speed Dating: Add facing not done
  5. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS!   √   done
  6. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes   √   done    

This week’s list:

  1.  Follow Your Own Path: work on next step
  2. Thailand Batiks:  Sandwich top
  3. Healthcare Hero’s Mystery: Make backing
  4. Speed Dating: Add facing
  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 

Linking to:

May

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The word “May” means “is it possible?” As in “May I ____”. However the month, MAY, comes from a Greek goddess of fertility and spring. It made me wonder if I’m going to have a lot of new projects spring forward this month, or if my UFO completion list will increase in numbers? I know, it’s a stretch either way! If you’re curious, you can read more about May HERE.

Island Batik Blog Hop

This week starts the wonderful Quilt Modern Blog Hop. I’ve had a sneak peak of some of quilts and all I can say is “Be prepared to be Amazed!!!”

May 3:

May 4:

May 5:

May 6:

AND

An opportunity to win some awesome Island Batik Fabric from the Forecast collection: Click on the following link.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/d463e29d26/

A Quick UFO finish!

This baby panel is now completed and the binding on.

YOUR opinion …

Last week I had a couple of polls asking your opinion on wool mats. Thank you to everyone that completed the polls … The results were very clear. Definitely a 12″ x 18″ mat with rounded corners.

I will let you know when these Canadian made mats are ready.

Design Wall

Piecing

#1  Follow your own path:  I have made the first 4 left facing arrows and the first 4 right facing arrows. I reversed them since I want the shadow (the grey) under the arrows. I’m now double guessing my chose of “Moonstone” as the background. Yes, it’s very pretty, but when cut into small pieces surrounding the arrows, it loses something. Oh well … I shall carry on …

#2 Thailand Batiks  Well, I didn’t receive much help from you all as for suggestions as to what to do. I pulled out a bunch of different Island Batiks and decided on the light purple “Lavender” to use to border the blocks. A bit of fudging here and there and the blocks are ready to sew together. I decided to not use the 5th block. You can see more about these hankies HERE.

Quilting: 

#1 Speed Dating still needs a facing. “Story-less Improv.”

#2 Born to Be Wild (blog hop later this month) is ready for quilting.

Stash Report

The baby panel (above) used 2 yards of fabrics

  • Fabric Used this week     2   yards
  • Fabric Used this year:       42 yards
  • Fabric Bought this week:  0  yards
  • Fabric Added this year:      9 yards  (my husbands amounts as well)
  • Net Fabric used                  33 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.

I have stitched for over 30 minutes each day

  • January – April–  120 / 120
  • May: 2 / 2
  • Percentage = 100 % 

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

TO DO 

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

Last week:

Again, I did not focus on my “To Do” list … but a couple of things got done.

  1. Focus on the TO DO list  not   done
  2. Follow Your Own Path: first arrows √   done
  3. Healthcare Hero’s Mystery: Make backing not   done
  4. Speed Dating: Add facing not   done
  5. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS!   √   done
  6. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes   √   done    

This week’s list:

  1.  Follow Your Own Path: work on next step
  2. Thailand Batiks: finish top
  3. Healthcare Hero’s Mystery: Make backing
  4. Speed Dating: Add facing
  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 

Linking to:

PHD in 2021: April Report

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How are you doing with your PHD in 2021?

Sometimes, people will ask me how I get so much done. I ALWAYS end up telling them the same thing: One stitch at a time. I was quilting yesterday as I thought about this. When I was doing the free motion, the stitches were fast a furious, and when I switched to doing the ruler quilting, the stitches were WAY slower and more methodical. But, in both cases, it was one stitch at a time.

I remember last year, when I was learning to piece curved seams, it was like an epiphany when I realized that curved seams take care and take time. However, when I’m putting binding on a quilt, I’m full speed ahead. But still, it’s one stitch at a time.

When I was working full time, sometimes doing 12 plus hours, plus the commute, I would come home and sew for 15 minutes. That’s all. Just 15 minutes. It’s amazing how much you can accomplish with little bits of time! And yes, it was still one stitch at a time.

SEW … if you are struggling at getting something done: Remember, it’ll get done One Stitch At a Time.

As for me? I’m steadily moving right along! My one UFO finish for April was the “Open House” wall hanging.

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 Finish this Month

Was my Island Batik “It’s All Up to You” challenge. You can read more about the challenge quilt HERE.

NEW BLOG HOP

That’s correct, Island Batik ambassadors are bringing you a new blog hop starting Monday! I’ll let you know where to go to see the awesome new fabric collections and the amazing quilts that my fellow ambassadors have made! AND there will be an opportunity to WIN some fabulous fabric!

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting! 
Gail 

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Linking to:

Second Monday in April

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I’ve been busy in the studio!!! Not a day goes by that I’m not working on something!

Design Wall

Piecing

#1 House Wall hanging. I started working on a UFO. It was a little kit in a bag: A cute little house wall hanging. I must admit, that when I opened the bag, I was a bit disappointed with the “green” house colour. See the pale, olivy grunge … well it didn’t do anything for me. I substituted the darker green in the picture on the right. Much better, I think! Unfortunately, I do not remember where I bought this kit.

Continue reading →

Salt and Sand Blog Hop and Green Table Topper

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In January, Carol, from Just Let Me Quilt, announced that she’d be hosting this blog hop in March. Of course, I signed up immediately! And, even though I knew that I could change my mind (happens often), I actually had an idea of what I would make for this blog hop! And, surprise, surprise, I didn’t change my mind.

I made this cute little Zipper Bag … It is an Anita Goodesign called “Shadow Work Design.” I altered the design a bit, because I didn’t have any sheer fabric. All of the fabric is from Island Batik (are you surprised???) Most of the bag is made with Coconut – one of their wonderful basics – available all the time. The applique is a small piece from Nautilus Floral-Baja from the Mystery Collection. This is the same collection that I used in February for my “Create for a Cause” challenge. You can view that quilt HERE.

Since I wasn’t about to go to a wet, soggy beach, I took this picture in the front yard. If you use your imagination, the lava rock can represent beach rock and the side of the raised bed could be a log, right?

And, since we have a few flowers blooming, I had to take a picture of it with the flowers! And trust me, those hyacinths smell heavenly!

BLOG HOP

Here’s a list of today’s blog hoppers … Lots of eye candy for you!!!


Just Let Me Quilt
Websterquilt
Samelia’s Mum
Quilt Fabrication
Little Penguin Quilts
Just Sew Quilter
Inflorescence

Monthly Table Topper / Runner Challenge

I had a lot of fun making my March green table runner. I thought I’d try some of the improv blocks I learned from my “Speed Dating” class (see HERE). Using the techniques I learned, it was pretty quick, easy and fun to put together!!! And, no, the quilt I started in the Speed Dating class is not finished … YET!

This used Island Batik fabrics: light and dark grey solids, and the greens were: Marble Frog – BE, Celery, Bubbles: sprout, and 2 other greens that were in my IB scrap bag. The backing is a combination of Celery and Light grey solid. You can see the back HERE. Hobbs 80/20 Cotton batting was used and it was quilted with Aurifil #2600 (Dove).

I must admit that I had a super fun time making this!!! Improv is fun! I like the freedom – anything goes – within my own limits!

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

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Linking to:

Show Your Stripes blog hop

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Carla, from Creatin’ in the Sticks has organized this blog hop. Here’s what she said: “Add a stripe, or two, or three to your project.It can be striped fabric, striped binding (a favorite of mine), or strips of fabric to make stripes.It’s your interpretation of a striped project.  Anything with a stripe.  You decide.Just “Show Your Stripes!“

I finished a Raggedy Andy doll that was started by a friend of mine. When she was first diagnosed with cancer, she knew that she would not be able to sew again. She asked if I could make one for her newest great nephew. Of course, I said “yes.” In mid-January, I obtained the box that was to contain the supplies for the doll.

There was lots of fabric for a Raggedy Anne, but not Andy. However, the body parts were made and the face had been embroidered by my friend. Bonus!! Here are the unstuffed body parts lying on the floor.

I have a stash and found a white and red gingham for the shirt and the navy fabric for the pants and hat. It was strange to be making clothes with 5/8″ seams and pressing them open. When I was making the clothes, I thought that Raggedy Andy, with his striped legs, would be perfect for this blog hop!

Well, Raggedy Andy just had to go climbing the apple tree!

Blog Hoppers

Here is a list of all the “Show Your Stripes” blog hoppers. Make sure you visit them all and see what they have made!

Monday, February 22nd

Tuesday, February 23rd

Wednesday, February 24th

Thursday, February 25th

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

SAHRR – Round #6

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Just to remind you … SAHRR is Stay At Home Round Robin. If you missed the previous posts about this year’s SAHRR – you can see them

Today is the day that Susan told us to add Log Cabin blocks. Again, I’m rebelling! I am not going to do the blocks all around the quilt. Just in the middle of the next round. This quilt is getting bigger than I had planned and this will keep the size down. The logs started out at 1.5″ wide strips and finished at 1″ wide. As you can see, I paired the colours with the white fabric.

Again, I continued to use a variety of fabrics from Island Batik’s Ohana collection.

Next week will be our final round!!! I’m loving the variety of quilts that are being made!!! Aren’t they wonderful? MARK you calendars for March 29th !!! I will have a linky party for everyone to show their final quilts or tops!

Make sure to visit all of the other co-leaders and link up to Susan’s linky party to show us your blocks! HERE

Here’s their links:

Island Batik’s blog hop “Create for a Cause” is over. I hope you enjoyed it!!! If you want a lot of wonderful eye candy – you can go HERE to see all of the quilts in one place!

As well, one of our ambassadors has put together a wonderful video that shows all of the beautiful quilts. You can view it HERE.

AND … just in case you forgot – I had a giveaway on my blog when I posted my “Create for a Cause” quilt (see HERE.) And the winner is …. drum roll … Donna H. She has sent me her address and I hope to get it in the mail soon!!!

Design Wall

Piecing:

I’ve started the Echo Lake t-shirt quilt that has been on my UFO list for … well, um … ah … yes … well … It’s about time I started on it!!!!

There’s a huge pile of t-shirts. I’ve cut some and I’ve learned 2 things.

  1. Use a pressing cloth when ironing the interfacing on. Fortunately, I realized that the interfacing would stick to my iron if I didn’t use a pressing cloth!!!
  2. It’s best to iron on the interfacing right after the shirt is cut. When I didn’t, the edges started to curl in. I’m cutting the shirts much larger than the logos so that when I lay it out, I can trim them down.

Quilting: 

I’m working on my March Island Batik project. Sorry, no pictures yet!

Stash Report

I finished the guild’s Jan / Feb mystery quilt. I used Island Batik fabrics for the top, but I did back it with flannel from my stash. So that fabric will be included as “used this week.”

You can read more about this quilt HERE.

  • Fabric Used this week      1.5  yards
  • Fabric Used this year:       6.5 yards
  • Fabric Bought this week:  0  yards
  • Fabric Added this year:      9 yards  (my husbands amounts as well)
  • Net Fabric used                   – 2.5 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

I’m aiming for at least 30 minutes a day.

I have stitched for over 30 minutes each day

  • January –  31 / 31
  • February – 21 / 21
  • Percentage = 100 % 

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

TO DO 

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

Last week:

Well, I worked on everything that didn’t get done, but I was successful with a few things! And, even a little progress is moving forward!

  1. Work on final round of SAHRR   partially done
  2. Start quilting Moorewood Mystery  not done
  3. Work on March Island Batik challenge   √   done
  4. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS!  √   done
  5. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes      √   done

This week’s list:

  1. Complete final round of SAHRR
  2. Finish  March’s Island Batik challenge
  3. Start quilting Moorewood Mystery
  4. Cut all the t-shirts and iron on interfacing for the Echo Lake t-shirt 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 

Linking to:

Hearts on Fire: Blog Hop

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Carol, from Just Let Me Quilt, posted about this blog hop way back in December. I figured I had lots of time and signed up right away.

Here’s what she said about the challenge:
Make something with a heart in any color, BUT NOT RED…get creative! It can be big or small, in a quilt, a bag, or whatever.

SEW … what to do? I knew I wanted to make a donation baby quilt. I had a pattern in mind I went through my stash and nothing was talking to me … until, I pulled this panel from the bin and it clearly said, “Cut me up.”

This had become a “What was I thinking?” panel. A good one to cut into. I needed (20) 6″ squares and (10) half-square triangles … should be easy … right? Well, when you’re thinking it’s 10 squares … it can become a problem. But, I managed, even if the squares and HST are not all fussy cut to my liking … it’s good. It’s cut!

And this is the result! I used a ruler from Silly Moon called Cupid and made 3″ and 6″ hearts all over the quilt. It was fun to make … and I enjoyed practicing my ruler quilting.

Blog Hop Bloggers

Many bloggers have already posted … make sure you visit them and see what “heart” they came up with!

January 18

January 19

January 20

January 21

January 22

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting! 
Gail 

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Grey and Dull Sunday

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The perfect day to stay inside and quilt … or write blog posts!

I have another UFO finish!

This is my Holiday Seclusion Mystery … scrappy Island Batik fabrics (from Stashbuilder bundles) and Island Batik solid grey. Graffiti or Wild quilting was done … lots of different motifs, swirls, feathers, flowers, vines, McTavishing, pebbles … It was SEW fun to quilt! Hobbs fusible batting was used. I LOVE it! No shifting at all. This will be a comfort quilt, so I backed it with a grey flannel … so cosy!

Yes … I made this bigger … However, I started planning the design with 9″ blocks and quickly realized that most people would not want to make a quilt with smallish pieces in such a short time frame. I then switched the pattern to a 12″ block for the mystery. But of course, I didn’t want the work I had done to go to waste, so I just continued piecing the smaller blocks. Same pattern, different size!

For Instructions on the Holiday Seclusion Mystery, see the Holiday Seclusion Mystery tab at the top of my blog HERE.

Continue reading →

What’s in this blog’s future?

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I thought I’d let you know what plans I have for the next little while …

Holiday Seclusion Mystery

Holiday Seclusion Mystery will start on December 26 and end on December 31. It’s a fun and simple mystery. This mystery is not related to the holidays – except for when it’s occurring. However, if you use holiday themed fabric, then it will relate to the holidays.

I’m busy sewing up the mystery and 2 tester s are also sewing up a storm.

Fabric Requirements

  • Background:  1 ½  yards
  • Scraps:   1 – 1½ yards …. (if making a 2 colour quilt, 1 yard)

Come join us!

Island Batik Projects of 2020

There will be a post of all the projects I’ve made with Island Batik fabrics in 2020.

The Best of 2020 Linky Party

This is a fantastic linky party!!! Everyone post links to their 5 BEST posts in 2020. How they choose the posts is an individual choice! It starts after Christmas Day.

My Stitching Resolution Blog Hop December 30th

Carla, from Creatin’in the Sticks is hosting a ONE day blog hop. And the challenge is about our stitching plan for 2021. Carla says “Let’s share new ideas and inspiration.  All you have to do is finish this statement in a blog post:

My stitching resolution for 2021 is _____________________________.“

It will be fun to see what everyone comes up with.

PHD in 2021

This will be the 4th year that this program has been running. I started it to decrease the number of UFOs that I have. In 2018, I had over 60 UFOs and I keep finding more, tucked away in containers with other stuff. I will be starting 2021 with 17 UFOs … will I get them all completed? I hope so, but who knows. My goal is to finish at least 12!

When I started the PHD in 2018, I realized that I have a passion for starting new projects and not finishing them. Well, the passion is for starting projects and passion for finishing them just didn’t exist. That’s how the number of UFOs grew. SEW … for me, one important aspect of the PHD in 20?? is to complete the new projects that are started. It’s working!

Stay at Home Round Robin with 6 Blogging Friends

The Stay at Home Round Robin that I hosted in the spring was a LOT of fun! This time, 6 blogging friends and I are hosting it together. It will start on January 11. Each week, one of us will post which border our Round Robin is suppose to have and there will be pictures! We’ll be giving you more information soon.

My blogging friends (in alphabetical order) are:

Heart’s on Fire Blog Hop … Jan. 21, 2021

Carol, from “Just Let Me Quilt” is having “Heart’s on Fire” blog hop. She states that the challenge for this hop is “Make something with a heart in any color, BUT NOT RED…get creative!” SEW … I need to make something with a non-red heart … what will it be??

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Linking to:

Inspired by Nature Blog Hop: Week 3

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I can’t wait to see what my fellow Island Batik Ambassadors create this week! Make sure you follow along! Scroll down for the rafflecopter link for your opportunity to win some awesome fabric!



November 23:

Connie Kauffman, Kauffman Designs
Suzy Webster, Websterquilt
November 24:

Pamela Boatright, PamelaQuilts
Michelle Roberts, Creative Blonde
November 25:

Vasudha Govindan, Storied Quilts
Leah Malasky, Quilted Delights
November 26:

Sally Manke, Sally Manke Fiber Artist
Gail Renna, Quilt Haven Threads
a Rafflecopter giveaway

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Hanging Sleeves

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OK … in THIS POST, I talked about how I hate hand sewing on hanging sleeves. I really dislike hand sewing. period.

Making the sleeve is easy …

Edited

  • Measure the width of the quilt. Add 1″
  • Take the width of the quilt and cut a 8.5″ strip
  • Turn under 1/4″ on each end of the strip.
  • Sew this strip lengthwise with a 1/4″ seam.
  • Secure the sleeve to the quilt
    • sew the top of the sleeve just below the binding
    • Press the bottom of the sleeve, measure up 3/4″ on the side towards the quilt. Press
    • the last pressed line is what you fasten to the quilt (this leaves space for the rod to be inserted so that the quilt can hang

When I’ve done this for quilt shows, I’ve made the sleeves and pinned them on. They’re only going to hang for a couple of days, so I don’t need to worry about rust or too much stress.

Anyhow … after talking about how I HATE hand sewing, I had 2 comments that I thought were worth mentioning.

  • Gene Black an Alabama Artist suggested fusing the sleeve on. I think this is a great idea for a wall hanging!
  • Kathleen, from Kathleen McMusing, suggested putting them on with a blind hem and using invisible thread. I thought this was a brilliant idea.

SEW … when a gal needs to get 3 quilt sleeves on, she uses her sewing machine. As you can see, I used the blind hem stitch. There was a grey thread in the bobbin (that’s what you can see) and I had Aurifil invisible thread on top. There is NO stitching visible on the quilt! Perfect.

Continue reading →

Inspired by Nature Blog Hop: My Day

/ quiltinggail / 43 Comments

I received “Ohana” fabric collection to use for this blog hop. Aren’t the fabrics awesome?

They made me think of flowers … Well, there are pretty flowers in some of the fabrics. H I thought of the Accuquilt die that I have, “Cleopatra’s Fan.” To me, this die never made me think of a fan, but it did make me think of flowers …

SEW … off to EQ and I played around with the design and the fabrics and came up with this …

Below is some of the pieces on the Accuquilt die. I wasn’t able to lay all of the fabric out at once because I wanted specific fabrics in specific places. So each fabric was cut and placed into the sections where they were destined to go.

I did need to have reverse pieces of each fabric for this block. However, working with Island Batik fabrics, it is seldom that I can decipher the wrong side from the right side. That made it super easy! I just needed 8 pieces of each cut and I didn’t have to worry about right or wrong sides! Island Batik fabrics are pretty cool that way!

Here are all of the blocks on the design board before being sewn together and borders added.

Here’s a close up of the quilting from the front. I outlined all the shapes and quilted little 3 or 4 petal flowers in the grey neutral portions. Wavy leaves formed the border.

And from the back showing more of the border’s wavy leaves.

Once the borders were added and the quilt quilted, … I only had 2 fabrics that I had not used in the quilt … and neither of them was good as a binding. A scrappy binding just didn’t feel right for this quilt. I was given “Marble-Purple-BE” as a coordinating fabric and it is perfect for the binding. Just a hint of the dark purple frames the quilt.

Stats:

  • 54″ x 54″
  • Quilted with Aurifil #2600, light grey.
  • Binding attached with Aurifil #2581, dark purple.
  • Hobbs 80/20 batting
  • Pieced and Quilted on my Janome Continental M7 sewing machine.

Be sure to visit my Blog Hop Partner, Mania and see the quilt she made with the same fabric collection! Ohana!

Ohana should be arriving in stores soon!

Opportunity to Win

There are 3 opportunities to win some fabric! One from me and 2 from Island Batik.

From Me:

You could win scraps from 5″ x 10″ to 12″ squares of 12 Ohana fabrics. If you live in Canada, in the comment section, tell me how nature inspires (or could inspire) your quilting.

From Island Batik:

Click on the link below to have an opportunity to win Fat Quarter bundles of wonderful fabric: either Sweet Hearts or Love and Kisses

Click HERE

Disclaimer: All of the fabric and supplies (other than my sewing machine and iron) were given to me by Island Batik and the industry partners!  Thank you! 

AurifilLogo3-Website
Hobbs Logo

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

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The Latest about Masks

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Did any of you see this article from CBC Marketplace about masks? Click HERE.

After reading this article, I asked Island Batik what the thread count is for their fabric. Here’s what Elizabeth Phillips (Marketing and Graphic Design) said, “Our greige goods are the highest quality we can purchase. The thread counts are stated a little differently when buying the prepared for dyeing cotton but It’s a little higher than 600.”

So there you have it! If you’ve been making masks with Island Batik fabrics … you’ve been doing the best you can.

And yes, I’ve made masks with Island Batik fabric … here’s a picture of my purse with the matching masks!

Design Wall

Piecing:

Scrappy 4 patches: The setting triangles are added as well as the first border. I need to dig out some fabric and audition it for the 2nd border. This needs to be bigger. At the moment, it’s 38″ x 44″ … if I add a 4″ border, that will make it 46″ x 52″. I’ll be happier with that size!

Quilting: 

About the secrets … Secret #1 & #2 are done … #3 is almost finished. Then I’ll add the hanging sleeves (with a blind hem and invisible thread) to #2 and #3.

Stash Report

No finished projects, no shopping …

SS yellow
  • Fabric Used this week    0 yards
  • Fabric Used this year:       279.5 yards
  • Fabric Bought this week:   0  yards
  • Fabric Added this year:      50.5 yards (my husbands amounts as well)
  • Net Fabric used                    229.0 yards
  • Husband’s purchases: 11.5 yards (which are added into my total amount of Fabric added this year).

Stitchin’ Time

I’m aiming for at least 30 minutes a day.

  • January – Sept: 290 / 304
  • 30 min days/  Nov:   15 / 15
  • Total days in 2020: 305 / 318
  • Percentage = 95% 

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

TO DO 

I’m linking up to Roseanne & Sue’s “TO DO” Tuesday. Their blog is “Home Sewn by Us.”

Well, I got the priority quilting done: IB November will be showcased on Tuesday as part of Island Batik’s “Inspired by Nature” Blog Hop. I was privileged to work with a fantastic fabric collection! Come back on Tuesday to see the quilt!

Last week’s list:

  1. IB November: Quilt and Bind √   done
  2. Work on Secret projects: Finish #3 not done
  3. Work on UFO (Scrappy 4 patches) (to flimsy stage) not done
  4. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes. √   done

This week’s list:

  1. Secret project  #3 : finish quilting, bind and photos
  2. Work on UFO (Scrappy 4 patches) (to flimsy stage)
  3. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes. √   

No UFOs finished. One Start in 2020 finished.

I did add the remaining UFOs to my list … just so that you KNOW I have more! (grin)

Inspired by Nature Blog Hop

Click HERE to see this week’s awesome Ambassador quilts!

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

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Linking to:

Inspired by Nature Blog Hop: Week 2

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Here is this week’s line up:

November 16:

November 17:

November 18:

November 19:

Be sure to Click on the link below to have an opportunity to win some wonderful fabric: either Sweet Hearts or Love and Kisses.

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

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Busy week

/ quiltinggail / 18 Comments

Yes, I’ve had a busy week. Since Covid started, my calendar has been pretty blank. A couple of weekly Zoom things, daily walks and not much else, you tend to get use to it! Then BAM … all of a sudden, I had 2 dentist appointments (cleaning and fillings), a blood work appointment, a doctor’s appointment, a short guild Zoom meeting, a family Zoom quilting day, as well as the usual 3 weekly Zooms … Oh me, oh my … I felt almost overwhelmed. And to think, I used to have all those appointments, work full time and still managed to get a lot of quilting done! Sigh … Enough of my week … back to what’s important to me: Quilting!

Design Wall

Piecing:

Scrappy 4 patches: On point was the final decision on making this little quilt. I know it looks like a mess at the moment! I have some of the setting triangles sewn on … some are pinned and one row ready to be sewn together. I got most of this done at the family Zoom quilting day!

Continue reading →

From the Heart Blog Hop

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Carol from “Just Let Me Quilt” mentioned this blog hop WAY back in July … and of course, I jumped on the band-wagon.  What could be better than a blog hop a mere 2 months before Christmas featuring small gift ideas?  Carol comes up with the BEST blog hops!

Here’s my small gift(s)  …   they all nest inside this one!

Here they are poking out:

What they look like inside: (sorry it was hard to get a good picture with no shadows!)

And all 4 of them:

Details:

  • Island Batik fabric from the Deco Revival collection was used for the lining and outer side.
  • Soft & Stable was used between the 2 fabrics.
  • The pattern is “Clam Up” byAnnie
  • Aurifil #2610 was used for the quilting, sewing together and the trim
  • Free motion quilting was swirls or wavy lines
  • They were easy to make! And, I think they are very cute!

I used the fabric from the Deco collection for my byAnnie’s “Bowl Me Over” purse and October “Thread Painting with Aurifil” project (the elephant).

Make sure you visit all of the participating blogs … there promises to be LOTS of eye candy and all sorts of projects to tempt you into making some gifts “from the heart!” Let me know which ones YOU plan to make!

From the Heart Blogs

October 26

 October 27

 October 28

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

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