Hobbs Batting

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:

Blustery Friday

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The wind is blowing … a LOT!!! I’m glad that I took pictures of my finished quilt the other day!

This is the Echo Lake T-shirt quilt. There are lots of different T-shirts. Some are repeated, in different colours.

As I was working on this quilt, I was continually amazed at the work / service that each T-shirt represents. From the inception of the theme, creating the artistic logos … wow!!! Then there is the various speakers each summer that address the theme, the campers and leaders that listen, the music and songs, the people in charge of activities (archery, climbing wall, crafts, etc), the kitchen staff, the caretaker and grounds people. So many people!!! And there are people that attend the spring clean-up, those that generously donate time and/or money. And, not to forget those that don’t set a foot on the camp grounds, but pray for the campers and all the workers. And, I’ve probably left out many more people that are also involved!

Our 2 kids went to Echo Lake years ago. When they first started going, it was tents on wooden platforms. I remember the first year they build the cabins … there was open rafters … our son broke his arm swinging from them! Don’t ask … if you knew my son, you would totally understand this! Tons and tons of memories!!!

Anyhow, it was an honour to make this quilt / banner. It is HUGE … over 8′ wide and about 5.5 ‘ high. It is far from perfect! Nothing I make is ever close to perfect, but the T-shirt fabric added an extra challenge!

Continue reading →

A Friday UFO Finish!!!

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I made the Moorewood Mystery, designed and hosted by Cheryl at Meadow Mist Designs. This pattern is extremely well written. The monthly instructions are easy to follow and very doable during the month! The pattern is available on the website. Thank you Cheryl for this unique and fun design!

This quilt counted as one of my UFOs because it could not be completed in 2020 … (my own rules as to what makes a UFO).

Quilt Stats

  • Size: 60.5″ x 72.5″
  • It is quilted with a beige thread – Aurifil 2000.
  • The quilting is simple swirls in the background and all of the coloured shapes are outlined. Nothing fancy … but I really like how it looks!
  • The batting is Hobbs 80/20.
  • The fabrics are Kansas Troubles that have been sitting in my stash for … um … well … ya … at least 10 years … I think!!!! And, for some reason, the container with the Kansas Troubles fabric is still pretty full!!!

And a closeup of the quilting:

I was Featured

Jennifer featured the quilt with all the ruler quilting on it. You can read more about it HERE.

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

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Linking to:

Lets Talk about Ruler Quilting!

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Did you see my Scrapbusting Challenge for Island Batik for March? You can see it HERE.

The following is about one of the quilts I made for the challenge. I was scheduled to take a Ruler Quilting course through the guild with Silly Moon Quilting Co. I grabbed some of the Island Batik neutral stash builder rolls so that I could make 5″ squares. I wanted something light so the quilting would show. Then, instead of making a placemat or table topper, I choose to make a small heart quilt.

Well, as soon as I had the heart done with the blue around it, I decided to make it bigger … and borders were added … then more borders. All of a sudden (after a few hours), I had a quilt instead of placemat.

By the way Silly Moon Quilting Co. is a Canadian company, family owned and is located in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. You can order rulers directly from them or from various locations across Canada. They offer ruler quilting classes on their rulers. Did I say that I’m in LOVE with their rulers?

Ruler Quilting

The owner of Silly Moon lead the class on Zoom. She was a great instructor! Very patient and clear with her instructions. I have taken a ruler class before, with Amy K. and she’s fantastic as well. Anyhow, the blocks inside the heart were quilted during the class and used “Charming” and “Edgie” rulers.

I wanted to quilt this whole quilt using Silly Moon rulers. It was fun!

The blue border below was quilted using “Charming,” the neutral border to the left used “Turkey” and “Charming.”

Below, you can see how “Charming” made the scallops on the outside border. Cupid 3″ made the hearts that are in the blue and white border. “Turkey” made that neat small square/large square in the next blue border. (And yes, if you look closely, I still need to practice more!)

Here is the full quilt!

Hobbs 80/20 batting was used, Aurifil #2610 – Light Blue Grey, and Schmetz needles were used for piecing and quilting. (All of these were provided by Island Batik and Industry Partners).

Spare Time

I have been asked several times about what I do in my spare time! This picture says it all! (Sorry, I don’t know the original source, it’s from my cousin’s Facebook Page … if anyone knows the original source, please let me know and I’ll give credit to the original artist.)

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Linking to:

March Island Batik Challenge

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It’s a Scrapbuster Challenge!

Challenge #1

I do have a ‘few’ Island Batik scraps! I save anything that is larger than 2″. I know that some of my fellow ambassadors save scraps that are smaller … I’ll let them do that, but it doesn’t mean that I have to. When it came to deciding what to do, I immediately thought of a scrappy Irish Chain. I have made a few and I love quilting the feather wreaths in the plain white block. I started sewing my 2″ squares into 4 patches … all the while thinking about how I could make it more unique. I thought of stars … and I was happy … here’s the chain blocks with a few of the first stars I made. Yes, I liked it.

Sew, I sewed and I sewed and I sewed. I tried to count how many different fabrics there were in this quilt. I got to 150 and then I started to second guess myself: Is this one in the quilt, or is it a similar one from the same collection? I quit counting. As I was sewing this together, there were lots of memories … oh, I made a log cabin with this fabric … this was from a table runner … this fabric was in a quilt I gave as a wedding gift … Such a lot of fun!!!

There are 782 coloured 2″ squares and 136 coloured Half-Square Triangles. I did not count how many white squares, half square triangles or rectangles are in this quilt. I know there are a LOT.

Then the quilt is . Hobbs 80/20 batting was used. I spray baste my quilts together, using Odif 505 spray. It was quilted on my Janome Continental M7 domestic sewing machine using the following threads: Aurifil #5004 – Grey Smoke and #2021 – Natural White. The binding was sewn on with #2692 – Black. Each square was stitched in the ditch with the Grey Smoke. The Natural White outlined the star and each of the blocks on the white.

There is a single crocus blooming in the garden, it’s in the middle pot, just in front of the rose stems … but I can barely see it in the picture, so you’ll just have to trust me!

Challenge #2

This quilt was unexpected. It just happened. It wasn’t planned. I was to take a ruler quilting course (by Zoom) with Silly Moon Quilting Co. and I needed to make a placemat or table runner, using 5″ squares. I pulled out a couple of neutral Island Batik Stashbuilder rolls and cut them into 5″ squares. (Stash builder rolls are perfect for this since they are 5″ wide by width of fabric.) But, I really didn’t want a placemat or table runner with them. So I made a heart quilt with squares and half-square triangles. Outlined the neutrals in soft dusty blues. I was liking it!!! I ended up adding a few more borders. Then I wanted it to be a rectangle, not a square, so the borders on the top and bottom became larger than the borders on the sides.

I was sewing with a friend (Zoom) and she saw the penguins and wanted to know if it was a fabric that is currently available. It’s an older line because it was in the stashbuilder bundle. But aren’t they cute?

Hobbs 80/20 batting was used, Aurifil #2610 – Light Blue Grey, and Schmetz needles were used for piecing and quilting.

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 

PHD in 2021: February Report

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How are you doing with your PHD in 2021. So far I have 4 UFOs completed, but I still feel like I’m cheating. Three were started in December and were easy finishes. All of these were made with wonderful Island Batik fabrics. The 4th was a panel, so that was also a quick finish.

I have started working on the Echo Lake T-shirt quilt. The T-shirts are cut and interfacing is on each piece. Now, to decide the layout and how to piece it together!

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

Do You need Help?

A fellow candidate for PHD in 2021, Sheila from “So This is Kentucky” posted about using Trello. It’s free to start with and gives you a visual of what projects you have going. See Sheila’s post HERE. You may also find it helpful!

Rainbow Scrap Table Topper

February’s colour is Yellow. I made another coaster. Again, I used Island Batik fabrics. The yellow fabric is “butter” that is available year round. I’m not sure what the beige is (but it is Island Batik) and the green was in a stash buster bundle. The pattern is a free embroidery design from Kreative Kiwi – the Mother’s Day coaster. Obviously, I omitted the writing. On the rose, I used my yellow and oragne inktense pencils to add a little more colour.

A Book Review

The guild librarian, asked me to have a look at a new book they got in the library.

“The Big Book of Little Quilts” by Martindale.
This book is jam packed with a variety of small quilts.  They range from a fresh, modern look, to homespun and many can be scrappy or controlled scrappy. Some of the patterns are pieced, some are paper pieced, some have applique and some have hand embroidery.  There is something in this book that will appeal to you!  It is a book I will definitely take out from the library when I’m looking for something small and a little different. 

DrEAMI

This month I had a DrEAMI project. DRop Everything And Make It. I will be linking to Sandra @ MMMQuilts. These little baskets were quick and easy to make! You can read more about them HERE.

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting! 
Gail 

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Linking to:

I can finally show you …

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I organize the mystery quilts for the quilt guild (Boundary Bay Quilt Guild). Of course, I HAVE to make each mystery prior to presenting it to the guild. Our latest mystery was designed by Sue Pontifex (of Piece Arch Quilters) and I originally made it around 2013.

Here it is! It is an alternate layout to Sue’s original. And yes, I used Island Batik fabrics, Aurifil thread and Hobbs fusible 80/20 batting. The free motion quilting is a simple hook with flower petals around it.

Here’s the original one I made in 2013, following the directions!

Members of the guild that have made this quilt will be forwarding me their finished tops and I’ll put them all here on the blog. From what I’ve seen, there’s going to be some pretty fantastic quilts!

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

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Linking to:

SAHRR – Round #5

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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 Wendy told us to add wonky stars. I’m a rebel … and I did friendship stars instead! I used the Accuquilt to cut the half-square triangles. Do I ever enjoy using it for those!

However, I didn’t do the math very well and I have extra stars left over. I wanted to leave the cornerstone as a plain white block, so … who knows what will happen with those extra stars?

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

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

Here’s their links:

Design Wall

Piecing:

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

Quilting: 

I took a Silly Moon Ruler Quilting class on Saturday by Zoom. It was fun and I learned some things. Believe it or not – the fabric is dark blue and the thread is light grey . Obviously, my phone did not pick up the true colours!

Stash Report

I

No change from last week!

  • Fabric Used this week      0  yards
  • Fabric Used this year:        5 yards
  • Fabric Bought this week:  0  yards
  • Fabric Added this year:      9 yards  (my husbands amounts as well)
  • Net Fabric used                   – 4 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 – 14 / 14
  • Percentage = 100 % 

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

TO DO 

Roseanne & Sue’s “TO DO” Tuesday is no longer. However, Chris from ChrisKnits is going to be hosting it from now on. Her blog is HERE.

Last week:

Total success this week!

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

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Linking to:

Create for a Cause Island Batik Blog Hop

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I donate a LOT of quilts through the guild (Boundary Bay Quilt Guild): Baby Quilts, Comfort Quilts for Cancer patients and Quilts of Valour. The quilt that I made for this blog hop is going to be a comfort quilt. There’s not a scrap of red in this beautiful collection … and I’ve already got several baby quilts ready to donate. So a Comfort Quilt it is. This has double meaning for me as I lost a friend of 48 years to cancer last week.

Aren’t these fabrics wonderful? So rich!!! I love the purples and greens with a touch of blue! This collection will be shipping to your favourite quilt store this month.

I started out by making a design in EQ. I absolutely LOVE using the Island Batik fabrics in EQ as I plan my design.

I really like using quarter square triangles. I used the same technique (although MUCH smaller) and using the Accuquilt GO!Me when I made the Christmas tree wall hangings last year. You can read about them HERE.

Once I had decided on my design, I cut 9″ squares, using my ShapeCut Ruler.

Marked the centre line and sewed a ¼”seam on each side of the line.

After that, the squares were cut in half and with right sides together, nesting the seams. they sewn together with another set of half-square triangles. Again, a centre line was marked. Seams were sewn on each side of the centre line.

The centre line was cut, resulting in quarter square triangles. These were then trimmed to 8″ square. On the design wall, they were rearranged until their final position was decided upon.

Custard is the lovely neutral that was used for the background.

The squares were webbed together (you can see how to web a quilt HERE.

Once the quilt was a flimsy and sandwiched together … I started quilting, using the 3″, 4″ and 5″ Silly Moon Cupid rulers (the 5/3 and the 6/3). After I finished one of the hearts, I back-tracked along the ruler and made a heart of a different size, going in all different directions.

I used the Hobbs Poly-Down batting. I’m in LOVE!!!! This batting is awesome!!! It’s light. It’s easy, easy to quilt and it has a fantastic loft!!! You must give it a try!!!

This was quilted with Aurifil #5003 – wine on top and #2000 – light stand in the bobbin.

The binding is “Square Circle Mardig” from the Mystery collection. I love how it changes colour from purple to blue to green. The binding was sewn on with Aurifil #2370 … sandstone that blends in nicely!!!

Make sure you visit Michelle @ Creative Blonde today. She is my blog hop partner and is using the same fabrics! I’m eager to see her Create for a Cause quilt!

There are 2 Give-aways!

Island Batik is offering a 10″stack or a 2.5″ strip set of Mystery. There are 20 different fabric designs.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I’m offering Ten 10″ squares of Mystery to a blog follower that lives in Canada.

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

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

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting! 
Gail 

Moving Along in January

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Last week I said that the Winnie the Pooh quilt needed some more quilting, specifically Winnie, Eeyore and the moon. A loving friend told me that if I left it, they would pop. So, I’m going with her advice and am considering this a UFO finish! That made for a super quick finish!!! This will be another donation quilt for the guild. It was a fun quilt to quilt. There is Hobbs 80/20 batting in it. It was quilted with CanSew beige thread.

Another Holiday Seclusion Quilt

Somehow, I missed putting Valda’s quilt on my blog last week. It’s a beauty!!! You can see all the other ones from my guild HERE.

Design Wall

Piecing:

#1 I’m still working on the SAHRR but can’t show you any current pictures. Want to know more about the SAHRR? check it out HERE. We started the reveal of our centre blocks last week. See my centre block and the centre blocks that many others have made HERE! Tomorrow, we’re showing the 2nd round! Be sure to check out all of the bloggers that are co-hosting with me! We’re taking turns hosting and having a linky party. It’s Emily’s turn this week!… here’s the list:

#2 The fabric is stilled pulled for the RSC21 Table Scraps Challenge table runner. I have an idea of what I’m making, but I haven’t gotten any further than that!!

#3 The February Island Batik challenge is up on my design wall. I’m using some wonderful fabrics and they are all so pretty!!!

#4 Moorewood Mystery : Half of Block A are pieced. I’m doing them as leaders and enders … so they will be done before the next clue comes out on Feb 4.

Quilting: 

Nothing being quilted at the moment …

Stash Report

I

Winnie the Pooh was 2 yards of fabric

  • Fabric Used this week      2  yards
  • Fabric Used this year:        5 yards
  • Fabric Bought this week:  0  yards
  • Fabric Added this year:      9 yards  (my husbands amounts as well)
  • Net Fabric used                   – 4 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 –  24 / 24
  • Percentage = 100 % 

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.”

Last week:

Even with sewing a LOT this past week, I didn’t get much on my list completed. But I’m fine with what I DID get done!!

  1. Finish current round of Stay at Home Round Robin √   done
  2. Finish next round of Stay at Home Round Robin partially done
  3. Piece Moorewood Mystery Block A partially done
  4. Make the PINK table topper not done
  5. Start cutting for February’s Island Batik Challenge! √   done
  6. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes   not done !!! I have been doing SEW well with this – except for this week!! And this week I was Zoom sewing with other Island Batik ambassadors and we showed our studios … mine was a total mess!

This week’s list:

  1. Finish piecing the current round of Stay at Home Round Robin
  2. Start on the next round of Stay at Home Round Robin
  3. Finish Piecing Moorewood Mystery Block A
  4. Make the PINK table topper
  5. Web the top for February’s Island Batik Challenge!
  6. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes

OK … the Winnie the Pooh quilt was a quick finish this week. All it took was a decision! (grin)

I KNOW that not all my UFOs will be finished this quickly. But it is nice to have 3 considered done!

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

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Linking to:

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 →

Island Batik Placemat Challenge

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January’s Island Batik challenge is to make a set of placemats. My boxes from Island Batik had not arrived when I started to make these. I began by pulling out some blue stashbuilder bundles that I received last year. Stashbuilder bundles are 5″ wide by width of fabric. And the white with dots is a fabric from the Faded Blue Jeans collection. Blue is my favourite colour, so these placemats will definitely be loved and used!

Last fall, I was able to purchase “Wing Clipper” (for making flying geese) at a quilt store in Edmonton. The Wing Clipper is a Studio 180 (Deb Tucker Designs. I thought this would be the perfect time to try it out. The stashbuilder strips are 5″ wide, so that limited the size I could make the flying geese. They ended up 1 ½” x 3″ finished in the table runner.

I LOVED using the Wing Clipper!!! Each and EVERY flying geese came out PERFECT!!! Or should I say “each flying goose?”) I’d say for this project alone, it was well worth the money!!! (And you all know that I’m NOT a perfect quilter!!!)

I added 2″ strips of fabric to each side of the flying geese … and these are the placemats!

They can be placed with the geese heading up or heading down … which way do you like best? The picture below, taken on my design wall shows the true colour, better than the picture of them on my table (above.)

They are 12.5″ x 18.5″. Hobbs Thermore was used for the batting. It was quilted with Aurifil #1128 and the binding attached with Aurifil #2311, using Schmetz microtex Chrome 70/10. Why 70/10?? Batik is tightly woven and sometimes the larger gauge needles struggle with sewing batik fabric. My machine tech told me to use a smaller needle. SEW … I did and I was very happy!

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 

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January Stitchin’

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I’ve been working on a few things … A few Zoom quilting days keep me focused! And steadily sewing away!


Design Wall

Piecing:

I’m still working on the SAHRR but can’t show you any pictures. Want to know more about the SAHRR check it out HERE. We start the reveal of our centre blocks tomorrow. So make sure you return and visit each of the SAHRR co-hosts!

AND … Hearts on Fire quilt just needs borders and the RSC21 Rainbow Scrap Challenge table runner needs to have a fabric pull!

Quilting: 

January Island Batik project is almost done! Pictures to follow later in the week!

A Winnie the Pooh panel is in the process of being quilted. I thought I was done with the quilting – but there’s a few areas that need something.

Holiday Seclusion #1 Mystery was finished this week:

Continue reading →

PHD in 2020: End Results

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Here’s the list of participants in PHD in 2020 … and links to their blog posts where they tell about their success …

There may be more successful participants, but these are the ones I know about! Didn’t they all do a fantastic job! It’s not easy getting your PHD … especially in Quilting! There are so many new designs, patterns, techniques … the list goes on … and we want to try them ALL!!!

Anyhow … visit these awesome quilters and congratulate them!

My First UFO finish of 2021

This was my 2 colour quilt for the Seclusion Holiday Mystery. I finished the binding while Zoom sewing with my sister and cousins on Sunday! It’s nice to have one finished so early in the year!

This quilt measures 42″ square. It is quilted with a light pink Aurifil thread. The fabric is Island Batik. The peach/pink fabric I bought years ago and the white is Island Batik solid. It is backed with the peach/pink fabric. There is no point in showing you the back because the quilting does not show at all.

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Linking to:

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Holiday Seclusion Mystery Clue # 6

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Now I know you are curious as to what Clue #6 could be. You have the top together and the borders on, right?

Now … we don’t want to add this little quilt to our UFO list, do we? SEW …

Part 1

Make your label

Part 2

Layer or sandwich the quilt. The 2 colour quilt has Hobbs Fusible 80/20 batting. I’m loving the batting. There is absolutely NO shifting!

Part 3

Quilt as Desired. Oh – I literally HATE it when the directions say that! I have to show you what I have done … And the quilting was totally inspired by Dorie Hruska’s book “Making Connections.” This book can be found at Dorie’s website: Forever Quilting! And I HIGHLY recommend this book!!!!

And a close up of the quilting:

Part 4: Confession #1

Bind the Quilt. OK … this 2 colour quilt is not bound … hopefully that will happen early in the new year!

Part 5: Confession #2

My scrappy version of the Holiday Seclusion Mystery does not even have it’s borders on. I decided to make it bigger. So this will be a UFO going into 2021!

Here it is without it’s borders.

Part 6

Add either your finished top or your finished quilt to the linky party: You have 3 weeks to finish your quilt and post a picture!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter
https://fresh.inlinkz.com/js/widget/load.js?id=a3325ea8d75a7b860d96

   Want another idea?

One of my pattern testers, Heather, took this pattern and she not only made it bigger, but she made it into a 3 colour quilt! Isn’t it fun? I love the lime green!

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Disclaimer … the Island Batik fabrics (for my quilts) were provided by Island Batik and the fusible batting was from Hobbs.

Medallion Quilt

/ quiltinggail / 23 Comments

The December Island Batik challenge is to make a medallion quilt. The instructions said “A medallion quilt is all about a center block and borders.” Easy peasy … right?

So, I went to EQ and designed a great medallion quilt using “Sundance” fabric collection (a 10″ stack), as well as “Marble Blackberry-BE” and “Copper” that I received as a companion fabrics. Aren’t these fabrics great? (And, as the quilt progressed several other fabrics were incorporated from other fabric lines).

The EQ pattern I designed had paper pieced stars and I started out with a bang. I made all of the paper pieced stars and then promptly decided to change up the design and put the centre block on point. I felt that it would be shown off better if I put it on point and framed it with my favourite dark fabric in the pack.

From there on, the measurements did not fit at all. And I had to do a lot of fudging. The quilt I ended up making is formally called “Sundance Fudge.”

I came across a tutorial from Deb Tucker with migrating geese. Oh … those look like fun and so, after figuring out that the width, with a bit of a border would work … I went to town and made them. They were a LOT of fun to make. However, I needed more light background and I used “121935500” from the Santa Fe collection.

The final pieced border was also fun to make. I’d used up all of the lighter fabrics for the Paper Pieced stars and migrating geese … so I used “Custard,” a neutral. The yellowish hue was perfect for this quilt!

Making the back

I took the copper fabric that I had left over and sliced it diagonally. Then I placed it over the quilt, leaving about 3″ beyond the edges of the quilt. I like that extra amount for handling the quilt on my domestic sewing machine. Next, the distance between the 2 copper pieces was measured (27″) and I cut a length of Marble Blackberry to form the stripe in the middle. Joined the 2 copper triangles to the middle stripe and called it “done” for the back.

Sorry, I didn’t take a picture of the back until after it was quilted. Here’s a picture of the finished back … taken outside so that you can see the front peeking through …

The Batting

I received a queen-sized fusible 80/20 bag of batting in my July Island Batik box. I took it out of the package and needed to let it “breathe” for 24 hours. No, putting it in the drier to fluff it up, no ironing to make the crinkles disappear. It was wound very tightly in the bag and I needed to gently pull it apart.

To read more about Hobbs fusible batting visit the Hobbs website HERE. (Picture was taken from the Hobbs website).

I layered the quilt back, the batting and the top on a queen size bed. The batting was cut about 1/4″ larger than the quilt top. When I pressed the layers together, I was very careful to avoid the edges. It adhered nicely. The back didn’t adhere very well, so I turned the sandwich over and ironed from the back. It was perfect! I loved how the fusible batting did not shift at all! No wrinkles in the back. Loved it!

The Quilting

Here’s a picture of the centre star – from the back … (I’m showing you the back because the quilting shows up much better on the Marble Blackberry!)

Here’s a picture of the centre star – from the front…

And the quilting on the back of the meandering geese and the squares from the outside border. As you can see, the quilting has a lot of stippling … (the colour is off in this picture … the yellow is actually the copper fabric … true colour above!)

The Quilt

Now that you’ve seen the back and close-ups of the quilting, here’s the quilt:

Quilt statistics:

  • size 54″ x 54″
  • Hobbs 80/20 fusible batting
  • Quilted with Aurifil #5021
  • Schmetz needle: Microtex Chrome 80/12

Thank You!

Disclaimer: This quilt would not have been possible without Island Batik and the wonderful co-sponsors.

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

A Funky Friend Finish on Friday …

/ quiltinggail / 34 Comments

Try saying “A Funky Friend Finish on Friday” three times fast and then one more time faster! Actually, don’t bother … your tongue will likely not get as twisted as mine.

But yes, I do have a finish … The pattern is “Ellie the Elephant” from Funky Friends Factory … isn’t she cute?

She was made with fabric from the “Deco Revival” Island Batik fabric collection. She was easy to make as the Funky Friends patterns are excellent!

Ellie will be residing my my sewing room. She is not fit for young children because I used button eyes. However, if you use the appropriate eyes, Ellie would be fine with the littles. (one day I will find the appropriate eyes for my stuffies!)

Here is Ellie, posing in front of the elephant quilt that I made. You can see more about this quilt on the post “Thread Painting with Aurifil.”

I just realized that I must LOVE the Deco Revival fabric collection: I’ve used in in 3 other projects … all that I LOVE. See HERE and HERE and HERE.

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

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Linking to:

Some things are not meant to be.

/ quiltinggail / 14 Comments

Sometimes things don’t work out.

Last week I said I was going to work on an “After Quilt.” Well, I did, I was trying to turn a piece into a cute stuffed animal. It was a piece of fabric that I glued hearts and teardrops on. Then I free-motioned them down. My plan was to make a cute elephant stuffy. When I sewed a couple of pieces together, it became obvious that it wasn’t going to work. The hearts and teardrops were sticking up and looked ugly. It did not work out … it couldn’t be fixed … (and some of my virtual retreat buddies agreed with me) … so into the trash it went. GASP!!!! I don’t do that! But there was no saving this one! So it died. But have no fear, it’s not going to the landfill! The useless fabric was used in stuffing another stuffy – that I will show you soon.

What’s in the Future?

Yup, I have some plans …

Mystery Quilt: Between December 26 and 31, I plan to have a mystery quilt … right here on the blog. It’ll be a smallish quilt (43″ x 43″) and it’ll be easy to have at least the top done before 2021 becomes a reality! I’ll give the fabric requirements in the near future.

Stay at Home Round Robin: Some blogging friends and I will be doing this, starting in January. More information to come.

I can show you!

This is the mystery quilt that we did at the guild! I was the “lead” for the quilt, so I HAD to make it ahead of time. But, until the guild was given the solution, I couldn’t show you. All of the fabrics were from my stash.

This is not my pattern design: it is from a book. We have permission from the author to use the patterns for the guild. If you are interested in the name of the book – contact me and I’ll tell you. I won’t say the name of the book here because I plan to do more mystery quilts for the guild from the book. And I want it to be a mystery for them!!!

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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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Ruler dislike!

/ quiltinggail / 34 Comments

I have the cutest ruler by Omnigrid. It’s 4″ x 8″ and I’ve had it for simply AGES. I went to trim some squares, using the 45o angle to centre the half square triangle. It just wasn’t working for me. Then I looked at the ruler … the 45o line ends up 1/4″ from the corner. Now, if I were to use this ruler, I would have to move it 4 times to get it correct. Not happening.

I pulled out my 6″ x 12″ Olfa ruler and look where the 45o angle is … right in the corner. I’m a much happier quilter!

I’ve looked at my other rulers, including a 2.5″ and 6.5″ Omnigrid square rulers, and the 45o ends in the corners! Is it me, or is this weird?

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