Hobbs Batting

On The Road Again Blog Hop May

/ quiltinggail / 30 Comments

Carol, from Just let me Quilt, is hosting “On the Road Again” blog hop. Here’s what she had to say about the blog hop:

Challenge: May starts the summer of travel so where would you like to go?
Make something showing transportation vehicles (cars, planes, buses, etc.), summer fun, or a place you’d like to travel to.

I was debating and mulling over what to do for this challenge. I’d have one excellent idea, and then a day later, I’d throw it out. Another idea, and another day and ‘nope’ it’s not going to work. Silly cars?? planes?? Sailboats?? Mountains?? the beach?? SIGH!!! Such a fun theme, how can it be so difficult?

THEN … along came a post from Sew Can She … and I knew it was perfect for what I wanted! Rockets and Stars!! You can find the pattern HERE.

Now, I do not have any dreams to be in a rocket or to circle the earth or to go to the space station. Nope, not a single one. But, I’m almost 100% positive that the little boy that gets this quilt will at some time, dream of being an astronaut!

I made a few changes to the original pattern. I decided to do the stars in a different colour than the rocket blasts and I added a strip of sashing between the rows. And, when I was quilting it, I wish I had added one at the top and bottom as well.

Here’s a close-up picture of the quilting and a picture of the back:

Quilt Stats:

  • Pattern: Starship by SewCanShe
  • Size: 45″ x 48″.
  • Fabrics: Island Batik
    • Rockets: Slate
    • rocket blasts: an unknown red IB that I bought …
    • Background: BE 34-E1
    • Stars: Meadow Grass Yellow from the Wild Blooms collection
  • Thread: Aurifil #2600 Dove Grey (piecing and quilting)
  • Batting: Heirloom Hobbs 80/20
  • Quilting: Silly Moon Rocket & Twinkle (B) and free motion

Bloggers

Here’s a list of all the bloggers that are participating in “On the Road Again” blog hop:

MAY 20

MAY 21

MAY 22

MAY 23

Don’t Forget

Here is my Affiliate link: https://glnk.io/mzmmj/quiltinggail If you order over $50 from Missouri Star, you will get 20% off your order and I will receive a small commission. Thank you for your support!

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Linking to:  

Monday Moments: May 20

/ quiltinggail / 10 Comments

An online friend sent me this picture! I love taking vitamins and these look so good! I think I’ll switch to this brand!

She also said, “I think it’s great if you’re looking for colour combos.” Ioleen has lots of IG posts and does very well with colour … you can follow her @ioleen.kimmel

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!

  • Jan – Apr:  124 / 134 days
  • May 1 – 19: 18/ 19 days
  • Total: 114 / 125 91%

Design Wall Mondays

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

Piecing projects:

  • Prisms Blog Hop (a secret for now!)
  • Island Batik June project using a 10″ stack of Deb Tucker’s fabric line, Squiggles, Dots and Lines and the Tucker Trimmer ruler.
  • St Paddy’s Quilt. A sew-along by Denise of A Quiltery. see (HERE).
  • Island Batik FW Catalogue quilt using a brand new line: Petal Poetry

Quilting: to do

  • On the Road Again, blog hop
  • Canuck Quilter: Mystery Project. I’m using a 10″ stack of Island Batik “Constellations” and the light fabric is “Fondant.” Borders are on … need to pick a backing ….
  • Quilting “Gardenia“
  • Lone Star Left-overs (you can see details of the Lone Star HERE). I need to figure out the backing and then quilt it.

Sunday Stash

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

I finished the May Island Batik challenge: this lovely tree skirt. It used 10 yards of fabric. You can read all about it HERE.

  • Fabric Used in the last week:   10 yards
  • Fabric Used in 2023:     72.5 yards  from non-IB: 31.5
  • Fabric Added this week: 0 yards
  • Fabric Added this year:     21.5 yards 
  • Net Fabric used:              51 yards

To Do

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

I have a bit of progress on many things … but nothing completed …

To Do from the last report:

  1. Finish Quilting “Gardenia“ not done
  2. Make on “On the Road Again” block hop project – it’s due on the 22nd! in progress It’s almost done!
  3. Finish Prisms blog hop project in progress
  4. Finish IB June project in progress
  5. Finish IB FW Catalogue project in progress
  6. Sandwich and Quilt Lone Star Left-overs from Pin Dot Floral lone star not done.
  7. Sandwich and Quilt Canuck Quilter Mystery Quilt in progress
  8. Pull fabric for Luminous Layers. See HERE. not done.
  9. Keep working on St Paddy’s quilt HERE in progress
  10. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! √   DONE
  11. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes. √   DONE. 

To Do for next week: I know I’m dreaming, but this is my list for the next week!

  1. Finish Quilting “Gardenia“
  2. Finish “On the Road Again” block hop project
  3. Finish Prisms blog hop project
  4. Finish IB June project
  5. Finish IB FW Catalogue project
  6. Sandwich and Quilt Lone Star Left-overs from Pin Dot Floral lone star
  7. Sandwich and Quilt Canuck Quilter Mystery Quilt
  8. Pull fabric for Luminous Layers. See HERE.
  9. Keep working on St Paddy’s quilt HERE
  10. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! 
  11. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes.

Upcoming Blog Hops

Island Batik Blog Hop: Week 3

For the second giveaway there are two Fat Quarter bundles of complete 20-SKU collections by Kathy Engle that will be shown off this week – The Grove and Prisms!

Go to the Island Batik Blog (HERE) and follow the Rafflecopter prompts for your opportunity to win!

May 20:

May 21:

May 22:

May 23:

On the Road Again Blog Hop

Here is the Blog Hop Schedule for this week:

MAY 20

MAY 21

MAY 22

MAY 23

Don’t Forget

Here is my Affiliate link: https://glnk.io/mzmmj/quiltinggail If you order over $50 from Missouri Star, you will get 20% off your order and I will receive a small commission. Thank you for your support!

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting! 
Gail 

Linking to:  

IB MAY Challenge: Paper Pieced Celebrations

/ quiltinggail / 38 Comments

Here’s what Island Batik had to say about this month’s challenge!

Technique: Paper-piecing
Theme: Holidays and celebrations
Design a paper-pieced quilt that celebrates the spirit of a holiday of your choice, transforming fabric into a visual ode to joy and festivity! We encourage you to get inspired by your assigned Winter ‘23 collection and explore the world of paper piecing. The precision, ease of use, and design flexibility of paper pieced patterns have made them a favored choice among many quilters. We can’t wait to see your stunning paper-pieced masterpieces that capture attention!

My Surprise Package contained “Peppermint Sprinkles.”  This collection was designed by Kathy Engle for Heidi Pridemore of the Whimsical Workshop. Look at those wintery blues and reds! Such a fun line!

With this beautiful fabric collection, it was an obvious choice, to me, for the celebration to be Christmas!

The guidelines were to make a Lap size quilt or larger. I found this tree skirt pattern by Stacey Day: Frosted Pines Tree Skirt. Stacy is from the lower mainland and belongs to the Modern Quilt Guild. (And yes, it’s a FREE pattern)

Anyhow, I knew that it would be perfect with my fabric collection. But, would a 50″ circle tree skirt be adequate to meet the size requirements of a lap quilt? I wrote to Elizabeth (one of our leaders) and asked. She said it would be stretching the guidelines, but thought the fabric was perfect for the tree skirt.

I paper piece without sewing on the paper. I used to do this with regular computer paper and it worked quite well. When talking with a friend via Zoom, she said to try using Freezer Paper and do the exact same thing. The advantage of the Freezer Paper is that the fabric sticks to it and you don’t need to use as many pins. I bought some Freezer Paper and it works great! The Oliso iron is perfect for this!

One of the advantages of paper piecing with this method is that you can use a regular stitch length and can chain piece it. Another advantage is that with no sewing through paper, the needle does not dull as quickly. I still used a Schmetz needle and it lasted for the whole project.

Yes, you’ll see a few pins in my pieces. These pieces are SMALL and they needed just a little help to stay in place.

A few ‘in progess’ pictures! The tree top ornaments, organization of the trees, the Aurifil threads I used and a final pressing with my Oliso iron.

It was fun doing the photo shoot!! Tree skirts do not hang well on the clothesline, so I resorted to placing it on the bricks in the back yard.

We are dog-sitting our ‘grand-dog,’ Daphne, and as soon as I put the tree skirt on the ground, she was on it!!! “Thanks for the comfy quilt, G’ma! It’s nice here in the sun!”

“But why did you have to put something in the middle? That is a poor excuse for a tree!“

“OK … I’ll let the plant stay!”

Of course, in May, there are no Christmas tree displays, and this small tree across the street was the closest I could get to a Christmas tree.

I’m not sure why it didn’t come to a complete circle … I know the piecing was correct and my 1/4″ is bang on … but since it’s a tree skirt, I’m not going to worry about it! That open V can go to the back of the tree. On 2nd thought, perhaps if I had left it as a circle when I went to quilt it, it might have remained a circle? I’ll try that next time!

Quilt Stats:

  • Size: 50″ round
  • Hobbs Batting 80/20 is the batting on the inside!
  • Aurifil Thread:
    • Piecing and Quilting: #2021 – Natural White
    • Binding: #1103 – Burgundy
  • Quilting: on my domestic machine
    • Free Motion swirls on the background
    • Outline the trees, using Silly Moon’s Rocket ruler

Peppermint Sprinkles can be found at many quilt stores, but the one closest to me is Creekside Quilts in Oregon. They are an online shop. Also Villa Rosa Designs in California will be carrying it.

Visit my friend, Emily, at The Darling Dogwood to see what she made! She used the same collection, Peppermint Sprinkles! I haven’t seen it, but I heard a rumour that it’s gonna be super cute!

You Could Win …

Island Batik Blog Hop: Week 2

For the second giveaway there are two Fat Quarter bundles of complete 20-SKU collections by Kathy Engle that will be shown off this week – Oasis and Peppermint Sprinkles!

Go to the Island Batik Blog (HERE) and follow the Rafflecopter prompts for your opportunity to win!

This week’s blog hop!

May 13:

May 14:

May 15:

May 16:

Thank you!

A huge Thank You to Island Batik and industry partners that provided the fabric and sewing supplies for free.

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

Don’t Forget

Here is my Affiliate link: https://glnk.io/mzmmj/quiltinggail If you order over $50 from Missouri Star, you will get 20% off your order and I will receive a small commission. Thank you for your support!

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Linking to:  

Fall Mystery Quilts

/ quiltinggail / 10 Comments

Did you do the Fall Mystery quilt that was posted here on my blog? Several local people did the mystery and I got to see some of them in person at a guild meeting …

Here’s Patti’s, Patricia’s, & Stella’s

Below is Lynne who used the extra blocks to make another quilt! She donated both of these quilts.

At the Boundary Bay Quilt show, I spotted 10 hanging around the venue. If I missed yours, please accept my apology!

I had been under the impression that they would all be grouped together so people could see the variation that fabric choices make. (Obviously, I was mistaken) At any rate, here they are … no two are alike! I’m in AWE at how the different fabrics make such a different looking quilt!

The last 2 quilts are mine. The last one was made with Island Batik’s “Cheers” fabric collection. Hobbs batting is in the middle and Aurifil thread was used to piece and quilt it! All sewn on either my Feather weight or my domestic Janome (M7).

Please note: The clues to the Fall Mystery, using a Layer Cake, or a 10″ stack, will be removed at the end of May.

Something NEW!

Tomorrow, May 10, Jenny’s new tool box will be available for pre-order! The MSQC home page will be filled with all the information. Unfortunately, the kit is not coupon eligible for a 20% discount, but if you purchase it and use my Affiliate link: https://glnk.io/mzmmj/quiltinggail , I will still make a small commission.

Details of the Tool Box: This aqua metal toolbox is embossed with the Missouri Star logo and comes with Quilt Town floral fabric-lined inserts that easily lift out so you can store additional notions. The inside of the toolbox lid is magnetic to hold pins, needles, and other small notions. Elastic straps are also included to hold needle packs or a small template, and there’s extra room underneath the inserts for additional supplies. Jenny’s Signature Series Tools are made from German-grade surgical stainless steel and come beautifully etched with Missouri Star logos.  The actual kits will start shipping sometime in August.

Here is my Affiliate link: https://glnk.io/mzmmj/quiltinggail  If you order over $50 from Missouri Star, (aside from this Tool Box), you will get 20% off your order and I will receive a small commission. Thank you for your support!

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting! 
Gail 

Linking to:  

Monday Moments: May 6

/ quiltinggail / 14 Comments

This doesn’t happen to me anymore … except when it’s a box that I haven’t opened for a LONG time! LOL!!!

The Quilt Show

I was vending for Essem Textiles at the quilt show and didn’t have a lot of opportunity to look at the quilts! But what I saw was pretty fantastic! Here are the quilts that I entered in the show:

All of the quilts above, except one, used Island Batik fabric. They all used Hobbs batting and Aurifil thread. All piecing and quilting was done on either my featherweight or my domestic sewing machine.

I will show some more quilts from the show in another post.

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!

  • Jan – Apr:  110 / 120 days
  • May 1 – 5: 4 / 5 days
  • Total: 114 / 125 91%

Design Wall Mondays

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

Piecing projects:

  • Prisms Blog Hop (a secret for now!)
  • Island Batik June project using a 10″ stack of Deb Tucker’s fabric line, Squiggles, Dots and Lines and the Tucker Trimmer ruler.
  • St Paddy’s Quilt. A sew-along by Denise of A Quiltery. see (HERE).

Next in line for Piecing:

  • On the Road Again, blog hop
  • Island Batik FW Catalogue quilt using a brand new line: Petal Poetry

Quilting: to do

  • Canuck Quilter: Mystery Project. I’m using a 10″ stack of Island Batik “Constellations” and the light fabric is “Fondant.” Borders are on … need to pick a backing ….
  • Quilting “Gardenia“
  • Lone Star Left-overs (you can see details of the Lone Star HERE). I need to figure out the backing and then quilt it.

Sunday Stash

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

My son’s girlfriend fell in love with one of the quilts at the quilt show, so I did buy some fabric to make a quilt for them. But I won’t show it until after it’s made and gifted.

  • Fabric Used in the last week:   0 yards
  • Fabric Used in 2023:     62.5 yards  from non-IB: 29
  • Fabric Added this week: 1.5 yards
  • Fabric Added this year:     21.5 yards 
  • Net Fabric used:              41 yards

To Do

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

I have a bit of progress on many things … but nothing completed …

To Do from the last report:

  1. Finish Quilting “Gardenia“ not done
  2. Make a decision on “On the Road Again” block hop project in progress. Decision made, but not started yet.
  3. Sandwich and Quilt Lone Star Left-overs from Pin Dot Floral lone star not done
  4. Catch up on Canuck Quilter Mystery Quilt √   DONE.
  5. Pull fabric for Luminous Layers. See HERE. not done
  6. Work on May IB project: Holiday Paper Piecing √   DONE
  7. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! √   DONE
  8. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes. √   DONE. 

To Do for next week:

  1. Finish Quilting “Gardenia“
  2. Work on “On the Road Again” block hop project
  3. Sandwich and Quilt Lone Star Left-overs from Pin Dot Floral lone star
  4. Sandwich and Quilt Canuck Quilter Mystery Quilt
  5. Pull fabric for Luminous Layers. See HERE.
  6. Keep working on St Paddy’s quilt HERE
  7. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! 
  8. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes.

Upcoming Blog Hops

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting! 
Gail 

Linking to:  

Hanging Sleeves

/ quiltinggail / 18 Comments

If you were to ask me what my LEAST favourite part of quilting is, it would be Hanging Sleeves. They are not something I enjoy doing! But sometimes, it is necessary.

I belong to the Boundary Bay Quilt Guild and we have a quilt show coming up next weekend (May 4 & 5). Of course, I entered several quilts and each of them needs to have a hanging sleeve.

Here’s a partial picture of the quilt show’s raffle quilt. It’s a beauty!! You can buy tickets at the show.

About Hanging Sleeves

If you’ve been following me for very long, you’ll know that I highly dislike hand sewing. In fact, after about 10 minutes, my hands are so sore, it’s ridiculous! So my hanging sleeves are put on by machine, or pins.

I know that many of my friends already have their sleeves on and the quilts bagged and ready to go. Not me!! Why do it ahead of time when I can feel under pressure and get them done without delay?

An online friend of mine, Kathleen McMusing had a tutorial YEARS ago for using a blind hem for putting on hanging sleeves. On the 22nd of each month she has a blog post called “Tips and Tutorials.” This past week, she reposted about the hanging sleeve technique using a blind hem. See HERE. She has a plethora of tips and tutorials … so while you’re there, you might want to grab a cup of coffee or tea and spend some time on her site!

The following picture shows me using the Blind Hem stitch to add the hanging sleeve. For the 2nd or bottom row of stitching, I switched to the navy thread so it wouldn’t show on the front. My Oliso iron is awesome for pressing!!! (I received it as part of being an Island Batik Ambassador!)

I used the lint roller to get all the excess lint off the quilt. We are to put a label with our names and phone numbers on the quilt. I’ve just written it on the hanging sleeve. A small piece of paper will have the name of the quilt attached, just below the sleeve.

I tend to be thrifty with fabric, so I re-use the hanging sleeves! Sometimes, they are too long and I just fold them up on the ends. The quilt is going to be hanging and only the people hanging the quilts will see that it’s folded over. Well, I guess you now know as well!

Two done, 4 to go!

All but one of the quilts was made with Island Batik fabrics. They all have Hobbs batting and use Aurifil thread for piecing and most of the quilting.

I will be at the show each day, all day … you can find me vending at Essem Textile’s booth. Stop by to say “hi.”

A Finish!

I did have a finish this week. I showed it on my April Showers Blog Hop post. You can read about it HERE.

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Linking to:  

April Showers: Blog Hop

/ quiltinggail / 34 Comments

  

Joan, from MooseStashQuilting is the host/organizer for this hop and here’s what she has to say about it:

Challenge: Late snow showers, rain showers, baby showers, wedding showers. What do you like to shower everyone with?

I thought of lots of things … a cute baby quilt with umbrellas, spring flowers, showering people with love … so many ideas. It was hard to decide. Then I took a peek into my ‘child’ or ‘baby’ quilt bin and I saw these Dr. Seuss fabrics. Perfect for a baby shower gift!

I pieced them together and thought “what in the world have I done?” So, instead of taking it apart and adding some sashing between all the main blocks, I decided to use black thread and make a bit of a ‘thread’ sashing to break it up. It was fun to use different stitches and it worked!

Here is the finished quilt:

Quilt Stats:

  • Size: 34″ x 39″
  • Fabric: from a Dr. Seuss panel and scraps of Dr. Seuss fabric
  • Batting: Hobbs 80/20
  • Quilting:
    • Black: Aurifil #2692
    • White: Aurifil #2024

I don’t have a baby shower to go to in the near future, so this quilt will. be donated to the quilt guild. Make sure to visit all of the other blog participants and see what they made!

Monday April 22

Tuesday April 23

Wednesday April 24

Thursday April 25

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Friday – no finishes

/ quiltinggail / 18 Comments

Well, that is correct!! I have NO new finishes … but I’m plugging along at several projects … and attempting to get ready for a retreat!

My Lone-star Left-overs is now a flimsy (1st pic). It’s a sort-of finish. I do all my own quilting on my domestic machine, so I don’t consider flimsies as a finish. It’ll be done when I get a round-to-it! The 2nd picture is the Fall Mystery Quilt where I used Island Batik’s “Cheers” fabric collection. And, yes, I’m using Silly Moon‘s Kite ruler … as well as the smallest Drop ruler (not shown).

I Need A Round Tuit

The above poem and picture comes from this site: https://www.quantumenterprises.co.uk/roundtuit/traditional-round-tuits.htm

I’m sure that I had a wooden Round TUIT years ago … but I have no idea what happened to it! LOL!!!

Favourite Finish of the Month

Yvonne from Quilting Jetgirl hosts a Favourite Finish of the Month Link Party. Oh, why is it SOOOO hard for me to choose just ONE favourite finish? Especially this month because I have so many that I LOVE.

However, I think that my SAHRR (Stay At Home Round Robin) is my absolute fav of the above quilts! You can read more about this quilt HERE. I used Island Batik fabrics, Hobbs Heirloom 80/20 batting.

I was Featured!

Both Andree and Jennifer featured my quilt from last week. This was from the Give It a Whirl blog hop. You can read more about it HERE.

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting! 
Gail 

Linking to:  

Sunday Summary: March 24

/ quiltinggail / 14 Comments

This is so true!!!

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!

I had some wonderful company this past few weeks and missed one day of sewing! Oh, but it was a ton of fun catching up!!

  • Jan – Feb: 1-28: 51 / 60 days
  • Mar 1 – 24: 23 / 24 days
  • Total: 74 / 84 88%

Design Wall Mondays

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

Piecing projects:

  • Island Batik May project.
  • April Showers: blog hop
  • Canuck Quilter: Mystery Project. I’m using a 10″ stack of Island Batik “Constellations” and the light fabric is “Fondant.” Visit Canuck Quilter HERE and shoot her an email if you want to join in the fun!
  • Piecing the Lone Star Left-overs (you can see details of the Lone Star HERE)

Here’s the start of the clues for Canuck Quilter’s 2 colour mystery.

And some of the Lone Star Left-overs up on the design wall

Quilting:

  • 2023 Fall Mystery Quilt. I have started quilting this!
  • Finish Quilting “Gardenia“

Sunday Stash

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

These 3 quilts were posted this past week. The purple/blue one was for the Villa Rosa blog hop (see THIS POST), the middle one is from the SAHRR ’24 (see HERE) and the 3rd one is Pinwheels for the Give it a Whirl blog hop (see THIS POST).

  • Fabric Used in the past 2 weeks:   12 yards
  • Fabric Used in 2023:     57 yards  from non-IB: 25
  • Fabric Added this week: 0 yards
  • Fabric Added this year:     8 yards 
  • Net Fabric used:              49 yards

To Do

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

To Do from the last report:

  1. Quilt and Bind “2023 Fall Mystery Quilt” in progress.
  2. Finish Quilting “Gardenia“ not done
  3. Finish Fast and More Fun: blog hop project. √   DONE
  4. Finish Give it a Whirl: blog hop project. √   DONE
  5. Work on IB April project in progress.
  6. Make a decision on April Showers: blog hop project √   DONE decision made!
  7. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! √   DONE
  8. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes. √   DONE. 

To Do for next week:

  1. Finish quilting “2023 Fall Mystery Quilt”
  2. Finish Quilting “Gardenia“
  3. Finish IB April project
  4. Finish piecing Lone Star Left-overs from Pin Dot Floral lone star
  5. Work on Canuck Quilter Mystery Quilt
  6. Start April Showers: blog hop project
  7. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! 
  8. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes.

Upcoming Blog Hops

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting! 
Gail 

Linking to:  

Give it a Whirl Blog Hop

/ quiltinggail / 58 Comments

Carol from Just Let Me Quilt is the organizer and host for this Whirly Blog Hop.

Here’s what she had to say:

Challenge: Life can send us spinning sometimes, so let’s put those spins and whirls to good use in a quilt. Make something with pinwheel blocks, circle quilting, or whirly gigs. Try not to whirl out of control!

I went to EQ8 to figure out how many 8″ pinwheels, using 4″ HST, I would need for a decent size baby quilt. Here’s what I came up with: 15 pinwheel blocks and (15) 8 1/2″ unfinished squares. 

Using Island Batik’s Sunny Meadow collection and solid white, I used the 8″ cube die to cut all of the triangles for the half square triangles. The cutting was done quickly, very quickly! I pieced it together and then had fun quilting! And yes, I just might have ‘whirled out of control‘ in the quilting. But I enjoyed every single minute of it!

Here are some close ups of the quilting:

Quilt Stats:

  • Size: 40″ x 48″
  • Hobbs 80/20 inside
  • Aurifil Thread:
    • Piecing: #2600 Dove Grey
    • Quilting: #2835 Medium Mint

At the moment, I’m debating whether to donate it or keep it for a special baby that I know nothing about … he or she may not even be conceived at this time. Time will tell.

The Blog Hoppers

Make sure you visit the following bloggers to see their “Give it a Whirl” quilts!

MARCH 18

MARCH 19

MARCH 20

MARCH 21

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Linking to:  

SAHRR 2024: The Parade!

/ quiltinggail / 32 Comments

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

Here is my finished SAHRR … all quilted and bound.

Quilt Stats:

  • Size: 56″ x 72″
  • Fabric: Island Batik
  • Hobbs Batting: Heirloom 80/20

You can read about the progress of my SAHRR on these POSTS:

And close ups of the quilting and you can see that I quilted right over the labels:

Other Participants

These are the SAHRR in progress by those who do not blog or have IG. 

Stella, Regina, Heather F., Rosie, Kathy R., Jacomina, Kathleen, Judy B., Robin B.

Link Party

Link your SAHRR (finished or flimsy) at the linky party. This will be open until March 24 at 11 PM (Pacific Time). After that, the hosts and I will be choosing the winners. Don’t forget to link up!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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

We have Sponsors!

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

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

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Fast and More Fun Blog Hop

/ quiltinggail / 187 Comments

I was intrigued when I heard about this blog hop. It’s organized by Villa Rosa. You have probably seen them, even if you don’t recognize the name!! They are the patterns that are printed on post-card sized cards. I have made several of their quilts or table runners, more or less, using the directions given.

Here’s a bit of history about Villa Rose Designs:

We call Pat Fryer, the owner and the creator of the Villa Rosa Designs brand, our Rose Queen, because she absolutely adores roses.  In fact, her love of roses helped her name her new venture in 2010.  When she designed her first Rose Cards, she had a brilliant and unique idea to name ALL of her VRD patterns after Roses (also why we call them Rose Card patterns).  For many years, all of the patterns were named after roses.  Now we have a collection of talented designers who all have their own covers and logos, but Pat’s quilt designs are still named for roses.  If you look at the Villa Rosa Designs patterns, you will see a rose in the top right corner on the cover of the pattern.  That is the specific rose the pattern is named for.  

Tricia sent me a zip of 5 patterns for the blog hop. I doubt very much that you could purchase this set of 5 in Canada for $8.95. I’ve seen individual ones priced at anywhere between $2 – $5! HOWEVER … keep reading and you can have an opportunity to WIN these 5 patterns!

 I choose Gypsy Rose. 

This was in February, just after I had posted my Island Batik Log Cabin quilts. I was about to put the extra “Heavy Metal” fabric away but instead, I immediately started cutting for this quilt. Now, I didn’t have all 20 skus left, but I cut from what I did have! I just love the blues and purples in this fabric collection!

This was an easy and fast quilt top to put together! I completed the top in an afternoon while I was also piecing a couple of other projects!

I used Silly Moon‘s “Charming” ruler to do all the quilting! It’s simple, but effective!

Quilt Stats:

Prizes!! Prizes!! Prizes!!

There are LOTs of prizes from this. blog hop. (See the list of sponsors below).

Each blogger participating in the hop will select winners for:

  • 3 Sponsor prizes
  • One set of 5 Villa Rosa patterns (the patterns used in the blog hop)

This is a HUGE hint for you to visit each of the bloggers and follow their individual guidelines to increase YOUR chance to win!!!

If you are chosen by me, I will need your Name, Shipping Address and Email.

There is also 3 awesome grand prizes:

  • Kaffe Fassett Precuts Collection
  • $100 digital gift certificate for Hancock’s of Paducah
  • A Big Mystery Box of Quilting Goodies

So … in order for me to pick YOU to be selected by me, I need you to do 2 things:

1. Comment on my blog

AND 2. Follow me on Instagram @quiltinggail

Update: In order for me to pick YOU to be selected by me, You need to leave a comment on my blog. If you also choose to follow me on Instagram, you will be entered into my draw twice.

Sponsors (for the Prizes!)

Many companies have donated prizes for this blog hop!

The Bloggers in the Hop

Thursday, March 14
https://villarosaquilts.com/

Friday, March 15
1. Kathleen McCormick — https://kathleenmcmusing.com/
2. Cheree H — http://livelylatte.blogspot.com/
3. Roseanne Nelson — https://www.homesewnbyus.com
4. Wendy Tuma — https://www.piecefulthoughts.com/
5. C&T (Valerie) — https://www.ctpub.com/blog/

Saturday March 16
1. Bernie Kringel — https://needleandfoot.com/
2. Sandra Walker — https://www.mmmquilts.com/
3. Linda — https://www.texasquiltgal.com/
4. Debbie Huber – http://time4stitchn.blogspot.com/
5. SIY (Branyn/Jennifer) – https://blog.siysewityourself.com/

Sunday, March 17
1. Carolyn — https://quarterinchcapers.blogspot.com/
2. Emily (Norton House) — https://www.nortonhousequilting.com/blogs/news
3. Gail Sheppard — https://quiltinggail.com/ YOU ARE HERE!!
4. Susan Slaton — http://wazoonewsbits.blogspot.com/

Monday, March 18
1. Nann Hilyard — https://withstringsattached.blogspot.com/
2. Jaftex (Jennifer) — https://scottfortunoff.com/
3. Jan Altomare — https://www.cocoaquilts.com/ 

4. Tricia – http://quiltwithaview.blogspot.com/

Tuesday, March 19
1. Joy – https://shout4joy-shouting.blogspot.com/
2. Emily Leachman — http://thedarlingdogwood.blogspot.com/
3. Vicki S — www.knitbug2.blogspot.com
4. Rose Mikulski — https://somethingrosemade14.blogspot.com/
5. QOVF (Lexie) — https://www.qovf.org/

Wednesday, March 20:

  1. Nancy — https://www.graceandpeacequilting.com/
  2. Jocelyn — https://happycottagequilter.blogspot.com
  3. Tracie — https://joyfullytracie.com/
  4. Daryl — Patchouli Moon Studio
  5. Electric Quilt (Diane) — https://doyoueq.com/blog/

Thursday, March 21:

villarosaquilts.com

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Hobbs Batting!

/ quiltinggail / 8 Comments

I received a box of Hobbs Batting from Island Batik. Oh my, I am so spoilt!!!

The box contained 4 Queen size batts of

  • Heirloom Premium Wool
  • Heirloom Natural Cotton
  • Heirloom 80/20 Bleached
  • Poly Down

Now, I know you’re thinking “what if I don’t make a queen size quilt?” That’s no problem! I cut out the size of batting I need for any quilt and save the ‘left-overs’ for other quilts. I put them in the original bag so that I keep the types of batting separate. If the left-overs are not quite the correct size, I will join them together to make the appropriate size. Some quilters call this “Frankenbatting.” Seriously! I guess it reminds people of the monster, Frankenstein!

My method is super simple. I overlap the pieces by about 1/4” and use diluted Elmers glue to join the 2 pieces together. Once the glue is dry, I use a large zig-zag stitch and call it done! It doesn’t leave a lump and I challenge anyone to find the join in my finished quilts! I have searched for the joins in my quilts and I can’t find them!!

The box also had an information booklet about the different types of batting.

Obviously, I have not posted any pictures of quilts in this post, but there are a LOT of quilts coming! I use Hobbs batting in every single quilt I make!!! I absolutely LOVE ❤️ it! I actually buy it by the roll, so I always have lots on hand!

Upcoming Blog Hop

This Blog Hop runs from March 14 to the 21st. Everyone is using at least one of 5 patterns that was sent to us! I know at least one person is making all 5 patterns!! My day is the 17th. Check out Villa Rose Designs for the complete schedule! Many of my fellow blogging friends are participating! I’m positive that it will be a fantastic blog hop! And there are a TON of fabulous prizes!!!

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting! 
Gail 

Linking to:  

Sunday Summary: March 10

/ quiltinggail / 18 Comments

Can you relate to this?? I certainly can!

March’s Island Batik Challenge

March’s Island Batik challenge was to make what we wanted. I have LOTS of Island Batik scraps and I am really a fan of scrappy quilts. I also like to have two colour quilts … so these 3 quilts were born. I had a lot of fun making them!! You can read about the process HERE.

Hobbs Batting, Aurifil Thread and Schmetz Needles were used in the making of these quilts! And my new Oliso iron was used for all the pressing.

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!

I had some wonderful company this past week and missed one day of sewing! Oh, but it was a ton of fun catching up!!

  • Jan – Feb: 1-28: 51 / 60 days
  • Mar 1 – 10: 9 / 10 days
  • Total: 60 / 70 85%

Design Wall Mondays

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

Piecing projects:

  • Island Batik April project. Here’s a picture … yes, it’s going to be blue!

Quilting:

  • Fast and More Fun: blog hop project – almost done!
  • 2023 Fall Mystery Quilt. I have the backing now … no excuses! Yes, I know I’ve said this for a few weeks now!
  • Finish Quilting “Gardenia“

Binding:

  • Give it a Whirl: blog hop project

Sunday Stash

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

No shopping this week, so nothing added! My 3 Island Batik quilts used a lot of fabric. Even though I used scraps, it’s still counted as fabric!

  • Fabric Used this week:  17 yards
  • Fabric Used in 2023:     45 yards  from non-IB: 17
  • Fabric Added this week: 0 yards
  • Fabric Added this year:     8 yards 
  • Net Fabric used:              37 yards

To Do

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

I have a bit of progress on many things … but nothing completed …

To Do from the last report:

  1. Quilt and Bind “2023 Fall Mystery Quilt” sandwiched, not quilted
  2. Continue to work on SAHRR ’24 finish quilting and binding √   DONE
  3. Finish Quilting “Gardenia“. not done
  4. Finish IB March project √   DONE
  5. Finish Fast and More Fun: blog hop project. in progress.
  6. Finish Give it a Whirl: blog hop project. in progress.
  7. Start IB April project in progress.
  8. Think about April Showers: blog hop project √   DONE The thinking was easy … but no decision is made yet!
  9. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! √   DONE
  10. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes. √   DONE. 

To Do for next week:

  1. Quilt and Bind “2023 Fall Mystery Quilt”
  2. Finish Quilting “Gardenia“
  3. Finish Fast and More Fun: blog hop project.
  4. Finish Give it a Whirl: blog hop project.
  5. Work on IB April project
  6. Make a decision on April Showers: blog hop project
  7. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! 
  8. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes.

Upcoming Blog Hops

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting! 
Gail 

Linking to:  

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

/ quiltinggail / 23 Comments

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

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

And this quilt was born.

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

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

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

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

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

Quilt Stats:

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

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

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

Thank You!!

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

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Sunday Summary: March 3

/ quiltinggail / 14 Comments

This Quilty Ode was on posted on Facebook by Fons and Porter. It was written by Eileen Fowler, the editor of Quiltmaker and Quick + Easy Quilts.

Monthly Colour Challenge

January’s colour is Red!!! Here is my March block. Visit Jen at Patterns by Jen to get your free pattern for March. It’s free until the end of the month.

I’m using Island Batik fabrics for my blocks. 

And, here’s my January, February and March blocks:

Temptations continue …

Last week, I posted about many temptations that were staring me in the face, making me think about new projects and how I was resisting! See THIS POST for details. Well, one project that I’m actually receiving emails for, but have not started yet is from Canuck Quilter.

I have had a great admiration for Joanne’s quilt designs for quite awhile. Since I usually design most of my own quilts, I often don’t use other quilter’s designs … HOWEVER, she is offering a MYSTERY quilt using 2 colours. If you know me at all, you know that I LOVE mystery quilts !!! As for making it in 2 colours … well, if you know me at all, you know that using just 2 colours is highly unlikely! So, I will probably choose one or 2 colours, along with a background …

That is IF, yup IF, I decide to make it! You’ll notice below that it’s not on my Design Wall list, nor is it on my “To Do” list. That just means that I haven’t made the final decision.

SAHRR Round #6 is released … now ready for finishing

The hosts have shown all of their many rounds, and other’s have joined in on the fun. See This Post for all the details! Here’s my centre block and all the rounds to #5! My blog post HERE has links to all of the participating bloggers. Round #6 is my 2 labels. Letters and Numbers!

The final parade is March 18. This gives participants (and hosts) time to complete their tops and if possible, have them quilted and bound!

SAHRR Participants

Several people have sent me their Round #6 pictures. Since I won’t be posting a SAHRR post tomorrow, I thought I’d enter them in here. I find it fascinating that even with the same prompts, the quilts have come out so different!!

Kathleen, Stella, Jacomina, Robin B., Rosie, Gail H., Judy B.

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!

  • Jan – Feb: 1-28: 51 / 60 days
  • Mar 1 – 3: 3 / 3 days
  • Total: 54 / 63 85%

Design Wall Mondays

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

Piecing projects:

  • Island Batik April project
  • Fast and More Fun: blog hop project
  • Give it a Whirl: blog hop project

Quilting:

  • 2023 Fall Mystery Quilt. I have the backing now … no excuses!
  • Finish Quilting “Gardenia“
  • IB March project
  • SAHRR 2024

Sunday Stash

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

Nothing finished. No fabric added. A couple of friends took some of my fabric, I didn’t measure how much, but it was sure nice to see it walk out the door!

  • Fabric Used this week:  0 yards
  • Fabric Used in 2023:     28 yards  from non-IB: 10
  • Fabric Added this week: 0 yards
  • Fabric Added this year:     8 yards 
  • Net Fabric used:              20 yards

To Do

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

I have a bit of progress on many things … but nothing completed …

To Do from the last report:

  1. Sandwich, Quilt and Bind “2023 Fall Mystery Quilt” sandwiched, not quilted
  2. Continue to work on SAHRR ’24 in progress. Round #6 completed, needs quilting
  3. Finish Quilting “Gardenia“ not done
  4. Finish IB March project  not done in progress.
  5. Work on Fast and More Fun: blog hop project. in progress
  6. Work on Give it a Whirl: blog hop project. in progress
  7. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! √   DONE
  8. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes. √   DONE. 

To Do for next week:

  1. Quilt and Bind “2023 Fall Mystery Quilt”
  2. Continue to work on SAHRR ’24 finish quilting and binding
  3. Finish Quilting “Gardenia“
  4. Finish IB March project 
  5. Finish Fast and More Fun: blog hop project.
  6. Finish Give it a Whirl: blog hop project.
  7. Start IB April project
  8. Think about April Showers: blog hop project
  9. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! 
  10. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes.

Upcoming Blog Hops

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting! 
Gail 

Linking to:  

Pin Dot Floral and other things

/ quiltinggail / 17 Comments

This Island Batik collection is absolutely gorgeous!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And a close up of the quilting:

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

Commitment

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

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

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

Temptation!

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

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

Favourite Finish of the Month

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

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting! 
Gail 

Linking to:  

Sunday Summary: Feb. 25

/ quiltinggail / 12 Comments

This is why some people figure quilting is HARD!!!

SAHRR Round #5 is almost done … ready for Round #6!

The hosts have shown their centre blocks, many rounds, and other’s have joined in on the fun. See This Post for all the details! Here’s my centre block with the rounds, including the last round #5! My blog post HERE has links to all of the participating bloggers. Tomorrow is the last round! Almost done!

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!

  • Jan 1-28: 22 / 31 days
  • Feb 1-25: 25 / 25 days
  • Total: 47 / 56. 83%

Design Wall Mondays

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

Piecing projects:

  • Island Batik April project
  • Fast and More Fun: blog hop project
  • Give it a Whirl: blog hop project

Quilting:

  • 2023 Fall Mystery Quilt. I have the backing now … no excuses!
  • Finish Quilting “Gardenia“
  • IB March project
  • SAHRR 2024

Sunday Stash

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

This past week, I showed you this sweet baby quilt … You can read about it HERE.

  • Fabric Used this week:  2.5 yards
  • Fabric Used in 2023:     28 yards  from non-IB: 10
  • Fabric Added this week: 0 yards
  • Fabric Added this year:     8 yards 
  • Net Fabric used:              20 yards

To Do

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

To Do from the last report:

  1. Sandwich, Quilt and Bind “2023 Fall Mystery Quilt” sandwiched, not quilted
  2. Continue to work on SAHRR ’24 in progress. Round #6 completed, needs quilting
  3. Finish Quilting “Gardenia“ not done
  4. Finish IB March project  not done in progress.
  5. Work on Fast and More Fun: blog hop project. in progress
  6. Work on Give it a Whirl: blog hop project. in progress
  7. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! √   DONE
  8. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes. √   DONE I actually spent about 2 hours tidying and cleaning … what a difference it made!

To Do for next week:

  1. Sandwich, Quilt and Bind “2023 Fall Mystery Quilt”
  2. Continue to work on SAHRR ’24 finish quilting and binding
  3. Finish Quilting “Gardenia“
  4. Finish IB March project 
  5. Work on Fast and More Fun: blog hop project.
  6. Work on Give it a Whirl: blog hop project.
  7. Start IB April project
  8. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! 
  9. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes.

Upcoming Blog Hops

Last week of Island Batik’s Blog Hop

This is the last week of a FABULOUS blog hop!! Be sure to visit the Zen Funk log cabins!

February 26:

February 27:

End of Blog Hop and Final Round-Up

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting! 
Gail 

Linking to:  

How to Make a Diagonal Quilt Back …

/ quiltinggail / 20 Comments

This blog post contains:

  • How to make a quilt back when you don’t have quite enough fabric for the backing.
  • Winner of the Fabric Draw from THIS Post

Making the Back

When I made one of my Log Cabin quilts for the Island Batik challenge, (see HERE) I wanted to use the lovely dark purple fabric (Gears – Purple Hyacinth) to back one of my log cabin quilts. But, alas, there was not enough. I have sometimes been asked how to make my diagonal backs, so I thought I’d do a short tutorial on it.

My quilt top is on the design wall. I took the dark purple and pinned it close to the top, folded it diagonally (not at 45o), just diagonally, from corner to corner. You can see how it looks ‘off’ from the quilt. That’s OK. You just want to have it diagonal.

Then I took my roller and pressed that diagonal line. The next step was to use my fabric shears and cut the diagonal line. I placed the 2 halves over the quilt, going beyond the quilt by about 3″ on each side. (that’s the extra I like to have when I’m free motion quilting). If you are worried about cutting on the bias, you can always put a small strip of iron-on interfacing on the cutting line before cutting. In this case, you may want to mark the line instead of ‘pressing’ it. When working with Island Batik fabrics, I don’t worry about the bias stretching and I am gentle with it!

Then, I measured the distance between the two halves … it was about 12.” I added 1/2” for seam allowance and I cut pieces of fabric 12 1/2” wide. Those were pieced together to make one long strip. Each half of the diagonally cut piece was sewn onto the long strip. 

Yes, I could have used one piece of fabric for the long strip, but I chose to use some of my favourite fabrics from the line in the strip.

When I go to sandwich my quilts, I make sure that the 2 opposite diagonal corners of the quilt end up on the centre piece. This will avoid any nasty build up of seams in the corners.

I’d love to hear if you’ve ever done this or if you plan to!

I’ll be linking to Kathleen McMusing’s Tips and Tutorials. If you’ve never been to her blog … the Tips and Tutorials has a plethora of fantastic quilting information. It’s well worth the visit. HERE.

Winner of the Fabric Draw

When I posted my Island Batik Log Cabin Challenge, I offered readers / followers to have an opportunity to win some Heavy Metal fabric. The Rafflecopter only worked for some people, so I took the list from the Rafflecopter and the list from the comments and combined them. I used a Random Number Generator and the it’s #14 … Stella M. I have emailed her and the fabric will be in her hands soon!

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Linking to:  

It Moose Be Love Blog Hop (Feb)

/ quiltinggail / 41 Comments

It Moose Be Love is organized and hosted by Joan, from Moose Stash Quilting.

Challenge: It’s the month of “Love”. Show us what it is, you love. Moose are optional of course. LOL!!

Here’s a few ‘heart’ shaped quilts & wall hangings, plus a hugs and kisses quilt that I have made in the past.

For this blog hop, I opted to omit the moose! 🫎

Here is the start of my pink heart quilt. It’s the same pattern as the grey and Dr. Suess one above: I think. I no longer have the quilt, so am unsure as to it’s size. I’m using 5″ squares for this. I started with 5″ strips of Island Batik pinks from a Stash Builder roll, plus another pink in my stash and it’s paired with Island Batik’s solid white! 

Then, using the Easy Angle ruler, I paired the pink with the Island Batik solid white and cut triangles for 10 half square Triangles. (If you use an Easy Angle ruler, there’s no fabric waste, and once the HST are sewn, you only need to trim dog ears and viola! they are the perfect size!) Then I cut (20) 5″ squares. From the white (after cutting the HST), I cut: (6) 5″ squares, (2) 5″ x 9 1/2” rectangles, (2) 9 1/2” squares, and (2) 5″ strips WOF. The borders were from a similar Stash Builder bundle and were cut at 2 1/2” wide. The binding used the remaining strips in the bundle.

I quilted this on my domestic sewing machine and covered the whole quilt with hearts using the 5″ Cupid ruler from Silly Moon. Below is a close up of the quilting.

Quilt Stats:

  • Size: 40″ x 40″
  • Batting: Hobbs 80/20
  • Piecing: Aurifil 2600 (Dove Grey)

Blog Hoppers

If you want to see some FABULOUS eye candy, be sure to visit each of the following blogs!

Monday February 19

Tuesday February 20

Wednesday February 21

Thursday February 22

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail