Quilt-a-long

The Start of a New Week

/ quiltinggail / 19 Comments

Island Batik “Ultimate Home Decor Blog Hop”

This is the last week!

Visit  Gail Renna ~ Quilt Haven Threads to see what she’s made for the final day!

You have an opportunity to win some fabulous fabric!  This is a FQ pack of Wonderland, designed by the talented Kathy Engle!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Screen Shot 2020-05-24 at 9.00.20 PM

Winnie the Pooh Sew-a-long

Are you interested in a Winnie the Pooh Sew-a-long?  Want to join me as I make this quilt?  I emailed Lorna (the designer) about hosting a Sew-a-long and she said, “Sounds fine with me Gail! I would love to have you host a quilt along featuring them.”

SEW … I’m thinking of starting on Monday, June 8.  That will give you (and me) 2 weeks to pull fabric or go shopping.  I’m thinking that if we do one character a day or every 2 days … we’ll be finished in just over a week.    I’m not 100% sure, because I haven’t made any of them yet … But I plan to start on June 8.

Lorna emailed me today to say that the pattern has been updated … so, if you downloaded it before, you may want to download it again as there is an update.    You can access the pattern HERE. (scroll down the page).  There are 3 sizes to choose from.  Your choice as to which size you choose.

If you haven’t visited “Sew Fresh Quilts,” you are in for a pleasant surprise of LOTS of cute, cute quilts!

3CC52214-17FE-4618-8F68-1434FB2725AD

Finishes

I finished 2 quilts today … Florabunda #2 & #3.  These count as one UFO finish.  I know … with all 3 Florabunda quilts completed, it should count as 3 UFOs … but it’s only May and that leaves me with one more UFO to finish to accomplish my UFO goal for PHD in 2020!

UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_3836

Florabunda #2 and #3 were quilted with swirls … lots of swirls … large swirls, medium swirls and small swirls … they were both pretty quick to quilt!  Hobbs 80/20 is the batting and Aurifil #2309 was the thread.

I don’t know what I was thinking when I started this quilt.  Yes, I wanted to use up floral fabric, but … I ended up with 140 blocks … enough to make 2 quilts that are 6 x 8 blocks and one that is 6 x 7 blocks.

Here are all 3 Florabunda on the clothesline …  fullsizeoutput_cd9

Florabunda is a free pattern from Bonnie Hunter and you can access it HERE.

Design Wall

Piecing:

I’m still working on the baby quilt and the big brother quilt.  I changed my mind and the baby quilt is a UFO that needs to be finished.  Big brother quilt is in progress with these fabrics.
UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_380a

Can you guess what this will be?  It’s part of my June Island Batik challenge.  I’m using the “Kismet” fabric collection, designed by Tammy Silvers of Tamarinis.  Doesn’t the black make the colours pop?

fullsizeoutput_cd8

Quilting:

I hope to sandwich the UFO baby quilt and Big Brother quilt and get them quilted SOON!

TO DO 

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

Last week’s list:

  1. Finish the 2 new quilts!      not done … in progress
  2. Finish Quilting Florabunda #2    √   done:  #3 is done as well You can see them above
  3. Piece June’s Island Batik project    not done … in progress

This week’s list:

  1. Finish the Baby UFO
  2. Finish Big Brother
  3. Finish piecing June’s Island Batik project

Stash Report

SS yellow

Florabunda – all 3 quilts used approximately 24 yards!!!

  • Fabric Used this week       24  yards
  • Fabric Used this year:        169 yards
  • Fabric Bought this week:   0  yards
  • Fabric Added this year:      9.5
  • Net Fabric used                    159.5  yards

Stitchin’ Time

I am aiming for 30 minutes/day – at least!  I switched from 15 minutes / day to 30 minutes/day in April!

  • 15 minute days:  January – Apr. 120 / 121
  • 30 min days/  May – 24 / 24
  • Total days in 2020:  144 / 145
  • Percentage = 99% 

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

Screen Shot 2019-12-06 at 11.47.00 AM

With the finish of Florabunda … that leaves 1 UFO to finish for my PHD in 2020.   Somehow, I think I will finish more than 12 UFOs this year!

Screen Shot 2020-05-24 at 9.50.22 PMOne who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!  
Gail 

*****************************

Linking to:

 

A Friday Finish

/ quiltinggail / 27 Comments

I have been having fun … and not working on what I should be working on … but that’s what makes it fun, right?  Sort of like skipping school and doing nothing – that’s fun, right?  Well, I actually wouldn’t know about that, because I never skipped classes in highschool –  except for one time … (That’s actually true, and it’s up to you if you believe me or not!)

I gave you a hint earlier this week when I posted a couple of photos of the Helen Godden Flower Power Quilt-a-long …  Here is the finished project:  Each block is about 7½” square.  Lots of quilting!

fullsizeoutput_cc1

This is a free project. Helen has a separate Youtube video for each block and shows you how to do the various techniques, with ease.  Well, with a measure of ease!  She does make it look super easy!  I still have a long way to go, but I’m happy with the end project!

The project was done on an Island Batik neutral, the sashing, binding and back was an Island Batik fabric that I bought locally at a store that is now closed. I used black Aurifil thread (4-5 bobbins) and scraps of Hobbs 80/20 batting.

Helen’s instructions for finishing the quilt made it super easy.  Each block was stitched individually (and coloured with Inktense pencils). Once the blocks were trimmed to size, I zig-zagged them together.  Simple, eh?    For the sashing, I took a 4″ piece of fabric and ironed some “Steam-a-seam” on it.  Then it was cut into 4 –  ½” strips and ironed in place.  SEW SEW EASY!   Then a co-ordinating Aurifil thread was used to stitch down the sashing.  The backing was cut 1″ larger than the piece, folded over and viola! the binding was ready for the same stitching that I did on the sashing.

Here’s a close up of each of the individual blocks  …

fullsizeoutput_cb3

What do these things have in common?

You’ll have to wait until May 13 for the answer …

Ultimate Home Decor Blog Hop

Did you visit the blogs this week?m  There is a LOT of amazing Home Dec projects!  Trust me, it’s well worth visiting them!  I have the direct link to each blog post so that you don’t have to go searching for them.  And some of the blogs are offering an opportunity for YOU to win fabric!

May 4
Janet Yamamoto ~ Whispers of Yore
Carol Moellers ~ Carol Moellers Designs
May 5
Carolina Asmussen ~ Carolina Asmussen
Suzy Webster ~ Websterquilt
May 6
Megan Best ~ Best Quilter
Emily Leachman ~ The Darling Dogwood
May 7
Connie Kauffman ~ Kauffman Designs
Denise Looney ~ For the Love of Geese

Screen Shot 2020-05-01 at 10.43.01 PMBe sure to enter Island Batik’s Rafflecopter to win Cascadia precuts! This collection was  designed by Claudia Pfeil of Claudia Pfeil Designs.  You could win both a 10″stack and 2½” strips.  Each pre-cut comes with 2 of the 20 fabrics in the collection.  It’s well worth entering – you never know if you will win!  Here’s the link:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!  
Gail 

***************************** 

Linking to: 

Monday in the Studio

/ quiltinggail / 23 Comments

Sew … what’s been happening around here?

Well, Helen Godden (on Facebook Helen Godden Quilts) had a Flower Power Quilt-a-long.  I was thinking of doing it for a future Island Batik challenge, but all of the specifics for the challenge are not available, yet.  SEW … I thought I’d share it with you.  If you are on Facebook, you can go to her page and download all of the pictures.  She has directions on how to do each of the blocks with a Youtube video for each block.  It’s fantastic for practicing free motion quilting!

These were done on an Island Batik neutral fabric … with Hobbs 80/20 batting, Aurifil black thread and Schmetz microtex needle.  (All of the supplies were given to me via Island Batik).

I have done 8 of the 9 blocks … They are SEW fun to do.  I LOVE the zen doodling!  And I’ve learned a few new-to-me patterns.

The other thing, is that I ventured into the world of colouring fabric.  Helen talks about “Inktense” pencils and how you colour your fabric with them.  From another Youtube video, I learned that you colour, spray with water and then press with an iron to stop the spread of colour or bleeding.  That’s how my blocks got their colour!  I was able to get a set of Inktense pencils at a near-by store that does curb-side service!  (Opus, in Langley).

I will show you the finished wall hanging … hopefully it’ll be done soon!

BLOG HOP 

Screen Shot 2020-05-01 at 10.45.00 PMDon’t forget to visit the Island Batik Blog Hop that is featuring all the NEW fabric!!!  And visit the Island Batik blog for a chance to win Cascadia Precuts!  Screen Shot 2020-05-01 at 10.43.01 PM

 

 

 

This week is the following Blogs:

May 4
Janet Yamamoto ~ Whispers of Yore
Carol Moellers ~ Carol Moellers Designs
May 5
Carolina Asmussen ~ Carolina Asmussen
Suzy Webster ~ Websterquilt
May 6
Megan Best ~ Best Quilter
Emily Leachman ~ The Darling Dogwood
May 7
Connie Kauffman ~ Kauffman Designs
Denise Looney ~ For the Love of Geese

Design Wall

Piecing:

I’m working on an Island Batik challenge – so no photos yet!

IMG_6288Florabunda:  Do you remember when I was working on these blocks? Well, they are all done and I have way more than enough for one quilt … so there are at least 2 quilts to be made.  I need to lay them out and decide on which ones will go into which quilt.

IMG_6409

Quilting:  

This scrappy squares quilt is sandwiched and ready to quilt!

TO DO 

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

Last week’s list:

I easily managed to get everything on my list done … and more!

  1. Quilt Blue Round Robin  √  done    
  2. Bind Purple Round Robin √  done
  3. Finish 7 masks  √  done
  4. Finish 7 pillow cases  √  done

You can see the Blue & Purple Round Robin quilts HERE.

I completed 18 masks and 12 pillow cases.  When I went to originally take a picture of the 7 pillow cases that were started, I realized they were mostly all “girl” types.  Sew … back to the stash and I made 5 that are more suited for the male gender.

p3hXDqLGSkuNEYXX1fAvIQ_thumb_37d2.jpg

UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_37d8

This week’s list:

  1. Finish Island Batik May project
  2. Finish Flower Power
  3. Scrappy Squares: Quilt and possibly get the binding on.
  4. Florabunda: lay out & piece at least one top

Stash Report

SS yellow

The fronts of the Round Robins were Island Batik – so I don’t count that.  But the backs took 3 yards.  The pillow cases used up 12 yards.  The masks used up 3.5 yards … for a total of 18.5 yards!

  • Fabric Used this week       18.5  yards
  • Fabric Used this year:        138.5  yards
  • Fabric Bought this week:   0  yards
  • Fabric Added this year:      9.5
  • Net Fabric used                    129  yards

Stitchin’ Time 

I am aiming for 30 minutes/day – at least!

  • 15 minute days:  January – Apr. 120 / 121
  • 30 min days/  May – 3 / 3
  • Total days in 2020:  123 / 124
  • Percentage = 99% 

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

Screen Shot 2019-12-06 at 11.47.00 AM

Screen Shot 2020-05-03 at 11.27.24 PM

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!  
Gail 

***************************** 

Linking to: 

 

Stay at Home Round Robin: Part 2

/ quiltinggail / 11 Comments

Screen Shot 2020-03-14 at 4.34.42 PM

If you want to see the Intro and Part 1, click HERE and HERE.

Piano Keys!

There are many different ways to do piano keys …

For the Purple Round Robin (Quilt-as-you-Go), the piano keys are lengthwise  and for the Blue one, they are perpendicular to the quilt.

Video of Piano Keys

Here is a video of the piano key borders going on the Purple quilt:

                 https://youtu.be/m-xRPnbMFZM               

For the Blue Quilt, I cut 1½” slices from the 10″ stack of Island Batik “Freedom” fabrics and sewed them together.

fullsizeoutput_c9b

This piece was cut into 2½” pieces and sewn onto my grey square.

fullsizeoutput_c9c

I still haven’t decided about the centre block.  Will I do some appliqué? Some embroidery?  I’m sure I’ll decided before the quilt is finished!

Here is the purple Quilt-as-you-Go with the Piano Keys sewn on.

fullsizeoutput_c9d

SEW …

How are you doing with your Round Robin?

Linky Party

Here is a Linky Party for you to show off your work!  You have a few options for posting … you can post a link to your blog, a link to your Instagram or a link to a Pinterest page.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

What’s the next round you ask???

Pinwheels … I haven’t made them yet, so I’m not sure how wide the round will be.  It’s up to you to decide how big and how many pinwheels you want to add to all 4 sides! Do what you want, but add some pinwheels!   Have fun!  There will be another linky party next week!

Friday Finish … NOT

But I do have a flimsy, actually 2, completed.  These are from the Elvira Sew-Along that GE Quilt Designs hosted this past weekend.  I was going to make one large quilt, but decided that 2 smaller ones would be more appropriate for me to make at this time.

IMG_6378.jpeg

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!  
Gail 

*****************************

Linking to:

Did you see it?

/ quiltinggail / 20 Comments

All the posts on Facebook for International Quilt Day!!  It was a lot of fun!

I think I’m the only one in the neighbourhood that had quilts out … but that’s OK …

IMG_6368.jpeg

I just grabbed a few small quilts that were handy and made in the last year … no digging through the camper to find more … and yes, I have more, LOTS more!

It was a BEAUTIFUL spring day!  Sunny (although not very warm) … you can see purple hyacinths blooming and the magnolia tree on the left is just starting to bloom!

I have a finish!!

Yes, my “Circles” quilt is finished.  The quilting is finished, the binding is finished AND the label is on!

This quilt was started at a guild workshop on curves.  The circles were all cut with a large and a small Accuquilt die. (The guild owns them).  The instructor was fabulous and the die-cut pieces made for almost perfect piecing.   I say almost, because nothing I do is perfect!IMG_6336.jpeg

And here’s a close-up of the quilting: A biggish swirl with smaller swirls on the outside of the biggish swirl …

IMG_6337.jpegIMG_6338.jpeg

And, it seams like flange binding is all I do these days!  But, I do like the look.IMG_6340.jpeg

Design Wall

Piecing:

Summer Solstice:   The next step is completedIMG_6322.jpeg

Frolic: didn’t work on it this week …

IMG_6321.jpegFlorabunda:
Only one block completed this week

 

Stay at Home Round Robin:  I started 2 … you can read about them HERE.  You can still join in, if you want … there will be a linky party on Friday for you to post pictures.

IMG_6377.jpeg

Elvira: This as a “Quarantine Quilt Along”  with GE Quilt Designs.  The temptation to spend the day quilting with others was too much …  SEW, I dug into my stash of Reproduction fabrics and cut the amounts I needed.  For some reason, the bins are still just as full!!!

Quilting:

April’s Island Batik is being quilted … sorry no pictures until April!

TO DO 

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

Last week’s list:

  1. (Maybe) Finish quilting “Circles“  √  done
  2. Summer Solstice: Complete next step  √  done
  3. Round Robin: Make block  √  done
  4. Make “Making us Laugh”   —  almost there
  5. Sandwich April Island Batik    √  done
  6. Get bordrers on Frolic!  Not done

This week’s list:

  1. Round Robin: add the next borders
  2. (Maybe) finish quilting April Island Batik
  3. Make Elvira into a flimsy
  4. Summer Solstice: Complete next step
  5. Frolic: get the borders on!!!!

Stash Report

Circles used up 14.25 yards … and since I didn’t leave the house and didn’t shop on-line, there were no fabric purchases.

  • Fabric Used this week       14.25  yards
  • Fabric Used this year:        66.5  yards
  • Fabric Bought this week:   0  yards
  • Fabric Added this year:      9.5
  • Net Fabric used                    57.75
  • –
  • Husband’s Purchases           0

Stitchin’ Time

I’m aiming for at least 15 minutes / day. 

  • 15 minute days:  January – Feb  59 / 60
  • 15 min days/ March = 22/22
  • Total days in 2020:  81/82
  • Percentage = 98% 

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

Screen Shot 2019-12-06 at 11.47.00 AM

Screen Shot 2020-03-21 at 8.32.50 PM.png

Quilt Qwazy Queens Blog Hop

It stated on Wednesday … and here are the participants for this week.  These are FUN!!!  I will be sharing mine on Tuesday!

Qwazy Monday, March 23

Qwazy Tuesday, March 24

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!  
Gail 

*****************************

Linking to:

A Whatchamacallit Week

/ quiltinggail / 14 Comments

This week has been totally different for me.  You can decide what to call it, but I’m calling it “Whatchamacallit.” And yes, Whatchamacallit is a ligit word, it’s in the dictionary!

SEW … this week started off by me travelling up to the southern Okanogan Valley to meet with my sister and a bunch of her friends from Edmonton.  The purpose was to go wine tasting.  I’m not a great consumer of wine and have been known to have the odd half glass and the occasional full glass.    On Monday, I made it to 3 wineries (the group was going to 5) and that was enough for me.  I did spot a quilt store in Pentiction, but didn’t venture over to it.  That probably saved me a little bit of money!  🙂

However, I did set up my featherweight in the corner of the living room and worked on a quilt!  There was a lot of interest … a few would like to learn to quilt, one fellow said the machine reminded him of a relative’s treadle and so on.   One lady took a picture of my set-up and was going to show her daughter, Sarah.  I don’t know if you remember, but Sarah, when she was 16 years old had made a quilt a few years ago and I showed it on my blog.  You can check out the post HERE.  One interesting thing I found out was that Sarah’s mom does not quilt!!!

Sarah's Quilt 1

And when I look at this quilt again, I am totally amazed that a 16 year old put it together. She definitely has talent!!!

Now … the rest of the week … I usually work Monday & Tuesday, but I will be working Wed, Thurs, Fri and Saturday!  How will I survive?

Daisy Chain Mystery Quilt

Alison, of Little Bunny Quilts is having a link-up for those of us that made the quilt to show it off.  There are quite a few different quilts.  I continue to be amazed at how colour choices can totally make the quilt look very different!   Go check them out at the  Daisy Chain Link-up

Daisy Chain Mystery Quilt.jpg

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting! 
Gail 

********************************************************

Linking to: 

May 20 – Monday’s Update

/ quiltinggail / 25 Comments

image  The last block for the Daisy Chain Mystery is up.  The clues had me guessing until the very last minute!!!  It’s a great mystery!  Thank you, Little Bunny Quilts!!!

So, I pieced the last blocks together and I was so excited to see this quilt put together, I didn’t take any pictures of the block until the quilt was sandwiched! fullsizeoutput_b2d T

 

These “cross” blocks pieced together very quickly!  All the units were previously put together, so it was very easy to do!

Once I had the blocks done, I was eager to see how my quilt would look.  SEW … I put it all together.  The instructions tell you to pay attention to the orientation of the “star” blocks and the “cross” blocks. Amazingly, I did pay attention and I didn’t have to reach for my seam ripper!!!!  Perhaps, I’m learning to follow directions? Continue reading →

Beginning of April!

/ quiltinggail / 8 Comments

WHAT?

I know I often see other’s writing on their blogs and saying “Where did the month go to?”   And, I’ve often thought, “really? It went by one day at a time!”  YUP – one day at a time and each day FLEW by this month.  So fast!  So very fast, I’m wondering, “Where did the month go to?”

Design Wall

Piecing

IMG_3357

This is Week 4: Unit C of the Daisy Chain Mystery. The blocks on the lower left are all trimmed, I still need to trim about half of them.  This step is a little time consuming, but not too bad!  And easy to do.  The directions are very clear and easy to follow.  It’s still not too late to join in the mystery. Continue reading →

Travelling to a quilt show and quilting at home

/ quiltinggail / 19 Comments

We had a fun bus trip to Monroe Washington to see all the quilts on display.  Wow oh, WOW!!!  There were over 500 quilts … tons of eye candy … I took a picture of only a fraction of them.  Click on the slideshow below to see what I took pictures of.  Of course, I took pictures of every single Bonnie Hunter design I could find!  🙂   I also included the description of each quilt … usually following the quilt, but some of them came before the quilt …  I’m sure you’ll figure it out!

Continue reading →

Colour bleeding

/ quiltinggail / 16 Comments

I haven’t had a lot of issues with colour bleeding.  But I have had a few.img_0070

I posted in Oct. 2016 HERE about how the label bled really bad … so bad that I could see it moving quickly and without thinking too much, I cut it out really fast!  I was using a solid green of my grandmother’s fabric … the green went into recycling.  It did not have a long life in my sewing room!  I ended up fixing the disastrous corner and you can read about it HERE. Continue reading →

My Progress Report – Feb 17

/ quiltinggail / 5 Comments

Design Wall

Piecing:

  1.  Block 5 of CQA’s #52blocks52weeks block is NOT done … not cut out … I should do that soon, before I have 20 blocks that I need to catch up on.
  2. Good Fortune:  Starting to web the centre of the quilt. The purple HST for one of the pieced borders is in progress

Continue reading →

Friday … small partial finishes

/ quiltinggail / 8 Comments

img_2980.jpgHello!  I’ve been working away … SLOWLY … at the Good Fortune mystery.  I thought I had all of the 4 patch blocks done … until I was doing the final pressing and realized that I have about 10 blocks where the corner 4 patches are turned around …  groan … oh well, I’m just 10 blocks away from finishing these blocks.

PS:  If you want to do this mystery, make sure that you download all the clues before the end of the month! Continue reading →