Take 4 strips of background 2 ½” WOF and 4 strips of Contrast #2. Sew strips lengthwise.
Cut these strips into 2 ½” pieces. Pieces will be 2 ½” x 4 ½” You will need 68 pieces.
Label these pieces “Step 1”.
July 3 Cutting Instructions
July 6 Clue #1
July 10 Clue #2
July 13 Clue #3
July 17 Clue #4
July 20 Clue #5
July 24 Clue #6
July 27 Clue #7
July 31 Clue #8
August 3 Clue #9
August 7 Clue #10
Linky Party: August 24
Thank you to all that offered your sympathy and concern for us surviving the heat wave. It is over and the temps are way more comfortable … around 30C (86 F). And it is cooling down at night! So sleep is possible!!! YEAH!!!
Although, in the wake of the heat wave, there are a LOT of fires burning in British Columbia, lots of lightening strikes … one town was burnt totally to the ground … the residents had less than 15 minutes to flee the town. Lots of sad stories …
But this blog is about quilting … so here goes …
The Summer 2021 Mystery Quilt fabric amounts and cutting directions have been posted. You can see them HERE and HERE.
I still don’t have a lot of energy, but Zoom sewing with Island Batik Ambassadors on Friday helped! I got a start on my August project … using a BEAUTIFUL line of fabric (Autumn Wings) and Studio 180 rulers. It’s a secret, so no pictures … sorry!
#1. August Island Batik project: a bit of progress
#2. Country Panels:
I started working on another UFO … 2 different country panels that I’m putting together. I’m using the burgandy grunge fabric for sashing and a first border. But I don’t have enough … so I had to go shopping … More about that further down …
#1 Amish panels: 2 panels, put into one quilt top, sandwiched and ready to quilt. No progress on this. But the machine is threaded with the thread I want to use, bobbins are wound … just need to start.
I needed some more burgundy grunge for the 2 country panels that I’m putting together … so I went to Essem Textiles … and they just happened to have a skinny bolt sale on a “black dress” grunge and a “grey” grunge. I might or might not have bought them. Well, I can’t lie, of course I bought them … Sew … that adds 3 yards to my total of fabric bought!
I’m aiming for at least 30 minutes a day.
I have stitched for over 30 minutes all days this past week.
For more Stitchin’ Time, you can check out Kate’s blog: Life in Pieces
Chris from ChrisKnits is hosting “To Do” every week. You can check out her blog HERE.
No further finishes. I started my August Island Batik project.
** WOF is Width of Fabric
How are you doing with your PHD in 2021?
A couple of blog followers have commented on part of my weekly “To Do” list where I say “Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS.” And most of the time, I am not distracted by them!
Squirrels are those enticing projects that just want to be done NOW. You can read a blog post about them HERE.
So … how do I manage to (mostly) avoid squirrels? Well, as I wander through many different blogs, I get several new ideas, see new patterns, see cute quilts, and see tons of things I just want to do. I know that you all feel the same way!!! Right? The temptation is there!
I will take a screen shot, download the pattern, or something so I can remember the fantastic idea I saw. Then, I say to myself, “If I still am really wanting to do this in a few days (or a week), then I give myself permission to do so.” Well, usually it works. Usually. As you can see in my tally sheet, there is a LOT more “Starts in 2021” than my monthly Island Batik projects … but for the most part … they get done!
Another UFO was finished the other day! The town Table Topper. Once I fixed the mistake (see HERE) and finished quilting, it didn’t take long at all.
Link up and show us your PHD in 2021 progress:
Cheryl @ Meadow Mist Designs hosts a Favourite Finish Monthly Link up.
Oh, it’s HARD to choose my favourite quilt for this month? Is it one of the two quilts I made as an Island Batik ambassador using Accuquilt dies? Or the Follow Your Own Path quilt?
It was hard to choose! I put all 3 into the “tiled” image and it made the one with red maple leafs the biggest … so I thought I’d let the program choose! But then I had 2nd thoughts … and decided that I’d go with the Follow Your Path Quilt … I wasn’t sure how it would turn out with the background and I was super pleased with the result … so that’s going to be my choice for this month! (You can read more about the quilts HERE and HERE.)
The Summer 2021 Mystery Quilt has started! Fabric Requirements were posted on Saturday. (See HERE)
A serious heat wave. This is so unusual for Canada’s west coast! But our temperatures are over 41 C (translates to 106 F) and it’s not cooling off at night. No fun!!! It’s hard to have any energy to do anything … oh … and did I mention that our air conditioning is called a fan?
I have been working to get the Summer 2021 Mystery Quilt ready to roll. It takes time, but I was able to post the introduction on Saturday! You can read about it HERE.
Sew, even though not a lot is happening … here’s this week’s report:
#1 Town Table Topper: This table topper is not finished, yet … On Friday, I showed the “unstitching that I needed to do … It’s now unstitched and the 2 offending blocks are switched around … but that’s as far as it’s gotten!
#1 Island Batik July’s project: Still in progress … 2 days of ripping out did not help my progress or my mood with this project!
#2 Amish panels: put into one quilt top, sandwiched and ready to quilt. No progress on this.
No shopping, no buying … nothing finished …
I’m aiming for at least 30 minutes a day.
I have stitched for over 30 minutes most days this past week.
For more Stitchin’ Time, you can check out Kate’s blog: Life in Pieces
Chris from ChrisKnits is hosting “To Do” every week. You can check out her blog HERE.
No changes from last week!
Have you ever done a mystery quilt? They can be a LOT of fun. Yes, they take you out of your comfort zone, mostly because you don’t know where you’re headed. But you end up with a quilt that is maybe something you would have choosen, maybe not … but it’s all fun!
This mystery has 10 clues. The clues will be announced each Tuesday and Saturday. There will be a linky party at the end where you can show everyone your quilt. (If you don’t have a blog or IG to link to, you can email me the picture and I’ll post it.)
This quilt is 44″ x 59″ with one border.
** WOF is Width of Fabric
These amounts are pretty close to the exact amount you will need. Please add additional fabric if you “want to be sure” that you have enough.
| Fabric | Amount |
| Background / neutral | 2 ¾ yards 2.6 m |
| Focal Fabric | ½ yard or more if fussy cutting 0.5 m |
| Contrast #1 | 2/3 yard 0.6 m |
| Contrast #2 | 1/3 yard 0.3 m |
| Contrast #3 | 1/3 yard 0.3 m |
Fabrics used for Test Quilts
| Fabric | What I used | What my quilt tester used |
| Background | soft white | off white |
| Focal Fabric | dark floral | mint with mauve |
| Contrast #1 | dark green | 2 different purples |
| Contrast #2 | teal | soft mauve |
| Contrast #3 | purple | mauve |
July 3 Cutting Instructions
July 6 Clue #1
July 10 Clue #2
July 13 Clue #3
July 17 Clue #4
July 20 Clue #5
July 24 Clue #6
July 27 Clue #7
July 31 Clue #8
August 3 Clue #9
August 7 Clue #10
Linky Party: August 24
I have almost finished my July Island Batik challenge and here is a close-up of the progress. I’m using Aurifil #2600 (Dove) quilted on Island Batik Coconut and using Silly Moon’s “Twinkle” ruler. There are 2 layers of Hobbs 80/20 to make those stars pop!
#1 Town Table Topper: This panel will be a table runner … and yes, it is that curved! One of the main reasons that I highly dislike panels … they are NOT straight! And fudging is the main focus of putting them together! It is a UFO that is headed to the Finish line!
#1 Island Batik July’s project: in progress
#2 Amish panels: put into one quilt top, sandwiched and ready to quilt. (I decided that this is it … no more borders …)
No shopping, no buying … nothing finished … well, I did finish this panel, but I didn’t buy the fabric and I didn’t use any of my stash … so it doesn’t count.
I’m aiming for at least 30 minutes a day.
I have stitched for over 30 minutes each day
For more Stitchin’ Time, you can check out Kate’s blog: Life in Pieces
Chris from ChrisKnits is hosting “To Do” every week. You can check out her blog HERE.
Tish, the Madd Quilter from Tish’s Adventures in Wonderland featured this quilt … Thank you, Tish for the feature!
This month’s Island Batik challenge said, “Our partners from AccuQuilt are asking you to create a throw quilt as a gift of comfort! This can include anything from baby to memory quilts, but should be inspired by spreading love through quilting. The challenge for you is to use the 8” or 12” finished BOB dies from your Ambassador box, the GO! Qube 8″ Mix & Match Block and create a whole new pattern by combining the two!”
I received the Maple Leaf die in my January box this year and the Go! Qube 8″ dies in the January 2019 box. Sew … what to do?
EQ to the rescue …
My original intent was to make a Canadian Quilt of Valour! So, obviously red maple leaves would be perfect.
The top left was too busy. The top right had too much black. The bottom left had the blocks too close. So, I decided on the bottom right. Maple leafs with double pinwheels (without the 2nd colour), separated by a sashing and cornerstones.
I used the Accuquilt dies to cut all of the pieces for the blocks. So very quick. And very accurate!!! Each block went together with ease.
I made all the blocks …
The maple leaves were all made with Island Batik’s “Wavy dots – Cherry BE” and white solid. The double pinwheels were made with all sorts of scraps with Custard as the background.
It looked OK on EQ, but in real life … Not so much. I really, really disliked the two together! The white with red maple leaves were crisp and fresh looking and the double pinwheel blocks, although pretty, were just not a good match.
SEW … I changed directions. I really liked the blocks together, but not the fabrics.
I made 17 more double pinwheels using only the solid white and fabrics from the “Mystery” collection. Oh yes!!! I was MUCH happier!!! Much much happier!!!
Of course, I forgot to take pictures of me cutting all of the pieces for the maple leaves and the double pinwheels, but I did take one of cutting the binding! The width of fabric fits perfect on the 2 1/2″ die. I placed 2 pieces of WOF on the die (total of 4 layers) and in less than 20 seconds, I had 6 perfectly cut binding strips. SEW easy, SEW quick, and perfect strips! (I pulled up the middle strips so that you could see them on the die.)
Here’s a picture of the finished quilt. All ready to go to the guild’s Quilt of Valour coordinator.
And here’s a closeup of the quilting …
Quilt Stats:
What to do with all the double pinwheel blocks with the custard background? I made some super scrappy maple leaf blocks and made a 2nd quilt. This is going to a young couple that just got married.
This one is quilted in a similar manner, but different!
Quilt Stats
The fabrics, thread, batting and needles were generously supplied by the following companies:
Oh, I put off putting a facing on my improv piece. I haven’t faced a quilt before … so why not procrastinate and put it off? and wait a little longer? and put it off? and put it to the side so it’s not staring me in the face? Maybe it’ll just disappear and I’ll forget about it …
Oh … it’s on my PHD chart of “Starts in 2021” and so in order to get my PHD in 2021, it does need to be finished. And a lot of my followers have seen me say in my “To Do” list that it needs a facing … for several weeks. Sigh …
Last week in my PHD in 2021 May post, I talked about how one can easily be faced with procrastination. I wasn’t thinking about this project, but it fits!!!
SEW … with a renewed determination to get it done, I decided to Google “How to Add a Facing.” The first link that showed up was a Youtube video from American Patchwork and Quilting. I grabbed a drink of water and started to watch it. You can see it HERE. AND my immediate reaction was
HOW CAN IT BE THAT SIMPLE ????
I quickly cut the squares for the corners and the side strips. I LOVE the fact that there are hanging triangles on ALL 4 corners, so I can easily change how I want it hung! I cut the squares at 4.5″
Then I pinned the triangles and facings in place:
The facings were pinned in place and I sewed as directed …
Turned the facing and triangles to the backside.
Then, the directions said to HAND stitch the facings down. OH NO!!! I hate hand stitching. What to do? I took my trusty Elmer’s disappearing glue and glued the facings down. If it holds for a period of time, I’ll be happy! If it doesn’t, well then I’ll pull out the black thread and hand stitch it down. But I’m crossing my fingers and hope that it holds!
This little piece used Island Batik solids, Aurifil, dove for quilting and Hobbs batting.
#1 Amish panel: I’ve cut some of the blocks apart … I’m just deciding if I want to cut them all apart … Then I need to add black sashing …
#2 July Island Batik project … it’s a secret for now!
#1 Mystery Quilt … coming soon! This will be a mystery quilt that you can do over the summer. I’m still writing the pattern, but I think there will be around 10 clues. (This mystery was originally going to use fat quarters, but I’ve changed my mind and have gone in another direction … so it’s no longer called the “Bunny Fat Quarter Mystery.”
The backing of Story-less Improv used 1 yard as did the “Follow Your Own Path”
I’m aiming for at least 30 minutes a day.
I have stitched for over 30 minutes each day
For more Stitchin’ Time, you can check out Kate’s blog: Life in Pieces
Chris from ChrisKnits is hosting it “To Do” every week. You can check out her blog HERE.
For those of you that may not be aware, TGIFF is a weekly linky party, hosted by a variety of bloggers. TGIFF stands for Thank Goodness It’s Finished Friday.
SEW … what have I finished? I have finished my “Follow Your Own Path,” designed by Sandra Walker at MMMQuilts!
I wasn’t sure how it would turn out, the multi-coloured background is not consistent. But with elongated swirls on the background and straight lines on the arrows … I think it turned out OK.
You might notice that the bottom left binding is not complete … I’m waiting for a special little one to be born and when I know the details, the label will be made.
Here’s a closeup of the quilting …
Join the TGIFF Linky Party and show us your Finish (or non-finish!)
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How are you doing with your PHD in 2021?
Are you procrastinating? Is there one project that you are dreading doing? Well, you know you have choices, right?
Sew, what are you going to decide?
This project is one that I’ve been procrastinating on for quite a few years … time to get it out of the container!
Warning, this post is very picture heavy!!!
I am SEW very proud of the Quilt Guild I belong to!!! (Boundary Bay Quilters Guild). Whenever there have been urgent needs for quilts, the guild members step up. Just going off the top of my head, there have been quilts made for the Saskatchewan hockey bus tragedy, the shootings in Nova Scotia, blocks for the wildfires in Australia, banners for a public stabbing in Lynn Canyon, and the regular donations from our guild (baby quilts, comfort/cancer quilts and Quilts of Valour.)
Recently, the guild decided to donate quilts to local Healthcare Heros. They are doing such a fantastic job and working extremely hard! As a former nurse educator, I can only imagine what stresses they undergo daily!
There have already been a LOT of quilts donated and many more are in the line up. Unfortunately, I don’t know who made all of them, but I do have pictures of the ones previously donated to this cause … If you are in the guild and want your quilt acknowledged, please let me know and I’ll edit the post.
I finished another UFO.
These are the hankies I bought in Thailand 7 years ago. You can see this in progress HERE and HERE.
I used Island Batik “Lavender” for the sashings and border.
And here is the finished wall hanging. Yes, I did quilt it to death in the background, but I wanted the main elements to pop. I must admit, I thoroughly enjoyed quilting it!!!
I used 3 different Aurifil threads to quilt this: #2315 (light Orchid), #1148 (Light Jade), and #2220 (Light Salmon).
Hobbs 80/20 batting was also used.
Continue reading
This fun Blog Hop is the inspiration of Carol from “Just Let Me Quilt.” Have you been following it? Tons and Tons of Wild eye candy!
When Carol first announced this blog hop, I immediately KNEW exactly what I was going to do. A few of you may remember that I went to Africa in Sept., 2019. I bought some fabric there. You can read a little about my trip HERE.
And wonder, of wonders, I mostly followed through on my plan for this blog hop!
Here’s a picture of the fabric I bought when I was in Africa.
Island Batik’s Quilt Modern … Just look at these beautiful fabrics!!!! I’ve had a sneak peak at some of the creations and believe me, you are in for a treat …
I believe there will be a draw for some fabric, but we haven’t received any information yet … so stay tuned!
and here are the participants …
May 17:
In March, I took an Improv class, hoping that I would learn something that I could use to make the quilt for this month’s challenge! And I did. (You can see information about that class and what I learned HERE. I decided to use the freehand curved piecing technique (more pictures below).
The fabric I was given for this blog hop is Napa Valley, designed by Kathy Engle. I LOVE the colours! They are so rich! The motif’s on the fabric are so fun! There are grapes, wheat, pumpkins, corn, leaves and dots! Such a fun collection! And of course, the fabric is fantastic!
I started by pairing an 8″ square of Napa Valley with an 8″ square of Island Batik grey solid. Then I free-hand cut the quarter circles.
I sewed the print and the grey together without using pins. In the picture below, you can see the print of the inner circle with the grey on the outer circle. The reverse is just below it. The blocks were then trimmed to 6 ¾”.
The blocks were arranged on the design wall. And, I forgot to take a picture! The quilt was webbed together, sandwiched and then the quilting began. I used Hobbs Heirloom Natural Cotton batting.
I used Schmetz Quilting Needle 90/40 for both the piecing and the quilting.
All of the quilting happened on my domestic machine: Janome M7 Continental. Aurifil #2600 (Dove) was used. I love how is contrasts slightly with the grey solid fabric!
And, a close up of the quilting
And a picture with the last of the pink “snow” (cherry blossoms)
2. From Me! If you want to win fabric from me you have to be from Canada (and sorry, not Quebec). In the comments, answer the following questions: (they won’t be published)
For those of you that have difficulty leaving comments, you can email me with your answers (quiltinggail@yahoo.ca)
Each entry will be given a number and I’ll use a random number generator to pick the winner.
I’m giving away 19 pieces of Napa Valley that are 8″ x 9.5″
Be sure to visit Emily at the Darling Dogwood. She used the same collection of fabric and her quilt is stunning! And totally different than mine!
Disclosure: The fabrics, thread, batting and needles were generously supplied by the following companies:
You know what? Years after you have gifted a baby quilt, it’s lovely to see it actually being used! This was a quilt made with left-over blocks from watching an Eleanor Burns video around 2017. This quilt was gifted to my daughter’s co-worker and they recently sent her this picture! I don’t know about you, but knowing that my quilts are being used makes my heart smile!
In March, I taught a scrappy Irish Chain class for a Chilliwack guild. Thank you to the guild organizers for having me teach this class via Zoom!
Here’s some pictures of some of the results:
This is Shirley’s quilt. Very scrappy!
And here it is quilted! I like the variety of straight line quilting!
Continue readingHow are you doing with your PHD in 2021?
Sometimes, people will ask me how I get so much done. I ALWAYS end up telling them the same thing: One stitch at a time. I was quilting yesterday as I thought about this. When I was doing the free motion, the stitches were fast a furious, and when I switched to doing the ruler quilting, the stitches were WAY slower and more methodical. But, in both cases, it was one stitch at a time.
I remember last year, when I was learning to piece curved seams, it was like an epiphany when I realized that curved seams take care and take time. However, when I’m putting binding on a quilt, I’m full speed ahead. But still, it’s one stitch at a time.
When I was working full time, sometimes doing 12 plus hours, plus the commute, I would come home and sew for 15 minutes. That’s all. Just 15 minutes. It’s amazing how much you can accomplish with little bits of time! And yes, it was still one stitch at a time.
SEW … if you are struggling at getting something done: Remember, it’ll get done One Stitch At a Time.
As for me? I’m steadily moving right along! My one UFO finish for April was the “Open House” wall hanging.
Link up and show us your PHD in 2021 Progress.
Was my Island Batik “It’s All Up to You” challenge. You can read more about the challenge quilt HERE.
That’s correct, Island Batik ambassadors are bringing you a new blog hop starting Monday! I’ll let you know where to go to see the awesome new fabric collections and the amazing quilts that my fellow ambassadors have made! AND there will be an opportunity to WIN some fabulous fabric!
Emily, from the Darling Dogwood, nominated me! I must confess, someone nominated me a few weeks ago, and I couldn’t find the blog post … sigh … so I didn’t follow up. (Sorry, whoever you are! …) The purpose of the Outstanding Blogger Award is to applaud our fellow bloggers and learn more about them by answering questions that are asked.
Here are the questions that Emily asked:
2. What is something on your Quilty Bucket List? I’ve always wanted to make a Storm at Sea! And, I hope to make one later this year.
3. Is there a color or fabric style that you really dislike working with? I used to hate working with orange. But orange goes nicely with so many other colours … and when I’m using Island Batik fabrics … well, what can I say … it’s growing on me.
4. Do you have a favorite traditional quilt block? The quick answer to this question is no. I don’t have ONE favourite block. I have several … Log Cabin, Pinwheels, Friendship Star, 8 point star … and the list goes on.
5. What one non-quilting thing about you that your readers might not know? I was a swimming instructor and lifeguard prior to going into nursing school. I also scuba dived at that time. I played the oboe and bassoon when I was in middle and high school.
Who to nominate? I have a zillion blogs that I follow … and I honestly couldn’t say that I know who has or has not been nominated …
If you choose to accept the nomination, here are your questions:
Light blue was the chosen colour for this month’s Table Runner. The pattern is from QUILTsocial and you can find it HERE. I also talked about this runner HERE.
After I had this quilt top done, I saw my Studio 180 “Split Recs” ruler. It’s still in the package. I’ll have to pull it out and try it. I suspect that I will prefer the Studio 180 method, but I do need to try it to be sure!
I used Scraps from my Island Batik box with Coconut as the neutral. The batting is Hobbs Poly Down and it is quilted with Aurifil #1148 (light jade). I didn’t have a light blue Aurifil, but the Light Jade was a perfect fit!
I will be linking to The Joyful Quilter.
Quilting Gail 