Quilting

Stash Report Mar 5’17

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Stash Report

Linking to Judy Laquidera’s Stash Report each week to keep me accountable!

I bought 3 meters of fabric to make some zipper bags … ones that can be coloured  unknown-jpg   It will be a fun, fast project.  (Once I get them started …)

Fabric Used this Week: 0 yards
Fabric Used year to Date: 18.5 yards
Fabric Added this Week: 3.2 yards 
Fabric Added Year to Date: 13.3 yards
Net Fabric used for 2017: 4.8 yards (I’ve still used more than I bought, but it’s getting close!)

UFO tally

Started the year with 38 UFO’s
Completed UFO’s:     Total to complete in 2017:
Jan:   2                                    36
Feb: 0                                     36

Happy Quilting
Gail

Friday … a little progress, a solved mystery

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Shakespeare in the Park  

img_0518I’ve started quilting this beast.  And a beast it is!

After I quilted about 3 blocks, I was totally unhappy with what I had done.  So, hours and hours later, I finally had those tiny, tiny stitches ripped out.  I then decided to quilt in the ditch … a huge undertaking when quilting with a free-motion quilt foot … There are 41 large blocks (snail tail & large stars) and I think I have about 6 of them done.  I have no idea how many small stars are on the outside.   Needless to say, I’ve got a long way to go!  Sigh … I will be glad when this quilt is finished.

 

A Mystery Solved

People often ask me about thread. (Ha!  As if I know much!)  I’ve always felt that it’s OK to use polyester thread.  The rumour that it cuts cotton fabric just never made sense to me. Nor have I seen any evidence of it.

Today, on Bonnie Hunter’s blog, (scroll down, down, down), she discusses thread and then goes on to talk about how polyester batting is what shreds fabric.  I had an ah-ha moment.  Yes, I’ve seen this. Even in my older quilts … I knew it wasn’t the thread when the fabric is shredded within the piece, not near the seam.  Bonnie goes on to say that she never uses polyester batting.

Link-ups

To see what others in the quilty world are working on wander over to these blogs:

Happy Quilting
Gail

Monday’s Design Wall

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image

I went to a fantastic workshop this weekend. It was called “Zendoodling” with Wilma Brock.  It was a lot of fun and I learned tons!   Here is a picture of what I did at the workshop.  I did find it hard to quilt “small” … I’m so used to quilting big quilts, quilting ‘small’ is not an option for me!

My Current Works in Progress:

Shakespeare in the Park: 

Is sandwiched and I’ve quilted 2 snail trail blocks … only 23 left, 16 large star blocks and all the little star blocks and border … it won’t be done in the next few days!

“Fall” table runner: 

Is sandwiched and waiting for inspiration on how to quilt it.

Orca Bay:

No progress.

To see what others in the quilty world are working on wander over to these blogs:

Happy Quilting
Gail

Monday’s Design Wall, Feb 20 ’17

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My Current Works in Progress:

Shakespeare in the Park: 
img_0465-2

The back got pieced together today!!

I didn’t take a picture because it is HUGE and is put away until I sandwich the quilt later this week.

 

“Fall” table runner: 

Sorry, no pictures because the result is a secret.  The table runner is for an exchange at a retreat at Over the Rainbow Lodge in April.  Once the exchange has happened, I will post a picture of the runner.

Orca Bay:

No progress.

 

To see what others in the quilty world are working on wander over to these blogs:

Happy Quilting
Gail

Stash Report Feb. 21 ’17

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Stash Report

Linking to Judy Laquidera’s Stash Report each week to keep me accountable!

I did buy some fabric for the backing for Shakespeare in the Park … I wanted to use stash & figured I had enough … but alas, I was short about 3 meters and nothing, absolutely nothing in the stash would work.  So, my hubby and I went shopping.  He has a good eye for colour and we found the perfect fabrics to go on the back.

Nothing is finished, but as soon as Shakespeare in the Park is done – I will have used 23 yards!  And that’s just using the amounts given in the pattern.  I know I used more since I made it bigger!  However, the quilt is not quilted yet!

Fabric Used this Week:       0 yards
Fabric Used year to Date:   18.5 yards
Fabric Added this Week:     3. 5  yards (for backing)
Fabric Added Year to Date: 5.6  yards
Net Fabric for 2017:              12.4  yards  (I’ve still used more than I’ve bought!)

UFO tally

Started the year with 38 UFO’s
Completed UFO’s:     Total to complete in 2017:
Jan:   2                                    36
Feb:  nothing finished yet …

Happy Quilting
Gail

Friday … nothing totally finished

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img_0465-2

Shakespeare in the Park:  

The top is a flimsy!!  YEAH!  I think the blocks are all oriented correctly.  Will check it thoroughly when I go to sandwich it.  In the meantime, this is the layout for the back … it needs to be pieced together …

To see what others in the quilty world are working on wander over to these blogs:

Linking to:

Happy Quilting
Gail

Monday’s Design Wall – Feb 13’17

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My Current Works in Progress:

Shakespeare in the Park: 

I am piecing all the blocks together.  img_0462-1This is NOT a fun quilt to do.  Since I used green and cream/white, there seems to not be a ton of contrast (which is weird, to me).  Thus, it’s super easy to get blocks turned around.  And I see that two star blocks  are switched in this picture .  Hopefully it gets fixed prior to being sewn in the quilt.  Sigh … there is no way to rush this quilt!!

Orca Bay:
img_0463-1

Very little progress since last week. I’ve been concentrating on Shakespeare in the Park.

 

 

To see what others in the quilty world are working on wander over to these blogs:

Happy Quilting
Gail

Friday

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Nothing finished this week. However there is progress on two main projects that I’m working on.

Shakespeare in the Park: 

Large star blocks and snail trail blocks are now done.  I only had 2 star blocks done on Monday, but I concentrated on making them and finished the other 14 blocks. Now I’m working on making more of the small star blocks … I have 20 done and need to make 18 dark (shown) and 18 light.

Orca Bay:
orca-bay-strips

img_0463-1Red string “yardage” was added on to and became these red string triangles.  This is only about 1/3 of how many I need.

 

 

To see what others in the quilty world are working on wander over to these blogs:

Linking to:

Happy Quilting
Gail

En Provence is finished!

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en-provence

I’m pretty pleased with how this turned out!  The burgundy stars make the quilt.  The border is made up of neutral 4 patches: I love how they really add to the quilt.

I’ve never completed one of Bonnie Hunter’s mysteries in less than a month after the reveal … they’ve all been finished, but sometimes not even in the same year as the reveal!

Now – on to finish some of my other quilts!

Linking to:

Happy Quilting

Gail

Binding is going on En Provence

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binding-e-p

Yeah!  I finished quilting En Provence. I am now working on the binding.  Hopefully it will be done in the next day or so. Then, if the sun comes out, I can take a picture and show you the finished quilt.

I’m still slowly working on my Shakespeare in the Park and …

Gulp … Confession … I started another project.  Why oh why did I do this?  I am trying to have less UFOs and WIPs.  Sigh …   I make Bonnie Hunter’s Orca Bay as a mystery quilt years ago.  It’s been one of my favourites.  But I gifted it to some dear friends – where it is loved greatly … but I want to have one of my own … and I had been given a bunch of strings … so I started making the blue string blocks… (sorry, no picture).

Linking to:

Happy Quilting

Gail

Retreat at Edenvale

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I had a lot of fun at the retreat … worked a bit on different projects, didn’t finish a thing. What I did do:

  • Quilted about 1/2 of En Provence
  • Tried to get some flying geese to work – but I need to figure out what I’m doing wrong and the retreat was not a place for deep concentration!
  • A little bit of non-paper-piecing on Fractured Paintbox in blues
  • Piecing a flannel quilt … need to starch it or (gasp) use pins as I’m sewing it together … it stretches a ton!
  • Started a scrappy Irish chain with fabrics from the retreat

I do not have pictures to show you from the retreat as I forgot to ask everyone there if it was OK for me to post their picture or pictures of their quilts on my blog.  However, this morning, I have set up En Provence to finish quilting on my machine.ep-close-up

Linking to:

Happy Quilting! 

Gail

Stash Report – Jan. 15, 2017

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Linking to Judy Laquidera’s Stash Report each week to keep me accountable!

wait-to-buy-fabric

Had a great laugh when a friend posted this on Facebook.  But, I don’t make resolutions – remember?

Obviously, I’m not the only quilter that is trying to not buy fabric!

OK … I’ve managed two  weeks without buying any fabric!

I’m off to a retreat for 3-4 days!  YEAH!! The car is loaded & I just need to do a few things & I’ll be on my way!

One plan is to go to Overseas Fabrics in Abbotsford … I know I need backing for a quilt, but hopefully nothing else says “buy me, buy me!!”

Fabric Used this Week:       0. 0 yards
Fabric Used year to Date:   0.5 yards
Fabric Added this Week:    0 yards
Fabric Added Year to Date: 0 yards
Net Fabric for 2017:              0.5 yards

Happy quilting!

Gail

Done, Done, Done!!!

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All 13 of the quilts using Grandma’s fabrics are DONE!!!   Am I excited or what?  WooHoo!!  There is not much fabric left … and it was a stretch to make this one without using any of my own prints.  Yes, it is the same size and pattern as #12 – but the fabrics are different. As well, the quilting is a bit different, although I did attempt to do a different pattern in each neutral block.  It was fun quilting it!

gma-13

Linking to:

Happy Quilting! 

Gail

Friday & nothing finished

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I feel like I’ve been sewing up a storm, but nothing is finished …  I did manage to make ONE block for the Bonnie Hunter mystery … one block … that’s all.  However, when I consider that each block has 76 pieces in it … well that’s a lot!  And I do have all of the individual blocks made, so it’s just a matter of sewing them all together.   I think this block is a little boring … but I also think when I add the sashing blocks & borders, the quilt will be OK.

img_1518

Linking to:

Happy Quilting! 

Gail

Tuesday’s Tackling UFOs – Week 1

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I am having trouble finding a “free” link-up to add to the blog.  Well, actually, I found one, but I can’t get it to work.  So, until I come up with another solution, the only way for you to link up your UFO is to put it in the comment section.  I will try to approve comments asap. If you don’t have a blog, you can start a Pinterest page or a flicker page and share the URL to the specific page.  A bonus for using comments is that you can tell us a bit about your UFOs.

UFO # 15 “Shakespeare in the Park” 

img_1516  I’m working on the “Snail’s Tail” blocks  of this pattern by Judy Martin.   And, because I want to make it larger, I’m making 25 of these blocks.

When I opened the container yesterday, it took a bit of time to figure out what I was doing when I last worked on this quilt.  Once I have these blocks done, I need to figure out what I was doing for the star blocks.  I know I changed the pattern to do “no waste flying geese” … but I will need to spend some time trying to figure out what I was thinking … and what are all those extra 4 patches for?

UFO # 39 “En Provence”

img_1517This is a picture of some of the quarter-square triangles waiting to be sewn.  I have a ton of them to do!

 

 

UFO # 38  Quilting the last of Grandma’s fabric quilts …

No picture …

Happy Quilting,

Gail

Monday’s Design Wall

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img_1515

Not much to see.  This picture is part of the layout for the main block of the Bonnie Hunter Mystery.  I need to make a lot more of the 1/4 square triangle blocks., then I can start to assemble the blocks.

 

To see what others in the quilty world are working on wander over to these blogs:

Patchwork Times
Love, Laugh, Quilt
Quilting is More Fun than Housework

Happy Quilting!

Gail

The Last Friday of 2016

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UFOs

Every year around New Years, I make my UFO list (UnFinished Objects … or Quilts).  I try to keep track of all my quilt starts and when they are finished.  Last year, I had 47 UFOs on Jan 1.  This year I will have 38!  I’m pleased that the number is down … although, much higher than I’d like it to be. Only 10 of the quilts just need quilting and binding.

There is much discussion on the web as to what defines a UFO.  I find it easiest to consider each quilt that is in progress on January 1 as an UFO.

In 2016, I started 30 quilts!  Wow!  I find that hard to believe. And of those 30 quilts, I finished 22 of them!  All of them have been gifted or will be in the near future.

Here’s my plan to tackle my UFOs:  Every Monday, I quilt with a lovely bunch of ladies.  I have a personal “rule” that I only work on UFOs.  I threw that rule out this year as my priorities changed and I was working on the quilts made with Grandma’s fabrics.  However, January 2 is the beginning of a new year and I’ll go back to my own personal rule.

I have prioritized which ones I want to work on.

  • On Monday, which is for piecing, I will work on # 15 and #38
  • During the rest of the week, I’ll work on quilting #37 (the final quilt using Grandma’s fabrics)

Linky Party

Then on Tuesday, I will start a Linky Party and you can join in the fun.  I will be posting pictures of what I’ve worked on and you can do the same.  If you have a blog – you enter the URL of the blog post and fill in all the rest of the blanks.  If you don’t have a blog, you can use a flicker page or a Pinterest page that contains a photo of your work.

Mystery Quilt

img_1514

Well, I have caught up on my clues for Bonnie Hunter’s Mystery Quilt!  Yeah!!! Yes, I’ve gotten all of the blocks for Part 1 to 5 completed!   I’ve been doing the yearly mysteries since 2009 and this is the first time I’ve ever gotten caught up.  Clue 6 came out this morning & i’ll get started on it later today!

 

Linking to:
Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Crazy Mom Quilts
Busy Hands Quilts

Happy Quilting and Happy New Year! 

Gail

 

 

Just a little sewing

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With being away, Christmas decorating, cooking and both kids here, I’ve done very little sewing. However, I did manage to make a few blocks for Part 4 and Part 5 (on the right side of the cutting mat) of Bonnie Hunter’s En Provence mystery. Also shown are some of Part 1, 2 & 3 … none of the clues are completed!

img_1514

To see what others in the quilty world are working on wander over to these blogs:

Happy Quilting!

Gail

Christmas gift is gifted

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A week or so ago, I was working on a Christmas gift and just gave you a glimpse of the back.  I did get it finished before I flew to Ontario … it has been gifted, my aunt loves it! and so now, I can show you a picture:

img_0142

I had 2 different panels which I purchased in Pennsylvania in the spring.  There was the one of the bird houses (top left) and one of the birds (bottom right).  Each bird house or bird was an individual rectangle, and when sewn together, the tree in the background joined together nicely.  The top right & bottom left window panes are an alternating mixture of birdhouses & birds.  I like how: although they are similar, each of the 4 window panes are slightly different.  Of course, the border was quilted in feathers!

This was the first time I have made an attic window.  I debated about doing mitered corners or doing half-square triangles.  A friend said that it would look way better with the mitered corners.  I knew she was right.  I took my time and each one turned out perfectly!

This was on the blog “Confessions of a Fabric Addict”    I couldn’t help but laugh!
‘Twas the night Christmas, I’m glued to the tree,
I’m wondering what Santa brought just for me.
Could it be fat quarters or a pattern or lace?
Or a quilt kit, I said with a smile on my face.
And that’s when I heard him, “Hi, Santa,” I said.
“You know…good little girls should be in their beds!”
“I know I should, Santa, and now I’ve got caught.
But I was just so excited to see what you brought.”
“Well, let’s take a look in this room where you work.”
He shook his head quickly and left with a jerk.
I heard him exclaim, as he put it in gear,
“You’ve got enough crap, I’ll see you next year!”

 

Linking to:
Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Crazy Mom Quilts
Busy Hands Quilts

Happy Quilting!

Gail