Carol from “Just Let Me Quilt” mentioned this blog hop WAY back in July … and of course, I jumped on the band-wagon. What could be better than a blog hop a mere 2 months before Christmas featuring small gift ideas? Carol comes up with the BEST blog hops!
Here’s my small gift(s) … they all nest inside this one!
Here they are poking out:
What they look like inside: (sorry it was hard to get a good picture with no shadows!)
And all 4 of them:
Details:
Island Batik fabric from the Deco Revival collection was used for the lining and outer side.
Make sure you visit all of the participating blogs … there promises to be LOTS of eye candy and all sorts of projects to tempt you into making some gifts “from the heart!” Let me know which ones YOU plan to make!
OK … so I don’t have a finish … but I do have a part of my Charming Bag finished. The front and back are now pieced together. It’s exciting to see some progress on this UFO!
Did you notice that I didn’t use charm squares from the pack on the bottom? I used grey fabric because I thought it would keep it cleaner. We shall see.
I have the cutest ruler by Omnigrid. It’s 4″ x 8″ and I’ve had it for simply AGES. I went to trim some squares, using the 45o angle to centre the half square triangle. It just wasn’t working for me. Then I looked at the ruler … the 45o line ends up 1/4″ from the corner. Now, if I were to use this ruler, I would have to move it 4 times to get it correct. Not happening.
I pulled out my 6″ x 12″ Olfa ruler and look where the 45o angle is … right in the corner. I’m a much happier quilter!
I’ve looked at my other rulers, including a 2.5″ and 6.5″ Omnigrid square rulers, and the 45o ends in the corners! Is it me, or is this weird?
That’s right, I’ve got a finish – but I can’t show you until the “From the Heart” blog hop! I’m glad I’m finished – I just need to write up the blog post and then I’ll be totally ready for my day on the hop (Oct. 26). It promises to be an awesome hop with lots of small gifts – just in time for you to make for Christmas!
Want some Eye Candy?
Wendy at Wendy’s Quilts and More showed pictures from Aotearoa Quilters Aqua Challenge. Amazing! This is an example of some of the entries, but you’ll have to visit Wendy’s page to see winners and the close-ups!
Quilting
I can show you a couple of more blocks from the guild’s mystery quilt. There are 16 “feature” blocks … and I quilted each of them differently using a different pattern on each block while playing with a 2″ circle and a petal ruler.
Usually, I try to have something to show on Fridays … and I like it best when it’s a finish … but this Friday all I have to show is this:
This is some playing with rulers on the guild’s mystery quilt … it’s all I’m showing because I don’t want to give away what the quilt will be. Plus, I am still in the process of quilting it … so it’s not even finished!
Other happenings …
I have TWO machines in to be serviced and have a spa visit. I took my Janome 6500 in before we left on holidays … they told me a month … I know they’ll phone when it’s ready … but I’m getting impatient!
With the 6500 visiting the spa doctor, I pulled out my trusty Featherweight and … GROAN … I’m not sure what happened, but it decided it also needed to go to the spa!
However, this meme is NOT true in my house!
I’ve also been working on some “behind the scenes” work … I’ll show you eventually … but it’s taking it’s time …
Socks …
I got my alpaca socks from Prairie Spirit Alpacas. It is cool enough today to have them on! They are pretty awesome! My toes are warm and my feet are not itchy! (they get itchy with wool). Alpaca fleece is hypoallergenic – so perfect for me! (If you order from them, put “Gail” in the code and you’ll receive a discount). (I don’t make anything from your order, except a smile!)
I’ll be ordering more socks for Christmas presents … I just need to find out if they want “Lux” for hanging out in or “Slim” for wearing with shoes …
Island Batik
Did you see the Elephant quilt that I made for Island Batik’s October challenge “Thread Painting with Auriril?” You can read about it HERE.
Scrappy Repro is now webbed together. (See How to Web a Quilt) And next up is borders … I’m thinking a burgundy for the 1st border and a neutral for the 2nd … or who knows … I need to audition some fabric before I make that decision!
Guild “Clue-Sew Fall 2020” Mystery Quilt: Sorry, no pictures … in the piecing stage …
Quilting:
I finished October’s Island Batik Thread Painting Challenge and shared that HERE. I used the fabric collection “Deco Revival.”
Stash Report
No finishes. I needed backing fabric, so I bought 4 yards.
Fabric Used this week 0 yards
Fabric Used this year: 261 yards
Fabric Bought this week: 4 yards
Fabric Added this year: 50.5 yards (I added my husbands amounts in … )
Net Fabric used 244 yards
Husband’s purchases: 11.5 yards
Stitchin’ Time
On Sept. 6, I stated that I had stitched 13 out of 13 days in September … that was SEW incorrect! Impossible to stitch for 13 days when only 6 days had passed … it should have read “6 / 6“!!!
I only sewed one day while we were away.
January – Sept: 260 / 274
30 min days/ Oct: 4 / 4
Total days in 2020: 264 / 278
Percentage = 94%
For more Stitchin’ Time, you can check out Kate’s blog: Life in Pieces
TO DO
I’m linking up to Roseanne & Sue’s “TO DO” Tuesday. Their blog is “Home Sewn by Us.”
Last week’s list:
Web Scrappy Repro√ done
Work on the guild mystery quilt (I’m leading this challenge, so I can’t show you until the Mystery Sleuths have all the clues.) √ done
I am NOT an artist – as far as drawing and thread painting goes. Nope, not me! So, this was a very challenging and intimidating challenge for me to attempt!
I started with an idea … and started it and … it sat, because it wasn’t quite right …
I had this circle on the design wall for the longest time … I had cut 2 wedges out of each of the Deco Revival fabric package that I was sent in my July Island Batik box. Many of the pieces were directional and I needed to piece them to get the wedges to go in the direction I wanted.
I hesitated in piecing the wedges together, because I just wasn’t sure … and so they sat some more, were rearranged a few times and sat … and sat …
I had NO problems at all with the fabrics … I love them, but my idea … parts of it were good … parts of it were not …
So, the wedges sat.
By the way …. this fabric should be in quilt stores now … make sure you ask for it!
I haven’t finished any UFOs this month … Scrappy Repro is close … but it’s still a UFO and it’s still NOT finished.
Here’s a recap of the UFOs I’ve completed this year! There’s a total of 15, but some of them turned into 2 or 3 quilts (Dog/cat and Florabunda) … but they counted as 1.
New Starts
I’m hosting a mystery quilt for our guild … so of course, I can’t show you that until they have all the clues.
A couple more Island Batik projects … which I will show you when the time is right!
“From the Heart” blog hop is later this month, and that project is still a WHIMM (Work Hidden in My Mind)
I was going to link up to Cheryl at Meadow Mist Designs for my Favourite Finish for September. At the time this is going live, I don’t see her link … I’m going to post it anyways and will link up when it’s available!
This purse, pattern byAnnie, is my favourite!!! I also think this is my favourite purse EVER!!! I’ve been using it a lot! It has tons of pockets and I’m able to keep everything organized! You can read about it HERE. This purse was made for the Island Batik blog hop “It’s in the Bag.”
I just feel like I haven’t gotten a lot done this month … but that is probably because I was away for almost 2 weeks!
3 Housekeeping / Updating things
First
Did you see my post about when we were visiting friends who live off-grid in the wilds of British Columbia? I showed a picture of a quilt being made by one of the girls. I thought she was at least 14 or 15 … and it turns out she’s actually 13!!!! WOW!! Oh to be able to quilt at that level, using scissors (no rotary cutter) is amazing. You can see the post HERE.
That’s right! Alpacas! We visited a dear friend, Carmen, I’ve known her for ages and ages … she has an alpaca farm … just a few alpacas! It was a ton of fun! Her farm is called Prairie Spirit Alpacas,
Every single alpaca has a name! I can remember a few of the names, but Georgia is the only one I can identify! She’s the one with the spots on her. We were in the barn and it was feeding time for the gals and young gents that need extra food.
Each one has a different face and expression! I don’t think they liked me very much – many of their ears were back. And some of them looked at me as if to say, “who are you?”
I hope you enjoy the slide show … and can you pick out Georgia??? And to make this about quilting … look at all the various neutrals in their fleece!
The alpaca fleece is very soft – especially from the young. One thing I love about alpaca fleece is that it is hypoallergenic. AND, it’s warmer than sheep’s wool. Now if you’re interested in trying any alpaca products, from Prairie Spirit Alpacas, put “Gail” in the purchase code and you will receive a 10% discount! I’ll be putting in an order for some socks for my cold feet!
Ah yes, shopping. While we were visiting my sister in Edmonton, we just happened to visit a couple of quilt stores!
Our first stop was Quincy’s Quilting in Leduc (just south of Edmonton). I bought a couple of rulers and no fabric. And yes, there was a lovely sleepy dachshund in the store!
At Lori’s Country Cottage I bought a few Studio 180 rulers and my husband bought some fabric … I didn’t buy any fabric. Do you remember in August, for the Island Batik challenge, I used the “Four Patch Square Up” ruler and how much I LOVED it? (see HERE) Well, I bought 4 more Studio 180 rulers. I can’t wait until I’m able to play with them!!!
Design Wall
Piecing:
I finished all the blocks that I need for the Scrappy Repro quilt. And here’s some of the blocks – ready to be organized into groups to start sewing them together.
Quilting:
I’m working on October’s Island Batik challenge (sorry, no pictures, yet)!
Stash Report
No finishes, but my husband bought fabric from the sale area at one of the quilt stores. He rationalized it all. The red might be enough for a backing, the bug fabric will go in the quilt he’s planning (for me to make) and the green is to add to my stash because he thinks I need more green). I think he is an enable-er.
Fabric Used this week 0 yards
Fabric Used this year: 261 yards
Fabric Bought this week: 0 yards
Fabric Added this year: 35 yards
Net Fabric used 237.5 yards
Husband’s purchases: 11.5 yards
Stitchin’ Time
On Sept. 6, I stated that I had stitched 13 out of 13 days in September … that was SEW incorrect! Impossible to stitch for 13 days when only 6 days had passed … it should have read “6 / 6“!!!
I only sewed one day while we were away.
January – July: 239 / 243
30 min days/ Sept: 10 / 20
Total days in 2020: 249 / 263
Percentage = 94%
For more Stitchin’ Time, you can check out Kate’s blog: Life in Pieces
TO DO
I’m linking up to Roseanne & Sue’s “TO DO” Tuesday. Their blog is “Home Sewn by Us.”
2 week’s ago list:
Work on Scrappy Repro√ done
Welcome Fall project√ done
Work on Oct. Island Batik project √ done
Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes. √ done
This week’s list:
Work on Scrappy Repro
Work on Oct. Island Batik project
Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes.
No changes from the last report …
BLOG HOP
This is Week 3 of a delightful blog hop. So many projects that are not quilts, but are using Island Batik’s wonderful amazing fabrics! Make sure you visit the other Island Batik Ambassadors that are showing their byAnnie creations!
For your opportunity to win some AWESOME fabrics – a fat quarter pack of Urbanization or Nouveau Soul check out the Rafflecoper at Island Batik’s blog.
Yes, HOLIDAYS! We loaded up the camper and went to northern BC and then over to Alberta … I’ll tell you more about a few of the visits in future blog posts, but this is about our first stop …
Off Grid
We visited some friends that live in the wilds of northern British Columbia and they are off-grid. We had a wonderful time. They have a parcel of land and have homesteaded and … well, it’s just great. If you want to know more, visit their website or youtube channel and watch some of their videos …
An exciting part for me was Christina and her quilt. (I forgot to ask, but I think she’s about 14 or 15). She has an electric sewing machine (they have power from solar panels) and she is making a quilt for one of her sisters. This is the first quilt she has made. No rotary cutter … totally cut with scissors … What a LOT of work!!!
The pictures were taken with natural light from outside … Here’s a closeup of the piecing … I was in awe!!! Where the pieces are suppose to meet up – they are PERFECT!
Here is a picture of Christina – about to measure the width of the quilt because she wants to add borders to make it bigger.
I can’t wait to see the finished quilt!
It’s in the Bag Blog Hop
Week 2 of the blog hop is finished! What an awesome week with many wonderful bags! To see all the bags, go to this POST and follow all the links.
Go HERE to have an opportunity to win some AWESOME Island Batik Fabric!
I’m talking about Left-overs in the sewing room … A lot of times, fabric that is left-over gets added into the stash … this time … something different …
I had quilted fabric left over from when I made the Bowl Me Over 2.0 bag by Annie. See HERE. Just a few little strips … nothing much really … but …
I used a few of Annie’s wonderful tips and made this little bag.
As you can see, there wasn’t one large piece of left-over quilted fabric, but I managed to piece it together to make this cute little bag.
The fabric is from the Deco Revival collection, there is soft and stable and I used Aurifil thread to complete the bag. Thank you Island Batik, byAnnie and Aurifil!
This month’s Island Batik challenge is to make a ByAnnie bag. There are SEW many bags to choose from and I choose the “Bowl Me Over 2.0” bag.
When I did my unboxing video from Island Batik in July, the kit to make this bag was in the box. (You can see the video HERE.) Annie had picked out the Island Batik fabric from the Deco Revival fabric collection. Everything to make the bag was included: Soft and Stable batting, the hardware, zippers, mesh, elastic and webbing … Everything I needed to make the bag. There was also a coupon with the pattern to access the videos to assist in making the bag. Here are the fabrics from the Deco Revival collection that I was to use:
Deco Revival is shipping to stores now!!! It’s a wonderful line of fabric … can’t you just imagine all the wonderful bags and quilts you could make with it?
The Bag
Here’s a picture of the kit that was in my box!
When I make bags, I usually end up doing my own thing … but I needed to follow directions with this one.
Making the Bag
The instructions first told us to print out a sheet with labels on it to keep all of our cut fabrics organized. WOW!! Am I glad I did that! It helped a LOT!
Before I cut the coordinating fabric, I needed to decide what I wanted for handles. I choose Option 1 which gives me an over the shoulder strap along with short handles. It was fantastic to be able to choose how I would carry the bag! We all carry our bags differently and have our favourite ways!
I quilted the fabric with Soft and Stable (byAnnie) between 2 batik fabrics. The pattern suggested either straight lines or quilt as desired. Of course, I chose to do my own thing and quilted lines that sort-of followed the fabric. Aurifil #4225, a purple that came in my July box, was used for the quilting.
As I followed the cutting directions, I carefully labeled each piece, using hair clips to hold each label on. There are a LOT of pieces and the labelling was both a life saver and a time saver! A life saver because I didn’t become frustrated with which piece was which! And a time saver because I could identify each piece easily as I followed the pattern.
One of the inside pockets gave me the choice of using fabric or mesh. Well, since I had never sewn with mesh fabric before and I like the idea of seeing what’s in the pocket, I chose the mesh. For that pocket, I used Aurifil #2625 – Grey – to match the grey zipper.
As I followed the pattern, each of the components were made as directed.
Finally, I was able to put the bag together. Using clips was a great way to go. As you can see in the photo below, I used a couple of hair clips (on the right) because I had run out of the “cool” clips. The hair clips easily popped off. I obviously need to get some more “cool” clips!
Schmetz Super Nonstick 80/12 was used. It was the perfect needle, especially at the end when I was sewing through 6 layers of batik and 3 layers of Soft & Stable.
Then the bag was done!
The Front View … the flap at the front has a magnet closure and it’s nice and strong!
The Back View … there is a nice roomy pocket with a zipper.
The mesh pocket inside is large enough to hold my iPad!
The pocket with fold-over elastic is in 3 sections … will be perfect for my phone, reading glasses and a small notepad …
I LOVE it!
I had some fabric left over … SEW … I made a couple of coordinating masks using by Annie’s free mask pattern. The mask on the left was made with the alternate fabric for the inside pocket (where I used mesh). Annie’s mask pattern is a different from the usual pleated masks … there is a small pleat at the bottom which helps the mask fit better.
Questions:
Would I make this bag again? Absolutely! Even though I’m not a great bag maker, it was made and I’m very happy with it!
Was it hard? It was challenging for me. However, the videos that Annie provides for the difficult, or more challenging steps, made those sections a lot easier.
Did I like “Soft and Stable?” Yes. It was easy to use and it gives the bag fantastic body!
Was the mesh hard to put in? Absolutely not … Annie has a unique way (to me) of inserting zippers and it was easy peasy!
Do I have any suggestions for someone who is thinking of making this bag? Yes … go to ByAnnie’s website and make the free pattern, “Easy Does It.” I watched a lot of the videos for this bag as I was making my Bowl Me Over 2.0 and it helped tremendously.
Would I make another byAnnie pattern? YES!! I already have the patterns for “Running with Scissors,” “Take a Stand,” “Easy Does It,” and “Clam Up.” Obviously, ByAnnie’s patterns appealed to me prior to making the “Bowl Me Over 2.0” bag!
Disclaimer: All products used for this bag were provided by Island Batik and the industry partners: byannie, Aurifil and Schmetz needles.
BLOG HOP
Make sure you visit the other Island Batik Ambassadors that are showing their byAnnie creations! It’s a wonderful blog hop!
Yes! We Zoomed again … although it was only Terry and I quilting. Cousin Connie felt she needed to be outside in her garden and at the lake (can you blame her?) and my sister, Lynn was not feeling well, but she did visit with us from time to time.
I finished my “Hello Fall” project! So you’ll see that during the “Hello Fall” Blog Hop … my day is Sept 22. And if you ask me, it’s just stinking cute!
The other project I worked on was the “Scrappy Repro” UFO … I managed to finish up all the blocks and decided on a layout where I won’t have to match seams. Yup, I know that’s being lazy – but I’m not totally in love with this project any more, so it’s just got to be DONE.
TGIFF is THANK GOODNESS IT”S FINISHED FRIDAY. A day where quilters around the world post their finishes … or their works in progress!
Some of you will be saying “but it’s still early on Thursday.” I know … but just think … in some parts of the world … Friday is almost over!
TGIFF is hosted by various bloggers … a different one each week. And it’s managed by a few very capable inventive quilters who send out reminders and pitch in when needed. If you want to host TGIFF, check out their website. (They will also help you to set up a Linky Party!)
My finish is this cute quilt … it was in a pile of “to be quilted” and I had even forgotten to put it on my “New Starts in 2020” for my PHD program. That’s OK … it’s done now, even if it didn’t make it to the list!
The quilt is basically the pattern from “5 ways to use ugly fabric” youtube video. I didn’t care for the look when the blocks were finished, so I added sashing and borders. The quilt finishes at 44″ x 59″ and the fabrics were not what I’d call ugly … but it did use up some fat quarters that were hanging around.
I finished UFO #15 on Sunday … YAY!!! You can read about it HERE. I have finished 3 since June … (and 12 from January to June.) Yes, I know there are 4 quilts below, but the 2 dog/cat quilts in the middle counted as 1 UFO …
I have 2 new starts … one in July, one in August. They are both Island Batik projects … and you know that means I can’t show you yet …
You are invited to the Inlinkz link party! Show your PHD progress.
When I make bags, I usually end up doing my own thing … but I needed to follow directions with this one.
Quilting Gail 