Christmas gift is gifted
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:
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
Only working on 2 projects
I have been travelling in Ontario for the last week and haven’t been able to post anything on the blog. But, I’m home now and able to spend a bit of time catching up. And hopefully get a bit of sewing done!
I did have an awesome time in Ontario, visiting family … it was really great!
Here are the projects that I was working on before I left and hope to continue to work on soon!
Grandma’s Fabrics #13
is being quilted … with 120 white blocks and each block having a different motif, it’s taking a while to get this done.
En Provence – A Bonnie Hunter Mystery
This is the start of Clue #3 of the Bonnie Hunter mystery, “En Provence”. I have 20 of the dark blue/light blue 4-patches done, 30 more pairs to sew and more to cut and sew …
And, since I was away, I haven’t started on Clue #4 … maybe soon!
To see what others have done for the En Provence Mystery, go to this Quiltville post.
Happy Quilting
Gail
Grandma’s Quilts: 12 done!
I have 12 quilts finished. # 13 is currently being quilted, but I’m not sure it’ll be finished before I go away for a week. Yesterday was a beautiful sunny day and I took the opportunity to freeze my hands and get pictures of 12 of the quilts. I know I’ve shown a few of the quilts on the blog, but not all of them. These 2 pictures show all 12 in order from #1 on the left to #12 on the right.
And here’s a picture of all the labels with the backing fabrics:
This is a picture of #11 & #12. #11 is made with 2½” squares and #12 is made with 2″ squares. Size does make a difference! Quilt #13 is the same pattern as #12, but with less variety of fabrics because I’ve used up a lot of the fabrics. 
Linking to:
Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Crazy Mom Quilts
Busy Hands Quilts
Happy Quilting,
Gail
Working on 3 things at once
Currently, I’m working on 3 things at once.
First: Quilt #13 is now a top. It needs to be quilted and bound
.
Second: The Bonnie Hunter Mystery (En Provence): Step 1 in about 2/3 done and Step 2 is about 2/3 cut out, with none sewn. I’ve been asked what colours I’m using. I will be using dark and light blues in place of Bonnie’s purples and the dark red shown in the picture below. My neutrals are neutrals and I will probably choose a darker green than Bonnie’s yellowy green.
Third: I’ve been quilting a Christmas gift … this is a part of the back
To see what others in the quilty world are working on wander over to these blogs:
Happy Quilting!
Gail
Nothing finished this week
Nothing finished, but I did start 2 new projects … oh why oh why do I do this???? … I guess I like the idea of a mystery (thanks to Bonnie Hunter) and I like creating and Christmas is coming.
Quilt # 13 is webbed together, and has taken the back seat for now …
The mystery quilt … I have quite a few neutral 4 patches done (mostly as leaders & enders), a bunch more to sew together. The next clue is today … and I’ll be pulling fabric for it.
Creating a Christmas gift for the dearest, sweetest person I know … (I’ll post a picture after it’s gifted!)
I’m going to a “quilt ’til you wilt” tonight & hope to get some sewing done … along with visiting and laughing and eating pizza!
Linking to:
Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Crazy Mom Quilts
Busy Hands Quilts
Happy Quilting,
Gail
Quilt #13 progress …
I have 32 9-patches done … only 81 more to go …
To me, it seems like super SLOW process on Quilt #13, but I did make a demo craft for our December guild meeting and made the project for our secret Santa gifts. I wanted to get these done as I will be out of town for the week prior to the meeting. This is the 2nd year that I’ve done the secret Santa. We hand in a baggie with the equivalent of 2 fat quarters and we receive someone else’s fabric back. Then we’re challenged to make something with the fabric! I’d love to show you what I made, but then it wouldn’t be a secret, would it?
Surprise surprise, I bit the bullet … as usual … and have started the Bonnie Hunter mystery “En Provence.” I need a ton of neutral 4 patches … I have 3 done and a bunch of ‘twosies” to sew into 4 patches … then I’ll start cutting into my neutral yardage until I have enough completed!
To see what others in the quilty world are working on wander over to these blogs:
Happy Quilting!
Gail
Make it Faster Workshop
Early this year, I taught a group how to “Make it Scrappy and Faster”. This included using the “Easy Angle” ruler and to do “Leader’s and Enders” mug-rug project. Leader’s and Enders is a phrase coined by Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville.com . I had been doing a version of this before I ever heard of the Internet and blogging: I called it 2 at a time. It’s basically an assembly line method of working on 2 quilts, or 2 different portions of the quilt, at the same time. People often ask how I get so many quilts done and I believe these 2 techniques are the answer.
Here are photos of the participants quilts.
Dawn, Heidi, Linda and Isabelle put their quilts together in the traditional “Jewel Box” setting.
Matt, Barb, Dawn and Laurel put them together in a different arrangement. Matt made his larger with the design off-centre. I find it exciting when people take what you give them and make it their own! And yes, Dawn made both the blue one above and the pink one below. Others have told me that they’ve made more, but I haven’t seen any pictures.
Linking to:
Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Crazy Mom Quilts
Busy Hands Quilts
Happy Quilting,
Gail
Grandma’s fabrics: Quilt #13 started
I’ve started on the final quilt to be made with Grandma’s fabrics. I haven’t gotten much done … just the start of a few nine patches. With the goal to make another single Irish Chain. These blocks are 2″ square. The unfinished 9 patch will be 5″ square …
I started quilting on Quilt # 12 yesterday. Sorry, but I don’t have a picture.
Here is a picture of Quilts #10 (on the right) and #11 (on the left).
To see what others in the quilty world are working on wander over to these blogs:
Happy Quilting!
Gail
Quilt #11 is Done, Done
In my last post (here), I showed you some of quilt blocks. I had taken a free-motion quilting class at The Quilted Bear in Ladner. A lovely, talented lady, taught me a ton! One of the things she talked about was ‘variety’. “Don’t do the same thing everywhere … change it up … don’t be bored” (my paraphrasing). So, I attempted to quilt a lot of different blocks in this quilt. Some are repeated a few times, some were suggestions from a book that I adapted due to the fact that my neutral blocks were not square and some were made up as I went along. It was a lot of fun and I love the look.
Linking to:
Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Crazy Mom Quilts
Busy Hands Quilts
Happy Quilting!
Gail
Quilt #11: Binding is started!
In this quilt, I attempted to do a lot of different designs in the blocks. Some of the designs were fun and I enjoyed doing them. A few were a struggle, but I felt like I needed to push myself to do them. The following pictures will give you an idea of what some of the quilting was like.
And the binding is started!
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
Remembrance Day and Quilting on #11 has started
November 11 … a day to Remember … When I was in high school, in the early ’70’s, we had a modern and radical English teacher and we were introduced to Leonard Cohen. I find it fitting on the day following Cohen’s death, McLeans magazine has a clip of him reciting “In Flander’s Fields.” Click here to listen.
Quilt #11 of Grandma’s fabrics is a simple Irish chain: 9 patches, alternating with plain blocks. The patches are made from 2 ½” squares. I recently took a free-motion class and the instructor was really encouraging us to use a variety of designs in our quilts. So, I think I will attempt to do something different in each block. However, I already know that I’m going to be doing a lot of similar blocks, but I will definitely be trying out a few new designs. Or at least, new to me!
Linking to:
Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Crazy Mom Quilts
Busy Hands Quilts
Happy Quilting!
Gail
Quilt 12 of Grandma’s Fabrics
I’ve been busy this week and haven’t gotten a lot of sewing done.
Quilt #12 is in progress, I have one 9 patch block done … only 112 more to finish putting together. Then I can arrange it with alternating background blocks and start sewing the rows together. On Mondays, I sew with a bunch of ladies: sew … I’m hoping to get quite a few of the 9 patch blocks done today!
The 9 patch block is using 2″ squares and is 5″ square. Once it’s sewing into the quilt it will be 4 ½” … I’m not sure how big the finished quilt will be, but these blocks are so darn cute … I’m thinking that this may be my favourite of all the quilts so far … but I think I’ve also said that of the others as well!
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
Status of Quilts from Grandma’s Fabrics
Quilts # 1-10 are all completed. #11 is sandwiched and ready to quilt. #12 will use 2″ squares and be basically the same pattern as #11, only with smaller squares and lots more blocks.
This is #10, washed and dried. I absolutely love the “wrinkly” look that you get when you don’t wash the batting and backing. To me, it looks more cozy and vintage. And, since I am using Grandma’s fabrics – the fabric is vintage, so it’s very appropriate.
Linking to:
Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Crazy Mom Quilts
Busy Hands Quilts
Happy Quilting
Gail
Different sizes
I don’t have a picture of what’s on my design wall because there is nothing on it. I will start something new later today.
However, here is a picture of 3 quilts, using Grandma’s fabrics. I used different sized squares. The quilt on the left used 2″ squares, the middle used 2 ½” squares and the squares on the right were 3 ½”. The picture is not that great, but you can see how the size really affects the look of the quilt.
To see what others are working on wander over to these blogs:
Happy Quilting everyone!
Gail
Grandma’s Fabrics … # 10 is done!
Last night, I finished the binding on Quilt # 10! I’m so excited to have gotten this far!
I’m getting low on Grandma’s fabrics, but my goal is to make 13 quilts and think I should be able to do it without adding any of my own fabric (except for background, binding and backing).
“Why 13 quilts?” you ask. I have 11 first cousins on my dad’s side of the family. Add in my sister and myself and that brings us to 13. We draw names for Christmas and I’ll make sure it’s “rigged” so that we get each cousin and their spouse’s name over the next several years. In the meantime, I’ll be showing some of them at the guild meetings and in my trunk shows.
Last Friday, I posted about how the fabric label on Quilt #6 ran and I did emergency surgery and cut the offending label out. You can read about it here.
Restorative Surgery happened on Sunday and to see how it was fixed go here.
To see what other’s have finished on Friday, visit these blogs:
Pictures are back
My cousin told me that pictures of my quilts were not visible on my blog. I went searching and realized that I had deleted them. So, I’ve gone back and have replaced all but one of them. I’ll have to find it later.
Thanks, Terry, for letting me know!
Disaster is Fixed!
In my last post, I talked about how a label ran and I ended up cutting it out. You can see pictures of it here. We used scissors to cut, so the edges are a little jagged and not straight. 
I really didn’t want to do a set-in seam with top, batting and back, so I decided to make a straight edge. All stitching was taken out about 3/4″ from the edge. I then whip-stitched the batting triangle to the original batting. Next, a background (white) triangle and a backing triangle were sewn onto the quilt. Elmer’s glue was used to sandwich the triangle to prevent future shifting. The triangle was squared to match the quilt … and I was smiling!
The first steps were done! (I find that sometimes they are the hardest steps to take!)
A new label was made, glued and ironed into place, then sewn down. I then quilted it from the top. (Sorry, I didn’t get a picture of me quilting it.)
Finally, the binding was attached. I attempted to do it the way a blog reader suggested, but on the third try, I decided to unstitch more of the binding, joining it in my usual manner. By this time, I was really smiling because it was almost done. 
Grandma’s Fabric: Quilt 6 is now fixed and completed. I will post a picture of the completed quilt once it’s washed and hanging in the sunshine!
To see what others are working on wander over to these blogs:
Hope your quilting avoids disaster!
Gail
A disastrous bleed
I always wash my quilts after they are quilted, label is on and the binding is finished. I was a little suspect of my green label because it bleed a little when I used glue to secure it in place. Thinking that a “color catcher” would be enough, I put Grandma’s Fabric quilt #6 in the wash. Whoa! I pulled it out right away. Took it to the kitchen sink and tried Sunlight bar soap, vinegar … nothing was working and you could literally watch the colour seeping further and further. I did the only thing I could think of: I grabbed a pair of scissors and and cut the label out.
Labels 7-12 were already done – they instantly went into the garbage, along with the offending green fabric.
So now I have some mending to do. The plan is to cut the corner in a triangle shape, unstitch a good inch or so, add backing, batting and the white top. Then, add a new label, quilt it and try to figure out how to join the binding on the corner … I do not want to take miles of binding so that I can have mitred binding. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to do it?
To see what other’s have finished on Friday, visit these blogs: Confessions of a Fabric Addict and Crazy Mom Quilts
Edit: I was just reading an email from The Quilt Show and it contained a link to Colorways by Vici Welsh … she has tested a few detergents and has found that Dawn Ultra Pure is one of the best to prevent colour running … a little late for me, but something to remember if I suspect a fabric will run.
Hope your quilting does not involve as much re-doing!
Gail
More accomplished at the day retreat
I did get a lot more finished at the day retreat last week! These 2 quilts are almost the same, but with different quilting. I did “C’s” on one, which makes it look like I quilted circles. On the other, I quilted flowers. It’s a simple pattern that starts with a circle and you try to add 5 petals on the flower. I don’t have any rules and if 3 petals are all that fit, that’s just fine. It was hard to get a picture of the border, but the flowers, joined by a vine, float along the border.
Wander over to Patchwork Times and Love, Laugh, Quilt to see what others are working on.
Happy Quilting,
Gail
Quilting Gail 