Suite Times

By | February 15, 2020
0 Comment

Another quilt top made from the Easy Peasy Quilts 3- Yard Quilts booklet borrowed from the guild library.

I have to say while I’m liking the look of the patterns I’m finding them technically not as much to my liking as I’d hoped they would be. They assume a full 42″ of usable fabric, which sadly isn’t always the case these days. And if your cutting is a smidgen off; well you’ll need more fabric than a yard. I ended up on one strip an 1/8 of an inch short and fudging ensued.  Given how fabric manufacturer’s are shortening their lengths of fabric these days, this becomes a real concern.

Also the border instructions don’t say how long the borders should be just sew all the border strips together and sew on – lazy and leads to wavy borders. Criticising is easy, but when a pattern is published you expect a bit more than “sew on”.   Still the patterns are cute as a button and quick and easy to make. This was started at noon and finished by about 7:30pm with relaxing lunch and dinner breaks.

All that being said this will still make a great charity quilt that some little girl or boy will be very happy to receive.

Easy Street

By | February 11, 2020
1 Comment

Making this quilt top from the Easy Peasy 3- Yard Quilts book was a fun one day project.

The only thing I’m doing differently from the pattern is that I won’t be doing single fold binding.  Double fold binding is my preference to finish a quilt. As I have more than a yard of the green butterfly fabric I’m able to do that.

 

Stars in the Darkening Sky – Finished

By | February 10, 2020
2 Comments

At long last Stars in the Darkening Sky is a finish. We quilted it at Whirls n Swirls and used a wool batting.

scrap quilt

I finished it off with a scrappy binding and even managed to find some of the fabric from the star points to use for this!  This is my second UFO finish for 2020.

Small Dog Quilt

By | January 22, 2020
0 Comment

Here is my first finish for 2020! The dog themed blocks were from a small bag of material found at Value Village a second hand store and the solid blocks were from fat quarters that were in my stash.

It will be donated to the guild’s outreach program in February.

 

small dog quilt

2020 UFO List

By | December 30, 2019
0 Comment

As my 2019 sewing year comes to a close it’s time admit to the list of projects that are entering 2020 with me. This year (2019) I finished 24 projects on my UFO list and I’ve removed one project because I can’t find it . Over 100 yards of fabric were used in these quilts.

So added to the unfinished 2019 projects are the projects started in 2020 which are indicated with an asterisk.

  1. Alletaire – A Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt – Blocks need fixing and top needs to be finished
  2. Marc’s Gradient Quilt in 3 colours – needs fixing then borders
  3. Blue 16 patch and Happy Block Quilt – top needs fixing *
  4. Happy to be Square – top completed *
  5. Happy all Day Long – top completed *
  6. Colour Blocks (“H” Blocks) top completed *
  7. Light Doggie Quilt Top (VV blocks) – binding needs to be hand sewn down *
  8. Dark Doggie Quilt Top (VV blocks) – top completed, layered *
  9. Blue and Green “Fourth of July Quilt” – top completed, binding cut *
  10. Blue & Orange “Fourth of July Quilt” – not yet sewn pieces in a baggie* 
  11.  Big and Little patch quilt – top completed *
  12. Blue stripe 9 patch quilt – top completed, batting cut, backing outstanding *
  13. Too nice to cut lap quilt – top completed
  14. Chain Link Quilt – top completed, backing obtained *
  15. Retreat Grey & Colourful Quilt – top completed, backing obtained *
  16. Stars in the Darkening Sky top completed, backing obtained *
  17. Arizona Crossroads – top complete, backing obtained
  18. Rainbow Swirl Quilt – top finished, backing obtained
  19. Purple & Green Galaxy Star – top complete, backing obtained
  20. Grand Illusion Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt – borders need to be added
  21. Black & White wallhanging – finish quilting
  22.  Purple table Runner – top completed
  23. Peaky and spiky quilt – in progress
  24. Irish Star Quilt – borders, make bigger?
  25. Quilt top (not made by me) found at VV – needs backing
  26. Whirlygig – top completed? Borders to be added?
  27. Medallion Quilt for Guild Project – in progress *
  28. Black & Brights Livejournal block swap, blocks completed
  29. Scrappy Bonnie Hunter Starstruck Quilt – in progress *
  30.  Shannan’s Poly cotton Quilt – in progress
  31. Cross and Chains – top completed, back to be made
  32. Burgundy Star Quilt found at at VV (replace batting & quilt) *
  33. Posies, in progress *
  34. Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt, in progress *
  35. Rainbow scrappy trip around the world quilt, blocks made*
  36.  “H” blocks need to figure out layout and how many more to make. *
  37. Idaho Square Dance Take 2  – blocks made, need to make sashing  *
  38. Started Happy Block Quilt *

Number 21, a black and white wall hanging is my oldest UFO and I’ve accepted the challenge in the Stashbusters group I’m a member of to finish that quilt this year. Seeing that’s been around for nearly two decades I think it’s aged appropriately and is due for a finish! I’d like to get that done before the summer. We’ll see how that goes. It’s already partially quilted so there may not be that much left to do.

Other goals include donating a small quilt each guild meeting to the charity outreach program and I’d like to donate a number of lap quilts next December to the nursing home where my father resides. Some residents go there with so little they don’t even have a personal blanket and as the nature of those homes go there are always new residents. I’m not sure I want to put a number on my donation there at this time. Last year I donated 10 – hopefully I can match or better that this year. On the list above are approximately 13 quilts in various stages of completion that can go to one or the other of the causes above, so I do have a good start.

Funky Churn Dash Quilt Finished

By | December 11, 2019
11 Comments

I’m happy, I finished binding my churn dash quilt yesterday!

funky churn dash quilt

I love how funky it looks. That background fabric really makes it. I really wish I hadn’t run out of that material but at least I had just enough of it to make some sashing to avoid having to deal with points matching and seams nesting. The scrappy binding was done out of necessity rather than as a design feature even though it just adds to fun look!

My initial plan was to donate this quilt but it’s not going anywhere but on my chair in the living room. I’m liking it too much to give it away. 

Construction Notes

  • 12 inch finished churn dash blocks, press to centre 
  • 1.5 inch cut sashing, cut 12.5 inches long
  • 1.5 inch square cut cornerstones for the sashing – considered doing multicoloured the same colours as in the blocks not sure why I didn’t do that, probably would have looked good
  • No sashing surrounding the outside of the blocks only because there was insufficient background material 
  • scrappy binding, no piece longer than 1/2 WOF

 

 

UFO List December 1st 2019

By | December 1, 2019
4 Comments

Here are the UFO’s on my list that are still to be completed as at the beginning of December 2019. Since July I have made not too much progress,  however, I must brag that I did finish 16 UFO’s in the first half of this year.  UFOs do not include any projects started in 2019 of which there are some. 

2. Friendship Star baby quilt – COMPLETED August 17, 2019

3. Loose Star blocks – Completed Nov 30, 2019

4. Alletaire – A Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt – a few blocks need fixing and top needs to be finished

5. Halloween square pumpkin wall hanging – needs quilting

6. Cinema at 7 – Completed November 20, 2019

7. Found charm square top – top made or donated?

8 Cross and Chains – top completed

10. Too nice to cut lap quilt – top completed

11. Black and white wall hanging, finish quilting 

15 Coin Quilt – COMPLETED NOVEMBER 17, 2019

17. Purple and Green Galaxy Star – top completed

18. Grand Illusion Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt – borders need to be added

19 – The last of the ZIG ZAG Nines quilt All DONE

  • 19b) dancing nine patch blue border – Completed Nov 20, 2019
  • 19d) dancing nine patch green border – Completed Nov 23, 2019
  • 19e) zigzag 1 – COMPLETED SEPTEMBER 2019 
  • 19f) zigzag 2  – COMPLETED NOVEMBER 7 2019

20. Arizona Crossroads – top completed

21. Shannan’s Poly cotton Quilt – top to be finished

22. Black table runner – quilt or scrap 

23. Peaky and spiky quilt – top to be finished

25. Rainbow Star lap Quilt – top completed

27. Star Struck quilt (brights on black)-  COMPLETED NOV 10, 2019

30 Marc’s Gradient Quilt in 3 colours – needs fixing

31 Irish Star Quilt – borders?

32 Quilt top (not made by me) found at VV – needs quilting

35 Whirlygig –  Borders to be added?

37 Stars touching – COMPLETED NOVEMBER 8, 2019

38 Black & brights Livejournal swap quilt – top needs to be made

Starstruck is a Finish!

By | November 17, 2019
8 Comments

I’m happy that my Starstruck quilt is finally finished! About time!

This one is going on the wall in my sewing room! I just love how the colours glow against the black background! There isn’t a lot of wall space in the room as I have shelves up so I’m hoping this will just fit on the one stretch of wall that is open.

Cinema at Seven is Quilted!

By | November 3, 2019
5 Comments

Marc and I spent a few hours at our local long arm quilting studio yesterday morning quilting Cinema at Seven.

This was started in March 2016 and has been a top since April of that year. I’ve had the backing for a few years but it just never had been quilted. I was intimidated by it thinking it was bigger than it was.

It’s based on the quilt Film at Five from the Wedding Dress Blue blog. However, I changed the squares to 2 inches and added two columns and rows probably due to some insanity caused by liking teeny tiny little squares of fabric. It’s approximately the same size as the original quilt give or take a few inches just with quite a more pieces. What was I thinking?

The batting is Hobbs wool batting and it’s my first time using it. Marc insisted we purchase wool batting when he found out that wool batting is a option. He also stated that all bed quilts I make for us going forward have wool batting. I was good with that but I did stipulate he’s going have to give them the proper TLC during laundering (that’s his chore) because I don’t want my quilts felted. I quietly did a silent cheer that the expensive roll of wool batting was his idea and not mine. I’d gone to the store for a roll of Hobbs 80/20 on sale! We came home with both that day. 

Anyway, I digress,  I really do like how the wool batting shows off the quilting. We used a pantograph called Bolero. 

On today’s agenda is making binding. I’ve found some black & white fabric with very small stripes that will work well with this quilt and hope to have the binding made and applied and ready start the hand sewing to the back of the quilt before the day is over. 

Doll Quilts

By | October 27, 2019
10 Comments

A few years back I made a couple of doll quilts for friends who collect dolls.

The doll quilts were made of poly cotton therefore if you are the quilt police and disapprove of anything but 100% cotton quilts I’m afraid this post will upset you. I don’t like to mix fibre types in a quilt but I’m totally cool with an all poly cotton quilt.

And you have to admit there are some cool pillowcases and sheets from a few years ago when polycotton was all the rage for bedding, as these two doll quilts attest: