UFO's and Design Wall Monday

In last Saturday's guild zoom sew day, one of the things we discussed was closets, drawers, and collections of unfinished projects. I have been thinking about it this week and here are some random thoughts:

*Most of the time my UFO's don't bother me, and in fact sometimes it feels like a very special collection that someone will inherit someday. Photos of my UFO closet are magical - so much beauty and so many memories created over time. I can look at each quilt project, some with borders or backing on the hangers, and I can remember so many things about the fabrics, pattern designer, life circumstances, etc.

*But once in a while UFO's feel a bit overwhelming. Mostly this happens when I want to put more in the closet and there isn't any room!

One of the zoom attendees recommended the youtube video called "When to quit" by Karen Brown. I enjoyed watching Karen's decision making process as she sorted which UFO's were going to become finished projects, and which ones were getting the old "heave ho"! I hope to do more of that in my quilting room on a regular basis.

*Click here to read one of my favourite UFO stories about turning an old UFO duckling into a gorgeous swan. In the right hands, at the right time, with enough creativity and care... anything (projects, friendships, homes, lives, etc) can become beautiful. I just love how the daisies turned this simple QST top into a pretty quilt. I love that the daisies are translucent and you can see a bit of the block design behind them.

*Being inspired, I went through the UFO closet and pulled out 3 projects to finish. The first one is on the design wall today. This was the New Year's Day mystery from Scrapdash and was made totally from stash. I sewed the last seams together during the zoom sew, and today I will stay stitch around the edge of the quilt - just in case it will be in the UFO closet for a little while longer! LOL

I have picked out some fabric for a backing and just have to do some pressing. For that to happen, the weather needs to be cooler. It's hard to put the iron on when it's so hot! But progress is being made!

What's your UFO situation these days? 

Linking up to Design Wall Monday at Judy's

Slow Sunday Stitching

It's finally Sunday - a day of rest, reflection, renewal, and slow stitching! Why not join us as we get out our hand stitching projects and put in a few relaxing stitches?

I finished up the hand embroidery on Joy's Spring stitchalong.  These sweet little blocks are lovely celebrations of spring. I didn't follow the thread colours as recommended. I just picked whatever made my eyes happy from my unorganized box of floss (which you can see in this post).

It has been the perfect takealong project for all the medical appointments I have taken my parents to this spring. It is small and easy to carry in my mesh project bag. Just make sure you don't leave your scissors behind! If you are doing a lot of waiting in your life, you really must have a takealong project bag.  So much can be accomplished in small bits of time, and it is just so relaxing.

What really motivated me to finish up the Spring embroidery is the new 'Tis the Season stitchalong that Joy has posted for Christmas in July. I will get that started for the July project to take to medical appointments.

I have also put a few cross stitches into my spring stamp collection. This week I added a flower pot and a shovel to stamp #2. This block still needs a sun, 2 butterflies, a seed bag, and a bird. Hopefully a few more stitches will be added today.

What are you hand stitching? Please share your instagram or blog post below. Enjoy your Slow Sunday Stitching!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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Red Scraps

Two more blocks were made for one of my Rainbow Scrap Challenge projects. This is how my work table looked this morning when I was attending a zoom sew day with my guild.

I did not have enough fabric for the project I intended to work on today, so I got out the red scraps and made 2 more blocks for the scrappy 25 patch star quilt.

Here are the 25 finished blocks on the design wall. 

If I make 2 blocks each month, this quilt will take me forever to finish. I seemed to understand that during green month, but since then I seem to have forgotten! Oh well... my RSC projects take as long as they take and I just enjoy using up scraps in the colour of the month.

Linking up to the scrappy party at Angela's

Design Wall Monday

The New Year's Day mystery is on the design wall today. I really like this project and have no explanation for why the rows were taken off the design wall and not sewn together when a finish was so close in the spring. I will blame a squirrel project for taking over the design wall, and then the pieces probably got buried in a pile.

When I put the rows up on the design wall, Mr. Max had to pose for the photo too. He's so cute... he even put his squirrel toy on the featherweight machine to get in the photo. (Yes, Max chewed the corner of the box when he was a puppy!) 

It's way past time to get the rows sewn together and into a quilt top. It needs a lot of pressing, and a little bit of sewing and that's what is on the agenda for today.

Linking up to Design Wall Monday at Judy's

Slow Sunday Stitching

Happy day after Canada Day, and happy Slow Sunday Stitching! And I wanted to wish our American friends a Happy 4th of July for Tuesday! 

I have lots of photos to share about last weekend's Slow Sunday Stitching event to celebrate my friend Debby's birthday. You can probably tell who the birthday girl is (hint - the one with the tiara!) Debby invited family and friends to come and stitch with her and we had such a fun time.

I want to share with you the fun projects everyone brought. Barbara is continuing her embroidery on vintage squares.

Katie was cross stitching and had the pattern on her phone (a download from Etsy). She is going to teach me how to be a modern stitcher and download patterns to devices!

Dorothy was crocheting a pretty blanket for a new baby. She may, or may not, have had to unstitch a bit because she was having too much fun!

Debby also brought a baby project to stitch. This will be a birth sampler which she says will be ready by the time the baby goes to college! 

Jenne was helping her daughter Olivia to crochet turtle parts. That is a lot of body parts on the table - legs, arms, heads, tails, shells... it's a body shop! LOL

Here is a pile of turtle shells waiting to join other body parts. Olivia is making the turtles to raise money for a high school exchange trip to France. She was filling an order from a school teacher who was giving a turtle to each of her students at the end of the year 💜

Olivia sent us this photo of the turtles escaping to attend the end of year party at the school. So adorable and creative! If you would like to purchase a turtle (or a herd) you can contact her mom Jenne on instagram  @shiftcollective.

We even had a painter attend our Slow Stitching day. We welcome all creatives and enjoy seeing what our friends are making with their hands! 

I hope you were inspired by the hands and projects of my friends. 

Today I'll be adding some cross stitches to my Life In Full Bloom mystery from the Fat Quarter Shop. 

The mystery is long over, and I'm still slowly stitching to finish parts 1 and 2. I enjoyed the flowers at the top, but have disliked the boring blue colour blocks on the sides. I think I will skip ahead to the bottom of the design so I can stitch more fun flowers!

What are your hands stitching today? Please link up your blog or instagram post below and share your projects with us!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Scrappy Saturday

July 1st is "Canada Day"! Celebrations will be held across the country, including parades, picnics,  concerts, and fireworks. The weather forecast is for  thunderstorms, so I guess we might be mostly  celebrating indoors. And you know what that means!?! It's a quilting day for me!

I started sewing some red scraps into another Sewcialites 2 block. I had the pieces cut and ready to sew together last night, but when I made a mistake I decided it was best to just go to bed!  Good night mistake - see you in the morning!

Here is the finished block which is pattern #16 (of 24) called Christmas Star by Corey Yoder. I cut 53 pieces for this 6" block and with the exception of  my late night sewing error,  it was fun to make!

Here are my  Sewcialites 2 blocks (Rainbow Scrap Challenge version) on the design wall. Next up is another red block which I will use for block pattern #19.

The rest of my quilting time today will be spent cutting fabric for a guild summer mystery called 'Teamwork". Our amazing Community Outreach team coordinates fabric kits for those willing to make a comfort quilt to donate. This is my gorgeous kit! There is everything in the bag that I need to finish this quilt. So brilliant!

I can't wait to cut into this pretty Micheal Miller floral print called "Honey Meadow" while I enjoy a fresh new blade in my rotary cutter, and a hot tea in my Bear and Fox mug (a uniquely Canadian company - no affiliation, just a happy customer!)

Linking to the Rainbow Scrap Challenge

Scrappy Stars

A scrappy rainbow scrap challenge project is on the design wall today. This pattern alternates a 25 patch block and a star block.  That's a very old Debbie Mumm print used for the star fabric.

I started making blocks last fall and wasn't sure if I would keep up with the project or not. It turns out I really like sewing these blocks and using up my collection of 1.5" squares, so it will continue!

Here are the recently sewn blocks using blue scraps for the June Rainbow Scrap Challenge. I love the secondary design you get when the blocks are side by side.

Here are all the blocks I've sewn so far.

I'm looking forward to adding in some warm colours soon - red is up for next month.

Linking up to Rainbow Scrap Challenge and Design Wall Monday

Slow Sunday Stitching

Welcome to the Slow Sunday Stitching weekly linkup party! If you like to stitch things by hand, you have found your people! Each week there are stitchers around the world who share their projects and slow progress to encourage and inspire us.

June has been a  busy month with weddings and other celebrations. I knitted a little dishcloth to give to my niece and new husband in their wedding card. Giving money just seems so cold (although I know that young people need it) so I had to make something to put in with the money. I finished knitting the cloth on the way to the wedding!

I was so happy to have found a blue Sudz yarn that is close to the colour of their bridesmaid dresses. You can't see the colour match very well in these over exposed photos, but trust me, the blue yarn is a very close match to the blue dresses! 

I also finished "the early bird" stamp #6 for Spring Stamp Collection by Melisa at Pinker 'n Punkin Quilting. I love these tiny blocks featuring blue birds. This is the first time I have made long stitches (the lines from the sun) and I hope they stay put! I know it is already summer, and I'm still working on my spring projects, but that's okay - I'm enjoying making each stitch! Next up is stamp #2 Spring Planting.

What are you hand stitching today? Are you finishing any gifts for celebrations?

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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Mini Quilt Design Wall

Last month I attended a quilt retreat hosted by Cherished Pieces and had such a wonderful time sewing my little heart out. Of course I brought along many projects to work on, but what did I actually do?! 

I started a new project! *snort* Of course I did!

Here is my work surface after I just dove right into cutting and piecing little squares to make a double four patch quilt. 

In my own defence, Cynthia (of Cherished Pieces) gave all the retreaters a scrappy quilt book called Sew Charming (by Mary Etherington and Connie Tesene) and a Fable charm pack (by Riley Blake). What's a quilter to do but start a new project immediately?!?!

Here is the little treasure on my design wall today.

I am very happy with the green diagonal chains made from 1"  squares (finishing .5" in the quilt). And I love the hidden animals in some of the neutral prints. I spy... some cats, a bird, a rabbit, and part of a squirrel and a swan. 

It's time for decisions to be made. How big will it become? The pattern in the book is 18.5" square but I still have lots of little blocks and I could make it a bigger mini.

Does it need borders? And if so, what colour? Borders will need to be pieced because I do not have yardage of this fabric line.

Oh and also, I notice one renegade mini four patch block that will need to be sorted out. There's always at least one in every quilt that needs extra attention!

Linking up to Design Wall Monday over at Judy's

Slow Sunday Stitching

Welcome to the weekly hand stitching party!

This week marks the 11th anniversary of Slow Sunday Stitching adventures! The inaugural link up was June 24th, 2012. I can't believe that much time has passed! My original goal in creating this link up was to inspire people to slow down, to take a deep breath, to dedicate precious time to the healing process of hand work, and to connect with other creative like-minded stitchers.

Slow Stitching Gang!

And surprisingly all these years later, there are still folks who are hand stitching and blogging about it! And they are still willing to share their projects with us and I am thankful! Although I don't get around to visiting everyone each week, I do visit as many stitchers as time permits, and hope you all take the time to visit a couple of friends each week too. Thank you for posting, for reading, and for leaving encouraging comments for all of us hand stitchers!

This week I finished up a donation quilt and enjoyed hand stitching the binding. These are my commonly used tools, and you probably can't see my favourite needle which is a #10 Clover black gold needle.

I also stitched the label (created by our community outreach committee) onto the back of the quilt.

Once the quilt was finished I had enough time to get a new facecloth started.

What are you hand stitching today? We hope you will join the slow stitching gang and link up your blog or instagram post below.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Comfort Quilts

One of my life pleasures is to work on a quilt that someone will receive with appreciation. So much of our efforts (especially as women) go unnoticed and our hard work is even criticized by others. And so it is in the quilting world sometimes unfortunately. 

But to put effort into creating a quilt for someone who needs it and will appreciate the effort and the gift, is an entirely unique and inspiring experience. 

My guild is partnering with several other community organizations to create stable and safe homes (Home for Good) for 80 homeless people in our city. This program uses an innovative client centred model, and I'm very excited to be contributing in a small way to it's creation by donating money (here) and also by making quilts to bring comfort and beauty to those who will finally have a home. 

Last week I had the privilege of working together with other guild members on donation quilts at a sew in day and I brought home a gorgeous scrap quilt to finish up.  The quilt top was made by Becky, the machine quilting was done by Roxanne, and I had the privilege of finishing this quilt by attaching the label and hand stitching the binding.

As I stitched, I admired the precise piecing, the use of such a wide variety of scraps, and the beautiful quilting crafted by  talented women who are donating their time and talents to this worthy cause and I felt so proud to be a small part of this effort. 

And here is the finished quilt!

This gorgeous quilt will soon be covering someone who has had a very challenging life. I hope it brings beauty to their life and a little bit of quilty comfort. 

Everyone is someone's child/sibling/loved one!

Lyrics from the song "Somebody's Someone" by Daphne Willis:

You're somebody's someone
We're all still missin you
Back where you came from
Wherever you go we hope you know
You're somebody's someone

Disappearing Pinwheels

This project has come to an end for me. I made 20 of these blocks to contribute to a group gift for a quilting friend. Three of us made 20 blocks each (total of 60 blocks!) for a 60th birthday surprise - Happy Birthday Louise! We  started with 3 colour suggestions - green, blue and orange, and each of us made whatever kind of blocks we were inspired to sew from our stash.

I made these 20 disappearing pinwheel blocks using the 3 chosen colours and some light background fabrics. They were a delight to sew and they will combine with 40 other blocks to become whatever the birthday girl wants - either one big quilt or two smaller quilts. 

Linking up to design wall Monday at Judy's