Slow Stitching Sunday

Welcome to the Slow Sunday Stitching linky party! 
Make yourself a coffee or tea, and enjoy visiting the blogs of hand stitching friends around the world. 
Sunday is the day for resting and recharging your energy, so that you can be prepared for the week ahead. If you want to read an interesting article about some crafters in B.C. and some of the benefits of hand stitching - click here. Are you convinced now that you should pick up your stitching and reap the benefits?!? 

If you missed Thursday's post about the book "Imagine the life you'd love to live, then live it", click here to read about it and enter the draw to win it. I do enjoy reading, but I like quilting more, so it's a fine balance to achieve - read a little, quilt a lot! LOL

Today I will be hand quilting the border on my block sampler quilt. This is a photo of one section of the pattern on the back of the quilt. The sashing is on the top of the photo and the border is along the bottom. I traced the 3 diamonds using cardboard squares. I am very "low-tech"!

The quilting has now turned one corner, and this is how it looks on the back.  I am happy with how the design is turning out and it is a fun pattern to stitch, which makes me want to keep at it.
Okay Slow Stitchers, here's a heads up for the challenge for you for NEXT week... since Slow Sunday Stitching is a linky party that celebrates the art of hand stitching, any links that are posted next Sunday which have a photo of your hand while stitching will go into a draw to win some stitching tools. Be creative and have fun showing us how you stitch.
Now then, for this week's link up, just click on the "click here to enter" tab and follow the instructions. Happy Stitching!

QPOM progress

By Depressed Alien

Is it cold where you live? 
It has been bitterly cold here this week, and all I want to do is stay home and hand stitch under a warm cozy quilt. My daughter sent me this cute cartoon. 

When not trying to stay warm,
I have been sewing some blocks for my Quilt Pattern of the Month for my local guild meeting. I want to have the top together for the January meeting, so I have to get going on it.

Most of the squares are ready with the brown centers sewn in, but I need to find a few more fabrics to fill in the missing blocks. I used two charm packs but am 4 blocks short for a layout of 9 by 10. 
This is a different colour palette than I'm used to, but it's growing on me!
Next I will be cutting and sewing the flying geese blocks for the borders. I already have a quilting idea, so this might even be a January finish!

Book Giveaway

I was recently given a copy of a new book by Viva Editions called "Imagine the life you'd love to live, then live it" by Peg Conley. The editor gave me this book in exchange for writing a blog post reviewing the book.

So here's my review...

What's inside this book?

There are 52 short chapters in this book, each one explains an idea or practice that will increase your creativity. Who doesn't want to be more creative, especially if you are a quilter? I have read many books over the years about creativity and was happy to read a new one. 

After reading this book, I was surprised to find that I am regularly practicing many of the suggested ideas. It was good to be reminded of why these choices are important, and to be mindful of the reasons why I continue to engage in some of the things I value, like LAUGH, PLAY, enjoy a massage, etc.  

There were a few new tasks I want to try, including "clean out your closets". That's a tough one for me because I like my stuff... especially my quilting stuff. And we all know about the never-ending UFO closets! But I recognize the value in what the author says:

" We have a tendency to hold onto things, but honestly, holding onto the past can clog up the plumbing".

That resonated with me since my house has had horrendous plumbing issues this past year. It's time to unclog the plumbing, clean out the closets, and get the creative flow going!  I'll let you know how that works out for me.

What do I like about the book?

I like that this is the kind of book that you have on your bedside table, and pick it up for a quick read of specific chapters you want to work on. There are many inspiring thoughts that remind you of small but important

things you could do to move forward in your life, and be more creative.

One of my favorite things about the book is that each chapter ends with a quote by a famous/inspiring person.

Here's one of the quotes I liked by Paulo Coelho: "Stop being who you were and become who you are."

What would I change about the book?

I would add colour. The author is a watercolour artist,  but the only colour in this book is on the cover. The book pages do not visually attract the attention of creative people. It would be like me writing a book about creativity and not putting any pictures of quilts inside!

And speaking of quilts, Peg gives a shout out to quilters on page 146 and describes us as "artists whose medium is fabric". And she has produced a fabric line available through Clothworks.

If you are interested in the topic of creativity, leave a comment below and I will draw randomly draw the name of the creative quilter who will read it next (after my Granddog Max is finished!).

Finished Quilt Top

On New Year's Day Quiltbug offered a free mystery quilt pattern. It's important to start the year off on the right track, so of course I started this new quilt with one of my sewing groups.

We enjoyed some visiting, sewing, and festivities. One of the quilters brought us snacks and her napkins said: "Wise men brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Wise women brought wine." 






There were a lot of HST's to make in this project and we didn't have enough time to finish our tops that day, but mine is now finished.  I made the door hanging version (there is also a tablerunner version) and am eager to quilt this.






I pieced some batting scraps together, and found a hunk of old fabric I don't really like to use for a backing. Now I am pin basting the three layers together using my favorite "Kwik Klip" tool.

Spoiler Alert - Mystery Revealed

Bonnie from Quiltville has revealed the final layout of the Grand Illusion mystery quilt, and I have sewn together 2 blocks so far. Wow... it's very busy looking!
I really wanted the green to be in the block to hopefully "calm it down" a bit, but the green was only in the sashing. So I made one block with the white and the blue florals in the center 4 patch, and then made one block with some green in the center 4 patch. 
I was surprised to find that I didn't like the change as much as I thought I would, so I think I'll go back to the original plan.



I have a lot of block parts in various stages of development and it won't take long to get the rest of the blocks together since I am only making half of them for a smaller version of the quilt. My quilt will be 3 blocks by 4 blocks, plus likely 3 borders.
To see more versions of Grand Illusion in development, hop over to Quiltville, and to see more design wall postings, visit Patchwork Times.

2015 Slow Sunday Stitching

It's the first 2015 Sunday link up for all you slow stitchers out there. If you are anything like me (exhausted from holiday celebrations) I bet you are ready for some relaxation and stitching enjoyment. 

I am starting off the new year trying to finish the quilt I didn't get done by the end of last year. Christmas totally derailed my progress on quilting the border, and I am now ready to get back at it. I finally decided on a design with 3 diamonds in each border section. I went totally "old school" with the tools and am just using cardboard templates (which I cut to the size I wanted) to make the diamond shapes.
I have started marking the quilting lines, which is always easier to do before the quilt has been pin basted. But since I can never decide on my design until it is time to actually quilt the border, I am used to "marking as I go". My marks are made with my white Bohin chalk pencil so that I can clearly see the quilting lines, since I will be quilting with red thread on red fabric and it will be hard enough on my poor old eyes! The chalk soon needed to be refilled (which you can see in more detail on this post) and enough of the design was marked so that I can get going on some quilting today.

Can you see in this photo that I will run 5 needles at the same time so that I don't have to reposition the hoop to go back and forth?
Two needles are for the inside and outside lines, two needles are for the inside diamonds, and one needle will run along the edge with a large basting stitch to hold the layers together and make it easier to put the binding on at the end. It's fun to do the quilting this way - if the threads don't get tangled together. I will make my way around the outside of the quilt only once to complete the border quilting design.

What are you stitching to start off 2015? You are most welcome to link up your blog post below for any hand stitching project you are working on today.

Scrappy Challenge Review

I have been participating in Angela's Rainbow Scrap Challenge since 2011 and have made many wonderful blocks and quilts as a result of her inspiration. Over the past year I have focused on 6 scrap projects and have successfully made progress on each one. AND I have not started any new ones, which is a miracle! 
Let's review:
1) Palm Branches 

This block pattern ("Red Herring") is a free pattern and tutorial from Kristy at the Quiet Play blog. The blocks finish at 6" x 7" so they use up a lot of small scraps. Although I haven't worked on this recently, I still really like it, and enjoy having a paper piecing project that I can play with from time to time. This project will continue next year.



2) Carrie Nation
I made my first block as part of the Votes For Women project and enjoyed it so much that I started making a scrappy rainbow version. I have my layout in mind and now am making extra blocks to fill in the colour gaps. Orange blocks have been made since this photo was taken, and now I am working on more green blocks. This should become a finished quilt in 2015.




3) Alamo Stars

This project has been in production for over two years now. You can read about the Alamo inspiration here. I still love making these tiny blocks. They are 2.25" and are like little sparkly jewels. I always have a few blocks cut and sitting on my sewing table to use as a leader/ender. I try to sew a few each month, and this project will definitely continue into next year.


4) Pumpkin Seeds
This has been my "learning to applique" project and it has been great practice. I am filling in the missing colours, and am finishing some orange and some blue blocks this month. This will be up on the design wall in the new year to make more decisions about size, layout, borders and colours needed. I think I am ready to progress to a more challenging applique project soon.

5) Omigosh
This project is a life time commitment! The blocks are so tiny and the quilt needs a bazillion, so it will be added to regularly. I love that it uses up the 1" scraps that other people throw in the garbage. I have made over 50 of these blocks and plan to double that number this year.

6) Spools
I also really enjoy sewing the spool blocks, but I think I have made more than enough for a large quilt. I started putting them on the design wall and discovered that there were enough blue and purple spools to make a quilt! I think it's time to work on a layout for the spools.






7) Crumbs
I haven't worked on this one much this year. I have enough blocks now to finish it, but just haven't. It could be a quick finish if I set my mind to it. I wanted to make a scrappy rainbow border for this quilt. Maybe I should put this one on the UFO list?








8) All Tied Up in Knots
These blocks have been finished for a while, and I have been contemplating a layout for them. I finally got some inspiration when at a quilt show in the fall. I plan to make a pieced border of on point 9 patch blocks between the knots. I need to create a floor plan to figure out what the colours for the 9 patches will be. This will be a task for January, so I can sew up the sashing blocks throughout the year.

So that's my Scrappy Rainbow Challenge summary. I didn't finish anything from my scrap blocks this year, but added a lot of new blocks to my various collections. Time to get some of these turned into finished quilts!

It's a Mysterious Friday

One mystery is ending and another one is starting!
Yesterday Bonnie posted the final step for the Grand Illusion mystery project over at Quiltville. I am ready to get sewing all these bits and pieces together.

Also I am starting off the new year properly as any good quilt addict should -beginning a new mystery quilt! 

These are my fabric choices from the stash to make "New Beginnings". I hope the 3 fabrics on the right aren't going to blend together too much. This is a small, quick mystery, as opposed to the Quiltville mystery which is large and has hundreds of pieces. I am curious to see how long it will take me to sew these two quilt projects together!

2015 A Whole New Year of UFO's!

Happy New Year! I hope you enjoyed some festivities with family and friends last night, and are ready to start the year off with some quilting time today. I will be organizing my UFO's.
Over my years of quilting I have made friends with my UFO problem situation. (You can read more about that progression on the UFO Management tab at the top of my blog.) The main reason for this condition is that I am a very creative person and I love quilting. Also I have an occasional flare up of a chronic condition called "Startitis", which means my self control ebbs, and I start a bunch of projects that I didn't really mean to! Shop hops and big quilt shows are triggers for a nasty flare up of Startitis!
In 2014 I finished 6 quilts and 1 quilt top on my UFO list, plus I almost finished hand quilting another one on that list. In my books, that is a successful year!  Of the remaining 4 quilts, one will become a Rainbow Scrap Challenge project (to work on the sashings each month), and the other 3 are going on the new list for another crack at being finished.

Here is the UFO closet at the beginning of 2015.
Hmmm... lots of treasures in there that would like to become finished quilts! Some of the hangers have the quilt top and the fabric for part, or all of, the backing....which is shockingly organized (for me)!! It was hard to pick only 12 projects to concentrate on, but it had to be done, and some quilt tops that didn't make the list are crying in the closet now. Not really... I made up that last part to see if you are still reading! LOL

Here is my top 12 UFO list for next year:

1) Triangle stars - this was an impulse start from a shop hop, but I like it and want it to be finished. The top is in sections, and just needs to be put together and quilted.

2) Easy Street - a very large quilt that I'm hoping Cathy will quilt for me this year, so I will just have to piece a backing and stitch the binding.

3) Roll, Roll, Cotton Boll - same as above... large quilt that I don't want to quilt myself. It has been on my UFO list since forever. Maybe this is the year it will be finished?

4) Polka Dot batiks - this was a leader/ender project from 2010 made from batik fabrics with dots. Don't ask why... I can't remember now!

5) sixties - also an old UFO never seen on my blog, although I don't know why, since I really like it. Maybe I got hung up on the layout decision?

6) Sweet Treats - a 2012 quilt along from Patchwork Times that I really enjoyed. I don't remember why this became a UFO. It's time to finish this one!



7) old log cabin - not seen on my blog before and very old. I have avoided it because it smells. Literally. Not as in "stinks as a quilt design" but as in, has an odour from being stored too long in the UFO bin. I need to de-smell it first! It was on the list last year, and didn't get any attention at all.

8) Tetris - a quilt along over at Melissa's Happy Quilting blog. This is a happy quilt and it just needs a backing and some fun quilting.

9) QSQA - this one is a quilt-as-you-go project that is stalled because I am nervous about the next step. I need to summon my courage and jump in!

10) Deckade the Halls - this pattern was the Fat Quarter Shop's gift to all their happy customers to celebrate their 10th anniversary. It was a wonderful sew along and I love the quilt top, which I made totally from scraps. Let's hope it can be finished to enjoy next Christmas!

11) scrappy braid - this one hasn't been seen on my blog and is a very old (at least 10 years in the closet) UFO. Many braids are laying around here somewhere, so it's time to find them and get that one together.

12) Brown block sampler - needs a backing and quilting. Maybe I'll work on this one during the brown month of the RSC?

So that's the UFO parade for 2015.
I am signing up for the 2015 Lovely Year of Finishes challenge and find it very motivating to keep on track for goal setting each month. January's project will be "Sweet Treats" because I know I have all the fabric I need on hand to finish this one up.
Cheers to a wonderful quilt filled year!

End of 2014

At the end of the year most of us typically review the preceding year, do some soul searching and evaluating of our efforts, and set some goals for the year ahead. It is a quilt blogging tradition to review your quilty accomplishments of the past year, and write about it in your last blog post of the year. I used to make some lofty quilting resolutions, but I know myself well enough now to know that the best I can hope for is fewer new projects started and more UFO's completed!
This year I finished 6 quilts that were on my 2014 UFO list (you can see the list posted to the right of my blog).

1) Storm at Sea is a wallhanging I finished in June. It was made from a John Flynn laser cut kit that I purchased in Paducah many years ago. The piecing was a dream, even though the pieces were very tiny. You can see the machine quilting better in this post.









2)  Sunflower mystery was a large lap quilt finished in October. It was a UFO from 2007 so I was delighted that it was finally a finished project. I used this UFO to try a new (to me) circular quilting design, which you can see in this post.

3) Civil War Sampler
These blocks were started in 2011 as a weekly project on Barbara Brackman's blog. You can read more about it and see the great backing I made for it here. All of the fabrics were civil war reproductions. I almost abandoned the project early on (read about the reason why here) but persevered and am soooooo happy that I did. I love this quilt and feel proud of the accumulated effort that produced this finish! Cathy quilted it for me and did a beautiful job!

4) Plaid Beauty
This quilt was started in a workshop with Bonnie Hunter in 2010 and was finished in July this year! You can read more about it here.
This is another quilt that I am very proud of and I machine quilted it with straight lines in the middle and a feather in the border. I was going to give it as a gift, but find I am not able to part with it just yet!

5) Fandango and Friends - Scrappy Hexagons
This quilt was 4 years in the making, and was completed in August. I enjoyed machine quilting it with free motion curvy lines. You can read more about that here.










6) Countdown to Christmas This quilt was a sew along with Temecula quilts last December. It became a finished quilt in April.
You can see the quilting design here.








I enjoyed participating in the Lovely Year of Finishes in 2014 and was delighted to finish half of my list. Some of the finishes took 2 months of goal setting, but it worked out fine. The deadline and accountability does help to motivate me to finish projects.
These were my other non-UFO finishes this year, listed in order of their size:  Mini Hearts, Civil War Kisses, Cascadia, spring tablerunner, Market Day, Superpowers, autumn HSTs, Nabby's Dowry, a flannel baby quilt, Not Just Any Rail Fence, Journey of a Quilter, Civil War BOM, and Angel Solstice. (You can see all of these finished quilts here.) Wow... that's 13 more finished quilts!! Of these finished quilts, I machine quilted 10, I hand quilted 1, and the 2 largest projects were long arm quilted by fellow blogger Cathy.
So that's a total of 19 quilts completed in 2014. 
And that is the benefit of a year end summary post - you can see what you have accomplished, and all of a sudden the lengthy UFO list doesn't seem so discouraging!

Happy New Year

I am wishing you many blessings in 2015, lots of fun quilting adventures with good friends, and an abundance of time to spend stitching! Thanks for visiting my blog this year and contributing your positive energy, ideas and encouragement!