Circa update

Friday is finally here and here are my finished Circa 2016 blocks from last week...
easy peasy little bowtie blocks.

I am so late posting today that I have already checked the newest mystery step. I see that we are making little rail fence blocks this week... so cute!






Happy Friday!

Day #2 with Bethany Garner

My local quilt guild organized a second class with Bethany Garner this week and I was so happy to be able to take this class. Bethany was teaching us how to make beaded bags, and I just love beading on fabric, so you can just imagine my delight! Here she is showing how to do some machine embellishment techniques, but I did my sewing by hand.



This is the starting point... an odd shaped base of batik and batting, and some block trimming scraps that someone had given to me (or maybe I took them out of the garbage at another workshop!)

Then we got to play with our collections of beads and embellishments. As it turns out, I may have a bit of a bead collection problem! HA!

I started to bead those scrap strips to look like the bottom of the ocean....coral and seaweed. I was lost in my own little happy hand stitching world and believe me... it's a fabulous place to spend time. I wish I could live there!

Here is the wide array of beaded bags that were started at the class. We each had the same supply list for the class and you can see how each one is completely different. Creativity is an amazing process! 

Taking a Quilt Class

Bethany Garner

It has been such a busy week that I haven't had much time for being near the computer. My local quilt guild has quilt teacher Bethany Garner here to help us celebrate the guild's 25th anniversary. It's quite an accomplishment for an organization to be so vibrant and full of exciting and creative energy after all these years! It's such an amazing group of women and I am so so lucky to have found them 22 years ago. 
I was able to take a class with Bethany on Monday called "Creative Design in Patchwork". 
As we all know, taking a class means starting a new UFO.
I started my new quilt using quarter log cabin blocks in the Gees Bend style of using only scissors (no rotary cutters or rulers) to make the blocks. The fabric choices were inspired by a backing fabric that was on my cutting mat, and the scraps and fat quarters that were hanging around. This was not at all the fabric I had intended to take to the class, but there it is, with it's bright and obnoxious orange and pink presence.
It was so fun making these blocks without caring about anything matching or worrying about what the plan for the quilt is. 

So fun until you put them on the design wall and have to actually look at them.
OMG that's bright! They're so bright they could be a night light!
Oh sheesh, there really is no plan on how to deal with these things!
I have no idea what's next. 
I guess I'll just keep making more blocks until I'm tired of them, or a plan emerges. 

Design Wall Monday

This is what is on my design wall today. It is my UFO of the month called Triangle Stars.
The 6 columns on the right are now sewn together. That is one heck of a lot of complex seam matching, with many bias edges. I find that I have to put at least 2 pins in every seam join. It's time consuming.
I have removed the centre cube block from the bottom left star. I had to open up a lot of seams to get it out of there, so the reinsertion will be a lengthy reconstructive surgery! But I will be happier when the cube is not upside down!
Also, I think I have enough of the white triangles to make a strip for each side of the quilt.
To see more design wall postings, hop over to Patchwork Times.

Slow Sunday Stitching

Welcome to the weekly linkup and celebrate of the art of hand stitching! We are a group of international stitchers who understand that the process of creation is just as important as the end product. We prefer to take our time and enjoy the health benefits of meditative, slow hand stitching. We hope you will enjoy seeing the projects we are working on, and pick up a needle and thread and join us.
My ongoing project is called Life Is Beautiful, a pattern by Helen Stubbings. These are the three kinds of blocks I am hand stitching every week... I like variety! I have one in the hoop to embroider, one of the embroidery blocks being appliqued to a 4 patch background, and the cut away fabric behind the embroidery circle being appliqued onto another 4 patch block.
And here are the first 25 blocks on the design wall. 

I think there are 63 blocks in the finished quilt, so after more than a year of working on this project I am not even at the half way point in block construction. That's okay because I am enjoying every stitch!
Once these are all done, the next step is to hand quilt each block, and then I will join them together in the Quilt-As-You-Go style.

SuperMoms

In Canada we are celebrating Mother's Day today, so Happy Mother's Day to all the fabulous moms out there in our slow stitching community. 

Quilt label

I feel very thankful to come from a long line of wonderful mothers who had the capacity and insight to provide so much unconditional love and guidance to the next generation.


What are you hand stitching today? Link up your blog post below and share your project with us.
Sorry everyone... I am unable to figure out what the problem is with the linkup. After working on it for a long time today, I am no farther ahead in narrowing down how to make it work. Stay tuned to see if I am smart enough to figure it out and/or have enough patience to keep at it!

Scrappy Saturday

The grass is greener...

May is green month at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  I am just starting to sort out the green scraps and have lots to work with this month. Today I'll be sorting and cutting pieces for my various projects.
You can check out the RSC linkup  here.

The shop hop yesterday was great fun and a few wonderful purchases were made. I found the newest 100 Blocks magazine and am enjoying reading it today. I also stocked up on things that always need to be replenished... pins, needles, seam rippers, and clothesline for bowl making.
The good news is that I didn't start any new projects. Yah me! I did get some pieces to add to some ongoing projects, like background and backing fabrics for Life is Beautiful.
The other good news is that I got a great deal on a roll of batting,
so I can make quilts for about a year without needing to buy more batting. I'm all set now!

Circa 2016

These two cute little churn dash blocks are the newest blocks to join the Circa quiltalong project.


Here's part of my collection of Circa 2016 blocks made so far. They are using up many tiny scraps, so it's practically a free quilt.

So you know what that means?!?

I need to buy more fabric!

Goose on the loose

Today I'm on the "Goose on the loose" shop hop. This is how many quilters are going to be rushing into the 6 great quilt stores. It will be great fun and I will see if there is anything I can find that I "need"!! HA!

100 Blocks

Have you been reading the Quilty Pleasures blog this week? Do you know that another 100 Blocks issue has just been released? It's my favourite magazine, and here is a small sampling of my collection. That's a lot of block patterns in that pile of reading material! There are lots of prizes and free issues to win on the blog this week, so make sure you check it out.
**Bonnie Hunter's block reveal is today - click here to see her new block pattern.

I have been working on one of my 100 Blocks projects. This is a block from issue #3 and it's called "My Easter Dress" by Sonja Callaghan. (In case you missed it, you can read about the piecing of the block here and the inspiration for the block here.) 




This is the beautiful backing fabric that I bought just for this project. Isn't the selvage cute too?!? I would have liked the selvage to be wider, because it is so very sweet. This is a Robert Kaufman fabric called 'London Calling". It is a very soft fabric with a high thread count and lovely to work with.

And the quilting is started with some simple stippling in the grass. It's so fun to be doing some machine quilting again. I've missed it! This is just a 12" block so it won't take me long to finish. 

April Aurifil

I just finished sewing the Aurifil 2016 block of the month.

The April block is called High Tide and was designed by Kate Spain. It was a very interesting block to piece, and I'll admit that my seam ripper had a bit of a workout. I will spare you the torture of looking at photos of all the incorrect versions of the block that I created! This is the right one (I hope!)
It looks a little frenetic. 

When I cut all the pieces I thought it would be a good combo, but perhaps there is not enough contrast between the reds? Or maybe the prints are too busy? Actually it looks better on the computer screen than in real life :)
I still have to go back and sew block #3 from March since somehow I missed that one.
You can see lots of interesting variations of this block at the link up over at Pat Sloan's blog here.

UFO of the Month

It's time to set a goal for finishing one of my UFOs in the month of May. I am going to finish my Triangle Stars. 
The first step is to unsew that bottom left star block and reset the cube with the light side up to match all the other star centres. That is the mistake that resulted in the frustration that caused me to set aside this project.
After that is fixed, I can sew all the columns together, decide about a border (or not) and quilt it.



This is a quilt I started by accident. You know how it goes... one of those projects you see when you're on a shop hop, and you're smitten and have to make one?  
See these fabrics? This is the pile of fabrics that started this star quilt ...so pretty and irresistible.
I saw them 2 years ago this month on a shop hop called "Goose on the Loose". Yep, that's a real thing, and it's coming up this weekend. 

For the 11th year in a row I will be attending with my wonderful friend Louise. We will drive and shop all day, visit 6 quilt stores, and fill every minute with non-stop fascinating conversation, and it will be wonderful!  Who knows what trouble we might get into this year! I just hope I don't start another new quilt!!
To see more UFO goals, hop over to the One Monthly Goal link up.

Design Wall Monday

Finally... on the design wall is the last quilted Swoon block!

This last block was pieced and quilted in the last couple of days, hoping to reach April's UFO goal. It really has been fun to machine quilt these 24" blocks. I just have to mention these bobbin washers that I regularly use when machine quilting. 



They really do seem to make the thread movement through the bobbin area much smoother. The washers just fit right down inside, and you put the bobbin in on top of it. I don't have any financial investment in this company, I'm just a satisfied customer!




The backing of this block was pieced from the last remaining bits of the "Mama said Sew" yardage.
This has been my UFO focus project for the past two months, but I actually starting working on this quilt in October 2013, so it's been in production for a long time.
The next step is to connect the 9 blocks using the Quilt-As-You-Go method that Andrea shows in her tutorial here. I will sew the blocks and sashing together by machine, and complete the sashing stitching on the back with hand stitching. 
This quilt is so close to being finished! I might even finish it within the 3 year mark... woohoo! 
To see more design wall postings, hop over to Judy's.

Slow Sunday Stitching Muster

I enjoy discovering new words, and my word of the week is "muster". Do you know what it means? I know this word in the context of "passing muster", which means making the grade or being successful. But what is a "muster station"? 
I had to ask Mr. Wikipedia who says that it is a place to gather for emergency drills on a ship and it is where the lifesaving equipment would be located.

Which led to the question...
where is my life muster station and what kind of equipment does it have? 
Here it is right here!
My muster station is beside any lake and there are lots of needles, threads, and fabric. What else would you need to get you safely through life? The more stressful life is, the more you need the stitching!

You might also want some strong support people to throw you into a lifeboat as necessary!
And you'd want lots of fresh air and nature, especially birds and trees.
Just look at these lovely creatures (I think they are red breasted mergansers) that were hanging around as I was stitching this weekend. It was the perfect sight to see as I was stitching this block.

Life Is Beautiful block #23

And here it is... my most recently completed Life Is Beautiful block. It says: "don't look for inspiration, be the inspiration"
It's my favourite block so far! LOL

What's inspiring you this week and what are you working on? Link up your blog post below and share your hand stitching project.

Scrappy Saturday

It's the end of orange month for the rainbow scrappers. It was a real stretch for me to make this block using only my orange scraps and I purchased a couple of orange FQ's at Creativ Festival last week.
I love how they look in this Mad City Mama block (pattern by Bonnie Hunter). 
To see more orange projects, hop over to the RSC link up.

Circa 2016

These are the two blocks posted last week for the Circa 2016 quiltalong over at Temecula Quilts.

They are so cute and easy to make. The square in a square blocks in the middle were a bit large, but when I trimmed them down a little they became perfect to fit in the centre of the blocks and no points were lost!

Hop over to Temecula to see the next step.
Happy Friday!

UFO Update

There hasn't been much quilting time this week, but I did finally get another Swoon block quilted. I used all Aurifil threads, which my machine loves, so the quilting went smoothly, with no thread breakage even at high speeds! 






This is the backing for the block which includes a little 8" version of the swoon block, and some of the leftover backing fabric.

Here is quilted block #8 on the design wall.
In the next two days I just have to piece one more 24" block backing and then quilt the last Swoon block to meet my April UFO goal.
Totally doable!

Design Wall Monday

No the scrap vortex is not on the wall again today! It's still in surgery.
On the design wall today are 25 of the 44 blocks I've sewn for the Scrap Dance Tango mystery quilt.

They are not in any particular order... just randomly placed on the wall for a photo. It's a lot of red and green. I think I need to add more blue and purple so it doesn't look so much like a Christmas quilt. 

To see more design walls, hop over to Patchwork Times.

Slow Sunday Stitching - Creativ Festival

Thanks for dropping by to see what the Slow Sunday Stitchers are up to! 
Today I want to tell you about the Creativ Festival this week and the 3 different hand stitching techniques I enjoyed while there.


1) Beading:
I was sponsored by CQA to teach quilt embellishing and had two classes of enthusiastic stitchers. You can see the kits I put together on Friday's post here. Some of the students had no previous beading experience, so I hope they enjoyed their first exposure to this fun technique. The first class was so full and busy that I didn't even think of taking photos. So these are the students from second class, concentrating on their stitching.

2) Hand stitched hexagons: When I wasn't teaching, I was at the CQA booth doing demos on how to make a hexagon from a circle. It's a really fun and quick technique and you can see it on Jackie White's video here. Jackie took these photos of Leslie Whitby and I teaching the technique at the demo table.
Do you see that great quilt right beside the demo table? I loved this quilt in the CQA juried show in 2014 and was very happy to see it again in the booth. The quilt is called Flower Basket Medallion and was made by Deborah Holden. I wanted to take photos of it when I first saw it, but photos were forbidden at the NJS... until now!
I found out that for the first time, we will be able to take photos at the National Juried Show 2016! I am so excited about that decision. It makes it so much more fun for me to be able to take photos of quilts, techniques, block designs, and embellishments that I see at a show and want to remember.

3) Hand quilting:

Look who I saw when I arrived at the International Centre - my friend Judy Pearce from the Mennonite Relief Sale! You can read more about her here and here. It was an old fashioned quilting bee set up right there in the middle of all the activities. 
Ahhh... these are my people, my quilting tribe!

And you are also "my people"! Thanks for dropping by and reading this long post, and for being part of the global community of hand stitchers!
So what kind of hand stitching are you enjoying today? Link up your blog post below and share your slow progress.