WHY NOT? WEDNESDAY

Confession is good right? Why not.   One thing about hosting the Moda club this past year is, the ideas usually came faster than my ability to finish them!  All that lovely fabric, and so many quilts to plan and sew.  It has left me with 4 tops that have yet to be quilted.

I intended to quilt these this summer.  Unfortunately summer forgot to show up, and now it's almost September.  Good thing I know a few long arm quilters.  Perhaps I'll put them on speed dial.  Still though, I would really like to do this one myself.

 I know that things usually look better in odd numbers, so I think I will spend the day piecing another top.  That way, my life will appear more "balanced" :)    Have a great Wednesday.

TERRAIN

Look what I get to play with!

Terrain showed up last week.  Katja got in the whole line because she is starting a new block of the month using these fabrics.  Also, she got in some layer cakes because I have a plan for a quilt that I am going to start on this week.  The colours in this line are so vibrant.

Can't wait for it to start coming together.  I will post a picture or two of the blocks when I get going.
Considering that a little over a year ago I was an 1800's girl, these fabrics are growing on me........quickly.
I blame this little person.  Ever since she came along my taste has totally changed.

Aren't grandchildren wonderful?  I think I'm getting younger.......

COMMENTS

Since re-starting this blog, I have had several e-mails from viewers saying that they are having trouble posting comments. I have changed the settings to include an "anonymous" profile selection .  Hopefully this will allow those of you who would like to leave a comment , to do so.  If you use anonymous,  could you sign your name at the end? That way, I will know who you are : )  It may take a bit for your comment to appear .  Hope this helps.

And because every post should include at least one picture, here's a lovely stack of quilts.

The "great wheel" has been in my hubby's family since 1868.  The chair was a gift from my dad. It's a little bit newer, the late 1800's or early 1900's.   Of course the quilts are new.

Sundays are for re-charging the spirit, family, and rest.  Have a good one.

THE SCRAPS

Aren't scraps wonderful?  I save just about everything, but am learning to let go of the smallest ones.  This little quilt uses scraps from a project I have made for the fall Moda club meeting.  The line is Count Down to Christmas by Sweetwater.  Love it.

I'm not going to show you too much, because some things need to be a bit of a surprise for the first club meeting.  My english paper piecing is coming along.  I've chosen this pink to be the centre appliqué for my cirlces.  This quilt won't take long once I get the paper piecing done. The rest is just piecing the background and then sewing the shapes down.

So fun to be playing with all those scraps and actually using up fabric! Have a wonderful week-end and enjoy this gorgeous weather.

WHY NOT? WEDNESDAY

If there has ever been a magazine to drool over, (literally) this is it!  I discovered this last month and have read it cover to cover several times.  And the RECIPES!!  This magazine will be the end of my play money, as well as my waistline.

So, this......

.....led to this......

.....which led to this.......

..which of course,  led to this.

They were pretty good.  I need to make them again to take to work on Friday.  Also, "Flurry" is all quilted and bound.  I 'm  happy with the way it turned out.  I quilted it with an all-over loopy meander. Another fun little quilt.

I really like how it goes with the little snowball pillow I made earlier this summer. Christmas fabrics and florals can work together too.  Why not?

Have a great Wednesday.

BUSY HANDS

There has been an awful lot of piecing going on over in my little corner of the world.  This is what happens when hubby decides to take on extra shifts.

Also, because I can't just work on one thing at a time, I have been doing a little bit of this.....

........for this little person right here

It's the eyes.  They get me every time.

A FLURRY FINISH

I finished the little "flurry" quilt.  The blocks went together quickly as there was no measuring involved--just slice and sew.  The top measures 32" x 40".  Now I need to decide on how to quilt it.

Oh, and know what these are?  They are fabrics for a mystery quilt I am going to do in the fall for the Moda club.  So pretty.  Today, I will be cutting, to make sure I have allowed enough fabric.

Have a great week-end.

WHY NOT? WEDNESDAY

If you spend any time reading quilt blogs, you have probably noticed blog posts titled "Work in Progress Wednesday",  "Wordless Wednesday", " Tutorial Tuesday",  etc.  Well, in order to keep this blog fresh and a little un-predictable,  I'm starting a new feature here called "Why not? Wednesday".  These posts may be quilt related, maybe something totally random.

To kick off the first post, I am starting a new quilt!  The Australian magazine 'Down Under Quilts #148' features a beautiful Centre Medallion style quilt (that I am a sucker for) that includes english paper piecing---something else I'm a sucker for. I don't have the time to start a new quilt, but I was smitten and thought , why not?

Pretty,  isn't it.

I am using these fabrics as my jumping off point. The lovely bird fabric is from a line called Wrenly. I picked these up on my recent road trip with hubby.   The good news is, Katja will be getting in several pieces from this line.

The four pieces on the left are the Wrenly line. The others are leftovers from my stash.  I'm going to have fun pulling fabrics and auditioning them for this quilt. My shapes are traced, and I am ready to get started.

It's always fun to start a new project, especially when I get to use my stash. Have a great Wednesday.

SUNKISSED SIDEWALK

Earlier this year, a line came out from Sweetwater called Sunkissed.  It was very well received by a lot of quilters.  This quilter was no different.  I loved it!  So fresh and fun.  Quilts popped up everywhere on blog land using this fabric.  This is what I did with it,  plus a little Central Park by Kate Spain thrown in.
Here it is in dappled sunlight.

You know how inspiration is everywhere?  Well this quilt was inspired by the pattern in the sidewalk right outside the shoppe where I work.

I looked at it so many times and had the idea in my head for months.  When this fabric came in, I knew it was the one to use in the quilt.

Linda quilted it for me.  She suggested I use a polyester batting so the quilting would really pop. As you can see in the sunlight, it really does. (sorry for the wrinkles)

Isn't the quilting beautiful?

This is one of my all-time favourite quilts.
She has another one of mine ( a Christmas quilt)  that I just finished piecing.  Can't wait to see what she does with it!

Wonky Block Tutorial

After my last post, I had a few requests for a tutorial for the quilt.  I've never posted a tutorial, but here goes.

Materials:

1.25 meters background
.4 binding
assorted scraps at least 6" x 10"
tri-recs* ruler (www.ezquilt.com)

From background fabric cut one 4 1/2" strip, and one 6 1/2" strip across the whole width of fabric.
Subcut the 4 1/2" strip into 4 1/2" squares. (you can cut more as needed)

From each scrap, cut two 1 1/2" x 4 1/2" pieces, and two 1 1/2" x 6 1/2" pieces.

To make 1 block:

Sew a 1 1/2" x 4 1/2" piece to either side of a 4 1/2" square

Now sew the 1 1/2" x 6 1/2" pieces to the top and bottom

Using the "recs" part of the tri-recs* ruler set, cut the 6 1/2" strip into wedges. The fabric is doubled (like it comes off the bolt)  so you are cutting 2 pieces at once.
The first cut, the ruler is right side up on the strip,

the second cut the ruler is up-side down.  Continue cutting all along the strip.

Now take the first 4 TOP pieces ( I have slid them up) and lay them out around one of your pieced squares.
The first 4 bottom pieces will be used for the next block.

Sew a wedge to either side of pieced square, then top and bottom. This will slant the block in one direction.

Square the block to 8 1/2" making sure to leave a 1/4" beyond the corner of pieced square.

Now take the first 4 bottom wedges of strip, and sew around another pieced square.  This will slant the block in the other direction.

Repeat to make as many blocks as you wish.  I made 24, for a quilt that is 32 x 48.
Layer your top, baste, quilt and bind.
Questions?  Feel free to e-mail me and I will do my best to help.  Enjoy!

Wonky

This little quilt was inspired by a picture I saw. I actually made this in June, but never showed it here.   There was no pattern, but I thought I could figure it out.  The more I looked at it, the more I got to thinking that the background pieces could be cut with the "recs" part of the "tri-recs" ruler set.  First, I cut up some paper and sewed it back together to see if I was on the right track.  It worked!  I then gathered 24 different prints and set to work.  These are all Moda scraps of some sort.

The white background makes all the blocks pop.  A very quick and easy quilt to use up some stash.

Flurry

Since cleaning up my sewing room, there has been a "flurry" of activity going on in there.  This is Kate Spain's new Christmas line called flurry.  These easy pinwheels are made by simply stacking a 5" print square on top of a 5" background square and slicing through at an angle.  I didn't measure, which means each pinwheel is slightly different than the next.  I like that. The blocks then get squared up to 4 1/2" ( this is like the "wild thing" pattern by Camille)

There is loads of pattern on these fabrics, so when cut up they still have a lot of colour.

I will show the top when it's finished.  Now, back to summer.

Apricots off our tree.  Have a great rest of your day.

A Place For Everything........

...and everything in it's place.  Well, sort of.  I tidied up my sewing room the other day and took some pictures.  My sewing room is actually in the garage  (long story).  It's about 10 1/2' x 15'.  Not too bad as far as size goes.  Lately, I have been chucking things, donating things, and trying to de-clutter a bit.


This is where I do all my cutting and sewing.

I love these cubbies with the baskets.  I can spin around and find that perfect piece that I just KNOW I have somewhere.

The other side of the room has another desk that holds overflow.  It's usually piled high.

The white cupboards above the table, hold backing fabrics and a couple of block of the months I need to finish. This tall cupboard is the latest addition.  I like to have some fabrics out of the bins where I can enjoy them.

This shelf holds my little "treasures" . A co-worker gave me the Featherweight.  I started the little hexagon quilt YEARS ago.  Maybe one day I will finish it.

The cake stand holds goodies. The far wall is my design wall.  It's pretty empty so no need to show it.

I don't think our creativity needs to be limited to the size of our spaces.  Some people create in much smaller rooms than mine. If I had a bigger space, I would probably collect more stuff. From now on, before I bring it in here, I am going to make sure it is something I will definitely use in the near future. One more thing I am throwing on the recycle pile.......guilt.    That piece of fabric I paid good money for but know I will never use? Gone.  The little trinket that was my friends? Gone. I'm done feeling guilty.  Hopefully someone else can get as much use out of it as I have.

I will leave you with a quote I read the other day:

"Start where you are.
Use what you have.
Do what you can."        --Arthur Ashe