BREAKING NEWS!

 Are you sitting down? Last weekend I turned on my sewing machine and actually worked on a quilt. That's right ... You heard it here first! LOL

Back in the Fibre Junction days, I hosted historical clubs. It was a gathering about The History of Women via the Needle and Thread and used Pam Buda's Prairie Women Sewing Circle (PWSC) club packets for the projects. 

There was a project in PWSC 2 Gathering 5 that I loved and had actually started cutting on August 25, 2012. The only piecing that was done were the flying geese and they still needed trimming. I love that quilt/pattern and had been meaning to finish it.

It's quite a challenge to pick up a project where you left off after so many years and more so if it has a gazillion pieces. I started by organizing the pieces. I needed to figure out what I had and perhaps what was needed to construct the block.

Once I figured it all out ... I started piecing and of course .... I was missing one block! lol Thank goodness for my stash!

After hours and hours of piecing, I finally I had a finish .... Voila!

Hum ... The photograph really doesn't do it justice. It's a pretty pink and brown quilt. The pattern is called Next Door Neighbor and measures 27 1/2 x 34 1/2.

I even have a Make-do in that quilt. I do love to make-do ... it gets me thinking outside of the box ... why run to the store or cut a large piece of fabric just for a few pieces. I enjoy using my scraps and I had just enough of a scrap piece for this block. Besides, it just adds to the story of the quilt .... I love stories don't you?

Now .... if I can only get Penelope turned on .....

Thanks for stopping by. Catch you all later! Cheers!

UFO kick goes on ....!

 After I finished the little Hexe quilt, I remembered another quilt that needed my attention. This English Paper Piecing quilt was started back in the Spring of 2013. The pattern is from the Primitive Quilt magazine, Spring 2013 issue. I did blogged about it here. I used 1/2 inch hexes and 1900 century reproduction fabrics.

The issue I had with this quilt was regarding the border. How was I going to put the borders on? Was I going to cut the hexagons, creating a straight edge, and machine sew the border on or would I hand appliqué the hexagons to the border? I chose to hand appliqué to the border ... I could not bare to cut my hexes.

This project was actually a challenge with two other people. I actually completed the top in October 2013, and won the flimsy award. However Diane won the fully completed top and I think that was back in February 2014. 

I do love how it turned out. It's such a great feeling to have completed a long over due project.

I'm not sure what I shall work on next .... so many UFO to choose from! lol

Thanks for stopping by my little corner in cyberspace! Cheers!~

UFO kick ....

Saturday evening, I was watching a video on IG from Corey Yoder (Moda fabric designer) and she was showing us around her quilting studio, talking about the various tools she likes to use ... All of a sudden my quilting mojo got a spark ...

Sunday morning, while enjoying my morning latte ... wondering .... 

Nancy does have a valid point! lol 

So ... I did neither and decided to work on a UFO. I wanted to finish an English Paper Piecing (EPP) quilt I had blogged about on July 29, 2015.

So, I got busy looking for that quilt so I can work on it.

Voila ...

The pattern is by Sue Daley called Little Things: Hexagon. All it needed was to be machine quilted and the binding sew on!

What a great feeling to strike one off the UFO list.

What have you been up to? 

Catch you all later! Cheers!

Beauty all around ...!

As evident from my lack of blog post throughout 2018 and 2019, I did not get a lot of quilting projects done. As a matter of fact, the quilt Beauty All Around just sat there. I had blogged about the machine quilting back in October 2018, as part of my "UFO Completion" project .... and there it sat, untouched.

Heck, I even forgot to blog about its completion!

In early 2019, I did gather the energy to actually sew the binding on.

And, manage to get a bit of the binding hand sewn ... 

But there it sat for quite some time until ... I picked it back up in July 2019

I was determined to mark this project "done". Seriously, wasn't it time I finally completed this quilt. I was so close. I cranked up the a/c ... like who wants a warm quilt on their lap in the middle of summer ... and got stitchin'.

Voila .... completed!

Can you imagine being so close and yet just letting sit there. Well, I'm glad I finally said enough is enough and got it done.

Sometimes we forget why we set a project aside ... for me I let life get in the way. I've also come to understand that when life gets challenging, it's important to not forget what makes us happy ... and for me creativity is my happy place. When I create, whether is is writing or quilting, it provides a place of sanity, a peaceful space. I hope you have found your place of sanity during your challenging times ... that's when it's the most crucial ... regaining a sense of peace during times of unrest.

Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy your creative outlet whatever it may be! Cheers!

inching my way to the finish line ....

As I get closer and closer to the finish line ... my motivation starts to get at a all time high again ... like when you start a new project. So, I got busy sewing on the border.

Voila!

She's a done deal. I'm ready for a play date with Penelope.

I loaded Beauty all Around on Penelope and got quiltin'

It's a good thing I like ruler work!

What's new with you?

Thanks for stopping by my little corner in cyberspace.

Getting closer to the finish line ....

It's a great feeling when you are getting closer to the finish line. It's a boost in motivation ... All of a sudden you just want to get it done! Indeed ... that's what I did.

I organized by colours so that the sashing would be balanced. I pieced these blocks using scraps from the various quilt I have made throughout the years. In some way, it's a memory quilt! ;)

So, I started piecing the sashing ... balancing the fabric colours accordingly.

Notice block 12 on the bottom right? Yea, I did stitch it ... just forgot to take a picture before I started working on the sashing!

Now I'm ready to put the border on!

What have you been up to lately?

Thank you so much for stopping by my little corner in cyberspace!

Catch you all later!

Back on the stitch wagon .....

After taking a bit of a break I got back to working on the last two (2) blocks of the Beauty All Around BOM.

When I'm doing hand work, I tend to put on a documentary and stitch away as I absorb knowledge, usually having to do with either science or history. However, lately I've been in the mood for ..... well ... more of a slow pace ...

Not sure why ... I just needed comfort ... some form of predictability. Yea, my life has been quite chaotic as of late ...

I finished stitching block 11

And ... block 12

Oops .... forgot to take a picture ... Oh well ... It's done ... ! lol

Now, it's time to get down to piecing the actual top.  I'm pretty excited to be closer to finishing this UFO. What have you been up to as of late?

Thanks for stopping by my little corner in cyber space. Catch you all later! Cheers!

The last summer ice cream ...!

My favourite ice cream shop is closing for the season ...

Hard to believe that fall is in the air ... I do love all the seasons .... each brings it unique beauty!

On the quilting from ... Modern Building Block being all done, it was time to tackle another UFO ... Beauty All Around.

I got stitching ... Block 9

And Block 10

Catch you all later! Cheers!

Down time ...!

I do love all of the quilt making process, including hand stitching the binding. For me, it is a time to relax and catch up on some documentaries.

As much as I try to focus ... a little kitty by the name of Stella always seems to want to help, which as you can imagine, creates a challenge. lol

It does look comfy! I don't want to disturb her.

So, I use that time to actually look at the documentary, as opposed to just listening to it with a casual glance up every now and again ...

Voila! All washed and ready to be loved ...

I really love how it turned out. I may just keep it for myself as opposed to giving it to Pumpkin for graduation! LOL I wouldn't dare ... maybe! lol

Catch you all later!

A date with Penelope!

Modern Building Block quilt top finished ... it was time to set a date with Penelope!

My original thought was to use the Good Vibration pantograph designed by Patricia Ritter...

But ... I could not get the curves to look good. The thickness of some of the seams caused my hopping foot to hop somewhere else ... yuck.

So, I did a bit of croaking and resorted to straight lines using my horizontal lock mechanism.

I spaced the rows 3/4 inches apart. It was actually harder than I thought.

In order to keep the lines spaced properly and evenly, I needed to quilt within approximately 12 inches max from the space bar. Otherwise, even though I had marked 3/4 inches from the last line, as I moved the machine head towards the other side of the quilt, the space became more one (1) inch apart. Not sure why that was. It certainly made the machine quilting take a bit more time to complete, especially with using the seam ripper! :o/

The quilt is now totally machine quilted and I do like how it looks.

What's new with you? What projects are you completing?

Catch you all later! Thanks for stopping by my little corner in cyberspace!

Cheers!

Focused and determined ...!

Well, the last blocks of Modern Building Block quilt were a challenge. Not sure why, because they were simple blocks. I think by then, I just wanted to get it done.

It took me forrrrrrever to get the half square triangles sewn on in the right direction. I lost count of how many time I used the seam ripper!

I also could not, for the life of me, figure out how to piece it. Thinking I made a cutting mistake, I cut more larger half square triangles ... LOL Yea, an hour later the block was pieced correctly. It was as if my brain just, for whatever reason, could not wrap itself around how the block was constructed.

Oh, and this one, well I way over cut the pieces required!

Anyone need any half square triangles? lol

Finally, once those last two (2) blocks were pieced ... I didn't dare attempt to piece the top. I mean, it would have been seam ripper city here. LOL

I took a small break ... and Voila!

Now, it's time to set a play date with Penelope!

Catch you all later! Cheers!

Plugging away during a heat wave ....!

You're probably tired of reading about our heat wave in the way northeast I can see Canada from my house ... I'm pretty tired of experiencing it myself. It's early morning and already we're at ... 25C

With a high of 33C! Of course add the humidity factor in there and it's friggen hot and muggy! I'm not complaining ... I just want to remember this summer so I can be grateful during our bitter cold winter! lol I am truly thankful for my a/c, which allows me to experience a mild winter hide in my sewing studio and quilt away.

I've been plugging away on the Modern Building Block quilt. I'm hoping to have a pieced top by the end of the week.

Nine (9) blocks pieced with ten (10) more to go ... Guess what I plan on doing today? lol

What are you working on?

Enjoy the day! Catch you all later!

Back to hand work ...!

Sometimes I just want to sit and watch something on TV. Well, for me it's my laptop. I don't watch television ... I actually pay for my programming. Amazon Prime has some great documentaries as well as Netflix.

Yeap, that's what I watch went I do hand work ... documentaries ... I call it learning by osmosis! lol

Voici Block 8 of the BOM Beauty All Around by Geoff's Mom Pattern Company.

Onward to another block! It's so sweet when they are all prepped!

Cheers!

Back to Modern Building Blocks ... !

How are you all doing? Here, I'm just grateful for a/c. We did have a bit of respite from the high heat and humidity ... And so it begins ... back to a freakishly hot summer!

For you Celsius people, actual temperature 32C but it feels like 35C. A summer like this is not normal for us. A couple of weeks ... sure ... not a full summer!

I'm thankful that the evenings are a bit cooler (around 20C) allowing me to actually sleep without the a/c. I like peace and quiet, which you don't get with an a/c.

On the quilting front, I have been tackling the Modern Building Block UFO quilt and have the following done:

These blocks measure 6 inches finished. So far I have 29 out of 48 blocks done ... a bit more to go ... slowly but surely.

So what have you been up to?

Catch you all later! Cheers!

A break from the DSM ... !

Is it hot enough for you people in the northern hemisphere? OMG, I think this summer is going to be in the category of one of the hottest in a long time. 

Took a little break from machine piecing and picked up the UFO - BOM Beauty all Around and worked on stitching a couple of blocks.

Block 6

And block 7

What's nice about this UFO is that all the blocks are prepped. All I need to do is stitch around the wool pieces. That's the beauty of taking the time to prep all of your blocks. When you are done with one, you can pick up another ... it's a production line! ;)

So, what have you been up to today?

Respite from the heat and humidity ... !

OMG, it's been hotter than ever. I'm soooooo not a heat lover. I much prefer being cold, at least I can put on layers. When it's hot, you can only remove so many layers! lol

For you Celsius people, that's about 22. It's so comfortable ... Nice cool breeze coming in the quilting studio! Haven ....

To get away from the sweltering heat, I have been doing a bit of quilting on the recent pick, you know, off that UFO list ... Modern Building Blocks by Moda. I opened the box and found ...

I had put the box away with a total of six (6) blocks pieced, so I got busy.

After a while, I ran out of pins, not to mention that it looked a tad disorganized ... I decided to start piecing together what I could ... tah dah!

Much more organized, don't you think? And, four new blocks were added.

There are 48 blocks in this quilt. I presently have 24 more blocks to go. 

Guess what I'll be working on today?

Catch you all later! Cheers!

Onward bound .... !

I finished hand stitching the binding on Peace and Unity. What a great feeling to complete a project.

It has been washed and now put away in that special quilt cabinet! Now for the next project on that list!

I decided to work on Modern Building Blocks, a quilt designed by Moda. 

I started this quilt back in February 2015. The few completed blocks have been sitting on the back of my chair, you known, that architect chair that seems to be THE place to accumulate unfinished projects!

This quilt was "suppose" to be Pumpkin's high school graduation quilt, but .... Hey, she'll be graduating from college soon, so it's still a graduation quilt! lol 

Stay cool and hydrated! Catch you all later! Cheers!

Oh my ...!

Goodness, how time flies ... I've been a busy body, but certainly not in the quilting department. Subbing ... and ... we had company! Aunt Marge, our Floridian, decided to visit us in June ... So, up until last Tuesday, I've been entertaining!

I did attend Vermont Quilt Festival last Thursday with friends. We were shocked to learn that our yearly "Dinner Ritual" restaurant, Juniors,  suddenly closed a couple of days prior to the show. I was so set on my usual! Oh well, it always saddens me to learn that a business closed, especially after 25 years.

On the VQF front, the venue appeared smaller than last year. I didn't get a chance to take any photos of quilts. For one thing, no photos allowed of the reproduction collection. So, I shopped ... what else is a girl to do? lol My loot consisted mainly of a couple of pieces of wool backgrounds, nothing exciting. Oh, I did buy this cute kit ...

I can't wait to get started ... but not until I finish hand stitching the binding on Peace and Unity!

Perhaps tonight is the night I put on a good movie and stitch away!

Catch you all later!

A little help from a notion ...!

Have you noticed that Blogger is no longer sending out e-mail notifications for comments posted on your blog? I researched the issue and according to my findings "Google is aware and working on it". OK, I sure hope they resolve the issue soon!

I want to share with you this notion that I found helpful when working with the BOM Peace & Unity. It is called Alphabetties by It's Sew Emma.

At times, especially when it comes to a block of the month, there are numerous pieces for the block construction that are labeled either numerically or alphabetically, sometimes both! This was the case with the Peace & Unity BOM and I found the Alphabetties quite useful.

I will admit that I do not use them often, but when I do, I'm glad I have them. There were lots of pieces to this 12 month program and the Alphabetties kept me organized.

Thanks for stopping by! Cheers!