I've got closure ....

I have FINALLY finished a quilt I started in 2002. I originally blogged about it on February 11, 2007 as part of a UFO compilation project and again on April 2, 2018. 

The issue I had was, how do I finish this project? I had originally started to hand quilt it. That was before I knew better about batting. I used Warn & Natural, which is not the easiest to hand quilt, especially their earlier version. I knew that I did not want to continue with the hand quilting, however ... how do I complete it? I also did not want to do any ditch/ruler work. I just wanted it done and out of my brain space!

Then, on June 9, I decided to load it onto Penelope and go for it ... it's Panto time!

I kept the hand quilting and machine quilted over it.

I like how it turned out. I don't have a problem with having both hand and machine quilting. I'm, going to let the historians figure out what happened here! lol 

As you can imagine, having that quilt sit around for over two (2) decades, it needed a good washing. There were some stains from the cats sitting on it that I could not get out, I can live with that ... patina! 

I'm just glad that it's finally done! 

Thanks for stopping by! Cheers!

Who ordered this heat wave?

OMG, Summer is in full swing. I think we went from spring to summer in a flash! lol With this heat, Penelope's room is like an oven. So off I went into town to purchase an air conditioner.

Last Sunday I decided that I needed to finish the reproduction quilt that was on my designer wall. With life being a tad chaotic, I had put it aside until things settled. Well, I can't say I'm not settled anymore! lol Besides, I'm itchin' to start a new project! lol

Back in February 2019, I fell in love with the fabric line ... Feed Sacks: True Blue by Linne Kull McCray for Moda Fabrics.

Look at those gorgeous blues! I am so in love with reproduction fabrics ... and especially this fabric line. I purchased a Fat quarter tower to work on the quilt pattern she designed specifically for that line. The pattern is also called Feed Sack: True Blue .... you can actually download it here.

Brought the quilt to a flimsy stage ... 

and loaded it on Penelope. With the room nice and cool, I tackled it today.

Voila! It's a done deal!

Tomorrow, it's binding time!

Thanks for stopping by! Stay cool!

A new project .....

A colleague at work became a grand mother for the first time. What better excuse to get the creative quilting juices flowing?!

I gathered all of my 1930's (feedsack) reproduction fabrics and became inspired to create ... the friendship star.

Which then turned into this ....

Time to fire up Penelope for the first time. I was a bit nervous not having played with her for so long ....  It was like riding a bicycle lol

It all came back to me.

What a great day it was! The quilt is machine quilted and the binding is ready to be hand stitched.

So glad Penelope is back in my life.

What have you been up to?

I've been looking for my mojo ....

I had lost my quilting mojo .... Along with my blogging mojo! I just could not get into the mood. In other words, I was in a funk. There had been so many changes in my life; I was overwhelmed with it all.

Oh, don't get me wrong .... they were all necessary changes, but as you all know, just because it is a wanted change it does not always make it easier to deal with the new. Thankfully, I have some wonderful supportive friends. 

Penelope had been sitting in a box for the past seven (7) months .... un-assembled. As a matter of fact, her room had become one big dumping station. 

It was my friend Nancy who said "We need to put Penelope up." 

You see, given that everything in my life is pretty much "up in the air" for now, I didn't feel it was practical to assemble my longarm, only to dismantle it a bit later. What if I move again? Let's face it, I've moved twice already in the space of six (6) months.

But Nancy insisted, "Even if Penelope is up just for a month, she still needs to be set up. You need to have a playdate with her" ... and she was right.

So, I got busy cleaning out/organizing the dumping room.

Once done, Nancy and her DH came over to help me assemble Penelope. She was up in no time.

Although I had nothing to machine quilt, somehow my mojo was awaken and my creative juices started to flow. I had the desire to work on some quilting UFO.

Thank you Nancy ... you are right ... with Penelope up, it makes all the difference.

Stay tune as I channel my new found mojo!

Catch you all later! 

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.

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!

In the meantime ...!

Thank you to all those who offered their opinion on the completion of Pick a Peck of Pretty Patches quilt.

As I think about my options, I continued working on hand stitching the binding on Wish Upon a Star.

It is now fully completed! Yeah!

As for my next quilting UFO, I was looking at my 2017 project list and couldn't believe how little quilting I did. Despite the few numbers of projects started, there were not many completed.

I usually average 29 projects a year. In 2017, I started nine (9), which is unusual and ... to have so many unfinished! Not a good statistic! Oh well!

Moving forward, I decided to pick up Scrappy Trails a pattern from Lori Holt, which is published in her Scrappy Project Planner. 

I started this quilt back in March, 2017. The blocks were all done, it was just a matter of piecing the quilt top. Ta dah!

It is such a happy quilt! It has since been machine quilted and I'm presently working on hand stitching the binding ... A task that is now becoming challenging!

Oh well! Challenges are good ... sometimes! ;)

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

Play date with Penelope ... !

I sure have been focused as of late. As a result, Penelope and I have enjoyed lots of bonding time.

Today I booked a play date with Penelope to get this last quilt machine quilted. Put on some music and started groovin' stitching!

Given that there is a lot of negative space on the quilt, I chose the panto Nouveau Scallop by Hermoine Agee.

This is definitely NOT an easy/mindless panto to stitch out. I do like how it turned out on the quilt.

I brought the quilt top up to the stage of having the binding machine stitched and then called it a night!

Now I'm ready to put on a documentary and get that binding hand stitched!

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

I'm on a roll ... !

Yesterday was an absolutely gorgeous day! I "should" have gone for that power walk last night but ... I was focused!

Besides, with all the dancing jammin' I did, I'm sure I can call it exercising! lol

After I finished machine quilting the top, I felt compelled to get the quilt ready for its last step ... sew the binding on so that it would be ready for me to hand stitch today.

Now I'm all set to watch a documentary while I hand stitched the binding.

Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy your day! Cheers!

Spring is here .... I think!

Today is an absolutely gorgeous day! Sunny and in the 30F (-1C) and NO wind! It's been such a windy winter that I sort of neglected my power walking routine! No fun exercising on a windy day ... trust me!

Today was actually warm enough, if you were dressed appropriately, to sit out in the sun and take in some vitamin D ... and a bit of positive energy.

After a boost of sun rays, I felt energized and booked a date with Penelope (my APQS Millennium longarm)!

Revved her up, put on some jammin' music and grooved to the rhythm of the Bubble pantograph!

What are you up to today?

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

A secret project!

I've been working on a secret project! A quilt for my little Pumpkin who has transitioned from a twin size bed to a full size bed. A perfect excuse to make more quilts. lol

I started this project back in July 2016, had all the flying geese sewn. There it sat patiently, waiting for me to pick it back up. Of course I started other projects in between, because ... that's what most quilters do! It wasn't until early December that I figured I'd better get quilting if I want it under the tree as a surprise for Pumpkin.

I wanted her to have what I call a "winter" quilt; a quilt made using 100% wool batting.  Although it doesn't have the weight, it does have loads of warmth!

I chose the pattern The Christmas Village by Sweetwater.  The main fabric is 25th & Pine by Basic Gray, an older line that I was reluctant to cut into. You know how that is? But I'm sure glad I did!

I added an extra row and column to increase the size. I do love how it turned out.

The machine quilting!

I love everything about this quilt. I may just take it back! lol

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

Learning from my mistakes ....!

Hum ... When it comes to setting quilting goals, I seem to have a difficult time learning from my mistakes.

I finished the quilt Bobbins, which is from that great book 12-Pack Quilts by Me & My Sister. You can read about the blog entry here.

The quilt has been hanging on my design wall for a couple of weeks. Excuse the messy photo!

I used fabrics from Chestnut Street by Fig Tree & Co - Available from Fibre Junction here.

Below is a close up of the block.

Late Sunday afternoon, I decided that I had enough motivation to machine quilt the top. The goal ... hit the sack once it was all machine quilted.

By ... yawn ... 11:30 p.m. it was completed!

Today's goal, machine sew the binding, making it ready for hand sewing! Another of my favourite part of quilting!

What's quilting with you?

Thank you for stopping by my little corner in cyber space! Catch you later! Cheers!

The Buzz Cut ...!

Have you heard of this great new book, 12 - Pack Quilts by Barbara Groves and Mary Jacobson of Me and My Sister?

It's one of those books where I want to make lots of quilts from it. Definitely worth the price!

The funny thing about this book is that when I first previewed it from The Patchwork Place auto-ship, I declined shipment. The project just didn't speak to me. The colours were blah!

It wasn't until I attended fall market and saw the actual quilts that I fell in love with the book and its projects. The pictures really do not do justice to the quilts.

Each projects require 12 fat quarters and additional yardage as per pattern requirements. I have since completed the Buzz Cut!

I just love how it turned out! The colours are bright and cheerful .... hum much brighter than the picture.

Oh, and the block was super easy to do! The finished quilt measures 68.5 x 68.5. Word of advice, follow the cutting directions other wise ..... ask me how I know? lol

Thanks for stopping by. Catch you later! Cheers!

Quilting gods were in a favourable mood!

Have you ever made a mistake on a project and were just so furious that you had to get that quilt out of your sight? Well I have .....

Last December after I returned from my trip to Boca Raton, I became ill. I seriously did not know how weak I was until I made an attempt to piece the backing of the Snippet quilt, a quilt top I had blogged about back in June 2016. I knew I wasn't well enough for a play date with Penelope, but hey piecing a back was a piece of cake, so I thought!

When I piece a backing, I always rip my fabric, thus ensuring that everything is on grain. I needed 2 pieces of 2.5 yards each. I snip in the middle, on the fold, and proceed to rip .... I cannot for the life of me rip that fabric ... more snipping .....

In a moment of desperation I place two fingers from each hand in the snipped hole and begin to pull ..... %#&%^ I ripped the right fabric piece across the fold/middle and not selvage to selvage!!!!!

To say I was fuming is an understatement. I ruined 2.5 yards of fabric!!!!! I threw the backing in a corner and ignored it. Out of sight, out of mind!

Well, you can only ignore fabric in a corner for so long. Fast forward three (3) months and by then I had gathered enough patience to tackle the backing again. Yea, I purchase another 2.5 yards of fabric!

The quilt measures 92 inches, therefore I needed to piece a section on the back. I had a couple of extra blocks left over from the quilt and used those as part of the backing.

Given the fiasco, I was totally surprised that the backing went together so well. I figured I should use that positive energy to my advantage and loaded up Penelope ...

Hum, maybe the machine quilting stars are aligned?

... And Voila! The Snippet quilt is all done!

I just love this quilt. I have become such a retro fan ... bright and happy that's how I like it!

If you are interested in making this gorgeous quilt, Fibre Junction has only one (1) kit left. Check out our website here for full details.

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

In honour of Dr. Seuss' birthday ....!

I'm still in my "clear projects out" mode and decided it was time to finish a quilt that my little Pumpkin started approximately six (6) years ago - Dr. Seuss The Lorax quilt! I love the Lorax! I met him on our Universal Vacation back in 2015.

Slowly, after a couple of years, the quilt was brought to the stage of blocks completely pieced. It was just a question of putting it all together to create a quilt top. I did fussy cut the horizontal sashing, as it was a tad advance for a 13 year old!

There the blocks laid, in my closet, awaiting Pumpkin to pick the project back up again.  After a few years of just gathering dust, I decided that it was time for me to take matters into my own hands and get the quilt done.

Ta da!

It has since been machine quilted, washed and, I even had enough of The Lorax backing fabric to make a pillow case, all in time for her surprised visit last weekend. My goal was to have it done by March 10! Ah! Beat that goal! Yea!

Oh, she was surprised and so delighted! She actually brought it back to college with her! Can you see my big grin?

The actual name of the quilt is called The Need for Theeds, designed by Rachel Griffith for Robert Kaufman   It is a free pattern and you can obtain a copy of the pattern here.

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

Jungle Fever .... Jungle Fever ..!

Ok, now I have that tune in my head!

I'm a little annoyed at Blogger at the moment. It has occurred to me that although I have programmed my settings to receive an e-mails for all comments left on my blog, blogger takes it upon themselves to be selective by not sending ALL of them. I've recently noticed that some of you have commented and I did receive a notification.

I have since contacted blogger, followed their suggestions and the problem has not been fixed. Sigh!

I apologize for not getting back to you. I'm not ignoring you, I'm just not getting an e-mail that you've left a comment. Sigh .... annoying...!

Onward to the fun stuff!

I finished this little hand embroidered quilt called My Little Garden by Kathy Schmitz. It measures 15 inches by 19 inches!

Have I  mentioned that I just love those little quits? One more to do and the series is complete!

I also pieced this cute quilt that uses 30 different 10" blocks of fabrics. It's called Jungle Fever.

I do like that pattern. Simple and quick to make .... not requiring much precision because you end up trimming your block.

Given that I'm a precision kind of gal, I re-worked the directions to accommodate my OCD! LOL

Thanks for stopping by! Catch you later! Cheers!

Label it .... you own it...!

I hope you have all had a wonderful Labour Day Weekend. Myself, I ended up going in to Fibre Junction and working on the website, imputing Lecien Cosmo floss.  What a job!

Today, owning a small business requires lots of skills that I am positive our foremothers did not have to acquire. Anyway, by 3:30 p.m. I was crossed eyed and had to call it a day! Yea, I popped opened a bottle of wine and had a glass! Cheers!

I'm still on this "finish UFO" mode and completed Vintage Holiday - a Jo Morton quilt.

Not only did I finish the quilt but ..... I actually took Ancient Bernie out!

And ... Seriously, aren't you proud of me? lol

All of a sudden .... "SQUIRREL" .... and off I went into another direction, creating labels for completed quilts!  So far I have six (6) labels stitched out and sewn on .... Sigh! Not that it's a bad thing but ....

Focus Carole ... focus .... just focus ... back to completing UFOs!

It's a done deal ....!

The mystery quilt has been delivered! For the curious ones, the recipient was my mum!

I think she was a tad happy to receive it. Her eyes teared up ... it's a good sign! I love my mum to pieces!

I managed to capture this photo of the both of us. I love how it turned out!

I will admit, it feels great to get a UFO project completed! It takes the weight off one's shoulders. I would strongly recommend that you take an inventory of your UFOs. Make a list .... here is how I designed my quilt project sheet ...

Then, get rid of the ones you are no longer passionate about ... I write down where the quilt project went. This way I have a record of what happened to that project.

For those curious about the machine quilting on my mum's quilt, I did an edge to edge ....

Used Hobbs 100% wool batting. I will admit, I'm loving wool! It's light .... and oh so comfy! I now use wool batting for all my winter quilts (and for some I give away) and cotton for the others. What is your choice of batting?

Thanks for stopping by! Catch you later!

Allowing my wisdom to shine ...!

There are a lot of changes taking place in my life. It is true what they say, as you get older what was important in your youth seems to take a back seat. All of a sudden, your priorities change and your life heads in a new direction.

I've never been one to be on a straight life path ... I like an adventure .... I've taken quite a few "wrong" turns, so to speak, some conscious and some unconscious .... okay maybe that would be "consciously ignoring the signs!" lol  Still .... life is good!

A recent new change for me is that I have decided to no longer hide my wisdom. No more trips to the hair salon for hair colouring!

It is taking quite some time for my "wisdom" to flourish! lol So far, I seem to have the patience for the process to complete itself.

On the quilting front .... I am in a completion mode. I've been tackling UFOs and cleaning out stuff I am no longer passionate about.

I have FINALLY finished the mystery quilt I blogged about here. Penelope and I spent some quality time together on Monday! ;)

The binding is sewn on, now it's a question of finishing the hand stitching ... another of my favourite part of quilting. I will admit, there isn't much about the quilting process that I don't enjoy. How about you?

Thank you for stopping by. Enjoy your day! Cheers!