Table Mat for Lindsay

This is a table mat I made for my daughter, Lindsay, it's made from vintage fabric I had in my stash. Every once in awhile, people have given me boxes or bags of fabric because they don't sew anymore. Hey, I'll use it, especially if it's from the 70's or earlier! I love those old style prints, probably because I'm getting old myself, I'm just reminiscing.

Now that I have good internet service, I can post pictures more often!

This is something that I've been working on lately. I've made several of these quilts that use alternating light and dark five inch squares. They make good comfort quilts for charity because they go together quickly. There is a never ending bin of cut squares because I keep adding more to it. I've been trying a different quilting design on each quilt for variety. This time I'm trying swirls similar to ones I saw on an Angela Walters' video. The quilting thread I'm using is King Tut in the colour "Mummy's Dearest. It's a pale pastel variegated 40 weight cotton thread. Thank you to Angela Walters for kindly sharing her quilting video, it's very much appreciated!

Some new pictures of "Tiny Town" by Linda H.

A picture of "Tiny Town" was shown in a blog post in 2010, but Linda Huntrods sent some better photos of the quilt.

"Christmas Checkers" by Linda H.

"Christmas Checkers" was made by my sister, Linda Huntrods. It was a PHD for many years but she recently quilted it and got it finished. It looks great, Linda!

note: PHD= Project Half Done.

"Scraps Can Multiply", Quilt by Linda H.

My sister, Linda Huntrods made this small wallhanging called "Scraps Can Multiply". I love the colour combination!

A Fund Raiser Donation

There was a fund raiser at work for a family who has a baby with health problems, I made this Christmas table topper to donate to the cause. I used metallic thread for the quilting- what a nightmare! It kept breaking, even though I used thread conditioner and a special needle for metallic thread. Finally, I gave up and put the metallic thread in the bobbin, cotton thread on top and did the rest of the quilt upside-down. That seems to be the best way for me to use that type of thread. I have so much Christmas fabric in my stash, it needs to be used up. Every year I make gift bags with it, but that doesn't seem to put a dent in the pile. I'm not buying anymore of that type of fabric, so eventually it should dwindle down to a manageable amount.

Back to the Fifties

I made this baby quilt for a couple at work who just had a new little guy. I asked what colours they liked, I was wondering if a quilt top that I had at home would be suitable. It turned out that the one I had in mind was totally wrong, they prefer colours like burnt orange, turquoise, brown, I thought, "Hmmmm, those sound like 1950's colours." I went home and looked on the internet, sure enough, 1950's colour pallets had those ones in it. I looked through my stash and came up with ones that would be suitable. For the border and binding, I ordered some 1950's reproduction fabrics for the border and binding from equilter.com. I like the fabric with atom designs on it! Next I needed to pick out a pattern, I found a good one in Quilter's World magazine, The Scrap Sensation, September, 2012. It was a bed size quilt designed by Christine A. Schultz,

I made fewer blocks so it was a baby quilt size. For the backing, I wanted to use a piece of novelty fabric that had pictures of old cars, planes and trains on it. I pieced it into the backing using muslin for the rest. I have lots of the fabrics left over, maybe I'll make a bigger quilt like this for myself.

Goal Accomplished!

Goal Accomplished! Here it is, UFO #13, completing the goal of finishing 13 UFOs in 2013. This one is titled, "Nobody is Getting This Quilt, the Blocks Took Five Years to Make". The blocks are hand appliquéd, the machine quilting is done in silk thread. I saw a quilt kit with fabric that I liked, so I bought it and didn't use the pattern, just the fabrics. The appliqué flowers that are on my quilt came from a Fons and Porter magazine: "Fun Quilts for Kids of all Ages". The pattern was called "Daisy Dreams", designed by Cyndi Walker. I didn't make the quilt the way it was in the pattern, I used an entirely different configuration.

Li'l Twister mat, Ufo #12 completed

I wanted to try the Li'l Twister ruler that I bought from Keepsake Quilting, so I made this little table mat. I used random five inch squares, alternating dark and light.

UFO #11 completed

These placemats were made from a kit from a fabric store in Whitehorse. I don't normally buy kits but I wanted the pattern and the fabrics were nice, so I gave in. The reason I don't use kits is because I don't want projects that look exactly the same as the next person's. Here is the pattern source: Take Four Placemats Pattern by Cary Flanagan www.creativequiltkits.com Take Four Placemats Pattern by Cary Flanagan is a fat-quarter friendly pattern that is great for beginners. Four fat quarters are all that is needed for the main side of the mat. One yard additional is needed for the backing.

UFO #10 completed

I finally got a chance to get to a place with good internet connection. I completed this quilt a few months ago, now I can post the picture. I can't send pictures from home because my internet is so horrible, slow and expensive. In this day and age, high speed internet should be available everywhere! This is a quilt I made for my friend Brenda to celebrate friendship since 1979. I was wanting to try the 1600 quilt pattern, so I looked up instructions online, then made the quilt a bit longer. I don't like a quilt that's too square if it's going to be used for a TV quilt. That's what I call the size that is used for cuddling up on the couch. I got the idea for the quilting design from the book "Doodle Quilting". It was quilted on my new Babylock Tiara quilting machine with Aurafil thread on the top and Bottom Line thread in the bobbin. I took the pictures outside, there was a slight breeze, which ruffled the edge, the quilt doesn't really have a smashed edge :D I'll look up where I got the 1600 instructions online, then will post the source to give credit to them, but I'll have to find it. Stay tuned :) Ok, I now have the site here to tell where I obtained the instructions: http://www.e-quilterscorner.com/media/uploads/2013/02/21/files/1600_Jelly_Roll_Quilt_Pattern.pdf

UFO #9 completed

This was a small project to complete but I was meaning to get it finished a long time ago. I used Ikea fabric that my daughter, Lindsay bought for me a long time ago. I've been saving leftover batting, tiny fabric scraps and selvages, then chopping them up to make pillow stuffing. This is a good way to use up shreds that would normally be thrown away. I wanted a firm pillow to sit on when I machine quilt so I can sit up higher and can see what I'm doing. There is quite a bit more of that fabric left that I can use for more cushions.

Penhold Braid (UFO #8 Completed)

Now that this quilt is given away, I can post some pics of it to the blog. The name of the quilt is "Penhold Braid". I made it for my friend, Anna-Marie for her birthday. It says on the label, "Celebrating friendship since 1966". The regular name for this quilt pattern would usually be "Friendship Braid", "Prairie Braid" or "Pioneer Braid". Way back when we first knew each other in Penhold, Alberta, Anna-Marie had her hair done in tight braids right next to her scalp. I always thought that must have been painful to sit there and have that done to your head every morning :D My hair was always a total mess, my mom never did anything with it, hehe! This is the first project I've quilted with my new Baby Lock Tiara machine. I tried several different feather designs, trying to learn some new things. The first two rows of feathers were a disaster, I had to pick them out. I discovered that I was unable to go up the feather and come back down the other side. It seemed to work better to go up from the bottom of each side. Maybe if I tried drawing it out first, it would be easier, but no, I always just jump right in and start sewing! I found the perfect label fabric to use for this quilt, Anna-Marie has a large brown cat named Sweetie, the angel cat seemed appropriate :) Anna_Marie has been given strict orders to use this quilt. I made a quilt for her many years ago, she didn't want to use it because it was too nice! This one is not too nice, it's a scrap quilt that's meant to be used :)

UFO #7 Completed for 2013

I had this wall hanging top in my PHD files for more than 10 or 12 years. (PHD for those who don't know- "Projects Half Done"). I finally dug it out last week and decided to quilt it. In an afternoon, it was finished, binding and all. A few days later, I dealt with the stray threads and signed the back of it. Some of these things don't take very long to finish up, it's just a matter of getting around to it. My problem is, I have too many ideas and go on to the next project without completing the one before. Several years of that amounts to a skyscraper high pile of UFOs :O

Quilting detail on Linda's quilt that was shown in the post before this.

"Everything But"

"Everything But". This is the title of the quilt that my sister, Linda Huntrods just completed. It has every colour and print of fabric except for batiks, plain black and Christmas. She didn't like it at first because it looked so busy, but after it was quilted it she was pleased with it. Too bad the quilting design doesn't show up, maybe she can send another picture that shows quilting detail. Linda has a Pfaff machine on a quilting frame that she used to complete this quilt. I really like "Everything But...!"

UFO #6 completed for 2013 This is a laptop carrying case I just made. I got the computer last fall and was going to make a case out of plain canvas that I had on hand. It wasn't very inspiring to use that fabric, so I kept putting it off. This past week, I bought this polka dot canvas at Walmart. I didn't have a pattern, so I measured the laptop and made the pieces bigger to allow for seam allowances. The lining is a fuzzy, thick ribbed fabric. I also included a picture of the side so the blue zipper shows up. I used a wooden cutting board as a backdrop so you don't see me holding up the case. I hate having my picture taken :)

UFO #4 and #5 completed for 2013 I did a demo at the quilting guild on machine applied binding, so I made 2 potholders to demonstrate the techniques. One person said I couldn't claim these as completed UFO's because they were only potholders, lol! I said it's my challenge, I make up my own rules :) These blocks were in my block box for more than 10 years, so they qualify as being well aged objects! The first one was bound with a faux piped binding, the other one was a regular machine binding. I don't really like the fabrics I used for the second one, they are too dark, there isn't much contrast. Oh well, live and learn.

UFO #3 Completed for 2013

This quilt is almost the same as the one a few posts ago, but the quilting is different. The first one had curvy quilting going diagonally across each square, this one has wavy lines going vertically and and crosswise. I like using muslin for the back because it's so soft after it's quilted. The quilt was given to a friend.

UFO #2 Completed for 2013

I quilted and bound this quilt top made by Donna Madden. I've had the top at my place for the past ten years, so it was a well aged UFO! I tried a new machine quilting design (new to me, anyway). I want to keep learning new designs so I can have a variety to pick from. The thread I used was a variegated aqua coloured Signature thread that my sister sent for Christmas. I didn't know what to use for binding, then finally came across a black, multicolour dot print that was in my stash. After an entire decade, Donna was able to have her quilt back!

Comfort Quilt

This was a 7 year UFO I completed at the end of December, 2012. It doesn't count as one of the 13 that I'm going to finish in 2013. I donated it to the quilting guild to be given away as a comfort quilt. Originally, I thought I'd give this one to a Hurricane Katrina victim- oops, I was several years late on that. Oh well, it's finished and given away now, as long as somebody is going to benefit from it.

New Year's Resolution for 2013- To Finish 13 UFO'S in 2013

I haven't posted anything on here for a few years because of a too expensive internet connection. I have to go to a friend's place to post pictures. I live out in the sticks, there is no regular high speed service available. I could sign up for broadband, but then I'd have to pay for two things because I'm locked into a long term contract with the mobile internet key. Enough of that, now I'm over at my friend's place, I'll post a few pics. My New Year's resolution for 2013 is to finish 13 UFO's this year. I have a terrible habit of starting something, then flinging it aside to go onto other things. So far I've finished one thing, it's a kit I won about 15 years ago. I'm not crazy about Jinny Beyer quilts, they are too controlled for my liking. I made the quilt smaller than the pattern stated and added a few of my own fabrics. There is lots of quilting on it which doesn't show up in the picture.