Apron

I just finished making this apron. The picture of it on a hanger didn't turn out great because the apron was folding in on itself. I wasn't about to take a photo with me wearing it because I've been in my pyjamas all day, haha! The orange fabric has been in my stash for ages, the floral was too pretty just to chop up and use in quilt blocks. The pattern said to also make pockets on the inside so the apron would be reversible, I didn't do that. I'll take my old apron to the cabin to use there and I'll use the new one here.

Throwback Thursday: Vest Making Class From 1987

After I joined the local quilting guild in 1987, I took a class on making quilted vests. At the time, I couldn't find any 100% cotton fabric in the store so I had to buy polycotton fabrics for this vest. I never wore the garment after it was made, but I learned a lot, since I was new to quilting. Thirty seven years later, I'm still a member of that quilting guild.

Stashbuster 2024 Is Completed

I'm in a Facebook group that picks a pattern each year and holds a stashbuster challenge. This year's pattern was Scrappy Irish Chain. Because the quilt was so large, I had to photograph it outside, there's not enough room in my house. The wind was ruffling the quilt around on the frame, it wasn't easy to hold it still for the photo. When I win the lottery, I'll hire a professional photographer. It's free-motion quilted with flowers and leaves, using Glide thread. When I took it off the frame, I noticed a fold and some puckers on the back. I tried picking out the quilting in that section and redoing it, but it didn't look satisfactory. My solution? Applique a quilt block over the offending area. I'm keeping the quilt for myself. It's a good thing I don't quilt for customers.

This picture was taken when the quilting was still in progress.

A Solution To A Problem

These days, they seem to make socks for people with pencil-thin legs. The bands are so tight, they are impossible to wear without discomfort. There needed to be a solution to the problem. I stretched the band over the free-arm of the sewing machine and did a large zigzag. Look at the comparison with the unsewn sock:

I'm going to do this with all of my socks now. As long as the thread matches, they don't look too bad. They should be more comfortable to wear.

Coin Quilt Completed

In an attempt to whittle down my stash of blue fabrics, this quilt was born. I'm probably going to get tired of using the same kind of backing for multiple quilts, I bought an entire bolt because it was on sale. There wasn't a pattern, it's just an common design that people have made for eons. It's free-motion quilted with all-over feathers, using Glide thread.

Baptist Fans!

I finally worked up the gumption to try the Fab 5 Baptist Fan Ruler Set that I ordered from Michael Davison, Quarter Squared Quilt Company. The quilting was slow and tedious, you can't be in a hurry when doing ruler work. I usually try to match the bobbin thread to the back, but in this case, I didn't. It took so much focus to follow the rulers, I didn't want to keep checking the back to see if the dark thread from the top was showing on the back. I just used the same thread top and bottom to eliminate that worry. The quilt top was a mystery quilt that our guild did in the 90s. My fabric choices were a little odd, to say the least. I thought if I messed up on the quilting, at least it wouldn't be a great loss. On the back is what I call "Poor Man's Backing". I can't afford to buy wide backing fabric for every quilt, so sometimes I use up odds and ends. Now that ruler work doesn't seem so terrifying, I might try more of it in the future. :)

Another One Completed

I don't know what to call this one. I watched a YouTube tutorial on making the triangle units. There were bias edges, so I had to be really careful not to stretch them. At first, I was going to make the entire background with lime green fabric. If I continued with that idea, it would have been an eye-blistering quilt. To tone it down a bit, I added the white rows with navy blue sashing between each column. It's free-motion quilted with vertical wavy lines, using Isacord thread. The wide backing fabric is from Connecting Threads.

Days Two And Three Of The March 2024 Quilting Retreat

I accomplished a few things in the past two days. The Merry Mayhem Mystery quilt top is almost put together. It needs one more row and a border. Coralee showed us how to make snap bags and a little chicken pincushion. The rest of the time I worked on a herringbone quilt that's an ongoing insanity project.

Day One Of The March 2024 Quilting Retreat

I didn't get too much accomplished today, there was a lot of visiting. That's ok, it's important to get together with friends and have a yak session. Today's project was to finish making the blocks from the Merry Mayhem Mystery pattern that was hosted fromm Christmas to January 1st. I had most of them made, so I got the rest of them done. Tomorrow I will start on the sashing.

Scrappy Irish Chain So Far

I'm in a Facebook group called "Stashbuster Challenge 2024". This year's challenge is to make a Scrappy Irish Chain quilt. This is what I've done so far. I still need to add several more rows of blocks. Some people in the group have their quilts finished already! The challenge is supposed to go on for a whole year, haha!

Fat Quarter Fizz Is Completed

This was a free tutorial from Fat Quarter Shop, called "Fat Quarter Fizz". One of our guild members passed away a few years ago and the contents of her sewing room were sorted out. At our Christmas potluck supper, each person in the guild was given a gift bag of fabrics that came from Beva Jo. I used a few of these fabrics in this quilt, that's how I ended up with this colour scheme. The fabric on the back was an unusual print that was meant to be cut up to make Drunkard's Path blocks. I used it as yardage for the backing. It's free-motion quilted with giant flowers, using Signature thread. I'm making a series of quilts that will be donated, this will be one of them.

Product Review: Fab 5 Baptist Fan Ruler Set

I've had the Fab 5 Baptist Fan ruler set for a few months, I finally drummed up the courage to try them. I've never done ruler work before, so this was a challenge. First, I watched the video by Michael Davison on YouTube. The rulers have clear markings so you can line them up with the previous arc. I made a few wobbles here and there, but hopefully, they won't be too noticeable when the quilt is all done. I'm working on a quilt top that's 25 years old. I thought if I messed that up, it wouldn't be too great of a loss. I'm pleased with the rulers and would recommend them. The video instructions are especially helpful. What would we do without YouTube University?

Little Orphan Annie II Is Completed

This is the second quilt that I've made from orphan blocks. It's good to try to use up leftovers because time and fabric were put into making them in the first place. There is quite a wild assortment in this one. The light coloured star block was one of the first blocks that I made when I started quilting 37 years ago. Others were from internet swaps. There were seven blocks made from Jinny Beyer fabrics which were dark and dull, I finally "got rid of them" in this quilt. A few of the blocks were just something that I wanted to try, then decided not to make a quilt with them. On the back there is a quilt top that was too small for anything useful. I added sections around it to make it big enough for the backing. The quilting is a "topographical map" design. The thread is by Signature.

Our Pincushions

Yesterday we spent the evening making pincushions with our quilting group. Kerri hosted the event. A good time was had by all! We came up with quite a variety of styles and shapes. Mine is the one in the Corningware pan. Photo by Barbara Blysak

Donation Quilt Completed

Our guild is going to donate a stack of quilts to the local Women's Resource Centre in the spring. We donated a dozen last year and they appreciated them, so we'll do it again. We were kindly given a generous community grant, so that helped with the cost of buying batting and backing for these quilts. Everything is so expensive these days, it's not cheap to make a quilt, let alone a dozen of them. This pattern is a variation of the Potato Chip block, I don't know if it has an official name. I made a silly mistake when quilting it, I accidentally put a cone of Bottom Line thread on the top. I wound it on the bobbin and was going to use Glide thread on the top, but I grabbed the wrong cone to thread the machine. Duh! After an entire section was done, I discovered the error. It was too late to change thread, so I continued with it. The end result was ok, but the quilting doesn't show up on the top very well because the thread is so fine. Oh well, live and learn.

Sixteen Year Old UFO Completed

After sixteen long years, Sunny Lanes is completed! It's a pattern from the "Nickel Quilts" book by Pat Speth and Charlene Thode. I started the blocks and abandoned them for several years. I dug them out and made quite a few more, then those sat in a box for many months. There were two bolts of fabric that came from the fabric store I had a few decades ago. I never knew what to do with them because they were unusual. The two prints coordinated. If they were cut apart and joined together, they formed Drunkard's Path blocks. I decided to use one of the fabrics as a backing for this quilt. At least it gets used up that way. I'll use the coordinating fabric as backing too at some point. The quilting is a "Topographical Map" design with King Tut thread.