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.