Sewing Machine Pad By Linda H.

Linda has been making Christmas gifts! This gift for Joanne is a pad with storage pockets to go under a sewing machine. Scissors and sewing tools can be put in the pockets for easy access. The pattern came from the Spring 2020 issue of Quilts and More, designed by Monica Solaria-Snow.

Christmas Tree Skirt By Linda H.

Linda made a tree skirt for her friend, Audrey. I think Audrey is going to love her Christmas gift! Linda is going to give it to her early so she can use it this season.

Project From 2018 Completed

I don't even know where this pattern came from. I think I saw something like it on one of the scrap quilt groups on Facebook. It turned out an odd size. 82 1'2"X 103", kind of long and skinny. Probably as a result of putting it together diagonally and not knowing when to quit adding rows. I haven't tried it out on a bed yet to see what it looks like. The pictures had to be taken outside because I had to extend the frame taller than the ceiling to accommodate the whole quilt. The wide backing fabric wasn't large enough, so a row of blocks had to be added. It's free-motion quilted with Isacord thread in an apricot colour.

Barn Quilt

Yesterday our quilting group took a class from Quilter's Palette on making barn quilts. Painting isn't one my my strong skills, but I managed to complete the project without making too much of a mess. I still need to do a few touch-ups. As along as it looks ok if you're going by on a galloping horse, then I'm happy.

Coasters By Linda H.

This is what Linda said about her coasters, "I finally finished the tiny teacup coasters after about 15 years. I left them undone because I was working with little scraps and I ran out of yellow for the last one. It is a close match but not the same. They are paper pieced." Wow, I think they turned out great!

The Stash Buster 2025 Quilt Blocks Are Assembled Into A Top

Jack the Ripper had to help me on more than a few occasions on making this project. One of the rows was turned the wrong way and I had to pick it out. Of course, it couldn't have been the end row, it was a middle row- groan! I removed it, then turned it around and sewed it to the bottom. Then, after the quilt top was completely made, I noticed that one block had black squares that were sewn in wrong. That had to be ripped out and corrected. I'm glad I noticed it before it was quilted. I don't know what kind of quilting design to do on this one yet. I'll have to let that brew for a while in my mind before it goes on the frame.

Fund Raiser Donation

Our quilting group was asked if anybody had an item they could donate to an auction to raise money for the Cancer Society. I dug out an unfinished table runner top and quilted it. This was a mystery project we did in our guild several years ago. We are going to put a minimum bid on our quilts, we don't want something to be auctioned for five dollars! That would be be heartbreaking after all the money, time and work went into making it. The other day I saw a table runner kit in a quilt shop and the price was $57. With the prices of fabric these days it's even expensive to make something small like a table runner. I hope the auction goes well and they raise a lot of money for the cause. Update: They disregarded my minimum bid and sold the table runner for peanuts. That's the last time I will donate an item to them.

October 2025 Quilting Retreat

We had a shorter retreat this time, just one evening and a day. All my Stashbuster 2025 blocks are done, I was also working on those during the spring retreat. Now I just have to finish the sashing and make the blocks into a top. The deadline to complete this stashbuster is the end of December this year, it should be possible to get it finished by then.

Cat Potholders

One of the members of the craft group that we meet with is moving away soon. I made these cat potholders for a farewell gift. Not knowing what she likes, I threw caution to the wind and used bright colours. I thought, either she is going to like them or hate them. It turned out that she did like them, much to my relief. In the past, I have made things that people were not pleased with. You can't win them all. The block pattern came from the book, "Block Magic" by Nancy Johnson-Srebro.

St John's Pavement by Linda H.

Linda made this quilt a year or two ago but I didn't receive the pictures until now. This is what Linda said about her St John's Pavement quilt, "It is my own design, based on a block in one of the Around The Block books. It just has a scrappy centre instead of a single fabric centre." Linda did a great job on this project, I would love to see it in person. :)

Double Shuffle Is Completed

This Double Shuffle pattern came from the Moonkin Stitchery channel on YouTube. I selected the five-inch squares from my bottomless Rubbermaid bin. I've been collecting and cutting that size of squares for more than a few decades. Novelty prints are added here and there to make things interesting. I'm rather fond of the blue and green colour combination. It's not affordable for me to use wide backing fabric on every quilt, so I pieced some fabrics together for this project. This will end up being a donation quilt unless somebody comes along and wants to have it.

Rustler's Leaves By Linda H.

Just in time for Autumn! This is what Linda said about her quilt, "The actual name of the quilt was Rustling Leaves. It was a free pattern n American Patchwork and Quilting by Sue Micheals of Dragonfly Fiberart. I used my precious squirrel print fabric on the back!" It looks warm and cozy, Linda did a great job, as usual. :)

Birthday Placemat

I needed a small gift for a birthday lunch. Linda gave me the idea to make a birthday cake placemat. The block pattern came from the book, "Block Magic Too" by Nancy Johnson-Srebro. The recipient liked the gift as well as everyone else in the group. It looks like I'll have to make one for each of them when their birthday rolls around. :)

Mystery Quilt From 2014 Is Finally Finished

One day while digging around in the sewing hole closet, I came across an unfinished mystery quilt project from 2014. Everything was in the storage bin- the blocks, extra fabric and the pattern. Since I've been trying to strike UFOs off my list, I thought it was a splendid idea to work on this one. The pinwheel blocks that I had made were actually supposed to be star blocks. It was a mystery why I didn't follow the original design. There were way more blocks made than required. That left me scratching my head in wonder. There was an awful lot of waste in the bigger star blocks. You were supposed to sew sections together and cut the rest off. This went against my grain because I don't like to waste fabric. I ended up constructing a pieced backing from all the leftovers. The fabric is a line of Australian Aboriginal prints Quilting this was a nightmare. The thread kept breaking and breaking countless times. Every trouble-shooting method that exists was used but nothing helped. I ended up switching the thread to a different kind, not even the same colour and brand. After taking the quilt off the longarm frame, I discovered a multitude of thread nests on the back. Out came the seam ripper and there were dozens of repairs made. It seemed like this quilt was trying to fight me every step of the way. Oh well, it's done now, I'm glad to see the end of it.

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Shirley's Quilt By Linda H.

Linda recently made a lap quilt for our cousin, Shirley, who has been in the hospital. The quilt was Linda's own design and she had Shirley's favourite colours in mind. Needless to say, the get well gift was a big hit, Shirley loved it!