Scarf In A Hurry

I needed a new warm scarf in a hurry because it's been really cold out. A round loom came in handy to make a long tube. The yarn is doubled, so that also adds warmth. Now I'm ready to brave the elements.

Friday Finish

Hot off the press! It was finished last night. I don't know the name of this quilt pattern, I made one like it years ago, but with smaller half-square triangles. There was a small stack of these blocks that I made a long time ago. I got busy and made a bunch more so there were enough for this project. It is quilted with all-over feathers, which I learned from Stitched By Susan. My feathers turned out smaller and more compact than Susan's. Without having a long arm machine, it's necessary to move the quilt around as I stitch. It'll have to do. The lovely fabric on the back came from Connecting Threads. I buy most of my wide backing fabric from there, the price is extremely reasonable.

It's Gift Bag Season Again

It seems like I just made gift bags, but that was a year ago. Time goes so fast that one year seems like a total blur. I have been trying to use up my Christmas fabric stash since who knows when. The amount is starting to diminish a bit. The only thing I'm getting low on are light coloured background prints. I make the gift bags lined in order to use up more fabric. Many years ago, I had a fabric store and there were many bolts of fabric left when the business closed. That's why there is so much to use up. It's no use trying to sell it, I would only get a pittance for the lot. There will be gift bags from now to eternity.

Christmas Placemats

I had to re-buy the Take 4 placemat pattern. I couldn't find the old one anywhere, it's hiding in my sewing room. This set is a gift for a friend. The good thing about Christmas placemats or pot holders is, they can be used for the season, then put away. I don't have to worry about trying to match somebody's decor. Well, some people might be fussy with that too, only decorating in silver or a certain theme. I won't be giving anything to those kind of people, they are out of my league, haha! The last photo was taken at an angle to try to get the quilting to show up. I'm trying to get a little better at capturing the true colours and textures of the fabrics with my camera. Lindsay, my offspring was giving me some advice about that. Hopefully, my photos will start looking better.

Trying An All-Over Feathers Quilting Design

There are so many wonderful resources available for quilters these days. YouTube has endless tutorials on free-motion quilting. I am always trying to learn something new so I don't get bored. I'm trying an all-over feather design that I discovered on Susan Smith's YouTube channel My feathers are smaller and more compact because I don't have a long arm machine. I can't seem to make a large and flowing design on my Baby Lock Tiara. Oh well, I have to use what I've got and be done with it.

Scrappy Bear's Paw Quilt

My Scrappy Bear's Paw quilt is now completed. After most of the quilting was done, I discovered the points on one section were turned the wrong way. It'll have to stay that way, I'm calling it a "humility block". I think this one will end up at the cabin.

A Long Overdue Quilting Retreat

It's been two years since our guild has had a quilting retreat. Everything had been cancelled because of the pandemic. I just got out of the hospital last week, so I wasn't feeling too perky. Not having enough energy to heave around a big quilt, I opted to sew 1 1/2" squares together instead. This project was started in the summer when I was at my cabin. After the first picture was taken, I noticed one of the blocks had the wrong order of light and dark squares. I picked that section out and fixed the error. There will still be three more rows of blocks to add, then a border. It will end up being a good size for a couch throw. The tiny squares are fiddly to work with, I wouldn't want to make it the size of a bed quilt.

Cat Mats By Linda H.

Linda's daughter wanted a couple of washable mini quilts for her cats to sit on so the furniture would be protected. Mr Nibs and Mr Wriggles started making use of the mats right away after they arrived in the mail. Each person or animal likes to have their own quilt. :)

Quilt Top #27

My bins of blue fabrics were overflowing, it was time to make something with them. I need another quilt top like I need a new hole in my head. Eventually, I would like to have a stack of completed quilts that I could donate locally. In the past, I have given a few quilts to my sister's group who donates to shelters in Nanaimo. The only problem with that is, postage is extremely expensive for me to send the quilts there. I don't know if there is a shelter in my town, I'll have to find out. Years ago, our guild used to make comfort quilts, but some of them ended up in the thrift shop. That was a little discouraging. Maybe they didn't match with someone's decor? I guess we'll never know. The good thing about a shelter is, the quilts stay there on the bed, a couch or a chair. If anybody has some ideas for donation quilts, please let me know.

This Month's Project

I'm going to try to get this Scrappy Bear's Paw quilt finished in October. The quilt top was made in the spring, so it hasn't been a UFO for too long.

Geo's Birthday Quilt Is Completed

Making this quilt tested my patience at every level. I will never use Fireside backing again unless I get a long arm machine. The thing wouldn't slide along as I was trying to free motion quilt. My sister came up with the idea of putting tissue paper underneath, so I tried paper from old clothing patterns. That solved the problem, I was able to move the quilt around with no friction. The paper was extremely difficult to remove after the quilting was done. I had to pick at it for a few days with tweezers before it was finally cleaned up. There wasn't an inch of backing to spare, I should have bought more of it. On one small section it wasn't enough to go right to the edge. I had to attach the label along there to cover the gap. As I was stitching down the binding, I noticed that some of the quilting was pulling out in several sections. The layers must have been too thick for the machine, the top thread wasn't catching the bobbin thread. I had to requilt all those areas. Now that this monster is finished, I can breath a sigh of relief. The Fireside backing is nice and cozy. Geo loves his new quilt.

Sewing Machine Cover By Linda H.

Linda designed and made a handy cover for one of her sewing machines. The quilt block pattern came from the book "Block Magic" by Nancy Johnson Srebro. This proves there is no reason to have a boring sewing machine cover. My serger could use a custom cover instead of a pillowcase. :)

Sunny Lanes By Linda H.

Linda made "Sunny Lanes" for her quilting group as a fundraiser raffle. The pattern can be found in the book "Nickel Quilts" by Pat Speth and Charlene Thode. The backing fabric is a cute apple print that Linda had been saving for quite some time. It was just the right size for this quilt. I hope lots of raffle tickets will sell, it's certainly a lovely quilt.

Yikes!

I started to free-motion quilt Geo's Halloween quilt. What a nightmare! He wanted something warm and cozy for the back, so I bought some Fireside fabric. It has a beautiful texture but it refuses to slide along as I'm free-motion stitching. I even sprayed the table and machine bed with Quilt Glide, an anti-friction treatment for quilting surfaces. Nope, it didn't help. It's push, pull and drag all the way. Fireside fabric is lovely, but I think it's meant to be used with a long arm machine, not the kind of machine I have. Wish me luck!

Friday Finish

I put that last stitches in the binding, now this well-aged UFO is finished. These blocks were made about 10-12 years ago, then put away in a box. In the spring, I excavated them and made a quilt top. Not wanting to make more blocks, I increased the size by adding a wide border. For the backing, I used a piece of gold Thimbleberries fabric. That colour isn't too popular these days, but it works for backing. It was nice to be able to use it up. For the quilting, I stitched in the ditch with Sew Fine white thread. The border is free-motion quilted with Sew Fine thread in a pea soup colour. That type of thread is good to use if you don't want the quilting to stand out too much. Now that this project is done, I can get back to working on the Halloween quilt.

The Beginning Of A Halloween Quilt

Geo's birthday is on October 31. Since he loves Halloween, I thought I would make a quilt for him this year. I ordered online from Sew Sisters, a great place to shop. My order arrived quickly and I was pleased with the fabric. I looked through some quilting books to find an idea and came up with the Anvil block. Each fabric can be featured in the centre of a block. In my 34 years of quilting, this is the first time making a Halloween quilt. There will be fabric left over, so there may be placemats or a table runner in the future.

Tribute To Nancy

A couple of years ago, a local quilter passed away and her family donated her quilting supplies to our guild. There were a few quilt tops, the rest of the stuff was fabric and notions. One of the guild members finished a quilt and it was donated to our town's 2021 New Year's baby. I quilted the other top, using a simple loop design. The batting and backing were there, all I had to do was find something in my stash for the binding. It will go to the first baby of 2022. I think Nancy would have been pleased to know that her projects were finished and given to the babies.