Got it Done!

Got my goal for August completed.  The idea was I was going to finish a pillow, well I did a different one. I found some material that was perfect for a pillow case for my husband.  See it below, American material, of little flags, with a star stash at the end.  It covers our pillow on our front entrance bench, I like it.  It doesn't match anything but that's OK.  It goes on the bed at the end of the day, lol.

The next goal I had was to complete the binding for all of the mats I was making for my book club group.  Most you'll see are the same, but the one below is a pattern by  .  I really must make a full quilt of these ones, it would look great.  

Look at the quilting of these ones, I practiced with my rules.  I took a close up on one of the mats with the quilting.

Finally, I had a row by row already completed.  I just needed to put binding on it.  I don't really like this one, it's a pattern from    for the row by row 2015.  But then I remembered someone who would like it, so off it's going.  Funny thing is I was through with the row by rows for a while but at least I saw the end of them, but now a couple of days ago I found a container with at least 30 of them.  I really need to take a break from them,......

And that's it, my goals for August completed.  Now just to finish my July goal, it's almost completed, next blog entry.  

Take care.
 

Back to School Quilting

 With work resuming the time spent on quilts and quilting is small, but I'm still trying to get in some creativity time.  Now my quilting has changed from creativity to a stress releaser.  Two cases reported in our school and we continue to work.  School is two blocks a day with lectures of 2 1/2 hours a session.  I prep 4 classes in total (2 different classes in each of my blocks) and prepping for all.  Marking is piling up, but exhaustion is bigger.  I don't know if I can keep up this pace but quilting does help to release the stress.

But I did get my September's goal for OMG completed.    Hanging with pride.  Here's my initial blog entry saying I was going to try to get it done....

The pattern is by Elizabeth Hartman.  It's called Dwight the Deer.  I'm calling it Oh Deer!!  since it was done during the Corvid era of going back to school with this.  The pattern is easy, but label all your parts because there are a lot of pieces.  But it makes a good size block.  This one is 56 by 56 in the end.  It's already earmarked for someone for Christmas.  But I am considering another one for a pillow for Christmas.  They're cute.  All her patterns are adorable.  Check them out here.  I have the clock, the sasquatch, and a couple of others.  When I'll get this done I don't know....

I'm going to hook up to Elm Street Quilts to enter for the OMG One Monthly Goal completion .  Pleased with it.

This is also the August quilt for the All People's Quilt Challenge so it was a two for one!!!

And I'm still plugging along with my Row by Row queen size quilt.  I have 18 completed and I'm making one large block for the middle to bring it all together because three rows of row by rows is too hard on the eyes.  I should be done that in October (My October goal of the month) but I had this one, and I got it at Prescott AZ in a small quilt shop there.  It was a souvenir of a 2015 trip to the Grand Canyon, so on the way we got this one.  The French wedding.  (I can say that because I'm french by birth, and people have called me a french frog every once in a while.).  Anyways, both my husband and I wanted this as a table topper for our buffet, so that's where it is.  You have to take a closer look at this one.

All the members of the wedding party.

The parents of the groom

The bride's side of the family.  A little different. Dad is hung over

And the bride and groom.  Veil included.

I had fun with that one but I had even more fun with this one.  I took a 2nd class of Quilting with Rulers by Silly Moon Quilting Co.  This is my second class and this one is with half circles.  It's amazing what you can do with 4 of these rulers which make 8 different sizes.  And the patterns you can do, check it out below.  At the end of the course, you're almost completed the table runner.  Took about 2 more hours to finish the end thing.  And I love it considering it my first time using these rulers.  Take a look....  I highly recommend it.  The class is online.  You buy the rulers online, they send it and then they send you the pattern to make the top first, and the session on Zoom for 4 hours quilts that quilt top.

Can see where I backtracked but not on all of them.

My favorite above

The edge work - there are four edges she teaches you.  This is one that I wanted done.  Had fun with this.

So for a month, this is not bad, partly finished another one, then all of this.  Is it my usual amount of quilting?  No but as I said I'm back at school and I have some finishes.  So I'm happy.  

How's your quilting going?  Getting anything done besides masks?  (I've done 14 more.....  )

UFO ready to go for next goal.

I'm on the third month of this biggie....  Didn't get it finished, but sure got a lot done.  It was a Block of the Month (BOM) for 2019, and my gift to my Aunt for her 85th anniversary.   It started with 3 done after the month of April.  Each piece is a full row of 6 1/2 " blocks, with the correct number across, and a need for perfect piecing.  Here's what it's suppose to look like:

Right now it looks like this:

I have another row completed, and one row 1/4 done.  So that means I have 4 rows to complete and it will be done.  Last month I finished 5 rows, I'm sure I can completed it by the end of this month.

So I'm linking up to OMG (One more goal) with Elm Street Quilts to try try again.....  This time, its a done deal!!!!

Wish me luck.

On a side note I also need to complete another quilt top that's a squirrel from SewFresh.  I have the material but nothing else.  It will be a surprise.

Try Try again

Well April's goal was a bust but not necessarily all of it.  I said I would do the Conversation quilt.  I got row 1, 2, and 3 completed but there's 12 and still have a long way to go.  But I wasn't inactive.
Instead I had these items completed:

 Pat Sloan's Group 6" blocks.

 See the blocks?  There was a hundred in total, but I only did 47.

My table top called Cheerios.  From Aurifill free patterns.

Another table top but this one was quilt as you go, so it finished very quickly.

And of course a month of creativity now includes some paintings.  This is the one I completed this month.  A study in light.  I'm proud of it.

So what's my May's goal, I won't give up on the Conversation Quilt.  I want to complete it.  I saw someone else finish there's and that's what I want, to get it completed.  It's beautiful.  here's the pattern: Ann Marie Chaney had a BOM that had the best colors (I thought) each month.  The month did not have one block but a row of one blocks and each block made a new shape, a heart. It's a Row of the month and it's called Conversation.

Look at how gorgeous the quilt turns out.  this is a picture of Ann Marie's quilt.  I have the material, I have the pattern, I now have 3 blocks completed.   So, that's my goal, to finish this quilt in May, even though I'm now working at home like millions of other people in the world

I'm hooking up to Elm Street Quilts on the OMG - One Monthly Goal.    Wish me luck

School Starts Tomorrow but Not in Person

I'm going to slow down next week.  Yes you're probably laughing right now but that's the truth.  Will start getting my students online so they can continue to work until we're all back together again to continue to learn.

So before that happens I want to show what I've finished since the last time.  Here it is:

One of my painting.  Called Life and Sunshine.

Now the big quilt that took me about a week and some....  It's an amazing quilt.  Individual flowers from different fabrics, all cut out and glued to the base fabric.

 Then it's stitched on, to hold it down, that's right each and every flower stitched down.  Then you put it on the a backing, and you stitch it down again.  Finally you quilt it.  And you can quilt around a couple of flowers just so it highlights areas that you want.  It's a sewing dummy.

The bottom wiring is stitched actually, there is no material there, just the thread.  And let me tell you that took some time.

I love the final effects.

Yes some people are going to ask me what pattern it is.  It's a collage pattern from Laura Heine.  She does wonderful work, and this was one of the UFOs off my AQ listing.  I have two more of her quilts.  One of an old truck in the forest, and the other one is a cow with little tiny strips of fabric.  This one is the practice one for the old truck pattern.  But it's completed and it's my UFO for March.  So on I go...  onto the next one.

I covered my calendar book because I hated the cover (a bird), but it was on sale, a regular $36 and I got it for $10.  Here's what it looks like now:

 The outside quilted.  And the inside is also very colorful as well as very "Happy" looking.  I am happy with the new look.

I also cut out two more Quilt as You Go patterns.  So I'm extremely happy with this weekend's productive day.  On to the next ones.

Staying Home and Sewing.

Thank goodness the virus is not extreme here in BC.  Yes we're in the 60's for the count of infected but with the number of people here in the Lower Mainland, that's a small number, unlike the other unfortunate countries out there.  But we've been asked to social distance ourselves and to some that means saying home.  To others that means no hugging, shaking hands, and to keep a meter distance between you and others (many people don't know the meaning of that one!!!!)

So what have I been doing?  I've been sewing of course (and doing a lot of spring cleaning).  Here's some of my UFO list completed....  which is good....  My room is still very messy, but it is getting down.

Called Pink Lemonade and it's a free pattern. 7 years old and I finally finished it but I realize why I put it away.  I'm short material, and the pieces are cut incorrectly, so I really had to work on placement.  But it doesn't look bad, just smaller.  Need to find a border that does something for this plain quilt.  Something that's busy with pink and yellow flowers.

Sew Fresh Pattern.  Love the look of it but the pieces were sooooo small, an inch for the corners of the paint dripping.  The pattern for this quilt is a baby quilt and a lap quilt.  I used three of the rows from the baby quilt to make the table top covers.  I did a squiggly link to make it look like paint.  I also used white on the dark color paint and a dark blue on the yellow one.

Then after all of this (the ones above where all partly done, I was just working on finishing these UFOs.) I also started to work on the next UFOs.  Here's what they look like:

This quilt start was just blocks that were 6 1/2 inches each.  It was the first block party that Pat Sloan was doing.  There's been a second one since, but I joined the first one (I believe there was a hundred blocks) to help me practice different styles.  There was paper piecing, applique, full applique, and block pieces.  I really enjoyed these blocks and making them, but not all turned into 6 1/2 inches.

So I put an inch and a half solid black or purple around each block, and I altered the blocks around each one.  This gives an effect around each block and gives it cohesiveness.   I'm doing 6 blocks across (48 inches across) and 8 down.  Then I'll add another 3 feet around these.  That will make a total of  54 feet wide and 70 inches down.  .  But that means I need 48 squares.  I have 47 squares and I made two more just in case.

So it will be a nice, and very very colorful quilt.  This quilt is over 7 years old, I just got tired and making all these blocks was a never ending project.  Some of the blocks were extremely difficult.  But I do like the effect of the purple and black.

This will be my next UFO to finish for the American Quilt Society and next month's UFO.

So one completed, another almost done but I need an edging to it, to make it a little bit bigger.  And a third one with the blocks completed, just have to put the purple or the black around it, and make another three rows on them.

That means that I'me almost completed three UFOs from my pile of cut ones in containers.  I've thrown out one of the containers.  So although it's massive, my two do list, it is getting down thanks to the OMG group and now with the AQS group.  It's doing great.

On my to-do list:

1. Another month for the applique from the Two Sisters quilting company.
2. a flower project where you use duo side sticky stuff to stick it to the backing.
3. applique flower pattern on a pillow case that is 9 years old.

That's a lot for only two weeks.  Wish me luck.

February's OMG - Can't wait for this one

I started this one before Christmas and it's one that's on my AQM lists as well.  So this is the goal!!!  The pattern is from   Brigette Heitlan - https://www.brigitteheitland.de/ who has gorgeous modern quilts.  This one is also in her book.  It's called Sky.  A wonderful pattern using 5" squares, and making flying geese.  Her trick is wonderful, cut the 5" squares in half.  then cut the rectangles down to 4 1/2".  Then cut 5" squares for the sides, and that makes sure that you have that 1/4 inch on top to make sure your points are there.  I can't give you pictures because it's her pattern, but once you do this one, you're solid for flying geese.

My quilt is different (of course).  I wanted it for part of my wall upstairs in my loft.  It's long, more rectangular then the square pattern.  So I used the method of how to make the geese.  Did tons of them, then started to putting them rows, with some blanks in between.  But after that it was a free for all........  I placed then here and there with blank spaces in between and this is what it ended up like (look below).  This is where I'm starting at.  Almost done, and been hanging on the back of my chair in my sewing room.  Time to put it where I made it for. 

 Done some of the quilting for the quilt.  Looking at just a squiggly line.  And for some pizzazz, I'm leaving some areas open in the shape of a triangle.  I was working on this quilt when my sewing machine first started acting up.  So I stopped quilting and then just went to sewing, and then it broke for good!!

 There are a lot of empty (white) space here and there for those blank triangles to magically appear.

The material is from Kaffman of course, that wild animal/flower print.  Love how it pops with the green.  The green was some material I purchased two or three years ago during Christmas.  You can't make out the trees in the fabric, with the quilting it all goes together and makes it look like a forest.  Very, very different.

Can't wait to finish this one.  This is my listing for OMG - One monthly goal.

But not just that one, but a second one since I think this one won't take so much time.

Out side of OMG, I'm looking at completing the following:

• Block January and February for Quilt Doodle's Red Quilt called Gandma's Attic Quilt  which I will be making out of all these different reds.  It's a BOM which just started and has free blocks every month.  You've only missed the first one so you'll have to pay for that one, but the rest, mark it in your calendar and start this wonderful BOM.  This will be my 5th one with Cindy, she's a wonderful designer.  
• Making 4 scrap string quilts to get my scrap boxes (yes I have two or three) down.  Really need to get my room cleaned of all these scraps.
• for AQS the quilt goal mentioned above is from my 12B quilt listing
• for the second AQS 12A quilt listed it's a big one!!! See the picture above.   It's a hand quilted quilt from Crazy for Applique designed by The Buggy Barn (now One S1STER)  it's out of print now which makes it even more valuable.  The quilt was turned into a BOM from Carriage Country Quilts and although I didn't join the class, they had this kit, with all the fabric, but no book.  At the time Buggy Barn was breaking up and the quilt store was worried that they couldn't get any more books so they sold the entire quilt kit for $136.  What a steal.  The pattern Garden Party is 84" by 91" and the kit includes all the fabric.  I don't plan to finish it all this month (an impossible goal).  Instead I'm looking at doing the first two parts of the kit, the tree and the owl as part of it.  I'm planning on doing this as a BOM with one or two sections per month.
• The baby painting quilt created by Sew Fresh - a wonderful designer in Canada.  She designed paint brushes with paint drawn down.  I'm using solid colors with a background that looks like a wall that needs painting.  The pattern comes in two sizes, but I'm making it a small baby quilt to donate to the hospital for premie babies.

That's it.  That's enough.  That would get finished two of my UFOs, start a quilt that I've had all the material for 4 years, and cut down some of my scraps.  

Happy times