lots of variety



I've been loving variety lately.  Some days, like yesterday I worked on 5 different projects.  I finished handpiecing this sunflower and I appliqued the centre onto it.  It's not perfect but I did enjoy the process by the time I got to the end.  I have more handpiecing planned :0)  This block will become part of a small wallhanging once I figure the rest out.

 I pieced the last star into my Patis star project. The top isn't finished as I want to put half hexagons in along the sides and add a border all around.  The portable part of this project is now complete so I will be starting a new project with the quilt patis later this week.  I simply must have some good handwork for the beach!

 This is another new project.  I bought a big piece of the blue floral a few years ago and it's been bothering me that its still sitting in a bin.  The blocks are from the book "History Repeated". Right now I think I will use the blue floral for a zigzag setting but this may change:0)  I need a lot of these blocks so there will be lots of time to think about it. 

I was in the mood for these bright happy colors.  It's summer - Yahoo!

Happy Quilting!!

borders on

I finally got the borders put onto this Lily quilt.  I drove out to Canmore to the wonderful quilt shop there and I found a good cream fabric for the borders.  It's not too yellow or dark and has only a little bit of pattern so the handquilting I am planning for this project will stand out.  Now I can procrastinate about basting this...  It's 85 inches square so it will take awhile.

 I hate basting...

Since its an hour drive out there I thought I would make a day of it and I threw my bike in the van too so I could cycle to Banff after my shopping. It was a gorgeous day!  The biking took just over 2 hours roundtrip and I loved every minute of it!  It's such a scenic ride and the path is excellent.
So, I forgot to get enough fabric for binding while I was there. (must have been too excited about the bike ride)  I almost wonder if red binding might suit it.  I'll worry about that once its quilted - next year sometime if everything goes well :0)

Happy Quilting!!

getting really close

It's been nearly 2 weeks since I took the last stitch in panel #12 of my Susan McCord Trailing Vines quilt.  May and June are such busy months!  I took the nearly finished top outside today for some pictures.

Out by the garden - not too much blooming yet.

 I like it with a little sunshine dancing across it. 

 I've started on panel #13 - the last panel.  Hopefully by the end of the summer this will be a finished top!

 We went camping on the weekend.  Our annual June trip to Shunda lake.  I sat and sewed in my favorite spot.  It was beautiful weather for some outdoor sewing by a mountain lake :0)  I worked on a side border for my Bird of Paradise quilt.

My 2 older daughters and I hiked around the lake again this year.  We were rewarded with these beauties on the very far side of the lake.  These wild orchids are so exquisite :0)

Happy quilting!!

another doll quilt

The doll quilt that I made for the swap has arrived at it's destination. Katy's and my quilts crossed in the mail.  Surprise - we had each others names!

So this is the little quilt I made for her.  I wanted to use a variety of double pinks - my favorite repro color.

 I was a bit pressed for time to get this little quilt done so I opted to do both machine quilting and handquilting to finish it.  I went around the flying geese with the machine and did the center motif and the triangle quilting in the navy by hand. 

Of course the binding had to be pink :0)

 



It was such a fun little project to plan and make.  I look forward to the linkup on Lori's blog to see all the swap quilts together. 

Happy Quilting!

Doll Swap

I was excited to find a package on the doorstep on Friday :0)  A doll quilt arrived from Katy!  

 It's a wonderful little quilt with so many great fabrics in it.  It's fun to study them - I don't have a single one of these repros in my stash. The machine quilting is quite wonderful as well.  It adds so much texture.  I love it - thanks Katy!

She tucked a few other goodies in with the quilt  :0)  On the back it has a fabulous label with an embroidered tree.  My very lame and plain label was attatched to the doll quilt I sent for the swap on May 29 (one day before the mailing deadline)  Once it has been received I can share some pictures of it.  Thanks Lori for organizing the swap!





 

I've been trying some handpiecing again.  I find it takes a long time to get the pieces prepped but I have been enjoying the sewing.  I'm hoping to make just one of these circles to make a sunflower wall hanging for my daughter.  

It's very 3 dimensional so far which I'm really not used to.  The block pattern is in the March/April Fons and Porter magazine.  I have to figure out how to speedup the cutting and preparing the pieces so I can start a bigger project from Jen Kingwell's book.

Happy Quilting!! 

5 years to finish

Well it only took 5 years but I finished my Crowfoot quilt!  Here in the evening sunshine I think you can see the texture created by the handquilting. I love this marvellous texture!

 

 I have to deliver it tomorrow to the park for the outdoor show this weekend.  Last Monday I realized I had just days to finish it. 

 I'd been slowly working on the fill-in parallel lines between the feathers in the border and the outside edge.  Not very exciting to quilt I had left it all for the end.  And then there was binding fabric to find,  make binding, apply and handstitch down.   This quilt is 94 inches square and I "burned the midnight oil" a few nights last week to get it done by Friday.

 We went away for the May long weekend and got home this evening but there was still daylight left for a few outside pictures.

 Maybe too many pictures :0)

 Here it is on our bed where it will go when I get it back from the show next week.

I started quilting it 21 months ago. I am excited to start quilting the next project but it's not quite ready yet. I feel a little lost with nothing to put in my hoop. I will get it ready soon!

Happy Quilting!!

slow going borders

I haven't had anything to post for a few weeks.  I'm plugging away on the same 3 ufos.  I'm getting very close to having the handquilting finished on my Crowfoot quilt.  I have 2 branches left to applique on Trailing vines panel #12.  And, as I want this for my next handquilting project I have been adding borders to my lily quilt.

 It took a long while to cut, sew and trim all the hst's for the pieced border.  I had thought to make a more interesting pieced border but the math was easy to just do hst's and I didn't want this quilt to get a whole lot bigger.

 So, today I sewed the hst's together and added them to the quilt.

 I like it - simple but adds something I think.

 I pulled out the fabric I had bought for the wide final border - the one I want to put lots of handquilting onto and - I still don't like it. 

 It's just too yellow.  I tried 2 quiltshops already looking for a different cream fabric with no success.  I guess I will have to go a little further to a couple more.  The shop in Canmore has the batting I want to put in it so I have to drive out there anyway.  (about an hour drive)  I can always use this too-yellow piece on the back.

And its a good thing to finish a few things...  I could not resist picking this Jen Kingwell book up.  There are some exciting projects in here but I may have to take up hand piecing because the ones I like look hard.

Happy Quilting!!