panel #10

I attached vine panel #10 last night.  I am very pleased but the excitement is definitely dwindling with this project. Three more panels to go - I think I can make it.

 I thought I'd take the opportunity to get some outside pictures.  It was such a beautiful morning :0)

 The last time I finished a panel it was February!?!  Definitely not a good month for outdoor pictures where I live!

 While I was outside I couldn't resist snapping a shot in the garden.  I always plant things too close and it becomes a jungle by this time of year.

Happy Quilting!!

border decisions

I always appreciate the cool summer evening breezes where I live.  With the window open behind me I can still comfortably quilt in the evenings :0)  I have finished quilting all the blocks for my Crowfoot quilt.

All the sashing in the center portion of the quilt is done as well.  When I lay it on my bed and look down from above it looks practically finished - lol!

 

However, I still have to quilt the outer sashing around the blocks and the border.  The outer sashing I am quilting the same as all the other sashing.  

 

 I'd kind of like to design something special for the corners.  Something feathered I think - to make that big space look like it's there on purpose :0)

And then I have this stencil I'm considering for the rest.  It's not quite wide enough but maybe with some echo quilting to fill in??  I'm also thinking about using cream colored thread so the quilting shows up more.  The light blue that I used for the center gets completely lost in the busy navy sashing print.   What do you think?  It's always great to bounce ideas off other quilters :0)  I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Happy Quilting!!

summer sewing

With the arrival of summer there is a whole new pace to life.  Still busy - but different.  The kids and I went on a road trip to visit my parents in Kelowna and my sister in Vancouver. We had a great time but not a lot of stitching happened.

This week the kids are all busy with various camps and activities and I have 4 1/2 days to myself. I will savor them as they are the last until school starts again.  My Circle Game friend had time to come over today and we worked on a new block.  

 Starting at 10:00 and finishing up at 3:00 (with a break for lunch) I managed to complete this one block.  This project is very slow and fiddly!  However,  I have to say I am loving the challenge.  I am  disappointed with the fabric I chose to frame the octagon.  You have to look hard to see the little slivers of fabric going around in a circle.  I was nervous that I wouldn't be able to get neat points so I choose a busy fabric with low contrast on purpose but now it practically disappears.  Oh well...  I am so not redoing it  :0)

 Three blocks together gives me an even better idea of how this quilt will look.  Still a long way to go with this project.

 I made the last 6 inch block that I liked from this book.  I thought I'd see if the library had any more books like it so I could keep going with this project.

And, I found this book - also by Judy Hopkins.  This book has tons of great 6 inch blocks in it.  The one drawback is that unlike the other book there are templates for at least one of the shapes in almost every block.  At least they are mostly rotary cut and the variety is wonderful.  I have a feeling that this will be a big quilt after all...

This is what my flower garden looked like when I arrived home from our road trip.  It's a bit of a tangle but I am SO pleased with the foxgloves.  They are my favorite flower :0)

Happy Quilting!!

embroidery - done!

A few weeks ago we went for our annual camping trip to Shunda lake.  The tree stump from my header picture was still there - my favorite place to stitch by the lake.  Again this year I was working on my Susan McCord vine quilt. It's been a few years in the making - 3 more panels to go - will I yet be working on it next spring?  

 I'm still working on panel #10.  It's been going slow...

 

When I get panel 10 finished I will take a break from vines  and work on - Yahoo!!  The borders for my Bird of Paradise quilt. 

 I finally finished the embroidery!  I am so pleased.  My friend encouraged me through it.  In the end the faces were easy and stitched in one evening. I kept them simple and happy.

Now I can trim the blocks and start on the borders.  I think they will be fun to work on. 

And yes, there are more 6 inch blocks  :0)

Happy Quilting!!

another circle in a square



I  found some time to stitch on my Circle Game quilt with my friend.  I managed to get one more circle inside a square.

 Now both of these blocks need center circles...  I like that I can get a better idea of how the blocks will look together now.  All of those set in seams make for slow going.  Good thing there's no rush!

 Naturally I made some more 6 inch squares :0)  There is no end in sight for this project.

 A few nights ago my 6 year old daughter decided she wanted to learn to hand piece.  I was working on my Quilt patis stars which is more like EPP than handpiecing.  So, for her I grabbed some 2 1/2 inch squares from my scrap bag, drew a 1/4 inch seam line for her and off she started. 

I snapped this picture while sitting beside her and 2 other family members on the couch.  It's not a great picture but I think it captures her concentration and I didn't want to spoil the moment :0)  She has 4 squares sewn together now.  I'm not sure how big this will get/what she's going to make etc... but her enthusiasm is adorable!!

Happy Quilting!!

vintage quilts from the May show

I've been wanting to show these pictures of the vintage and antique quilts from the quilt show back in May but life has been pretty hectic!  So, here they are now.  I hope you enjoy them  :0)

 

This one was my favorite and I am so unimpressed with the one blurry picture I took of it.  I think the Tree of Life looks really interesting set this way.  The handquilting on this quilt was lovely as well.  A perfect quilt to display at Christmas!



 

 I admired the buttonhole stitch and the pretty red print in this one.

 I loved the soft pretty colors and the blocks of this sampler quilt.

 This T quilt was much faded - I'd sure like to see what it looked like when it was new! 

 I love this combination of stripes and polka dots.

 I liked the black added to the blocks in this quilt.

 I thought this was such a pretty hexagon flower quilt.

 On a personal note, my DD#1 had her Grade 9 farewell last night.  I thought she looked so beautiful all dressed up!

 I can't believe she'll be in High School next year!! 

Hopefully I have some sewing of my own to post soon. 
Happy Quilting!!

a new (ufo) project

These blocks have been bugging me for awhile.  I often thought of them languishing away in the ufo pile.  I hadn't worked on them since 2010.  I still really like these blocks and I want to finish this quilt.  I'm thinking about it for my next handquilting project.  That should give me a few months to make a pieced border for it. The sashing went together quickly and I have much of the next border cut and ready to sew.    I'm glad it's out of the bin and in the current pile again.

 It should be no surprise that more of these 6 inch blocks have appeared.  They are still so fun to choose block patterns and scraps for. 

 I spent a bit of time working on this one over the weekend.  The cutting instructions in the book were wrong and so I wasn't feeling too confident that it would turn out.  I did have fun sewing it but I would not make a whole quilt with blocks like this!

 I was also excited to win a giveaway on Anne's blog.

Finding this package in the mail made my day.  There are a couple projects in the book that are tempting me. The pattern was an extra surprise - I love the combination of pieced triangles with the applique.
I hope you find some time to do some stitching this week :0)
Happy Quilting!