Circle game complete

It took a few weeks longer than I thought but I finally got the borders onto my Circle Game top.  It's finished - hurrah!! 

The pattern by Jen Kingwell has 16 blocks and an appliqued border.  I chose to make 4 extra blocks and use this beautiful large print as my main border.  I was thrilled to find the border fabric - the fabric line is years old but I bought all 3 metres that they had left - found on sale at the quiltshop in Canmore.  I was SO happy to find it.  The zinger border just had to be red and I was pleased to find it at the quiltshop in Lethbridge.  Minick and Simpson fabric can be hard to find where I live.

 I had trouble taking pictures - its a pretty large quilt. I will probably not quilt this right away.  I'm really not sure how to start. Ideally I would handquilt it but it could be years before I get to it.  I will have to think on it. 

 It would be nice to see it hanging in the outdoor quiltshow next spring...

And I can't resist posting a picture of my beautiful DD#2.  She had her Grade 9 farewell last week.  She'll be off to high school next year - wow!

Happy Quilting!!

blocks done

I was sure glad to stitch the last set in seam for this quilt.  The pattern is Circle Game - (somewhat modified) by Jen Kingwell.  The blocks are done, pressed and trimmed - they are all ready to sew together.  Now to puzzle out the best arrangement for them - lol!

 

 This probably won't be the final arrangement but I'm getting close I think.  A friend and I took an afternoon and drove down to Okotoks to the charming quiltshop there. They had a sale - 20% off everything if you were wearing an apron.  I wore an apron!  And, found a good red for a narrow first border.  There should be nothing to stop me from getting the top together this weekend.

 I thought I would show side by side a couple of the blocks I made using the pattern and just a couple little changes.  These 2 are exactly the same but I split the diamonds into 4.

This one has string pieced melons and a four patch instead of a nine patch in the centre as well as being set on point. 
It was fun to play with the block patterns this way :0)

My friend that I've been sewing this quilt along with has her top together.  You can see how different hers looks in progress here.  It's been such a great learning experience!  We haven't picked out our next project to do together yet ... but we will!

Happy Quilting!!

finally a border

The annual outdoor quilt show is coming up in May and when thought about what to put in it this year...  I came up blank.  I haven't finished anything this year except small stuff.  I've made great progress on a number of projects but nothing finished to show.

 Well that just wouldn't do.  How can they have a quilt show with no quilts?  I simply must contribute something.  I have wanted to finish this Zigzag quilt for a long time.  I was stuck on the border. I thought I was going to use the red and white polka dot fabric for the border but I just didn't like it.  I couldn't let go of the idea so this quilt got stuck. 

 My daughter came downstairs to do some sewing with me on the weekend and I dug it out and together we chose this medium blue print. I've had it for ages - set aside for another, even older ufo.  Well it seemed just right so now I must pin baste and machine quilt this.  That should be doable by mid May - right??  This Zigzag quilt is a ufo from a quiltalong that Lori hosted on her blog Humble Quilts in 2012.  She called hers Mountain Trails.

 This is the little project my daughter got started on.  A friend of mine had gifted her with a lot of these little bits cut off from a couple of charm packs - and then washed. They were narrow - less than 1 1/4 inch wide and frayed on both sides. 

She lined them all up and sewed them like strings together and made this little block.  I was quite impressed!  But, now she is stumped to know what to make with her "made fabric".  There are enough strings to make one more block. I suggested a bag or a pillow but she wasn't keen on my ideas.  Do any of you have other suggestions? 

Yesterday my Circle Game friend came over and I pieced the last extra block I will need for my Circle Game quilt.  After drawing with my compass for the previous 2 blocks it was nice to just modify with my friend a couple of the blocks from the pattern.  With a line change here and there these blocks look very different.  She has been posting about some of her blocks too - here. 
All that remains is to finish the block surrounds and put it all together.   Then we get to choose a new challenging project to work on - I can't wait!

Happy Quilting!!

small decisions

I've been working on my Circle game quilt some more.  I drew another block this week and it was kind of exciting to see it progress from paper to fabric.  I'm trying to make blocks that fit in with the rest from the pattern without being too similar. When I planned this block I intended to make the star centre red.  As I rummaged in my template bags I found this beige centre that is the perfect size.  I was surprised at how much I like it. 

 I went ahead and basted a red centre too. I had to be sure.

 And now I can't decide - lol!

 Surely if I laid out all the blocks together the quilt would tell me which colored centre to use.

But no - I still like them both :0)   I'm sure I'll decide soon and just sew one of them on.  2 more blocks to go!  I found the perfect border fabric in the sale room at a nearby quilt shop.  I'm excited this will be a completed top.

 

I also made the Clue #2 of the Thimblecreek Mystery.  I even managed to cut into some of my Dutch chintz fabric.  The first cut has to be the hardest right?



Happy Quilting!!

intersection of time and inclination

I should be working on my Bird of Paradise border.  I'm so close to finishing it- over 5 years I've been working on it but instead I have been working on is this.  Audrey posted on her blog Quilty Folk about the magic intersection of time and inclination for working on things.  Clearly there has been time what is lacking is the inclination.

 I am loving appliqueing these blocks though! My teenaged daughters recently discovered Downton Abbey for themselves and are watching their way through all of the seasons. How can I resist sitting down with them to watch and do some handwork?  Somehow I doubt this will be a 5 year project...

I got back to working on my Circle Game quilt.  I decided to make 4 more blocks and make a rectangular quilt that someone in the family can use on a bed.  I drew this fairly simple block on freezer paper, made templates and sewed it last week.  Now I only have 3 more to come up with.

 And I thought I would never need to use a geometry set again once I finished high school  :0)

After watching others make the Halloween Thimblecreek mystery quilt last year I could not resist joining in on the mystery for this year.  These are the first 4 blocks.  What is it about 6 inch blocks - so irresistible :0) 

Happy Quilting!!

16 circle blocks

This is the not-from-the-pattern block that my friend and I made to go in our Circle Game quilt.  I love how it turned out.  

 So here are all 16 blocks together. I will likely play with this arrangement before I trim and sew them together.  Also, I might decide to make 4 more blocks to make this quilt a more useable size for our family. 

 I have decided to not do the border as per the pattern. (Circle Game by Jen Kingwell)  I think this quilt is busy enough and I would like to find a dark navy print to use for a border.  I'll have to see what I can find.

 So the comments from my last post were interesting :0)  Thanks!  Here is my son's costume.  He wanted to dress up as Ethane - a hydrocarbon.  I've never sewn a costume like that before. I'm not sure how successful it was but he had fun Trick or Treating in it.  A few of our neighbors "got it" ( there are people who work in the Oil and Gas industry in our neighborhood)  My son's latest interest has been chemistry.  I never cease to be surprised by the things that interest an 11 year old boy :0)
Katy's guess was pretty good - an organic chemical compound.  Send me your address Katy and I will put together a package of some quilty things.

I thought I would also include a picture of our guild's charity quilt made using Elizabeth Hartman's Fancy Fox pattern.  It turned out really well I think. 

Happy Quilting!!

wheels of fortune

I am disappointed that I only managed to post once in October.  My goal is to post once a week.  I hope I will do better in November!

I have been slowly building my pile of Wheel of Fortune blocks and today I decided it was time to lay them out and see how many more to make.   

 I have a lot of the blue background fabric.  I think I want to try a zigzag setting.  I am feeling a bit clueless as to how to measure this.  I decided I will make another dozen blocks and then figure it out measurements etc...

I have at least 12 more fabrics picked out anyway and I really enjoy making these bright, happy blocks :0) 

I'm getting close to having all 16 blocks made for my Circle Game quilt. There was one block in the pattern that my friend and I didn't like so for the last block we are making one that she drafted. This is the second last block - a pretty one I think.

I have decisions to make about this quilt too.  The pattern makes a 73 inch square quilt... not a very usable size (wide for a throw but too short to tuck in on a bed) so I am thinking about 4 more blocks to make the quilt rectangular. I'll have a picture of all my blocks laid out together later this week.

As for other sewing.  I made a Halloween costume for my 11 year old son last week.  Here are all the components.  Any guesses as to what he dressed up as??  There will be some sort of quilty prize for the closest guess  :0)

This week I am happy to be back to my regular sewing projects. 
Happy Quilting!!

The too small block

There has not been enough time for blogging this summer!  I am happy to have some progress on my circle game quilt to show.  Last night I tackled the challenge of the too small circle.  I made the navy and light blue pieces 1/8 inch larger on the curved side.

 It fit together perfectly and laid flat - yahoo!  The last thing to check was to see if it was noticeable when mixed in with the other blocks. 

 I think it's ok - it's such a busy quilt made with some busy fabrics.  I have 2 more too small blocks that I will finish up this way as well.  I'll spread them out in the setting and I don't think it will be too noticeable.  Why are they too small?  I guess I find the 1/4 inch seam allowance hard to keep on  curves?

 Here are a few other blocks that are started but not finished yet.

 I really like both of these - they are the other 2 too small blocks. They were challenging to piece by machine and I'd rather not remake them.

Earlier this summer we spent several days on Vancouver Island.  It was a lovely holiday and I was happy to get to visit 2 new-to-me quilt shops.  I have been thinking about the border for this quilt as I'm not crazy about the border in the pattern.  I'd like to find a beautiful print to feature instead and on finding a charm pack of this new line I think I will be able to choose one.

One more block to go - I think we will draft our own :0)  We have already starting talking about the next quilt to make together.  This project has been very challenging for me and making it together with a friend has been wonderful.  What will we make next?? 

Happy Quilting!!

the worst block

I finished the block with its red center  :0)  It is probably one of the worst blocks I have ever made - it is not flat and it puckers on the curves.   But, I love it anyway and I am SURE that all of it's problems will just quilt away - lol!

 I also found I had another signature to make a block for.  I spread out all the blocks and finally made a decision about how I am going to set them.  I have changed my mind about this project several times but now I want it done!  I need to make one more block and then borders...

Oh dear- why do I always get stuck at this stage?

Happy Quilting!!

not much new...

It's been awhile since I last posted.  Spring break was in there - always a busy week with the kids.  There has been some stitching happening but not much that's interesting to show.

 My friend and I worked on our Circle Game quilt one morning.  This block was so hard!  The curved inset seams just about did me in.  It is far from perfect but I really like it so I'm just going to use it as is.  I still need to choose a fabric for the center circle.  I'm thinking it should be red  :0)

 I have the first 2 branches of leaves appliqued onto vine panel #12.  I really want to hurry this project along to a finish but with 250 (or so) leaves per panel rushing seems like the wrong word to use - lol!  I have a loose goal of one branch per week.  Steady progress will get it done.

 

 I am getting very close to a finish with handquilting my Crowfoot quilt.  I completed the feathers on the border this week and all that remains now is diagonal line fill in quilting (not as exciting to do as feathers)  I like how the feathers filled in underneath my initials and date.  I wasn't sure how it would look to put feathers only on one side of the stem but I think they frame it nicely.  I've entered it into the outdoor quilt show in late May and it should be done on time.

It snowed all day Monday again this week.  As you can see it is melting fast and I appreciate the signs of spring that are appearing.  Spring comes very slowly where I live - it tries my patience every year.  Happily there is always lots of color to be found on the shelves and table in my sewing room :0)

Happy Quilting!!

progress is progress



I am still working away on the handquilting for my Crowfoot quilt.  I started quilting it in September of 2013.  I was so sure it would be finished by this past Christmas and now I'm wondering if it will be completed by late May in time for the outdoor quilt show.  Oh well, it'll be done when its done!  Last night I started on the 4th and final border.  I decided it was time for my initials and the year.  

 Can you make them out?  " JO  2015 "  I was almost going to quilt them in blue thread so they didn't standout too much and detract from the feathers - lol!  I can hardly see them in white thread so I'm glad I went with white.  While I was drawing the numbers and letters I got out my other quilts with stitched dates and initials.  My daughter walked in to see what I was doing and remarked she had no idea that there were dates stitched into these quilts a couple of which we use all the time in the livingroom  :0)  

I also got the surround pieces on one more of my Circle game blocks.  This was the slightly too big block.  I don't mind that the points got cut off a bit - at least I tried to cut them all off more or less evenly :0)  I am still debating about the circle that's slightly too small...

Happy Quilting!!

more circles

It felt like time to get back to my Jen Kingwell Circle Game quilt.  A friend and I are working on it together.  She's been pretty busy so instead of starting a new block without her I put surrounds on 2 blocks I had already made.

 I really like this block with the flying geese going around.  It has such a large center circle so I decided to fussy cut the large paisley to fit in there so it wouldn't look empty.

 This other block is probably my least favorite so far but it fits in there and lets the other blocks be more interesting.  It just needed the surround to take it from a circle to a square block.

Now that I have 9 blocks completely finished I can get a really good idea of how it will look.  (its a 16 block quilt)   I love how all the different Minick and Simpson lines work together.  I have 2 more circles made and I guess that leaves 5 more blocks to start.  I'm more than halfway  :0)  To confess the other 2 circles waiting for surrounds have "issues".  One is a bit too big and the other one a bit too small.  I'm tempted to just trim the too big one down and not worry about cutting points off.  The small one is a different challenge.  Could I add a coping circle around it?  Is there such a thing?  They were ones I made near the beginning.  I guess I could try remaking them in hopes that my piecing has improved...   Generally speaking I'm more of a fudger than a perfectionist.  I'll have to think about it for a few days.

Happy Quilting!!

circle progress



Temptation just lurks all over blogland to start something new.  I've been distracting myself by working on as many current projects as possible. I've nearly finished my applique border. I have made it to the final border with my large handquilting project and I pulled out these circle blocks to put some more surrounds on.  I have 6 blocks finished so far. I love the secondary design created when they come together.

There are16 blocks in this Circle Game quilt so I need to not lose focus! 



 I did decide enough is enough with these 6 inch blocks.  I think if I make one more block I can put it together as a lap-sized quilt.  The blocks were so fun to make- endless variety and it was great to play with my scraps but its not really the kind of quilt I fall in love with.  I'd rather put the sewing time into making a quilt I really love.

Then there was this little experiment.  I enjoyed cutting and putting this little table topper together but ahhhh!  It doesn't lie flat.  Should I take it apart and try to fix it?  Keep going and hope it will quilt out? Or, abandon it as little distraction that didn't work out? It is my personality to just keep going and see how it goes.  What do you suggest?  :0) 

Happy Quilting!!

more summer sewing



I can't believe how fast summer goes by. I have snatched a few minutes to sew most days.  These little 6 inch blocks are the perfect little things to work on when I can find some time to sew.

 

The block in the upper left is called Crowfoot. It is 1/4 the size of the blocks in my Crowfoot quilt.  It was very fun to revisit this block on the smaller scale. 

My friend and I worked on our circle game quilts again one evening last week.  We laid out 4 mostly finished blocks of each quilt to compare.  They are so very different!  The lighting isn't great and her blocks look a bit washed out.

We continue to enjoy the challenge of this pattern - The Circle Game by Jen Kingwell.  Some of the blocks ahead look very tricky!  It's been an excellent learning project as well as fun and motivating to be making it with a friend.

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!!