Quilting Fun: 2017

Friday, 29 December 2017

Best of 2017

What a fun way to sum up the year! I made 12 baby quilts, 3 lap quilts and 1 queen size quilt.

Most views - HoHoHo

Most comments - Strawberry Fields

Favourite Finish - An Oldie

Tutorial - 12 inch Rolling Stone

Favourte - Green Slab Charity Quilt

Linking up to Best of 2017.

2017 was a good year. I did less sewing and more gardening and family time. I like my life as is and the balance worked well. With all that contentment I am becoming complacent (read lazy). This years number one goal is to get healthy and fit! No excuses! I have a plan! Walk 10,000 steps a day and make my own food. My Get Fit at 60. I will post my progress here to keep me accountable.

1. Birthday quilts - I have 7 birthday quilts I would like to gift this year: one is finished; 4 are tops and backs; and 2 tops to complete.

2. Decrease my stash - I have bought fabric this year, but I feel I was quite circumspect and did not go crazy, however, I feel I still have a ton of fabric. How does that happen?

3. Start and finish a wedding quilt - I have some blocks and some artwork that the wedding guests drew, i have a sort of plan, just need to sew it together.

4. Finish more WIPs.

Quilting Jet Girl Linking up with Yvonne.

Wednesday, 29 November 2017

Christmas Panel Baby Quilt

I call these my two year old quilts. They sometimes do not get finished until the child is three but pretty close. I like to give them at the beginning of December so they have all of December to cuddle with their special blanket.

This panel is fabulous and I love the backing. Flannel makes it extra cozy.

25 more sleeps!

Tuesday, 14 November 2017

Strawberry Field completed

Not sure when I started this quilt but looking back through my blog I mentioned it in January 2015. A three years old WIP, not too bad.

My friend and past co worker just completed her PhD. I am so proud of her. Working full time, raising an infant to a toddler, and completing her theses.

I threw this quilt in the corner as I could not wrap my head around it, it said challenging, I thought they were kidding. When I brought it out again it was doable. I never think I am gaining skills as a quilter but I guess I am. I usually pick patterns or blocks that are easy and doable as quilting is my relaxing time. I do not wish to struggle.

Love this material.

Tuesday, 7 November 2017

Christmas Count Down - 47 sleeps

I am making quilts for Christmas. Three twin quilts are done!! Yeah! 2 Coral of the Sea

and one pirate. I am not sure why but cutting borders always stalls my projects. These three quilts need an inner and outer border cut and sewn on. Then they are done. I need to cut all the squares for one more pirate quilt.

Done for Christmas, Brandon's quilt. Finished photos to come

Byron's 2 year old Christmas quilt.

To do Tatum's quilt, flimsy complete.

Andrew's quilt needs to be put together

and Jerome's quilt needs to be picked apart. grrrr!

Monday, 30 October 2017

30's 16 square - Baby quilt 9

So the flimsy is now a complete quilt.

I love these 30's prints.

Probably not the backing I would choose if I was buying it new, however I am very pleased it is from my stash.

For probably the first time ever I have a baby quilt that is not spoken for! Yeah!

This quilt is all from my stash - minus 3.5 metres.

However I did go shopping for Christmas material - plus 10 metres. Tula Pink was calling my name.

Baby quilt 9

Wednesday, 27 September 2017

A flimsy

My daughter asked me for a baby quilt. For 2 weeks from now. "Don't you have them hanging around, already finished" Sometimes, but not this time. So I look around for some of those odd blocks I like to make when I have no interest in anything and lo and behold Sweet 16 blocks! Score!

Quickly whip up a flimsy. Add sashing to bring it up to size and voila! It is too big for my batting and my backing. grr. Threaded the needle wrong and 2 rows of quilting had jumped stitches. grr.

Plan B, took out the hand stitching in my Cross Quilt, washed it and it looks fabulous. And on time! Tada super mom!!!!

Last of the produce from the garden. Not sure I will get any squash as they are all quite small and the days are getting shorter and cooler.

Hello Fall!

Wednesday, 23 August 2017

An Oldie

This is my oldest WIP! Yahoo! Done! And I still like it!

This is my litany of excuses. When I first moved down to North Vancouver I took a quilting class on Diamonds. I had the sewing machine but no stash or anything. My ruler did not have the angle required, it was mismarked. and rather than buy a new ruler (who knew that 15 years later I would have dozens of rules), I choose to borrow one off and on. This does not work!

Also I made it a queen size rather than the throw suggested. Well that is daunting. Really I need quick finishes. I worked on this off and on for a couple of years. More off than on. The women I took the class with finished 4 quilts and said she would finish mine. Why did I not take her up on it?

I did find the binding in my stash. If I bought some at the time I do not know where it went. I feel like I bought enough stripe to also be the binding, but I cannot even find the box of leftovers. I had it in my hand and then pouf, gone.

This was the last quilt I started/worked on until my granddaughter came along 6 years ago. Something about little babies! I had to make her a quilt. And I am so glad I did. It has been my solace, my rock, my constant place, and a huge joy.

And when I watch TV I do not feel guilty because I am also quilting!!!

Not sure I can count this as out of my stash. But I can definitely count it as off my WIP pile!!!!

Sunday, 13 August 2017

In the garden

Today I went from this....

To this! Dilly Beans! They are a family favourite!

Baby Quilt 7

Just found out about this new little guy when I saw the announcement photos. He is already over a month old.

They are living in Edmonton so wanted to do something coastal. Not sure we have any pirates but sea life we do have.

The last time I made this quilt I was doing random. Way too much thinking when it came time to lay it out as I don't like the same fabric next to each other and it is quite a bit of moving and rearranging to get a pleasing layout. This time I went with the same nine square layout. No thinking or planning. Love how I could sit and sew and not think. Sometimes these are my favourite sewing meditations.

Winging its way to Oscar.

Saturday, 15 July 2017

HoHoHo

HOHOHO! Hello and welcome to day 2 of the 12 days of Christmas in July blog hop. Thank you Sarah Craig for organizing this fabulous event. I love Christmas so having it twice in one year is a huge bonus. Scroll down to the end for the information on how to enter the give-away. Christmas with fabric! yes!

For my grandchildren I make them a super simple whole cloth quilt. I make them in cotton with flannel on the back. Flannel is so cozy. I pre-washed the flannel but not the panel.

First I even up the fabric. I do not worry too much about having it equal all around I really just wanted it square.

I am a real cheater when it comes to basting these days and just smooth the quilt top (lots of smoothing) and guide it with my hands through the walking foot. Are the quilt police reading this?

I quilted it with a spiral and my walking foot. I started off real slow, a couple of stitches then moved the quilt. I laid a corning ware lid down to get the first row and went out from there. When I had finished the rest of the quilting I went back after and filled in the middle.

The red stripe was too small so I had to piece it. This probably took the longest to do, mostly because I put it off! Procrastination, thinking about took longer than doing it, erg.

I bound it with red cotton as I dislike binding with flannel. I sew to the front, trim to 1/4 inch, wrap to the back and sew down. On looking at the pictures I probably should have changed the bobbin colour to white to blend in better.

I am working on labeling my quilts so played with the letters on my Janome. All in all very happy with this quick and cheerful Christmas Baby Quilt.

Frosty really got around when he was finished. He took a tour of Martin's place.

Frosty with the peas.

Frosty with the blackcurrents.

Frosty with the bolting asparagus.

Frosty with the Christmas Cactus.

And Frosty with the snapdragons.

Frosty with the boxwood and statue. Merry Christmas 6 months and 10 days early!

Please stop in and visit the other blogs on the blog hop. They all provide wonderful projects and ideas to get the Christmas lists done now. Of course you could wait until December. HOHOHO!

And did I mention there are prizes? Stop by Sarah's blog Confessions of a Fabric Addict for all the information on the prizes and how to enter.

https://confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.com/2017/07/12-days-of-christmas-in-july-blog-hop.html

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Here are the blogs participating in the 12 Days of Christmas in July blog hop!

Friday, July 14th

From My Carolina Home

Vrooman's Quilts

Pampered Pettit

Saturday, July 15th

Citymousequilter

Vicki's Crafts and Quilting

Quilting Fun - you are here!

Sunday, July 16th

Swimming in a Sea of Estrogen