WIP Wednesday - Christmas is Coming!

I love Christmas! I love everything about it! The cleaning up the house to bring all the decorations out, making a bigger mess than when you started. Oh yeah! I took my first quilting workshop. I went as the fabric for the project was Winter's Lane, my new favourite this year. I made a table runner. Did not finish it in the evening even though all the pieces were already cut up! Bonus!

Brought it home to quilt it with the invisible thread on the top and the colour on the bottom, to get that I did it by hand look. Did not work for me. So threw some quilting on to hold it steady and the binding. It is now sitting on the table and I will finish it up over the holidays. Kind of my favourite way to finish up projects. Use them while you finish them.

Made a couple of coasters and mug rugs for a Kid's Christmas Craft Fair this weekend. I had plans to also make some coffee cup holders. I have now run out of time so not to be. Oops camera is out of battery life. Pics to follow.

Lady of the Lake still sitting there. Guilt on a chair and she hasn't even said a word.

Finished up my bee blocks but forgot to take pictures. Who does that? A Cathedral Window and 3 house blocks. Sooo glad they were not paper piecing!!!

Linking up to The Needle and Thread Network.

Finish it up Friday - I'm a new Nanny!

My daughter just had her second baby. Another girl! I am so thrilled! I love girls. Actually I just like babies! 8 lbs 9 oz, a nice size but she looks so tiny. A carbon copy of her big sister. Big sister and I had sleepovers. Love having sleepovers! We get up in the morning, have a banana and an orange in bed, and play Snail Bob on my IPad. Best time ever!

So I went to my LQS to buy some girl fabric. A long time family friend is having a baby, and she knows it is a girl. I have loads of fabric but I wanted some Aneela Hoey. And it was on sale!! Bonus! I bought some fat quarters and some yardage for the back, all at 50% off!

I brought it home, cut it into squares for 2 different quilts, sewed and finished  one. Not sure of the original pattern idea of frames, the squares seem kind of small.

The one I finished is small squares sewn together in a diagonal pattern. Love the simplicity and the pattern. The purple of the Posey line is fabulous. I kept it simple for the quilting with straightish line diagonals. It is very mono chromatic. Hope the recipient likes purple!

Baby quilts and instant gratification! My two loves.

I also finished sewing my daughter's baby blanket for her. She wanted flannel and was sewing the quilt sandwich together, not an easy job with an ordinary foot. The drag and shifting of the layers was huge. Nine month pregnant women do not need that aggravation. As if I needed any reminders, I LOVE my walking foot.

Linking up to Finish it up Friday at  Crazy Mom Quilts

WIP Wednesday - a win!!!

A Win!!! First off to say I love this fabric. It is Winter's Lane by Kate & Birdie Paper Company. I was looking them up on line when I noticed they had a draw. And I won!!!

I was already in love with this fabric as I had bought the Holiday Hustle Quilt Kit from Sew Lux Fabric & Gifts in Winter's Lane. Then I bought the panel at my LQS. Now I have enough material to make another quilt! I have made a couple of pillows that need innards, and I was thinking coasters or a table runner or..... I am in love!!! Thank you Kate & Birdie Paper Company.

This is my Simply Solids Bee Block. Not sure how it ended up the way it did as I had not laid out the pieces in this order. I find paper piecing a real challenge.

 My Lady of the Lake is getting closer and closer to a finish. As you may know I was getting very ready for this quilt to be done. So decided I had enough blocks and prepared and sewed the setting blocks. Can you say "My what a tiny quilt you are"? I figure it may cover one leg as a lap quilt. Hmmm, borders to the rescue. I really like them, feels like they finish off the quilt. Love!!!

 So the question is what to use for binding. I am always partial to the Lotus Leaf print .

 Also really like the stripes. What do you think?

I was taking these photos this morning. Looked out on the balcony before leaving for work and there was the quilt still outside! Wet with the morning mist. Note to self, do not take photos before work.

Linking up to The Needle and Thread Network.

WIP Wednesday

October already. How did that happen? I have been working on my brothers quilt. Love the way it turned out. The goal is to get this in the mail by the middle of the month. Just sewing the binding on now!

Went to my LQS and these table runners fell into my basket! One is totally complete and the other is waiting to be quilted. I have never done FMQ so thought these would be fun to play with. The first one just played with zigzag. I quite like the way it turned out. Number 2 I am going to attempt a spider web. Why not, just another form of straight line, right?

Lady of the Lake. Really close to a finish! Like making the backing, sandwiching, quilting and binding are nothing! Oh I love my rose tinted glasses! Tried this quilt with a straight setting as I am very tired of this quilt. Thought I could get away with some borders and call it quits. No dice. Boring. 

So plopped it on point, stunning!

I am re enthused!

As you can see the setting squares still need some tweaking. My brain does not do setting triangles well. I have never ripped so many seams as I did making those little puppies.

So, tired of those triangles I sewed up a baby blanket last night. It was all cut up and now it is a top. Instant gratification and not a seam ripper in site! Heaven!

My condo looks like a batting bomb went off in it as I am "relaxing" the cotton batting over the couch and table. Very Haloweeny!
Linking up to Needle and Thread.
On the personal front I have been grieving. Rob's birthday was last week. How he loved his celebrations! He would call it his birth month and celebrate every day. Prior to that Vancouver hosted Truth and Reconciliation. He would have been intimately involved with this. Oh the joys and sorrows he is missing. I give thanks every day for our life together. I miss him. Grieving.

Finish it up Friday

I finished sewing down the binding on the baby quilt. A happy sad moment. Happy to be finished, sad I have no other projects ready to go. This quilt is 25 x 33. Quite small but I wanted the recipient to be able to use it as a stroller blanket.

This flannel has a lovely hand feel. Lovely and thick. As it was flannel I did pre wash the fabric prior to sewing.

Love the hearts around the edges. Sending this quilt with lots of love!

I also finished sewing the top on my brother's quilt. Deadline is the middle of October for this so very pleased with the progress.

The plan is to start quilting this today, so best get busy.

Linking up to crazy mom quilts http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.ca/

No-low spend Challenge week 3

This week I have done quite well. I have closed several shopping windows without buying fabric! IPad shopping is definitely allowed as long as I do not hit the checkout button. I add things to my cart then delete them all. It is working for me, so far. I may crumble, however, I will hang onto the thought of "it is only one more week"!

I have taken my lunch to work but supplemented with a couple of take out salads. My go to lunch spot is making yam kale salad this week. Yum!

I attended my local quilt guild, but that was free as it was my first meeting. Bonus! fun for free! And I am attending a sew in this evening. I am looking forward to meeting the other quilters. Two big steps for me. Out of the house and quilting with other people.

I have also rejoined choir. I love to sing! The deep breathing, the sound, the challenge, and the singers high! What an awesome way to spend an evening.

Definitely a little anxiety as I push my comfort level from cocooning to out there.

It is time.

Linking up to No/Low Spend Challenge

WIP Wednesday

I started this baby quilt after my trip to Smithers in May. I purchased the fabric while visiting, came home and pre-washed it, cut it up.....and there it sat. It was time to finish it.

 

The flannel never called to me. I was not enthused. Then half way through quilting it became. From ho hum I do not really care for this, it came alive. 3/4 of the way through my favourite straight lines it was suddenly a quilt and I loved it.

My Lady of the Lake HST's. Progress made. I am up to 15 blocks.

Star Quilt. (There was a flaw in the directions and my brain was not engaged so I trimmed the blocks.) Finally decided what to do with the too small blocks. It is a scrappy quilt anyways so what is a few more additions. Unfortunately there will be no points on the stars. Such is life springs to mind. Still need to trim them to the correct size.

Linking up to The Needle and Thread Network http://needleandthreadnetwork.blogspot.ca/p/wip-wednesdays.html and WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.