Winter has arrived

It seems winter has finally arrived and the snow with it.  It always looks so pretty when the first snow arrives doesn't it.  But soon we will get very tired of it and our hopes for Christmas will fade after the New Year and we will all be whining for the warmth again.....

I do like winter mainly because I really don't like to be hot and sticky.  It always feels and smells so fresh when it's colder outside.  I especially love to walk at night in the freshly fallen snow.  It is suddenly so peaceful and still and you can sometimes even hear the snow as it is falls to the ground making a soft hissing sound.

Right, enough of the sentiment.  I now have to get busy and make up some Christmas stockings for charity. Our guild is donating stockings to one of the shelters for teens.  Unfortunately the teens get less attention at Christmas than the younger children. So this year we decided to concentrate more on the teens.  After all they still go through traumatic issues possibly even more so than the younger ones.  They would under normal circumstances, be boiling over with those hormones and growing pains we all suffered ourselves in those early teen years.  To now be homeless and in a shelter can multiply their trauma.  

Giving some teens a little happiness on Christmas can be just a small thing but add a lot of love too.

So now I am going to pull out my Christmas fabrics and scratch my head to try and make something for teen girls and for teen boys.  This should be interesting.  I will post some pictures as I go.

Off I go to stare out the window once more at the falling snow and to get those creative juices flowing.  Hope you all have a wonderful day.

Weekend Quilting Retreat

Such a lovely weekend I had!!  I spent the weekend at Ruth's house and she was teaching me all about her long arm machine.  Wow!  Such fun and so much to learn.

She is such a wonderful person too and such a pleasure to be around.  I thoroughly enjoyed myself both quilting and just chin wagging with her.  It is so amazing how much we have in common!

We spent the Saturday on the machine.  She showed me how to load it and a lot of little tricks to using a long arm.  It was just pouring outside so it was a perfect day for quilting.  I did up two quilts using the long arm and now I am so proud of myself.  They weren't perfect and perhaps just passable, but I had a blast doing them. Ruth is such a great teacher.

Not only can she quilt but she can really cook too!  I ate so much and it was delicious!

On Sunday we quilted a bit and then she took me out for a tour of the area on her Ranger.  It's much like a four wheeler but with an enclosed cab.  It was a beautiful classic Fall day so crisp and clean.  The sky started out very grey and windy but it cleared and the sky was totally blue without a cloud to be seen.

She showed me all her family's properties that they have owned since childhood.  Such a gorgeous peaceful spot right on the lake.  I didn't want the weekend to end, but then reality sets in and it was soon time to go home. I know Ruth and I are definitely old soul friends from another time....we just have to be.  We think so much alike and she is such a kind soul.  I hope I can get another trip to the South Shore Quilter's Retreat again.....there you are Ruth....I just gave your home a new name......lol!

Well, once I was home the mind soon got back into sewing mode.  I have rag quilts to make as Christmas gifts for the three grand nephews and my dear grandson's step brother.  Plus, I have three more runners to complete.  As you can see, although the weekend break was fantastic, the work still awaits.  I will post pics of the quilts when I can finish them.

I'm just so sorry I didn't take a camera to Ruth's.  Pictures would have been nice to keep the memories of the two days alive for a long time.  Thank you dear friend for the wonderful time at your home.

Thanks all for stopping by.... 

Runners Runners and more Runners!!!

Been so busy the last couple of weeks trying to get these all finished.  With Christmas just around the corner, I really needed to get some more of the runners done.  They are a real big seller for me at that time of year and I wanted to make sure I have enough. 

There still are a few more on the go but I'm just sewn out right now and with battling the flu, I really need a rest.

This one is for Ruth my long armer to match her snowman quilt I pieced for her a while back.  This was made with the left over fabrics from that and it turned out quite nice.  I hope she likes it.

I love this one.  It's a super large Dresden but it's it a bit large for my table.  I do have a smaller one that I will do for myself.

Here are the other Christmas ones.  The Star Runner matched my Christmas Star quilt.  It was actually made with leftover blocks from the quilt

This purple one is gorgeous.  It's made with batiks and the colours are scrumptious!  I didn't quilt on the batiks because I figured the fabric was beautiful enough. I did some quilting on the centre square.  It really needed something and then extended it through the black diamonds and continued on the border.  It is sold already but I do have another ready to quilt now.

So this is what I have been up to the last few weeks and still have a lot more to go yet.  I am really itching to start another quilt but it will have to wait.  Rag quilts are on the agenda now for the nephews for Christmas.  Once they are done then I'm free to go crazy on another project.....yippee!!!

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by.....

Prayer Flag Finished

I have finally finished my Prayer Flag quilt.  It's a simple "Puss in the Corner" pattern but it looks so comfortable and just ready to snuggle into.

It is partly hand quilted and partly machine quilted.  I must admit though these pictures don't really show much quilting work.  I'll have to try to take some closer photos.

Along with the Prayer Flag quilt is the Chevron made from the left over half square triangles that I had after completing the Cottage Comfort quilt.  It's just a small lap quilt perfect for chilly evenings reading or watching TV on the sofa.  Again the quilting isn't all that clear either.  Could just be the lighting too.

So there they are all finished.  Now to get started on some Christmas goodies.

Have a great day!!!!

Monday Maddness!!

Busy busy weekend.  I spent the whole three days sewing and have almost completed two more quilts.  One was a UFO I have been working on forever.  I wanted to do some hand quilting on it and that took quite some time as I kept getting sidetracked with something else.  But I was determined to finish it and now it's done.

I want to do some machine quilting on it too and then just have to bind it to complete it.  Such a pretty fabric called Prayer Flag from Moda.  It was really nice to work with and I love the colours in it.  Did it in a disappearing nine patch style and it came out great.  I will post pictures when it's done

The other is a chevron that I made with the left over half square triangles from my Cottage Comfort quilt.  I love the colours in that design way too.  Very earthy and fall type colours.  I still have some free motion quilting to do on that one yet but I hope to be finished by the weekend.  Then to bind it and it's done too.  And yes, I will post pictures of it as well.

It really has been a weekend for sewing too.  Raining almost all weekend and right now it sounds like thunder is happening out there. Made for a good weekend to be inside sewing.  

I hope all are well on your side of the blog and that you had a great weekend too where ever that may be.

Monday Evening

Very quiet evening tonight.  Didn't work on my quilting at all because the weather is so humid.  Everything feels so damp and wet.  It isn't hot but with the humidity it feels so thick and heavy.

With that, I just browsed around the quilting internet and searched different kinds of blocks to make.  I really love the Double Dresden.  It has such a different flair to it and no round centre piece to worry about appliqueing onto it. I always have such a time of it making them round.

I started a candle mat with one just to try it.  It is working out great and I'll post a picture of it when I'm done.  It's smaller to work with so I should have fun doing the machine quilting on it.  I think I just may gift it to my dear friend as a surprise too.

I still have a bunch of half square triangles left from the Cottage Comfort quilt and I am thinking a small chevron quilt will look gorgeous in those colours.  I'm not a big fan of chevron quilts but with the darker earthy tones it may look pretty good.  Then quilted with a lot of echos will really make it pop.  That is yet to come.

When looking through my stash of fabrics earlier, I found some layer cakes that would make great Dresden quilts and some super baby quilts.  I think I have enough fabrics to last me forever now.......!  I really must organize them all better.

Well, off to watch some TV before bed.  Hope everyone is having a wonderful evening......

Happy Monday

Happy Monday All!!

It seems as though our summer isn't quite done yet.  
Went back up to the 80's today and without that wonderful breeze, the humidity would have been staggering.  But the sun shone down and the sky was such a blue!

Looking at my Fall quilt, it seems hard to believe that summer is almost done.  Just a couple more months and it will be Halloween....my where does the time go?

I finished piecing the borders on the Fall quilt and put the backing together.  Such a pretty fabric on the backing...it's called paprika something or other and it is a perfect paprika colour.  It accents the quilt perfectly.  I hope to get it sandwiched this weekend and perhaps start to quilt it.  Depending on the condition of my wrists will depend on whether I quilt or not. 

I also have to get some baby quilts together for the NICU here at the hospital.  It is required by our guild to do at least two each year.  I like to do as many as possible.

Also would like to do up a couple Victoria quilts which are for cancer patients.  Then there are the gifts I would like to do for Christmas....so much to do, but I truly love to do it.

Still dreaming about a long arm quilting machine and will continue researching it.  Looks like Spring may be the time I will go for it.

Well,evening is setting in and I am getting tired.  I may just hit the bed a bit early tonight.  Hope all are well...Blessings....  

Fall is coming!!!

Fall is just around the corner it seems.  We have had such a terrible summer here in the Great White North.  The last few days have been feeling more like fall than it should be allowed to feel....

So with that inspiration I have pulled out my Fall Harvest panel that I had started last year and decided it was time to finish it.  It is beautiful and with some beading embellishments it will make a gorgeous wall hanging.  I know my cats would love to lay on the sofa with it but being dark with lots of black in it, I am not going to give them the chance!!!!

I am just bordering the panel in a couple of matching borders but it is really looking stunning already.  I hope to quilt around the fruits and flowers and echo some to make them really pop.  Then with some seed beads sewn on a few areas, it will look amazing.

Here are a couple of shots of it to give you an idea.

I was debating on which colour for the next border....can you guess which one I chose?  It's going to be a surprise.  I can't give it all away yet.....lol!

This will be my weekend project.  I hope to get the top sewn together and maybe even sandwiched.  I will be using wool batting for this one because the loft of the wool holds it's puffy appearance forever.  It's not something I am going to wash too often either so the wool will be the best choice I think.

The backing is going to be black too just in case I decide to lay it out as a lap quilt for special occasions.  You know those cats!!!

Right now I am giving my wrist a rest.  It's been getting pretty sore lately and I had better take it easy on the poor thing for a few days.

Off I go to pick through my messy stash to see what other goodies I can think up for the next one.....Christmas is coming soon...runners and pot holder, stockings and place mats, maybe even a tree skirt or two.....

Blessings and have a fabulous night!!!

Cottage Comfort Finished

Okay here it is finally finished.  Spent the weekend finishing it off.  The backing gave me such a hard time and it's still puckered but it will have to stay that way because I'm done with it.  
It isn't that bad.  I just want things perfect but I'm not going to start ripping out the quilting and redoing it.
This is all made of half square triangles and came together easily and nicely....on the top at least....now to just sew down the binding and it is completed.
Not sure what's next though.  Perhaps some runners or maybe a couple of rag quilts.  I also have to make up some baby quilts for the hospital.  
Enough of large quilts for a bit.  Need to give my wrist a rest too.

Have a great evening!!!!!

Finished Blocks

Finished putting the blocks together for the next quilt.  Actually I had started this prior to quilting my Christmas quilt and the Snowman quilt.  I had thought it better to complete those two before going on with this one.

This is very earthy and will be a lap size.  I will quilt it myself and likely do a meander edge to edge.  Nothing too fancy as it is just gorgeous with the fabrics.  Will make a nice fireside quilt.

I have no pictures just yet or do I???  I will have to look, but it is what I call a stars and kisses pattern.  I'm sure there are plenty out there the same style blocks but this is mine and I want to call it that.  

It was simple to do but a lot of seams to match up and points to not cut off. It seems to be turning out okay and I will likely have it bordered and start to quilt it on the weekend.  Then I promise to have pictures.

In the mean time I hope all are well and healthy.  I'll post again with pics on the weekend.

I did post pictures back on June 30th of this new quilt. If you are interested you can scroll back to that blog and have a preview of the blocks there called Another Creation Started.

Night all.

Completed Snow Man Top

Just finished up The Snow Man quilt top for my friend Ruth.  It turned out cute and once she quilts and binds it, it will be gorgeous.

I didn't make the snowmen blocks.  They were a gift to her on her 60th from a group of her friends.  She asked me if I would piece it and put it together for her and in turn she quilted my beautiful Carousel Quilt.

I have posted a couple of pics of the Snow Man top.  Now I must get on to the binding for my quilt so I can get it on my bed.....

Have a wonderful day!!

Sunday Joy

Well my friends I have just received my Carousel Quilt back from Ruth my long arm quilter.  It still needs to have the binding put on but it is gorgeous.  She has done such a marvelous job....again!  I so want to get a long arm machine.  She is going to come and get me and we will go to her place and play with her machine.  She also wants to take me to a friend of hers that also has a different model so I can try that as well.  This will all help in the purchase process.
I have resigned myself to the fact it is going to take a while to get one.  I must research and do some hands on work before I can make a decision of which machine I would like as well as size and all the trimmings that can come with them.
In the meantime I now have this beautiful quilt that I must decide on a binding for.  I think I will just lay on it and take it all in before I make a decision.....sigh.....

Hope you all have a glorious day!!!!

Alana

Christmas Quilt Completed

It is done.  Whew!  A lot of work went into this one.  Took me weeks to quilt it all and you must remember I am doing it on a domestic machine......long arm one day.....and I am sure it isn't going to fall apart too soon with all the thread that is in it.....LOL!

Here are a few pictures of the completed quilt.  I wasn't too happy with the stitching at first but after I got going on it and filled in more and more, it started to grow on me.  Once the binding went on it all came together and now I just love it.

I am now starting the cutting of the fabrics for the Snowman quilt.  It should go quite quickly and hopefully I will put a good dent in it over the long weekend.  Hope you all enjoy the pictures and have a great weekend.

Alana

Christmas in July

I am almost there with my Christmas quilt.  I will be able to finish off the quilting portion by tomorrow night.  I am working on the sashing quilting now and it's just straight lines so it shouldn't take much longer.  Then I will likely do a large looping stipple in the small red boarder, sew on the binding and hand sew it down and done!  Should be all finished before the end of the week.

I will be so happy it's done and then to start on the snowmen quilt for my dear friend.  I will only be piecing that one.  She is a long arm quilter and will likely do something fantastic with it as usual.  It is going to be absolutely gorgeous when she is done.

I then have my fall harvest quilt to finish and my prayer flag quilt to complete.  The prayer flag quilt is being mostly hand stitched so it is taking a bit longer than usual.  With the Fall Harvest quilt, I will be doing some machine fillers on it and then some beading afterwards.  That one too, will take some time.

I also have an earthy quilt partially pieced which is quite quick to put together and then some edge to edge loops or stipple will complete that one off.

Baby quilts still have to be done for the guild as well.  They are quite small because they are used for the NICU and need to fit easily in the incubators.  Usually they are about 25 inches by 25 inches.  I would like to make up two or three of those before October.

As you can see I am quite busy with my sewing.  Doesn't leave much time for anything else but I love it.

I will post pictures as the work progresses on each of them so stay tuned.....

Blessings to all!

Sunday July 21, 2013

I have been stitching away on my Christmas quilt.  It is taking a long time to do and I must admit I am not really crazy about my stitching.  But I suppose it is all a learning curve.  

I have about half of the blocks done now and then I will do the sashing.  Not really sure what pattern I will do for that but at the rate I'm going with it, I will have lots of time to figure it all out.

Once that quilt is finished I am going to start cutting and piecing Ruth's quilt.  I found a cute pattern that I will take ideas from and got the fabric I want to use on it.  I am a bit nervous about it because all her friends had embroidered the snow men blocks and I don't want to ruin it. It will be cute though when I do get it done I'm sure.

This is just the idea I'm thinking of.  The actual blocks I have are on muslin where here they are on a dark blue.

So there are the blocks and there are twelve of them and this is the fabric I will be using for the sashing strips and blocks.  The fabric is variegated from dark to light to dark.  The shades match perfectly with the embroidery.  I think it will be very pretty when done.

Now back I must go to finish off that Christmas quilt so I can get started on this one.

Hope all are having a great day!!!!

Share the Joy

Love this little quilt.  It's Share The Joy by Deb Strain for Moda.  The pattern is so pretty and I just love the feel of the fabric.
I finally got the quilt sandwiched and I am just getting ready to ditch stitch around it to secure it.  Not really sure of the pattern of quilting I'm going to do yet but once it's ditched I'll think more about it.
I have been doing this quilt since last Christmas and now it looks like I am finally going to have it done for this Christmas!
Sorry, no pictures yet but I am charging my camera and I will check my old computer too.  I am pretty sure I have a picture of the top there.
Love these stars too.  I think I am finally getting the hang of the seam allowance now.  Mind you my new machine stitches like a dream so I'm sure that is a big help.
The day here is gorgeous and sunny.  Temps are mild and the humidity, thankfully, is low today for a change.  Seems these old joints really aren't too fond of humidity.  May take a trip to the store and pick up a few things but otherwise I am using this day off for quilting.
HAPPY CANADA DAY!

Found the picture of the top.  It's now sandwiched and I will start the ditching to secure it in a few minutes.  I just love it.

Another Creation Started

I have decided to send my last top out to the long armer.  It's so beautiful, I just couldn't see spending all that time on it and not having it done by one.  It will be gorgeous when finished I just know.  I sent it to my dear friend Ruth who does this professionally and she does such wonderful work.  I can't wait to get it back!  But she is terribly busy and it could take a bit of time yet.  I am on pins and needles waiting....but it will be worth it.

I have already started a new one and will do it slowly over time.  It won't be as large as the last one but it will be very nice when it's done.  This one I may quilt myself.  I have my new machine and the slider as well which will make things go a lot easier.  Also going to try the new Machingers Gloves and see how they work out too.

I also have a new computer and do not quite know how to add pictures to it yet.  This Windows 8 seems rather daunting and so much more complicated.  Why do they do that....change things so often.  I do realize they are trying to perfect all the time but I guess they haven't figured out that nothing is perfect in this world and never will be unless it was created by the Divine......I will try to post pictures of the new quilt later.  May have to fire up the old lap top and see if I can get them there.

It's a long weekend here in Canada....July 1st....and I do get one more day of rest....hehehehe....that means quilting.  Have been thinking of looking into a long arm machine for myself.  It seems to me that if I do this, by the time retirement age comes around, I could have the knowledge and some experience accumulated to make it a little retirement type business.  It would keep me busy and bring in a bit of income too.  Very serious considerations on this matter.  Will keep you all posted.

Must be off and get those blocks done today.  As I said I will try to post up a picture of them as soon as I can figure out this crazy system.  Hope your day is grand.


I fired up the old lap top and here are the pictures of the new quilt top beginning.

I also have a star block to go with this but no photos as yet.  They will be a surprise.  I will post new pictures once I have completed the top.  It is going to be a lap size...no big one here although I was thinking about it. I plan to quilt it myself so I am limiting the size this time.  Have a great day everyone..................................       

Finished Quilt Top

The top is completed now except for a decision on whether to put a three inch plain white border on it.  That would make the drop a bit longer.  Hmmmm.....can't decide on that yet.  I may have to just look at it for a while.

The other decision is the quilting....do I quilt it myself or should I send it to the long arm quilter???  It is pretty large and would really play havoc on my wrists but it is so expensive to send it out.....again, I will have to look at it for a bit before I decide on either one of those questions.  But I do really love it and can't wait to have it quilted up and on my bed......

Welcome back to my blog.  I haven't done this for such a long time now and really should keep it going.  I have been very busy with my quilting and knitting to the point of obsession and it seems that's all I do these days.  But I do love doing them.

I have so many tops done and really do need to get at the quilting stage, but it seems when you get going on one another pattern flashes before you and the next thing you know you are in you stash sorting through fabrics trying to put together the inventory for another top.  I am just going to have to get down to it and get at those finished tops and that's all there is to it.  Can't sell them if they aren't done.

On my latest creation I have to complete thirty blocks that are 14 inches each.  So far I have twenty done and will work on some more today.  It's a process and if you follow my little trail here of pictures you will see what I am doing.

I can't wait to see this one finished.  It will be so nice on my bed this summer.....light and soft for the heat that will soon enough be on us all.

                                         
                    All the little pieces cut and placed ready to sew together.  This is the first process.

               I like to arrange them in the order they are to be sewn.  Makes it all less confusing for me too.

             I now begin to sew them together in order and do chain sewing to make it go so much faster.

                    Once I have the first two strips attached, they are put together with the other two strips.

 
                                     Now they are put together with the other half of the block.

                                Again I chain sew them together to make it go so much quicker.

                        Now clip them apart and finger press the seams all facing inward to the dark fabric.

When I am working with smaller pieces, I find it better to finger press rather than iron it.  The iron distorts the fabrics and with smaller pieces that distortion can really make your blocks uneven and wonky.  I will press the final block with lots of steam, but I mean PRESS not iron.  Tap the iron down and very little pressure on the fabric.

As you can see here all the seams are facing toward the darker fabric.  This way the dark won't show through on the lighter side of the fabric.

 And here is the finished block.  Now I must tell you this was my first preliminary block and I have changed it since.  I decided, once I had a bunch of the smaller blocks together, to put all the same colour together.  The prints are all different on them but the colour shades are the same.  So it is blue with blue, green with green and purples with purples.  An afterthought and I think it will look nicer and softer that way.

So this is where I am with it so far.  I now have twenty full blocks completed and just ten more to go.  Then it will be all sashed together.  Off I go to do some more......Happy Quilting!