Category Archives: miscellaneous

Possible Fabric Combinations

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While almost all my stitching time on the weekend was spent working on the red and white Feathered Star/Sunflower quilt top, some time was spent auditioning possible partners for the purple batik. First  I had to try a white on white with it.

The second possibility was this gold with it.

The third possibility was this sea green/lime green with it.

I think I know which I’m going to choose, but am not a hundred per cent decided. Which would you choose and why?

If I stick with the design idea I’m thinking of, there will be a lot of whichever ends up as the “neutral” in the quilt.

Baxter had a busy weekend watching out the window. It’s getting milder and milder every day and I think he knows that kitty TV will be starting any day with the arrival of some birds and hopefully some squirrels.

Remember when he used to sleep like this as a little kitten? That shot was taken in July, when he was barely 3 months old.

This is his “I’m a big kitty now” version of the pose. This was taken on the weekend, and he’s almost 11 months old now.

Gifted Blocks and a Gift of Orchids

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I’ve blogged about these blocks before that were given to me by a good friend, but now I feel I have enough experience with the sewing machine to set them together successfully. There are a stack of these blocks that will finish at 7.75″.

And a stack of these, which also finish at 7.75″. As well, I was given a lot of the fabric that was used to make them. I’m going to play with some setting ideas over the next few days. They were foundation pieced on muslin so it’s going to be a heavy quilt and one which I will have to figure out how to machine quilt.

Last night, Mr. Q.O. took the garbage down the hall and came back with a pot of orchids. One of our neighbours gave it to us. The instructions on its care seem rather odd to me. It says to water the plant by giving it 3 ice cubes once a week. Three ice cubes? I would have thought that would shock the poor plant. If any of you have grown orchids successfully and have some hints, please share. I’d love to keep this plant growing and hopefully flowering.

There are some buds on it that look very close to opening. I love the colour of the flowers. Such a wonderful pink, my favourite colour.

Baxter’s look says it all, “An orchid? Yummy!” We have it well out of his reach.

Success! A New Ironing Board Cover

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It’s not perfect, but it’s good enough. I used 2 layers of Warm and Natural batting underneath the muslin and now it feels and looks so much better! When I started thinking about doing this, I found a few tutorials and ended up following this one as it seemed by far the easiest.

It is so nice to have a clean new ironing board cover. I know the muslin will show discolouration faster than a print but now that I’ve done this once, I can do it again easily. It sounds more complicated than it is. I think it took me longer to read through the tutorial than it did to actually make the new cover.

The new quilt wasn’t started yesterday as I ended up doing a lot of computer clean-up stuff as well as making the ironing board cover. There were tons and tons of photos that didn’t need to be on my hard drive but could be burned on to DVDs. Today I will get a start on the quilt. To start, I’ll be printing 3″ HSTs using Inklingo. I’m using muslin with a variety of fabrics so will only need to print on the muslin and then stitch on the sewing lines.

Baxter has many favourite spots but lately he seems to really like reclining by the quilt hoop. Wonder if he’s trying to tell me to get some hand quilting done.

What is the Muslin For?

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Rather boring picture, I know. But I’m finally going to make a new ironing board cover. I’ve been threatening to do this for next to forever and have found a couple of tutorials online that seem pretty straightforward so today’s experiment shall be making myself a clean new ironing board cover. My old one is so far beyond the pale I wouldn’t even dream of taking a picture of it.

For a fleeting moment or two I thought about dressing up the ironing board and using a pretty print fabric but, given the wear and tear my ironing board takes being shoved in the closet and dragged out again, I’d rather be a bit more frugal about it. Watch for tomorrow’s report on just how easy (or not) making this ironing board cover proved to be!

Last night Mr. Q.O. suggested a quilt be made for a friend. So out came the quilt books looking for some quick inspiration. I think I’ve settled on a design and, if the ironing board cover experiment goes well, I might even get the first block made today. It will be a machine-pieced quilt and one that I hope to put together quickly.

Baxter was draped over the arm of the chair looking at the quilt books too. He’ll be happy with whatever design so long as he has a chance to bite the fabric.

Quilt Photo Playtime

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While I spent most of the weekend concentrating on learning EQ, Mr. Q.O. was playing with some photo filters and applying them to various photos that have been taken recently. First up, a watercolour version of the Winding Ways blocks.

Then a cartoon version of my Rose Dream Pinwheel block.

Of course then a cartoon version had to be done of the Winding Ways blocks.

As well as a cartoon version of the bow tie quilt.

Finally, a grey version of the Winding Ways blocks. This filter is definitely one I can see as being extremely useful for quilters. I know that when I get all the blocks made and am sorting out placement, this will be a really helpful tool.

There was a light-bulb moment on the weekend when I finally got comfortable with EQ and was then off to the races. A big bonus to designing in EQ is that I can play with the newest fabrics downloaded from the various manufacturers’ websites and see how my design ideas work before committing to cutting and printing fabric. That said, I really do wish there was a Mac-compatible version of it.

One “normal” photo in this post and that is of Baxter. We had an extremely cold weekend and he was taking full advantage of his kitty bed, as well as staying very close to his toys.

Half Clamshells

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Ages and ages ago, I printed a number of half clamshells on various fabrics. Last night I put together three blocks. They finish at 3″. I think I’ll make two more and then set them together into a 9-patch block and turn that into a doll’s quilt with a pieced border. They are amazingly quick to stitch and go together perfectly.

They only take a second to press.

Yesterday was a big day in the Q.O. household. After debating it on and off for about a year the decision was made. We now do not own a car but instead have joined AutoShare. For downtown residents like us it makes a ton of sense. Parking charges downtown are insanely expensive. With the AutoShare car, we park it back in its designated spot when we’re done and don’t have the monthly parking fees. No more insurance costs. They even pay for the gas!

Yes, it will mean that we’ll have to plan ahead a bit when we’ve got errands to run for which we need a car rather than just going downstairs and jumping in the car whenever we want but, when we looked at the amount we used the car, it made sense to make the move, particularly given that our car was old and probably getting to the stage of starting to need more and more repairs.

Baxter doesn’t care, of course, so long as one of the errands for which we will use the AutoShare car is to get his favourite food. Mr. Q.O. dubbed this photo “Pasha Puss”. I call it his “peel me a grape” look. If you click on the photo to enlarge it, you just see the tip of his tongue sticking out.

Beginnings of New Projects

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These three fabrics, along with two layer cakes of Fresh Squeezed, are the inspiration for a couple of new projects. They were a Christmas gift from a good friend and have, ever since I opened the package, been out where I can see them and start planning the first of the new quilts that will be made with them. These bright cheerful fabrics are the perfect antidote to winter’s grey skies and cold temperatures.

The yardage and one of the layer cakes are washed, a neutral has been chosen so all that’s left is to decide which design to make first.

Baxter on the windowsill. Yesterday was a very windy and cold day and was snowing on and off but nothing that stayed on the ground. So far he doesn’t seem interested in the snow at all.