Category Archives: quilts

Fabric Play

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While I was working on the red and white pieced border last night, I was thinking about playing with this group of fat quarters. Once the red and white, the Scrappy Star, the Pickled Ladies and the quilt I’ve decided to make with the fabrics I won in the Love the Lines contest (more on that quilt soon) are done, I’m going to start playing in earnest with those fabrics. I prewash all my fabric and then just fold it to put away. Ironing happens when I’m about to use it, which is why these FQs appear a bit wrinkled.

Right now I have too many ideas and not enough time to stitch! I think I need to teach Baxter to start stitching. Maybe I’d have better luck teaching Mr. Q.O. to stitch, although he’s making noises about perhaps playing with EQ. I hope he does actually, as I am sure his design ideas will be really intriguing.

It was yet another absolutely glorious warm day here on Wednesday. They finally opened the roof garden but we didn’t get out there to take a shot of the red and white top. Maybe today we will.

Baxter loves to sprawl on the floor with Cappy nearby.

Batik Star

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Seems I got a bit more distracted last night. I wanted to make another of the 6.75″ batik stars with the extra Storm at Sea pieces I had printed. It was sort of bargaining that went on internally, “Hmm. You have two of the four cornerstones for the pieced border done, so you can play again. But only tonight. Tomorrow you have to make another one of the cornerstones.”

Because it’s a batik, it presses like a charm. I really have no idea how many of these stars I’ll make and what else I’ll do with the extra pieces, but it’s fun to have the option to just pick up and stitch a block like this every once in a while. I think I’ve finally learned my lesson and am grading the seams as I go.

The Drunkard’s Trail/Snail’s Trail has me absolutely captivated. I have many ideas flying around in my mind now and know I’ll end up making at least two and probably more quilts using those shapes. There’s one idea that’s begging to be made soon. Of course, the fact that there’s all that delicious curved piecing has something to do with my fascination with that pattern. Whether these ideas will wait until the red and white top is finished remains to be seen.

It was another remarkably warm day here yesterday and today sounds like it’s going to be even warmer yet. Then it looks like we crash back to the reality of March but what a nice treat this taste of summer has been.

This may be one of my favourite pictures of Baxter yet. I love how well his lynx tips show up.

Shabby Trails

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It was inevitable, I suppose. I got distracted from the red and white last night. Why? Well, I just had to play with these little pieces. And I do mean little! Together they form a 2″ block. There were four new Inklingo collections released yesterday of Drunkard’s Trail, also known as Snail’s Trail – 2-inch, 3-inch, 4-inch and 6-inch. The possibilities with these sets of shapes is so enticing!

It’s been ages since I worked with the shabby chic fabrics, so I took the opportunity to start playing. I made four blocks last night and joined them.

The trail is going to meander all over, although I don’t plan on making this much larger than 12 x 12 inches. Play time is over though and now I’ll be back to focusing on the red and white Feathered Star/Sunflower.

That said, there are definitely plans afoot for the other sizes! Once I replenish my ’30s stash, I know I’ll make one with those. It’s also a definite possibility for a two-colour quilt. And the ideas just keep flowing. I was able to get a couple of the design ideas into an EQ design so that I don’t have to depend on my somewhat cryptic notes that can be a challenge to decipher months later.

It presses quite well, even with these tiny pieces.

We seem to have skipped spring and are right into summer weather. We went for a walk yesterday afternoon and I couldn’t believe how warm it is already. Wednesday they’re now saying we’ll have a humidex reading of 30C. In March? In Toronto? I think we’re all getting giddy at the very definite end of winter. Normally we go from winter to summer, but that doesn’t happen in March. That’s more something that we can expect in late May/early June.

Baxter has a habit of bracing himself but this made us both laugh. He was braced with one hind paw and one front paw as he snoozed on the couch yesterday afternoon.

Red and White Quilt

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The main body of the Feathered Star/Sunflower quilt top is finished, all stitched by hand. The last stitch joining the blocks was taken Friday evening. Two of the pieced blocks for one of the borders are done, but there are still many to go. Right now it measures 60 x 80. It doesn’t look its best draped over the sofa, but I was so excited it was done that I had to share!

I had hoped we could get out on the roof garden to take photos but they haven’t opened it yet. Maybe Wednesday, when our forecast high is an unbelievably warm 25C, they’ll open access to the roof garden and we can get a good photo of the top.

I feel almost compelled to finish this quilt before I work on anything else, which is so unusual for me. My vision of how this top will look when complete is driving me to keep working on it so I can see the actual finished top. If I stick with it, I think I can have the top finished within 2 weeks.

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This is a slight rant, so if you want to see Baxter’s daily picture just scroll down. I won’t be insulted.

Can anyone tell me why on earth Canada Post is now slower than a carrier pigeon would be? I don’t mean with packages which always take a long time. I’m talking about plain ordinary everyday business mail. An envelope that was mailed to me from about half a mile away took 18 days to arrive. Another business envelope was mailed last Monday, from about the same distance, and still has yet to arrive. And for this we pay a high price for postage? No wonder Canada Post is sometimes called Canada Storage!

I’ve thought for a long time that we live in an area that’s a black hole when it comes to mail. I dread mailing things as I never feel the least bit secure that they’ll arrive in a timely manner, if at all. But this has been the final straw for me. I think from now on I’ll forego using the post office altogether and depend on UPS or some other courier service.

Okay. Rant over. Back to our normal programming.

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I heard a robin out on the roof garden on the weekend. Practically fell over myself racing to the window to see it and there it was, on the lawn. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a robin this early. We are having temperatures that feel more like early summer than the end of winter and are breaking records. This has been the winter that wasn’t for us and it has been wonderful. But it does make me wonder what our summer will be like and what it may mean for the farmers as there was so little precipitation during the winter.

Baxter has had a lot to keep him occupied on the windowsill. Grackles, robins, squirrels and something that he seems to see out on the roof garden at night, although we can’t see what it is that has him so fascinated.

Happy Dance!

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Over the past two days, the prizes from the Love the Lines contest have arrived. They’re all absolutely fantastic!!

The fabrics from Northcott’s Kaleidoscope collection are delicious. As soon as I unwrapped the bundle, ideas immediately started to fly through my mind. I’ve always been a fan of Northcott’s fabrics as they really are cottons that feel like silk and are wonderful to work with.

The Electric Quilt Quilting Designs CDs are something I’ve looked at over the past few years and had on my wish list. There’s something for everyone in these quilting designs. The best part for me is that I don’t have to try to draw my quilting ideas freehand. I can play with these, either tracing or using Pounce or some other method – there are how-to instructions on the CDs. There are feathers and stars, animals and continuous line designs, abstracts and leaves, hearts and flowers, holiday designs and all-over designs and the list just goes on and on. There are hundreds upon hundreds of designs to select from on the seven CDs!

What I’ve already started using is the button finger pincushion. It’s dainty and not heavy and just plain fun. The note that came with it refers to the wonderfully funny Oscar-Awaiting movie “How to make a Finger Pincushion” which can be seen here.

I am so excited to have been one of the three runners-up. The prizes are fantastic, but the best part and the most enduring benefit is that it gave me that added push to learn EQ. I’ll be putting it to good use as I play with the design idea I have in mind for the Kaleidoscope fabrics. Before I cut and print anything, I’ll be able to download the fabric images from Northcott’s website, import them into EQ and then play to see how different the quilt will look depending on which fabric I use for each shape.

Once again, a huge thank you to Inklingo, Northcott and Electric Quilt for these wonderful prizes and an enormous thank you to Linda Franz at Inklingo for holding the contest.

Baxter was watching as we took photographs. I think his face says it all, “What, nothing for me?” I’ll have to keep my eye on him. He may try to make off with some of that fabric!

New Quilt Possibly Being Planned

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When I was looking around in my stash for yet another possible fabric for kaleidoscope stars, I opened the container in which the shabby chic fabrics are stored. I then realized just how long it has been since I’ve worked with them exclusively. I pulled out a handful of them to see what I come up with. While i have no real plan in mind, I think that it will likely involve curved piecing.

However, on my hunt I found this fabric. I had it out on the ironing board to audition it using the window template. This piece of fabric has the potential to make some wonderful kaleidoscope stars!

The grading of the red and white Feathered Star/Sunflower blocks is all done. Finally. Six of the blocks are joined. Today I’ll give them all a quick press and hopefully will have all 12 of the blocks joined up by the end of the week. If I stay focused on this, and this alone, I could have the pieced border done in about 2 weeks. But that’s a big if.

The Pickled Ladies are inching their way closer to completion too, so I may get distracted by them. It would be nice to time this so I finish both tops at close to the same time.

The orchid plant is doing incredibly well. More blooms have opened and there are still more yet to open.

Yesterday Kitty TV was very active. Along with the squirrel, the grackles made an appearance. I think I was more excited about that than Baxter was, although he spent a fair bit of time watching out the window during the afternoon.

Red and White Trimmings

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This is the pile after grading the seams on two of the red and white Feathered Star/Sunflower blocks. Two blocks left to go and then I can start putting the top together. It will probably take less time to stitch the blocks together than it has to grade the seams. If nothing else, this may be the final time I need to learn the lesson to grade seams as I make the blocks but it is worth the effort as the difference in weight is noticeable and the quilt will drape quite nicely. I put a nickel beside the pile of trimmings just to give it some perspective.

When I needed a break from the grading, I went looking in my stash for another candidate for kaleidoscope stars. This fabric has a relatively small repeat which would mean little fabric waste, but I have a feeling the stars would all end up looking alike. So back it goes to the stash to be used in something else.

Baxter had a very busy day on Tuesday. Kitty TV has started – a squirrel was seen out on the roof garden. So last night he was relaxing in “his” chair.

Possibilities for Kaleidoscope Stars

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So much fun was had making the kaleidoscope stars like this one that I couldn’t resist doing a little hunting in my stash for some other fabrics that might be likely candidates for interesting kaleidoscope stars.

This one is a definite possibility and will be easy to fussy cut/print for some more kaleidoscope stars.

This one has a larger repeat, but I think some really striking kaleidoscope stars might be the result. I don’t have a lot of it, but perhaps an interesting wallhanging can be made using kaleidoscope stars from it.

This is the fabric combination from yesterday’s post that I was 90 per cent sure I was going to select. It was interesting to read how many of you also felt the same way. So that’s another project waiting in the wings. I’m going to make one block using the two fabrics before I start on that project in earnest.

Last night I was working again on the red and white quilt. I’m really motivated to at least get the 12 blocks together this week. Then I’ll make a decision on whether a small stop border is added before the pieced border.

This picture of Baxter makes me laugh.  If you look closely, you can see that his tongue is sticking out just a bit.

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.

Red and White Feathered Stars

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Preparation of the centre blocks is almost complete. All that’s really left is to do is the grading of seams on the first 6 blocks.

It presses beautifully. The final six blocks have had all the seams graded. Why I left it with the first six I have no idea, but it won’t take long and is definitely worth the effort. It will make the quilt drape better, there will be no chance of the red shadowing through to the front and it will make the quilting easier.

I stacked them together for fun. It will be fabulous to see this quilt centre put together, but taking a picture of it will definitely have to wait until we can get out on the roof garden. Which, by the looks of our weather forecast, may not be too far off at all.

Making these blocks has been so much easier than they look, thanks to the perfect stitching lines and matching points of Inklingo, that I’ve got an idea for a completely different feathered star quilt that I’d like to make.

Baxter had to get in on the act of photographing the blocks. Mr. Q.O. labelled this one, “The Critic.”

Although it was Mr. Q.O.’s birthday yesterday, Baxter got a present. One of our neighbours gave this to him. He absolutely loves it and played with it for hours.