Tag Archives: miscellaneous

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.

Diamonds, Diamonds and More Diamonds

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Not a lot of stitching has been done this week, although I now have enough diamonds joined into pairs to start the next round on the scrappy star top. As the scrappy star has grown, I’ve found it easier to put them together into pairs and then, once the placement is figured out, join the pairs into sets for each of the 8 segments.

It’s definitely looking like fall now.

This birch tree has now lost almost all its leaves.

This is a shot of Queen’s Park, a park near our building. Some of the trees still have their gorgeous fall colours.

Baxter was watching me stitch. We think this is his Morris look.

Stars…Again

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These 4 blocks have also been bumped up the list to be finished. The lime batik I’ll use to set them is ready and the little quilt top should be done in no time. The blocks have been sitting for ages and the lime batik is washed and ready.

It has been quite a week around here. Last Thursday and yesterday, Mr. Q.O. had cataract surgery. The difference is absolutely incredible. He can basically now throw away his old glasses and use drugstore readers. I was able to sit with him in the pre-op area until the doctors came to get him and the nurse told me as soon as he was out of surgery – less than 15 minutes. What an amazing process! The nurses in the pre-op and recovery room were wonderful and we both got a hug from one of them as we left.

Baxter sprawled out under a desk yesterday afternoon. It really doesn’t look like he could possibly be comfortable, but this is how he likes to sleep.

Pink, pink and more pink

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Notice a common element in these pictures?

Joseph’s Coat melons.

And more melons.

A multi-tone quilt.

A two-colour quilt.

Chintz Circles quilt.

A teddy bear quilt.

The answer may be that there’s a lot of pink to be seen in all those photos.

And now? Now I have a pink purse that has decorative melons on it. There’s a bit of a story to this. Earlier this summer, in one of the leather goods stores downstairs, I saw another pink purse and was quite taken with it but didn’t buy it when I first saw it. When I finally decided to buy it, it was gone. Yesterday I saw this one in the same store and immediately bought it. Didn’t hurt that it was on sale. Now I know there was a reason I didn’t get the one I saw earlier in the summer. This one is absolutely perfect for me. It’s pink, it has melons that make me think of Joseph’s Coat and Chintz Circles and — well, it’s pink!

Baxter wasn’t particularly interested, although I have a feeling if I left it where he could get it I’d find some kitty tooth marks. This is one of his favourite poses when sleeping and one that always make us laugh.

Melons and Yin Yang — Oh, My!

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Lots and lots of melons printed and ready to stitch to the connecting cream bits. Lots and lots of yin yang pieces printed and ready to stitch. This is definitely going to be a very shabby chic summer.

Two more of the Dresden Plates are now done and ready. Before I get too much further with these, I’m going to play with some layout ideas. Hopefully I’ll get that done this weekend.

We had some computer glitches, so I’m recycling this photo of Smudge on the windowsill from last summer.

A Stitching Book

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As soon as I saw the Inklingo Log Cabin collection I knew I wanted to make some blocks for use as covers of a stitching book.  When I was making my Quilted Diamonds blocks, I always used a stitching book.  Now I don’t use one as often, but I love having one for portions of  blocks like the Feathered Star and Pickle Dish.  This book is going to a friend, but I know I’ll make more of the stitching books with different blocks made using the log cabin squares and rectangles.  There are so many different blocks one can make and they’re just about the perfect size for a stitching book.  They are also very quick to make.

The back cover of the stitching book is the same block, but the fabrics are reversed.

The inside front of the book.  The fabric I used for the inside covers is an odd one.  I remember picking it up, thinking it was a lot of fun.  It’s difficult to needle, so using it for a stitching book was the perfect solution.

When I’m stitching a block or section of a block that has the potential to get confusing, I will often lay out the pieces and then stitch.  I pick up 2 pieces, stitch them together, lay them back down where they belong in the order and then pick up the third piece — knowing exactly where it goes in the sequence.

I laid out 2 Drunkard’s Path units on a page of the book, to show how handy it is.  I was going to lay out a pickle dish melon/arc combo, but as I’m using white in that block it wouldn’t show up well in photos.  It’s also handy for stitching outdoors as the pieces will stick to the pages of the book.  And for those of us with four-footed helpers, some of whom like little pieces of fabric, it’s nice to be able to shut the book and get those bits of fabric out of harm’s way.

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What follows is a bit of a rant.  Feel free to skip down to see today’s kitty pictures.

Over the weekend, a friend alerted me to the fact that someone had grabbed a picture from my blog and used it on their blog without a link.  I wasn’t contacted by the person to ask permission to do so.  Generally speaking, I don’t mind sharing at all.  That said, I do think it’s imperative that we all respect one another’s copyright and ask for permission before grabbing text or photos from another’s blog.

I wasn’t going to say anything but I had a long look at the person’s blog.  The blogger is clearly not new to blogging and knows how to put links in her posts.  I really am not sure what, if anything, to do about it.  What would you have done? Have you run into this, finding out in a roundabout way that someone has grabbed something from your blog without asking first?  If so, how did you handle it?

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The cats had a relaxing weekend.  Smudge was stretched out having a snooze.

Lester was alert and looking around.

Planning a Red and White Quilt

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These are the fabrics I’ll be using for my red and white quilt.   The red and white quilt will be the next of the two-coloured quilts I want to make.  This one will have to have some curved piecing.  That’s the one thing I’m sure of, but just what it will turn out to be is still up in the air.  As I get closer to finishing the Farmer’s Delight blocks, I’m starting to think about starting this red and white.

When I start thinking about two-colour quilts, I almost always get this book down off the bookshelf and leaf through it.  I love the appearance of two-colour quilts. Eventually I want to do green and white, yellow and white and purple and white quilts as well.

The weekend didn’t turn out as I had planned as I ended up working most of it. Probably just as well as it did nothing but pour down rain on Saturday during the day, which turned to freezing rain at one point and then snow.  Typical March weather.   But Saturday morning I was thrilled to hear some birds out on the roof garden.

The cats decided it was a good weekend to curl up and snooze.  We caught Smudge in the middle of a yawn.

Lester loves to lie with his head on Mr. Q.O.’s foot.  This is a typical pose.

Saving My First Quilt

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When I began quilting I clearly jumped in at the deep end, making a top like this. Some of the stars have holes in the middle through which a truck could be driven. Well, okay — that might be an exaggeration, but there are definite holes that I cannot close.  Over the years, I’ve tried.  I’ve had the top tucked away now for years, trying to decide how I could save it.  Buttons in the centres was one idea, but not one that I was crazy about.  Appliqueing on some shape was clearly the best idea, but what shape?  Now I think I finally have a solution.

On Thursday, a new Inklingo collection of circles was released.  The combination of Karen Kay Buckley’s Perfect Circles ® and Inklingo Circles means perfect circles with virtually no fabric waste at all.  This way I can pick my circle size to applique over the centres of the stars and finally finish that first quilt.

It’s not a perfect quilt by any stretch, but it’s one I want to see finished and in use. The other goal I have in mind for this quilt?  I’m going to mark some quilting designs on it and see how well I do quilting by machine.

Thursday we woke up to a new dusting of snow.  But there was also a sign that spring isn’t too far off.  For the first time in months, we saw grackles out on the roof garden.  Soon Lester will have lots to watch out the window.

Thursday evening Lester decided it was his turn to curl up by the heating pad.

Smudge gets into one of the round kitty beds and immediately sets to kneading it into the oval shape he prefers.