Tag Archives: Quilt

Fall Fabric & Pickled Lady 6

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A fall or a leaf quilt has never been something that I’ve thought of doing.  But then I came across these fabrics in my stash.  They are so perfect for a fall quilt that I can’t resist them.  What kind of pattern, though?  I remember some of the wonderful Japanese hexagon quilts I’ve seen online and in books and keep thinking that perhaps some hexagons falling on to the ground might be my version of a fall quilt. Maybe.

Or perhaps a Winding Ways quilt.  I’m leaning towards that as I’d love to make something in the Winding Ways pattern again, but this time with the smaller blocks. There’s a cream batik in my stash that would work with these fabrics.  Starting the fall quilt won’t happen immediately as I really want to keep going with the Pickled Ladies  and the Pickled Clam Star blocks, but these fabrics are going to be kept together and a note is now in my ideas book.

The sixth Pickled Lady block is done.  Again in a favourite fabric.

The back:

Tuesday was a gloriously sunny day and both kitties were watching out the window. Smudge at one end:

And Lester at the other:

Pickled Ladies Quilt, Block 3

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Block 2 is probably going to be taken apart and redone with black triangles that have little white, if any.   When I look at this block and the first one I showed on Tuesday, I like them better than the one shown Wednesday.

The back:

The baseball game was fun, although the Jays lost.  At least we saw Bautista hit a home run, his 44th of the season.  We had amazing seats, 11 rows up from the field and so close to the field on the third base side that we could hear the home plate umpire.  The thing that struck me most was how much the television cameras distort what we see when watching the games on television.  The players, when shown on television, look much bigger than they are.  Seeing them in person I realized just how many pounds the camera does actually add!  This photo was taken at one of Bautista’s at-bats, but not the one when he hit the home run.

When we got home, I came up while Mr. Q.O. went to the store across the street.  Lester was waiting for us.

Smudge was rather relaxed.

Pickled Ladies Quilt, Block 1

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The new clamshell pickle collections have me completely enthralled.  I immediately had at least three different ideas, one of which will involve  my favourite shabby chic fabrics and some Oriental prints.  I’m calling it Pickled Ladies as there’s a story that goes along with it which I will eventually write and share.  The first of the Pickled Ladies is shown above.

The back:

I’m fussy cutting/printing the clamshells.  It’s quite quick to do as I printed out one clamshell on a piece of paper cut down to the right size for printing just one shape, Mr. Q.O. cut out the interior of it and I have a window template which makes it very simple to figure out how to cut the fabrics and have a flower or other item as the centre of the clamshell.

The baby quilt top is finished, pressing is partially done and I’m still hunting for the flannel backing for it.  As soon as it’s quilted, which I expect will only take a weekend or two, we’ll get good pictures of it.

Labour Day weekend was chilly.  In fact, so chilly that on Monday we turned the heat on for a bit.  It’s too bad that it was chilly, windy and rainy as so many people head to cottage country for that one last summer long weekend.  Of course, today it’s supposed to be quite warm and humid again — typical of the weather here, as I can’t remember a year when, on the first day of school, we weren’t all roasting by the time school was over.

Smudge was curled up on the pink chair.

Lester was also on the pink chair … at the same time.

Planning a New Quilt

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Of course, I can’t resist the idea of some shabby chic and some fussy printing/cutting with the pickled clams.  An idea is slowly forming and will definitely include some black and/or deep grey.

Another 4 or 5 hours of piecing and the baby quilt will be done.  With any luck, I’ll have it finished by the time Thursday evening is over, will be able to do the final pressing on Friday and then hopefully get it basted over the long weekend.  I’ve got the quilting for it planned and hope to finish the quilting and have it bound before month end.

I’m going to take a brief blog break and have an extra-long weekend and will be back on Tuesday.  I hope everyone has a great weekend .

Lester in his normal spot on the window.

And Smudge relaxing on the couch.

Possible Fabric Combinations

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After reading the comments on yesterday’s post, I pulled out 4 fabrics to pair with the fabric I showed yesterday.  While I like all of them with it, I think the purple/pink batik is the one I’m going to work with.   I may do a block using the purple/pink and then another using the white.

The baby quilt piecing is tantalizingly close to being finished.  Tomorrow I’m going to see if I have a large enough piece of flannel for the backing and, if I do, I’ll hopefully get it basted this weekend and ready to quilt.

It was a rather cool day on Thursday and by the time the sun went down, it was a rather chilly 55F.  Once the temperature gets below 60, I start thinking about the day we’ll have to turn the heat on.  Hopefully, that won’t be for a few weeks yet.

Both cats were showing signs of getting ready for the cooler weather.  Lester curled up in a kitty bed.

And Smudge was on the couch.

Finding the Right Fabric

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This fabric has been in my stash for ages.  I love the look of it, but never seem to come up with the right fabric with which to pair it.  I’d like to use it to make a two-colour quilt but am thinking it needs something other than a white or cream as the neutral.  Any thoughts?  I have one idea which I’ll try this weekend.

I am very close to finishing the piecing of the baby quilt.  Two more evenings of stitching and it should be done.   This is, without a doubt, the quickest I’ve ever put a quilt together.  It will be less than a month from starting it to finishing the piecing.

Wednesday our weather really changed — from quite warm and humid to heavy, heavy rain and then cooler temperatures.  I think our high today will be only in the low 70s, although they say we’ll have humidex readings back up in the 90s by Sunday.   I’m definitely not ready to see summer go.

Lester had some windowsill time on Wednesday.

And Smudge took over my desk chair to pose.

Golden Fabric

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There are two fabrics that have been in my stash for ages.  The first one I have an idea for that will work with 2 or 3 red/coral tone fabrics to match those colours in the flowers.  

This second one I bring out and look at periodically and try to decide what pattern and what other fabrics will showcase it.

Row one of the baby quilt is stitched together.  There are 11 rows in total.  My guesstimate is that it will take 3 evenings to add each set of two rows.  So if the estimate is right and I really dedicate my stitching time to just the baby quilt, I should have the top finished within two and a half or three weeks.  It took ages on Wednesday to lay the blocks and the sashing elements out and move them around a bit to get a nice balance.  No design wall meant using the mattress cover, which actually works rather well and there’s an added benefit — I can shut the door and work on the layout without four-footed helpers.

On Monday when we were right downtown, Mr. Q.O. took a photo of the skyline.  And this one of the CN Tower.

And while we were at it, this shot of the gargoyles on the Rogers Centre, also known as the Dome, where the Toronto Jays play baseball.

And the Air Canada Centre where both hockey and basketball are played.  The orange cones in the photo?  In Toronto, we have two seasons — winter and road construction season.  As it’s not winter, there’s all sorts of construction and road repairs going on and wherever that’s happening the cones appear.

This is the first time we’ve been able to get a photo of the two kitties sitting together like this. I love the look on their faces.