A New Runner for Spring

Do you ever buy a mini charm pack, bring it home and add it to your stash (and perhaps forget about it for awhile) then when you find it again, think "What am I going to do with this?!" Such was the case with this Prints Charming pack by Moda that I picked up (two of them, actually) a few years ago.  It's not really "my colours" but I guess a little variation is not a bad thing. "Step out of your box" and all that....

 I decided I would use it in a small runner. Mixed in with the prints were co-ordinating solids. Solids have never been my choice to work with (I know, never say "Never".. I actually have a solids project on my "Want to Make" list right now!!) but I do know I don't care for them mixed in with prints, co-ordinates or not! So I plucked those out and saved them for piecing the back.

As you can see, this is a very simple and quick runner to make up (great for a quick gift!) The pattern is from Connie Kresin Campbell's blog, Free Motion by the River which you can find here. She calls it the 6 Square Runner. Thanks Connie, for the great pattern!

I was just a bit short on fabric for the back, so by piecing
strips with the solid mini charms, I made it work. 

Because I pulled the solid squares, mine is a bit shorter than hers; Connie used all 42 mini charms on the front, I used just 36, so I have 6 "rows" whereas hers has 7. Both work! My runner's finished size is 14" x 31". 

I quilted it with an overall clamshell design with my walking foot in a matching soft beige Aurifil thread, and although I had purchased yardage of one of the dark greens to use for the binding, I really liked the background fabric better so ended up using it.

As you can see, I have a "supervisor" making sure I get that binding sewn on just so.
Scamp loves to see what I'm working on... you know the saying about curiosity and the cat!








Of course you could use a regular charm pack of 5" squares for this too, just slice each one into four 2.5" squares. I can see myself making another of these, probably with Christmas prints. I have part of a Christmas charm pack left from another project. I'll have to count the remaining squares to see if there would be enough. If not I'll just mix in a few other reds and greens... you wouldn't tell, would you?

I am linking to Wendy's Peacock Party here. Stop by to see what everyone has been working on this week.

Easter is coming...is everybunny at your house ready?

Peace,
Linda

Fabriholic: n: One who can't control the urge to buy fabric they don't have a project for. Again.

A Quick and Easy Baby Quilt

Are you ready for another baby quilt? No, we're not expecting another baby, this is just one I "have on hand." It's been done for a while, I just haven't shared it with you yet. This is actually the second one like this I have made, the first one went to a friend of Mark's for their first baby, Thomas, over a year ago.  Wow, time passes quickly...

You can't get much easier (or quicker) than a four patch with alternate plain blocks, and when it's done "from stash," all the better. I decided it was a good way to use up some odds and ends, bits and pieces of blues; gotta whittle down the blue stash, it's taking over!! I found the polka dot at my LQS, and couldn't resist. I do love anything "dotty."







I quilted both this and the first one with unevenly spaced straight lines, to resemble plaid. The first one was done with three shades of blue thread (for even more resemblance to plaid, or so I thought), but there wasn't enough differentiation in the three so they all looked pretty much the same. Lesson learned! This one was done with just one blue. I found a cute tone on tone blue print for the backing, with toy trains, planes, helicopters, scooters, diggers etc. Perfect for a little boy, I thought! The blocks are 5" square and the overall measurement is 35" x  45."










Here is baby Thomas snuggling under his quilt, "watching" football with his Daddy.













Not long ago my guild had a workday to make small quilts for our hospital's neo-natal unit. I was unable to attend, so made one up at home to use more blues and the rest of the polka dot and backing. Same design idea, but more "plain" blocks with just a few four patches. Blocks are 3.5" and overall size is about 24" square.












I pieced the backing to use up the rest of the blue tone on tone and polka dot. I was just a little short, so added in another blue which has "family" words all over it- mommy, daddy, baby, sister, brother etc.










This one is quilted with a 1.25" cross hatch with white Aurifil thread. Love the Aurifil 50 wt. when I just want the quilting to sink into the quilt. I hope it will bring a smile to the faces of anxious new parents with a NICU baby.

For baby quilts, often "simple" is best. Simple sure makes it quick and easy.

Up next, a runner finish. Have you finished any small projects lately?

Piece!
Linda

Planes, trains, trucks and toys,
There's nothing quite like little boys.

The Baby Quilt

Miss Layelah is almost 6 month old and I haven't yet shown you the quilt I made for her, or her special doll. Shame on me! The nursery walls are painted a soft grey and most things are neutral- white crib, white chest of drawers, black curtains... but the accent colour is purple, so purple was going to be the main quilt colour.






I eventually found a nice soft lilac batik for the background, and set about going through all my batiks for fabrics that would work. I used 28 different fabrics, with a couple of donations from friends (thanks Lucy and Sandi!) Just pinks and purples seemed dull to me so I added a few corals as well as a couple of peachy-yellows. I cannot tell you the pattern name or source, I just found a picture on Pinterest I liked and made up my own version. I cut the "bricks" 2.5" x 5" so their finished size is 2" x 4.5" with 21 bricks in each vertical row (total of 84 bricks.) The inner sashing rows finish at 2" wide with the outer two on the sides wider at 4." The overall size is 40" x 42." (With no real pattern to follow, I just determined the sizes by what looked right/in proportion to my eye.) It was pieced with Aurifil 50 wt. thread, and was quick and easy to put together.


(Edit: My friend Carole tells me this is a Missouri Star Quilt Co. pattern. She thought it was called a Zipper quilt, but I haven't been able to find it when I searched their site. If anyone can shed light on this, please let me know.)

I quilted it with rows of serpentine stitch with a soft pink and purple 40 wt. variegated King Tut thread (#940 "Cotton Candy") by Superior Threads. (Ginger was such a great help with the pinning of the quilt sandwich! Thank you Ginger!!   ^..^   )








I was "down to the wire" getting this done, in fact I think it was finished just two days before she was born. She was overdue, so we joked that she was waiting for Grammy to finish her quilt!








Laura also made a quilt for Layelah during the summer. For her first effort, we chose something quick and simple - four patches and plain blocks, in whites, purples and greys. I helped with the cutting but she did all the sewing and quilting by herself, and I finished it off with the binding. Well done, my dear! (I may make a quilter of her yet!)

Up next, you'll see what else was in that purple gift bag...

Piece,
Linda

Today's "quote" is a poem.. I have no idea who penned it, but I've always loved it...

This quilt is made of cloth and thread     

To place upon your little bed.
It's not an heirloom just to keep,
But to lay upon, as you count sheep.
Or perhaps the floor's the perfect place
For a doll or teddy picnic space.
This quilt can be anything you dream,
From Superman's cape to the robe of a queen.
Pretend it's a raft adrift at sea
Or just cuddle up and watch TV.
So use it up and wear it out
I promise I won't yell or pout.
Just tell me when its days are through,
And I'll make another, just for you!

Log Cabin Miniature

I have another small project finish to share with you today. The blocks for this miniature quilt have been made for .. ahem.. "a while" now. They are foundation pieced, on paper. The finished block size is 2 1/4” and each log is 1/4" wide. Finished quilt size is 10 1/4” x 12 1/2”. Have I told you before that Log Cabin is my all time favourite quilt pattern? Sure I have, but I think it bears repeating. I used Aurifil thread for the piecing of the blocks. Because it is a 2 ply thread, it takes up less space in the seams, a good thing when you're working tiny like this! I work on a number of blocks at a time, and switch back and forth between a light coloured thread with the light logs and a darker thread (usually grey) with the dark logs. I find this works well when foundation piecing, as thread sometimes shows here and there after the paper is removed and a stitch or two has "pulled."  I don't want light thread showing between dark logs, or vice versa!


This miniature top is done totally from scraps and leftovers, and the backing is a Buttermilk Print fabric by RJR that I've had for likely twenty years. It was purchased at a wonderful little shop (that no longer exists) in St. Agatha, west of Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario. I remember well my visit there (and considerable “stash enhancement”.)
I added a very narrow flat piping between the two borders.

The quilting is simple, as best suits a miniature, with straight lines done with my walking foot. I had several spools of lovely Aurifil fall colours, any of which I thought would work well, but it turns out I liked the soft yellow (#2130) best for the light areas and I didn’t like any of these colours on the darks so I ended up using a soft medium brown. Black Aurifil thread was used on the black border for several concentric rows.  I’m not 100% sure this is totally finished. I’m thinking of adding a bit of appliqué in two corners of the outer border.... what do you think?  Still pondering...

If you read the previous post on my Winter Blossom miniature here, you might like to see the “final touch” I've added. Since it was somewhat of a joint project with my friend Karen Neary, and since she is an apiarist (beekeeper) I knew I just had to add a little bee. Thanks to my friend Sandi for finding me the perfect little honeybee, and thanks to Sheila for bringing her home from Florida.
Up next, several more small project finishes.
I am linking to Wendy's Peacock Party link up. Check it out here.

Piece!
Linda

Quilters are not greedy, they are just “materialistic.”

Winter Blossom

The winter solstice is long past, and we've survived Blue Monday. Spring is only 56 days away!! Okay, we know it'll be longer than that until spring really appears, but after a much-too-early start to winter, I'm hoping spring will arrive earlier than usual  too... a girl can hope, right?!
As my perennial beds slumber away under their warm thick quilt of snow, I am dreaming of the blossoms to come. Until then, I'll make my own blossoms in my studio. It's the next best thing!

I'm so happy today to be a "detour" on the Island Batik Getaway Blog Hop. If you're visiting here for the first time, as part of the hop, welcome! (I hope you'll linger a bit and have a look around.) If you have no idea what I'm talking about, read on. Island Batik is a manufacturer, importer and distributor of cotton and rayon batik fabrics and hand-printed cottons from Indonesia. (You can read more about the company here.) A number of very talented quilters act as ambassadors for Island Batik - several times a year they receive the new collections of IB fabrics to work with, and each month they show the projects they have created, on their blogs. Twice a year (January and August), there is a blog hop to showcase all these beautiful fabrics and the creations that have been made by the ambassadors. The Island Batik Getaway Blog Hop runs from January 7- February 2. You can read more about it here and see the list of all the participating ambassadors. Be sure to visit each one (yes you can still go back and see all those who have already posted in the first two weeks, it's now into week 3.) Best of all, there are some giveaways so be sure to leave comments to enter!

This is the Blossom collection. 

To be very clear, I am NOT an Island Batik ambassador, but my friend Karen at Sew Karen-ly Created IS! Last fall, I asked her what she did with all her leftover batik scraps... "You DON'T throw them OUT, do you?!" I said, with a degree of horror in my voice...  (I cannot understand how anyone could throw out their scraps of such beautiful fabrics, although I know many quilters do... ahem..I may have been known to rescue said beautiful scraps from waste baskets after workshops.) My question no doubt led to Karen asking me several months later if I'd be interested in receiving her scraps from the collection Blossom, which was her assigned fabric collection for this Hop. You see, Karen knows my passion is making miniatures. She told me her plan was to use up as much of the collection as she could, but I was welcome to whatever leftover scraps there were if I wanted to make a miniature from them, and show it on her day of the hop, so that's how this came about. You know I said YES! 

Figuring out my design... one at a time...

The wheels were beginning to turn... Karen told me she was going to do something with the hexagon shape and that the collection was called Blossom. I quickly decided I too would do hexies, not with EPP, but the "modern hexagon" approach. (If that sounds like Greek to you, you can visit a previous post here for an explanation of modern hexagons and how they're done.) Karen is always on the ball, and had a good deal of her piecing done before Christmas so she sent me some scraps in early December. She did send me a few partial shots of her design/partly-put-together quilt which helped with those slowly turning wheels, but I didn't reveal to her what I was planning. 

Masking tape and a ruler's edge keep it all straight.

 


Then Christmas consumed all my "free time" (Ha! What woman has free time in December?!) and I didn't get going on this until early January. Still with no concrete plan on paper, I set about making little 1/2" hexies. I made about 175, and then started playing with a design. At this point, Karen still had no idea what I was planning, other than using up her scraps. Once I had it pretty well laid out, I asked for more purples and the yellow for centres. Canada Post came through and I had her envelope in a few days (last week.) We do not live in the same province; we're only about 3 hours apart, but neither of us had time to simply "pop by." Finally she sent me a few quick shots of parts of her quilt and I revealed to her my rough design, laid out on my cutting board (photo above.) But she has not seen the end result- she will see the finished quilted miniature this morning for the first time. I can't wait for her response!








So... here it is. I'm calling it "Winter Blossom." It is 12.5" square.
Without a good straight-on shot of her quilt, I tried to do a representation of hers- not identical, as I did not receive scraps of all the fabrics, and had very limited amounts of most. I thought, when I saw her photos, that she had several blossoms "falling off the edge" so I did the same. Turns out I was wrong about hers, but although it caused me a little grief in the finishing, I'm glad I did it this way... adds a bit more interest I think.

Here are the details. The 166 hexies are 1/2" (measured on a straight side) and are 1" in diameter. The overall quilt size is 12.5" square. The hexie fabrics are from Island Batik's Blossom collection, the background fabric which I also used for the backing and the facing, is called Almond, from the Neutrals collection. It is quilted with 50 wt. Aurifil #3840 French Lilac, a beautiful variegated of soft lilac to purple shades.. Love my Aurifil thread! ♥

Whoops! I had already removed some of the tissue paper before taking this photo

My spiral lines, quilted with the walking foot  are 3/8" apart. I googled spiral images and found a clockwise Archimedean spiral which printed out to 1/2" spacing. I wanted 3/8" (the distance from the edge of my walking foot to my centred needle) so I printed it at 75% and it came out just perfect. Whew! I traced the first few rounds of the spiral on white tissue paper, pinned it onto the quilt and stitched through the tissue paper, then just continued keeping the edge of the walking foot along the previous stitching.

Spirals are not hard, but the beginning must be done slowly and carefully to keep the curve smooth. You may be able to see  I used a shorter stitch length at the beginning of the spiral.

I chose to face rather than bind the piece. This was my first time doing a quilt facing! Of course the two "irregular sides" made me stop and think "how do I do this?" I made a prototype first to be sure what seemed so straightforward in my mind would actually work. (It did! :)) Nothing like giving yourself a little extra challenge when you're down to the wire! All stitching was done on my home machine, a Bernina 1260 Quilters Edition.



If you haven't already visited Karen's blog - you will want to see her full size quilt - you can find her here. A big THANK YOU to Karen for persuading me to join in the fun with this blog hop. Bouquets of blossoms to you, my dear! Of course I must say a thank you to Island Batik as well for their wonderful fabrics ♥ and to Aurifil for producing such fabulous thread. ♥

Thanks so much for stopping by today, I hope you have enjoyed reading about my little miniature adventure with Karen. I'd love for you to leave me a comment below and tell me where you're visiting from.
EDIT: Check out this post to see the final addition to this Winter Blossom quilt.

Now you must continue hopping along to the next blog in line and that's Leanne at Devoted Quilter. 
She also used the Blossom collection. If you wish to "hop backwards" to visit other ambassadors' Blog Hop posts, you can find the complete list with links here. Have fun!
I am also linking to Linky Tuesday at Freemotion by the River.


Piece,
Linda

"The color of springtime is in the flowers; the color of winter is in the imagination."
~ Terri Guillemets

Hexie Love

Hello again! Wow, two posts in two days! (See? I'm trying hard!) This last few weeks I've been working hard on a little hexagon project, which you will see next week, I promise! As I was basting these hexies, I remembered that I haven't shown you the last hexie project I completed, a while back. It's just a small piece, 10.5" x 12.5", with no intended purpose.. it's "just because." After all, not everything needs to serve a purpose, right? Sometimes you just want to have fun working on something. In this case, I just wanted to play with this colour combination- turquoise, yellow green and purpley blue. It's  quilted with Aurifil 50 wt. thread, in a light lime green, colour #1231 which ties the colours together nicely. Straight lines passing through all the hexagon points secures them well. 

As you can see, these hexies are not sewn together in the usual way - what's known as EPP - English Paper Piecing. This technique is referred to as "modern hexagons." They are carefully applied to the background with tiny dots of glue on the back at each point, leaving a narrow space between each hexagon as they are positioned, then the quilting passes through each one to secure them in place. I love using Aleene's Fabric Fusion Permanent Fabric Adhesive for this job. It's a permanent washable nontoxic adhesive that dries clear and is flexible. It works well as the "nozzle" has a very fine tip, perfect for tiny dots of glue. Trust me, you don't want gobs of glue oozing out from behind your hexagons.

The hexies are "sized" by the measurement of one straight side - these are 3/4." The diameter, from point to point is double the side's measurement, so in this case, 1.5." You can purchase the papers, or as I do, punch your own. I have three punch sizes - 1/2", 3/4" and 1."  I like to use a paper that is not too heavy, but stiff enough to give me good sharp edges and points when the hexie is pressed. I've been using file cards (recipe cards.) With careful placement, I can get eight 3/4" hexies from one 4x6 card.



The fabric is cut larger than the paper so you have "seam allowance" to turn to the back and thread baste. Nicole at Modern Handcraft has an excellent tutorial on basting the hexagons here, just scroll down to the last video. (This one to the left shows how simply the basting is done, no knots, no double stitches needed for security. This basting is very quick and easy to pull out once the hexie is pressed and the paper removed.)
Once my hexies are all made, I give them a good pressing using Best Press, for good sharp edges and points, then the papers are removed (you can re-use them if you're careful). There is no magic foolproof method for placing them, just care, patience, and a good eye to keep the spacing fairly even. I do use a ruler edge, or a length of masking tape to keep the first row straight.
As I said, I'm finishing up another little hexie project (with smaller hexies!) and I hope to soon get to a much larger hexie project - the fabrics are all gathered and waiting... I need more hours in my day!
Have you done a hexagon project yet? Warning.. they are addictive...

Piece!
Linda

"My 2019 new years resolution is to finish all my craft projects from 2018 that I should have done in 2017, after I started them in 2016 after buying the supplies for them in 2015 with the patterns I found in 2014."  ~ Willowlane Designs.

Happy Canada Day!

Happy Canada Day! July 1 has rolled around again and I am more proud than ever to be Canadian. I profess my love for Canada each year, but this year, I am feeling even more thankful to live where I do. With what's going on south of our border and the unrest in other areas of the world, I am so happy and proud to be here in my beautiful little corner of paradise in this great country. Canada may not be perfect, but I sure wouldn't want to live anywhere else. Every Canadian should be celebrating today with great pride our country and for what it stands.

I am happy to share with you today a small "finish". This little "Canadian Pride" quilt measures about 16" x 21". The pattern is called "Proud to be..." and is by Black Eyed Susan Designs. It is made of 12 Log Cabin blocks (still my favourite block!) and machine quilted, the centre portion with 1/2" cross hatch with 50 wt. Aurifil and the red blocks with a diagonal straight line in each log with a 50 wt. red thread. The maple leaf is machine appliquéd (after the crosshatching was done) and finished with buttonhole stitch with a 12 wt. thread.
The blocks are 5.25" finished, with 3/4" logs. How do you make Log Cabin blocks? Do you have trouble keeping them from being wonky? There are a number of methods, some perhaps more successful than others. One thing that does help is cutting the strips on the lengthwise grain - this helps them be more stable and less stretchy. When I have a small number of LC blocks to do, as in this project, I foundation piece them, that way they are perfectly straight and square.

The backing fabric is one of the Discover Canada fabrics by Robert Kaufman, featuring names of many Canadian cities, the perfect choice I thought!
The above two photos are a bit dark, the reds are actually bright rich vivid reds...



Peace and Love,
Linda, proud Canadian!





"Canada is not a melting-pot. Canada is an association of peoples who have, and cherish, great differences but who work together because they can respect themselves and each other."
~ Vincent Massey

Gemini in Purple

It's time to share a finished quilt project with you. I wouldn't want you to think I've been lazy, in my absence! (Just the contrary, I've been busy and have lots of projects and book reviews lined up for you!)



This quilt was a Christmas gift for Mark and Maggie.

Their living room colour scheme is neutral - greys and black, and Maggie's favourite colour is purple. So when I found this Hoffman Bali Pop called Urbana (BP #612) I knew it was perfect! I added about 10 more fabrics to get the required number of strips. The purples ranged from true rich royal purples to burgundy and pinky-purples to more subdued blue-purples. The greys were lovely and there were a few very dark teal greens as well. I added a few more greys and some blacks.

The pattern by Blue Underground Studios, Inc. is called Gemini. Not sure that the pattern is still available (I don't see it on their site) but they have many more that are equally as nice! I have made it before and knew it would be quick and easy. I thought its modern look would suit their 30th floor Toronto condo. I was very pleased with how it turned out, in fact I like it much better than the one I made myself from the same pattern. Go figure...




















It was quilted by Gwenda Quilts with a grey thread, in a pattern called Wildmouse. I love the circular quilting design, it suited perfectly! Thanks Gwenda! I think you can see the quilting a bit  in these closeups...

Sometimes when I buy a precut such as a Bali Pop, there are some fabrics in the collection that I don't care for. When I first started quilting, I had to like every fabric, but I've learned over the years, that when they're all together in a  project, the ones you dislike don't stand out. The value is more important than the colour or the print. There were a few in this collection that I would not have chosen, but I did leave them in. I thought most of them were gorgeous! Of course, what's not to like about Bali batiks!! They're kind of like chocolates- not many I don't like!  :)

I found a perfect grey print for the backing, and pieced a strip of leftover bits to add some interest...
It measures 54" x 72".  

Oh yes.. they loved the quilt! 

I am linking to Linky Tuesday. Stop by there and see many more quilting projects.










Up next... Mr. Noah!

Piece!
Linda

"All the other colors are just colors. But purple seems to have a soul - when you look at it, it's looking back at you."  ~ Uniek Swain