End of June is 4 days away with a little progress made towards my goals.

 

June goals: 

1. Label and bind 9 quilts  (ended up 11 quilts finished)

2. Finish quilting 3 quilts that are ready and waiting: 1 waiting

3. Make cat quilt top and get ready for quilting: blocks made, time for design wall

4. Layout the jelly roll/charm blocks Elementary and stitch together

5. Layout the Cool Water blocks and stitch together

6. Layout the half square triangles of brown, beige and red and stitch together needs a border

7. Work on March RSC blocks (half done)

8. Work on April RSC blocks: half done 

9. Layout and stitch the 15" Farmer's wife blocks from RSC 2021 and stitch together.

10. Patterns by Jen: block for June, mustard

11.  Cut batting, make backings for: Penny's bear paws, Survivor #2, 16 Patch RSC, Elementary jelly roll/charm quilt, Cool water in browns, 

12. Blocks for Quilt of Valour that I started playing with after a visit to Pinterest

13. Make hug blocks for CQA quilt show

14. Dig out Modern guild projects in bags and finish for donation 

15. RSC April and May blocks 

16. RSC June blocks - blue

17. Layout and stitch together RSC 2021 star blocks 

I am not doing too badly with my June goals and I have added more to the list since the beginning of the month.  My goal for the last few days of the month are 

1. Cut batting and make backings for 10 quilt tops.  I might only work on the first 5? Same as #11 but more quilt tops are now in the queue.

2. Finish the blue RSC blocks and I will be up to date for 2022!  I like using the Missouri paper for the string blocks and have had to order some since my stock of it is gone/used up!  It is a fine tissue paper that makes a 10" block (unfinished).  

3. Cut some 3 yard quilts and make kits for quick projects. 

4. Sort out and tidy up my scrap bins.  I like to store my scraps by colour but I also have a light and dark bin for log cabin blocks.  It is time to make a scrappy log cabin block quilt because those bins are overflowing. 

5. I have a few blocks that I would like to play with: Sew Preeti block, 10" friendship star, churn dash challenge, log cabin by Susie Stukis, are all ones from blogs or Pinterest.

6. Burn camp pillowcases though this might go on the July list of things to do.

My husband has a colonoscopy and gastrocopy scheduled for this week... same day as my birthday (groan).  What a (not) lovely way to celebrate though we are happy that he has this appointment as it is the first step (again) in looking for a internal bleed to answer why he is not able to manufacture red blood cells.  

In the last two weeks, I finally got all of my blocks that were waiting into finished quilt tops.  The pile of tops needing pressing grew as I ignored it and kept on stitching. 

My main goal this week was gardening and attacking weeds while the ground was still wet from weeks of rain and before it hardened in the predicted heat wave this weekend.  However, I was determined to press a few of these each evening. The stars from 2021 Rainbow scrap challenge is now a top and neatly pressed and folded and on a hanger.

This cat themed Turning Twenty quilt is pressed, folded and hanging, patiently waiting for the quilting.

I copied the Cool Water pattern shown in the last post but used red, creams and browns.

These were half square triangles made from 10" squares.  Lots of bias edges.  I made lots of blocks last fall and had too many leftover from that quilt to ignore so, made more!  I am ok with how I laid these blocks out but I later saw a different layout that would have been awesome.  Maybe next time?

 

This top was made from a jelly roll and charm pack of a line of fabric called Elementary.  My heartstrings group had jelly rolls as a challenge for June so this will count as me participating with success.  

Another Rainbow scrap challenge from 2021.  It was 16 patch blocks made each month and a great way to use up those 3" squares in a variety of colours.

I saw this quilt pattern pictured on Pinterest and figured out how to make the blocks.  I used Northcott Oh Canada fabric and it will be a Quilt of Valour.

Hug blocks for Quilts of Valour were stitched up and turned in at Quilt Canada.  I read today that I did NOT win the sewing machine prize.  It was one entry per block made.  These blocks go into quilts made from donations across Canada and the finished quilts contain blocks from a variety of locations throughout our country for injured Canadian Armed forces members.  Hugs blocks are a continuing project and the only requirements is that they are 9.5" unfinished and that you make them only using Northcott Oh Canada fabrics.  This is the tenth year of Northcott producing these fabrics and they all coordinate with each other. 

I attended Quilt Canada in downtown Vancouver and it was fun day.  A group of us took the West Coast express (a commuter train) that makes 3 trips into Vancouver in the morning and 3 return trips beginning in late afternoon. I think the term 'express' comes from only a few stops but it is a really easy way to get into the city with fabulous west coast scenery along the way.  I didn't take many pictures because I knew that others would and it is easy to find websites with pictures by using google.  However, there were two that really caught my eye.  Love the Canadian maple leaf.  She based her idea on the Jen Kingswell quilts but created her own blocks and shapes. 

This quilt spoke to me.  The workmanship was incredible but the message was clear and her choice of piecing, fabrics and quilting was amazing.  A truly talented quilter.

The husband of one of our group of 4 had offered to buy us all lunch on the waterfront so we took a break and enjoyed the sights and sounds of our city. *Thank you Al*  We were so lucky with the weather and enjoyed sunshine and great food.  The float planes were coming and going and there were two massive cruise ships docked in the harbour which meant loads of tourists roaming around, all with cameras in their hands.

This week I took a break from quilting because I knew that I had to take advantage of the break from the rain, before our predicted heat wave, to get some gardening done.  First up was to weed my rose garden and cut myself some lovely roses. 

I also cut some peonies to enjoy in the house.

We headed into the Fraser Valley health region facility last weekend to get our second booster for Covid and while this is not a great picture, anyone local will recognize the waiting area after your jab. 

With the drier weather, tennis was played every morning this week.  It is has been a long time since we played for 5 mornings in a row.  However, after weeding each day, I worked on getting caught up on Rainbow scrap challenge for 2022.  Green is the colour for May and these got made. 

Plus, decorating for Canada day is done.

The pink RSC blocks got made and up on the wall along with the yellow blocks so I could see how they will go together. 

And the pink strings are finished as well.(April)

I finished this quilt earlier this month and hand stitched the binding down during the Abbotsford quilt guild meeting.  This block was a demonstration by Carola on her blog Carola Quilts and I found a layer cake that I really had no idea what to use it for.  I teamed it up with some gray that I bought for a great price at Jackie's Little Quilt shop in the woods and in the end, am happy with the results. 

I have bolts of backings ready to cut today for the quilts on hangers that are patiently waiting.

Quilts on hangers, pressed and ready and waiting.

And finally, my eldest grandson is 25 today!!  Which means I am turning 75 in the next few days.  Fifty years ago this guy came into my life and he was a great addition to our family.  Happy Birthday to Devin.

That is enough time on the computer for me this morning.  I know if I made shorter posts and posted more often, it would be less time consuming but I always have one thing I want to finish before I sit down and write the blog.  Happy Summer to all.  Sunshine is here with a bit too much heat but mid week, we drop back to normal with more of the wet stuff heading our way. 

June Goals and finishes.

June goals: 

1. Label and bind 9 quilts  (ended up 11 quilts finished)

2. Finish quilting 3 quilts that are ready and waiting: 2 are waiting, 1 quilted

3. Make cat quilt top and get ready for quilting: blocks made, time for design wall

4. Layout the jelly roll/charm blocks Elementary and stitch together

5. Layout the Cool Water blocks and stitch together

6. Layout the half square triangles of brown, beige and red and stitch together needs a border

7. Work on March RSC blocks (half done)

8. Work on April RSC blocks: half done 

9. Layout and stitch the 15" Farmer's wife blocks from RSC 2021 and stitch together.

10. Patterns by Jen: block for June, mustard

11.  Cut batting, make backings for: Penny's bear paws, Survivor #2, 16 Patch RSC, Elementary jelly roll/charm quilt, Cool water in browns, 

12. Blocks for Quilt of Valour that I started playing with after a visit to Pinterest

13. Make hug blocks for CQA quilt show

14. Dig out Modern guild projects in bags and finish for donation 

OK... so I finished up some goals from a week ago and have added in more for the next two weeks.

This week is busy with dental appointments (root canal, new crown... ugh $$$), plus local guild meeting, and Quilt Canada as well as tennis if we can get lucky with dry courts to play on. 

Lots of pictures of all the quilts I managed to get labeled and bound this week.  I had a marathon session finishing these up. 

St. Louis 16 patch that was made a bonus demonstration for the guild class I taught last month. 

Stack of finished quilts that are waiting for me to write the QOVC registration numbers on the labels

Bricks from leftover red and gray fabrics in my winter sewing room.  Inspired by Mary's Quilts.

Cool Water, pattern by Fons and Porter in Quilting Quickly (2014?) and made from a Patrick Lose jelly roll with extra strips added in to get it large enough for donation

Topsy Turvy, a 3 yard quilt that used more than that for yardage as I made it bigger and you can see the various gray squares I had to add in.  I had loads of the red and black but not the gray.

This was a top handed into QOVC made by Penny.  It was a wee bit small, so added some extra borders to it, quilted and bound it and ready for donation. 

3 yard quilt called Dot Dash.  Again, it needed a border to get it large enough for a QOVC donation.

A 5yard quilt from Connecting Threads. 

Bento blocks were given to me by Theresa, picked up by Nearissa and I put the top together and finished it for donation.

Puzzle me this is another 3 yard quilt with extra fabric cut to make another row of blocks in each direction. 

Carolyn's blocks made using a strange assortment of fat quarters but all with a Canadian theme.  I taught this class to the local guild last month and now it ready for donation.  A great way to up fat quarters that you aren't too sure what else do with them? 

Jigsaw is a 3 yard pattern and this one is made from batiks. Super simple and quick to make.

 So, 11 quilts got totally finished this week.  Once they get their registration numbers onto the labels, they can be stored in my closet until needed.  

Of course, I also had some new starts and finished up a few tops from the blocks I was working with last week. I saw a picture on Pinterest and though it would make a good QOVC donation quilt with the fabrics I pulled from my stash.  I am using the 3 yard technique for piecing the block components and so it will go together quickly. 

The blocks using the Elementary Jelly roll and charm pack with a few added fabrics, is now a quilt top and waiting for batting and backing.

Mustard was the theme for the monthly Patterns by Jen challenge and they are now complete.

During all of my stitching, I took the time to clean out my machine and change the needle.  wow... lots of fluff! 

 

These are my 16 patch blocks from last year's RSC challenge and they are now together in a top, patiently waiting on a hanger for the next step. 

The Heartstrings group I belong to chose Jelly rolls for the June challenge and I have made two tops so far from brown, beige and red strips.  This pattern is the Cool Water pattern see above in a finished top.

So, lots of progress but as fast as I finish up quilts, I seem to find more to work on. 
 

June and still waiting for summer to happen.

 
Still waiting for summer to happen here although we have had a few days, now and then, when Mother Natures gives us a wee taste of shorts and t-shirt weather.  But, for sure, most days are long pants and long sleeved shirts.  

More time for sewing and less time spent outside in the garden.  I am trying to think positive!  Up until Friday, I was still waiting for Quilts of Valour labels to arrive so kept working on quilting my tops and making the bindings.  Here is a Dot Dash, 3 yard quilt done and waiting for binding.  I added a wider border to get it up to the size I like for donation quilts.

This is the next stack of quilt that have batting cut and backings prepped but am slowing down on the quilting.  Eventually, they will all get done.  The St. Louis 16 patch got quilted and added to the stack of quilts waiting, patiently, for binding.

 

 My stack of quilts sitting by the sewing machine but all have binding made!

A good friend told me about this book and how all the patterns in it were great.  They all use one charm pack which is different that other patterns that usually call for 2 charm packs.  I pulled out my bin of charms and have a lot to choose from!   But, it was good for me to look at what I have on hand because my Heartstrings group chose jelly rolls for the June challenge.

It seems that I had a matching jelly roll and charm pack in something called "Elementary" so chose a simple plan to make the charms surrounded by the jelly rolls.  I have the blocks made and need to get them up on the design wall and stitched up into a quilt top. 

In keeping with the jelly roll theme, I decided to pull out a bin of brown and beige strips that I had cut years ago and then added in strips of red.  This is a pattern called Cool Water by Fons and Porter and I had just finished quilting the top I made last December from the pattern so it was fresh in my mind. 

And, now, the blocks are all made and waiting to be put on design wall and assembled. 

Last fall, I also made a quilt top from strip sets of brown, beige and reds, turned into hsts.  I had a lot of blocks leftover after making the top (which was finished in May) so I counted and made more blocks to have enough for a second quilt.  Since I had my container of beige and brown strips handy, it made sense to keep keep working with them.

 

I have my Rainbow scrap challenge blocks using leftover strips finished and these were for March so am only 3 months behind!

I have cut out another quilt from fat quarters and this one will be a Turning Twenty and a gift for a grandson that has a cat... am sure none of my grandchildren read my blog so safe to post this on here!

My project yesterday was to paint some stones with red to make them look like strawberries.  I had read on Facebook, the suggestion to put these around your strawberry plants and when the birds come to peck at them, they won't be impressed with how hard they are and leave them alone?  I have no idea if the idea will work but it cost me a small bottle of paint and the time to collect the stones and paint them.  They are now spread around the plants and hoping that they do their job.  Sadly, they won't prevent the slugs from having a feast and in all our rain, that is a possibility. 

So, odds and ends to finish up.  My May accomplishments were getting the quilting done and binding made for 9 quilts and now that labels are here, those will get done in June.  I did get my RSC blocks done for January and February so hope that this month, I can finish up March and April.  

June goals: 

1. Label and bind 9 quilts

2. Finish quilting 3 quilts that are ready and waiting

3. Make cat quilt top and get ready for quilting

4. Layout the jelly roll/charm blocks Elementary and stitch together

5. Layout the Cool Water blocks and stitch together

6. Layout the half square triangles of brown, beige and red and stitch together

7. Work on March RSC blocks (half done)

8. Work on April RSC blocks 

9. Layout and stitch the 15" Farmer's wife blocks from RSC 2021 and stitch together. 

10. Patterns by Jen: block for June, mustard 

Lots of appointments again for June for my husband who is still struggling to make red blood cells and has a very low hemoglobin count.  And, on dry days, means a little more gardening for me since he doesn't have the energy or strength to do more than a half hour outside per day.  However, despite the crummy weather, I have fabulous poppies blooming, a few rhodos (although the heat wave a year ago did some really nasty damage to the plant) and peonies are just waiting for some warm, sunny weather to burst open with colour.