The week is over, then it seems two weeks have passed and very quickly, it is the end of the month. Already, I am getting medical appointments for 2027 so I had to stop at Staples for my calendar that I love using and I got the last one they had in stock. Obviously, I am not the only one with dates to fill in for next year? Today is the 21st so ten day left this month and am making lists to figure out what to work on and what to finish and of course, what to start! Since the end of July I have finished a few tops and they are waiting to be quilted by a friend who likes to work on quilt tops made by our local Modern Guild members. This is the second potato chip quilt top I have made and while I don't normally enjoy using black fabric, it really does make the scraps stand out and they seem much brighter. This is waiting to be quilted.
I am still working on the blocks from dear deceased friend, Rose and have lots made but ready for the next step of putting them together. This will be a quilt of Valour and is using charm squares with the red and white four patch blocks.
The challenge from Villa Rosa/Running Doe for August was to make a quilt using the pattern Sheryl. I dug out a stack of batik fabrics that were 10" squares and found a lighter neutral to use with them.
I also decided to make on the panel quilts that will be for Quilts of Valour. My local guild make blocks using Northcott Oh Canada line of fabric and for every 20 blocks we make, we are given a panel and supporting red and black fabrics to make a quilt.
This is not quilt related but I was really happy to spend an afternoon with my niece and she and her significant other have purchased their first home. She spied this bookcase and knew it would fit perfectly in her house. This was originally in the basement of my husband's family home and I snagged it 45 years ago and it was originally used for my fabric storage... fat quarters fit in it nicely. When we moved 16 years ago, it became the storage unit for all my CD's and VHS tapes. Now, some of those are in the trash, some are being donated to the thrift shop and my next task is get the cd's from my car that are in cd wallets and put them back into their original cases and then, who knows? My niece thinks that people are interested in the older ways of playing music because streaming can be expensive and you never really own the music or movies? So, time will tell what I do with my music but it will be a fun trip down memory lane to go through them all.
This was the first potato chip block quilt top that I made and it is waiting to be quilted. A fun way to use up scraps and the name is because just like potato chips where you can't eat just one, making these blocks is the same... you can't stop after one.
The panel I described above is now complete and ready for quilting. This will be another quilt ready to wrap around an injured member of the Canadian Armed forces.
There was a bit of deja vu moment when I found this quilt in the bag I picked up from the long arm quilters home that contained tops for binding. I had made this quilt a year or so ago after winning the block lottery that we had at guild. It was turned in to be quilted and I totally forgot about it. It is now finished and ready for donation through our community quilts program.
Another finished quilt that I have completed the binding on. This was Sheryl Villa Rosa pattern from July. The fabrics came from the community quilts group who put a variety of fabrics into bags and hand them out at guild meetings as a challenge. I added in a few other fabrics plus the black to complete this and the binding is now done as well.
The modern guild long arm quilter finished this top and I have put the binding on. Another quilt to go a deserving person or family in our community. Many of these quilts go to transition houses where mothers (and sometimes fathers) are safely tucked away with their children to escape an abusive relationship. The larger quilts are good for these families as the children quite often want to cuddle with mum to feel safe. The second of two log cabins that I made in July.
This month's Villa Rosa challenge is a pattern called Sheryl and this was top before sending it off to be quilted. A great use of batiks that I am not sure where they came from but am guessing I picked them up from a donation at guild that was from the death of a quilter. Her fabric will be a finished quilt ready to keep someone warm and give them a fabric hug.
Another bag of fabric that came from "Leon's"... the home where our guild community quilts are stored, organized, quilted and donations of fabric, binding, backings and batting are accepted. This bag is probably from a few years ago and I had the best of intentions.
I added in a few fabrics of my own and came up with these blocks and they are now put together into a quilt top and waiting for quilting and binding.
I am still working on these blocks... it looks so busy, I am changing them up a bit to see if I can calm it down.
The finished panel #1 quilt - quilted, bound and labeled. A true group effort with the guild making blocks, Quilts of Valour sending the panel and black fabrics, me stitching it all together, a long arm quilter donating her time to quilt (thank you Colleen) it and then it returned to me for binding and now ready for a presentation to an injured Canadian member of the Armed forces.
Log cabin #2 made from scraps. Many of these scraps come from the leftovers from all the binding that I do for community quilts - a group now known as the Mill Lake quilters. My scrap bins are still full but I can get the lid on so that is a big step in reduction of my fabric stash?
We have been having a lot of very warm days and smoke filled air so being inside and spending my afternoons stitching and looking at Pinterest (too many ideas, not enough time) along with the usual appointments for my husband makes the days go by too quickly! Possible rain is coming and am hoping to do some baking with our abundance of zucchinis! At least the temperatures will drop even if we stay dry but at the moment, it seems a bit crazy to turn on the oven which heats up the kitchen and keep the a/c running to cool it down?
A very late start to school and Labour day weekend so still lots of time left in August to complete a few more tops and start some new projects!
