Two days in a row!

Amazing that I am posting two days in a row but it means I am getting some projects finished and some started.

First, there is always one row left over when I make the 16 patches if using Canadian fat quarters so I have been taking those apart and making 4 patches from the leftover strip.  Am adding in a plain square of fabric to create some sort of  donation quilt that is using up stash fabric plus the four patches.  So far, so good, IF you like purple. 

I have my second Yellow Brick road quilt finished.  It is large enough to donate to either New Beginnings (mom's who go back to school after giving birth to a child) or Peardonville House which is a home for mom's who are undergoing rehab from drug use and we like to give their children a small quilt to cuddle.

Last December I read somewhere (a place long forgotten) about making a 9 patch a day in 2016.  I started making the 9 patches and accumulated quite a few.  I added some teal borders to each block while still in Arizona and brought the blocks home. There were lots of blocks but only worked with enough to make a quilt a good size for Quilts of Valour and there is still a bag of blocks waiting for me this autumn when I return.  I got the blocks joined, quilted and the binding is done.  One more completed quilt from my stash.  How come my fabric stash doesn't look any less than a year ago?  Some of these teal fabrics are really old and my quilting friends recognized a number of them from early days of quilting.

And now, back to getting more accomplished.  I try for an hour of bonding with my machine daily plus, I use my tv watching time to my advantage and work on binding while being entertained by my favourite shows.

May, a new beginning

May always feels like it is a beginning.  A beginning of warm weather, lovely, summer like days, flowers blooming and evenings where it is lighter, later.  The air is still clean with little of the summer pollution and generally everything is growing and looking happy.

My sewing space is feeling a little happier because it is sunny, I have organized, somewhat and am accomplishing a few things.

First I made this little threadcatcher for a new member of Wednesday Quilting group.  She doesn't have one and she does a lot of embroidery while we are chatting.

On Saturday I attended a 'sew-in' with the Modern quilt guild gals and most were working on quilts for Syrian refugees but I stitched on pillowcases.  Some are for Quilts of Valour and some are for kids that attend Burn Camp in the summer.  One of the members has a close connection to these camps and last year we provided each child (of various ages) a pillowcase and want to do the same thing again this year.

And I have one of my Yellow Brick Road quilts finished.  It is a preemie size, perfect for the newborns that have to live in an isolette (incubator) for the first weeks of their lives.  Bright and happy.

Another YBR quilt is under the needle of my sewing machine getting the blocks stitched together.  It will be a little larger for donating to either Peardonville House or New Beginnings.  And behind that is a pattern and some pieces cut to play with a plus quilt design, perfect for a layer cake and I have a Patrick Lose bundle that will good in this design, (I hope). 

I have my green strip twist ready to spray baste so I can quilt it.  Waiting for the B-line quilting system I share with my buddy but until it arrives, am quite happy to quilt some of these tops with one of my two machines either doing a simple free motion or stitch in the ditch.

One quilt has been finished this week.  It is my rail fence Quilt of Valour made from strip sets.   A great pattern for using up fabric on hand.  A complete stash quilt, nothing was purchased recently to make this.  I had a container of fabrics with a Canadiana theme in Mesa, so went through and stitched them with a contrasting fabric, sliced, stitched again and now, it is complete with binding and a label.

I have more quilts that are quilted and waiting for binding which I do when I watch tv.

For some reason my pile of quilts to be quilted doesn't seem to be diminishing but that is because I keep finding more tops tucked away.  I have a pile of backings to match up with the tops and am working slowly but diligently to get these layered and quilted.

One day at a time.  With sunshine comes weeds and weed whacking and my windows are looking nasty in this weather and my upstairs patio is calling my name to have the green grunge from winter scrubbed off.  And nice weather means tennis in the mornings.  Good to be fit and get exercise but I don't much done in the mornings and then have my afternoons for basics like housework and grocery shopping and when time allows, sitting at my machine or cutting fabric or just generally getting organized. 

One month, missing in action

I have been struggling to find time to spend with my sewing machine and while I have managed an hour there and there, not a lot has been accomplished to show you.

But, there is an upside.  I have filled 140 mugs for Quilts of Valour. 

And I updated my sample of the blocks that can be found in a mug to make for a Hug Across the Nation quilt.

Plus, I made a presentation of three Quilts of Valour to some deserving veterans in Langley, BC last week. 

I have been worked on making 16 patch blocks and have lots of blocks made plus, managed to quilt one of the quilt tops that I brought home from my winter house.

And another 16 patch on my design wall just waiting to have the blocks joined.

And finally, have been working on a Yellow Brick Road, making lots of blocks from kid's prints.  My Wednesday quilting group wanted to learn how to make the pattern so we all brought a variety of fat quarters to our weekly meeting and began cutting.  Then we sorted out the various pieces we needed and took them home for the stitching and the next cutting step.
I have all my blocks made and am making a preemie quilt from some of them and a slightly larger quilt from the rest. There are some really fun prints and lots of variety with our mixing and matching of fabrics. 

And I am really hoping that my slump is over and I will be back on a regular stitching schedule.

Back in my other house for spring and summer seasons

Home but not very organized.  I did a major cleanout and tidying of my sewing space in Arizona.  It was a good opportunity to bring home lots of supplies since we were driving which is unusual for us to do.  I filled the back of the vehicle with all my treasures and they are still piled up around my sewing space here in BC.  Oh well... one day at a time.
But look how nice it looks in Arizona.  This is what I will return to... a place for everything and everything in it's place!  Just how I like it.

I did make blocks out of a Downton Abby jelly roll before I left but wasn't happy with the blocks.  I think I need more so packed up some of the other fabrics I had that go with the blocks and will make more to get to to the size I want. And it might look better with a border? 

And some of my 9 patches made it into this quilt top and it is now here with me, ready to be quilted and donated to Quilts of Valour.

Our quilt group in Mesa had a one day quilt show the Saturday before I left and these are some pictures of a few of the projects that caught my eye, for one reason or another.  One of these is the paint chip challenge that we held and I did post a picture of mine earlier but here it is again with the tag on it showing 3 of the chips I used.

 Great idea for my Aunt Gracie fabrics?

 Fun scrappy quilt?

 Took this picture to show my friends who do a lot of machine embroidery

 Love this use of batiks

 I have this pattern so this is inspiration to get it out and make a table runner

 Really interesting placemats.

 And more placemats that were part of the paint chip challenge

 I like this idea for a setting for more of my 9 patch blocks

 Another good idea for a scrap quilt. 

 Interesting block that creates a scrappy quilt and loved the quilting on it.

The pressure is on for finishing some projects

I need to finish up some projects.  I don't like to leave projects here and try to remember when I return, what I was planning or thinking.  And I need projects that I am taking home with me to be at a stage where it is easy to pack them up and not have to remember what I was intending to do to finish.
So, with that in mind....

My Christmas batik snowball quilt top is now on a hanger in the closet here waiting for quilting and binding when I return in the fall.

And my hot peppers Patchability is hanging on the wall, completed.

One table topper completed and donated to our craft show. 

And a few St. Patrick's day projects completed, added to the decor around the house.

A cute table topper with kitchen utensils completed.

My flying geese polka dot quilt top is packed and ready to take home for quilting and binding. I am thinking that this might look better with background added for border all around to set off the geese so remembered to pack the extra white fabric. 

I got the borders onto 42 of my 9 patch blocks and this is now stitched and ready to head home for quilting.  I like how it looks.  Now, have to decide how to set the remainder of the 9 patch blocks.

These 16 patch blocks were organized for cutting in December.  I went through a lot of my fat quarters and chose ones that I just had no idea what to do with and matched them up with other fabrics that were a little calmer but still questionable as to what project they would work in.  The result is a stack of blocks ready to be put into a quilt.  I did cut these a little wider - 4.5" which makes the finished block a little larger.

The last of my projects that I want to get completed before we leave is a jelly roll of Downton Abbey fabrics.  Seems that since this Sunday is the very last show of the very last season, I should get something put together in memory of such a wonderful series.  So, this is in progress and am determined to finish the blocks to take home and have packed some more fabric to go with that I can use for a border and binding.

And A FINISHED project.  A UFO is complete.  Not a very old UFO.  This is a challenge here in the park with the Sunland Stitchers and since our quilt show is this Friday and since this is entered into the challenge, it had to be finished.  I chose paint chips according to my initials.  I didn't write down the name of the colours I chose and have handed my paint chips in already so will have to update the blog when I get the names back.
I had my paint chips and matching fabrics chosen last summer and then the fabrics waited.. patiently... for me to get the cutting and stitching done.  The cutting got done and then more waiting... and all these fabrics are from my stash!