Past the mid point of July

I belong to a yahoo group called Heartstrings and they have a challenge for July to quilt UFO's and get them ready for binding.  I have risen to the challenge as well as working on a few other projects. I have been hoping for some hot weather here in the Pacific Northwest as it is quite lovely and cool in my 'bunker'... high ceilings and underground.

This batik floating half square triangle quilt is finished - even the binding is done.  Labelled and ready to go either quilts of valour or the new hospice though I don't think it is long enough even though it is happy and bright.  And this is a new venture for me.  I am using batiks for donation quilts.  Big step!! This is a Missouri Star tutorial.

And I also pieced a quilt called Sugar Almonds, found on Samelia's mom website.  Great way to use a jelly roll plus a matching fabric for the edges.  Makes a nice sized quilt and my only issue was that my design wall wasn't quilt long enough to have all the strips visible so had to resort to laying it out on the floor.

My floating squares from Missouri Star continues to grow as I use the pieced blocks as leaders and enders.

 I need to get it ready to start stitching blocks together because I have a project waiting for the design wall space. Another project underway is my summer Kinderbell runner. Supposed to be a bench pillow but a runner works better in my window well space.

At Modern Guild this week, we had a mug rug swap.  Silly me didn't take a picture of mine.  I made it from strips of selvedges overlapped and stitched across the diagonal.
This is the one I got in return from Kate of http://www.sewfabulous.ca and she played with machine quilting using the backing as her design.  She followed the circles in the backing to create a funky design on the front.  And notice her perfect points where the triangles meet in the center!  Impressive! Thank you Kate.

One more project has the blocks pieced, they need pressing and trimming and then I need my design wall.  And I have a stack of 16 patch blocks from my Wednesday Diva quilting group waiting to be put together plus a 16 patch waiting to be loaded onto the B-line for quilting.  Never a dull, boring or finished moment. 

July 6th... already!!

Oh my goodness... time just keeps whizzing by when you are busy doing anything but bonding with your machine!  I had a great few weeks in June and accomplished lots but then my poor husband had to have surgery on the cancer that just below his lip.  He had one surgery by a specialist and they didn't get it all so he got sent to the 'big' boys in the city and there we spent an entire day in the Mohs micrographic clinic where they slice the flesh and freeze it on slides, graphing where the flesh came from and examine it by a pathologist and repeat the procedure throughout the day until the last slide of flesh is cancer free and then that is followed by reconstructive surgery which means they try to repair the layers of flesh to repair the damage to the nerves.  Today we got the all clear and stitches were removed and now another week of being very careful with the stitches area and then a year of healing!  And that is my excuse for not having a very successful July! 

In June I finished up my Cantik Maple leaf and it was done in time to hang for Canada Day.  Am very happy with the results.

And I finished a 4 patch that was made from leftovers from a previous 16 patch plus some squares of ancient purple/teal fabric that was at the bottom of the stack in my fabric closet.  Good use of leftovers!  And thanks to Connie E for stitching the blocks together at a guild workshop in May.

Was reading the Heartstrings blog and they are challenging the members to quilt in July and move from quilt tops to finished quilts.  So far, I have none done but I do have one loaded on the B-line and close to finishing it so it will be bound and added to the stack of finished quilts in the next few days.

And of course, another top started but am not jumping into this right away. 

Plus, a summer Kinderbell project that is ready for the background piecing when I have a top quilted.  One project at a time! 

And so goes July! 

Rainy weather has me stitching, pressing, quilting and binding and cutting more projects.

 In 10 days, I have made a number of 16 patch quilts from blocks contributed by my Wednesday quilting group but I took the pictures with my phone and then put them on Facebook and so you will have to wait until the quilts are finished to see them.  But it has kept me busy stitching the blocks together and pressing the tops and the pile of quilt tops to be quilted is growing.  I am waiting for some backing fabric to be donated to me by a good quilting friend and also for warmer weather before I head into the basement to load up and get quilting.
This is a pattern by Villa Rosa called Cool Water.  The top was started last December and got finished this month.  Great way to use batiks.

This is a chair... I have two that looked like this.  The fabric was weathered, worn and split.  So, off to Fabricland to find some replacement seat material and then to my neighbours to borrow a staple gun and after a rainy afternoon, this is the result, including covered pillow that was looking worn and shabby.

 A fun mug rug completed. Not too sure how long I have had this kit but thought it was cute for spring.

And speaking of Spring... this is completed.  I was not in time for Spring 2016 but am early and way ahead for Spring 2017!

Now that we are almost at the end of June and our July 1st Canada day celebrations are getting close, I finished this wallhanging from a kit I purchased from Connecting Threads. And it is hanging in my entrance stair well.

And I have my display in the window well of the same stair well all ready for our festive day.

And outside the window and front door, I have a fun garden flag.

I managed to finish my Summer in the Park batik quilt.  This is a pattern/video tutorial from Missouri Star and again, trying to make my stash of batiks smaller.

I have a Cantik kit of a maple leaf and flying geese that I am working on and hopefully it will be done for Canada Day 2016.  Under the beginnings of the Canadian wall hanging, are some blocks that are beginning of a table runner for the SPCA and can be used as a fund raiser.

My design wall with 3 projects on it.  I have my double hourglass blocks, growing.  I need 80 of them to make a quilt the right size for hospice or Quilts of Valour. And still working on using batik strips.

And this is the mess beside my sewing machine.  Binding to be made for the Cantik wall hanging, more hourglass blocks ready to be stitched, another 2 blocks to make for the SPCA table runner and a new project in the basket for the jelly roll project by Samelia's mum.  Ooops, you can't see the basket in this picture or the binding but you get the idea?  Lots of ideas and my days are too short or I am not nearly as efficient as I used to be.  Or, maybe I need to focus on one project at a time? 

North Vancouver quilt show and a few finishes!

I am finishing up some projects and actually crossing things off my list of what I want to get accomplished in June.

On Saturday, my quilting buddy and I headed to North Vancouver to the Lion's Gate quilt show and I will share some of the quilts that caught my eye for one reason or another.  Sometimes it is because I have the pattern, like the use of fabric or it is a great scrap quilt.

 A great scrap quilt... 5" squares, snowballed?

 How simple but effective?

 Love the churndashes, a variety of sizes

2 strip quilts and I have the pattern for one of these but the other would be easy to figure out. 

 And I have this ruler to make this twisted quilt.

 Love the wavy folded trim in this.  Inspiration for a busy block for a friend with memory issues.

The simplicity of this is wonderful.

I have finished a tumbler quilt, used the blocks as leaders and enders last year and finally got it quilted this year.  A UFO that isn't too old, only from last summer but still, finished is better than having it sit as a top, waiting for me to get around to it.

I made a few pillowcases for the kids at burn camp.  Already had made some but this fabric was perfect.

 And I quilted a top that Penny gave me for Quilts of Valour and got the binding and a label added.

Then I loaded my Cool Water by Villa Rosa designs onto my B-line and quilted this one... a new UFO from last December but again, finished!

And then more pillowcases for some boys at burn camp. And one pillowcase for someone who goes hunting for the elusive moose... maybe my husband?  Or maybe a friend.

And an idea for those of you that want to donate a Quilt of Valour quilt and have some plain pillowcases to go with it.  I added a strip of O Canada fabric to the pillowcase to jazz it up a little.  Simple but effective?

Playing with my phone trying to see if I can add photos to my blog using google pictures.  These are added the old fashioned way, by uploading from camera to computer but I am willing to learn something new if it means pictures will load faster.  This was painfully slow to load up these pictures this afternoon.

Same old thing... piecing, pressing and quilting

It seems that I have more ideas than stitching time but I keep on working at my machine.  I am alternating between quilting some quilts on the B-line and stitching on binding as well as piecing and cutting and trying to curtail new ideas until the current ones are under control and possibly even finished?

I have my plus blocks finished and they are on the design wall waiting..... for the next step.

And my Welcome Spring runner is almost done... at this rate, I will ready for Spring 2017 because summer is quickly approaching.  Not behind... well ahead! I have the flowers to make and this needs some stipple quilting before the flowers are added... then a binding and it will be finito!

Of course, I had to play with a new idea.  I would like to use some of my 'aged' floral prints and thought a quilt for our new hospice, Holmberg House would be a good idea.  Not so sure if I like this Windmill block but it is fast, easy, simple and uses wide strips that are width of the fabric to produce two blocks.

These batik half square triangles are now joined together and have moved to the pile of tops waiting to be quilted.  Another quilt that I think might quite 'colourful' for Holmberg House.

My double hourglass blocks are growing, slowly.  Am making them as leaders and enders while working on my other projects.

And six pillowcases are in progress for the kids at burn camp this summer. I found some great 'Frozen' print fabric at Castle's sewing and thought it would be perfect for the younger girls at camp.

Am continuing to collect 16 patch blocks from my Quilt Diva group for a Quilt of Valour that will be a challenge project for our guild AQG.  We have enough blocks to make the quilt plus, more blocks leftover that will be used in either a second QOV or will be the start of a hospice quilt, again, for Holmberg house.

My Wednesday group celebrates birthdays each month and this month we had a party a few weeks earlier than the two of us actually celebrate our special day as my friend is heading to Australia to visit her newborn grandchild.  A good reason to leave before our birthday (we share the same day).  So this was what I brought home on Wednesday.  I had chosen light neutrals as my fabric colour and I also had lots of other goodies included in my gift packages, including this panel of Canada.  Love, love, love these gifties!

And have to look back in my blog to see if I shared this picture of one finished project for May!  Not very good at finishing even though I have felt like I have been stitching up a storm most days.
A strip twist pattern, free, from Bonnie's Hunters Quiltville website.
I used only green and light strips from my stash at my 'other' house.  A winter project that is finished by spring...not bad!