DayspringQuilter

Blah...

2012-01-20T19:03:00.000-08:00

It's the weekend...finally...and I'm so done! It's been a very stressful week at my office with computer network being down and having to accomplish work with this handicap and ... suffice it say that 4:30 couldn't have come soon enough.

So I see here that it's The Friday Night Sew-In...and I have no air left in my balloon...no creativity, no desire to sew, no desire to even touch fabric tonight. We have 2 realtor open houses this weekend and I must get our house ready for 2 pm tomorrow. I don't have the energy tonight. Not sure what I do feel like doing but for now, I feel like blogging!

So all of my fellow quilters in blogland are going to have to have an extra burst of creativity in my place. Happy sewing friends!

Maybe tomorrow night will be brighter in my world.

Until next time,
Mavis

Snow Day!!!

2012-01-18T14:51:00.000-08:00

It wasn't a blizzard but it was a pretty severe snowfall for our neighbourhood. We live in a rural area with a bus service that is hit and miss in weather like this and the buses are always late due to road conditions. Add that to the fact that I am fighting a sore throat and tummy bug and I decided to stay put in my warm house.

I wish I was using this today:

but instead I'm using this:

but enjoying a picture of this outside my window:

This little one was obviously hungry and searching for food and had to come right up to the edge of our house below our window to grab a bite of something green left visible because of the eaves.

Perhaps there will be some sewing for me this evening but for now it's time to get back to the books! If you too are enjoying a snow day I hope it is a joyful one!

Until next time,
Mavis

Manhattan Condo quilt ... cutting now underway!

2012-01-14T23:14:00.000-08:00

So...I had a great trip to Calico Cupboard today to find some fabrics to match something I pulled from my stash for my niece's wedding quilt. I then came home and cut what I thought I would do for the block. Here are some variations:

I loved the fabric on the bottom right but not loving it with the other fabrics.

Here is the same fabric cut smaller in the block on the left. Still not liking it with the other fabric.

Um...not bad but not signing at me yet.

Top left block doesn't work as there's not enough contrast between the two fabrics. Next...!

Getting closer but not sure about the white centre on the bottom left block. One more...


and the winner is...double blue!

I like the way the blue is repeated. It seems more balanced to my eye now. So we're going with the double blue!

I had a marathon cutting session tonight so it is now a 'kit' all ready for my sewing day next Saturday with my satellite group. I should be able to power sew and get a lot done next weekend. I don't think I'll have any problem getting this done before the wedding in April. It should be a fairly easy quilt to construct. But until next Saturday, I've got some bookkeeping and tax stuff to get ready. Saturday's sewing will be my reward!

Until then,
Mavis

Next new start...

2012-01-14T11:16:00.000-08:00

is a wedding quilt for my niece Anna and her fiance Braeden. Their wedding is April 28th. They wanted something modern and geometric in grey, white, black and blue. This is my mockup in EQ7:

I bought the "Manhattan" block off the new EQBoutique, pulled it into EQ7 and started playing. Now I will visit my stash and see what I have and if anything needs to be added.

I know that 2012 is my UFO year but it is totally within the rules to start a new quilt if it's a wedding quilt, right? If the quilt police should ask, that's my story!

I've also decided not to do anymore mystery quilts for the time being. I absolutely love Bonnie Hunter's mysteries and I'm a sucker for every new one that she offers. However, because they are intense designs (usually), I end up not starting anything else. I think 2012 will be the year of UFOs and SIMPLE quilt starts.

I have both of Bonnie's books and haven't ever made a quilt out of them that didn't start as a mystery (ie Carolina Christmas is in one of the books and still at UFO at my house). I also have LOTS of other quilt pattern books which aren't being cracked that appealed enough to me to buy them.

So, that's my resolve this year...finish UFOs, more baby quilts for our church babies and maybe a couple of easy quilts from one of these books. And no more quilt patterns to be bought this year, or quilt books, and definitely NO quilting magazines. EXCEPT of course that I'm going to Sisters in July for the quilt show and all bets are off for the 'no buy' on this trip. That would just be wrong!

It will be interesting at the end of the year to see how I've done with this 'no buy, simple quilt, UFO completion' resolution. Wish me well!

Now...up to visit the stash to see what I can find for the Manhattan condo wedding quilt!

Until next time,

Mavis

Baby quilt finish...

2012-01-14T10:05:00.000-08:00

I don't quite remember when I started this quilt but I know it was 2011 fall sometime. I saw something similar hanging in a quilt shop, snapped a picture and then tried drawing a simple baby quilt with a feature/focus fabric in EQ7. This is the result:

Now that I have a b-line quilting frame, I had this baby quilted in no time! I think it seriously just took me about an hour, if that. I wanted something not too swirly, or girly because this quilt is for "Gideon". I decided on some nice wavy horizontal lines. I loved how easy it was to get this quilt quilted. That followed with some hand-sewn binding in front of the TV. Here's a closeup of the quilting:

Now I just have to sew on the label and it will be presented to the little man tomorrow, along with this one for Miss Olivia which has been done for awhile:

This one has been ready for awhile. We just needed to pick a presentation date at church and we have been tardy!!

I hope these babies will feel the love!

Until next time,
Mavis

New Years Day - Tradition and What a Cut up!!

2012-01-01T23:42:00.000-08:00

We have a tradition in our family that we visit my sister who makes Porzelky (pronounced por-cel-cha), a Mennonite traditional New Years cookie. It's really a fritter with raisins and they are yummy hot out of the deep fryer dusted with icing sugar. My sister is the one who carried on the tradition of making them. I just enjoy them with my family at her house! They are truly amazing and I wish I had taken a picture of them. My Dad grew up in a Mennonite family so my Mom learned to make them from my Grandmother. I've never made them. I've always been content to let that be my sister's thing. Anyway, today we spent the majority of the day at her house enjoying a nice visit with some old friends and eating Porzelky and other goodies.

When I came home I thought I would attack the rest of the cutting out of the fabric for steps 5 through to the finale of the Orca Bay mystery quilt. The big reveal was published on the quiltville.blogspot.com blog just a hair over midnight eastern standard time. I got a beep on my blackberry indicating a new email. The email indicated that Step 8, The Reveal was now posted. I was expecting that if I stayed up until midnight last night that I might have a peek before bed. I certainly was surprised to see it before 10 pm our time! Thank you Bonnie. What a nice way to spend the last few hours of 2011, admiring your beautiful Orca Bay quilt and dreaming about my own!

So...tonight I finished trimming the strings of Step 5; cut 700 triangles for Step 6, cut the dark, neutral and red squares and the larger triangles and finally the last two hourglass units. All the cutting is now done except for the lighter inside border. I am now ready for some power sewing to get this quilt finished. The muscles are sore tonight after all that rotary cutting, but what an accomplishment!

Oh yeah...and I published the list of the 12 UFOs I want to finish in 2012. You will see it on my sidebar to the right.

Hope you all had an enjoyable first day of 2012.

Blessings!
Mavis

New Years Eve -- News Flash!!!

2011-12-31T19:58:00.000-08:00

Eureka!! Happy little dance! No...happy BIG dance!!! My 'missing' Roll Roll Cotton Boll has been found! You have no idea how relieved I am.

All my readers in blogland and online groups all knew it was only a matter of time before it stopped playing 'hide and seek' and jumped out to where I could find it. Tonight, after a concerted "Please Lord!! I REALLY want to find that quilt. YOU know where it is. Can you please tell ME???"

I realized that there was one packing box I had not checked in our upstairs landing (on the same floor as my sewing room). I was thrilled when the box on top was moved to reveal these sweet words: "Sewing Room". Heart beats a little faster.

Open the box...oh goodie! oh goodie! There it is! Exactly how I remember leaving it. What a wonderful gift to close out 2011. Thank you my dear Lord who cares about the small things that concern us and make us fret. You are SO good!

Here she is:

exactly as I remember putting you away. What a HUGE sigh of relief. I was so worried that somehow it had gotten given away to Value Village in one of our trips to get rid of stuff.

OK...now I can relax and let 2012 happen. Party on people!

And I shall party on with Orca Bay Step 4 and onwards tonight. Here's a photo of my Step 4 string triangles:

66 out of 128 done. I'm only halfway?? Oh well...soldier on I shall and get these babies finished. The colours in my photo taken by my blackberry make them look more brown but they are actually gold through to rusty red. I'm very happy with how they play with my aquas and black/whites:

OK...back to my sewing room I go. I just couldn't keep the good news to myself!

Happy little quilting dance!
Mavis

Orca Bay Progress Report & a Finish!

2011-12-30T23:36:00.000-08:00

I'm stuck on step 5 of the Orca Bay mystery quilt on Quiltville's blog here. Maybe I should recount my foundation papers because the pile doesn't seem to be getting any smaller. I had a great sewing day with my friend Terry yesterday. We ended at about 4:30 pm, just about the time our realtor called to say there was a showing request for the next morning (today!).

I looked around at 'quilting central' in my sewing room, and knew we had a lot of work to do to get the house ready to show. So, long story short, my step 5 is still in progress. I'm loving the colours of my rusty red triangle strings.

I have done nothing on Step 6 or 7 and am hoping to get caught up before the big New Years Day reveal! Wish me luck...

But here's something I did manage to finish this week during my vacation days:

This is one of the quilt tops I finished at my November retreat. And this was my first bigger quilt done on my B-Line frame with my Janome 6500. Not a bad job but definitely still in the 'practice' category. But the important thing is that my daughter LOVES the quilt. It's got a minky type backing on it which was a challenge in itself but that's what my daughter wanted, so minky it was. And batting too. Yup...quilt top + batting + minky. It's a heavy quilt that will be sure to keep her warm.

I better catch some sleep if I hope to get those triangles done tomorrow. It's been a long day.

Until next time,
Mavis

There's a monkey in my house!

2011-12-20T21:18:00.000-08:00

But it's all good because I created him! I made a jelly roll races quilt and it looked kind of 'jungle like' and I really thought it needed a critter...a monkey in fact.

so, the monkey is now affixed to the quilt top. Next step is to stitch him down (I did fusible applique) and then quilt it. I am hoping to deliver this quilt to my grand-nephew on Boxing Day so I have a ways to go between now and then. But it's so fun, don't you think?

Until next time,
Mavis

Orca Bay - Step 3 Done!!!

2011-12-03T14:08:00.000-08:00

I'm elated! I'm excited! And I'm exhausted! But all 350 half-square triangles in blacks and neutrals are done, de-papered, pressed and grouped in 10s. I'm so excited. I'm always one of the last ones to finish Bonnie Hunter mystery quilts. But we're on step 3 and I'm all caught up and it's only Saturday. I have almost a whole week until the next clue! \o/ Yay!

But never fear...I have a ton of quilts to work on. Check out my UFO page and you'll see what I mean. I'm about to load up a quilt for my daughter onto my quilting frame and do some machine quilting. I have a 'new to me' B-Line quilt frame, which together with my Janome 6500, is going to be a much more efficient way to get through some of these quilt tops. I'm pretty excited.

Here is a picture of all my black & white blocks playing so nicely together:

and the Step 2 aqua string blocks, all done!

I'm LOVING these colours! The only colours that haven't been used yet are the reds. I can hardly wait to see where we go next with this mystery.

Time to clean up my sewing space a bit. And tuck these little beauties away safe and sound. And I'm going to try again to find my Roll Roll Cotton Boll missing quilt. It may be time to clean out a closet or two. It may have been tucked away in my bedroom closet when staging the house for sale. It's still bugging me that I haven't found it. Come out, come out, wherever you are!!!

Until next time,

Mavis

Be Kind to Myself Day!!!

2011-12-02T12:09:00.000-08:00

It's Friday morning. There is a new clue online for the Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt, "Orca Bay". I have the day off and got to sew some blocks on the same day as the clue was released. This is a first for me since I'm a Mon to Fri 9-5 girl.

Every two weeks I have an appointment for an enzyme infusion which means I am hooked up to an IV for about 2 hours every second Friday. In the interest in spreading the word about orphan diseases and funding for them outside the normal provincial medical plans, I am providing some links:
www.fabry.org
http://www.rarediseases.org/

Fabry Disease is one of the many orphan diseases that needs some air-time. Our story of a quick diagnosis is as rare as the disease itself. Help spread the word in the hopes of early diagnosis for those yet unaware that they have it or other orphan diseases. More info is available on both of these websites. But back to today...

Today is infusion day for me. I have to be there at 12:45. This morning, I decided to do something kind to myself...something special...

There is a new bistro in our neighbourhood called Cherries Breakfast Bistro. I decided to pop down there this morning and check it out. Wow! I looked at the menu and saw that they do an all day breakfast and chose the Florentine Eggs Benny. Yummo!

It was every bit as good as it looks. I shared some bites with my DH. I would have bought him one too but he was supposed to be gone by the time I got home. He's off to the mainland to play with his band at 2 gigs. What does this mean? SEWING time for me...guilt free!

So now, that breakfast is taken care of, I'm off to the sewing machine to get in some play time before my infusion. Then, because of the Benadryl they give me, it will be a nap this afternoon and then probably some more sewing this evening.

Oh yes, and I will either take my kindle or some hand sewing to the infusion to help pass the time in the chair. I'm reading this

and it's a great read. I also have some hand applique that I could take if I could get a kit together in short order. But then again, I would really love to spend this morning sewing on step 3 rather than gathering a project together.

So, off I go now to do some sewing. I'll post some pictures later tonight after some progress and that wonderful afternoon nap.

Until then,

Mavis

Orca Bay Mystery Quilt progress report

2011-12-01T21:25:00.000-08:00

I am loving this mystery so far. All of my 224 hourglass blocks are done and I'm just over half way through the itty bitty aqua string blocks. I think I'm up to 40 something.

Here's a sneak peak so far:

Aren't they the cutest? The photo makes them look big but they are dainty 3.5" squares. I haven't removed the paper backing yet. That will be a future task during TV time.

And I'm taking the day off tomorrow. I have an appointment in the afternoon but thought I would indulge myself with some sewing on Clue 3 in the morning. I'm pretty excited about it. So far I've used my black, my neutrals (for the hourglass blocks) and my aquas (for the strings). That leaves the rusty reds who haven't yet had a chance to play. Maybe their turn is tomorrow. Morning will tell for sure. :o)

In the meantime, I'm so cozy under my blankie with my dear doggy (we're both cold this evening) and I'm not sure I have the energy to finish my step 2 string blocks tonight. I'm happy to camp out on the couch with the remote and some TV time. X-factor is on tonight and we're down to the final 5 tonight. That might be enough excitement for me tonight.

Until tomorrow when I check here for step 3... after drinking some of this:

and then some more string blocks or just forging ahead with step 3. I'll see how I feel in the morning.

Until then, happy sewing!
Mavis

Orca Bay - Step 1 progress

2011-11-28T20:12:00.000-08:00

I can't resist it when Bonnie Hunter hosts a mystery quilt. I've done a lot of mystery quilts and have been disappointed more than once...but NEVER with our dear Bonnie's mystery quilts at Quiltville. I know I can trust her designs and her colour choices, so I leap in without reserve.

I had to delay my start by one week because as the first clue arrived on Friday Nov. 18th and other ladies (and quilting gents) raced out of the gate, I was busy cleaning my house for yet another open house. Our house is for sale...still But my enthusiasm did not wane. Yesterday I started on the hourglass units in step 1 of the Orca Bay mystery. I'm almost half done. Here are some of my units. I'm way past this point but this will show you my colour way:

I am using Triangulations 2.0 for these units and while I had a bit of a bad start with a page scaling printing error, we're cookin' with gas now and I've got a basket of the last half ready to sew together tonight to make up the total needed: 224!!

Then I'm on to the string units of step 2. You can't see the fabric in my photo but my strings will be aqua. Based on what I've seen from others' photos, I'm gonna love these little babies. 3.5" string blocks. How cute!! I am loving this mystery so far, but am not surprised in the least about that.

Bonnie is the absolute best mystery quilt designer and host. Are we having fun yet??!! Oh yes, we are!

Until next time,
Mavis

My First Quilt...

2011-11-26T09:25:00.000-08:00

Bonnie Hunter is sharing her first quilt on her blog post here with some great stories and picture from her childhood.

My first sewing memories were from a home economics class. I didn't exactly take to it like a fish to water but successfully finished the required projects. My first machine was a Kenmore. I must have liked sewing though because I made lots of my own clothes as a young woman. And I made lots of PJs and clothes for my two kids as well.

I had a neighbour at our last house/neighbourhood who was a quilter. She was offering some ladies in our neighbourhood free quilting lessons. She provided the pattern so I just had to follow the shopping/supply list and tools and then show up. This was my first experience with a rotary cutter and mat, with contrasting fabrics that weren't all matchy, matchy. Plaids with polka dots...really? Anyway, we had a couple of lessons with Lisa and then I managed to finish the quilt by myself.

And here is my first quilt:

Stitched in the ditch for quilting and a machine sewn binding which did not wrap around. I actually entered it into the Saanich Fair for 'my first quilt category' and won second prize. I was astonished!

Anyway, this quilt was made for my son, now 20, and it's an almost twin size I still have this quilt.

Until next time,
Mavis

Baby Quilt finished!!

2011-11-24T18:30:00.000-08:00

Yay! I started this quilt last June at Quilting in the Trees, the Victoria Quilters' Guild annual summer retreat at Pearson College in Metchosin, BC. The class was taught by Arlene McKenzie and Kelly English and was entitled "Daystripper". I did two. Well...I actually did one, that's finished. The first one, complete with directional boo boos and a Plan B implementation is still in the UFO box.

But I digress. Here is my Baby Blue Daystripper now completed and ready to deliver to Baby Colton:

Me relaxing and finishing the binding

Ta da!!

The partially pieced back. My family collectively thought it was just plain weird.

Closeup of the quilting. This is the one where I had needle troubles and skipping stitches. Solved with a Titanium needle.

Another closeup after machine washing and that lovely crinkled look

It's not perfect and I was really disappointed with the skipped stitches but finished is better than perfect and it is on its way to its forever home. I hope Colton and his family like it.

The other boo boo daystipper is as I said still in the UFO box but now that I've got my new to me B-Line Quilting Frame almost set up, it too will be a finished quilt soon!

But tonight I'm pooped so it won't be finished before the weekend. So much still to do to finish setting up the leaders on my new frame. My DH has been so wonderful, even to the point of buying me some velcro strips to keep the bars secure on the table and some masking tape for the leaders. The plan tonight was to head out to Fabricland to find some fabric for the leaders, but I'm just too pooped. Last night was a bookkeeping night and I had busy brain and couldn't calm myself down to slumber mode until well past midnight. That's way too late for a working woman. So, tonight it will be rest. Maybe there's a great TV program on. It's stormy and wet outside. There's no place I'd rather be than home, snuggled under a warm duvet + quilt.

Until next time, stay warm and keep quilting!

Oh yes...and happy Thanksgiving to my American friends.

Mavis

Retreat report...

2011-11-17T19:41:00.000-08:00

My satellite group, "Hearts and Hands Quilters" arrived back home on Monday afternoon. The drive back from the Cowichan Valley was beautiful with extraordinary fall colours lining the highway home. Soon snow will be here amongst us and a new landscape will be ready for our enjoyment.

I am going to experiment with a slideshow in my blog post because there were a ton of pictures and it would be easier that way.

Some of the highlights:
Nov 11 at 11:11 a.m. - Thread passed from person to person (we are all joined by a common thread) and we observed our minute of silence. It was also Heather's birthday so we also enjoyed some Mimosas and cupcakes from Oo La La cupcakery in celebration of Heather's birthday.

Some of us went for walks throughout the weekend down to the lakefront. The colours were amazing and the fresh air and exercise were welcome after our sit-and-sew times and all the feasting that happens during our retreat. The Honeymoon Bay chef is beyond amazing. Our three meals a day plus snacks and daily happy hour made for a b-line to my scale when I came home. Oh dear. Well fruit for the breakfast the next couple of days and back to portion control and daily routines.

I finished three quilt tops during the four days and the photos, while in the picture album above, are set out here as well just because I'm so darn proud of my accomplishments!

Carolina Christmas

First across the UFO finish line....Carolina Christmas!!!! Yay!!! It is a Bonnie Hunter mystery from about 2 years (?) ago I think. I was going to quilt-as-you-go but I just wasn't happy with it. So, my friend Pam and I reverse stitched the 6 or so blocks that had been quilted and I was way happier after that was done and I was on a clear path to my traditional piece then quilt existence.

Next was a quilt kit of layer cakes plus 2 borders that I received from my friend Terry for my birthday. I did a slice and dice (take the 10" squares, slice off at 3 1/2", shuffle and re-piece, then slice at 5" the other way and then reshuffle. It doesn't take long, evidenced by the fact that I did this one in one day:


Slice & Dice

And LASTLY....I took apart a mystery quilt that I did at the last Quilting in the Trees at Pearson College in June, 2011. I love the pattern but didn't think it worked well with my fabrics at all. It seemed to be a modern pattern but I was using traditional fabrics. I should really show you the before:

And the new version:

(now this one makes me happy!)

Much better! I made string blocks out of lemon yellow to surround the blocks. I took the original kaleidoscope blocks and surrounded them with a darker yellow border with navy blue cornerstones. I then repeated the navy blue inner border with a dark yellow flange and then the floral border that made up the kaleidoscope blocks. I'm so happy with this quilt now. I'm glad I persevered and reinvented. Sometimes I think it's too easy to toss something in the garbage because it didn't turn out like we hoped. I decided there was a quilt there somewhere and I'm glad I found it!

Enjoy the photos. We will be back next November. Until then, I need to continue the momentum of getting some UFOs done. Now that I've got a quilt frame, I need to get it set up and start turning some of these flimsies into finished quilts.

Until next time, happy quilting!

Mavis

Retreat Time !!!

2011-11-06T10:41:00.000-08:00

3 work days until my November quilting retreat with my "Hearts and Hands" Satellite Group. After our lunch at The Dog House in Duncan, we are checking in at the Honeymoon Bay Retreat Centre in the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island on Thursday, November 10th (http://www.honeymoonbayretreat.com/index.html)

and will return home on Monday. That's 3 full days of sewing plus Thursday afternoon on our arrival and Monday morning before we head home.

Here are some pictures from last year:

By the time we arrive the place is decked out with Christmas decorations. This is a gathering place where we play our quilt bingo, fellowship around the fire with hand sewing, or watch for bears out the back window.

It's a time to help friends with their quilting challenges...or simply stand back and admire their work. Love the colours in Kelli's quilt pictured here We have a wonderful room (former gymnasium) to work in with lots of bright lights, plenty of wall space for design walls, and easy access to washrooms, coffee and snacks. Sounds perfect, wouldn't you agree?

Here's me sewing on last year's UFO project. What I love about having a retreat in November is the chance to finish off quilts for Christmas gifts. This one was finished in time to give to my pastor and his wife for Christmas 2010. What a good feeling of accomplishment!

and here is the finished quilt:

This year's UFOs that will hopefully be completed:

Roll Roll Cotton Boll - Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt from last year. All the blocks are finished, but I need to piece the top and then work on the pieced border. BUT I have to find it first! I think it might have found its way into a packing box in the garage when I was packing up my sewing room for staging the house for sale. I know it's somewhere! I have 3 days to find it.

And this...

This is a baby quilt for my grand-nephew Quinn. I need to applique a monkey on it and then finish it off. I'll be happy if I can get the applique done on the retreat.

and lastly, my Carolina Christmas (also a Bonnie Hunter Mystery UFO). I am doing 'quilt as you go' on all of these quilt blocks with different Christmas fabrics on the back. I have to finish cutting the wool batting for the squares. It will be the bulkiest kit I take with me but I would really love to finish this quilt for our bed this Christmas.

These blocks will have plain cream sashing in between for the 'quilt as you go' joining technique.

And, here is a sample picture of the gourmet dinners (and lunches) we enjoy...

I think I'll have a fun-filled time, don't you?? I'll post pictures when I'm back.

Until then,
Mavis

Aha moment and a 'new to me' aquisition today

2011-10-30T20:28:00.000-07:00

So, I figured out the source of my frustration yesterday with thread breaking and stitches skipping all over the place on a baby quilt I was free motion quilting on.

It was this:

Every time my thread broke, there was a gummy residue on the needle that I had to pull off. It reminded me of the glue that's on the back of the Avery labels. Maddening I say! Steer clear of this stuff. I don't remember anything similar happening with 505 spray. Anyway, it's now in the garbage. I should really take it back to Fabricland because it wasn't cheap and I only used it this once on a baby quilt. But I have no idea where the receipt is...so my loss. Good riddance!

Here is a picture of some skipped stitches. Feel my pain? This was happening every 4 inches or so. It gave me an Excedrin headache so I finally quit for the day.

On a good note though...

I won't EVER have to use basting spray again because there is a new piece of furniture in my sewing room...new to me that is. I am the happy owner of the B-Line Original Quilt Frame (from www.tobequilting.com). I love what the Internet has done for bargain hunters who can connect with those with bargains for sale. I connected with a quilter who lives very close to me who was selling her second quilt frame. She bought one with a friend and then when that friend died, she willed her quilting stash and equipment to this lady. She decided to sell one and I was the lucky recipient.

It's not put together yet but in the next few days I expect I'll be loading it up with a quilt top and moving one or two of my UFOs to the IFFI (I finally finished it) pile. So excited to get started. I will need some help from DH to get it set up. In fact, he'll be doing the majority of the work and I'll be helping him. I can hardly believe I have a quilt frame now. I've been wanting a long arm for a very long time. This will be a good way to ease into it.

Until then, I will have to struggle through the problem quilt because I can't wash the spray out of the quilt until it's quilted. I always wash them before giving them away because there are so many people with sensitivity to chemicals that I want to make sure they are as pure as can be before landing on a darling little baby.

On my horizon is the promise of more machine quilting. I can hardly wait.

Until next time,
Mavis

Frustration!! Where is my happy place anyway??

2011-10-29T17:18:00.000-07:00

I started machine quilting on a baby quilt for a special baby today. I started stitching in the ditch on the blocks vertically and then the plan was to start free-motion quilting on the resulting columns (Janome 6500). I used a thicker Aurifil thread (don't know the number) on the stitch in the ditch portion and no problemo. Tried to free motion with the same thread, not happening. Switched to some Connecting Threads thread in the same colour in the hope that the problem would be solved. Skipped stitches everywhere and temptation for swear words on the rise.

Off to Fabricland to buy some Gutterman thread in the same colour to see if that solves the problem. Some advil and red wine to deal with the anxiety. Haven't stitched anymore yet. But the headache is gone and I've actually laughed at least once in the last half hour. Good sign.

My happy place was not so happy today. Hoping for some victory later. And I'm going to look at a B-Line frame tomorrow, second hand. That would be nice as one of my pet peeves is the pin basting that still results in puckers on the back of the quilt. I'm SO done with that! I'm hoping that the frame will be suitable. We'll see tomorrow!! Pretty excited!

Until next time,
Mavis

My first experience as a pattern tester and Penelope Garcia...

2011-10-22T12:09:00.000-07:00

I had a chance to test a pattern created by Deborah Cohen to be published by Arbee Designs. Watch for this pattern folks! It's adorable and was very fun to make.

Giraffe at Kilimanjaro

Pardon my toes in the picture. I had trouble cropping this photo!

I haven't followed the pattern exactly. I evened out the borders which were odd sizes and added the green piano key border because I wanted to make the quilt bigger...big enough to give away as a baby quilt without feeling cheap!

I have yet to sandwich and quilt it. In fact, I'm VERY behind on sandwiching and quilting a lot of quilts so I think I should sign off and hit my studio for some sewing time before my birthday party tonight.

I also have to sew a zipper into my costume. I love theme parties and decided that for this birthday we would do a theme "Penelope Garcia and Friends" - in costume of course. I am going as Penelope. For those who don't know, Penelope Garcia is one of the characters on Criminal Minds, the show about the FBI profilers. Penelope is totally opposite to my personality (I'm more an Emily Prentice character in real life) but it's fun to have an alter ego for a night. This is her:

I'm excited to see what other costumes show up! Pictures may show up here tomorrow.

Until next time!

Penelope...um...I mean Mavis

A new experience...

2011-10-16T20:08:00.000-07:00

I've heard about people who see colours when they hear music. I don't pretend to understand how that works. I would think that it would be an amazing experience though.

But here's what happened to me last night. I'd love to know if something similar has happened to you. We were watching the end of a movie. I was laying down with eyes closed (because I am fighting a cold). The credits were rolling and the song playing was by Sting, called "Not the shape of my heart". It's a hauntingly beautiful melody. As I said, my eyes were closed and I was just listening to the song. Suddenly as I heard the music and Sting moved from chorus to bridge and toward the end, I could see patterns! It was like an art quilt with swirls and definitely some colours but the shapes were the important thing and it was fluid and moving and had 'grout' like stained glass windows dividing the different sections. Oh how I wish I could put it into fabric!

I told my husband about he and he got me a piece of paper and a pencil to see if I could draw what I could still see in my mind's eye. As I tried to put the pencil to paper the image faded. I would try drawing but it just wasn't what I saw in my mind's eye.

Oh well...I guess it was a gift to be enjoyed in that moment. But I'm curious...has this ever happened to any of my fellow quilters?

Hole in One!!

2011-09-11T12:10:00.000-07:00

I had the privilege of attending a class taught by Bettye Sheppard yesterday. Her pattern was called Hole in One. It's a four-patch posie style design, a sort of stack'n'whack style quilt but done in squares which is much easier.

Here's some photos of the pattern and my quilt under construction:

I love my fabric!


After ripping our fabric to find true grain we looked for repeats and sliced strips!


Sub cut into 3.5" squares (strip set is 4 deep identical)


Stacks of four squares ready for twirling into kaleidoscopes


Sample block

Making progress

All 48 blocks done.

What I noticed from the first block is that they remind me of Italian tiles. I love it!

I will likely set my blocks 6 rows and 8 rows. There is still the sashing to be added and the corner blocks. I've not yet decided on my sashing fabrics. The ones I initially chose may not do the quilt justice and I want it to really pop!

Not yet sure how I will finish this quilt. Stay tuned for future posts!

It is a quick and easy quilt. All the blocks were done in class between 10 am and 4 pm without breaking a sweat. And there was plenty of gab time with the girls, and lunchtime when we sat and enjoyed some of Bettye's life stories. If you ever get a chance to take one of Bettye's classes, do. She's a great teacher!!

Until next time,
Mavis

Impromptu Quilt Show & Sale

2011-08-30T19:59:00.000-07:00

Before summer leaves us and before our house is sold, I've always wanted to do a quilt show on our farm. I've decided to do a small, impromptu Quilt Show & Sale this Saturday, Sept. 3, from 3 pm til 5 pm. I hope to be able to upload some pictures but if you're in Victoria this weekend, why not drop around and say hi and view my quilts in a lovely garden setting.

Hope to see you there.

Mavis

Jelly Roll Toss quick quilt - tutorial

2011-08-15T22:06:00.000-07:00

Ingredients: 1 jelly roll (I used a Moda jelly roll that had 3 repeats of each fabric in it).

First I divided the jelly roll into three piles with one of each fabric in each pile.

Next, about 4 at a time, I line up the 4 strips and cut off the selvage.

Now cut 5 2 1/2" squares from the end.

Straighten up the remainder of the strip set and do a random cut of the stack (vertical) into 2 remaining strips. NOTE: If you are a `matchy-matchy`quilter, the random cut of the stack may not appeal to you because when you get the strips in rows, not everything will line up. If that`s important to you then you will want to measure out your staggered cuts by an amount divisible by 2 1/2".

When you have done this to the whole jelly roll, toss the 2 1/2" squares into a box, basket or bag to randomize them. Stack the remaining sliced jelly rolls into two piles in the same order.

Sew the 2 1/2" squares into sets of 5 2 1/2" squares. Press seams in one direction and set them aside. When all of the 2 1/2" squares have been sewn into units of 5 per unit, take one 5 square unit and sew match them with a set of remaining strips with the remaining strips on either side of the 5 square units. Here they are in a pile ready for pressing:

Now comes the layout. Try to liberate your thinking and not force yourself to be matchy matchy and just enjoy the colour flow and balance. Here`s what mine looks like almost done:

This quilt is too big for a baby quilt so I may just add some nice dark brown borders and call it a twin! Or maybe a girl quilt for a girl`s toddler bed...you know, a big girl bed! Anyway, I have started praying about who this one is for and it is yet unknown. We`ll see!

Until next time,

Mavis

PS - Warning! The jelly rolls must not be cut properly on the grain. The quilt top bows. When I tried to square it up it was off by about 4 inches (determined by folding it in half as you would fabric that has been washed and going with the natural grain). I was most disappointed. So, since it was too big for a baby quilt and not behaving, I chopped it into 2 to make 2 baby quilts.

A new quilt pattern is born

2011-08-01T14:35:00.000-07:00

It is BC Day today so this means a long weekend. The weather is glorious. My DH was at a music festival with his band on the mainland so this meant some guilt-free quilting time for me!

Friday night I was playing in EQ7 and drew this pattern:

I'm calling the pattern "Around the Block" and my version will be called "Coffee Shop Around the Block" because I am using coffee fabrics.

Here are some pictures of the quilt in 'cloth' which will become the sample to go to a store that will carry the pattern:

Focus fabric in the middle of the square framed!

Now the strata units frame the first frame. I don't like the corners though. It doesn't work. Idea! Turquoise cornerstones! Then some unsewing. Yes, that's better. I don't think I snapped a picture of the 'fixed' block but here's the rows all together. Likin' it!

Now to construct the sashing:

And create the sashing rows before assembling the quilt:

Now to put the rows together and audition the border:

Much better than the first fabric which was just too busy. Yes, I like the neutral. It picks up the light fabrics in the strata units.

Now the finale:

I like it! Now to quilt it, then create the instructions, drawings and staged photo before packaging it up for sale.

It was a fun experience to cram a quilt design and construction into the same weekend.

Until next time my quilty friends!
Mavis

Serendipity!

2011-07-29T23:44:00.000-07:00

Do you ever have days when everything just seems to work better than the day before? You know, when the brain is firing, you solve a problem or pull something together that was unravelling, or throw ingredients together for dinner from the fridge and it just works?? Serendipity!! Today was like that. It was a productive day at work with some energy left at the end of the day to play with EQ7 and design a pattern. I love when that happens, and it's infrequent, so I'm going for it!

Tonight I started designing a quilt using my coffee fabrics. I'm going to call it "Around the Block" . With my coffee fabrics, the quilt label will likely say "Coffee Shop Around the Block". But I am creating this pattern to sell so I want to give it a generic enough name to apply to different focus fabrics and colourways.

The first block came together great! There are a total of 30 blocks, 5 x 6. When the quilt top is done I'll post a picture here. I want to get the sample made because one of the local quilt shops said she would carry my patterns if I brought in a sample quilt to show. I can do that!! Maybe not tonight but I got a good start on it. As soon as I finish the first part of the 30 blocks I'll call it a night.

My friend Terry is coming for breakfast and a sewing date tomorrow (the hubster is out of town and we really need some play time!). You never know what we'll be working on. We'll see where the wind blows us tomorrow. I think my friend will be surprised that I have started yet another new project. It's obvious that the wind blew in some new creativity tonight so I'm just going to enjoy it and show her what I accomplished tonight.

I am hoping for a good night's sleep tonight and I hope you have one too!

Until next time,

Mavis

Drat, Drat and Double Drat!!!

2011-07-17T21:10:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was sharing about putting the backing together for my Irish Chain quilt. Today, after it was hanging out on the clothesline overnight, the wrinkles were still there. I touched the fabric to make sure it was dry. It felt like a high-quality chintz fabric, complete with the sound of high quality cotton, but I decided I wanted to be sure. I am thinking about hand quilting the Irish Chain quilt and I want to make sure I'm not fighting polyester fibres. So I conducted the famous 'burn' test. If you google it you will find articles about the different ways fibres behave when a flame hits them.

Well, the long and short of it is that one of my fabrics was 100% cotton and the two side panels (which I used to make the quilt backing wide enough...you know...a pieced back) is Poly/Cotton. It melted! Can't bring myself to use it. So back to the drawing board.

Thankfully I was able to find something nice and soft at Fabricland for 55% off so now I have ample fabric for the back of this quilt. Now I just need some energy to baste it together so that it can be quilted. I'm still not sure if I'll machine quilt it or hand quilt it. I already have one quilt underway in the hoop and I'm a long way off having it done.

Decisions, decisions.

What do you think? Here's the picture of the quilt again:

I'd love to do some quilting in the blank squares. I bought a circular wreath stencil today. It would be perfect in those blank spots. But whether or not I should do it by hand or machine is the question. I'm a bit of a puritan. I'd like to do either 100% hand or 100% machine ~ not both in the same quilt.

So...what do you think my quilty friends? Hand or machine? What does quilt beg for?

Until next time,

Mavis

Celtic Knot Mystery Quilt ~ Another Finish!

2011-07-16T22:18:00.000-07:00

One of the ladies in my satellite group finished her Celtic Knot quilt. I've been waiting for this one because I absolutely loved her colours ~ hot pink/light pink, black and white. Take a look! It's gorgeous!

Rainy Saturday = Sewing Day ... Warning: eye candy ahead...

2011-07-16T22:14:00.000-07:00

Today was the day my satellite group had planned to do our jelly roll races. It just so happened that it was pouring rain so any guilt for not spending today in the garden was totally gone!

We met at about 9:30 but didn't actually start the race until noon. The first quilt was done in about an hour and thirty minutes. Here are some photos of our day:

My stack

Jan's stack ready to go!

Ladies...start your engines!

Terry ~ And we're off!

A short hour and a half later, the tops were done!

Terry's first jelly roll 1600 (race) quilt

Pat's ~ done from her scrap bag for a totally different look

Mine!

Terry's second one. Different width strips creates a vertical quilt

Muriel's and Jan's - same jelly roll pack but they turned out different.

So that my friends is a jelly roll race.

I also managed to finish the Irish Chain quilt top that I bought at the garage sale last weekend.

Voila!


So happy to have a nice complementary green and pinky creamy fabric for the borders.

I put the backing together. The quilt will finish at about 83 1/2" wide x 90 " long. It's hanging on the clothesline tonight to hopefully get some wrinkles out naturally. I'm hoping to sandwich and start quilting it tomorrow. We'll see!

Until next time!

In memory of a very special lady...and Jelly Roll Races

2011-07-09T22:04:00.000-07:00

I lost a quilting friend to cancer a few months ago. She was a wife, mother, grandmother and special friend to a whole bunch of people. She was an excellent quilter with excellent taste in colours and even won Best of Show in the first Westshore Quilters' Guild quilt show. And I would say that our satellite group isn't the same without her special laugh and her kind and caring heart, expressed to the community through the gifts of her hands. She was an amazing lady and quilter and I am richer for having known her.

Why am I sharing this? Well today was a hard day. It was the day that her husband and some other quilting friends held a garage sale to clear out her fabric and craft supplies. It started at 9:00 a.m. so I picked up another quilting friend and we were there at about 9:10. So many familiar faces in the driveway and so many things to go through.

It was bittersweet. I know that my friend would be happy to know that her quilting sisters were carrying her fabric away to create things of beauty. But it was just another reminder that she's really gone. So for that reason, it was a hard day for me. I can still hear her laughter in my head and in my mind's eye see her neatly stacked cut squares or triangles ready for piecing. That was my friend Janet.

So I have some new treasures in my house to add to my stash. Here are some photos of the items that now live with me until they find their forever homes as quilts that bring comfort:


Twin-sized quilt ready for finishing	.


A double or queen sized Irish Chain ready to finish piecing. So soft. I love her colours.

I had this same fabric and used it to make a baby quilt. I'm not sure what I'll do with this 'kit'.

And some great patterns to explore.

Sat outside on my deck on the lounge chair looking through these books when I got home. So many ideas...so little time!

A great box of mostly neutrals. I see so many options for scrap quilts with these!

And in this box, more neutrals plus some great country prints, some plaids, some homespun...lots of possibilities.

After the garage sale our group went for coffee to Evedar's for coffee and to hang out. Great coffee and baked goods. Giant cinnamon buns (no I didn't partake but I did enjoy a cheese muffin!). But before Evedar's my friend and I hit Cloth Castle where we were on the hunt for Jelly Rolls for the Jelly Roll 1600 Races!. Much to our delight they were 50% off! I found this great jelly roll for $20!!


They are actually called Tonga Treats! But they will be perfect for the Jelly Roll Races quilt!

So that was my Saturday. Plus a wedding and a few hours work but no sewing today. There's always tomorrow!

Until next time,

Mavis

Dayspring Farm B&B - July long weekend!

2011-07-02T09:34:00.000-07:00

We had a full house last night at the B&B http://dayspringbb.com. Our guests were from Alberta and Cape Town, South Africa. And they were together! A young couple, originally from South Africa, now living in Alberta were doing a West Coast tour with his parents from Cape Town. They stayed with us for one night and were outside for breakfast on our back deck:

Now they are off to catch the 10:00 a.m. ferry; and we begin the laundry and dishes in preparation for the next couple coming in tonight to the Queen Suite.

Soon, their sheets will be hanging on the clothesline and here's the quilt from the Queen Suite hanging outside in the fresh air:

I wish you could stand beneath this quilt and smell the heliotrope in those flower pots on the posts. It's heavenly!!

Now I'm off to load the dishwasher and plan tomorrow's breakfast. Maybe it will be Baked Blueberry French Toast or a repeat of today's Carrot Pancakes. We'll see what they feel like. Our next guests are just finishing off a backpacking trip before heading back to the states tomorrow. Once the breakfast decisions are made and inventory of ingredients are taken and beds are made, then I hope to spend some more time in my quilt studio working on my Floribunda / Tea Rose quilt.

Happy Saturday friends!
Mavis

Happy Canada Day!!

2011-07-01T19:46:00.000-07:00

How do you celebrate our nation's birthday? Me? Well, it started off with a walk with a girlfriend and between us three doggies. My senior Jack Russell, Sara was very well behaved and so were her two, Biggie and Max. We walked for about 45 minutes and then I felt the need to drop by Fabricland to see if they had a Canada Day sale on.

They did! I ended up buying 3 meters of batiks at $8.00/meter so that was just a nice addition to my batik stash and then I spotted a lovely buttery yellow fabric which I thought would pair up nicely with a floral in my stash for a quilt which I saw on Bonnie Hunter's blog, http://quiltville.blogspot.com, which she is calling "Floribunda". It's a Jacob's Ladder quilt pattern. There is a picture of an antique quilt that she either found and snapped a photo of or purchased but in any event, she is recreating it and now so am I.

Here's a picture of my first two blocks started today:

I can't get the photo to rotate properly but this will give you an idea of the colours anyway. it's going to be a gorgeous summertime quilt. I think I will name mine "Tea Rose" because the colours remind me of the china pattern.

It took me less than an hour to do these two blocks. It's fast to put together if you're organized. I had a busy day today and still need to blog about my dinner on my other blog: http://thepantrygourmet.blogspot.com.

Our guests are out downtown and want to watch the Canada Day fireworks tonight which will mean they will be coming in late. Do you know what this means? I can sew fairly late tonight. Let's just hope my energy level permits me to get a few more of these blocks done.

Thanks to Bonnie Hunter for another inspiring blog post. I didn't really need to start yet another project (UFO) but what the heck!? I have to follow my inspiration otherwise it's a chore right? It's like that for me. I want to sew what inspires me and this quilt will be a beauty!!

Happy Canada Day friends!
Mavis

Long Weekend Approaching...

2011-07-01T19:06:00.000-07:00

I'm determined to carve out some creative time this weekend. We have B&B guests during the Canada Day weekend and since my sewing room is directly above their bedroom, courtesy will prevent me from sewing into the wee hours as the vibration of my machine on the table goes straight through the floor. But when they are out exploring our fair city I have in mind to start a quilt I saw at www.quiltville.blogspot.com called "Floribunda". It's a Jacobs Ladder quilt. Bonnie Hunter from Quiltville bought an antique quilt done in various shades of yellow and from there the rest of the quilt is scrappy. I have just the right fabric (floral) that I've had in my stash forever. If I can find a yellow to pair it with it will be a delightful summer quilt.

On the home front: We had an open house last weekend on Sunday afternoon and one prospective family noticed my Celtic Knot quilt on my king sized bed and asked our realtor where I bought it. The realtor then happily took them to my quilting room explained that I had made it. The comment was made "oh yes...a true quilter...more than one project on the go...". My realtor was so happy that I had one of my quilts on my bed...in fact three of the beds in the house and one vignette in my sewing room, one UFO on the wall (tidy) and one hanging in the landing on a curtain rod. So far, no serious nibbles on the house but I'm glad the quilts are appreciated. Once a house is staged for sale it becomes less your personality and lifestyle and as bland as possible. Yuk! I'm just grateful that I can still see my quilts here and there and that part of my personality is still in this house.

Stay tuned for photos from my creative time this weekend.

Quilting in the Trees 2011

2011-06-15T09:55:00.000-07:00

I belong to the Victoria Quilters' Guild and they have an annual quilting retreat held at Pearson College in mid-June.

Here's a photo of the view from the dining room:

Here's the class I was GOING to take (with Coreen Zerr):

but sadly I was lacking in the inspiration needed to choose the fabrics for this quilt. I love scrappy quilts and it appeared to me that the fabrics needed to be hand-dyed or similar and I just wasn't 'feelin' it'. So, I defaulted back to my comfort zone ~ mystery quilts.

The first day I enrolled in a quick quilt class called "Daystripper".

You may not be able to tell but I made an error in cutting some of the triangles so improvised with a straight green triangle and it turned out well. The joke in our class was that I invented a new pattern. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!

I had brought along some fabric to cut out the squares for a Disappearing Nine Patch for a baby due in August. I had enough fabric to do two Daystrippers, why not?? Here's the second one. This is for a very special first baby arriving in August for Karen and Stacey:

Here are some others:

Amy and Terry

Day Two and Three was the Kaleidostrata mystery quilt. Let me start off by saying that I love the sample that Arlene did. This is a modern quilt pattern. Lots of them looked great, but not mine. I chose traditional fabrics and for this quilt pattern it just didn't look right, in my opinion. And since I'm the quilter creating this quilt my opinion counts.

Here were my fabrics. I loved my focus fabric in the yellow and blue with hints of green:

Here's a photo of Shirley's at the beginning. I love her colours!

And here's Beryl's:

And here's mine:

It's just not singing for me. So I tried turning one of the blocks to do what my friend Shirley did to hers:

Still not feelin' it. Next step ~ deconstruction!! I'll keep the strata units to use for something else. I have a plan! I love the technique we learned for the kaleidoscopes (4 squares cut stack n whack style and then twirled to make the kaleidoscope).

Anyway, I'll post the blocks on another day. For now, here is a photo of the mystery quilt that Ursula Reigel created for the 25th anniversary of Quilting in the Trees. Isn't it gorgeous?? There were blocks revealed in the guild newsletter and the finale was done at Pearson. I just love this quilt!

Now back home with 3 projects done (well 3 UFOs but who's counting?) ~ not bad for 3 days' work eh??

Until next time,
Mavis

Baby Quilt done!

2011-05-22T11:21:00.000-07:00

At long last...off the design wall (which had to be packed up for listing the house) and into the UFO bin....and then finished!!

I had a wonderful day of sewing with my gal pals (aka Parks Girls) yesterday and managed to sandwich this quilt using fusible batting and then machine quilted it on my Janome Gem. I wasn't as easy as using my Janome 6500 with the room but I did it!

I finished it just before midnight last night (the binding and the label) and feel great that I can cross another one off the list. Dear little Olivia turns 1 on July 18th so I would love to get this to her while she is still a baby!

Quilty hugs,

Mavis

Something to ponder...

2011-05-19T15:13:00.001-07:00

So, with our upcoming sale of Dayspring Farm can I really call myself Dayspring Quilter still??

Perhaps I need to reinvent my blog under a new name?

What do you all think?

Mavis

Quilting Hiatus (forced)

2011-05-01T11:01:00.000-07:00

The word `forced` is a cruel word. And in this instance it`s probably too strong a word. Maybe `self inflicted` is a more accurate description of where I find myself.

You see, we are in the midst of getting our home ready to list for sale. This means that now that the thread is off the carpet in my sewing room and all the projects are neatly containerized, I need to put my energies into decolourizing my home. Neutral is in apparently...stark neutral. White. You know how quilters love colour? Well my green bathroom is now white; my oak bathroom cabinets, in all but one of the bathrooms, are now white with silver handles (they look stunning; I must confess!). My red walls in my bedroom with gold faux finish (think asian) will soon be white. The carpet is dark blue.

I still indulge in quilting blogs and magazine reads whilst relaxing (and those times seem too few and far between) so as not to lose my quilting inspiration.

But for now duty calls. We have a huge house and I will be thankful to downsize to something more manageable (three floors and health issues means we are now looking for a rancher). Less house to manage means more quilting time I figure, and that`s always good.

Please send me your pictures friends. I`d love to see what my quilting sisters are up to and to maintain some much needed inspiration.

The green and brown quilt that is in my previous post which was a twin will now be a queen so I`ve had to take apart the borders and add some rows to make it big enough. My DS will be getting a queen bed in our new house. And in my own way of justifying quilting time this is an allowable expenditure of time and energy in our staging process. Why? Because it needs to go on DS`s bed for staging.

Maybe I`ll post some before and after pictures of my bedroom. I think I`m going to love my white bedroom with my celtic knot quilt. Maybe it will go from red white and blue to white and blue with hints of red. I was done with the red anyway. No biggy.

Have a great remaining day of this lovely weekend friends.

Until next time - quilty hugs,

Mavis

Scrappy Happy !!

2011-02-28T21:49:00.000-08:00

I just finished putting the borders on a new quilt for my son's twin bed. I took this picture with my Blackberry camera so you may not be able to see the colours too clearly. Totally scrappy greens, browns and beiges. Ugly fabrics included. You find them! I challenge you!

Here's the quilt top before the sandwich:

As per my previous post, I have been living in stressville and it feels very good to know that I finished a quilt top. To the left of the quilt is the backing. The batting is hanging over the railing tonight to remove the creases. Maybe more therapy tomorrow night!!

I'd rather quilt than watch TV in the evenings. My son is kinda excited to see the quilt progressing so quickly. It was very satisfying to have a 19 year old guy ask me to make a quilt for him because it's the perfect temperature on his bed. His duvet is too hot and a blanket is too cold...a quilt is just right! He will soon be able to retire his Christmas quilt until next December when they come out of hiding.

Until next time,

Mavis

PIGS and UFOs and me on a Quilt Diet...

2011-02-20T10:28:00.000-08:00

P.I.G.S. = Projects in Grocery Sacks

UFOs = Unfinished Objects

I have them and I'm quite sure you have them too. I need to make a new acronym for the stacks and stacks of ideas for new quilts in my head and on my worktable (magazines flagged, books marked, printouts from the web). Can you relate?

How about HIPS??
HUNDREDS OF IDEAS PILING SKYWARD
I like it!

I'm feeling quite overwhelmed with life at the moment, including my quilt life. I'm sure I'm not alone with the thought that quilting is therapy. I'm there. I find hand-quilting very therapeutic except for the fingertips afterward (I hate thimbles much like I hate gardening gloves). I spent about 4 hours in front of the TV with my daughter yesterday. She was knitting and I was hand-quilting my Super Bowl quilt. I love to see the fruits of my labour on projects like this. It's measureable; it's satisfying.

So why am I feeling so anxious today? Good question and simple answer...too much on my plate. Too many responsibilities and while I hate to admit it, too many PIGS, UFOS and HIPS.

The remedy? S L O W D O W N !!!! Work on one thing at a time. Don't start any new projects or sign up for any more mystery quilts (my weakness). Enjoy what I'm doing in the moment. Don't make quilting like WORK!! Don't RUSH. Enjoy the process.

I'm a driven personality. I'm not happy sitting still. I need to be doing something. Can't help it; it's the way I'm wired. Hand-quilting lets my body rest but keeps my mind busy. But sometimes it looks like so far to go because I'm thinking about it as a FINISHED project, ready to sell. Sounds like work doesn't it? I'm doing a studio tour in May and because I thought this quilt would be for sale I subconsciously set myself a deadline and put my headspace into RUSH mode. Does that create anxiety? I would say so.

As for the rest of life's responsibilities, it's time to take stock, do one thing at a time, shed what I don't have to do, and reward myself with some playtime in my studio, or in front of the TV again working on my hand-quilting.

But for now...No more new projects! There...it's committed in writing.

Until next time,

Mavis

Super Bowl Sunday Sew-in!

2011-02-12T20:30:00.000-08:00

I'm a week late with my post about my sew-in on Super Bowl Sunday. It started with an email newsletter from Planet Patchwork talking about a Super Bowl Mystery Quilt. Here's the link: http://www.planetpatchwork.com/squarecentermystery/squarecenter1.htm

I invited a quilting friend to join me. We started at 10:00 a.m. Pacific time. The first clue was revealed at 10:00 a.m. Eastern time so we had a few clues to catch up on.

I chose deep muted colours (almost Civil War-type colours). My friend Pam chose bright summery colours. I had a black background. She chose a white background. Our quilts couldn't have been more different from each other. We had a blast! I think we finished up the quilt tops at about 10:00 p.m. I love quick quilt projects. I'm now hand quilting mine. Pam is going to machine quilt hers. It will be interesting to see both quilts side by side, finished.

Anyway, here are some pictures of our progress that day:

Here's the first block ~ Mine above; Pam's below:

Aren't they different?? Here are some other photos as we progressed throughout the L O N G day:

Pam at her machine building blocks.

Me trying to decipher the instructions. We made a few boo boos along the way, but thankfully they were easy to fix. Both of us said that we don't ever remember reverse sewing as much as we did on these quilts. But we got 'er dun!

Gorgeous summer colours don't you think?

At this point in construction we're beginning to put the pattern together and a few more colour placement boo boos are revealed...more reverse sewing...

Pam's top done without borders (total time = 12 hours!)

And my top done without the borders; time = 12 hours!

And finally, my finished top with the borders (Note: I chose a different border than the mystery).

I'm currently hand quilting mine using Bonnie Hunter's hand-quilted (free hand) baptist fan pattern. I'm using a dark slate blue thread which looks great on all the fabrics in the quilt. Picture to follow soon. I'm loving it! I was wanting to start another hand quilting project. I love have handwork handy near the TV. Pam will be machine quilting hers and maybe I can coax her to share a photo on my blog when it's done!

Until next time,

Quilting Saturday at Church

2011-02-05T15:15:00.000-08:00

The first Saturday of every month, a group of ladies from my church community get together to quilt. We make quilts for every new baby born in our congregation...and let me tell you there are many.

I wanted to share a few photos of the 'in progress' stage:

My friend Terry deconstructing jeans to make a denim quilt.

My baskets of strips. I'm making string squares in 6 different colours - yellow, green, purple, pink, turquoise and orange.

Denim deconstruction!

This is what I want my quilt to look like.

My friend Denise finishing off a tablerunner! Gorgeous!

So many projects ~ so little time.

Mavis

Zip, Zip, Done!!

2011-02-03T21:15:00.000-08:00

Well, I hadn't planned on it, but this weekend I dove into a partially completed quilt block project that a colleague at work sent my way when she was downsizing. She was parting with all of her quilting patterns, scraps and partially completed quilts. What a score!

I was in the mood to sew but wasn't necessarily wanting to work on my Roll, Roll, Cotton Boll so I thought I would get a start on cutting out a new baby quilt. Then I remembered this partially completed quilt project.

I decided I could do the applique and that would satisfy the sewing urge for the evening. Got that done and needed more. I should say that I had the house basically to myself since my daughter and husband were away at a conference all weekend and my son was home but plugged into his own computer with his own projects. Play time for Mom!

To make a long story short, I finished the quilt top that night, AND got it quilted and bound it the next night. It was a great weekend. I can face Mondays so much easier when I've accomplished something on the weekend - especially something fun and charitable.

And here is my latest baby quilt for one of the newest members of our congregation:

I have no idea yet who the recipient will be but I am fairly certain it will be a girl! :o)

Thank you to my friend Lisa who had the vision to start this project, and for her generosity in finding it a home in my studio where it could be lovingly brought to life, thereby giving me such great joy.

Happy quilting!
Mavis

Roll, Roll, Cotton Boll progress

2011-01-29T16:07:00.000-08:00

Last night I finished all my border units. I didn't do them until the end because I was waiting for my Companion Angle ruler to arrive. What a great feeling of accomplishment.

I've now started assembling my quilt top and will post a picture soon!

I had a wonderful pedicure today, complete with paraffin treatment. I figured that since I treated myself that I should now spend some time taking care of business. It's year-end and tax time's a comin' so I'm spending the rest of the afternoon on bookkeeping...although my heart is upstairs next to my sewing machine. Alas...into every life a little work must fall.

Happy Quilting Friends!

Mavis

Strawberry Fields forever pattern

2011-01-17T19:47:00.000-08:00

This is my first 'published' (aka 'for sale') pattern. I've called it Strawberry Fields Forever. It's a very simple charm quilt with some applique and bias-binding vine.

Let me know what you think. I'm uploading it for the taking. Have fun!

Strawberry Fields

Approx. 60 ½” x 72”

This is a “charm” quilt using either pre-packaged 5” charms or scrappy 5” squares from your stash.

Supplies:

- 99 5” charms (note: Charm packs usually come 42 to a pack. You will need 3 packs for this quilt and will have some leftovers. You could make a matching cushion with the lefovers.

- 3 meters of neutral fabric (for sashing and borders and binding)

- 1 meter of strawberry fabric

- .5 meters of green for stem

- .5 meters of green for vine

- 3 meters of batting

- 3 meters of backing @ 45” wide fabric)

The Pattern:

http://www.scribd.com/full/47055595?access_key=key-m5lbd36b6elbatw099l

Strawberry Fields

Block Marathon

2011-01-17T12:28:00.000-08:00

I finally finished all of the blocks of my Roll Roll Cotton Boll. And I ordered a Companion Angle ruler which has now arrived so I guess the next marathon will be the border units.

I absolutely love the quilt tops that I've seen so far and really want to get this one finished soon.

Pictures to follow once I can find the cable for my blackberry.

End of Christmas Vacation

2011-01-03T17:03:00.000-08:00

My mini at home quilting retreat ends tomorrow. Here's what I've got to show for my devoted days of sewing:

I love these blocks but it's definitely more week than a weekend effort. Are my quilting muscles ever sore! I was so hoping to catch up this weekend. I'm closer but not totally caught up. I am very intrigued by the last step coming this Friday. I have more cutting to do for that step and am hoping the Companion Angle ruler I ordered from Sawyers will be here soon as it's needed for the last units required for the borders.

These are monotonous little blocks! These are the result of the 600 half-square triangles. I am very tired of working on this part so I may go and assemble some of the final blocks. But then again, it's happy hour! Maybe a glass of wine and some time with the family will give me more unction to finish them. Sigh...

Until next time,
Mavis

Roll, Roll, Cotton Boll progress...

2010-12-30T20:16:00.000-08:00

I'm thoroughly enjoying this mystery. Having done two other Bonnie Hunter mysteries from her Quiltville site, I started this mystery with eyes wide open knowing that it would:

1. actually USE my stash;
2. have a lot of small pieces;
3. have some easy blocks and some 'need caffeine and music to distract me' blocks;
4. have colours together that I would never have thought of (she's brilliant!);
5. have a breaktaking outcome.

Here's where I am so far:

Step 1: done on time

Step 2: done on time
(picture shows steps 1 & 2)

Step 3: Interesting -- I was the one who didn't want to use paper as my foundation because of all the ripping and mess! So I found the Ricky Tims Stable Poly Stuff which dissolves in water. To make a long story short - I had a better time ripping off the paper of the first 10 I did that way before discovering the 50 pack of Stable Poly Stuff. We had a memorial service yesterday for my DMIL so I thought before we left I would put the 50 blocks on 'delicate' on a short cycle in the washer to self-dissolve. While it worked I wouldn't recommend it. I have to restitch 3 blocks that were stressed to the point of coming apart on one strip. Also, it looks like I put a full box of kleenex in the washing machine. There is white fluff on my clothes, white fluff left in the washer, white fluff on the laundry room floor, white fluff on my ironing board (I didn't dry them; I just ironed them wet to block them), and white fluff on my dark blue carpet in my sewing room. Moral of the story ~ follow Bonnie's instructions because she has obviously "been there, done that" and found the best way. Bonnie, you rock!! Pardon my laziness and thinking there was a better way.

Step 3 photo:

Step 4: 1 set done just to see. Love it! Now that I'm done Step 3, I will forge ahead and finish the 'easy' Step 4.

Step 5: Using triangulations and got 24 done with one sheet of paper. Love them! Hoping another lesson won't be learned in doing it my own way. So far they look awesome. Only 24+ sheets to go. Better than saying 500+ blocks to go right?

Step 6: Seems way in the future to me but I'll get there.

Guessing at the mystery: Not even close!! I love surprises and it seems Bonnie has really done it this time!

And tomorrow is Friday! So we'll get the second to last clue. Aren't we having just the greatest fun??

Until next post...
Mavis

And the quilt goes to....

2010-12-27T14:18:00.000-08:00

I usually try and gift a quilt for one person/family per year at Christmas. This year I presented this quilt to my pastor and his wife (Bruce & Lorraine).

I started it at Quilting in the Trees, my annual June retreat at Pearson College here in Victoria with the Victoria Quilters' Guild. It was a mystery quilt created and led by Kelly English and Arlene MacKenzie. We had great fun and the different looks with different fabric choices were amazing. Some in the class chose to turn the centre block different ways which gave theirs an even different look yet!

My sunflower batik fabric called me loudly from Bib n Tucker Quilt Shop here in Victoria. We were told to choose a focus fabric plus a dark (my brown), medium (my gold) and light (my off white) coordinating fabric. All of it is batiks. The back is the dark sunflower focus fabric. I think I bought the whole bolt. This is the result!

I was going to send it to Arlene MacKenzie (On Point Quilting Studio) to long arm, but the more I looked it the more I figured it would be fun to do some custom quilting on my domestic Janome 6500. And it just so happened that I had another quilt retreat with my satellite group in November at Honeymoon Bay Retreat Centre near Cowichan, up island, so this was the perfect time away to devote the attention and time needed for this project. I love the result and Bruce and Lorraine love it too.

It gave me great joy to create this quilt for them. I accompanied this one with a prayer that they would feel the Father's love for them every time they snuggled under it. I hope they are enjoying it as much as I did during the creation of it.

Now...back to my 2 Bonnie Hunter mystery quilts. I'm behind on the steps for the Roll Roll Cotton Boll and am anxious to see how all these lovely colours will fit together into the finished quilt top. And I'm still quilting the Carolina Christmas, last year's mystery.

AND I have 4 days off so I will have some time to play. Yippee!!

Mavis

Pillowcase Prezzies!

2010-12-19T11:51:00.000-08:00

It's safe for me to post these photos because I don't think that any of the recipients follow my blog. I may be surprised but I am so excited to have finished all of these in record time (aka BEFORE Christmas) that I just had to share them:

I used the "sausage roll" method of making these so they all have finished seams. Here's a link: http://www.wendacoburn.com/sausagerollpillowcasefun.pdf

They were a fun and quick present to make.

Now off to finish off a quilt for my pastor and his wife for delivery later this week. Pictures to follow!

Have a great week leading up to Christmas!

Mavis

Roll, Roll, Rolling along...

2010-12-09T21:57:00.000-08:00

I'm forging ahead and almost keeping up with Bonnie Hunter's newest online mystery quilt entitled "Roll Roll Cotton Boll" (www.quiltville.com).

I am currently on Step 3 which is 60 string blocks measuring 8 1/2" square. I started with photocopy paper and grew weary of that within the first 10 minutes. There has to be a better way, I said to myself! Then I popped down to Bib n Tucker Quilting to pick up a book I had ordered and guess what I found? Ricky Tims Stable Poly Stuff. That's the real name; I kid you not. I never even knew it existed. It's like a washaway stabilizer but it doesn't have any glue in it at all. It dissolves with the first washing of the quilt. And it was 20% off ~ bonus!! So it came home with me and I've been happily playing with these string blocks (my first time) and quite enjoying the process now that I know I don't have to tear the paper off.

As I was sewing I was trying to watch the latest episode on The Quilt Show but the volume of my DH's TV made it hard to hear. He's watching Ben Hur (tis the season you know!) and the sound of the chariots definitely drowned out the sound of Ami Sims sharing about her Alzheimer Quilt initiative. I can always go back and watch it again.

In the meantime, here's a photo of tonight's efforts so far:

My beginning ones were pretty tame. As I saw the other ones in the quiltville yahoo group album I decided that I needed to let loose and let the dark strips in too and the uglies and the ones with some colour. Neutral is an objective term and apparently I'm quite 'reserved'. I'm so excited to see how this quilt turns out. I do love a good mystery!!

Now I'm trying to keep my eyeballs open long enough to sneak a peak at Friday's clue. It's already Friday in North Carolina so I figure Bonnie's blog should be loading Clue 4 before I go to bed tonight. West Coast time is 9:57 p.m. which is 12:57 a.m. in North Carolina, which is ..... Friday!

Back to do a couple more before I call it a night!

Until next time,
Mavis

Quilting as I go...

2010-11-28T18:36:00.000-08:00

I have now finished my Carolina (Canadiana) Christmas blocks and they are currently hanging on my design wall looking gorgeous! I'm very excited to get this one finished. Thank you to Bonnie Hunter from quiltville.com for this design/mystery.

I decided to try a 'quilt as you go' method because I am doing sashing on this quilt and it lends itself wonderfully to quilting each block and then merging them together...and it's going to be a king sized quilt and it will be much easier to quilt it one block at a time.

I'm using the "Twirly Tucks Variation 1" from my Quilting Designs disk (a Quiltmaker product). I've enlarged the design to 16" and have pasted my 4 sheets of laser printer paper together to make one big design.

First I thought I would needlepunch the design and 'pounce' the quilt top, each block just before getting ready to sew it. Great idea but the execution left something to be desired. Some of the holes showed the chalk markings but it was not easy to follow the design. I don't need any stumbling blocks in my way when it comes to machine quilting.

Second, I thought I would trace it onto 'tulle' and then transfer it with a quilt pencil onto the top of the quilt. With such a big design (16" square) the tulle moved too much and the image was distorted as a result.

Third try ~ I pulled out some thicker tissue/pattern design paper and traced the design onto the tissue paper and then pinned it onto the quilt square and then quilted through the tissue.

It worked the best of the three different methods but I really hate tearing the paper away after the fact (one of the reasons I don't paper piece too much!).

If it was a sunny day I would probably tape the design to the window and then tape the quilt block on top and trace the design right onto the quilt top. But alas, it's a dark Sunday evening and I won't have any daytime quilt time until next weekend.

Here are two of the blocks, now quilted:

On this one I used my walking foot. Lots of moving the block around but the quilt design worked quite well.

Here's the free-motion version:

I think I did better on the walking foot except for the little humps which it stalls on (intersections).

Here's a closeup of the poinsetta block done free motion:

Not my best work but maybe they'll improve as I get a few more blocks done.

Off to feed the troops, fold some laundry and then get back to the sewing machine.

Until next time,
Mavis

Carolina Christmas (Canadiana Christmas is my version)

2010-11-21T17:46:00.000-08:00

I'm done my first step of the Roll Roll Cotton Boll mystery quilt but on a 'roll' so decided I would continue piecing my Canadiana Christmas quilt. I'm still short some blocks and will have to cut more but here's the first row done! The only thing missing is the sashing in between the blocks. I'm trying to make it a King sized quilt and am seriously thinking about doing a 'quilt as you go' approach to getting it quilted. I don't think I could manage a king-sized quilt on my Janome 6500 but I am quite certain I could handle these 16" finished blocks. I will still ponder that and see how I feel when my wool batting (Hobb's Heirloom Wool Batting) arrives from Fabric Depot.

In the meantime I think I will surf the Net and see if there are some tutorials out there. I know there are many methods of QAYG (quilt as you go). I just don't want my quilt to be obviously QAYG. I've got some time to make up my mind as I've still got many blocks to assemble.

Here's a photo of the first row:

I'm LOVING this quilt! It was going to go in our Queen Suite in our B&B, but I've decided we need a warmer winter quilt for our bed and this Canadiana Christmas will do the trick, especially with warm wool batting.

I can hardly wait to get this one finished.

Warm quilty wishes!!

Mavis

Friday Night Sew-in - perfect timing for Roll Roll Cotton Boll new Quiltville mystery

2010-11-19T23:40:00.000-08:00

I've been waiting for the first clue of Bonnie Hunter's newest mystery quilt..."Roll Roll Cotton Boll". I was able to print out the first clue before the clock struck 12:00 last night ~ one of the benefits of living on the West coast!!

I changed my colours after spending last weekend away at a quilting retreat and spotting this colour combo in a magazine.Up to that time I was struggling with shopping from my stash. Chioices were teal, purple, gold, cream which I loved but couldn't choose a constant so I kept switching it up. Not satisfied with any of them. I've now chosen light pink, greens, blacks and tone on tone white/light cream with a double pink/raspberry as my "constant" (Bonnie's lingo for one colour that ties the scrappy colours together nicely).

The first step is 3 2" strips; two pink with one green in the middle. Then cut into 2" sub-strips. Here is the result: 172 units done!

Until next time!
Mavis

Homemade Christmas

2010-10-31T18:01:00.000-07:00

Every Christmas Eve, my family gathers with my sister's family, usually at our house. We usually do a themed Christmas Eve dinner. We save turkey and all the fixins for Christmas Day.

One of our first themed dinners was "My Big Fat Greek Christmas Eve". The colours, blue and white, of course, the food ~ as authentic Greek as we could muster ~ my DH does a fabulous barbequed lamb roast; couple that with Greek lemon potatoes (one of my sister's specialties), my homemade baklava, spanakopita, etc. and you guessed it, we rolled ourselves away from the table after lots of great food and conversation and more often than not, some of DH's prize-winning wine. These are memorable family times.

I usually give one family member a quilt for Christmas each year. Last year my niece got a black and white and hot pink disappearing Nine-Patch which was very warmly received and to this day cherished (gives me a warm fuzzy feeling knowing my homemade gift blessed my kin). I don't have any quilts for family members this year but I have issued a challenge to my rellies ~ 'we're going to have a homemade Christmas'. So far, my knitting daughter is on board (she had already starting knitting Christmas presents for her cousins); my wine-maker husband is on board; my musician son is on board, and me and my sewing machine are warming up to get down to business.

I love the idea of taking time (away from the mall) to think about using our giftings and talents to create something to give to someone else. They don't have to be elaborate, professional productions. I'm working on knitting socks for my DH and DS. They are excited to receive them. I love the feeling that I'm going to give them something I myself have made. It's a great feeling. The less time shopping the better as far as I'm concerned.

And as for the meal this year....Christmas in Tuscany. I envision warm candlelight and my favourite people around my table enjoying our favourite Italian foods and in those quiet moments between bites and conversation, pondering the love that went in to our gifts to one another. I imagine the expressions on their faces when they unwrap my gift from the heart.

I'm still formulating my gift ideas. Tomorrow is November 1st which always seems to signal me to get busy cutting and sewing because those days on the calendar are closer than they appear.

Now I'm off to my stash to go shopping and see what I can find for these gifts.

Is it too soon to say Merry Christmas??

Until next time,
Mavis

Friday Night Sew-in and Sunday Night Project - Carolina Christmas

2010-10-17T18:35:00.000-07:00

Friday Night Sew-in...was a bust. I came home from work with a headache and was dizzy. I opted to stay in bed and watch TV with my hubby and managed to ward off the flu.

Tonight, however, I'm working on my Carolina Christmas Mystery Quilt from last November (Quiltville). inI'm very close to being able to my blocks together and am very excited!! I will be doing the 'sashed' version of the quilt to break up the noise of my fabric. I think this quilt will be for the queen bed in our Queen Suite of our B&B (the Christmas quilt). I love Bonnie Hunter's quilts.

208 half square triangles in red and my neutral. I'm half-way through them and hope to get them all done tonight and pressed. They will form part of the broken dishes block.

Not sure what these are called but there are plenty of them and they will go with the first blocks to form what Bonnie calls the "Fox and Geese" blocks. They end up being the 'stars' in the quilt.

These next blocks are called Poinsettia blocks. Four of them go together into each block. I love them!

I can't find Bonnie's finished Carolina Christmas quilt on her Quiltville website but here's what I'm planning to do for my layout. I love this quilt!

This one was done by "Illa" from my yahoo group. Just love it! Isn't it wintery?? Mine won't be as white as this but if it looks this good I'll be happy!! Well done Illa.

This weekend I'm also working on knitting socks and various and sundry projects. It must be autumn!! And since the socks are for my DH and my DS and were supposed to be gifts for last Christmas I should really finish them soon. It helps that my DD has taken up knitting so we now love to sit together with a cup of tea and visit and knit together. I love that. And she's looking for me now so I will hang up my stylo for the evening and shut down my sewing machine and join my daughter for the remainder of the evening.

Until next time...so many projects, so little time!!

Mavis

My first quilted bag/purse!

2010-10-09T22:36:00.000-07:00

I finally did it! I made a quilted bag. I found this as a kit down in Oregon when I was on the Sisters Bus Trip. I cannot remember which quilting store had it but it had to be mine!

I love the fabric and it was a quick project. I started cutting it out at noon with my quilt group and finished it up tonight after a few hours' break for grocery shopping, dinner, etc...AND I had to rip out a few stitches because the instructions weren't very clear for a first-timer. The pattern is "Pocket Perfect" by Kathy Fernholz (Indygo Junction, Inc.)

Creative Slump leads to deconstruction...

2010-09-27T09:26:00.000-07:00

I haven't sewn a stitch since my Saturday sewing 2 weeks ago. I've spent some time in my studio but more organizing than creative pursuits. I've had a baby quilt on my design wall for weeks trying to decide how to fix it. Today it was like a bad hair day. I pulled out the scissors and chopped it up, salvaging the main squares and discarding the rest. Here are the before and after shots:

BEFORE (I actually placed the squares back in the frames. The blue border has already been cut off. This is a reasonable representation of the 'before' picture. Yuk!

Now, here's the blocks I salvaged: (the 2" blue borders are in my 2" strip drawer; the balance of the 'flimsy' is in my bag of scraps that goes to the Win Thrift Store to be recycled into new fabric, so it's not really waste, right?)

Any ideas on what else I could do to finish this baby quilt? I'm toying with framing them log cabin style but they already measure 9".

I'd love to hear your thoughts and ideas about these blocks...

Until next time,

Mavis

Baby Bricks & Stepping Stones - UFO done! or IFFI!!

2010-09-06T12:22:00.000-07:00

This quilt was created especially for a beautiful baby girl in our church congregation named Monroe. She totally suits her name and I think this quilt totally suits her.

Baby Bricks & Stepping Stones

It is a free pattern from Bonnie Hunter's website: www.quiltville.com called "Bricks and Stepping Stones". It is very quick to put together. I machine quilted on my friend's Little Gracie with a Janome 6600 and then did a machine binding using the faux piping tutorial at http://tlcstitches.blogspot.com/2010/07/faux-piped-binding-tutorial.html.

It will be presented to Monroe sometime mid-September along with some other presentations by other quilters in our church quilting group to the other babies born to families in our church...and there are many!

We're kinda behind in getting our quilts done so I'm very happy to have found time to finish this quilt this weekend and to have discovered this snazzy new binding method. Thank you to Trish from Seattle for sharing this tutorial on her tlcstitches blog.

Until next time!
Mavis

Playtime!!

2010-09-04T14:26:00.000-07:00

I am a fan of "Quilting Arts" on TV and the Web. I usually tape the show and watch is Saturday mornings. Last Saturday I did just that and was so inspired by one of their projects that I bought some dissolvable paper and created this portrait of my dog, Sara, Saturday afternoon.

I loved this project! I will use a lighter background next time because it's not easy to see Sara, but my whole family recognized her right off the batt so I must have done something right. There are some more advanced doggy portraits on the downloadable .pdf on the website. You have to register on the site to download the document but it only takes a few minutes.

You can check out this project at http://www.quiltingartstv.com/projects/600/projects_600_9.htm. It's Project 609-1.

Supplies Needed: Scrap of batting 8.5 x 11"; Scraps of fabric (batiks work great), all in analogous colours; Temporary adhesive spray; dissolvable paper/stabilizer (I used Sulky brand); image to print on injet printer.

The directions are on the Quilting Arts website. This was so much fun! It gave me lots of ideas about other applications of this design. I hope it inspires you too!

Blessings,
Mavis

Strawberry Fields Forever - the photo!

2010-09-04T12:34:00.000-07:00

Argghhhh...I bought my daughter's laptop with the dreaded Windows Vista on it. I'm trying hard to upload the photo of the quilt...let's give it another whirl....

Ta da!! Off to make the label now...

Until next time...
Mavis

Strawberry Fields Forever

2010-09-01T21:05:00.000-07:00

And ANOTHER UFO done. Woo hoo! Am I on a roll or what??!!

Guilt played a part in getting this quilt done. When the second anniversary of this lovely young couple had passed and I hadn't yet finished their wedding quilt, I knew it was time to do whatever it took to push past the creative block and get 'er dun!!

I will upload a photo when I get a picture taken of the quilt but here's a teaser...it's an original pattern using about 3 charm packs. Each charm is surrounded by sashing. The border is neutral and has appliqued strawberries and a vine on it (hence the name). What was making me 'stuck' was the thought of satin stitching around all of those blessed berries and strawberry tops/leaves. I broke free and did raw edge applique which will hopefully add some texture when it gets washed and fluffed/frayed a bit. This has given me one less excuse to finish my Tuscan Hillside quilt which may very well be the next project back on the machine. It also has a vine and some grape leaves on it.

I am so pleased with the final result of this latest IFFI (I finally finished it!) and I hope that this wonderful young couple will get much enjoyment from their Strawberry Fields Forever quilt.

Until next time... when I will hopefully have snapped a photo and uploaded it...but not tonight.

Mavis

Attack of the Scrap Basket!!

2010-08-22T09:45:00.000-07:00

This is something I've wanted to do for years! I've dealt with new scraps as I've finished projects and determined not to let my scrap basket overflow. But yesterday was the day I decided to attack my backlog scrap basket. I first looked into Bonnie Hunter's Leaders and Enders book to see what her common scrap usage sizes were. I decided 2" strips and 2 1/2" and 2" squares were the most useful. That said, I also thought about the 5" charm packs and the new patterns available for them.

Here are the before and after pictures:

Before

After

I've still got a ways to go but I figure I'll be all set to start some scrappy projects in September!

Happy Little Quilting Dance!!

Until next time,
Mavis

Another UFO finished!!

2010-08-02T14:06:00.000-07:00

I am more shocked than anyone that I have actually machine quilted two quilts in the month of July despite a full work day and a few guests visiting the B&B.

This latest one in yellow and purple (love, love, love that combo!) was started a few years back when Margaret Miller taught her "Strips that Sizzle" class here in Victoria. The instructions were to choose two colour families (mine of course were yellow and purple) and in those families choose three different values. There are a number of different layout options for this quilt. It was on my design wall for a LONG time until I was satisfied that the quilt was talking to me. I wanted it big enough for a bed quilt but I didn't want to introduce additional fabrics to make more blocks.
The result was adding a purple square to the center of each 'pinwheel'. I liked it and the decision was made! And I was amazed as I stood back and watched the yellow 'lattice' making a secondary design.

About half way through making the quilt top, I decided this quilt would be for my dear mother-in-law suffering from Alzheimers. She is now in long term care (after living with us for about 9 years). I wanted to make her a quilt that would brighten up her room. If this sunshiney quilt doesn't do it then I don't think anything will. I made the label large enough for her to read where it came from. I know she doesn't understand that I made it for her. It was just important for me to express my love for her with a handmade quilt and I pray that somehow she can feel its comfort.

And here it is ....

Another quilt finished.....

2010-07-05T16:59:00.000-07:00

One of my favourite phrases is..."I finished another quilt!" And I did!!

My husband and I visited a charming B&B in Charlottetown, PEI called Elmwood Heritage Inn (http://www.elmwoodinn.pe.ca) and the quilt in our room inspired me to create a quilt for our Queen Suite in our B&B. It has been a goal of mine to have quilts on each bed in our B&B. The colours in our Queen Suite are blue and brown with a neutral creamy beige wall. I dug through my blue, brown and beige scraps and voila...my Buckeye Beauty (aka Jewel Box).

Here's a 'before' picture of the Queen Suite:

Here's the 'after' picture of the Queen Suite:

The twin bed has my Double Delight (see earlier posts):

Two more UFOs off the list and a great feeling of accomplishment as I have put my quilts on beds for our guests.

2010 Quilting in the Trees (VQG) @ Pearson College

2010-07-05T16:39:00.000-07:00

Twas a great retreat indeed and I have a few things to show for myself! My first day was photo editing/printing on fabric/image transfer techniques with Susan Purney-Mark. I came with memory stick loaded with an assortment of photos but it soon became clear that my Peony picture was a must for a photo quilt. Here is the result: (Printed photo on EQ printables; printed a second photo on Extravorganza, cut 2 pictures into tiles and then steam a seam lite onto the photo as a 'suggestion' of a second photo superimposed overtop.) I managed to get it framed and pinned but not yet quilted.

Here's another small project we all did in the class: (teacher supplied kit with photo and fabric):

I already knew some of the techniques we used in the class but it was great fun to learn new things and to actually have some dedicated time to focus on a small project/art quilt.

The second and third days were a mystery quilt designed by Kelly English and Arlene MacKenzie. The quilt is called "Dash to the Finish". The centre block is a big Churn Dash featuring a focal fabric. These sunflowers just called my name at Bib N Tucker Quilting here in Victoria and became the focal point for my quilt. I then had 2 choose 1 light, 1 medium and 1 dark to compliment the focal fabric. I just loved these fabrics and had so much fun putting this quilt together. Here is an array of photos as the quilt progressed during the 2 days.

Center block done. Next came auditioning borders with various strip sets.

I love my focus fabric and will be adding one more border of it on this quilt. I think I will be sending it out to Arlene MacKenzie for quilting. I've just finished quilting a queen-sized quilt on my Janome 6500 and have had it with puckers appearing on the back despite my best efforts to baste.

All in all, a fabulous, creative time away at Quilting in the Trees. My goal now is to finish off all projects from this year before signing up for next year's inspiration!!

Retreats and Road Trips!!

2010-06-06T16:57:00.000-07:00

I've been feverishly working at getting my "Buckeye Beauty" pieced together. We are giving the Queen Suite in the B&B a makeover. My Double Delight (mentioned in the previous post) is on the twin bed and I'm loving the country look of it in that room. The Queen Bed is next. The Buckeye Beauty finishes at 94 inches square and looks gorgeous in that room in its blue, tan and brown colour scheme. My son said it reminded him of the beach, dark blue for the ocean, light blue for the sky, tan/brown for the sand. Now that you mention it, I think he's right!

My dear friend Shirley helped me sandwich and baste it yesterday. Now it is folded and ready to be carted upstairs to my studio where I will lovingly add the stitches to make it a quilt. After all, it isn't a quilt until it's quilted, right?

I really want to have it done by June 17th as we have guests checking into that suite on the 17th and it would make me so happy to have the makeover done by then. Then of course a photo shoot will follow to update the website.

I don't have very many days to get the quilting done as I am joining the same friend Shirley at Pearson College in Metchosin for our annual Quilting in the Trees retreat. Thursday until Sunday with creativity, classes and someone cooking for me. If the weather cooperates and it's warm and dry it will be another perfect retreat.

In July I am going a my first ever bus trip to Sisters, Oregon for the outdoor quilt show. My dear friend Jan will be joining me on this adventure.

I will be posting a picture of the finished Buckeye Beauty hopefully before I leave on the retreat.

Until then I'm praying for Godspeed in my studio as I finish this quilt.

Until next time,
Mavis

Ta da!! Double Delight is done and ready for the quilt show

2010-05-08T13:25:00.000-07:00

What a great feeling! I finished hand quilting my Double Delight (see previous posts), and I still have some flesh on my finger tips, albeit sore flesh. I never was a thimble girl.

Well, I finished the binding last night and here are some photos of my Double Delight:

Here are some photos of the hand quilting (my first time!) Happy Little Dance....

This shows the leaf vine quilting I did on the border. I used a paper printout of the quilting and then cut a piece of bridal tulle large enough to cover the drawing. I put the bridal tulle over the image and used a sharpie marker (permanent) to trace the quilting lines onto the tulle. Then I rinsed out the tulle and dried it (to make sure there was no left over black sharpie marker which would harm my quilt). From this point, you've got an image which you can lay over your quilt and use a chalk marker to trace it. Because the tulle has little holes, the chalk goes through the tulle and onto the quilt top. I thought this idea was pure genius. I can't claim that genius. I learned this trick at the Victoria Sewing Show.

I'm not sure you can see the tulip quilted into the setting triangle. Once again I used the bridal tulle over the image to create my transfer medium for the design. Worked great!

Here's a closeup of one of the quilt blocks showing the hand quilting. Very simple quilting inside each square and an 'x' through the centre nine-patch.

Here is another closeup of the border (top left and bottom right corner) I repeated the 'x' through the nine-patches and tulips in the small squares.

Also, try the 'Where's Waldo'? to see if you can find the nine-patch boo boo. I chose to take the Amish approach that "only God is perfect" and leave the boo boo in the quilt.

I wonder if the quilt police at the Quilt Show will find it. I'm not the least bit worried if they do. I know it was planned...or at least allowed for when I discovered it myself.

Off to do my label now! Til next time, Mavis

U.F.O. update

2010-04-25T13:57:00.000-07:00

One baby quilt finished and presented - wahoo. Updated my UFO list on the right hand side of the blog page and noticed that I've mentioned my Buckeye Beauty which is on my design wall. Wanna sneak peak?

This is another scrappy adventure. Are we having fun yet? Oh yes we are! I threw everything in here, even if I thought the pattern was too bold. I like the effect and have thrown off all control and welcomed every block in. The quilt police have been dispatched elsewhere. They do not live at my house any more. Don't you just love being liberated?? Oh yeah....

Baby Quilt Buzz

2010-04-25T13:52:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love my ministry at my church. I am privileged to make baby quilts for our newborns (or older if we're really behind...) and to welcome them to our world and to the family of God. Today was another one of those days.

This is a picture of the quilt I presented this morning...

These nine-patch blocks came from a Canadian Quiltswappers Block Swap. All I did was frame them alternately with dark brown and beige and then added a teddy-bear border. There are sheepies on the back. I think this qualifies as a scrap quilt and for sure a stash buster quilt. I didn't purchase anything new for this quilt and love the scrappiness of it.

I better get back to my sewing machine. We have a bumper crop of babies due this spring and many, many more quilts to produce. Til next time...

and the battles rages on...

2010-04-05T18:03:00.000-07:00

in my soul, that is. I tried a friend's quilting machine (which is comprised of a Little Gracie II and a Janome 6600). She can do a baby quilt in 1-2 hours. I visited yesterday and even got to test drive on a charity quilt she is working on. It was great fun! I came home wanting that or a long arm...again. Sigh. But I had to see it. Isn't that what it's like? You don't want a new car until you go for that test drive...and then you're sunk unless you have the willpower of ..well I don't know what or who, but you get my point.

I've been working very hard at being content, I really have, but for the last 24 hours all I can think about it how to get my own long-arm. I really thought I was settled about this. We simply don't have the cash right now, so practically speaking, it's not going to happen. But then why this sudden onslaught of lust after what I cannot have? I repent...I will be content. And if I really need to try it out, my friend has offered to let me take a quilt to her place and test it on her machine. That's good enough for me!

One hopeful option for my quest (or non-quest depending on my state of mind at the time) - I am married to a mechanical/woodworking genius. My dear husband is pondering building me the quilting frame. With my Janome 6500 I would have the equivalent, basically, of my friend. Wouldn't that be nice...but for now I will wait.

And there ends today's rantings. Time to go play some more on my handquilting project.

Mavis

Handquilting vs Long Arm Quilting vs Machine Quilting on Domestic Machine

2010-03-27T20:40:00.000-07:00

My Double Delight quilt top is finished (started January 2009 at Quiltville.com but had a few stalls along the way). About 3/4 of the way through piecing it, I realized that I wanted to hand quilt it. The process of arriving at that decision was a long one.

Long had I wondered, pondered, decided, then undecided, and pondered some more about whether or not to buy a long arm. I find that machine quilting is difficult on a domestic machine. I must not be alone here as how many quilters do I know that get stalled at the quilt top stage? In my mind I justify the expense of a long arm setup by adding up what it would cost to have my quilts long arm quilted by someone else. 10 or so quilts and it's paid for right? I don't think I would ever have the nerve to quilt someone else's work and it causes me anxiety to even think about that option. So, I just need to justify the cost by my own savings. And I feel adequately confident that I can justify the expenditure as a long term investment if I simply crunch enough numbers. After all, if I have quilting retreats at our B&B then I could offer the long arm as an added bonus. Think of the possibilities!!

But then I go to a guild meeting and see the amazing work of other quilters all done by domestic machines and feel challenged to 'make do' with my domestic machine. I can think of many quilters that have produced absolute works of art (and award winning quilts) on their domestic machines: Ricky Tims, Barbara Shapel (www.barbarashapel.com), Ana Buzzalino (of Calgary, AB), Martha Cole (www.marthacole.ca), and I'm sure there are many, many more.

With the economy still unsure, I know many of my quilting friends, as well as myself, have gone 'no buy' for fabric. I'm on year 2 of 'no buy' but I did fall off the wagon on a few occasions. I went on a year long magazine 'fast' too. I've worked hard at sewing from my stash and delving into scrap quilts (Double Delight was my first). Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville is very inspiring in this department and it is a totally different challenge than buying specific fabric for a specific pattern. You'll know if you have control issues when you attempt your first scrap quilt and squirm at the colour combinations that randomly fall together. It's such freedom when break past that barrier!!

Friends, our hobby has grown into big business but it hasn't always been that way. I personally think it's time to look backwards a decade or two or ten to gain some inspiration from our ancestors.

Here is part of my story: In March, 2009 our family had a medical diagnosis which meant that I may be spending consistent time every month hooked up to an IV and so would my son. This would mean monthly trips to a different city to the hospital. Through this difficult time of coming to terms with our family's genetic disease, this was also the turning point for me in the long-arm debate. My decision was now made, for the time being anyway. I decided that I needed to focus on portable hand work. But I needed to learn some skills. So last year I learned needle-turn applique. I was at Quilting in the Trees Annual Retreat at Pearson College in June 2009 and began a wall hanging with one of Nancy Chong's patterns. It's still classifed as a UFO but I am making great progress and have one portable project to take with me wherever I wish. These are not instant gratification projects. These are the ones that you add a few stitches here, a few stitches there and one day you have a finished project.

Then I took a quick lesson from a friend on hand-quilting. After that I bought Alex Anderson's book and decided there was nothing left to stop me. The needles cost a mere $2.12 and I was given a quilting hoop. Equipment - check! So, I am happy to announce that I have joined the ranks of the hand quilters. I am enjoying the process although could still do with a good thimble as the fingers are a wee bit tender. I love the look of the hand quilting and this quilt really lends itself to hand quilting, which is why I chose this quilt as my first hand quilted project. And here it is...my Double Delight!

I guess all of this is to say that I wanted to share with you my journey through this debate. I'm very happy and content with my domestic machine (Janome 6500) and will do my best to produce quilts that I will be proud of and that will be cherished by my family and friends who receive them. I will take what I've learned from Ricky Tims (about level working space for machine quilting) to do machine quilting, will keep working at my hand quilting skill and will enjoy the learning process and forgive myself for my first stitches. Here's a closeup of the quilting:

If one day an opportunity should arise for me to have a long arm then I will revisit that option. But for now, I'm glad to be slowing down and enjoying the therapeutic approach to my hobby.

Disappearing Nine Patch

2010-03-06T10:58:00.000-08:00

This is a very simple construction technique and very quick to assemble. This is one I made my niece Becky for Christmas 2009:

No-Sew Block Swap

2010-01-24T21:14:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture of the block I chose for an online no-sew block swap:

This is called "Annie's choice" from www.quilterscache.com and I can see why it was her choice! It was SO easy and cut and sewn in 1/2 hour. I prepared 8 baggies of triangles which I will now put in the mail to the swap host. On February 1st she will be mailing me 8 different packages of fabric for 8 different blocks. The result? A nice red, white and blue sampler. Isn't that a whole lotta fun??

2010 brings a new mystery

2010-01-09T21:11:00.000-08:00

Well, it really started on the US Thanksgiving weekend when my friend Celia from Seattle arrived at our B&B for the weekend with her husband Howie and her Brother Embroidery/Sewing machine. Celia always takes her machine on vacation with her. I would too if I could get away with it.

Celia had packed up enough quilting projects for two trips and she was raring to sew as soon as they settled in. I knew we were in for a fun weekend.

About the same time, Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville.com was announcing a new mystery quilt on her website. She called the new quilt "Carolina Christmas". In my most mischievous voice I asked Celia, "would you be interested in starting a mystery quilt with me this weekend? It would mean, of course, that we have to go shopping...". I didn't need to twist her arm much. We set out to Cloth Castle just before they closed on either Thursday night or Friday night.

After we had acquired some fabric for her (OK and maybe a few fillers for me), we printed out the first clue in Bonnie's mystery and set to cutting. Here are some photos of our time:

Celia cutting her gold fabric for the mystery quilt.

Celia's greens, reds and neutrals

My non-scrappy #2 Carolina Christmas colours.

My half-scrappy, half controlled #1 Carolina Christmas colours. Did I not mention I'm doing 2 of these? The plan is to do 2 queens or maybe 1 queen and 1 king for the Queen and Princess or Queen and King suites of our B&B.

It doesn't look like much but these are my #1 gold and neutral step 1 units. They aren't going to be four-patches. They will be part of poinsettia units (not there yet but I peeked ahead!).

This is the same step 1 of my #2 CC fabrics. I couldn't resist these fabrics when I saw them on sale at Fabricland at half off (which is why I'm now doing two).

And these are Celia's step 1 units (hers is scrappy). Lovely tones...

I've moved beyond step one but haven't taken any more photos yet. I've cut some green and I've cut some red and I've cut some more neutral. I'm working on my poinsettia star units.

Bonnie's quilt is gorgeous and can be seen at Quiltville. I'll upload some more pictures soon.

And Celia and I are in contact from time to time to check on each other's progress. It's not a race at all but it's nice to have a quilting partner to share this with!

Another Christmas Quilt done and living with a wonderful family

2010-01-09T20:48:00.000-08:00

Ever since I started sewing this quilt I knew its destiny. Has that ever happened to you? I loved it very much and for a nanosecond thought about keeping it for myself (it was a selfish nanosecond). It was also at least two years as a UFO in my sewing room. Before its existence as a UFO it was in my stash (for 10 years) because I couldn't bring myself to cut it up. You may not be able to see it but there lovely pearly beads amidst the poinsettia blooms and leaves. This pattern was perfect in my opinion because I could fussy cut out the poinsettias. Pulled out my rotary cutter and voila!

As I was sewing the binding on I knew it wasn't mine. It belongs now to Jason & Christine, on our pastoral team and their family. I delivered it as an early Christmas present in November so that they could enjoy it through the Christmas season. What a great feeling to give quilts away. I love my hobby! Imagine, fulfilling my creative needs and spreading love around in the same package.

Here it is. I haven't named it, which is rare for me.

Friends' Celtic Knot quilts

2010-01-09T20:29:00.000-08:00

We had a wine and cheese reveal party at my friend Mary's house. Here are some of their quilts. I'm sure you will agree their colours are gorgeous! Here's Terry's in yellow, blue and green...a miniature. Her squares were 1 1/2".

My celtic knot was quilted by the lovely and talented Arlene MacKenzie (On Point Quilting Studio) and resides on my king bed. Below is Muriel's (gold purple and green) and then Mary's (teal, peach and purple). All gorgeous colours, don't you think?

Celtic Knot...the reveal

2009-10-10T14:31:00.000-07:00

I am extremely happy with my celtic knot king-sized (and I'm talkin' massive!) quilt. Before borders it measures 107". There will be no other borders. I spoke with my long-armer and there is a limit to the width (best not over 110-115" inches). So, the big decision, to border or not to border?? I decided against a border.

I don't want anything to distract from the beauty of the knot. Also with a quilt this size the border would have to be sizeable to look balanced. Besides, 107" covers my bed well with a great overhang past the top mattress. So...decision made. No additional border.

Funny story...I couldn't wait to get the quilt to Arlene for quilting so my DH drove me out after church last Sunday. We were all ooing and awing at the quilt and then Arlene peeps up..."oops". It seems there was a white square where a blue one should be (I'm not going to point it out on the picture...sort of like a "where's Waldo?" puzzle. You can see if you spot it yourself!). Oh dear...back home the quilt top goes where I hang it over the railing and admire it until I can muster the gumption to attack it.

I am now of the opinion that it's a good thing to let your quilts percolate for awhile after the top is done before they are quilted. Here's my reason. One night while I was passing by this quilt as it lay (still) draped over the railing, you know what popped out when I wasn't even looking for it?? Another misplaced colour. I've looked at this quilt hundreds of times and didn't spot the error until I wasn't looking for it. The brain is a fascinating thing isn't it?

Anyway, one of my goals this weekend is to fix these two squares and then on Tuesday evening I will present it at my guild meeting and then give it to Arlene after the meeting. I am going to have it quilted with Fairfield Tuscany Collection batting. I've never used it before and am venturing into new territory. I've always been partial to Warm & Natural but decided that because of the price of this one (something like $30 for a king-sized batting), that I would give it a try.

So, enough talk already...here's the quilt with the booboos still on it. I just love it! Hope you do too.
here it is hanging on the railing:

Celtic Knot...the finale...

2009-09-09T18:37:00.000-07:00

So close...only 1 1/2 chunks left to construct and then I'll try and take a picture of my huge(!) quilt (107.5 inches square is what it should measure) and then I'll upload it.

From what I've seen of the other ones on Lynne's blog (www.lynnesfreshhope.blogspot.com) I'm going to love my quilt. Then off to the long-arm quilter so I can get it on our bed in time for the cooler weather.

Celtic Knot Mystery continues

2009-08-23T11:48:00.000-07:00

I have to confess that the monotony of this quilt is getting to me a bit. The big reveal is coming soon as the final chunks will be uploaded from www.lynnesfreshhope.blogspot.com this Wednesday and probably the following Wednesday.

Me? I'm still on chunk 10!! But my friend Shirley, who is joining me on this quilting adventure, taught me a construction technique designed to speed up the sewing of the chunks. I decided if it's the first time I've seen this used, that there are probably countless others who need the same revelation. It's called a "web". I've snapped some photos along the way so this will be a photo essay on how to construct a 'web' which will then become a 'chunk' (in Lynne's language).

Step 1: Layout the squares on a table according to the grid for that chunk. DOUBLE-CHECK the layout. You will be sorry if you don't!

Step 2. Stack each vertical row from top to bottom so you have nice little piles.

Step 3: Pick up the first two piles and sew them together.

Step 4: Add the third vertical row. You will end up with a 'web' once you continue down the piles. Photo here:

See how when you chain piece them together you get little threads connecting the rows? Tada! No way of getting them in the wrong order if you've double checked your layout and carefully stacked your vertical rows.To the ironing board. Iron one row left and the next one right and they should interlock nicely for the horizontal sewing.

Here's a shot with them all done and laid out on the table to do another check before sewing the horizontal lines:

After the ironing, now comes the horizontal sewing. Carefully pin at every intersection so that you have nicely lined up strips. Sew, sew, sew until all the horizontal webs have been joined together.

Here are my finished blocks (not in the finished order) on my design wall (disregard the other quilt blocks (yellow & purple) behind...that's another project which will eventually have a blog entry of its very own.

This quilt is going to be gorgeous! Some of my fellow mystery-ites are doing two in tandem. I can hardly keep up with one! Part of my excuse is that during our heat wave, it was just too darn hot upstairs to sew, even with my friendly fan going. Much more temperate climate now and production is back on.

I have ordered the batting for this quilt ~ it's called "Fairfield - Polyfil Traditional batting". I have a friend going to Oregon who will pick it up for me at Fabric Depot. She happens to also be the one who will quilt it for me on her longarm. Here's a plug: www.onpointquiltingstudio.com. Of course it will have to be king-sized for this huge quilt which will eventually adorn our own bed.

OK...that's all for now. Back to the studio...fire up my Janome 6500 and I'm off to chunk 11...or is it 12?? I got 2 done yesterday. Let's see what today holds.

And another baby quilt finished...

2009-08-03T18:42:00.001-07:00

This one has been a long time in the making. The recipient will be a year old on October 2nd! I'm very happy with the end product and took a plunge and quilted it from the back following the pattern of the flowers on the fabric. I still have to work on not getting tangled in the starter thread but I'm pleased overall with the finished quilt. I hope to present it next week at church.

Cochran baby quilt under construction...as is the baby... :o)

2009-08-03T18:31:00.000-07:00

Baby Cochran is due in September and I started cutting the quilt out yesterday and worked on some of the applique today. Gordie & Adrienne chose the fabric/colour palette. I added some lights to add a light colour value to the overall palette. Here it is on my design wall:

Celtic Knot continues...

2009-07-12T14:15:00.000-07:00

Chunk #2 done!
Chunk #3 is laid out on my sewing table ready to be stitched together. Loving the look of it so far!

Celtic Knot Mystery - Step 1

2009-07-01T16:40:00.000-07:00

Here is my step 1 "chunk" of 9 9-patches. Really enjoyable, easy sewing, effective results. Now I have to wait until next Wednesday for the next one!

Celtic Knot Mystery Quilt - sew-a-long - July 1/09

2009-06-27T16:57:00.000-07:00

My sewing group and I are joining Lynne on a sew-a-long mystery starting on her blog on July 1st, 2009. The title is "Celtic Knot" quilt and designed by Deborah Cohen. Thank you to Lynne and the designer, Deborah, for making this pattern available to us.

I have chosen my four colours - red, blue, gold and cream on cream (neutral). I've cut my squares (3") in preparation for July 1st. I'm ready to sew! Would you believe 1,849 squares altogether? Yup! I just finished and my rotary cutter is happy I'm done.

Above is a photo of my colours. The link to Lynne's blog is: http://lynnesfreshhope.blogspot.com/

F.O.s (finished objects) vs. U.F.O.s (unfinished objects)

2009-05-03T17:01:00.000-07:00

This is my year! I'm determined to deal with some UFOs and to go no-buy for 2009 with the exception of backing and batting required to finish UFOs. This means more scrap quilts for 2009. (See Double Delight started on New Years Eve at the beginning of my blog).

In the meantime, I've decided to upload a few of the finished and almost finished quilts.

This first one is one I completed for my DH 2 years ago but never got it photographed. It's called Aunt Betty's Attic.

This next one is a UFO started at Quilting in the Trees, 2008 at Pearson College. The class was taught by Sharon Pederson. I started quilting the quilt but am unhappy with the quilting so it's now waiting for some reverse sewing and then I'll try again.... This one is called Crop Circles.

To Uganda With Love...

2009-05-03T16:54:00.000-07:00

Our church sent a team to Uganda to help build a school. I couldn't go but decided that I could send something with the team to represent the love being sent from Canada and specifically our church family. Voila...this quilt was born. I did the blocks in one afternoon, pieced it in about two sittings, including the piano keys border and my friend Terry Banman (also the photographer for the trip) did the quilting. I finished the binding and the label the night before the team was leaving for Uganda. So, the quilt is called TO UGANDA WITH LOVE from the LOJ Quilters...

Tuscan Hillside - new quilt project

2009-03-01T18:26:00.000-08:00

I loved my trailing hearts so much that I decided to use the basic design and explore some different art components. Here is the result:

So these are the basic log cabin blocks under construction.

I also had a friend in Seattle do some embroidered grape clusters for me. Aren't they gorgeous? In this shot, I've got one border on each of the 7" square blocks. Borders are in various batiks (1 3/4" strips all the way round:
The blocks all finish at 10" (mine finished at 9 1/2" after squaring them up). There are also 9 1/2" background blocks cut. The next photo is the basic quilt layout on my design wall:

The next step is the vine in the light part and then clusters of appliqued grapes and leaves. It's coming along just as I pictured it. Very satisfying project for the weekend.

Until next time,
Mavis

Teddy Bears on Parade finished...

2009-01-30T00:01:00.000-08:00

Finished a baby quilt for Sebastian and it has now been presented to the handsome little man. Voila! It's called "Teddy Bears on Parade". Hope he likes it and Mom and Dad do too!

Double Delight, Step 2, Day ???

2009-01-23T23:41:00.001-08:00

I think I'm back on course for this quilt. I realized I had a baby quilt to finish for presentation at church on the 18th so I needed to take a break from the DD mystery quilt to focus on getting that quilt done.

But tonight is another story! I turned on the TV and started trimming the dog ears off my step 2 blocks and then proceeded to sew the third and fourth sides on the step 2 square in a square blocks. The ironing and squaring up of those babies will NOT be happening tonight!

Double Delight stalled a bit

2009-01-12T21:49:00.000-08:00

No further pictures to post on my progress. Hope you can get a visual of the basket of pinks and whites halfway sewn together in strips. I still haven't trimmed the step 2 blocks yet as life got in the way this week. I will reward myself this weekend with some serious sewing time...after sitting so long at the computer doing accounting stuff for the biz I'm ready for some playtime.

I am really enjoying this mystery quilt and am constantly amazed that some of the quilters have not only finished their blocks, but they have finished quilt tops and in some instances finished the whole quilt. I am shocked actually. But I'm in it for the fun. As long as I have all the steps printed out (my fear is that I won't and then I'll be left with no instructions), then I can take it at my own pace. This is supposed to be relaxing and fun, not stressful. I keep telling myself that. And I am enjoying it when I get the time.

Double Delight Mystery Quilt NYE09

2009-01-04T17:30:00.000-08:00

Making progress on this mystery quilt from Quiltville/Bonnie Hunter. Attached are photos of my completed stack of block 1, a sample of block 2 and a sample of block 3.

And here's my bin of pink and lights ready to go:

New Year Mystery Quilt - Bonnie Hunter

2009-01-02T21:23:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm on day 3 of the Mystery quilt and now have some photos to post. There has been lots of cutting and lots of chain piecing but I am pleased with my colour choices and can only imagine how lovely they will all look in a quilt top. I've done scrappy with the blues and the cheddar/gold and for shirtings I used either tone on tone whites or light beiges which all read approx. the same value under my red mylar sheet so I tried not to be anal about them being all the same. I'm new to scrap quilting.

Dayspring Farm B&B Quilt Retreats

2009-01-01T12:02:00.000-08:00

My husband and I have just started a B&B in Victoria, BC, Canada. As a quilter myself, it seemed a natural outcome of this new venture would be weekend quilt retreats. Our website will soon be launched and I will then provide the URL with all the details. In the meantime, check out our fair city through Google and see if you might be tempted to travel out our way to indulge your quilting urges in a beautiful country setting in very nice accommodations.

Happy New Year !!

2009-01-01T10:33:00.000-08:00

So how does a quilter begin the new year???

I stumbled upon an online mystery quilt designed and shared by Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville.com. What the heck...you pull fabric from your stash and the fun began on New Years Eve. No shopping. Sounds like a plan!

The humble beginnings have yet to be photographed but the colours are lovely with great contrasts and the rotary cutter has been busy.

Photos to follow soon!