Scraps galore

Can you believe the weather? It's glorious! A bit cooler today, but still above zero and so nice to get out and walk. And the sidewalks are clear of ice, although one does have to be careful as there are still a few patches of hidden ice, for the most part, they are clear. That makes me very happy.

I got a lot done yesterday. It was a super productive sewing day (Sit n Sew) which doesn't happen often. I'll share that with you tomorrow. Today it's all about the scraps. I was waiting to get all the scrappy blocks trimmed before I shared them with you. That happened so that's what you're going to see today.

And there's a bonus. Why the bonus? Well, something bad happened yesterday. It wasn't bad for me, but it was for France. And she paid penance for it and let it be known we did not force her to do what she did. But for the second month in a row, she forgot the foot pedal and cord for her sewing machine. I lent her one of mine and told her to do whatever project she brought to work on. No, she insisted on working on our scrap blocks. It was hard to refuse.

So between the five people who sewed on Friday and France who sewed blocks yesterday, this is how many blocks were created.

Total number of scrap blocks created

Essentially what I had done was sort the scraps by the color - more or less. There are red, blue, green and browns scraps and then there's miscellaneous. See the green ones across the top? France made those yesterday!! Thanks so much, France - I love you for that!

Here's a closeup of each color.

Reds/pinks

The blues

Greens

Browns

Miscellaneous

We weren't sure how the miscellaneous would turn out, but you know? They don't look half bad.

In case you are wondering how many blocks there are - there are 155 in total on the wall. That's absolutely amazing for a couple of reasons. We created 155 blocks from a couple of bags of scraps and it doesn't look like we made a dent in the scrap bins. And the fact that 6 people created those blocks in a matter of hours - that's also crazy amazing!!! This was such a FUN FUN day and we made something from nothing. Think about that as you survey your stash. You could give it away, try to sell it or have fun with it.

Each quilt needs 80 blocks. Now we have more blocks from the previous sewing session. In total, there are 80 blocks of blue so that will be a kit for someone to assemble. We still need 13 blocks to make the green quilt and I'll be working on those between now and the next community projects day so we'll have a second quilt to sew together. We're going to take a break from sewing these blocks for March, but back to scrap block sewing in April as we need to get enough blocks together to complete the red, brown, and miscellaneous quilts. Then we'll move to a different pattern.

In the process of getting those blocks done, the scraps are mostly sorted and that's half the battle to getting them used up. I'm thrilled beyond words. A HUGE HUGE HUGE thanks to Lynn, Sharon, Diane, Rose, Liz, and France for making up these blocks.

Here's a couple of other pictures that I snapped yesterday.

Diane brought this cat panel that she had finished to show.

Cat panel quilted by Diane

It's hard to see in the photos, but the eyes were embellished with large crystals. It was quilted with metallic thread so it's very sparkly and dramatic.

Embellished with crystals

 And in some places, she had beads. I missed a photo of that. But it's beautiful.

Crystals for eyes

Oh - here's France's sewing station with all the green scraps.

Sewing the scrap blocks

Sharon N is getting close to completing her Border Creek Mystery. She's now on clue 7 of 8. Yeah!!!!

Working on Clue 8

The pieces are getting bigger so less to lose or get mixed up.

The big blocks for the Border Creek Mystery

It's such a fun day to get together with friends and sewing and I especially love it when I'm productive which I was. You'll see it tomorrow.

Before I leave, here's a couple of dates for you to put in your calendar.

March 27, 28 - This is the Etobicoke Quilt Show. There are 10 vendors, going to be loads of quilts on display, daily draws and door prizes, cafe, and a whole lot more things to see and do. I've given you the link so be sure to go and check it out. Better yet - PUT IT ON YOUR CALENDAR NOW. We rearranged our Community Projects sew day so we could go.

It's so important to support our local guilds which in turn supports our local quilt shops and the world of quilting in general. Yes - we could stay at home and surf the net to see pictures of beautiful quilts or shop online, but it's not the same. Here you actually get to meet people FACE TO FACE and buy direct. I know that not everyone can get to the show - I get that. But if you can - get out there and support these local shows. We'll only ourselves to blame if they go away because no one goes to them.

July 25, 26  - Quilts in the Village. This is a NEW OUTDOOR show that will be held at Black Creek Pioneer Village in Toronto. Information is being assembled as we speak and will be published soon. This is a show that ANYONE can enter. If you can get your quilt to one of the drop-off points, then your quilt can be in the show. So if you don't belong to a guild or even if you do, start planning which quilt(s) you want to put in the show. There'll be lots more information shortly. 


I'll have some tips on what to do at a quilt show, how to maximize your time there and what to look for so stay tuned for that.

On that note, I'm out of here. It's Monday sewing and I can't wait.

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

Postcard frenzy

It was another silly day. However, I'm happy to report that the computer work got done and the quilt is now on its way to Colorado. I had to make the binding and sew it on back and front. One hour! I'm getting good at binding by machine.

I've got a few more things that need to be tidied up today and I do want to do some prepping for the next community projects day. And I've been neglecting e-mail. So if I owe you an e-mail, it's not because I didn't get it - I'm just good at ignoring them which I know I shouldn't do. That will part of the job for this morning.

I've started listening to an audiobook while on the treadmill at the gym. Way better use of my time than watching some couple dismantle a house. The book I'm reading now is called Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner. Don't remember who recommended this book but it's about two sisters who grew up in Detroit in the '50s and carries on through the rest of their life. It's pretty interesting and gives you a good idea of how important it was to fit in and not be different. Just finished Part One - I had to linger at the gym to finish that part. That's pathetic!!

I'm brushing up on how to use a serger. I know the basics of using a serger, but I want to become truly proficient with the darn thing. I have three of them in Studio B at the moment so I better get some use of them. I've always thought of a serger as being used to sew clothes together to get those nice finished seams. WHOA!! Sergers can do a whole lot more than that.

This is a book that I borrowed from the library and I need to get it back as someone else wants it. It's a GREAT book that explains in great detail what a serger does and how to use it. The best part - it was published in 2008 but all the information is very current.

Book on serging

Here's the interesting thing about sergers. Sergers have been around for a long time, yet what they do has pretty much remained the same. The type of stitches they do and how they do them - it's the same regardless of when you got your serger. Oh yes - sergers have improved over the years - air threading, auto tension, built-in two thread converter. But seriously???  Not much else has changed. Most sergers come with one main presser foot and then you can buy accessory feet that allow you to add beads, cording, make ruffles and gathers and a whole lot more.

I know that I'm pretty good with the basics of a serger, but I want to go beyond. So I foresee a few projects in my future that utilize the serger. I might even try to put together a class for my freelance job. Wouldn't that be a shocker!! I'm game for that.

Did you dig out some supplies to make your postcard for Quilt Canada that was mentioned in yesterday's post? Did you watch any of those videos? At the end of the videos (I watched two of four), there was a photo of the postcard display from a previous Quilt Canada. Oh my - they received tons and they all looked so beautiful.

Well, as promised, I dug out my box of postcard making supplies. At least, I'm super organized. Everything you ever wanted to make fabric postcards is in this basket. OK -- so the Timtex is in the drawer with the rest of the stabilizers.

Basket of supplies to make postcards

I found these garlands of very tiny fall colored leaves years ago. My intention was to make some fall-themed postcards. Well, I might just get my act together and make that happen.

Fall colored garlands of tiny leaves

I also found this container filled with buttons, miniature ornaments and other small things suited to embellish a postcard.

A container of miniature embellishments

There's even a stamp for creating the back of the postcard. Use a fabric ink pad and you are set!!!

A stamp for the backing of the postcard

Gosh - there's even muslin already cut to a size that can be used for the back of the postcards. Obviously, something happened along the way because I haven't touched this box in eons.

Pieces of muslin pre-cut into backings for postcards

I also found some pre-made postcard backs that I had purchased from somewhere, more ink and a couple of other small stamps if you didn't want that big one I showed you earlier.

Pre-made backings for the fabric postcards

And if that isn't enough, I opened up this tin that was inside the basket to discover several half-made postcards. I know that I was in an exchange in 2013 and I'm thinking that I didn't finish my commitment to some of the group members????  I was probably in several exchanges and one I think was a monthly one. So we did snowmen for January, hearts for February, etc. Now I have to go through the rest of my postcard collection to see what's going on.

More supplies to make fabric postcards

Yep - I found more fabric in that tin as well. Oh boy! Well, if I buckled down, it shouldn't take long to finish up some of those. Should I do that first? I guess I need to reach deep into the tin and see all that is there. I just quickly glanced through it this morning.

It shouldn't take long to make a postcard and then I could mail it off to Quilt Canada and it would be done. But we all know that everything takes longer than we think it will. I'll see how I get along today. Perhaps if I can at least come up with the concept, then I'll be good or perhaps I'll find a half-finished one in the tin that I can use.

I forgot to mention my blog post on QUILTsocial yesterday. I went back to my blog and added the link, but if you read my blog early, then you missed the link for the Wednesday post. Here it is. And you MUST, MUST, MUST check out the post this morning. OH MY GOSH - I'm so excited about what I was able to create with the new PREMIER+ ECQ software. It's unbelievable and best of all? It's pretty darn easy to use. And reasonably priced.

There's just so much to learn and so much to do - where does one start? All this new technology is super exciting and I'm so glad to be a part of it.

Before I go today, I want to share something else with you. Quilt show season will soon be upon us.  I know there are more than the two that I'm going to post this morning and as the dates get closer, I'll be posting the details of those I know about.

So why should you go to a quilt show?

• It supports the local quilt guilds. You may not be a member of a guild, but the guilds serve a purpose in the community. And they are exactly that; a community in a world when many people no longer have a community. 
• You get to see some amazing quilts. All levels of quilters put their quilts into these local shows. Some quilts will blow your socks off and others will not. It's a good place to go and see how far you've come and where you want to go. 
• Inspiration - you might see a new pattern you like or see a quilt made up from a pattern that you already own. You might find a colorway that you absolutely want to use for your next quilt or see a new line of fabric that inspires you. 
• A day out with like-minded people - you get to spend the day with your friends, meet up with friends you haven't seen in a while. Sit down - have a cup of tea and a sandwich and have a good chat. Don't be in a rush. 

With that in mind - here's the information about the upcoming quilt show for Etobicoke Quilter's Guild. 

 The second show is in July, but you NEED to mark it on your calendar. It's the new show at Black Creek Pioneer Village. The dates are July 25 and 26. It's called Quilts in the Village. And they are going to need several things from you. The show is being run by the staff at Black Creek Pioneer Village, but they are looking for volunteers to help out with the events of that weekend. They are also looking for a committee member or two so if you have a wee bit of spare time - let me know. And the most important thing is the quilts! If you want to put a quilt into the show, I'll be providing more information soon with the site to register your quilt (s). There is no fee to put your quilt in the show and it's amazing to see your quilt flapping in the breeze amongst this beautiful setting.

It's going to be a great season of quilt shows. Let's get those dates on the calendars and support our local quilting community. And even if you're not a quilter, it's great to get out and see new things.

On that note, I'm off to walk the girls.

Have a great day!!!

Ciao!!!!

Sustainable sewing

Oh boy - I think I've gone crazy. Not that I wasn't crazy before, but this has really tipped the scales.

I should mention that my eyelid has turned many shades of purple. Since it's mostly my eyelid, you can't really see the damage! It would appear that I really fell on my left side as my chest felt a bit sore yesterday and still does this morning. But I'm recovering!

I have an event in Cochrane (November 13) and one in Timmins (November 14). The topics are what's new from Husqvarna Viking, and will be heavily geared towards quilting. If you're in the area on either of those days, call the Needle Works store to get yourself signed up. I hear the seats are going fast.

I should be making new samples for those events. Actually, there are two events each day and the content will be pretty much the same for each event. Am I making samples? In my head I am. Instead, this is what happened yesterday.

I spent the entire day making pet mats! I know!! I was happy as a clam. Honestly, I had a lot of fun. I plugged in my audiobook and away I went. I did finish A House without Windows. It was a great book. Very sad but just goes to show how lucky women are in our country!

The two big blue pieces in this photo were pieces that had been quilted at the CreativFestival on our frame. I simply serged the edges and two very quilt pet mats.

Pet mats

Not sure if you remember, but a while back, I took apart a quilt (more like a comforter) that I had made years ago. The blocks on the front were painted with liquid embroidery. Some of the blocks had deteriorated badly and I wanted to remake it using only the good blocks that remain. On one of our road trips, I sat in the back and took out all the quilting. The blocks have been washed and need to be processed. Not at the moment. The backing will be chopped up into squares to make pet mats - I was hoping to do that yesterday, but I was exhausted at the end of the day and just couldn't bring myself to do that.

The thick and compressed polyester batting would make an excellent filler for pet mats. Among the donations that I had received a few years back was a big box of upholstery samples. I dug through the box and found pieces that would work to make the outer part. I serged the pieces together, cut the batting to fit and voila - I had a whole pile of pet mats. I did throw some extra stitches on those mats so the polyester batting wouldn't shift if the mats get washed.

I was on a roll. It was only this morning when I was finishing up the mats, I realized that the fabrics used in these samples would have made great samples for my quilting and embroidery. Oh well - too late now! I'll check through the box a bit more carefully and sort out things that would be appropriate for me to use in my samples.

These mats have a really nice fabric in them!!

But I wasn't finished. I had bags of scraps and so I made up 9 mats using the fabric scraps as filler and upholstery samples as the outer part. I had some of those made the previous day. And I had an afghan that was in bad shape so it became the filler for the two mats on the right. Nothing to go in the landfill.

More pet mats

I get it that at some point, this stuff will end up in the landfill, but at least it's been given a second life. All this stuff that we buy that has one use and then in the landfill? Drives me crazy. I know not everyone is on board with sustainable sewing. They can't be bothered. Why not? It's OK to just throw good stuff away?? Oh well - each to their own.

I know that some of my readers are as conscientious as I am. Judith was busy on the weekend doing some mending (which is becoming very popular again - yeah!) and saved some garments from being tossed. Apparently, she also very good at removing stains. Speaking of stains - did you know that your dryer sheets are made from petroleum? Guess what happens when they get hot (as they do in the dryer?) The oil leaks from them. Don't believe me? Get one of your dryer sheets and put it on some paper towel and iron it. Yeck!! We stopped using dryer sheets years ago. A total waste of money.

We don't use any product in our dryer and when I washed all that yardage the other day for the pillowcases? No tangles. Everything came out just fine.

Elle is also very conscientious about her scraps. She has a couple of friends who will take her scraps and make string quilts or pet mats from them. The bottom line is that if you won't use the scraps, find someone who will. All it takes is a bag or two on your cutting table. Sort as you go. It's super easy,

I take the leftover batting strips and cut them into 2 ½" strips. Those will go into rugs and the remainder goes in the pet mats.

We currently have a medium-sized garbage cart, but I'm very tempted to move down to the smallest one. Yes - it's tiny, but we have greatly reduced our garbage output and we only put the cart out once a month. I'm trying to reduce the amount of space the cart takes up in the garage. It just means we'll have to put it out every two weeks. I have to think about that for a bit.

I still had three bags of scraps to go through. But by this point, I had run out of steam. So the three bags are sitting on the cutting table waiting for me to deal with them later today. The outer part of the pet mats are made and just need to be filled. What will I find in those bags? Proper scraps or garbage? I opened the first one and it looks OK.

Supplies to make more pet mats

In total, I'm delivering 26 pet mats today!!!! Plus two rugs that we no longer use. I tell you, nothing is sacred in this house anymore. Clocks, radios - GONE! I'm not even leaving myself a chance to think about them. They go in the box and I drop it off.

Now here's the sad part, I can't even look at my kitchen counter (which is pretty clean) without thinking how I can part with the stuff that's there. There a clock under the counter - that's going when I remember to bring up the screwdriver. The phone which I'm seriously thinking of canceling. Two trays (I use those several times a month so they stay). The kettle and Alexis which we use every day so they get to stay. A small craft project made by M (hmm - for the moment that stays), the canisters which are in bad shape - they need to go. The toaster oven and Vitamix. They stay. The set of knives - that stays. The bowl for fruit on the island - that stays. There is NOTHING else and we like it that way.

The rest of the house will get the same treatment as time goes on! Watch out things - become useful or you're gone!

Here's the bag partially filled with the fabrics that I found in the scrap bags. I'll wait until it's filled and then it also has a home.

A bag filled with fabric to be donated

I tell you this is so exciting. I almost couldn't care if I sewed another quilt in my life! But I will and I want to. But not only is quilting expensive, but it's extremely wasteful unless you take steps to make it not so wasteful. There are people out there who want your scraps. You just have to ask around to find them.

My car is filled with stuff to be dropped off today.

Now here's a couple more dates that you need to keep in mind.


In case you don't have these cards yet, here's the information for the Bob Ross (CherryWood Challenge) quilt show later this month in Seaforth. It's being hosted by The Cotton Harvest Quilt Shop. Oh, shoot - they didn't rotate. I managed to get one rotated, but not the other as you can see.

Cherrywood Quilt Show flyer

The back of the Cherrywood Quilt show flyer

Seriously, this will make a nice outing with friends. Get yourself organized and we'll see you there!!!!

Now here's something else. I happened to be trolling the internet and guess what I found???  Check out this website and SAVE THE DATE for the end of July. It's a quilt show!!!!!!  I'll be providing the details as more information becomes available.

On that note, it's Monday sewing and I'd better get myself organized!

Have a super day!!!!


Ciao!!!