Casually custom

I found a very interesting article yesterday that I'll share with you hopefully tomorrow.  It relates to what I posted yesterday. 

Even though I seem to be burning the candle at both ends, I'm loving every minute.  I still have customer quilts to get quilted. The key is how to get things done in a reasonable time frame. 

I'm down to quilts for only TWO customers.  Although there are more than two quilts!  There are some tasks about quilting that I'm not fond of and I procrastinate about them. Putting bindings on for instance - hated it. Now with my nearly perfected machine applied binding, I'm happy as a clam. None of these quilts are technically for me, so I'm Ok with that. 

Custom quilting used to be a chore as well.  Everything needs to be precise, lined up and super pretty. Custom quilting used to scare me. Well the more I do, (like everything), the more I'm happy with the results. Remember - 10,000 hours in order to be a master of a technique.  And for the record (and since I love numbers), 10,000 is the equivalent of 416.67 days.  Not EIGHT hour days, but TWENTY FOUR hour days. If we look at the 10,000 hours in view of a 40 hour week, that is 250 weeks.  Or FIVE years of full-time concentrated effort to become a master of something. Just saying.......

So back to the custom quilting - I had this great modern quilt to do for a customer.  I wanted it to be nicely quilted, but also not spend hours and hours on it.  The customer picked it up last night and I'm happy to say that I'm really happy with the results. Why???  

Customer quilt - DONE

Detail of quilting

My new motto is work SMARTER, not harder.  So instead of measuring all those lines with a ruler, I did, in fact, use a ruler to get the straight edge, but I did NOT measure. I free handed the entire quilt.  And I LOVED doing it.  I think it turned out just great and I've now coined the term - casual custom which is going to become my new best friend.


Once that quilt got done, I had to do some cleanup.  I cleaned out my purse which was a disaster and I found the last charm for my Missouri Star Charm collection.  Now all I need is to replace the flower shop pin for the charm!

Collection of Missouri Star charms

With all the cutting and trimming, my scrap basket was overflowing. Time to get some pet mats together. I don't even know if I should continue with them, but hopefully, once winter comes, the kitties will appreciate them.  If anyone knows of a feral cat project - let me know.  I'm not even close to touching what's under the long - arm, these scraps are just from my own cutting.

Overflowing scrap basket

Which is now empty

I made one new cover for a cat bed and sewed three others closed that had been sitting around for a while.

New cat beds

The studio is somewhat clean. Oh, who am I kidding. It's not even close!  When Heather, Jane, and Helen Anne were over on the weekend, I did NOTHING to clean up - no time. I'm sure they all went home with a greater appreciation for what a huge mess I've gotten myself into!

I washed the backing (flannel) for the next quilt (which is MINE!).  Hopefully, I'll finish the top tonight and get it all loaded on the long arm. If I'm lucky, I might even get to quilt it tonight. That would be the icing on the cake if that happened.

There are a few more URGENT quilts to make before next week, it's going to be crazy, but by the 15th - it'll all be over. The rush will be done!  DH says UNTIL you pick up the next contract. Well after the 15th, there are still TWO more quilts for contracts, but they are spread out and the ONLY ones that are due.  Can't wait!!!!

On that note, it's time to get some work done.

Have a super day!

Ciao!

Published !

At last, some of those quilts I've been making for the magazines are being released!  I still have four more to make before the end of July so the pressure is still on.  But it's always fun to see the end results. 

This one is in the June issue of Quilter's Connection - a Canadian publication and this issue is all about CANADA.  Can you guess which item is mine?   If you watched my video on my Maple Leaf Forever quilt, there is a big hint!

Which project is mine?

Anyway, the pin holder is hanging in my office and will be making a public appearance at Quilt Canada in the Northcott booth. So be sure to stop by and check it out.  I probably shouldn't say this, but I had to make the darn thing TWICE.  The first time it was way too big and the pins were lost on each square.  Now what to do with the other one?  After Quilt Canada, I'll try to come up with something to put on it. No sense wasting a perfectly good wall hanging.

In addition to this being published, I have a new quilting tip on the Northcott Resource Page.  It's called "Use a Quilter's Awl or Stilletto for accuracy instead of pinning".   The awl is one of my favorite tools and I simply won't sew without it.  Check out the article.  

There's also another free download for a tote bag using Northcott's latest Oh Canada collection called Stonehenge OH CANADA Our Home and Native Land. If things go as planned, we'll have the tote bag in our booth at Quilt Canada.

Everyday tote using Our Home and Native Land collection by Northcott

There is also a quilt (free pattern) and the plan is to have that up by the end of the day today.

Our Native Land

The plan is to have that quilt in our booth at Quilt Canada also.  That's the plan - let's just say it's going to be a busy weekend, because there are other things going into our booth and I'm NOT sharing those with you. I will after the show, but not before.

And on that note, there is a ton of stuff to be done today. Cutting and sewing and trimming  - oh my!

Have a super day!!!


Ciao!!!!

Motivational Monday on a MONDAY

My Task Master and I are at odds these days.  I'm madly sewing things, just not my personal stuff and the Task Master is not happy!  I have one last trade show before a lull this summer and I'm taking a break. Can't wait! So for the next couple of weeks, the Task Master will be grumbling!

However, I thought I would share with you what I have been working on. 

This is a brand new quilt. So brand new that the fabric was cut on Friday. This is the FIRST project made with this fabric in Canada! And I got to make it.  The picture doesn't do justice to the quilt at all. In person, it's beautiful. A touch of gold shimmer. The collection is Northcott's Artisan Spirit Shimmer - Flight of Fancy. Comes in three color ways. The one pictured is the Earth color way.  I like the other two better because they are brighter, but the request was for this one so that's the one I made. 

Fantasy quilt designed by Paula Toups

The top is made and there isn't time to quilt it, but the customer is OK with that.  So this quilt will shortly be in a FedEx box and on it's way to the US.  There are SEVEN borders on that quilt so I did a LOT of pinning.

I got two more quilts quilted up for Canada's Big Quilt Bee. They are trimmed and now there are four waiting for the bindings to be sewn on. I'm going to try to get two more done this week and then Jane can pick up six. The remainder will have to wait until after Quilt Canada.

Ronald McDonald quilt - done

Second Ronald McDonald quilt - done!

I hate to say this, but I saw some stats posted on Facebook about the Canada Big Quilt Bee.  Over 800 quilt have been received.  No problem - quilts are good.   BUT - there are over 500 TOPS. Remember my math from yesterday????   That will take MANY MANY days to get those all quilted. If you're working on one of these quilts, do CQA a favour and send them a QUILT, not a top!

I think I'm going to have to expand my design wall or sew faster!  In the picture below, you can see, I'm now up to THREE layers of quilts.  The green one is my Block of the Month (more on that another day), the red maple leaf one is my Sesquicentennial quilt and of course, the Flight of Fancy quilt.

Three layers of quilts on the design wall

The Fantasy quilt is now gone.  I made TWO of the four maple leaf borders for my Sesquicentennial quilt so hopefully that will be off the wall very soon, leaving only the Block of the Monday which just needs the borders sewn on. I guess I can live with a 12 foot wide design wall. Just sew faster!!!

If you haven't seen my Sesquicentennial quilt, here's the link to the free pattern.  And this is what it looks like.  I can't even remember if I posted a picture - life's a bit of a blur some days!

Maple Leaf Forever

And don't forget that if you want to follow along as I make this quilt, you can watch my video.  The quilt I'm sewing in the video is the one that I'm just finishing up now. And a HUGE thank you to those of you who have downloaded the pattern, and to those who have made the quilt (I know Heather made it) and to those of you watched the video!

So Task Master - please bear with me for three more weeks. Then I'm going to just say NO to anything that isn't my personal stuff.

And on that note, it's time to get this day started.

Have a great day!!!


Ciao!!!

Forty three

The number of quilts made by our guild is 43!  I wonder if that includes the one that I had at my house?  This is for the Canada Big Quilt Bee if you didn't see the post from two days ago.

Yesterday was a super productive day.  A number of us worked on the quilts for the Ronald McDonald Houses. Why did I volunteer precious time for this cause?  This initiative was started many months ago with a goal of 1,000 quilts. Who would have thought that they would accomplish this?  Personally, I think the number will be closer to 1,500 but that is my guess.  Guilds/quilters could make a simple block or two, a quilt top or two or make a finished quilt. Of the 43 that our guild donated, about 3/4 were finished. Binding, labels, everything!   But those others were not done.

Let's do a bit of math for a moment. There are a couple of rooms set up at Quilt Canada where volunteers will be working on completing quilts for the project. I do believe that the volunteer slots are FULL for this event, but volunteers for other positions are welcome. There are a couple of long arms and sewing machines dedicated to this task. The show is open for a total of 32 hours. You know it's going to take a bit of time to get everyone organized. And let's say that they can quilt ONE quilt in one hour. Two long arms - 32 hours per machine - that means the maximum they can quilt is 64 quilts.   (Technically, it can be done faster, but if you're working with volunteers and depending on their skill level, it may take longer).  Even if we suppose that they do the economy of scale thing like I did yesterday and the person doing the quilting is fast. Let's say they get TWO done each hour - that is still only 128 quilts and I'm talking about the small ones - the bigger ones will take double the time.   If our guild had donated 12 quilts that were NOT quilted, that equates to 10% of the total capacity of what could be accomplished that weekend. See where I'm coming from?  And what will those organizers do when the event is over and they are still left with blocks and tops. Someone will have to get busy to complete them.

So that's why I volunteered to get these done. The satisfaction of knowing that our guild donated 43 completed quilts rather than add to the workload. I'm fast and I'm efficient - I can get a lot done in a short period of time.

Besides, our little group had a lot of fun yesterday.  Helen Anne and Jane were set to arrive at 9 AM. The girls (that would be Lexi and Murphy) were staring out the window about 8:55 and I thought that one of them must have arrived.  Nope - that would be Heather (on her motorcycle no less - a big one - I should have taken a picture of her!)  That was a surprise and I whisked her downstairs to start stitching a binding on one of the quilts that I had quilted a while back. Shortly thereafter Jane arrived and we started matching up backings to tops, Helen Anne was dispatched to the long arm and soon we had a buzzing little bee happening.

Heather did extremely well despite the fact that she had never used a sewing machine without a presser foot lever before. I think she a natural for sewing the binding on by machine.  And I thought I heard a comment from her corner of the room about how nice that extension table is. So smooth, no edges catching on your project. I also heard a rumor that Heather went for a bike ride after she left my house - 321 KM (with friends and hubby). It was a gorgeous day!

Heather checking the width of her binding seam

Once Jane and I had sorted through the backings and tops - I think she brought backings for almost all the quilts, it was time to start making miles and miles of binding. Since we now had an extra person, I shoved a pile of stuff away on those work tables, whipped out a sewing machine and Jane was good to go for binding.  I met up with Jane at the quilt store in the afternoon. She had expressed an interest in taking an EQ class with me. After I saw what she had in her hand (a printout of a quilt from EQ), there is no need for Jane to take the class!

Jane making miles and miles of binding

Helen Anne was put to work on the long arm and did a super job. She was the perfect person for the job because not only has she used my machine before, but she rents out time on someone else's machine.  And the double backing worked like a charm. The quilts we did have to load went super fast as we did it together. Helen Anne was off for a hike with her sister in the afternoon.

Helen Anne at the helm of the long arm

Heather still binding that quilt by machine

Binding is done!

One more quilted!

After Heather left, it was Jane's turn to learn how to put the binding on by machine.

One more binding was done!

After they left, I went outside and sat in the gazebo for a bit. Off to the quilt store where I ran into Jane, back to the gazebo and it must have been close to four by the time I got back to work!

I finished the second of the two quilts that Helen Anne and I had loaded. She quilted one and I did the other.

Another quilt - DONE

And one more - DONE

In total, we got four quilts quilted, two were bound, miles of binding was made. The backings that needed to be pieced wee assembled and some of the battings were joined to the appropriate size.

The next two quilts are loaded - well two backs and one quilt. A job for later this morning when I need a break from the sewing machine.

Next batch is loaded

So if you're making some of these quilts for Ronald McDonald House, try if at all possible to finish the quilts. At least get it quilted.  Everything takes time and the more that gets done while we have full momentum going, the better it is going to be. Otherwise, there will much to get done after the event and it will become a chore.  Get those quilts done NOW!!!!  Wouldn't it be amazing if those two volunteer rooms were idle? That would be the ideal, but I don't think that's going to happen. I bet those rooms will be hopping!

Originally, these blocks were based on the Slab block designed by Cheryl Arkinson. However, the variety of blocks - well, everyone made up their own thing which is just great. Some of the quilts are absolutely beautiful, like that gray and white one above. I want that one!

Jane is collecting quilts and tops from other guilds - oh Jane?   How many tops are you getting?  Are most of the quilts completely done? I forgot to ask that question yesterday. I know that she is still sitting on about 100 blocks - leftovers from our guild (our guild made a total of 536 blocks) and other random blocks she received from people.

What a fun morning and we got a lot done for just the four of us.  Actually, if there had of been any more people, it wouldn't have worked.  Thanks again to Heather, Helen Anne and Jane. It was a fun morning and we got something done!!!!  Glad everyone got out yesterday to enjoy the day because it's pouring rain today!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!!

Economies of scale

It's Saturday morning!  Bright and early - well not so early. We've already been to the dog park for over an hour, we've all eaten breakfast, loaded two quilts on the long arm, made two battings and sewed up a bunch of half square triangles and it's not even 9 AM!!!!

Let me explain.

Helen Anne is coming over to quilt up some of those Ronald McDonald quilts for the guild. I got two tops and two backs at the meeting so I could have everything ready to go this moring. The tops are the same size so I sewed the two backs together one after the other, not side by side. So technically when I loaded the "one" back, it's really backing for two quilts. I loaded one top and when that one is done, the next top goes on - no need to load the second backing because it's already there.  That's easy to do because they are the same size.

I said I would donate the batting for these two (and more if I need to). I sorted through all my batting left overs (which are marked with the size - bet quilting tip EVER!!!)   I found SIX pieces of batting that sewn together would make the battings for the two quilts.

Tags from the used up pieces of batting

Having each piece marked with the size saves so much time.  I don't remember where or how I came up with that brilliant idea, but it's been a fabulous thing!

Instead of using the fusible tape to put the pieces together, I decided to sew them together with a triple zig zag.  It's fast and easy. These pieces are not huge so it works well on the sewing machine. and I LOVE that curved edge extension table on the Husqvarna Viking Desinger Topaz 50 because the batting pieces just glide over the surface.   In very little time, those two battings were made. One is already loaded on the machine waiting for Helen Anne to arrive.

Piecing the batting together on the sewing machine

The temperature is gorgeous outside and I'm a bit envious that I won't have time to get out on my bike. But that's a decision that I made. I did play hookey all evening yesterday. Sat out in the gazebo for a bit and read. No quilting, no work!

However, the amount of work to do - well there'll always be a lot of work. I can't help it - this is all my parents' fault.  Ideal hands are a bad thing!  But I thought I would try something different. You see, I now have a magic wand. Whenever someone at work asks for a new project or a new pattern designed and written - I can wave my magic wand, say some enchanting words and POOF - a finished project!  DH wants to know if it will replenish his beer mug.  I said "NO - don't be silly! It only works for quilting". Now wouldn't that be cool if it actually worked?  But then where is all the fun?

My magic quilting wand!

Well enough silliness for this morning. It's time to pull the rabbit out of the hat and get to work. There is no time for dilly-dallying today. We've got quilts to quilt, battings to piece together, half square triangles to trim and tops to sew together.  There is NO time for play!  Well maybe just a  little, but much later in the day.

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!

Canada's Big Quilt Bee

I've mentioned Canada's Big Quilt Bee on numerous occasions.  It's hosted by the Canadian Quilter's Association.  

Logo for Canada Big Quilt Bee

The goal is to donate 1,000 quilts to Ronald McDonald houses across Canada. The deadline - mid-June.  Don't forget that Quilt Canada is fast approaching - June 14 - 17.  If you're in the area, you MUST attend.  There are some amazing quilt displays, amazing booths (including Northcott!) and lectures by ME. And there are other classes and lectures as well!  More info on all this in the next day or so!

As I visited various guilds over the past year on my lecture tour (doesn't that sound so official, but I was just doing my trunk show!). Anyway, the response from EVERY guild that I visited was incredible. I want to say that the participation rate from guild members was the highest I've ever seen for any kind of activity.  I'm not sure what the percentage was for our guild, but it was high and I believe in total, that over FIVE HUNDRED blocks were made by the members. That's a LOT of blocks, given that our membership is about 160?  

Those blocks were then made up into quilts.  I think that we ended up with 40 quilts. That means that most quilts made were the small ones that used 12 blocks. I want to say that about 3/4 of them are quilted.  I don't have the exact numbers as the final tally was being bantered back and forth last night. I hope we get a final tally before we make the donation. HEY - I like numbers.  Give me a firm number!

Mississauga Quilter's Guild - donation for Canada Big Quilt Bee

Same quilts - other side

And I have one of the quilts at home that needs the binding sewn on which is going to happen tomorrow.

Jane, who was our fearless leader was able to get fabulous prizes and those were drawn last night.  I don't think I made even one block for this project, but I did make blocks for the quilt that is being donated by our retreat group. I assembled and quilted that quilt which just needs to be bound, but do you think I can find the binding?  It's made, but where is it???

However I did assemble one quilt for the guild and quilted it and I'll be spending some of my precious time tomorrow to get the remainder of the quilts quilted and bound as well as donating whatever materials are missing to complete them so I think I helped as well!  It's a super place to get rid of those larger batting scraps that are hanging around. These quilts are small - it'll be perfect - a win-win all around. So while Helen Anne is busy quilting, I'll be prepping and Jane will be sewing bindings!  How much can we get done in a couple of hours?  A LOT cause I'll be cracking the whip!

Jane and Vanna (I mean Heather) handing out the prizes

While Jane did an awesome job moderating this portion of the program, Vanna (Heather) entertained us with her antics!

Handing out the Northcott bundle of Sesquicentennial fabrics

It was an amazing display of coming together for a great cause!  I'm proud of what my guild accomplished (although they could have quilted more quilts!). I'm proud of all Canadian quilters who participated.  And it would be so cool to see all the quilts together, but that isn't possible.  However I hear there might be something equally interesting about this project at Quilt Canada. This is just a rumour at this point - I can't wait to see if it's true.

Anyway on that note, there's so much to do today, I'm not sure where to start. So I'm just going to grab the first thing on the top of the pile and try to get it done. That's what I've done the last couple of days and I can't seem to get past the top two items which isn't good!

Have a super day!!!!


Ciao!!!

Take me out to the ball game.

It was so beautiful when I got home last night, I grabbed a cool beverage and my book and retired to the gazebo. Of course, the girls were right there by my side - well when they weren't ripping around the backyard!

I managed to finish the book.  Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker by Jennifer Chiaverini. This is the longest that it's taken me to read a book in a long, long time. And I think I know why.  It's certainly NOT because I'm too busy.  No - this is a historical novel. It's not that I don't enjoy history, but well, I don't really enjoy historical novels. How much of what the author portrays is real and how much is fiction?

And I think the part I hated the most was the portrayal of Mrs. Lincoln. From what I can tell from the list of resources used, the portrayal was probably fairly accurate, but what an awful woman! If even half of what was written was true, Abraham Lincoln did NOT have an easy married life. But the exciting news is that it's done and I can move on to the next novel!  Yeah!!!!

Mr.s Lincoln's Dressmaker by Jennifer Chiaverini

And in a historical novel, you always know what is going to happen. There usually isn't a plot twist. Yep - President Lincoln gets assassinated. You can't mess with that fact!

Once the book was done ,I had my usual chat with DH about my day.  I'm sure there are days when he would like me to shut up! Since he is in sales and marketing, I feel that I can share the experiences of my day job with him and he can relate to them. As if he cares how fabric is marketed!  Too bad - you take the good with the bad. 

Then down to the studio to work on the next project. And it's another one I can share with you because it's a customer quilt.  And now it's done!

Customer quilt  - DONE

I had to sew the binding on for her. Just on the front and she'll take care of the hand stitching.  How easily I just whip that binding on both sides now. It still causes me a teeny twinge of guilt, but that is rapidly diminishing as I realise how much I can accomplish if I do it all by machine. My job was to put the binding on the front and it's being delivered tonight.

Binding is on!

I would keep an eye on the ball game on Sunday because I heard a rumour that this quilt is going to the ball game!  You may see it on TV.

And on that note, I'm off to see what adventures I can have today. Each day brings a new challenge which is always exciting!

Here's another great video by ME!!!   There's going to lots more - just need subjects so if there is something you want to know, let me know and I'll add it to the list.



Have a super day!

Ciao!