English paper piecing

While I didn't get everything done yesterday that I had hoped (I was hoping to have another customer quilt quilted), I'm still on track. It's going to be heads-down for the next couple of weeks until that long arm goes in for servicing. Then I can have three to four weeks of doing nothing! As if!

I did get that huge customer quilt completed the day before.

Customer quilt - DONE

 I still need to trim it, but as I have three in total for the same customer, I'll wait and trim later this week.

I got one of my quilts quilted as well. It's for a magazine so I can't share it with you. But here's something that I learned. I have figured out why modern quilts do NOT have borders. As I was prepping to quilt this quilt (it has a border, but is modern), I was contemplating how to quilt the borders. And then it dawned on me - the modern quilter's didn't want to deal with the dilemma of quilting a border, so they didn't add one! Seriously?  Yep - I think those borderless quilts are as simple as that!!

Anyway, since the border was the same size as the blocks in the quilt, I decided to carry the pattern into the border and quilt the border as if it were a continuation of the blocks. While that's all good in theory, I had to do a fair bit of ripping until I could get the pattern established. Let's just say that I was having a serious spatial moment to get that thing quilted. But I tried something new and I LOVE it. As I was quilting that one - no I didn't have a chance to think about anything else as I quilted that one. It required too much concentration!

That leaves 11 quilts before the long arm goes in for servicing. Five need to have custom quilting so that will be a wee bit of a challenge and two - well four still have to be made. But we are NOT going to go there. Like I said - it's going to be heads-down for the next three weeks. Not all are due right away, but since I can't quilt them without the long arm - well I could quilt them on the domestic machine and I will if I have to. Not the customer ones but my own.

More patterns got finalized yesterday and I believe they are on the Northcott website. You have to check out this new collection which is coming soon. It's called Sleepy Sloth and is absolutely ADORABLE.   Here is the picture of the quilt I designed for it.

Hanging Out

You can check out the fabric collection at Northcott's webpage. The collection ships in March and once it ships, you can use the product finder to locate a shop near you that purchased the collection. The free pattern should be available for download now.

And for my American friends, there is another free download using Northcott's latest Stars and Stripes collection. Oh, shoot - I don't see the pattern on the website yet. I'll post that when I see the link.

Here are my blocks for the National Quilter's Circle Block Challenge. I took a picture yesterday morning and then realized that one block was still hanging on the wall. Of course, it was after I had packed everything up!!! So I had to lay the blocks out again. There isn't really a rhyme nor reason to the color scheme. I'm thinking some interesting quilting can be done in these large (16") blocks!!

Blocks for the National Quilter's Circle Block Challenge

Then it was on to finishing up some items. Well, one. I got the binding on this table runner.

Sewing the binding on a table runner

 This makes finish Number ELEVEN for the year.

Table runner

 That table runner is a free pattern designed by me. It's on the Northcott website and looks totally different from the original.

The table runner was delivered last night. I purchased the fabric at Oh Look Fabric (the new quilt store in Milton) and it will be a potential class in the upcoming future. So watch for that. If you're not on the mailing list, you should get yourself on the list. If you look at that link above, you'll see the latest fabrics she has in the store. They are distinctly Canadian and SUPER CUTE.  I should have bought some last night, but I didn't think. Now I want some!!!!  Help!!!

Last night, we had our first class at Oh Look Fabric. I was supposed to put it on my blog, but I was so wrapped up in quilting, that I forgot to post the information. The topic? English Paper Piecing and you can see the ladies hard at work making their hexagons.

Making hexagons

 And when the evening was over, we had a nice selection of flowers. They did amazingly well and those stitches are very invisible. Kudos to everyone for a great job!!!

Finished hexagon "flowers"

This is such a relaxing technique. It takes very little to carry around a pouch of hexagons, scissors, and thread. Technically there isn't really any prep work. I really need to work on these - I have an audio book I want to finish so I'm going to put them together by my chair and see what I can get done.


I did finish my Anne Perry novel. Boy - that was quite a story and that's all I'm going to say, but I'm anxious to read the next one. But I'm going to try a different author. At the moment, I'm reading about the movie Thelma and Louise. I never saw that movie, but now I want to. Got to find it somewhere - I'm sure it's on the internet.

Speaking of that - oh shoot - I have to find the pictures of M in her first TV show. I saw them this morning and now I can't find them. Perhaps she can send them to me via e-mail so I can post tomorrow.

And now I have to run. I'm teaching two classes today. I'm all prepped or as prepped as I'm going to be!

Have a super day!!!!


Ciao!!!