With a little help from my friends

What happened here? I got up a bit earlier than usual and got the presentations done, and then I felt tired, so I figured a wee nap was in order, and WHAM! I'm really late, so the blog will be short!

Last night, we had a fantastic show and tell for our Jen Kingwell remedial. I have taught several Jen Kingwell quilts over the last 5 years. Some of the tops had been completed, and some had not. So I, along with others, toiled away. 

You know what was the best thing I heard last night? "THANK YOU for making this class happen - because without it, my project would still be in pieces." And I said THANK YOU right back at them because my quilts would still be in pieces without the group. 

What a WONDERFUL collaborative effort we all did! I'm really proud of that group and all the efforts they made. A few are still making blocks, but overall, the remedial class was a HUGE success. 

I finished my Boho Heart quilt top. YES -- it's quilted and bound. 

My BOHO Heart Quilt

I finished the Long Time Gone. And it's also quilted and bound. 

My Long Time Gone Quilt

And there's Wanderer's Wife (used to be called Gypsy Wife). I don't have a flat shot of it -- I'll find one and add it later today. It is also quilted and bound. 

Wanderer's Wife Quilt

Getting those three quilt tops quilted and bound was HUGE. And I have the group to thank for pushing each other every month to make that happen. 

Then, there was the fourth quilt - Green Tea and Sweet Beans. I aimed to get it quilted and bound, but that didn't happen. I thought I might struggle with it because of the applique, and I was right. Don't get me wrong - I like applique and am good at it. I'm just slow. But I made giant leaps and bounds, and this is what it looks like right now. 

Green Tea and Sweet Beans

I am thrilled with the quilt. Well, I'm thrilled with ALL of them. The colors in this one are bright and cheery. The applique in the center is done! 

The pattern calls for an applique border, and do I want it or not? I put what I've done with the borders on the wall, and I WANT them. So I have a plan. 

The borders

I'm not a fan of how "interesting" the vines are positioned, so I plan to remove them. Don't tell me NO - my mind is made up. I will attach the border fabric (GASP - for applique? YES). Then, I'll glue the vine back and stitch with a zigzag stitch. That's easy to do on this quilt as I won't have to turn it except for the corners. The new placement will take some time, but I have a wide open table at the moment, so it is the perfect spot to do that on Monday sewing. 

Then, to apply the flowers and leaves, I want to experiment with something, and this quilt will be perfect for it. You'll have to wait for that one. I hope to have it done by the end of January. 

The other day, in a meeting for class, the topic of Jen Kingwell came up! Hmm -- do I venture to teach another one? My arm could be twisted as I like them, as much I "complained" about how much work it all was. 

There are two potential quilts -- one is this one - Green Tea and Sweet Beans. There are LOADS of techniques in this quilt, and if you want to learn new stuff or try your hand at some techniques that might be rusty - this is a good one!!

The other quilt I was thinking of is My Small World. 

My Small World

So here's the thing -- if you are interested in my teaching a Jen Kingwell  - let me know which one, and I'll see what happens. It will start in October 2024, so there is no rush, but I'd like some feedback soon so I can reserve the quilt to teach! It'll be on Zoom hosted by Thimbles and Things, and if I don't call dibs on teaching a Kingwell quilt, someone else might!!! Send me an e-mail with the Jen Kingwell quilt you'd like for a class. elainetheriault@gmail.com

Loads more happened yesterday, but I have a Zoom class at 9:15 and no time to fiddle around this morning. Sorry for that!

And if you have a UFO or two languishing around your house and want in on the excitement of finishing a quilt, watch the blog because tomorrow, I'll reveal all the clubs and classes for January to June of 2024, and some spots are open! And it's mostly about finishing or learning a new technique - there are NO NEW projects for those six months. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

Jen Kingwell quilt update!

OH, NO --- should I buy Murphy a special bed to keep her out of the flowers! I see them at PetSmart, and well, I don't know about her and an outdoor dog bed! It might be something, but I bet she'll be back in the leaves before I know it! I'll ask her what she thinks!

OMG --- I just checked, and you can buy FOLDING dog beds for outdoors. I better keep her away from the computer, or who knows what she will want. Maybe she wants one with a canopy? 

Meanwhile, on hot days, there is Lexi stretched out in the sun on the deck. And I thought she was a princess? Nope -- she's a sun dog! 

Both of them love the new comb I purchased. I think I've combed TWO dogs out of Lexi, and there's still loads of hair. Her hair is so thick I can put my fingers into her fur and see the finger holes. 

My finger holes in Lexi's fur coat

While she loves the comb (and the rake), her skin is sensitive, or I have a heavy hand, and we can only do it for a limited time. Then she kicks up a fuss and moves on. But with the comb, she'd take a break and then return for more! Silly girl!

Personally, I think Murphy just likes to lie in the mud! Fully stretched out, with the body of her bear behind her and the head in front. And there's quite a bit of stuffing in between the two bits. 

MOM -- I'm happy in the mud!

She is right by the filter and trying desperately NOT to put the ball in the filter. 

MOM -- I did NOT drop that ball there

MOM -- just hanging out

But she has developed a nasty habit of barking - just for fun, which Mom doesn't find funny. And more ball playing was done. She LOVES searching for it and has quite a set of paths under those bushes. 

Murphy searching for the ball

Exciting news - the cinema near my house is opening on May 17. I walked past the other day and didn't see a sign, but someone sent this to me! Yeah!!! I want to see The Book Club but can't book tickets yet. There is a massive arcade in there, and since it's close to TWO high schools, you can imagine it'll be jammed. I saw them interviewing candidates when I walked past. 

Opening soon!

So I've been struggling with one of the sergers. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get the tension right. I've been working on the other serger and had the SAME issue come up. OK -- so this cannot be the serger, and I was right. A little more investigation revealed it was OPERATOR ERROR. The worst part is that it's something I tell people to check IMMEDIATELY if they run into difficulty, and I didn't do that. 

Lesson learned! Pay attention to what you say because it's pretty valuable information. Needless to say, I am now back in business with the serger and got stuff accomplished yesterday. Not nearly as much as I would like, but I'm making progress. It's all about learning, and it really doesn't take long -- make a few samples, understand the tools, and you are good to go! 

I managed to get the binding on my Long Time Gone quilt. So of the four Jen Kingwell quilts I taught, two are completely done, one needs to be quilted, and I fell behind on the fourth one, so I still have to make some blocks and the applique border. I have until the end of this year to complete them, and so far so good. 

My Long Time Gone - DONE! 

Some people are going gangbusters and making significant progress, others not so much, even on the THIRD time round. Perhaps they need to shelf the project permanently. If they haven't touched it now with all the motivation of the classes, they will never finish it on their own. Just saying...............

The binding on Long Time Gone

Here are some pictures of tree blooms I snapped on my walk to and from the grocery store. So pretty!

Tree blossoms

More blossoms

Well, one presentation was done last night, and there are three today. Two of the three are ready to go, and the pictures for the third one are ready to put in the presentation. That shouldn't take too long, and I have some time between presentations to make that happen. I HATE being this rushed, but I've no one to blame but myself. 

Remember, if you are in the Kingston or Regina area, check out these events. You WILL learn my mistake with the serger and many other tips. 

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I'll be at Stitch by Stitch in Kingston on May 18 and 19. 

May 18 (10 - 1) is Embroidery - Where to Begin (Husqvarna Viking)

May 18 (6 - 9) is Accessories, Attachments, and More (Husqvarna Viking)

May 19 (9 - 12) Garment Sewing Techniques (PFAFF)

May 19  (2 - 5) Accessories, Attachment, and More (PFAFF)

The accessories and attachments are geared to specific brands of machines. The other two will focus on the particular brand of machines, but there will be loads of tips and tricks for EVERYONE, regardless of your machine brand. You do NOT need top-of-the-line machines for any of them. They are all lectures/demos, so come, sit back and relax and learn! 

This is the place to ask questions, so get signed up! 

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Then I'm in Regina, Saskatchewan. 

I'll be at Peachtree Quilt Shop (Northgate Sewing Center) on May 23 and 24

May 23 (9 - 12) Quilting

May 23 (1 -4) Quilting

May 24 (9 - 12) Serging

May 24 (1 - 4) Serging

Again, these are lectures/demos, so all you need to do is come and listen. I have loads of samples to inspire and loads of tips to share, and we're going to have a super time! Even if you've been quilting for a long time, there's sure to be something new to inspire, and as for the serger class? Well, I know some of you are terrified of your serger, and trust me -- you won't be when we're done! Loads of tips and tricks to make you WANT to get that serger out! 

Check your calendars and get signed up!! You'll be sorry if you miss these events. 

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FYI -- the Virtual Retreat is on May 27 and 28 this month. 

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I still have almost six hours of the Louise Penny book (How the Light Gets In), and it better end how I think it should, or I'll be mad! The big, dark issue underlying the last several books is coming to an end. I hope it gets resolved, and we can go on and have "happy" murder investigations in the future! 

On that note, I'm out of here!

Have a super day!!

Ciao!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Progress is being made!

Again --- thanks so much for the comments! I need some quiet time to digest them, and I've put myself in a bit of a bind this morning for time. 

I got up at the right time but didn't realize that I booked a bike in spin class, and I hate to miss it, but I don't have time. I'm going, but only for half, as I still have a few things to do before leaving for the retreat. 

We had loads of fun at the Virtual Retreat. However, I was a bit "out of it" as I operated the long arm and the embroidery machine simultaneously, so I clocked many steps as I ran between them, changing threads, babysitting the bobbins, and so on. 

However, I'm happy to report that BOTH projects are complete! 

Here's the quilt from the long arm: MY Long Time Gone quilt. I will trim it when I return next week, but it's done. The Jen Kindwell remedial class is working! 

My Long Time Gone

The machine embroidery project is also done, and it was the second attempt at this design, which I created in the software. We always tell people they need to STITCH OUT their designs -- it's not enough to just create them. 

Threads from my embroidery design

The original file had close to 90,000 stitches, and well, there were a few areas that didn't work so well. As a matter of fact, I abandoned the project because I knew I had goofed on a couple of the designs I created. Not to be deterred, I went back and figured out how to do it correctly and eliminated 30,000 stitches! I would NOT have known that if I hadn't attempted to stitch it out! 

All the quilts for the retreat are quilted, trimmed, and packed in the car. Let's say the car is a bit full as I decided to throw in a sewing machine as I didn't get a chance to do much sewing at the Virtual Retreat yesterday, and I have a number of things that NEED to be sewn this week. 

I did get the binding for my 150 Canadian Women quilt done. Yeah!!! 

The binding for 150 Canadian Women

But the stuff that you can't see is the paperwork. I had "nothing" to do in the morning for three hours, so I sat at the computer and created e-mails, answered e-mails, and whatever else needed to be done. I still owe class follow-up on one class, which will have to wait until next week. I may regret doing this, but I submitted some designs to the magazines. I know -- do I have time to make them if they accept the design? Well, we'll deal with that when they say yeah or nay!

While I accomplished lots, I'm not up-to-date yet, but I'm doing OK. 

People are already asking what patterns or classes I'll teach in the fall. HEY -- we are not even done with the classes for this year, but they are rapidly coming to a close. We'll definitely be doing a large quilt in the paper piecing technique. The choice has yet to be quite firmed up, so be patient, and we'll let you know. That project will start in October, so you have loads of time. 

And here's another option, and I'll be running this privately. I hope I'm not out of line to put it here. But a local designer (Sandy Beintema) has created this quilt, and I like to support locals. It will be offered to guilds, but if you don't belong to a guild or your guild is NOT going to run the program, I will. Anyone interested? Let me know --- elainetheriault@gmail.com. I'm still determining the cost, but I WILL supply the pattern --- do not contact the designer directly; she will direct you to me!

Scrappy heart quilt for the fall sew along

I don't have any details yet, but I love this quilt, and it will s art in October!!!

OK -- that's it for me. I'm off to a shortened spin class and then off to retreat! I'm unsure if I'll know what to do with myself for an entire week when I get to sew!!! Well --- serge and sew!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

Back to back to back

So before I tell you all about the back, let's talk about the firsts! 

As you are probably aware, I love to find geocaches. Now I'm not a huge geocache person as I haven't hit 600 yet, but I like to do it from time to time. And it's something fun to do in a location you are visiting. As with all things I love, there are many ways to measure what you do - the number of caches you find, the level of difficulty, the size of the container, and many other things. One thing that has eluded me is the FTF, which stands for FIRST TO FIND. 

What does that mean? After someone places a cache, if you have your e-mail notifications set up, you'll get a notice that a new cache has been placed. It'll tell you how far away it is from your location. I checked my e-mail this morning to find one that is .19 miles from my house. OH - has anyone else found it? 

I checked, and so far, no one had logged it. Let's just say that I breezed through that blog post yesterday morning, grabbed Murphy, and we did the walk in reverse so we could get to the cache quicker. I was practically pulling Murphy instead of the other way around. OK -- so that's a lie, but thankfully, she likes to hustle. 

We arrived and quickly found the cache in the forest, and we were the FIRST TO FIND it!  Yeah, me and Yeah, Murphy!!!!

FTF!

I will say that Murphy was way more interested in the squirrels than she was in the container. That dog needs better training! Oh -- she's good with training, as long as you have a treat! 

Murphy and the geocache

And it's a good thing we did what we did because as I found it, someone was on their way and logged in shortly after I was there!

So this brings up a shameful moment. Years ago (TEN years ago - August 18, 2012), I was in New Brunswick and picked up this travel bug from a geocache. What's a travel bug? There's a tracking number on the back of that little frog, which is attached to Bart Simpson, and the idea is that the bug gets moved from cache to cache. This little guy has traveled close to 20,000 KM across the US and then it came to Canada. 

A travel bug

I brought it home and promptly lost it in the office. Sigh...   In my decluttering, I found the travel bug, and I contacted the owner to ask if he wanted it back or release it back into a geocache. He said to put it back into circulation. So I plan on taking a picture somewhere in particular before I release into the geocaching world! 

OK -- enough about geocaching. It's time to talk back! Not my back, not your back, but QUILT backs. 

I'd sit down before you read further because you'll be exhausted. I know I was -- just getting this all together. 

Let's start off with a couple of the backs of customer quilts. This was a sports-themed quilt, and the backing is large pieces of sports fabric. 

The back of a customer quilt

I finished this customer quilt two days ago.  

Customer quilt - DONE

The back of it was pieced with extra blocks. 

The back of the customer quilt

I finished this customer quilt yesterday. 

Customer quilt - DONE

While the back wasn't anything too out of the ordinary, I had to make the backing. The quilt is race car themed and the customer couldn't find anything she liked for the back. 

 

Race cars

I said I might have just the thing, and this is what I found in my stash of quilt backings. So I sold her the fabric, made the backing on her behalf, and it's quilted and trimmed and ready to be delivered later this week! Now, how is that for service? And I used some of my fabric!

The backing of the customer quilt

Then it was time to work on some quilt backs for me. The quilt tops were piling up a wee bit, so during the Virtual Retreat, I decided to get to work. I had searched and couldn't find something suitable for my Wonderful Woodland, which is very strange. So I checked out the baskets of flannel to see if something would work. I found this pile of fabric. As I mentioned, it was in strips and lots of it. 

Fabric pulled to make a backing

I measured, sliced, and diced until VOILA -- I had a quilt backing that was the right size. 

My pieced backing for the Wonderful Woodland quilt

You can't see it, but there are a lot of seams across the width of that backing, and I'm perfectly OK with that. You'll see the top later, and I made the binding the same day I made the backing. 

Lots of seams in that backing!

This is all that was left of that pile of fabric, and it went into the flannel scrap bin and will go to a good home. 

The leftovers from making the backing

Then it was onto the backing for the Among the Stars Again quilt. I couldn't find anything suitable in the stash, but I did have LOTS of leftover fabrics, so I figured, let's go for it, and pieced the backing from several different prints. 

The pieced backing for Among the Stars Again

I still had all this fabric leftover, which is now in the appropriate stash bin. Green or grey? I put it in the green bin. That would be the bin with the green fabric, not technically the green bin for compost! I should qualify that as well, this is NOT left over, meaning the pattern was overly generous, it means I had a whack of this fabric and make the quilt top and the backing and still have left over. I could make a small coordinated quilt from it. Hmmm -- perhaps I'll dig this back out and send it to Diane! I should quilt the darn thing before I do that! 

Left over fabric from my project

And I'm still working on the little triangles cutoffs to make half-square triangles. This is the quilt that I'm waiting on for the binding, but it's not like I'm going to quilt that quilt tomorrow, so no rush. Even if I quilted it tomorrow, there would be no rush to put the binding on!

Half-square triangles in progress

Phew -- that's a lot of backings, but WAIT. I'm not done!

I had this stack of backings ready to put on the shelf, but they had NOT been measured. 

Backing fabrics - not measured

That won't do, so they got measured and labeled. Now, this is much more useful! Even though I don't have a ton of room to store those backings, it might just be the time to start going through the stash ins and pull anything that is huge yardage that can be used for a backing. I seem to be needing backing fabric more than anything else these days. Maybe, I'll start one basket at a time. See what I mean by there always being something to organize. The more you have, the more time it takes to manage it and make it useful! But it's so much better than it was!

The backings are now measured and labeled

My Long Time Gone has been sitting here forever without the backing or the binding made. The backing fabric was pulled, so I also measured and cut that. 

The backing fabric for Long Time Gone

I found some fabric suitable for the binding, and that one got moved to the "to be quilted" pile. 

Long Time Gone in the "to be quilted" pile

That left these two projects that still needed to be tackled. 

Two more projects to tackle

I found the perfect backing for my All in a Row quilt, which was a sew-along in 2021. It has cute owls on it, and it is bright. It's not just owls, but they are very prominent. 

The owls on my All in a Row quilt

Look at what I found. I mean, is this not perfect???? 

The backing fabric

And so the backing got made for that one as well. 

Another one hits the "to be quilted" pile

I'm working on the second quilt in that photo, but there's no time to tell you about that one right now. 

So much can be done when you're on a roll and have nothing to distract you. I got one more writing assignment out the door, but I must start another big one and soon! I've been puttering around with other paperwork that needs to be done and I'll get a bit more done today. 

If you want to see a really intense pieced quilt back, check out the back of Darlene's quilt. This is the BACK. That's intense -- I think she used every little leftover scrap she had, and I swear it took her longer to do the back than it did to make the front! Thankfully, I don't get that intense!

The BACK of Darlene's quilt

An FYI about my quilt backs -- I piece then vertically or horizontally -- whichever way makes the most sense. Sometimes, you have no choice if the print is directional. Once that seam is done, I fold it up and put it with the quilt top. I do NOT press it at that time. Why bother, when I'll likely have to repress it when I load it on the long arm. There is ZERO double work in this house if I can avoid it! 

Phew -- I'm off for another productive and busy day. Oh, I did grab a few things from Studio U and put them in their proper place. I WILL get through that, but I needed to take a break. Spin class -- it's time for spin class! 

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!

Long Time Gone by Jen Kingwell

Today is the last day of the show and tell for the Jen Kingwell quilts. We're working on one more (Green Tea and Sweet Beans), but that won't be finished until the end of the year. Yes -- FOUR Jen Kingwell quilts in one year! And I'm contemplating one more -- My Small World, which is considerably smaller and looks less intense. I'll see how my sanity remains as the fall approaches. Leave me a comment if you're interested. Did I just write that? 

This is the SECOND time I have taught the Long Time Gone quilt. It's one of the most intense of Jen's patterns as there are LOTS of small pieces, and it definitely fits into the puzzle quilt category. It was the second time for some, and it was nice to see some of those quilts finished. 

This one was also hosted by Thimbles and Things over nine months. Thanks to Sue and Paula for making that happen, and we have NEW quilts that we'll be hosting in the fall. More details on those another day. 

Hopefully, you had a chance to review the BOHO Heart quilts, pick your favorites, and understand WHY those are your favorites. And it's an even better exercise to understand which ones are your least favorite and understand WHY they are not your favorite. 

And there are the Wanderer's Wife quilts to give you more fun at picking and understanding your favorites. What I love about this type of class (the ongoing classes held over an extended period) is that we ALL learn from each other. We get to see color combinations that we would never have dreamt of, new friendships have been formed, and I've met many people. 

Can you believe that I've been doing that class format for almost TWENTY years, and considering that some years I'll do up to five or six in ONE year, you can imagine the number of quilts I've taught! I've become much better at finishing them, but there are a "few that need a bit of work. 

If you have discovered that you LOVE someone else's quilt better than your own, do NOT abandon yours. Instead of lamenting that you should have picked a different colorway, use this as a learning experience, take that colorway that you adore, and use it for your NEXT quilt. Don't even think about remaking these quilts or abandoning what you have started, as it's just not worth it. 

I know that many people feel they can't just make a quilt - they have to have a purpose for it or someone to gift the quilt to. I don't believe in that at all. Let's face it - makers want to make! It's good therapy, and when the quilt is done, and you don't need it or don't like it -- donate the top. Who cares how much the fabric cost --- how many HOURS of entertainment (never frustration) did you get? That is WELL WORTH the price of the fabric. Compare that to other forms of entertainment -- I bet making the quilt is much cheaper than going to the movies! 

Most of us learn by doing, and if you don't, you won't learn. I remember this from The Minimalist book I read recently: We learn X% by observing, then we learn more by doing, and so on. I will try to find that quote. But 95% of what you teach, you RETAIN. Imagine that, which is why I've become relatively knowledgable about quilting because I've been teaching full-time for over 20 years. I couldn't agree with that statement more. And I was NEVER afraid to teach something that someone asked me to! Sometimes, I had to do some research to keep ahead of the class. 

Anyway, enough of the philosophy stuff. If you forgot my color and value exercise guidelines, you can go back to the BOHO heart link and review them. Sit back and enjoy and start thinking! 

The pattern booklet - Long Time Gone by Jen Kingwell

One thing to note in this pattern -- the sashing plays a HUGE role in the end result of the quilt. In some instances, the sashing worked best when it was dark; in others, a much lighter sashing color worked better. That's the importance of sometimes leaving that choice near the end so you can audition. And the same thing with the borders -- I waited almost one year before I put the border on. 

Barb

Brenda

Colleen

Coreen

Edith

Heather

Kelly

The borders for Kelly's quilt

Linda

Linda

Linda

Lorraine

Marg

Margot

Maria

Markye

Maureen

This is the same quilt as above  - the picture was taken inside, while the one above was taken outside. Amazing how the light can change the color!!! Be very careful of that when choosing fabrics!

Maureen

Sally

Susan

Tammy

Zildi

And here is my quilt. I did NOT make a second quilt as I had all my notes ready from making it the first time. Mine was made entirely from my scrap boxes. My task before this second class ended was to get the border on. I added much more sashing (orange) than the book called for, and those extra checkerboards I removed became part of the border. I have the backing chosen at home and need to get that, and the binding completed soon. 

My version of Long Time Gone

WOW   --- This was the second time I taught this quilt, so we had fewer people in this class than in BOHO Heart or Wanderer's Wife. I believe there are 20 quilts, which is AMAZING as this was an INCREDIBLE amount of work. 

Again for ANYONE who is currently working on one of these quilts and doesn't have the motivation to finish it on your own, there will be a "Jen Kingwell makeup" class starting in the fall or January. You don't even need to have been in my class to attend. All that is required is proof that you have started! And a fee, of course! But watch the blog for more details on that. 

And that wraps it up for today. I'll be sharing what's been going on at the sewing retreat (well, some of it) tomorrow. But all is good, and I'm being super productive! I'm happy, and I've been walking LOTS as well. Plus, I've been up since ridiculous o'clock this morning, so I'm going to get loads accomplished before the rest of them even get out of bed! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!