North Star Show and Tell

While I did not get the first two items on my To-Do list done (I knew that wasn't going to happen), I made good progress on one of them and I did get a couple of urgent matters taken care of. The rest of the list awaits for me today. Now instead of telling you that I'll do a blog post on ToDo lists, I'm adding it to my list of topics. Done! I added two items - well possibly three to that list yesterday. As if I would ever lack something to say!

I'm so darn excited to share the show and tell from North Star quilt. This is a quilt designed by Elizabeth Hartman and we worked on it at The Hobby Horse since the beginning of January. Let's say the show and tell is pretty impressive. Someone thought it was the MOST finished tops AND quilts that we've ever had. I know a couple of people (whose tops are done or almost done) couldn't make it so maybe this was the best year ever!

North Star by Elizabeth Hartman

Let's have a look. I'm going to try really hard to get the names of everyone.

I'll start with Marg's quilt. She wasn't able to attend the class on Saturday, so I got a picture of her quilt top on Monday sewing. Marg used the kit - I thought she made a few changes to some of the fabrics but I don't remember. She just had the two side borders to put on and then the top is DONE.

Marg's quilt

The first up from Saturday is Sophie. She used Northcott Toscana for the entire quilt! Shoot - I should have gotten a close up of each quilt but perhaps if you click on the photo, it'll enlarge a wee bit. She moved the blocks around from the original to balance the colors.

Sophies's version of North Star

I believe this was Nancy's. She was using the kit and she's assembled it the same way the pattern is. Notice the dark sashing between the blocks. The last three blocks are together and I would imagine by now that the top is done! I think she changed the walrus fabric. I could be wrong on that.

Nancy's quilt

We hadn't seen several of Sharon's blocks so here's Owen the Owl.

Owen the Owl

Meridith the Musk Ox

Fritz and Fred fox

Sharon also wanted an opinion on what sashing to put in her quilt. Instead of it just being a one-on-one, it was a great teaching moment so the group decided that this GLOW IN THE DARK fabric was perfect. Can't wait to lay under that quilt in the dark!

Sashing for Sharon's quilt

This is Kathi's quilt. I remember at the beginning of the year that she "struggled" with what fabrics to use for her version. Then she got on a roll and well - she had loads of fun. If you look close, she found the appropriate animal fabric for each animal. Narwhale fabric?? You bet!!  Someone said it looks like they're wearing PJs. It's such a fun quilt and a great way to make this quilt her own. You nailed it, Kathi! All the animals have been rearranged as well.

Kathi's quilt

 Diane was using the kit. She had a fair amount of the background fabric left so she used that for the sashing instead of the darker fabric. Looks great, but that linen background fabric required a certain skill set to work with. Pins, pins, and a whole lot of pins were required to make it work. Diane is now the master of using that linen fabric.

Diane's quilt

This is Linda's quilt. Linda also used the kit but she used the darker fabric in the kit for the sashing. However, she made numerous fabric changes. Her polar bear is a different fabric, one of the foxes is a different fabric and I thought she changed something else. Again, you can start with a kit, but that doesn't mean you have to use everything in the kit. Something you don't like? Swap it for something you do like.

Linda's quilt

 Go back and look at the polar bear (top left block). In Diane's version, the polar bear doesn't stand out a whole lot but look at the polar bear in Linda's quilt. Now granted, Linda did use a different fabric, but she also outlined the polar bear. I believe she used a hand embroidery stitch to do that and it makes Patty the Polar Bear pop out. Great job Linda!!!

The outline around Patty the Polar Bear

This next quilt is Lynn's. Lynn used a light blue "frosty" looking fabric for the background and she used elements of the kit for the animals and some of the blocks. Then she used a slightly darker blue for the sashing. It looks awesome!!!

Lynn's quilt

Next up was Sheila's and there were a TON of oohs and aahs when this one went up. Why? Sheila used a VERY busy print for the background and it looks amazing. Those animals stand right out from the background. She's got most of the other blocks done - they're just not sewn together yet. She used a monochromatic fabric for the sashing. This quilt is going to be stunning!!!!

Sheila's quilt

This is Valerie's quilt. I LOVE the colors. It reminds me of the Canadian North - perhaps because of the colors. But boy - those animals stand out - you can't miss any of them. A great choice of background fabric and it makes me think of the north and cold and ice! Great job!

Valerie's quilt

This next one belongs to Rosemary. She chose something totally different from everyone and went with a solid beige background. See how the animals stand out from that background. Each of the three rows is sewn together and notice that she's using the background as the sashing. She just needs to add the sashing to the bottom of the rows and sew it together. Almost there!! Awesome Rosemary!

Rosemary's quilt

Lynne did the small version and chose four blocks. She used icy blues for the background and they look amazing! She may have to do some decorative stitching around the polar bear as he does get lost or perhaps he's sitting in a blizzard. I bet that's it! The color she chose for her foxes is brilliant!!  I always say, this is the best part of the class - you get to see a ton of different ideas for block, colors, arrangement and a whole lot more. Great job !!!!!

Lynne's small quilt

She always makes a pillowcase or a cushion to match her quilts. This one was no exception. She used the seal block for the top of the cushion cover. I think a lot of people went home to copy this idea and it's a great one. Thanks for sharing!

The front of the cushion cover

For the cushion backing, she used one of the stars from one of the blocks. Now isn't that clever!!! I love it.

The back of the cushion cover

Lynne has a love/hate relationship with free motion quilting so she tends to use her walking foot and embroidery machine for the quilting. Here she did a wavy line with her walking foot. It looks awesome. I so love to see when the students in the class take the information, adapt it to what they can do and then get it done!!!

The quilting on Lynne's cushion cover

Remember Heather from the Ultimate Block class? The terrified beginner from January? Well - she's no longer a beginner. Not only did she come with a FINISHED Ultimate Block quilt, but she finished this one as well!!!!  Holy cow! She rearranged her blocks and put the foxes in the middle as that was her favorite block. Owen the Owl is grey and a few other changes. But it looks amazing!!! Heather - you've come a long way and did an outstanding job! I couldn't be happier for you! You should be very proud of yourself.

Heather's completed quilt

You notice that she used a decorative stitch on her sewing machine to stitch a line around the outline of Lucille the Seal to make her stand out a wee bit better. You can see in the picture (bottom right) that she does. Just a wee subtle line is all that's needed.

Decorative stitching to make Lucille the Seal stand out a wee bit more

 More of her quilting in the Meredith the Musk Ox block.

Detail of the quilting

Next up is another class superstar - Sara. Remember Sara from the Lilla class where she showed up with a FINISHED quilt? Well, she showed up with another finished quilt in this class. She really changed up the colors in the animals and used a solid background which showcases the animals very nicely.

Sara's FINISHED quilt

She chose to use straight lines to highlight the animals and to follow the angles made by the pieced parts. She did a fabulous job on the blocks.

Close up of the quilting

Yes - I say blocks because she quilted it "quilt as you go" (which is making a comeback - did you know???).  Here's the back of her quilt with all the joins. Very impressive Sara!!!! Notice how she pieced the smaller pieces for the blocks. She used up a lot of fabric that way.

The back of Sara's quilt

NO - we're almost done! This last one is by JoMarie. Her quilt was also quilted but needed the binding applied. She used a mottled grey for the background and the blocks look awesome. I love her color choices - look at the Lucille the Seal (middle top) - isn't that stunning? Notice that she made her borders wider as well.

JoMarie's quilt

Look what she had her friend do for her. The name of each animal was machine embroidered on the blocks. I fell in love with this idea and if you read QUILTsocial yesterday, you know that I stole that idea.

The names are machine embroidered on the blocks

If you were observant, you'll notice that the center block has a different color background. She started out with the brown, didn't like it and switched. It doesn't detract from the total look one bit. Way to go JoMarie - for not remaking that block and finding a solution!!

The center block has a different background

And there you have the show and tell.

WAIT - hell has frozen over and there's one more quilt. It's MINE. And it's quilted! I don't think that has ever happened in the history of these ongoing quilt classes. EVER!!!! Heck - most of them are still not finished! I'm so excited about this. I do love the quilt and I just need to choose between two different fabrics for the binding. I used an icy blue for the background and a slightly darker fabric for the sashing. It was quilted with a snowflake pattern and I'm thrilled with it.

My North Star quilt

I just did a quick tally. We started the year with 21 students in the class. There were 15 (not counting my quilt) finished quilts, tops or very close to being finished at the show and tell. I know there is one other that is very close to being complete, but the owner wasn't able to make it to class. So for the remaining five? If you didn't finish all the blocks - why not make something smaller like Lynne did? Get it done - use up that block(s) and don't leave it as a UFO. Then send me a picture. I'd love to have TWENTY-ONE projects - meaning at least one thing from each student!

That was so exciting!!!!!  I love it and I couldn't be happier with the results fo the class. A superb job by everyone in the class. So many of them stretched their wings and grew by stepping outside the box whether it be their fabric choices, block placement or creativity by adding the names to the blocks. What a great group!!!!

OK -- so here are two reminders for today. The Bob Ross (CherryWood) challenge is on display in Seaforth, Ontario. Hosted by The Cotton Harvest Quilt Shop. You have TODAY and TOMORROW to go and see this excellent display and perhaps pick up your PINK challenge bundle for the next challenge.

And don't forget to check out QUILTsocial today. We all embrace the technology in our smartphones, our tablets, and our computers. Well, guess what? That technology now extends to your sewing machine!!!  I'm just in love with everything and for a non-so-smart- techie (at times), I can make all that stuff sing!!!

Have a super day!!!!!


Ciao!!!!

Owen the Owl Show n Tell

Today, it's all about Owen the Owl. He's from the North Star quilt by Elizabeth Hartman. Just thinking that Quilt Market is coming up soon - I wonder what new quilt she'll have this year? However, there comes a time when you say enough is enough! I have quite a few of her patterns and I've made a few. For me - it's time to move on (OK - so there are a few more that I want to make but there'll be no more acquiring patterns from Elizabeth. Not that I don't like her stuff, but how many more of her quilts do I want to make?

Let's have a peek and see what the class did with their Owen blocks.

This first one is from the kit. I know that some of the participants were a bit apprehension about those wings. There's a lot of detail in the wings, but you know what? Once you got started and did Step One, then Step Two, you got the hang of it and it wasn't so scary at all.

Nancy's Owen the Owl

Here's a purply version of Owen. That purple fabric looks like feathers!

Purple Owen the Owl

Here's a fuchsia version of Owen. Oh - I think this one is Lynn's. I recognize the background fabric.

Lynn's Owen the Owl

Here's one more made from the kit. I think we have three people in the class who are using the fabrics from the kit.

Marg's Owen the Owl

Ah - here's the tan background again. So fun to see all the different colors that everyone chose. Even though there are only 6 or 7 fabrics in each block, it was sometimes difficult to find colors in the selected colorways that provided contrast with the background. Let's just say that if you followed the colors in the book - they are just a wee bit off from a clear saturated color. It was a stretch for me to find stuff in my stash and sometimes, well - I just made do with what was there.

Tan background for Owen

Look at the nicely contrasting fabrics in this block. I can't wait to see all of the quilts together. There are over 20 people in this class - hopefully, we'll get to see 15 finished quilt tops????

Owen the Owl 

Owen is making a statement with these colors! I love the blue background and loads of contrast.

Lots of contrast with this Owen

This one belongs to Kathi. Hmmm - I see she didn't use any owl fabric for the body. She mustn't have been able to find any! I'm sure it exists but would it have had the right background color? I love the mottled fabric that she chose for Owen.

Kathi's block

This one belongs to JoMarie. How do I know? Look - Owen's name is embroidered on it. I absolutely love this idea!!!!  It's brilliant. I also love that striped fabric that she used in some of the blocks. It looks like plaid! I know - it's a stripe, but it reminds me of plaid.

JoMarie's block

There you have it - another amazing show n tell from the September class. Hopefully, there'll be more blocks straggle in at the next class at the end of October.

I know it's hard - we get so excited about a new project and then it seems to fizz out as the year goes along. Well, next year - it's going to take less time to assemble our projects. Instead of starting in January, we'll be starting the class in March. We'll meet for four months, then take a break in the summer and then back for three months starting in September with the final reveal in November. We have one of the projects picked for 2020. I'm still trying to figure out the second project. I'll post the information once we get that figured out.

I honestly can't help myself from tidying up. Where I used to be totally blind to all the clutter - now it drives me crazy. The front hall is filled with stuff that is destined to leave the house, plus the car is filled and I have to get it empty before tomorrow. I'll be sharing all that with you later this week. I'm so flipping excited about this "new" me. I told DH that almost nothing in the house is sacred. Only the quilting stuff is sacred at the moment and who knows - the day will come and that will go as well. But not for a long time.

I hope M will appreciate what I'm doing now. When it's time to downsize or when we're gone, there won't be much left for her to sift through. But more on that later - I took loads of photos.

I did manage to get another quilt done. Another HUGE quilt. There are two more large quilts in the pile and the rest of the next batch are lap size - thank goodness for that!

Customer quilt - DONE

I'm LOVING that new phone of mine. That wide-angle lens is amazing. That photo was taken with the wide-angle lens and it's so simple to choose between the various lens. Plus - it's 16 megapixels. It doesn't get much better than that!!!!  I CANNOT believe I said that!!!!  But this wide-angle lens is perfect to get the complete shot when there isn't much room. I should take a picture of the actual amount of space in front of the long arm.

So here's a question for you - do you know what this is?????  It's shiny - looks like a button, but it's not a button. Oh my - it's sitting on some fabric. Now, what could it be? It's wet! Yep - it's a DROP of water. I took that photo with the phone camera. It was just cool when the water hit the fabric so I grabbed my phone. DH - thinks I've gone totally mad. Yep - pretty much!!!!

Waterdrop on fabric

This was the backing for the next quilt. I had to press the seam in the middle and when I added water to the iron, I forgot to completely close the little lid and this water dripped out. Pretty cool.

The next quilt is loaded on the long arm and ready for later today. I have to teach a class this morning, so it will be much later when I get to the long arm.

I'm also trying to finish off some stitch-out samples on the Husqvarna Viking Designer EPIC that should have been done by now! Funny when I wake up in the morning and wonder what I'm going to do that day. OH - there are quilts to trim, a garment to finish, embroidery samples to stitch-out. And so the day goes! I love my workspace!!!! The work tables are filled with what I'm trying to get done. Right now I'm using Studio B as it's easier when I'm also trying to quilt. I think I put something like 17,000 steps on the FitBit!

It was a nice afternoon so I decided to get myself to the voting station. I was going to take Murphy with me. Then I felt guilty leaving Lexi here so all three of us wandered down to the voting station. That was an adventure! Lexi can tell you all about it.

On that note, I'm out of here.

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!

Patty Polar Bear show n tell

It's another day of show n tell! This is one of the three blocks that were assigned as homework over the summer from our ongoing class at The Hobby Horse. These blocks are from the North Star quilt by Elizabeth Hartman. All the animals are super cute and it never ceases to amaze me how a few well-placed seams and a couple of angles and voila - you have an animal. Not just any animal, but an animal that you can recognize. Isn't that wild?

Let's have a peek at what happened. Some names I remember because of the fabrics used in the blocks. Weird how I remember that! The block we're looking at today is called Patty Polar Bear.

First up is Sheila's. She's using a wild print for a background. I LOVE IT. This is my goal (I know I said that sometime last year and haven't acted on it...... yet!)

Sheila's block

The next one belongs to Jana. How do I know? Look at those polka dots! I love that the scale of the dots is all over the place. It gives the block a lot of character.

Jana's block

This one is Nancy's as she is one of the participants who is using the kit. What fun with those snow-covered mountains in the center of the blocks.

Nancy's block

The aqua in this block is fabulous. It makes me think of ice which is fitting for a polar bear!

An icy look to this block

This one belongs to Lynn. I recognize her background and the fact that she used some fabrics from the kit with a different background. That's what I love about these classes - the ideas are great - you get a total range of colors/fabrics so that each quilt will be unique!

Lynn's block

This is Marg's block. She's also using the kit but substituted a yellowish fabric for Patty as she didn't like the white that included in the kit. She didn't like it in the sense that she didn't think there would be enough contrast. Again - that's awesome. If you buy a kit and don't like something in the kit - you're NOT obliged to use it!!! Marg can no longer consider herself a beginner quilter!!

Marg's block

I should be able to remember this one with the tan background, but no name is coming to me! I love the background because it's so different from what was used in the kit and from what everyone else chose. Can't wait to see that one together!

Polar bear block with a tan background

One more Patty Polar Bear with a yellowish tinge to her. It's quite fitting because all the pictures of polar bears that I've seen are yellow, not white! It's funny how our brain works with the colors of some things!

Patty Polar Bear

This block has a nice blue tinge to it. Isn't it great to see all these different colorways all in one place??  It sure gives one food for thought when choosing the colors/fabrics for your next quilt.

Patty with blue

Ah - this would be Kathi's block! How do I know? Because she is using fabrics with the block animal in the fabric. See Patty is made with polar bear fabric? And I think she's used penguins in the centers of the other blocks. Could be puffins - I'm not sure. But it's awfully cute!!!!

Kathi's block

And then there is JoMarie. When I put her block up, we all gasped. OH MY GOD - what did she do???  Can you see in the block what she did?  She had a friend embroider the name of each animal. That's so darn clever - I wish I had thought of it. After all, I do have an embroidery machine or two. I think it's a brilliant idea since these animals do have character. Hmmm - I might just have time to sneak that in???

JoMarie's block

I'm back in the work saddle. I got another customer quilt done yesterday. It's a very pretty quilt and because of my phone with its amazing THREE cameras, I'm able to get a complete picture of it. Yes - the perspective is skewed, but you get to see the entire quilt when I take a picture with the wide-angle lens. OK - I love my DSLR camera, but seriously???  I couldn't have done that as quick with the big camera. Next time, I'll stand near the middle of the quilt.

Customer quilt - DONE

This whole organizing thing has me in a tight grip. I'm trying to get EVERYTHING organized in my life. Isn't that wild? I used to be very organized, then M came along and my brain literally turned to mush for 20 years. Now I'm back!

Technically, on Saturday evening, I'm supposed to look at my calendar and what needs to be done and schedule tasks for the week. I use this white (orange) board to get my quilting organized for the week. Also while I was tidying up, I found this set of day of the week magnets. I put the list of quilts on the board and then assign the day of the week that it'll get quilted. Once the quilt is quilted, I get to erase it from the board and put the day of the week magnet along the top. I love it!!!!

My quilting schedule

Don't worry - there's a whole other list of quilts to be added to the orange board. I'm just trying to get this group done and then the next group goes on the board. I get great pleasure from erasing a quilt from the list! It's weird but as quick as I can finish the board, it's full again! That's a good thing.

Do you remember a while back when I was getting the long arm back up and running that I had "lost" my seam ripper? I almost bought another one but the shop wasn't open? Well, guess what? Yep - I found an extra one in a basket by the long arm! DUH!!!!  While I'm pretty good at knowing what I have, some things slip through the cracks. Thank goodness, I didn't buy another one!

Extra seam ripper

I also did some more tidying in the puzzle room. I don't' have time to share with you today. I'll wait until I've finished with the North Star show n tell. OH MY GOD - I'm so excited. I mean - I made huge headway yesterday. There's still a long way to go in getting our house in order, but it's going to happen. I'm feeling more and more excited every day about how tidy the house is becoming. I can actually find things instead of going out and buying more. Oh, wait for that one!

And I know that once I've been through everything that I'm going to turn around and start all over again. Why? Because it's amazing how things pile up and we can't see them or there are things that I wasn't sure I wanted to keep so I kept them (not much) and I'll decide the next time whether it stays or goes. The next time, it'll take very little time to go through the various areas of the house as things have been put back in a very organized manner and they are staying that way.

Have you noticed one thing? I'm doing great at cleaning out the shed, the garage, then the basement. What's missing?? Oh yes - I'm avoiding this office like the plague! I seem to have an issue with this space. It's like I can't attack it, yet I want to. Don't worry - I'm psyched to attack the room. Now that I have much experience behind me in getting rid of things, I hope that it'll be easy.

I've got a few more things to sell on Facebook Marketplace. I've had great luck so far in that everything I put up for sale has gone. Yeah!!! I've got a couple more things to put up for sale - they are NOT quilt related so I'm sure you won't be interested. And I keep bringing up things from the basement that I don't' want. And there's still a few more things that can come up, but you know what? I'm almost there! Hard to believe, but yes.

I'm not even saying "thank you" to any of the stuff that I'm getting rid of. Nope - it's just going in the appropriate spot and it's gone! Very little is going in the garbage. I'm finding a home for almost everything. Now, if only my Mom had taught me how to do that. M - are you listening?? Keep your stuff organized and get rid of what you no longer need/want! Do it - do it NOW.

There's one last area in the basement to tackle and that's the area where my scrapbooking supplies are. I know - don't even ask. I did a bit of digging in that area yesterday and hope to start unpacking some of the boxes over the next couple of days. I really shouldn't be doing that right now as I have a LOT of work to do. So I really should stop organizing and wait for one of my scheduled days!

How are you all doing in the organizing world?? It's seriously not as hard as I thought it was going to be. It's just a question of doing it! I'm loving it. If you need help in ANY area, let me know! I've got great tips and for a price, I'd be happy to help out.

Happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian friends! We have so much to be thankful for in our country. The right to vote, freedom of speech, great health care, and so much more. We should also be thankful for our health, family, and friends. I'm thankful to all of you who follow me on the blog. While I write the blog for me, I'm so happy to share my crazy life with you all! It makes life way more interesting!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!