Be careful what you eat!

Mondays are just the best. I know that I say that every week, but it truly is an inspiration to be among so many talented women. Best of all, we learn so darn much for each other or as a result of research based on the conversations. Did you know that while a Tesla car might be a super cool car to drive, it's not a very practical car? With a fully charged battery, it has a range of 220 Miles. And it takes 1 ½ hour to get a full charge? That full charge costs about $13 US. Hmm - I think I'm very happy with getting over 700 KM for approximately $50 with my car. Sorry Tesla - while self-driving might be cool, the battery thing is not. Yep - I could charge at home, but seriously? What a pain that would be. I guess I'd better wrap my head around that because cars in the future will be like that. But not for many years.

One of these days, I'm going to post a few tips in case you're buying a new car. Let's just say that cars have changed!

I also learned about chia seeds. I put chia seeds on my oatmeal every morning, but did you know how healthy this food is?? It's a superfood. Good for weight loss, digestion, lowering blood sugar, high in fiber and much, much more. Actually, I put several things on my oatmeal in the morning, but did I think of premixing those items? Nope - well, I'm going to make up a mixture now and then I only have to scoop from one bag, not several. Thanks, Nancy!!!!

However, whatever you put on your oatmeal, it's a good idea to check the labels. When I took my first mouthful of oatmeal yesterday, I knew something was different. I checked the labels of the packages in the spice drawer. Oh dear.

I did NOT taste the cumin in my hamburger the previous night, but I sure tasted it in my oatmeal. Hey - those packages look IDENTICAL and so does the color of the spices. DH left it sitting on top and I normally check the label, just in case, but I did not. Oh well - it was interesting tasting oatmeal. I'm off to find myself a container for the cinnamon today which will then reside right beside the oatmeal.

Cumin and cinnamon look very much alike

Live and learn!!!!  DH asked what I did when I realized that I'd made a mistake. I ate it of course. It wasn't offensive - just different.

Not only was yesterday fun with friends and learning, but I got a lot accomplished. The sleeve got sewn on the POSH Santa sample and the samples were delivered as were several customer quilts and remember that stack of boxes in the basement? Well, I found a new home for the boxes. I didn't take the entire stack but got rid of a lot of the boxes. I did come home with four more customer quilts to add to the list. And something for Lexi which is still in the car. I just love the exchange of stuff that happens pretty much every Monday.

Besides the quilt sleeve, I finished the last block for the gingerbread quilt. That was HUGE. It's only taken me since January to get all the blocks completed. I'm slow and I didn't work on it every Monday as I wasn't there for all Mondays. Doesn't matter - the blocks are DONE.

The last block for the gingerbread quilt - DONE

I need to trim the applique blocks and then it's going to be put on the design wall and will be sewn on the Sit n Sew days later this month.

Time to figure out what else to take for handwork on Mondays. I could take my machine, but then the handwork will NEVER get done. This way, I'm "forced" to do the handwork.

I looked at my list of Dirty Dozen (some still not done from the 2017 and 2018 lists) to see what else is on the list that needs handwork or prepping that can be done on Monday. Hmm, there is Winter Wonderland - that is the redwork embroidery project. I think there are three blocks left to stitch. Here's the block that I'm currently working on. It's almost finished!!!!

Redwork embroidery block - almost done!

Then those blocks need to be trimmed and there's embroidery over the seams. That'll keep me busy for a while, but I need to find something else as it gets boring to do the same thing all day. I'm sure I'll find something that needs to be stitched or prepped. NO worries in that department.

I got another quilt quilted last night. This one belongs to my Mom. Yes - I've had it for several years. I didn't know what to do with it. I finally decided that an overall pattern would be just fine on it. She made the Dresden blocks from scraps of clothing fabric. Could have been her fabrics or more likely the scraps belonged to my grandmother. The background of the blocks is bleached sugar bags.

The quilt is done for my Mom

As I was loading it, I thought I could have done myself a favor and took the six blocks apart, squared up the blocks and then sewed it back together, but where's the fun in that? It was actually not bad except for one corner. Anyway, it's quilted.

I dug through my 30's fabric bin (which I could actually just walk right up to instead of navigating an obstacle course to get there) and found this blue floral for the binding. 

Fabric for the binding

Now the binding is made and ready to be attached later today. I need to call my Mom and get all the information so I can make a label. I think I'll be doing some hand stitching next week while I'm visiting. Labels and sleeves.

Binding is ready to be sewn on

As promised, here are the small projects that I finished the other day. These are for my classes in Saskatoon at The Sewing Machine Store. These two projects were designed (not by me) on the Husqvarna Viking Designer EPIC using some of the builtin specialty stitches.

This is a little book bag that is very cleverly assembled - I had never thought of making a bag that way. Sorry - you have to take the class to find out the details!!! But it's very cute and I found those primary colors in my bright stash basket.

Bookbag

Here's a group of greeting cards. These are stitched directly onto card stock. Again, they use the specialty stitches that are builtin to the Designer EPIC. I still have to color parts of them with markers. They are very cute and you get to learn a lot about programming on the EPIC, sequin stitches, and a whole lot more.

Personalized greeting cards

Those samples are put to bed. I'll be working on more samples for the remainder of the week. As I start to pack, I'll share with you what goes in the suitcase - keeping in mind that it needs to weigh less than 50 pounds. That's going to be tricky. I have four quilts to take with me as well - all for family members and how the heck will I get that in my own suitcase and still have room for a few clothes. Oh yes - who said traveling is fun?

Now that I've got two sewing spaces, there are things that I like to have in both spaces - like a radio. I'm not about to purchase a new radio (do they still sell radios?) so I've been using my iPad as a radio in Studio B. I use the Radio Canada player app and it works like a charm. You can get many different radio stations on it - never any static. I LOVE it.

iPad used as a radio

And I could use Siri to help me find things if I needed. I'm trying to use Hey Google (on my phone) instead of typing. It seems to work pretty well. I use Alexa when I'm home. I'm pretty geeky!

I doubt, that I'll have much time before I leave to do more organizing. I'm OK with that. As I'm working down there, I'm trying to visualize what the next step will be and how I'm going to make some of the other stuff find a home.

Look at what else is in that stash room. There are FOUR HUGE tubs of Minky and fleece. Yep - how does one accumulate that much???  This is going to be moved to the large storage area where it'll become backings for community project quilts. That's just obscene.

Four tubs of Minky and fleece for quilt backings

 This is my current ender and leader project in Studio B. These are the triangles that are created when I make borders and do the join on the diagonal. I laid the triangles out and will match them up in pairs. From there, I'll make half-square triangles and then turn those half square triangles into hourglass blocks. I've got a basket filled with sewn ones, ready for the next step. But I want to finish these off first.

Triangles ready to be paired up and sewn

This bag of leaves has been sitting on the work tables for a while. Hmm - what to do with it? There are LOTS of leaves. The leaves are double-sided (made with Northcott Stonehenge Maplewood). You should check out the pictures of quilts on that link. I took them - some in my backyard, some in the forest behind my house. That was a fun day!!!!  The leaves were die cut. Any ideas what could be done with them???  Because they are double-sided, I don't think they would be good for applique, but they might be good for pillows. Anyone want them???  They are free if someone has a good idea for them. Hmm - they would be good for 3-D applique. Anyone want to make a large tree applique with 3-D leaves????

Double-sided maple leaves - up for grabs

We often hear people complain - of aches and pains or frustrations with family or friends or sewing or whatever. But how often do we hear people say LIFE IS GOOD?  Well - I just want to say that LIFE IS GOOD. While I'd like to have more stuff cleaned up, I finally feel like I have a handle on life. I'm learning to finish things, I'm learning to say no and I'm truly very content. LIFE IS GOOD - That's Bill Stearman's line, but I like it. Thanks, Bill.


On that note - I'm out of here. It looks like it's going to be rainy today. Shoot - I wanted to walk or ride my bike to the mall, but since I need to stock up on distilled water, it might be best to take the car. Can you see me carrying 6 jugs of distilled water home on my bike? I don't think so!

Have a super day!!!!


Ciao!!!

The Harley quilt

There's nothing like a deadline to get one motivated!

Last summer when I visited my family, I met up with Heather - a quilter whom I met via Facebook. We've known each other for several years now and she was showing me around her studio. There's a group of artists who've rented office space and have the most amazing studios ever. She's the only quilter. As she was showing me stuff in her studio, she happened upon a bag of Harley Davidson T-shirts. Most of them had been cut and had the stabilizer applied to the back. These were her leftovers from making a commission quilt.

Did I want the shirts? You know me - hard to say no. My brother owns a Harley - I could make him a quilt without harming his own precious Harley T-shirts. Needless to say, that bag of T-shirts has languished somewhere in that studio for most of the year. Mind you - it was only LAST year that I got the shirts.

When the whole issue of moving stuff happened, I came across the bag. I'm also teaching a class on T-shirt quilts this fall so the bag got moved to the T-shirt pile.

Several weeks ago, I put the T-shirts on the wall so I could see what I had to work with. Hmmm - not quite enough for a lap quilt, but I'll see what I can do.

I finally settled on this configuration. Now to trim the blocks to the size that I need - actually there was very little trimming involved except for the ones that hadn't been done yet. I really wanted those two black flames on the right in the piece, but they just weren't going to work.

T-shirt quilt layout

A couple of the pieces weren't wide enough so I had one block that I wasn't going to use. I mined as much fabric from that block as I could and widened the two blocks in the lower left. I was still short about 5 inches in the total length of that column. I rifled through a stack of T-shirts that I'm going to make a quilt from and finished off the top. I'm quite happy with it considering that it started with a very strict group of blocks. It measures 48" by 64".

The T-shirt quilt top is DONE

After all the talk about taking things from others and then doing nothing with it, I couldn't go against that new philosophy of mine. I'm going to visit family next week, so now there's a rush. It has been on my deadline list of quilts. Never mind that there are other quilts to be made and samples to be finished. Hey - I have a week. Loads of time. 

Then the matter of the backing. Since these two pieces didn't work on the front, they're going on the back.

Two blocks for the quilt backing

I had two pieces of flame fabric for the backing. I have to make it work.

Two pieces of flame fabric for the backing

I don't plan these things - not much. I just let the fabric tell me what's supposed to happen. I started by measuring the two pieces. I drew a picture of my quilt back and then started to slot the pieces in.

This is the first piece of fabric. It was only 20 inches wide, but it was long enough. Those two blocks will fit nicely in the middle.

Step One of making the quilt backing

There were enough bits left from that first piece that I could get a top, bottom, and middle for that center section. It was as if it were made for that part.

The middle section of the quilt backing

The last piece was about 48" long and the full width of the fabric. I cut a piece that measured 36" and sliced it in half. Then joined those two pieces end to end. That gave me the third piece needed for the backing. Seriously?? It was super easy to make that backing. I have visions of lots of piecing and measuring and calculating - my two pieces of fabric just seemed to work. That's often how things happen - we agonize over something and when we actually get to it, it wasn't half bad.

The quilt backing

The backing is sewn together and just needs a quick press before it goes on the long arm later tonight. That's after I've quilted the one that I loaded last night. I'm really into the idea of finishing a quilt and then loading the next one right away. It works for me and I'm OK with that. I'm plowing through the quilts like mad.

OH -- this is all that I had left of the flame fabric. Not much, but enough to put away in the novelty fabric box. There was a piece 12" by WOF and those little strips. I would have had enough without the two flame blocks, but they make the backing much more interesting.

Leftover flame fabric

Speaking of quilting quilts, this is the one that I finished last night. Do you recognize it? It's the blocks from the 150 Canadian Women project from two years ago. I've got to get things rejigged in that studio as I can't get a front-on shot right now because of boxes piled up in front of the long arm. Doesn't hinder me working, just from taking a front shot.

Customer quilt - done

As I was rifling through boxes the other night, I found my measuring tapes! Yeah! That sure helps a lot.

Tape measures are back in their spot

The cutting table is clear. Well pretty much. Notice the scrap box is empty and there's a pillowcase started for the next pet mat. The scrap box is getting full again after finishing the T-shirt quilt.

The cutting table is still clear!

 In case you think that all I do is make quilts - you're wrong! Yesterday, I zipped out for two hours on my bike. It was a glorious day. I love getting out as my head completely empties of everything! I did imagine the snack I was going to have once I got back to the house! Yogurt and strawberries. Yum.

I had a nap, but not in the gazebo!! I made and sewed the binding on my POSH Santa. The sleeve is one and I'll hand sew it in place today. I finished prepping the hearts for the gingerbread block which I'll sew on today and I finished off a couple of other small projects which I'll share with you tomorrow. As a reward for all that hard work, I had a chance to sit in the gazebo, read, nap, and enjoy the company (and antics) of the girls. If every day could be that much fun and still be productive!!

I have to run. I've got a ton of stuff to load in the car this morning for Monday sewing. I'm not sure it's all going to fit. That's the crazy thing about Mondays - there's always this massive (or so it seems) exchange of stuff. I'm only receiving one thing (that I know of).

Have a super day!!!!


Ciao!!!

What was lost is now found!

There are days when we're super productive and there are days when we're not. But even one small thing accomplished in a day can be HUGE. It's all on how you look at it.

The Quilts of Valour quilts were photographed (pictures needed so I could finish writing the patterns) and they were delivered. Yeah - SIX quilts out the door. A HUGE shout out to Virginia, Shirley and Lil who run our local chapter of Quilts of Valour. They have quite a team of people working for them - piecers, quilters, and whoever else they need. So far this year, they've assembled over 50 generous-sized lap quilts. Way to go ladies!!!!  I'm glad I can help out by quilting a quilt every once in a while. I did pick up another quilt to be quilted. That's for the end of the month.

My living room has become the holding area where things that are spoken for reside. Let's just say that it's a tad messy at the moment. However, a good part of it will be leaving in the next day or so and that's a good thing.

Slowly, this mess is getting under control and I'm thankful for each day when some small part of it gets done.

I decided to go through the remaining boxes yesterday to see if there were any more boxes of books and magazines as I knew that there were at least two more boxes. OH - well, I found a few more than two boxes. They are moved over to the shelves and will be unpacked soon. I think I can safely say that all the boxes of books have now been unearthed. This frees up some room on the other side and I have plans to get that in order, but the rest of this week is going to be a tad busy so no time for that.

I had gone out earlier in the day to try and find a replacement for my surgical seam ripper. No luck. So I was determined to find the darn thing. I went through the cabinet of long arm tools/supplies. No luck. I emptied each drawer and sort of reorganized it. No luck. Then I happened to glance down and NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Do you see what I see? This tin of bobbins sits on the top of the white cabinet because I use it all the time. My eyes went to something BETWEEN the two bobbins holders. No way - there's the darn surgical seam ripper!!!!!

What's hidden between the two rows of bobbin holders?

In case you're wondering what a surgical seam ripper looks like - this is what it looks like. It has a very fine flat tip so it's easy to slide under stitches of a quilt that's flat on the long arm. That find made my day!!!!

Surgical seam ripper

I removed some stuff from the cabinet that I'll go through later.


I got another quilt quilted. This one is for a customer. It's a very pretty quilt. Just needs to be trimmed so it can be delivered tomorrow.

Customer quilt - DONE

As I was unearthing the boxes, I came across some other stuff that usually resides beside the long arm. Patterns, tools, and supplies. Hmm - I emptied the boxes and put them on the work tables. That's a LOT of junky looking stuff. No wonder I haven't touched any of it in years.

Paper quilting patterns

I went through the mess and sorted. Some of the paper went to recycling and some went to the pile that we use for the printer. There were some practice drawings for quilting patterns from years ago!!! Loads of stuff that just needed to be dealt with. After the first round of sorting, I still have all these piles that need to be sorted through. All that space on those worktables makes it a snap to go through things.

Even though Studio B is still in quite a disarray, I'm loving the space and I'm loving the fact that it's easy to access anything and everything. There's still stuff to be put away, but there's still lots of storage room. The trick is to NOT let it get out of order. Things must have a home or they must go!!!

Still needs to be sorted

The cutting table got cleaned up and then it got messy again. That'll happen later today.

More tidying up  on the cutting table

Keeping the cutting table clear is a daily chore. One that most of us ignore. I know that I ignored it for years. Well no more. I want to be able to use the space and how can I do that when it's full of stuff? No more! I do need to get that pillowcase down though as that pile of scraps is getting higher and higher!!!

You never know who you are going to meet when you're out and about. I was sitting at the table for the Prince Cherrywood challenge at Quilts at the Creek. A woman approached the table. Gosh - I know her, but I can't remember from where. We got to chatting and then she reminded me that we had first met at Quilt Canada several years ago when I was working in the Northcott booth. OH YES - I know exactly who she is.

When she revealed her Instagram handle, I knew even more how I knew her. There was this crazy lady who was posting these gorgeous little blocks that she would create EVERY DAY for one year. It was totally insane and I don't know how she got anything else done. Check out her web page where ALL 365 blocks are documented. It's absolutely amazing!!!! Those little blocks finish at 3 ½".

Here's a link to her Etsy shop so you can see some of her work. It's STUNNING. I love the little houses - they're just adorable. She has lots of patterns as well. Some of these are the patterns that she was posting on IG. So if ever you think I'm crazy?  No - just look at Olesya's work!!!  She's crazy but in a super fun way.

She has published some of her patterns in hard copy and you can buy the books on her Etsy page. I had a peek at some of her bag patterns and they are EXTREMELY detailed and brilliantly laid out with loads of photos.

Halloween blocks

I don't think she ever sleeps.

I have trouble following someone else's pattern for 365 days let alone making the pattern and then making the block. I'm super impressed and I can't wait to sit down with Olesya for some great chats in the future! And I can't wait to make some of those Halloween blocks. They are so cute and so much fun.

The weather this weekend is perfect. So I was out of my bike yesterday and I'll be out again this morning. Just not a lot of time to ride this year and the weather has been crappy. Not getting out enough is entirely my own fault and I seem to be so busy with quilting. That's something that I need to change. Once I spend less time managing my stuff, I'll have way more time to do whatever I want!!!

I did finish another book yesterday but didn't get to the gazebo. I might today - it's Sunday after all and one does need to have some downtime, although the two hours on the bike was a great way to spend two hours.

On that note, I'm out of here.

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!

Change is all around us

I swear that I've never worked so hard or so focused as I have these last couple of days. I'm rather enjoying it! There's no one at my water cooler or someone to pop in at my desk (sewing machine) to bother me, although I do get the occasional phone call. My darn travel arranger asking for suggestions. I say - go with anything - I'm just along for the ride!! More on that at the end of this month. I guess this is all about passion versus a job.

I got a lot accomplished yesterday although there still seems to be an endless amount of work to do. I've got loads of samples to get prepped for my SVP Educator gig. Loads of new toys to play with. I didn't take a picture of what I worked on yesterday, I'll share that with you tomorrow.

I'm going through stuff so fast that I don't have time to put it away while I'm working. BUT I do tidy up once a day. It only takes a few minutes and I get it all done at once rather than a little bit here and there. And I'm clearing up stuff that has been sitting for a while. Not because it needed to be put away, but because I needed to make something with it. The something is made and now all the supplies can be put away. It's super exciting.

Actually, that cutting table doesn't look so bad, but it's all stuff that needs to be put away. And look at that scrap pile in the back. I wonder how high it can go before it topples over. I need to bring down a pillowcase to make a pet mat.

Cutting table with stuff to be put away

I know that I keep saying there's a light at the end of the tunnel - well, it seems to be getting bigger and that's just fine by me. One day (hopefully soon), I'll have this backlog of stuff out of the way (created solely by my procrastination) and then I can move forward much faster. The backlog items have been put in my little book of deadlines and as there is time each month, some of them get moved onto the wireframe. That system is so perfect for me. Twenty years later I find a system that keeps me on track.


I got two small quilts done yesterday. The first one is for a customer.

Customer quilt - DONE

For some reason, I seem to NEED to get my samples made for my fall classes. Why? No idea - I've never done that in the past. Not only are the samples getting made, but they're getting quilted. Seriously???  I must be totally out of it. That's never happened. That's how in control I am of my time!!!

Here's the sample for POSH Sample which is a class at The Hobby Horse on September  21. Call the store to sign up - it uses the QCR Mini Ruler from Sew Kind of Wonderful. The pattern is super easy and fast to make and a great way to learn curved piecing.

I'll make the binding (which is also the backing) later today and it will go to the store on Monday. You can't really see the quilting in the picture, but I had a blast quilting it. My one weakness on the long arm? Curved ruler work. The lines in his mustache are a wee bit wobbly. It didn't help that I didn't have the ruler foot on the long arm. I'll know next time - freehand it or change the foot. Life is always about gaining more experience by making mistakes. I LOVE IT!!!!!  Doesn't matter   - he looks awesome and I'm super happy with it. I'll even be able to hang it up for Christmas since it'll be done!!!!

My quilt - quilted!

I had a few minutes to spare so I set up my applique prep area and started on those hearts for that last gingerbread block. There are six hearts.

Applique prep area

I managed to get two hearts done. I should be able to get the rest of the prep done later today and then the block can be finished on Monday. Time to dig out the rest of the blocks and start sewing!  That'll be a project for the next Sit n Sew day later this month.

Gingerbread block with two hearts prepped

Know anyone who is moving??? I've got boxes - a LOT of boxes. This is about half of the boxes, but it's the ones that I've unpacked so far. Some of them are damaged and need to go into recycling, but there's a lot of good boxes there. Let me know and they are yours for free. I want them out of that space - they take up a lot of visual room.

Boxes from unpacking

Last night when I was working on POSH Santa, I started to quilt the background and I wasn't happy with the thread color so I had a wee bit of ripping to do. Funny how it takes a half-hour to rip out what you did in two minutes! Why?? Because I can't find my darn seam ripper. I have a surgical seam ripper that I use on the long arm. I have found the other tools that I use at the long arm, but not the surgical seam ripper. I tried a regular ripper and then I remembered that I have this seam ripper from Lee Valley. Hmmm - I don't like it. If anyone wants it - it's yours for free. I've never used it until last night.

Seam ripper set (there are two) up for grabs - for free

I'm going to have to go and buy a new one today as I had to rip something small the other day and it's driving me nuts to not have my surgical seam ripper. I was going to be working today, but I've got a couple of errands that need to be done in order to finish off a couple of things. Best to get that out of the way.

Here's something else that I found that is up for grabs. If you're into scrapbooking, I think this is a wonderful tool. It's a design tool for 12" by 12" scrapbook pages. There's a large 12" by 12" blank page.

Blank page for designing scrapbook pages

Then there are bags and bags of precut shapes. All are very nicely labeled with the sizes. There are squares and circles.

Design shapes to put on the blank page

There are rectangles and other shapes as well.

More shapes

Here are some of the shapes out of their plastic sleeves.

It's a remarkable tool and I bought it with the intention of doing some scrapbooking, but I realize that that'll likely never happen in my lifetime and I must face reality. So if anyone wants this or knows where it could have a good home (a school???), let me know and I'll be happy to let it go.


A good news/bad news thing happened yesterday. I have my list of items that need to be done this month hanging on my wire rack. Yes - there are 13 items on that list. Some are big, some are small. One is a heavily pieced magazine quilt that needed to be completed next week. Last night, I got an e-mail saying that the publication is was slated for has been canceled.

You do remember that the parent company of magazines such as Quiltmaker, McCall's, Love of Quilting, Easy Quilts, Pre-Cut Patchwork (could be more titles) declared bankruptcy earlier this year. They were taken over by a new company in June. Pre-cut Patchwork is the first of the titles to be axed. That announcement affects two of my quilts. One that I hadn't started although I laughed when I read the e-mail as it said - "if you have already sent the quilt, we'll return it to you in two weeks". Already sent??? NO - my quilts arrive on the due date!  The second quilt was already done and was slated to be in the September/October issue but will be reused in a different publication.

That meant that I got to remove one of the items off my "to do" list. And it was a biggy. At this moment, that's OK with me. That gives me a lot more time this week which make samples and it's one less quilt to quilt next week. I'm still making the quilt as it may get picked up in the future. Let's hope as I really, really like the quilt.

Maybe it's time to start designing and writing patterns that I sell myself. Who knows, but for the moment, that's not on my radar screen. I've got two patterns to write for Quilts of Valour, then we'll see where that goes.

When I was at Quilts at the Creek, I discovered a couple of things and I've been holding off sharing them with you. Today I'm going to share one and the other one, I'll share tomorrow.

So, you want to design your own quilt and what do you use?? There's a software that's been on the market for many, many years called Electric Quilt 8. It's not cheap and some people find it very intimidating. What if you want something fast and easy to use? Let's say that you want to try something cool and different with half-square triangles? This tool that I discovered is AMAZING and the owners are CANADIAN!!!!

It's called PreQuilt. It's super simple to use - I watched one of the very thorough (and short) instructional videos and within five minutes, I had a quilt made! Well done!!!! Then it's a simple matter of printing the design out and start cutting.

The cost is very reasonable - it's on a subscription basis which makes it very affordable for everyone. I would recommend that you check it out. You can also buy patterns that were made with PreQuilt. You can try it for free without signing up - you can make ONE quilt in the free mode. If you like it, you can subscribe. For the casual designer, this is a perfect tool.

Hmm - you can change the color of quilts that are already created - that's a lot of fun!  Check out the tabs at the top left. And the instructional videos are great. A HUGE congratulations to Laura and her husband (I've forgotten his name). He's the one who designed the entire program. I'd have no idea where to start. Great job!!!!!

On that note, I'm out of here. I'm making a list so I don't forget anything that needs to be done (errands can be very distracting!)

Have a super day!!!!


Ciao!!!!!

Viewing art

I knew, yesterday wasn't going to be a productive day as far as making things as I had a few errands to run. One of them took me to Hamilton where I got some roman blind rods trimmed to the correct length. Look at the size of shears one of the ladies was using in the store. Those are HUGE  - I don't think you'd get those on an airplane in your carry on!!!!

Huge pair of shears

I stopped in Oakville to view some art. I've posted about Fuzzy Mall in the past and some of his pieces are on display at the Queen Elizabeth Cultural Center. If you haven't seen this artwork - you must get yourself down to that display. Here's a link to all of the faces in the display. Not all were on display but a good many were. Very interesting.

I have to say that the center itself is AMAZING. Tons of rooms and looked like lots of different clubs. I wonder whether the rooms are priced so the groups can actually use the space??

Anyway, I took loads of pictures and it's just amazing to see his technique, use of color, and recycled materials. Beautiful works of art from nothing. While I was there, I realized that there was also some quilts on display by the Oakville Quilters Guild so I looked at those and then I found a display by the Oakville Fibre Artists.

Just when I thought I was done, I happened upon the main display in the gallery which was about denim versus jean. What a super interesting display. They had asked Oakville residents to tell stories about their favorite denim piece. Wow - that was so interesting and there were a couple of neat quilts made from denim. Shoot - I don't see any information on their web page about the display.

The explanation of the exhibit

Even their bicycle racks were neat.

Bicycle rack that looked like bicycles

Access to all the displays is free. My only beef was that the center was occupied by hoards of young children. Supposedly supervised by teens? It was bedlam and it seemed that during my entire visit, the various groups of kids were moving from one room to another. Trying to keep them quiet was not working. Telling them not to run and then to see three teens running like mad down the hall themselves. Thankfully I didn't have their job, but those kids (both big and small) were mad!

Another errand to Fabricland where I bought only what was on my list. Then I got home to use what I bought only to discover that I had bought the wrong thing. Back to Fabricland to make an exchange. Good grief - I had the right thing in my hand (rings with clips) and then wanted larger ones. I thought they were all the same, but after I realized that only some of them had clips, the others had a small ring with no clips. DRAT!!!!

I also managed to find heart confetti at Micheals so I could make the February pillows from Kimberbell Designs.  Hmm - their web site seems to be down.

But after looking at the work for the month and knowing that I'm away for part of it, I'll be working non-stop until I leave.

By the way - if you live near Saskatoon and are curious about the Husqvarna Viking Designer EPIC or the PFAFF Creative ICON, or the fabric frame, I'll be doing classes at The Sewing Machine Store in their NEW location. Call the store to sign up - the dates are 15, 16, 17 of August (Thursday, Friday and Saturday).  I can't wait but I have a few samples to work on first and there's an issue of a magazine quilt as well.

Diane S finished another top for our community projects. And she took three more quilts home to sew. I see on our next community projects day that we're going to have to concentrate on making kits that people can take home to sew. I have people who want to sew, but the materials aren't sorted as such. That's a job for later this month. Notice that the binding and backing are also made!!! Thanks, Diane.

Another quilt for our community projects

After my errands which took up most of the day, it was time to get back to the long arm. I got two smaller quilts done.

Customer quilt - number one - done

Customer quilt - number two - done

I have a few stories to share with you from Quilts at the Creek. I have stuff set aside for various people in my house and when I know I'll see them, I get it to them. Seems other people do as well. Imagine my surprise when Gillian approached me at Quilts at the Creek and presented me with this bag of flannel scraps. I had a great chuckle from this. A number of us had purchased the same fabric kit and I had asked for their scraps so I could make something with the leftovers. I don't do that anymore!!!!!  I had received a bundle of scraps from Rose which is made up into several quilts (after I added my scraps to hers). I still have a box of scraps somewhere. With the scraps from Gillian, there's probably enough for one more quilt!!!

Here's one article about those flannel scraps.

And one more dated from 2013!!!!

I think I made three or four quilts from the original fabric and the scraps.

Flannel scraps give to me by Gillian

I also decided last night to spend some time organizing some of the magazines. My goal is to sort them so all the same publications are on the same shelf and to put them in order of date. Do not CRITICIZE me - I'm a Virgo - that is just the way it has to be.

While going through some of them, I found this. THREE copies of the same magazine and then two of another. Let's just say that I found a few duplicates. And these ones aren't cheap. What a waste. I know some people who would be interested in these quilt artsy magazines. They're in a bag for those people.

Magazine duplicates

Thanks to you all, I've been very successful in finding a new home for some of my stuff. One thing that is still homeless are these picture frames. They say "World's Great Quilter's Grandchildren". Since I don't have grandchildren, they are up for grabs. Otherwise, they go in the donation box. 

Two picture frames - up for grabs (for free)

The Cherrywood Challenge winners were announced yesterday. I had no doubt that my piece would not be among the winners. Hey - I'm just thrilled that the darn thing was accepted. That's winning enough for me. But check these quilts out. They are STUNNING and the detail in some of them is just crazy. The first one looks like a painting. Seriously??? Those artists have way too much time on their hands!!!

On that note, I'm out of here. Except for delivering those Quilts of Valour quilts, I'll be glued to a sewing machine all day.

Have a super day!!!!


Ciao!!!

STINKING Cute!!!!

I can't believe how focused I've been these last two days. Head down the entire day - no napping in the gazebo and I don't even have a deadline. An imminent one that is.

Having so much fun - it's crazy! I've been listening to an audiobook which I finished yesterday. It's called The Gown by Jennifer Robson. I think someone told me about - probably Helen Anne since she's the only one I know who has read it. It's sad, it's funny, it's uplifting. It's so not my typical style, but I really, really enjoyed the book.

Then after my mentioning Podcasts yesterday, I decided that I should listen to some. I was trying to get into the next audiobook - Good Omens and not sure it's going to work for me. I tried to get the History of the 90s Podcast, but something weird seemed to be happening so I went with The Quilting Company instead. I think I listened to three of them. They were a lot of fun to listen to and what I LOVE about these Podcasts is that they are short (½ hour) so you don't have as much time invested as in an audiobook with 12 or more hours. I'll be listening to more of them today.

Did you at least listen to the trailer of Kathy's History of the 90s Podcast?? Her voice is amazing. I could listen to that voice all day and she's very articulate.

I have an amazing tip to pass along this morning. We have a lady who comes in weekly to clean the house. She uses the plain jane Swiffer to get into hard corners and it appeared that she was using the disposable dry pads at an alarming rate. Do you know how expensive those things are? And she didn't need to be using one a week. Anyway - I decided we needed to do something.

So.................. here's my new Swiffer cloths. Yep - that's a hunk of batting on there. Actually, this one is several small strips (trimmings after a quilt is quilted). I joined four of them together - took a few minutes on the machine with a wide zigzag. VOILA!!!!  FREE Swiffer cloths.

A piece of batting used as a Swiffer cloth

It works just as well as the original, it's free and they can even be washed. OK - I'm in love with these. I'm going to be making some more. The cleaning lady can Swiffer her heart out!!! One of the things I've found with the dry pads is that there is only so much that it can pick up. It doesn't pick up grains of dirt and other debris. It's super for dog hair, dust, and lint. Just like the batting pieces. Then I get my cordless, upright Rowenta vacuum and whisk away the small leftover bits of debris.

Batting works well as a Swifter cloth

Now back to Studio U where the embroidery machines and a sewing machine reside. I'm happy to report that the magazine quilt has its binding on as well as all the Quilts of Valour quilts. There's also a class sample that has its binding on. For some reason, this class sample just about did me in for machine binding. I have no idea why I struggled with it. The first step of the binding was done several weeks ago and I wasn't happy with it.

Quilts that are bound and ready to leave the house

I ended up taking it off. There was way too much binding on the quilt. Perhaps that's why I didn't like it. When you're sewing on the binding, don't forget to put a little tension on the binding strip as it feeds into the sewing machine. Even if you're using a walking foot. This is what I cut off the binding after it had been reattached to the quilt. No wonder it wasn't working as well as I would have liked.

Extra bits of binding

Doesn't matter - - it's all done now and ready to hang in the store to advertise my upcoming class.

Shoot, the store posted a picture of the quilt but I can't find it. However, here's a link to the upcoming events at The Hobby Horse for September. I've got a couple of free demos - rotary cutting, know your sewing machine, and color/value.  Check out the list - I'm sure you'll find something you'll like and classes are always fun!

I also got the binding on this baby quilt. That's one more off the list. Yeah!!!!  All quilts that need binding are bound. See - I'm really, really trying to stay ahead of the game!!!

Binding on a baby quilt - DONE

Not only have I been doing some sewing, but I've also been busy at the long arm as well.

Here's a customer quilt that got done the other day. It's all trimmed and ready for delivery.

Customer quilt - DONE

I had a Quilts of Valour quilt that needed to be quilted. That's now done and trimmed. Ready to be delivered later today along with the five finished quilts. I'm writing two patterns for Quilts of Valour. The first one is mostly written (not designed by me), but I'm writing the pattern. I hope to get that finished today and then onto the second one.

Quilts of Valour quilt - done!

Remember that bright quilt top that Diane sewed for our community projects? Well, I got the binding made for that quilt. I've put it into the storage area and we'll find backing for it at our next community projects day.

The binding is made for community projects quilt

So if you clicked on the link to the classes at the Hobby Horse, you would have seen that one of them is Bench Buddies by Kimberbell. There are two options, Machine Embroidery or the Sewing Version. There are three patterns in total - the first one is January, February, March, and April. The second one is May, June, July, and August and the third one (which isn't out yet) is for September, October, November, and December. For each month, there is a square pillow and a rectangular pillow.

Bench Buddies patterns by Kimberbell

I've been having a blast making some samples for my class. I know - how often do I actually get my samples made ahead of time???  Not often or never! Look at this pillow. It's STINKING CUTE!!!!   This is the rectangular pillow for January. I found pompoms in my trim stash and I used the glitter vinyl for the snowman body. It glitters like crazy!!!!

Rectangular pillow

I finished the square pillow as well. They are so adorable. They are NOT big, but so very cute. I used the glitter vinyl for the snowflake on the square pillow. Kimberbell has pillow forms (of course) for both of these sizes. Their website seems to be down for some reason.

The two January pillows

We're going to focus on the January rectangular pillow in the class. If you've got an embroidery machine, but not sure what to do, this is going to be a fun class. If you don't have an embroidery machine, you can make the snowman using traditional fusible applique techniques. Both will be covered in the class.

Aren't they so adorable??????

I've been working on some of the others in the first book (January - April). I didn't quite get them finished but will share as they get done.

Oh - I should say that there are different finishing techniques for each. The rectangular pillow was finished in an envelope style, while the square one has binding! And I even hand-stitched the binding in place. I also found a gadget when I was cleaning that I'll actually use. I've already used it several times in the making of those pillows. You might have to come to class to see how to use the gadget. Not sure where I bought it, but it had never been used, but it's very handy!

As I've been sewing and prepping, I've been making a shopping list. I think I've got everything on the list that I need for the next couple of projects lined up. Today is a day of errands and running around. I haven't felt the need to take a break in the last couple of days, but I need a break today.

On that note, I'm out of here. I've got a pattern to finish writing.

Have a super day!!!!


Ciao!!!!