Let's Be Friends - a new sew-along!

There is a new sew-along starting July 1st from Border Creek Station called Let's Be Friends. There will be two blocks issued per week....you can read more about it HERE. 

My LQS will be offering a weekly support group, or Show and Tea as she puts it. Sounds like fun....I'm in!

There are kits available for this sew-along, but I'm going to shop the stash. I have just the right amount of background fabric that was rejected from a previous project, which you can see HERE.

For my other fabrics, I will use 30's reproduction prints. I think it will work....I'll find out after the first two blocks this week!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I've been trying to play catch-up this week when I've had a spare moment or two.

I'm a bit behind on my Rainbow Scrap Challenge. I think I have three sets of bird blocks to do.....and I had a couple of months worth of Squared Away to piece. 

I'm almost ready for the July colour when it's revealed, I just need one more pink block. Here is what I've accomplished this week....

I am doing three blocks per colour and the blocks finish at 7".

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


I was happy (and surprised) to come across these little blocks...

I had looked all over the place for them in April when I intended on making a small mat out of them to donate to the draw at our Quilt Show in May. Of  course, they were tucked away in the proverbial "safe place"!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I couldn't resist starting a new block for my Simple Folk quilt...one of Sarah Fielke's current BOM's.

I've had a couple of other applique pieces on the go, but I also think I was stalling on this one because a few of these blocks will include a bit of "pieced applique" bits, which I found a bit intimidating.

It turns out that the process was easy-peasy and I like it!.....

Here are all my blocks, so far, on the design wall....

I'm quite pleased with it. There are two things I had wondered about changing, but decided to let be.

Then, when my husband came in to look at the blocks up on the wall, he pointed out one of my doubtful bits on his own! I think that decides the issue for me....I'll have to correct it. Most of the fabrics really pop, but in the top block the purple "teardrop" shapes really blend in a little too much. I think I'll be much happier in the end if I fix them.

I tend to not overthink my quilts too much, just go with the flow. But, when the need arises, I have no problem going back to tweak things just a little.

I'm also not fussy on my fabric choice for the swans. I'll let that one go a little longer and see how I feel later.

In my neighbourhood we are bracing for an extreme heat wave over the next several days. At some point I need to cut the grass out front, but other than that I think I'll be spending a bit of time in the sewing room....sounds like a plan!

I am linking up with Confessions of A Fabric Addict for Can I Get a Whoop Whoop?. Have a visit and see what others are working on today :)

Have a lovely day and stay cool!

Summer rain

What a perfect morning for some slow stitching.....somehow a rainy, dreary morning makes for an even cozier time for doing handwork.  

I'm ready for a slow day. Two of my sons came over yesterday to help re-roof our shed....needless to say, they got wet....but it got done, thankfully.

Meanwhile, I was holding down the fort in the house with a 4-year old, a 2-year old and the 16-month old twins. We had a lot of fun, even more-so when we discovered that The Wiggles is on Netflix and we had a dance party, lol.

And, thankful for my Instant Pot so I could make up an easy-prep lunch that was enjoyable for wee ones...

So....tired at the end of the day, after two days of more activity than I'm used to. Should have meant for an early bedtime, but we found a show that we both liked, Happy Valley, and we kept saying just one more episode....until well past midnight. So....I think a little extra slow-stitching will be on the agenda today!

I've been poking away at the second block of Tomato Soup - The Sequel.

These blocks finish up at 24" and I'm having fun working with the bright, beautiful fabrics. 

I like this one and was happy to finally find a spot for it...

Here are my first two blocks together on the design wall.....

Hmm, I can tell it's a gloomy day since the pictures aren't picking up the vibrancy of the fabrics.


That's all for now, except for the following PSA.....


For bloggers out there who've had problems getting notified of comments, read THIS POST at Fun With Barb for a Blogger Fix. It took just minutes and the problem seems to be solved! 


I am linking up with Kathy today for Slow Sunday Stitching, where I think I'll indulge in a little extra time looking at what others are working on today!

Feels good to have a "finish"!

Yay, it's "Finished or Not Fridays".....and, for once, I have a Finished instead of an Or Not!

Here is a picture from a couple of months ago of this intended lap quilt.....

Here is one finished, in an different colour-way....not mine, a friend's.....

In the meantime, my soon-to-be-13 year old Grandson asked for a quilt for the bigger bed he was getting. When asked, he said he'd like a blue quilt much like the quilt he has used here since he was a baby. Don't you just love it when you get some quilt-appreciation from your family!!! 

So, I figured I would just bump this quilt up to a double-sized quilt with a couple of borders.

Again, in the meantime, I learned a super cool technique to make a 1/4" inner border. Love it!....especially since it would replace ever again doing a little accent flange (which, if a longarm quilter were honest with you, would tell you they are a pain in the bum to deal with!). 

So in this picture you see the main body of the quilt at the bottom, then the white border which was to be the final border. I added the two blue borders with  that lovely little white 1/4" white border inserted in between. Doesn't it just set it off nicely! 

The most important thing to do with this technique is to not daydream while sewing!....you have to really pay attention.

To see a tutorial so you can try adding a narrow border to your quilt, have a look at a post by Barb Robson HERE. I'd say that once you read her post, get a couple of scraps and actually go through the steps to see what you think!

I have to admit, my first three sides of the narrow border were done slightly incorrectly....but I realised it by the fourth side and it turned out so much better. I will definitely be doing this technique again!

Somehow, while adding the borders, I got a little yellow mark on one of the white borders...maybe the size of half a dime....no idea what it was.

I figured I'd try to get right at it and dabbed it with a Q-tip and bleach...and let it dry.

Then I was faced with a yellow mark about the size of a 1-1/2" circle!

I figured what the heck, try one more time....

.....and, of  course, it's now it's about 2.5" in diameter! Oh, brother.

So, I guess as soon as this gets quilted it'll be headed for the washing machine.

Also, can you notice in the picture the blue "vein" beside the stain? There are so many long dangly indigo threads hanging around the back of this quilt, it's going to be a nightmare trying to make sure that nothing shows through the white fabric when I quilt it.

I'm wondering if black batting would solve the problem?  What do you think? I know it may dull down the brisk white fabric, but maybe that's the lesser of two evils???

I am linking up with Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Can I Get a Whoop Whoop?.

....and now I can rest....

It's time to try to get back on track with my sewing and blogging.

I've come to the end of my "very busy six weeks", which all started way back at our guild's quilt show and culminated in the Diva Race on Toronto Island this past weekend. 

During that six weeks we had a lovely trip to Nova Scotia, coming back with the burning question, "Does anyone ever have a good hair day in Halifax?".

As for sewing....not much done around here lately, but I hope to get back at it this week. I need to get cracking on my Border Creek Mystery quilt as it will be a birthday gift in September...

It just needs the pieced border, then some multiple borders to bring it up to the needed dimensions.

I also have to get sewing on a wedding quilt for my son and his fiance. I was reminded yesterday of the quilt I had intended on making (thanks, AM!), so set out to get the fabrics needed. My husband said that since I was doing the making of the quilt, he would do the paying of the materials.....nice deal!!!

Not a great picture as it's a grey start to the day today, but I'm sure you'll be seeing more of this in the coming weeks :)

Today I am linking up with Lorna for Let's Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts, and with Susan at Quilt Fabrication for Midweek Makers.

Have a lovely Spring day!