Sunday, November 24, 2019

Queen's Garden...almost a real quilt!

This week it seemed like all I did stitching-wise was miles and miles of binding!....and I'm not one to especially like to do it like some of you are. I just regard it as something that needs doing in order to have a completed quilt.

I don't have show-and-tell for all of my labours as they were not my own quilts....but it was especially nice to help an old friend by doing this for her.

Now...back to my Queen's Garden quilt. 

I was ready to get all the components sewn together when I realised that I hadn't finished the embroidery. Well, that is now completed.



So happy... I can now get it together and get the borders on. 

But, hold on a minute...nothing is ever that easy, is it?

On the original pattern, the designer had appliqued small circles where the orange peels meet. I had decided early on not to do the circles as the fabric that I am working with is fairly thick.



Most of my orange peels "kiss" nicely, but then there are a few like the one above that I just don't think I can live with. 

Sometimes you just have to make the decision to fix things. What does it for me is the thought that so much work has gone into this quilt already...do I really want to cheap out just because it will take a little longer to do it right? That makes the decision so much easier.

I auditioned a couple of different sizes of circles, using my Karen Kay Buckley Perfect Circles. By doing this, I can see that it will be the right choice to add the circles....





Here are a few circles sewn on. I think it's a lot more pleasing now...



I guess the designer knew what she was doing! Although, I did have the thought that the circles were added to maybe cover her own orange peels not meeting properly??? lol...maybe!


Now I'll share my current Leaders and Enders project. I had hesitated to show anyone yet as there is not a lot of contrast in the blocks and it wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea, but I'm starting to love it so here goes!

I am making little log cabins out of 1" strips, with 1-1/2" orange centres.

Here are the containers I keep by my sewing machine, full of "logs" ready to sew...




....and here is a pile of log cabins in various states of construction...



I am keeping the scraps somewhat bright and modern.

Here are a few up on the design wall...



They aren't all sewn together yet, but I'm getting a feeling on how it will look. 

For me, it will be true quilt in every sense of what a quilt is meant to be...something that uses up every scrap...a riot of colour....and, as a bonus, it will be made of what could be argued as the most traditional of blocks, the Log Cabin. 

I only hope it keeps my interest long enough to grown into a full-sized quilt!!

As always on Sundays, I am linking up with Kathy for Slow Sunday Stitching to see what other slow stitchers are working on today.

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Neutral is beautiful, but I think I prefer colour!

Early morning still...but I've been up for a long while now. That just means I've been able to get a bit of extra slow-stitching done, right? 

This week I hung my Queen's Garden up on the design wall. I am overwhelmed lately at the number of UFO's that I have, so I'm determined to have a "finish" by the end of the year.  Then plan is to get this one sewn together and quilt it over my Christmas break.


I hadn't realised that I still had some embroidery to complete on this quilt :(

I may have left it, but there was just too much still to do so I will finish that up this week....starting this morning...



These Japanese taupe fabrics are sometimes difficult to draw a line on with my regular marking tools....but the Hera marker does a brilliant job!....



I really like working with the Perle cotton.


Earlier this week I hung my Temperature Quilt on the wall to get a look at how it's coming along.


That is it complete from January 1 to the end of October. I wish I'd had more contrast in my "hot" colours...lesson learned for next time! I won't do one next year, but I most likely will in 2021 since I'm enjoying this so much.


I'm almost finished my Haphazard quilt. 

I love the texture of the quilting...


....and I love that I'm using a fabric from my stash for the backing...


This is just a small quilt...36" square, but it will be the perfect size for my lap when I'm sitting in the morning with my coffee and hand-stitching!

I've decided to apply a facing on the quilt instead of a binding. I actually thought I'd be doing the hand-stitching on the facing today but it's not quite ready.

A great tutorial on facing a quilt can be found HERE at the blog of The Silly BooDilly.  I reference her tutorial any time that I do a facing.

I guess I'd better get on with my day....we are going on a day-trip since it looks like such a beautiful day for it. 

I am linking up with Kathy for Slow Sunday Stitching. Hopefully you have time to visit with her and check out what other slow-stitchers are working on today!



Friday, November 8, 2019

A-pickin' and a-knittin'

Good morning! 

It's a bright and beautiful start to the day....but cold!!!

I had a very early start to my day, so I had extra time to sit and pick out my swan block for the Animal Album quilt. 

If you remember from last time, I explained that I am changing up the background fabric before going any further. I decided that picking out the applique and re-using the pieces would be less trouble than making up new templates and picking out new fabrics and fussy-cutting again! 

Here is the original block....


.....and here it is now, almost all picked out...it will be worth it in the end!...



I was on a quilting retreat last weekend. It was held at Camp Trillium and was one of the best retreats I've ever attended....a lot of "extras" and I'll definitely go on this one again.

One of the demos we saw was about a site called Savor Every Stitch. If you were to go to that site and click on "patterns", then go to "Haphazard", you will find a super cool way to design your own quilt.

You go through the steps, which lead you to choose your block size (I chose 6"blocks), how many blocks (I chose the 6x6 layout), colours, and the ratio of how many large HST's to small HST's.

You then see a layout of what your quilt will look like. Then the really cool part....if you don't quite like the layout, you just keep pushing the button until you see one that you fancy.

Here is my little quilt...it measures 36" square and I think it will perfect for a lap quilt during my morning slow-stitching!


(Thanks, Stephanie, for introducing us to Savor Every Stitch!)


Back in the day I used to knit socks....a lot. I've wondered recently why I don't knit socks anymore. I realised that I stopped after my days of being a hockey mom ended. Most of my sock knitting was done at the arena...and, in the summertime, at the baseball diamond.

I'm determined to pick up sock-knitting again. We took a drive this week to Needle Emporium in Ancaster. I haven't been in a looong time and felt like going to what is, in essence, a candy store for knitters. 

I came away with three yarns....so this knitting-thing better stick!

 I also bought a circular needle to give "magic loop" knitting a try. I'm not sure what the deal is with magic loop, except for the fact that you can knit two socks at a time (will try that next time), and it's not as easy to lose stitches when carrying your project from place to place. 

I'll keep at it and reserve judgement for now.


This one is a Schoppel yarn called Zauberball Crazy in Colour # 1701, Papagei. I am using my favourite brand of circular needles, Addi.

Here are the yarns that are waiting in the wings...


With the Uneek Sock yarn I will try the two-at-a-time method.

That's all for today! I will be spending time in the car today, which means I can work on the knitting that is kept in the car. 

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