I've been taking part in a sew-along online for the Jen Kingwell quilt, Long Time Gone.
It's a good way to be part of something that has many people from around the world sharing their progress, as well. I have to admit, I do seem to like sew-alongs lately!
So far, the workload hasn't been too bad, but there are some pretty intense blocks coming up in the near future.
We are starting Week 6. So far I am keeping up...somewhat.....I still have to go back and complete Week 2 at some point.
There is a deadline to finish the specific sections each week. Once complete the blocks are posted on Instagram to be eligible for prizes.
Hopefully I'll stick with it and not let this join the pile of UFO's!
Today I am linking up with Lorna for Let's Bee Social, with Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict for I May Have a Scrap Problem, Silly Mama Quilts for WIP's and with Susan at Quilt Fabrication for Midweek-Makers.
If you've never tried a sew-along, I encourage you to think about it....it's lots of fun!
This week I did a bit of hand-quilting on my Quilty365/Year in My Life. I happened to lose my needle so I spread the quilt on the floor to run a magnet over it. I thought I'd take a picture while it was out on the floor....
I may be about half-way done, not counting the borders. At this point, I have no idea what I'll quilt in the outer borders. Some of the stitching you see is actually the longarm-basting that is holding it together. I take those stitches out as I progress across the quilt.
I hope to have this one done in time for the Fall Fair season!
Oh, and you can see Minnie in her "throne" watching the action. She does think it's her chair....if the grandchildren dare to sit in it she gives them what-for!
Have a great day!
I am taking part in the Freefall Spring Quilt Along hosted by Sandra over at Musings of a Menopausal Melon.
You can find her here or click on the Freefall button over to the right of the screen.
This week we are to report on our progress on the cutting stage of the quilt. So....we are still near the start of this if any of you are wanting to join in!
Here are the fabrics I bought....one is the background and the other the "shadow" fabric needed...
and here is a picture of the fabrics I decided on for the leaves, my newly purchased Shweshwe fabric from a couple of months ago.....
On Wednesday I was feeling a bit under the weather, so I just poked around a bit and also got the cutting stage done....so, all up-too-date on this one....so far!!!
I have to thank Sandra....everytime I do anything with this quilt I have Free Fallin' by Tom Petty stuck in my head for the rest of the day! Oh well, could be worse, for sure!
I can't seem to resist sew-alongs/quilt-alongs!
Here is one that's three weeks in so far....Long Time Gone by Jen Kingwell....
I haven't got Week 2 sewn yet....so, already a bit behind on this one!
One of the hosts for this sew-along is Nicole from Snips Snippets. You can check her out here.
Well, I came close to finishing my March goal....my Happy Days quilt. Soooo close.
So, this will hangover into April as my OMG - One Monthly Goal.
Here is how it looks today...
I couldn't quite fit it all in this picture, but the inner border is all attached. It's a perfect fabric, as it picks up many of the colours used in the quilt....plus, it's a stripe, which I do like for an inner border!
The final border involves applique and piecing. Luckily, the applique is all done...I just need to piece the remaining bits.
Next time you see this quilt it will be a completed top, woohoo!!!
It became clear this month that this quilt will be for my granddaughter, Mina's, bed. It'll be a big quilt for a little girl, but I think she'll enjoy all the images in the fabrics and applique. And, besides, it definitely reads as a girly quilt!
I am linking up with Elm Street Quilts for OMG- One Monthly Goal and with Sandra at Musings of a Menopausal Melon for the Freefall linky party.
I am also linking up with Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Can I Get A Whoop Whoop!, with Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish It Up Fridays. Also, with Busy Hands Quilts for Finished or Not Fridays.
Have a wonderful day as we say goodbye to March and welcome in April!
Sandra Walker is a fellow Ontarian who writes a quilting blog called Musings of a Menopausal Melon.
Sandra is venturing into her first sew-along featuring one of her own patterns and I'm going to join in and invite you to do the same!
The fun starts next week, but she has released the fabric requirements and tips this past week and you can see them here, or by clicking on the button to the right entitled "Freefall Spring Quilt Along".
The quilt is only 38" square, so would make a great wallhanging, tablecloth, etc.
I've just been out and about and on the way home we decided to swing by my local quilt shop to get some background fabric and the main focus fabric needed for this project....
Hmm, the green fabric is so much more fresh and cheerful in real life.
I did well, as I was entitled to a free metre of fabric thru' the shop's loyalty programme....and because it's St. Patrick's Day the green fabric was 20% off....nice!
I'm determined that the rest of the fabrics will be pulled from my stash!!!
This week also starts an Instagram sew-along for Jen Kingwell's pattern, Long Time Gone.
I'm starting to see a definite pattern here....I find it so hard to resist when something is called a sew-along or quilt-along!!!!
Hopefully that's it for this year (she typed while crossing her fingers).
On a non-quilty note:
For the last few weeks we've been trying to have two meat-less days per week, and we've been quite successful.
What has been most surprising to me is, by following some really nice recipes, there are so many flavours and ingredients that we haven't even missed the meat at all. Mind blown!....lol
Today, before the side-track to the quilt shop, we tried an Indian restaurant in Brantford called The Everest Grill. Everything was so fresh and tasty, I had to mention it here and recommend it! There were many "regular" dishes on the menu, as well as extensive vegetarian and vegan choices. Also, great service and prices!
I am linking up with Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Can I Get A Whoop Whoop!.
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
I was able to get a little bit of sewing done yesterday during the snowstorm.
My goal this month is to have the top done on my Happy Days quilt. As I've mentioned before, I'm not terribly proficient at paper-piecing, so I'm ok with substituting a couple of "regular" blocks just to get going on this quilt.
I had gotten this far...
...and decided that the circled area could use some yellow to balance out the quilt.
So here is the block with the yellow, so pretty...
...but when I put it in it's place on the design wall it was shouting out like a beacon to me....
I decided to live with it 'til this morning to see if I would change my mind, but no, still didn't like it!
I spent maybe fifteen minutes this morning fixing it. Instead of making a whole new block I just tore out the offending player...
...popped in a bit of Tula Pink (of which most of the quilt is pieced with already)...
I think it was worth the fifteen minutes to swap it out, I'm much happier. I still wonder a bit about that red Cotton and Steel fabric, but I think it picks up a bit of a similar red elsewhere in the quilt so I will relax and call the block "done"!
I have ten leaves to applique and the top will be ready to sew together. I think I'm on-track to finishing by the end of the month. There is a pieced border to attach but a lot of the components to that are ready to go.
In case any of you are doing the Jen Kingwell quilt, Long Time Gone, there is a sew-along starting today. You can see what's what on this post by Snips Snippets.
Today I am linking up with Sew Fresh Quilts for Let's Bee Social and with Silly Mama Quilts for WIP's - Works in Progress.
