Old dog, new tricks....

Well, I wish I was someone who used the Covid time as an opportunity to work on their UFO's....but I've been caught up in a couple of sewalongs along the way.

I've said it before....I'm a sucker for a sewalong!

The latest one is hosted by @thenextstitch on Instagram. She started a sewalong a few weeks ago called @shutdownstitchalong....I think because her area in Melbourne, Australia had entered a shutdown again because of an uptick in Covid cases. (I just have to say....up until a couple of weeks ago, I'd never ever heard the word "uptick" before. Now I hear it all the time and here I am actually using it!)

During this stitchalong we are encouraged to slow stitch for at least 15 minutes a day. Hey, I start everyday with slow stitching, so I'm in!!

Somehow during the beginning of the sewalong I saw the quilt Hills 'n' Hollers being shown and remembered that I have this pattern and what a good opportunity to try it. 

Should have worked on a UFO, right?...oh well. 

I thought it would be a great opportunity to use my Jen Kingwell Stash....just needed a background fabric. So, I made my way to my local quilt shop, Quilt Junction. Well, didn't I find out that Lana has started carrying a couple of Cotton & Steel fabrics....and I have a lovely stash of C&S fabrics sitting in a box at home. So I switched thing up to use these fabrics.

You can see that I basted down all the pieces first to make sure the "hills" were spaced out nicely across the fabric. 

I baste in my applique once in a while....normally to attach all the "vines" in a piece of applique. It takes extra time, but I find it worth it in the end.

When I posted a picture on Instagram showing my progress in the sewalong, a friend commented that it looks like surfboards....I like that and I think this quilt will now be known as Beach Blanket Bingo!....anyone old enough to catch that reference???

Once the surfboards were in my head, my brain somehow leapt over to a pattern I bought recently and thought that if I incorporated part of that pattern it would kind of look like sun rays. The pattern is "Hunt" by Carolyn Friedlander...

So I read through the pattern and was surprised to find out that she uses a whole other method of applique in this design. 

It scared me and thrilled me at the same time, lol!!!

I've been a quilter for over 40 years now and I've got a lot of my methods down pat....but I always enjoy learning a new tip or trick that I may be able to add to my toolbox. 

Here are all the pieces pinned to the background...

The next step was to baste each piece down....with the stitches precisely 1/4" from the edge of the applique piece. Not difficult when you've been a quilter for a while as the 1/4" measure comes quite naturally, right?

Then I was to needleturn applique the pieces. But wait a minute....for years now I've been finger-pressing my seam allowances....how was this going to work????....that was the scary part. I was prepared for the fact that this would not be my best work, but it would be a learning experience.

So I started this morning...on a straight section as the curves were going to be the messy part...

Well, here's the brilliant part of this method....those basting stitches really make a nice "edge" that my needle used to follow as I was needle-turning. So pleasing in an inexplicable way.

Then came the curvy bit, and it worked out just fine. I'm quite happy with my work this morning, and I can see using the "Hunt" pattern for a full-sized quilt.

I will digress for a moment.

A long time ago I read this book and I came to call it my applique Bible...

Almost everything in this book revolutionized my method of applique.

 When I have trouble with curves (and circles were my nemesis for a long time), I always remember this bit of the book...to just make that next stitch a good stitch, concentrate on just that stitch...and this passage of the book served me well again doing the curves this morning. 

My design wall is full at the moment, but I had to see how Beach Blanket Bingo was really looking...

I like it....a lot!!! I can even hear Annette Funicello singing in the background as she dreams about Frankie Avalon.

This quilt has been quite the journey that has morphed in many different ways since I began the #shutdownstitchalong!!

On the design wall is my Halo quilt....a long-time UFO that will finally be a real quilt because of another sewalong on Instagram.

I put the blocks up haphazardly to live with for a while and shuffle them around when I see something that needs shuffling...

Already I know that this is a quilt that will call for hand-quilting.

Halo will be my One Monthly Goal for August. I am linking up with Elm Street Quilts for One Monthly Goal.

I am also linking up with Kathy for Slow Sunday Stitching

Some pretty pieces of fabric....

I started the day as I always do....with a bit of hand-stitching.

Anyone who knows me knows that I like to start my day like this, but what you don't know is that at the same time I enjoy listening to podcasts. 

I thought I'd pass along a couple of favourites for those of you who like podcast as well. Please feel free to comment with your favourites!

I don't usually make New Year's resolutions, but this year I did....it was to listen the the Ted Talks podcast everyday. Not too difficult, as they tend to only be twelve or fifteen minutes each....but packed full of good and interesting knowledge. Well, I haven't kept up, but I do still enjoy it often. 

Another good one is Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard. He is an American actor who, a lot of times, plays a bit of a goofball. He is surprisingly well-read and has very interesting guests and topics.

Anyway, on to what was being poked at today....

This morning I worked on the last two tulips on Block 2 of A Curious Journey BOM by Susan Smith...

It is now complete, except for removing the water-erasable pen marks....

I'm liking this BOM....and I'm liking the use of my hoarded Tilda fabrics :)

A lot of designers like to have all the applique pieces stuck on to the background fabric all at once with a bit of fabric glue.

 I'm not a fan....actually, I should admit that I've never done it since it didn't appeal to me at all!!! I really thought that it would be a nuisance, with un-sewn pieces just getting in the way as I appliqued.

I figured I should at least give this method a try.

Well, I have to admit that this was not the case. It was "okay"....but will I do it again?....probably not.  I do encourage you to give it a try though....what works or not for me may be the opposite for you. There is no right or wrong way....just many "right" ways, wouldn't you agree? (Although, I'm sure we all have that one quilty friend that is always quick to announce there is only one proper way to do things, lol)

I also stitched a little block for The First Day of Christmas by Susan Smith. I hate to admit, this was a kit that I purchased late one night when I was quite tired....way too easy to push the "Add to Cart" button during this pandemic, isn't it?????

This week on Instagram I came across a stitchalong with @thenextstitch...

If you are on Instagram I encourage you to have a look. There is not a specific project, or anything to buy. We are encouraged to do a bit of slow-stitching for 15 minutes per day. The bonus....she (I can't recall her name at the moment, maybe Wendy?) is going to do a bit of a tutorial on Instagram once a week. I thoroughly enjoyed the first one. These videos do not disappear, they will be accessible all the time.

Something I got back to this week is my Temperature Quilt for 2020.

I've been keeping track every day of the forecasted high temperature....but somehow haven't sewn on it at all since March 27!

On our lovely rainy day on Saturday I did manage to get a row of geese flying sewn down the right hand edge of this piece. Each goose measures 2x3.5 unfinished and the piece is approximately 30" square so far. 

That's all for now. It looks like it's going to be a beautiful day, so an outing is in order, including a visit to the Good Bread Company in Vittoria...yum!

 Hopefully a little extra stitching time, too!

I am linking up with Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching. Try to visit with Kathy and see what others are slow stitching today. 

A little bit of this, a little bit of that

Sunday morning....time to enjoy a little extra slow stitching time.

It's a dull, dreary start to the day here, I hope it clears up a bit because it certainly can affect one's mood. 

I've been trying, slowly but surely, to become a slightly more organised person. This week I had help in this endeavour from an unlikely source...Cooper, one of my dogs.

I have a spot in the living room that I have always done my handwork, like many of us I'm sure. And on the table at my side there is always an assortment of threads, scissors, etc that I'm using on a regular basis. Never been a problem, until this week.

I came home one day to find Cooper had chewed up a spool of thread...so dangerous for dogs. I really believed that it must have rolled onto the floor, as he is not one to go up on that chair and bother with my sewing stuff.

A few days later, we were sitting in the dining room...I look up and see Cooper chewing on something....yes, another spool of thread. I can't believe another one had been on the floor, he must have jumped up to help himself, so time to clean up my act.

Probably 35 years ago (or more), my mother gave me this as a gift...

I'm sure many of you have the exact same one! Well, it's probably been 25 years since I've actually used it...in fact, last month I had thought to put it in the donate pile. Now I'm glad I didn't....all of my daily supplies are now in this storage box (what are they actually called???) and the table beside my chair is nice and neat. Thanks go to Cooper for the motivation...although in a dangerous way :(

In my last post, which you can read HERE, I mentioned that I'd be meeting with a friend to do some wet felting...that we would be making "cat caves".

It was a lot of physical work, due to the size of the piece. Here is how it looked when I got home...not very pretty, really...

...but then I crammed more stuffing in to hold the shape, and I beat it into submission with a wooden spoon.

Much better...

Not technically great work, but I am still a beginner at this, so I'm pretty happy with the result. Now to get the cat to accept it!

I put a couple of treats inside to lure her in...

She's still not going in just for the sheer pleasure of it. When I get up in the morning I can tell that she does like laying on top of it though, lol. 

I wanted to add a couple of words of advice to those of you who are doing an temperature quilt this year. 

1. Keep your design choice simple so you don't lose interest through the year because it may be too much work.

2. You don't have to actually "do" it every day. You do have to record the temperature each day, but if your design choice is simple enough you can pick it up just a couple of times a week to quickly get it done.

Here is mine after 4 days of January...

I probably won't have time to do today's bit, but I have recorded today's forecast high on my calendar. 

You'll notice that I'm still old-school when it comes to EPP, but basting the segments to the paper instead of using glue. Nothing wrong with the glue method, I just find I don't get the same results and it really doesn't take me long to thread-baste.

It's not too late to start your own temperature quilt since we are just a few days into the new year :)



I also stitched this morning on the next block of my Over The Hill...

This is another instance of how I prefer to take a slower method. I do like to do a whipstitch around all the wool pieces with fine thread before beginning the decorative stitches with perle cotton. Perhaps not necessary, but I do like the stability. And, as a longarm quilter who has worked on quilts with wool applique that hasn't been whipstitched, I do see a difference. Again...personal choice.

Here's a reminder of the first block of Over The Hill...

Thankfully, not all the blocks have quite as much work as the first one!

How about that...by the time I've gotten to this point of the post the sun has come out....what a wonderful mood-booster!!

I'll be going out shortly to enjoy some of this beautiful sunshine, but will take a bit of time to visit with other slow-stitchers, as I am linking up with Kathy for Slow Sunday Stitching.

Sit back and relax a bit

Today I need to find some time to prep a bit of applique. 

I do have some EPP to do and I did do a bit this morning. My Tula Nova is coming along nicely, but it's getting bigger and a bit more cumbersome to work on.

You can see on the purple-striped section that I am trying something new-to-me. 

There is something called the flat-back stitch for joining EPP pieces, and I've tried it before...unsuccessfully. My attempt looked sloppy and loose. The purpose of this stitch is to actually look neater and not see see stitches from the front, as you can kind of see when doing the whip-stitch.

I tried using painters' tape for this method, but it didn't hold well enough while inserting multiple-pieced segments, like I'm doing now. Then I tried gift-wrapping tape....stickier than the painters' tape but not sticky enough to leave any residue on the fabric.

I have to say, my attempt at the flat-back stitch this time was much more successful...

Hmmm, maybe you can see in the picture above....on the right of the otter is some whip-stitching....to the left of him is the flat-back stitches. 

As you can see, I'm still "old school" and baste my pieces to the foundation paper. I'm not finding it easy to do the newfangled gluing method.....and that's ok, as I even enjoy the thread-basting process.

Thanks to SS for walking me through the flat-back stitch. I really do try to be open to different methods even though I may stumble a bit at first :)


So, today I am fatigued. It feels too busy, physically, lately. I've been doing some painting this week...this morning I'll do the last hour or so needed to finish the job then really take it easy for the rest of the day.

I'd really like to prep the next block on my Kim McLean Animal Album quilt.

Here is the first block, practically done....I just need to prep three more small circles....

I do love very busy quilts!!

The other day I posted a picture of me with my arms full of garlic, you can see that post here.

Yesterday we tackled braiding the garlic. It was fun, and the first attempt without supervision. There is definitely room for improvement, but I'm quite happy with the result...

I think we should have made two smaller braids instead of the one, but once we got going it was hard to stop!

Well, I'd better get to my painting. I've always enjoyed painting, but I'm ready to have it done with.

I'll leave you with a picture of how my Temperature Quilt is coming along. This is it complete from January to the end of July...

I'm loving this one, and may even think of doing another version for 2020!  

Have a lovely day, and hopefully you get a chance to sit back and relax a bit.

I am linking up with Kathy for Slow Sunday Stitching.

That Fairy Tale Quilt

Today over at Kathy's Quilts, Kathy is hosting a photo challenge.

The idea is to post a picture of where we may like to stitch outside.

I always like the idea of peacefully stitching outside under the maple tree in one of my comfy Muskoka chairs, but in real life it never works out for me. Things start blowing around and I end up indoors. 

Maybe a different type of slow-stitching would work better? Perhaps this afternoon I'll try some stitching on my English Paper Piecing project. Nope, not perhaps....I will give it a try!

Part of the problem is, also, that practically all of my hand-stitching occurs between 5:30 and 7:30 in the morning! Today will be spent in the garden, but I'm sure I can take a few moments to enjoy (?) the pleasure of stitching outside.

This morning I worked on the Big Bad Wolf block of That Fairy Tale Quilt by Lucy Carson Kingwell, daughter of Jen Kingwell. This is a quilt I've been eyeing for a while. Little did I know that most of it will be hand-pieced.....another slow-stitching project!

Although hand-piecing can seem a bit fiddly, I find it quite satisfying as it comes together. As opposed to machine-piecing, you don't take time to press the seams as you go....just a bit of finger-pressing. You also don't sew the seams down as you sew across them. The piece ends up looking quite a bubbly mess...

Until the block is finished and is properly pressed...

I know it looks a bit wonky, but that's because the outer seams aren't a precise 1/4", which is quite alright in hand-piecing.

Another thing.... "y" seams are sooooo much easier by hand!

I am linking up with Kathy for Slow Sunday Stitching.

Have a lovely day....and I hope you get a chance to relax outdoors with a bit of stitchery.

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?.

Ruler Review

Something different to write about today. 

I thought I'd do a product review of a new ruler that I've bought. I have absolutely no affiliation with the product, I just wanted to give it a try and pass along my findings to fellow quilters.

This review is of the Simple Folder Corners Ruler by Doug Leko.

You know when you do the stitch and flip method for snowballing corners?...that is what this ruler is for. There are other applications, such as flying geese and square in a square blocks.

Here is the ruler...

The first advantage is that there is no problem trying to figure out what size of fabric to cut. My pattern called for 2" unfinished squares, so that is what I use for use with the ruler.

There is no drawing of any lines, you just place the square on the base fabric...

Place the ruler in position...

(Looking at the above picture. I can see a tiny mistake. Doug Leko does state that we should keep things squared-up by making sure the lines on the ruler fall along the side of the block....in mine, the line coming down from the #2 on the ruler should lay right on the edge of the fabric. Pretty close, though!)

Something to note in the above picture....there is a diagonal line that will soon be your sewing line....what used to be a drawn line using the old method, but no drawing using this ruler.

Now, make the cut...

Now, sew using a scant 1/4" seam...

Be careful to be gentle sewing the seam...it's a bias cut and could stretch.

And, see that little piece that was cut away? I know some people will sew that together to get an extra HST from it. Well, using this ruler, it automatically comes out to be a perfect size, no trimming.

The only trimming is the dog-ears on the HST.....meaning, no dog-ears at all on the main block!

In the above picture, you can see that I prepared all of my snowballed corners and just pinned them 'til they get to the sewing machine. 

Here is my block completed, as well as the little HST's.

There is another option with this ruler, and that is to use an over-sized piece and trim down afterwards. I wondered why would one bother?....but I do think it would make for an even more exact piece, especially if you are not quite confident in your sewing skills.

Here is a link to a video on YouTube with the creator of the ruler giving instruction on the use of it...

https://www.facebook.com/FatQuarterShop/videos/10154684101773358/

I bought my ruler at my LQS, Quilt Junction. 

In the end, I can think of only one thing I would change, and it's not even a true problem. I like to hang my rulers on a peg board, so it would be nice if there were a hole in the ruler like many other rulers have.

It is a bit pricey, but not at all out-of-line with what rulers are costing these days. 

So, I definitely give this ruler two thumbs-up and I'm sure I will use it often!!!

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

Here is a picture of my latest running adventure...

This was this past weekend at the Dundas Conservation Area, the race called the Sulphur Springs Trail Race. I did the 10k....others did 25K, 50K and 100 miles! 

I was a bit nervous, but in the end it was a truly beautiful experience. When I got to where I took the picture, I was actually a bit choked up at the beauty around me.

And the ultra-marathoners!....so many of them took the time to give me encouraging words. I met some great people on my trail run and realize that this will be a race I will register for year after year. My favourite.....so far!!

I am linking up with Lorna at Sew Fresh Quilts for Let's Bee Social ( I can't wait to try my new ruler on my BlackBirds quilt, one of Lorna's patterns, should be perfect for it! ), and with Susan at Quilt Fabrication for Midweek Makers.

Have a wonderful Spring day!