Quilting and other Things

I really pleased with how common bride is going but my poor finger needs a rest -- either that or I need to find the liquid bandage or learn to applique with a thimble on my middle finger. 
So this month, I'm going to focus on the two community outreach quilts I have at home for my guild.  The first is a package of 6 inch squares.  This can be as simple as alternate print and solid or something fancier.  I need to count how many solid squares there are and double check the guidelines for sizes that they want the tops to be.  This kit has been languishing on the table for several months and really needs to get turned into a top and taken back to the guild.


The second is a kit that Patti Carey from Northcott donated to the outreach quilts when she was a guest speaker the other month. (It was a really interesting lecture about printing fabrics.)  The strips are precut and the centre is ready for me to insert the strips.  I need to sit down, read the instructions and get the top don…

I’ve made good progress this month although I won’t get as far as I had hoped. My goal was to finish all the appliqué for the centre and get it attached to the stars that form the next border. This is where I was last Sunday. It needed buds and flowers.
Today I have all the buds done and two of the flowers. I need to prepare the petals for the other two corners and then centres to the flowers


The stars have been rearranged and I think I’m happy with the order. I don’t think it will be very long before I can add the stars.



 Linking up with One Monthly Goal

All the baskets have leaves and branches now. Later this afternoon I'll cut out the buds and flowers and get started on them. My goal is to have all the appliqué done on this section by the end of the month and to have it joined to the next border. I'm not sure I'll be able to get all of it done but it will be close. We'll see how this week goes.
Before I start the preparation I’ll go for a walk.  I live in the city and there’s a creek nearby.  For the last couple of weeks there’s been a beaver under the bridge along the route.  I’m hoping to see him again today

Linking up with Kathy’s Slow Stitching Sunday

Last Sunday I spent the day at Elaine’s for a sit ‘n sew day.  I spent the morning and a bit of time after lunch making the 9 patch blocks for the flowers which are the round after the stars for this quilt.  I had the half square triangles all prepared so it was a case of laying them out and stitching.  In the end I ended up making a few extra half square triangles. I hadn’t used any of the blue ones and didn’t want just three of the 20 flowers with blue.  I’m considering make some additional half square triangles as the next lot will be combine with a large triangle to be stylized leaves for the flowers.  I’m not sure I want royal blue and sky blue leaves


After getting these done, I started to trace the appliqué pieces for the baskets.  I trace onto freezer paper, cut them out and then press to the right side of the fabric. Sometimes I then trace around the freezer paper so that I don’t need to use it as I work.   Some times I turn under the edges in advance but these are relatively…

I'm linking up with March's One monthly   I'm still making really good progress on Common Bride.  Since posting for the February finish the other day, I’ve added the feathered star to the centre 8 pointed star and the baskets have been added and are ready for appliqué.  Since I took this photo, I've fixed the orientation of the baskets and sewn the baskets to the centre.  I'll prep the appliqué this week.  The goal for March is to finish the appliqué in the centre and then to add the 8 pointed stars border to the centre so I'll need to sort out what order I want those star blocks in around the edge.



Helen Anne

Last weekend, I went to a guild retreat.  There were 26 of us spending the weekend away enjoying stitching away and chatting.  It was a wonderful weekend and I'm so pleased in everything I accomplished.

About five years ago I purchased some fabric to make a one block wonder quilt.  About four years ago one of the guild workshops was a One Block Wonder class with Maggie Butterfield Dickenson.  Two years ago, I finished making all the hexagons for the quilt.  Last year I did very little quilting.  This year I decided the top needed to be finished.  I finally put it up on the design wall several months ago and start to move the blocks around.  I didn't have enough of the original fabric to do a border so decided to include the original fabric in the center of the quilt.  I spent last week sewing columns together then packed everything up to take to the retreat.  I stopped at Len's Mills on the way to look for a fabric to look for a border and found a very nice batik to compl…