Design Wall Monday #5

My son Adam (10Years old) needs a new quilt. I have been asking him what he wanted. He has had real ideas of what he likes and dis not likes. He loves the quilt I made for his dad last year for Christmas Here. He likes the plaid fabrics. So for a couple weeks we have been talking about it. On Sunday we pick a quilt pattern out and got started. Adam helped pick out which plaids he liked and wanted to use in the quilt.

Orca Bay is still untouched in three weeks now. Hope to work on it this week. You can see it behind Adam below.

He got so involved with it all. I showed him how to cut with the rotary cutter and he got a few strips cut. Then I showed him how to sew. He has never done this stuff before. He has not shown much interest. I am happy to work on this quilt with him. He got one strip set made.

Now you are asking what quilt pattern did we pick? We are going to do a 60 degree Spider web quilt. It will have 6 units in each spider web and it will be equilateral triangles. There will be a Red equilateral triangle between the spider webs. It is a Fon's and Potter pattern from back in 2000.

I cut more strips. Adam plans to come and sew a strip set or two over the next few week ends. I am sure I will do most of the cutting and sewing blocks together. He does not want to do it all. He also wants me to do all the machine quilting on the long arm as he know I am good.

I spent sometime playing with my Red scraps form the Rainbow Challenge. I posted on Saturday that I was not sure which block but now I am liking this Greek Cross with the coloured diamonds in between is the best. I will start working on the next colour. Yes I know what colour is February. 

I have made this part of Patchwork Times Design Wall Monday for Jan 30/12. Go check out all the design wall ideas. I try to get though them all but it is a lot to get though.

Happy Scrappy Saturday Red #4 Go Greek

I came across the Greek Cross Block.  I am not sure I really like this block enough to make a whole quilt. The red cross is almost to large a block of one colour for me. I started with my 4 1/2" crumb blocks and  made all units 4 1/2" square, so in a nine patch it will finish to 12". What I did like was I was using the scraps to make up the colour part of the units.  The white is Kona cotton, not very scrappy but it is stash.

Today's post is apart of Happy Scrappy Saturdays over at SoScrappy. Go check out what the others are doing with their Red scraps. Next month we get a new colour. I am ready to work with a new colour. hint hint.

After getting the units done, I played with them, and got this round shape. I am not sure if this is a named block or not. There is a churn dash like feel to this block. If I make these blocks and sew the blocks together with no sashing it will give me the round colours all around. No other shapes. The colours will butt up to each other. It might be nice. I did think I could change the centre colour, maybe Green in the Red. Another idea is to use white sashing but have a star in the cornerstone to the sashing. Again more colour hear and there.

I am not sure which one I should do. I did think I could just make the 4" units and think over it for sometime. I have not sewn these block together yet just laying them out. I plan to make many blocks with a rainbow of colour. I like to work on the design wall and make up my mind there. I will need more units in different colours before I decide for sure.

Back to the Greek Cross and I did like the idea that the corners could be all different colours. This way when the blocks are butted up together there is a diamond made with four colours.   It will make the colour move around the quilt more.

So I have four Red crumb blocks and enough other Red units together to complete four 12" blocks. I also did a few other colour units so I could lay out the last photo. It was fun to work on another colour after a month of Red (and Pink on the heart quilt).

What block do you like the best?

Dog Quilt Done

My dog Lex is so good he needed his own quilt. While I just wanted him off my quilt as he is very good at taking more and more for himself. He sleeps at my feet in the evening and was taking my quilt at every chance he got. Now his quilt is done and he loves it. I worried he may still want my quilt and not take his new on but he loves his quilt.

I love the food fabric. Lex likes all this food. Beer, hot-dogs, cupcakes, ice-cream, doughnuts, and hamburgers.  I should have used pizza too. He was a very bad dog one day and eat the family supper - our home made pizza.

Over the Christmas break I did some of my own quilting. You know, the long arm business person never has time to do her own quilts. I wanted to practice some different stitches and I hate to waste time or good stitching so the dog quilt was a practice quilt. One rule was I was not to rip out any stitches, it all stays in good bad and the ugly. Well I did not have many ugly or bad, mostly good.

When I showed it at guild (and still had the binding to hand stitch) Many guild members liked the quilt and wanted to be my dog. They thought it was far to good for the dog.

Here is the back. it shows the quilting the best.

I used disappearing nine patch. Can you see I have some blocks in the wrong place. I put it together at retreat and got some blocks mixed up. Oh well it is just the dog quilt.

Quilting For a Customer

I have sent this great bright quilt back to the customer. The quilt is made of a great arrangement of batik fabrics and will be going to a girl. We decided to quilt many large flowers all over the quilt. The petals of the flowers are square with corners. I like this one I came up with years ago. I can think of only a few I have done this quilt pattern on over the years. I may need to do this quilt pattern on one for myself some day.

My Wise Women Bee group was always meeting on Tuesday. I am still thinking about you all on Tuesday. We will meet again when you snow-birds fly home again.

Design Wall Monday 4

It is Design wall Monday over at Patchwork Times. I have my 4th Design Wall Monday posting of the year. I want to do 40 this year.  I did not get much done since I posted on Saturday morning about Red Heart Quilt Top. I made four Red crumb blocks that measure 4 1/2" and I had two lime green ones that I just trimmed to add to them.

The Red Heart Quilt top is done and still on one design wall. I have to find the backing. I know which fabric I want to use but I just have to find it now. Up date at lunch - I found it and it is 3" short. I have to add a piece to the end. It was in the box for this quilt, why would I put it there. To simple.

 The other larger design wall has Orca Bay Mystery but is untouched for two weeks now. Maybe I can get it done for Bonnie's Linky Monday in February (two weeks away).

I have not decided what I will make with my crumb blocks. I made them 4 1/2" so that I could do a 12 " block with some kind of nine patch arrangement. I am not sure what it will be yet.

Sunday was the Dog Agility Trial. We did not pass any of our classes. We had Fun together, the Dog and I. I keep forgetting to get out my camera and get a photo or two. We had a very good first round but it was a little past the level we have trained for so far - A gamblers class. Then the other two rounds he visited the jump crew people on the side of the ring and ate up our time. Everything else went very well, with no handler errors or jump faults. We could have passed the classes if he did not take the time to visit people.

Happy Scrappy Saturday Red #3

Happy Scrappy Saturday to you all. I have been working hard to reduce the size of my Red Scrap Box ( and Pink and Neutrals too). I have completed a whole quilt top in just a few weeks. I got the last of it done last night ( part of the Friday Night Sew-in). I sew most Friday nights because the boys are gaming on Fridays nights and I am kicked downstairs to the studio ( the noise drives me down). It measure around 54' wide by 72' tall. I do not think I will add a boarder but just quilt and bind. Not to sure when I can do that.

There is a Linky post over at SoScrappy if you want to see what others have been doing with their Reds scraps this week.

I have a close up because I want to bring to your attention some very special scraps. First the red with oranges in it. I have very little of it left and love it. I think it is in every scrappy project I have done that had any red in it.  Not sure were I got it. Next the super bright pink dot on the left heart and bottom square. I got a fat quarter from a friend June. She bought a couple meters of it from a neighbour for a few dollars and she now tells me the neighbour recently has passed away. The centre top heart has the stripe and mini strawberry fabrics I got them from a lady selling her mothers stash after she passed away. Her mother had been a quilting teacher and made her own appliqué patterns on brown paper grocery bags.  I just can not help but think of these past quilters (Fabric stash managers), even though I never met them. I hope they are happy to see that some of their fabric has gone to good use. 

I did not count and keep track of how big I would make the heart quilt. I just made hearts and put them on the wall till it was big enough. I sometimes had to go back to the scraps and cut more squares.  I knew I would end with a few left overs but I was very close I ended up with eight extras. Not bad. Not sure what I will do with them. Maybe just put them in the box of orphan blocks. Someday I may make something with my orphan blocks.

Last week I had a few of you say you liked this heart quilt idea and may make your own. Great please do and if you have and questions please ask. I will say I did sashing because my scraps of neutrals had many 2" strips I could use. I think the other quilt I made years ago, I used the 4" hearts with 4" neutral blocks and not a sashing. This blocks of hearts and blocks of neutral maybe easer to do. You will still need to use some large triangles on the outer edges. For this quilt I had about half the outer triangles in the scrap box (left over from something) but when I needed more I cut a 10" square then cut it on both diagonals. By the way I have looked very hard for the photos of the old heart quilt. I may have not taken one. Opps. I gave it away to a guild charity and my only hope to find a photo now is to look in the old guild history books. They took photos of everything and have many many albums from show and tell. It was about 1998 or 1999 when I made it.

Wish Lex and I Luck. We have a Dog Agility Trial on Sunday. At least the temperature is starting to warm up ( high of -6C). The trial is indoors but just driving in the real cold (-30C) and going out to water our dogs can be so cold. The horse arena we use can be pretty cool too. I always forget to get photos. Maybe tomorrow I will get a couple.

Friday Night Sew In

  Tonight is a Friday Night Sew- In over at Crafty Vegas Mom

I plan to work in my Red Scraps some more. When will it end. I am going to try and finish the Red and Pink Heart quilt top. 

I have been thinking of other ideas I could use my scraps for. If you happen to stumble by and have a good idea you did let me know. I am on the look out.

I have even been lurking on Pinterest but have not joined or made any pins yet. I like to know who made what and that pinning photos and not know were they come from bugs me. I may have to get more of my best photos watermarked just so if they end up there, other will know it was me. 

Newfy Floor Mat

This September my surface design group made floor mats. We gathered over two days to paint our canvas. I got the painting done but then there it sat of months. I needed to do many coats of sealer and then hem and glue down the edges to finish it. I got it done. It measures something like 24" by 32". I wanted to make a Newfoundland sea scape because of my Newfoundland background and the trips I have made to Newfoundland.

I love the art work of the Newfoundland artists over at  The Grumpy Goat. They have a great Blog to follow along. I first was their work at the Newfoundland Craft council back in June of 2008 while in St John's. My maiden name is Manuel and my Grandfather was from Exploits Newfoundland. Newfoundland and Exploits has a special place in my heart. I wanted to make a floor mat that was in the style of the Grumpy Goat Artist's. I love the bright colours and the whimsy style. I do not have all the detail and professionally look they put into their work.

My whale with a spout. I am not sure what kind of whales you could see off the shores of Newfoundland. We did not see any. I have seen many Humpback Whales in Hawaii and Ocra Whales off shore of Victoria BC.

Other memories I have of my trip to Exploits were picking mussels on low tide to have for dinner. Harvesting some ice burg ice for our scotch just before dinner.  Walking the grassy path on the east Island of Exploits. Uncovering the head stones of family members. One little girl died at age five and we share the same name, she was my Great Great Grandfather's daughter. They had 11 children and only four lived to be adults. We found Great Great Grandfather and Grandmothers head stone too.

In June of 2008 we saw many Icebergs. There was a great sized one at the opening of the Exploits Bay so my sea scape was getting a iceberg. 

Here is Catherine's Head stone with some of her siblings. Some were also on the side panels.

Here is one photo of the iceberg outside the Exploits harbour in June of 2008. Can you see the Viking face in the ice. Helmet and nose and the long beard.

Long Arm Quilting

I have been long arm quilting for other people for 13 years now. I have been very lucky to quilt with so many beautiful and well put together quilts. It is like magic to get a quilt top and see it become a real quilt with the added quilting. It so changes it.

This quilt was made by one of my customers who would like to stay anonymous. She bought a pattern and all new fabric to make this quilt. Sorry I do not know the pattern designer or the name of the pattern. She had so much fabric left over she made the second one on the bottom too. 

The first one was a gift for a grandson. We decided to do the swirls.

For the second quilt made from the left over fabric. I was telling her about the disappearing nine patch pattern and after some family help she found the pattern on the internet and made it. She wanted the sunflowers all over the quilt.

Happy Quilt Bee Tuesday.

Goffy Dog and Kid photo. My youngest Son fell asleep like this on the foot stool. 

Thanks for all the comments, I know some of you personally and other I am getting to know from your blog or comments. So nice to chat with you all. 

Design Wall Monday 3

It is the Third Design Wall Monday over at Patchwork Times this year Here. I have numbered my design wall Mondays to see if I can make about 40 this year. Even if I only have one little block to show you a hope to make my posts.

I got to work on my red hearts on Sunday. I made a post on Saturday about my Red scraps I have been working on part of the Rainbow Challenge 2012. Well I did OK in getting something more done. I got more red hearts and pink hearts completed and up on the design wall. I even sewed two rows together.

My four patch hearts started with 2 1/2" cut units (hearts finish to 4"). I have decided to use 2" cut sashing. I am working very hard to keep to using my smaller scraps first. I had to go looking for more red. I then found so much pink I just had to add it in. For the neutrals I had some 2 1/2" units and then had to cut a few more. I then had to go looking for small fat quarters or small yardage of older neutral fabric. There is no way I want to buy anything for this quilt. Just part of the challenge for myself.

My larger design wall still has Orca Bay Mystery on it and unchanged from last week. I guess I have slowed down on Orca Bay for the time being.

If you make a comment I know I am not just talking to myself. So Thanks

Happy Scrappy Saturday Red

It is another Happy Scrappy Saturday over at Soscrappy Here is the linky page. I got more done on my four patch hearts. I had over thirty done when I started to put them on the wall. I quickly realized I did not have enough. I did not have much red left in my box but I dug around for more scraps and found more Reds. I also had so much pink I thought I should add Pink. My hearts are now pink and red. In digging for more scrap, guess what I found? more green. It is like it multiplies like bunnies.

I have found another site to add new or finished sew projects to. Here is a linky to Sew Darn Ways. Check out the site many sewing projects not just quilting.

Chain piecing more Red hearts. I did not tell you but my Pfaff was dieing before Christmas. So I asked for a new sewing machine. This is it. My sweet dear husband spoiled me and got me the new machine to replace my old Pfaff. I am really enjoying it. It has more options and more light then the old one. The old machine was 15 years old and had done a tonne or two of quilts.

More piles made but not up on the wall yet. Maybe by next weekend.

I am posting late on Saturday because Lex and I were at an aglilty dog trial today. We had one very good round with a pass and a first place in Snooker. The other two rounds were not to bad but not a pass. Each run today had some very good parts or improvements. It was a very good doggy day and lots of fun.

New Year of Quilt Challenges

I have been hopping around Blog land looking at all the different challenges we could all do. There are so many and this is just a short list that I have considered.

I have decided to join Soscrappy`s Rainbow Scrap Challenge 2012.  I really like this one for a couple of reasons. One, it has so few rules. She has picked the colour Red to work on for January and on Saturdays we have a linky thing to post what we have worked on for the week. We do not have to use just scraps but it is a good time to start in the colour scrap bins. This challenge has me sorting the boxes of scraps in the colours of the rainbow. I want to know what colour is next. I have a couple of projects in mind for this challenge. Watch for my posts on Saturdays for this one.

Another one I will be keeping my eye on is over at Pleasant Home. The idea is to sew along on some of their projects. I will keep my eye open to see if there is something I really want to do. So far I have not started anything. But I think it is while worth a look.

Another Mystery quilt I think I may want to do is Just Takes 2. Twice a month they give us patterns for some of the blocks that will be used in the quilt. It runs all year long. I have not started because I have not decided what two fabrics I will use. I have the first set of patterns printed off. Now what colours. Being a Canadian I do like the idea of Red and White. But I am not a big fan of Red. And White in my house with brown hairy dog is not a good mix. It would be a quilt I make and then hide away because it would show so much dirt. What ever I do, I will need to buy fabric (or Dye white I have). I have signed up to get my email notice of each pattern, this way I hope not to miss out on any patterns.

Another challenge that I do not think I will do but wow many are doing it is Building Houses from Scrap. This is a Dutch site and has extended the registration till Jan 16, 2012 to take part, so just a few more days. The plan is to make a house block for each day of the year. That is 366 houses this year because it is a leap year. There are over 1300 following by mail and over 370 blog followers. That is going to be a lot of house blocks. She has started to post some photos of houses sent in by mail. She also has some hints on storing the block pieces. You should check it out. Maybe you want to make a small house quilt.

Over at Patchwork Times Judy is doing the Design Wall Monday`s. If you want to show a link to you blog and post what you have up on your wall ( or on the bed design wall). It is not really a challenge but I am planning to do many of these. I may miss a few but maybe if I could do 40 out of 52 weeks I will keep up with my blogging posts. Judy also does Stash reports and a UFO challenge. I do not think I want to know what fabric I use or buy. I also do not like the guilt of a UFO challenge ( I made a post about my lists earlier this month). I know it can keep many of you accountable to yourselves but I have to stay away from the guilt it may create for me.

Let me know what you have thought of trying this year. What else is out there. I would love to hear from you. 

Quilting for Betty

My Mom, Betty has been working on some charity quilts. She sends them to me for quilting. This is another one and I thought I would do the spirals on it. You can see it is a log cabin type quilt. I am not sure but I think it is the Pineapple Blossom pattern from Bonnie Hunter at Quiltville.

We belong to two quilt guilds. The Leduc Black Gold Quilt Patch and the Edmonton and District Quilter`s Guild. They both have great Charity projects underway. I am not sure were this quilt will be going. Mom has four or five quilts for charity on the go. I did another one before Christmas, an eye spy baby quilt but I forgot to get a photo, maybe next week before she gives it away.

Thank You all for the comments. I love them. It keeps me sharing if I know you are out there looking at my quilts. I love to share my work. I joined the quilt guilds because the show and share or show and tell is the best part.

Happy Bee Group Tuesday.

Design Wall Monday 2

I have two design walls in my sewing room. I have the Orca Bay Mystery up on my larger wall today and nothing on the smaller wall. I have been sewing my rows together and just have a little left to do and then I will be on to the boarders. I am being very careful on the row sewing and trying to not lose any points. I find that I want to be fresh and not do this type of sewing at the end of the day. So I feel a little slow this week.

I have also gotten back to work quilting and did some cleaning in my room on Sunday. I did not want to do clean for the new year but it is just time to clean part of my room. I am sure no one will ever guess I did do some cleaning, as it is so packed it will still be a mess. Lots more cleaning to be done. I should have done a before and after photo. I already have most of a three foot high stack on the orange table sorted and put away, but still need to find the orange surface. I may need to buy a few bins and start a pile for give away. Mostly magazines need hauling out.

The box with the boarder pieces still in it. This box was used to hold all my pieces as each step can out.

Check out the other work on Design Wall Monday over at Patchwork Times Today.

Happy Scrappy Saturday

I have another block to add to my Rainbow Scrap Quilt, part of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge 2012. I love making these blocks. I now have two red ones so I think I will be making two of each colour in my quilt or maybe I will be making two quilts. I can always give one quilt away.

If you want to make some with me here is what I am doing. I sorted my scraps into colour families. I start by make a 6 inch (6 and half inches unfinished) centre using my scraps. I make what every I think I have scraps for. Maybe triangles or the log cabin, or a pin wheel, if it is not big enough add a strip on a side or two.  I try to look for some contrast within my 6 inch unit. Then I cut 1 and half inch Kona white strips and frame it with the white. Then back to the scrap box for my strips. I make a strip set with some of the strips. I try to get it 13wide by 11 inches long. The strips that are too short go at one end. Again I look at having some contrast here. I cut 2 and a half inch wide strips off the strip set. If some are short of 12 inches they go on the block first as it only needs to be 8 half long on two sides. Then add the 12 inch long pieces to the outside last. If you are short just add a little more of a scrap. The blocks finish to 12 inches (12 and a half unfinished size).

I got a few red hearts done this week too. 

Today is Happy Scrappy Saturday over at Soscrappy and is part of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge 2012. Soscrappy has done the linky thing Here for the first week of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  I also have the logo over on the right margin if you want to check it out and join in the fun. This month we are working on the colour Red. As I now have two red blocks for the rainbow quilt I needed to do something else. Years and years ago, I made a pink heart quilt by making the little four patch units and placing them on point. The quilt was given to charity. I am sure I took a photo but it would be a film camera, over 10 yrs ago. I will post if I can find it later. I dug in my box of red and used some of my bigger scraps to cut 2 and a half inch units. I had a stack of neutral squares ready to go. Some of the reds were 5 inch squares I got at CQA Quilt Canada St John`s Newfoundland in June 2008. They were in my goody bag. Memories of scraps are great.

I found another box of scraps to sort out yesterday. Most of the scraps were of good sized hand dyes and most were green, again. My box of green scrap is really over flowing. I am not sure I want to make green hearts and will have to come up with more scrap ideas to make a dent in the green.

I am heading out with the Dog to a Agility Fun Trial Day. Everyone else is home enjoying the last of the holidays, school work again Monday.