2011 Recap Missed Quilts

I sit under this finished quilt as I write this blog post. I had sometime this summer and fall when I did not have a camera and fell behind on blogging. Tonight I thought I would show you what I did complete this past year. 

 I started this quilt in the fall of 2010 and put it aside till Sept 2011 when I quilted it. I had it ready for the Leduc guild quilt show in October. I quilted a little different this time, making sure to quilt the units in the rows.  

Fish Pond Quilt got quilted in Aug or Sept 2011 and also in time for the Oct quilt show. I was really happy to finish this one. I feel this quilt helped me get my sewing MoJo back on track. Sometime in 2009 and all throughout 2010 I had trouble finding the joy in quilting. I was in a funk. Have any of you had trouble sewing for the joy of it?  I still did the long arm quilting for my customers but did not hang out in my sewing room to work on my quilts. Why was I quilting? Why did it matter? This one was fun to finish yet it was still a challenge. I do not always do patterns. I like to make my own way.

The detail of Fish Pond Quilt. I spent a few(5) days quilting this one. I know one day was spend digging out and looking for patterns I could quilt with. I also used some 12 wt thread for some of the quilt patterns. Much of the work was free hand. It turned out great. After the guild quilt show, I left it in the living room to use. My son #2 now snuggles under it tonight.

Custom saddle pad for horse back riding. I used a few recycled wool blankets and some wool batting and a black cotton on top.  It was thick to quilt and I had some thread troubles but I was pleased. It has the straps to hook on to my saddle and girth and stay in place when I ride. The other side has my horses name on it. It was finished in Aug of 2011 and is well used already this year.

This is the dog quilt. I got the top done at retreat in Oct. It now is on the quilt machine and should be done very soon. It is the disappearing nine patch.  I am still laughing at a junk food quilt for the dog. All his favourite   foods.

One last small sewing project. A bag for our high line ropes when we tie the horses in the mountains. It is made with the leg of a old pair of jeans. It close and holds the rope from running every were. And it can be hung up. 

I am considering on making a list of my UFO. I have many, and many are very old. I know I will not finish them all this year nor will I every finish them all. Some UFO may never get done. I think we out grow some projects. Maybe an old class project or a pattern that you did not like once you started it. I also have some smaller quilts that I was playing 'What if' and has no plans to finish as the What if was not working but I have learned from some of them still. I will work on my list and maybe just limit it to quilts I want to finish sooner. 

Happy New Year 

Fish Pond Quilt top done

I got the quilt top done. I can now add this quilt top to the growing pile of quilt tops I have to quilt. I hope I can get to quilting it this spring so I can put it in the quilt show. The Edmonton and District Quilt Guild is having a quilt show in June 11 and 12th. For more about the guild see the site Here.

I spend a fair bit of time playing with the boarders. The strip sets I had were not as bright as I wanted. I have to rip out parts and insert brighter bits of lime green and orange. The quilt is about 72" by 82". I think I did a good job. This quilt does not look like a workshop quilt. I did start it in Gloria Laughman's class a couple of years ago. I think that when it is quilted I should email her a good photo.


So the first photo did not get the bottom row so I took the quilt outside. I got this to show the last row off better. The quilt is outside on the snow. We have so much snow. I just needed to find a clean spot. Be careful of the yellow snow.



A Fish Pond Quilt landscape shot.

I now get to start the next quilt. More on that this weekend. I must be getting my quilt mojo back.

Happy Friday Cathy

Betty's African Quilt

This quilt was done by my Mom Betty. It is the quilt she started in the Gloria Laughman's class I took - my Fish Pond Quilt. My mom's quilt got done within two years of taking the class. Not the four years it has taken me (and my quilt is not done yet). She has given the quilt away.


Betty has used the special African Batiks she had and not done the machine applique that many other in the class did.


Here are the blocks on the floor at the class we took. The blocks on the left are the other students work (sorry I do not remember names). The orange and blue fish blocks on the right are mine. I took many other photos that day but I am not sure I should show them as I did not indent to upload them when I asked for photos. Please remember to ask to take photos and ask to post them. Please give credit for others work.

Tuesday Quilting Bee

Fish Pond Quilt Rows Together

This is a big deal to get these rows sew together. I must have spend hours measuring and adding or cutting little bits together to make the three rows the same size. My little paper tags are now gone from these rows. They will fit together now.


I need to work on the sashing. I do not have enough strip sets to go between the rows and on the boarders. I want more Blue sets, so I made another set. Here is I am cutting it at a 45 degree angle.


I had to work on the bottom row. I am thinking I will not add a top row now. The quilt is big enough and I would have to make more blocks again. I had to do more measuring so this row will fit on the bottom. This part is driving me crazy.


I have started to interview the sashing. I am not that happy with the dullness of the sashing in this photo. I am going to try to brighten this up by inserting more colour. Bright green, orange, and the turquoise blue.

Fish Pond Quilt Rows

I got thinking about getting some of these blocks into rows, Or I will never get this pieced together. I knew I wanted the three machine applique blocks to be a a different row from each other. I knew that if one was up one would be down and one in the middle height. I needed to rely on the design board to find the place for the blocks. Problem the blocks were not sticking to my design board (batting hanging on the wall).
I took a day off and rebuild my design board. I now have two 4 x 8 sheets of insulation covered with batting and then covered with white flannel. I thought then I could pin right in to my insulation. Guess what it is so sticky the flannel and batting that I did not need pins at the block stage yet. wow!


To get to this stage of rows, I measure each block height and width. I labeled the blocks and stated to sort the blocks by width. I had one block that was 25" wide the next size was 20". What to do? I decided I would do three rows up and down then one or two across (one on top one on bottom). I could use this wide block on the top or bottom row along with some of the shorter blocks.


I had to stop the row building and finish more blocks like this one. I love this blue. It helped give more bright colour back into this quilt.

Can you see how great the four patches and the old strip sets are helping me. Great for fillers and adding more variety.


I thought I would talk about the colours more. I started this quilt with three fish fabrics. The fabrics are mostly blue some green and the orange fish. I have a real fish pond outside with gold fish and kio. They are Orange. I do not like orange and I do not use much orange in my quilts, ever. I wanted this quilt to be mostly blue green and the highlights of orange. I found when I started, the quilt was way to dark. Rather then change my basic colour, I would have to use the brighter bits of my Blue and Green and make sure I used more orange. Some more orange was added with a flower print that was almost a brown orange (used in the four patch in the photo below). You may see I have a little bit of pink, I thought the flowers in the prints have some pink so I added just a little. More Variety. More is better. I have still made this a blue green quilt with the complementary to blue, orange.



I had some holes in my rows and needed more blocks. Or at least more finished blocks.


This was how I got this done. I ended up making one more big block and a shorter wide block.

My rows are not yet the same width and I will have to play with the sides and add or take away some filler fabric. The bottom row is weak and needs more work. Are You enjoying my puzzle?

I love comments. Thank You all for your encouragement. I have had trouble quilting on my work. The blog is helping. Looking at blogs have helped me find some new projects I want to make next. Have any of you had trouble quilting? How did you get out of the funk?

Fish Pond Quilt - Up dated again

I am getting the blocks larger. I keep flipping from this block and that. Then off to make more four patches.

I have more bright colours added in. I just will have to make sure that they move around. I like the row of log cabin around some of the prints.

I started to place two smaller blocks together. This way I will be able to make some kind of a row. I am started to worry about this part. I must have faith.


Again I flip from this to that. I go make more four patches. I am sure they will come in handy for making a block longer or wider to fit with the next block.


I think these block posts are keeping me working on this quilt. I have two other ideas for quilts I want to start. But I must keep my fish quilt fans going. I must finish the quilt top. I am worried I will hit the wall and stop. How to make rows? How to lay this out? This started as a Gloria Loughman class and she did give us notes for this part. I am experienced enough to get it done but sometimes when it gets tough, I quit, or put it way for a while. My mom was in the class and her quilt has been done for more than a year maybe two years ago. I should go find a photo of that to show you.

Fish Pond more blocks

I have been able to work on the fish pond quilt again. I have decided to do a bit of log cabin around some of my blocks, like this one. I wish the orange had shown up more. I am worried the blocks are a little darker and duller than I want.

Then I get thinking I need some filler type blocks and I build a set of four patches. I am going to add a few more brighter colours.

I get adding more colour and look at what the fish waste looks like. It is getting more colour. The Blue strip on the left is picked up and added to the scraps , not waste.


I am not happy with this block. To much of it is dull and dark. I ripped out.


Looks better with the strip of orange added in the center and the top.


Added the bright blue around like log cabin. This one is bright and I will have to bring in more of this blue or it will look out of place.


The long arm rail is used to display my fabric and strip sets.


The blocks so far. I have dug out the orange batik with flowers and the lily fabric to add in. Just starting these blocks. I have a long way to go. Some how I have to make rows so I can sew it all together.

Fish Pond Quilt

I took a class with Gloria Loughman back in the spring of 2007 (I think, counting back). It was a one day class working on a crazy quilt style quilt. She was teaching a few other classes that week but I could not do the days she was teaching the design classes. I thought I would be great to still be in her class and get to see her quilts up close.



We started the class by doing the machine applique of a few blocks and maybe one row of fabric around. We also cut out some special prints we were to bring. If you can see I wanted to do a fish pond theme. I got some great fish fabric and worked on the birds and one fish. I also built a fish pond this same spring (with my husband's help).



This project has been in a box all this time. I have taken it to many retreats but not worked on it since class. I dug it out this week. I started by placing the blocks on the wall. I had to iron most everything that came out of the box. I also got digging around in some other fabric, as I was sure I had some green strip sets that I did not use on another quilt.



I found this. I forgot about this green fabric. It is from poverty piecing I did with a friend Lou, in a class. I do not think I will use this but keep it out in case, the wrong greens.



Here it is the sets I was looking for.



And this set too.



Once I started to work on a block or two again, I could see I wanted more Blue. So I made a Blue strip set.



Here is my machine working on a blue set. I get late day sun at my machine in the winter. It is so nice to have sun shine coming in.



Here is all the blocks at the end of a few days work again. I think I will work hard on this quilt for a while now. I want to make a set of quilts for the living room. I may have many posts on this quilt because it will change as I get more done. I will do more blocks and add to the blocks and then the rows. I can show you how this quilt processes because it was started in a class and I will not enter it in a major show.

I am also getting the binding done on a quilt I plan to enter in a major show. I have to get photos done too. I dislike that part.