Getting ready to quilt "Floating on a Cloud" for Anna...

I love this quilt. I don't want to post pictures yet...it is a gift and I picked out the pattern myself - unlike the last few, where the mother to be picked out the pattern. I'm very excited. The blocks were a great size to work with on the front, and on the back, I did something different that I've never done before...sticking to my M.O. to always do at least one new thing on every quilt. I'm even practicing the quilting motif (which is intended to be a fairly large meander) on paper with the machine in advance. I did manage some machine quilting risk by not getting the fabulous thread I really wanted...I got a quilting thread somewhat more muted that will be very forgiving of mistakes. The quilt itself is also larger than the other baby quilts I've made. For those of you who know me, you will understand when I saw that visualizing measurements is not my forte. so...60" VS 46", yeah, it's a different size, but would I actually catch that? nope, not me. So actually quilting it will be more of a challenge than the others - that's a lot of my material for my Janome sewquist and me to manage.

What else...I'm working on trying to instill some order into the list of projects around the place. I love lists and planning (why else would I be a project manager!), but somehow my tools from my workplace haven't really made it home with me. So, I've found this great low tech way to organize projects in various areas of the home: Personal Kanban...found it via The Simple Dollar, which is a great blog about simplifying your life, and managing your personal finances. So I'm in the process of setting up my personal kanban for our household projects...so far, the "To Do" side is the only side with something in it. I'm also going to set one up for my quilting projects. They are piling up in my head, and need to make it down on paper or a wall somewhere so I can start prioritizing and visualizing.

One of my next projects that I want to start on is a quilt based on a course I just finished on Peace Building Conversations, from Shirley Martin. I'm having a great time planning and designing blocks in my head. This quilt will be a challenge for me all over...being the first time I'm designing one, to the types of blocks I'm going to use, to the way it's going to be quilted...etc.

And the Sampler quilt? I've gotta get a name for it. It's coming off the quilting frame and coming with me on Thanksgiving - who knows, maybe the quilting will get finished over that weekend.

Other projects? Christmas is coming up...I've been saying for years I want to make a tree skirt...so maybe this is the year, and maybe placemats and napkins to match. Also, all the babies could use what, bibs? and maybe I can extend into simple coats, etc? I see so many beautiful designs online from the various blogging quilters out there. I am so inspired by their work and their fabrics and their creativity!!

No pictures this time!! maybe next time, when the Cloud quilt is done and flying on it's way to Switzerland...

Peace & Adventure, Liz

Anna's quilt...started!

Hit Creative Sisters' Full Moon Frenzy on Tuesday...booked off work early and made sure I had plenty of time to browse! Thank god for blackberries, because all I had was an email listing the material required for this lovely quilt. And only 2 fabrics required!

and oh, do I need to learn more about taking pictures, wow. OK, trying to get a copy of the pattern, and then a pic of the material. All washed, and now ironing. I am thinking very much about what I want to do for the backing on this one. I think I want to do something different, something fun on the back, something special...I'll be thinking about this one...

I'm also thinking about what to do with all the blocks of test free motion quilting...looking at a cool thing called "rag quilting". I think I'll try it and let you know how it goes!

so meh on scanning the pattern, or taking a good picture of the pattern for now. Sorry, Irene, you'll just have to wait!

what have I been doing instead of posting

busy month! whole lotta stuff going on instead of posting...

first of all, clearing out books. We have about 8 boxes of books in the basement from when we moved in 2007. Unopened. And full bookshelves upstairs. So I'm working through all the boxes and emptying shelves

There are still about 8 boxes in the basement...have only made it through the shelves in the main house.

THEN.... our first attempt at a garden, and someone had to do something about the tomatoes. I figured out how to string them up

So far, only 2 tomatoes have shown up. I think I was too late.

And then....

freezer pickles, berries berries berries (blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and blackberries) and pounds and pounds of beans. Last beans in the freezer today. Whew!! and still trying to get a few hours in on the sampler quilt a week.

Barn Quilting

Surfing through somewhere online for some reason (I really can't remember how I started down this path!), I came across the Barn Quilt idea. Donna Sue Groves started the concept several years ago (link to a video on the right side of the screen, and link to blog tracking the American Quilt trail here: American Quilt Trail). What a beautiful idea! Oh..I remember...AccuQuilt had an article on Facebook about unveiling their Barn Quilt Square (http://www.accuquilt.com/) and I just had to see more. I'm trying to find some more information on the Canadian portion of this beautiful folk art. The picture above is of Donna Sue Groves, and the first square on her barn. There are several links to videos in my "what I'm looking at" list on the right side of this page. This is really incredible. This link shows all the quilt trails currently in place: American Quilt Barn Trails. I need to go exploring...as soon as I find out about the trails in Canada, I will post on it! I know what I need to do on my next vacation with my sister in North Carolina now!!

finger calluses

I'm getting in maybe an hour a day on the handquilting for my sampler quilt. You may ask...is that all you have time for? and the straightforward answer is, yes, it is. There is another answer, and that it is...I do try to watch the blood on the quilt. What??? When you handquilt, one hand is on top of the quilt, pushing the needle, and one hand is underneath, guiding the needle. The needle catches 4 or so stitches at a time. You need to make sure that the needle actually goes through the whole quilt sandwich (the quilt backing, the batting, and the quilt top), otherwise, well, you kinda lose the purpose of the quilting stitch  - to pull all the layers together. The idea is to have small even stitches, about 6 or 8 to an inch. I wear a thimble on the index finger on my right hand, the hand on top of the quilt pushing the needle, because there is a lot of force (relatively) used by that finger. However, on the bottom hand, I need to feel the needle coming through the material, so I don't use a thimble on that hand. I switch the fingers around, from index to middle, but it still takes time to develop a callus that allows me to feel the needle...yet not draw blood. And all my calluses that I gained from quilting the cottage ninepatch (for which I have yet to post pictures), 4 years ago, are all gone. So I am building up my endurance! I don't know how other quilters manage this, but I've tried various thimbles and other arrangements, and this just seems to work best for me...

I'm off with my callusing fingers now to bed...good night!

The Tulip Quilt

This quilt was made for my sister Rose, who lives in the States. I picked the pattern out say way back in 2005, and bought the material before we sold the cottage, from a great fabric store just outside of Bancroft. This woman had a fabric store in Bancroft for many years, but just couldn't manage the rent. I think she was 75 years old or so in 2005. So she moved the store out to her home, and built a large structure on her property. I have not, in all my visiting of fabric stores, seen such a selection of fabric. I think I spent 3 hours there picking out the material. I started with my preferences, and then came back to earth, reminding myself that the quilt wasn't for me - it was for my sister and her husband. hmm. just looked for the store listing on line, and maybe it's not there any more. Too bad. This lady was running this store, and in her house, she had more fabric and 2 quilt frames that I could see.

I wanted to give my sister a garden full of tulips, butterflies and sunshine with a breeze blowing through. The offwhite background actually has butterflies in the fabric. I had the quilt machine quilted by Creative Sisters  in Kitchener, using a Wind pantogram. This was a fun quilt to make - it was set on the diagonal - that was the first new thing for me on this quilt. What else - I learned about keeping my bobbin casing clean. Screwed up the tension and I didn't bother to correct it. I took the quilt down in May 2009 when I went to visit my sister, and we found some seams were giving already (because of my tension problem). So when my mother went to visit, in June of that year, she fixed it - by machine sewing the seam, around the quilt, to hold it in place. My bad for not dealing with the tension. Now the lovely wind pantogram has a straight line around all 4 borders. Sigh. At least it will keep it together. That's what happens with living, usable art! and that's what I want to make...living, functional art, which is why I'm so fond of quilts.

I've got one more quilt to post up, when I take the pictures -this will be my first large (queen size) quilt - the cottage quilt. More on this one when I do that post...then I'll be all caught up!

Emma's Cobblestone quilt...done! ( 2 weeks ago)

And there the 3rd one is finished. Learned so much on this one, specifically on the quilting - about tension, and positioning of the quilting, understanding how best to put a label one (let's just say that the next one will have a better label on it). The binding doesn't throw me any more either. The design is simple, which really works with the primary colours of the quilt. Gave the quilt to Emma (via Steve and Krista, of course) on the July weekend. I'm interested in seeing how the invisible thread works out!

And now...taking a break. Getting pack to the quilt on my hand quilting frame (pictures below). What a different pace. Cleaned up the patterns I've been using, organized the training material I have. Need to get the sewing room organized next - there is material everywhere. And thinking about the next project...one more baby quilt to do for Anna; completion of this sampler; I have a block quilt kit (precut squares from material selected by the quilt store); I want to do a mariner's compass wallhanging of green and blue and yellow; and earlier this week, I had my first quilt dream - where I worked through foundation piecing together a human figure (OK, more like a gingerbread man) in greens and blues. And, like I said, this is besides organizing the room! Oh yeah, and taking the stray practice machine quilting blocks, and putting together a Toby blanket. Hmm. I have to see how many of those I have! I've done a lot of practicing over these 3 quilts!

and here's a bit of the sampler on the quilting frame...