Odds & Ends

So this morning, I was putting my quilt sandwich together but realized my batting was too small. I couldn't go out and get more batting today so instead I quilted the baby blankee I was blogging about a few days ago. Now I just need to put the binding on and that one will be complete. After quilting the blankee, I decided to start cutting material for some other quilts that are to be made in the future. I was dividing the material between three quilts. Two Dressed to the Nines quilts (also called Disappearing Nine Patch), and a Scrappy Logs quilt for the sweet lady who gave me lots and lots of quilting items. I dug through some of the scrap pieces she gave me and cut some of my own material. I wanted to use some of her scraps since they were special to her since she kept them for many years. And some of my fabric to show an intertwine of our friendship. I'm hoping to have hers finished by the end of Feb.

So many quilts to make :)

Hope everyone had a great holiday!

Merry Christmas to all

Hope you have a Merry Christmas! I'll be back to quilting after the holidays :)

Christmas Eve

Well the day is here :) I've decided I will not have my quilt done before the 31st. I did buy the backing and binding yesterday but then decided that I will enjoy Christmas and New Year's without having to worry about getting the quilt completed. We finally put our tree up last night and will be decorating, wrapping gifts, cooking, baking, drinking wine and getting ready for Christmas Day.

While I did have my backing in the washer and dryer, I did start a small blankee for a baby. I will post that when it's complete.

Happy Holidays to everyone!

Finished My Quilt Top :)

Finished my quilt top tonight. So happy about that. I'm going to pick up some backing tomorrow after work. Hopefully I will find something that will work and then I need to pick up thread to match. Then get my quilt sandwich together and start quilting. I haven't figured out how to quilt it yet. I have a few ideas but nothing is for sure yet. I'm thinking about doing a diamond shape pattern just to speed up the quilting. And also something not too distracting since the prints in this quilt are quite vibrant. Getting closer to completion :)

Generosity of Others

I hurt my back yesterday so I was feeling pretty bummed since that took at least one evening of quilting away from me. My back is still quite sore today but I'm hoping to be on the mend to be able to work on my mom's quilt in the next few days. A very special someone cheered me up tremendously today. She gave me all her quilting material and batting and so many other items. I just want to cry with happiness. She just wanted to clean out her closet and I don't know if she realized the full extent of what she has given me. I cannot wait to dig into it all and create something beautiful. I had mentioned to her that I would like to donate a quilt to the SPCA for them to be able to fundraise money for the local shelter. But there is just such a great amount, I will be making way more quilts then I originally thought.

I was going to take a small break after I finish my mom's quilt but now I know who should have my next quilt. It just has to be perfect for such a special lady :)

So Close...

I am so close to having all my blocks finished on the quilt I am making. I am so excited! I just started cutting the pieces on Friday and I have gotten so much progress done on this new quilt. I still have a good bit of work to do but I am definitely further than I thought I was going to be :)

I'm hoping to have it finished by Dec 31. If not, close to complete by then. I know that may sound like I'm chewing off more than I can chew and maybe I am but I have to try. I really want to see the expression on my mother's face when she sees her quilt. I work full time but I have taken some vacation for Christmas so I'm hoping to use a good bit of my time attempting to finish this quilt.

Just tossing a question out there, anyone have any memories of thinking they wouldn't get a quilt done on time but then pushed through and finished their quilt on time? Was the expression on the recipient worth it?

New Quilt Day :)

I started sewing a new quilt today. I started cutting the pieces for it on Friday and almost have all the pieces cut but I decided I wanted to start sewing tonight instead of cutting the final pieces. This one is quite special to me since it is for my mom. It's for her birthday next month. I doubt any family members are reading this so I'm sure it'll stay a secret. It has pink, black, brown, white and green prints in it. I put a few breast cancer materials in it as well. Our family has been affected greatly by cancer and especially breast cancer. Happy to say they are all survivors! I just wanted to make a special quilt just for her since she is a very special woman. And she's my mom so she deserves it :)

Here's a peek at a baby quilt I finished on Thursday for a little girl's first Christmas. Different quilting method but I liked using it.

Snow Day = Quilting Day

I have so many quilts that I want to make but just don't have enough free time to make them as quickly as I'd like too. Plus add in the fact that I keep finding new patterns, new material, and making quilts as gifts takes a good part of my energy. I have bought so much material over the last six months, that I'm running out of storage space and I keep thinking about new fabric that I see that I want in my collection. It's funny how beautiful prints and colours can just make you feel so happy :)

Quilt for my aunt

I seen this pattern in Patchwork Sept 2013 called Citrus Zest. I switched it up adding bright colours for the 16 square blocks and added a border to increase the quilt size. I bought one jelly roll to make this quilt quickly rather than cutting my own. From start to finish, it took me a month and a day. My aunt was the recipient of this one as a Christmas gift. She totally loved it! I had a difficult time letting it go but it made me so happy knowing that she loved it :)

First completed quilt :)

This is the Indigo Weave Quilt from America Makes Fast Quilts 2013. I kept this quilt. Easy to make and I will probably make another one of theses quilts in the years to come. It is made from cutting 10" squares and sewing them together in larger blocks. Fun and easy quilt :)

First Entry

Hi!

Welcome to my blog. I decided to start a blog on my newly, addictive, taking-over-my-house quilting habit. I originally started quilting 7 years ago when I received my first sewing machine for Christmas. I was teaching myself and now I can see where I went wrong 7 years ago lol. It wasn't so many mistakes, it was more of an issue of biting off more than I could chew. My first quilt top had been put together and it was bigger than king size. I had a few issues with it so it was put into a large tote until I could figure out how to finish it. It came out about a month ago and a friend is quilting it on a long arm machine. I'll post a picture of that one as soon as it's finished.

I rediscovered my love for quilting in mid-June. So far, I have put together a queen size quilt, two lap size quilts and a baby blanket. I am working on another lap size quilt as I start this blog. Fabrics have always surprised me because of the colours, the print, the feel, and the change of the look when you add another fabric to the mix.

Hope I haven't bore you too much! Enjoy the blog :)

Happy Quilting,

Julia