Progress Report

So I've finished the quilted part for my knitting needle case. I do like it and I would have liked to try some free motion quilting but I realized that the Embroidery Foot I have is not useable. So I figure I'll pick one up in the near future. So I ended up just quilting straight lines.

I haven't had a chance to work on it much today. So hopefully I can have it finished by the end of the week. I also received my two new books today :) So that was a pleasant surprise :)

Friday = New Project

So I started on a new project this evening. I borrowed a book from the library called Fresh Quilting, Fearless Color, Design & Inspiration by Malka Dubrawsky. I haven't been to a library in many moons let's say. But I've been meaning to get a library card since I moved. So I went a few weeks ago and signed up and signed out a few quilting books. Fresh Quilting was one of them. I have been thinking more and more about what Adrienne from Chezzetcook Modern Quilts had mentioned in a post a few weeks back. Talking about how doing a small project will restore your confidence in quilting. So far, I've only made quilts since I started sewing again in June. So I thought there's many small projects that I would like to create. I was looking through Fresh Quilts and decided the project that I wanted to do right now is the Indigo Needle Case. It's a wrap up case for knitting needles. I'm not exactly a knitter. I've tried it numerous times and just can't seem to do it correctly. But my sister on the other hand, does knit and she doesn't quilt. So I thought why not make her this case to put her knitting needles in. So I decided to see if I could whip this up in the next week or so. Here is the layout of the outside of the wrap.

 

I picked these colours because I figured these would be the best ones that she would like. She dislikes pink VERY much. So I really like the calming feeling of the blues, greens and browns. I have pieced together the 8 rows and I'll put those rows together tomorrow. I'll have to run to the store to get buttons tomorrow. Not really sure which ones to buy yet but I'm sure I'll know it when I see it.

So happy the quilting weekend has begun :)

Scrappy Logs is Complete :)

Oh Happy Dance, oh happy dance! I just finished Scrappy Logs. I am so happy to be finished. There's some puckers and a few twists but to me that's the essence of a quilt. I feel the same about myself :) Nothing is perfect but it is always beautiful. So here are some photos, sorry for the horrible quality. I'll try to take some better ones tomorrow....maybe even outside.

I also took a picture to show what I did with the binding. In my first and second quilt, I always had a difficult time with sewing the binding. I'd either miss spots that I'd have to go over again on the quilt top and back or I would constantly feel like I was fighting with my quilt. I read somewhere on someone's blog that she always used a zig zag stitch for a different look and to make sure every part of the binding was sewn. So I thought this was a great idea except I'm not a big fan of the zig zag stitch but my sewing machine has over 90 different stitches. So I stitched this vine and leaves stitch for my binding. I love how it turned out. I also used white thread to make it pop out more.

So relieved this quilt is complete. This is a gift for a friend who can no longer quilt anymore and she gave me all her quilting accessories so this is a token of my appreciation. 

I'm not sure what I'm going to be making next. I may just do a small project which I'm thinking about a knitting needle roll up case for my sister. After that I'll continue to cut up my pieces for the Funfetti quilt which will probably be the next quilt after I get married. So many projects on my list :)

As promised, it was brisk but a nice morning so I was able to get some pictures after sunrise this morning. Here they are:

 Pictures are so much better outside :)

Yay it's Friday! Quilting weekend will begin soon!

Stormy Wednesdays

The storm is just raging outside. Has been since early this morning. I am luckily working from home this week so I did not have to go out in this craziness which is known to us Nova Scotians as spring? I seen a post for one of the bulletin boards in my town that read "Spring has Sprung?" Which I thought was quite humorous :)

Anyhow I went through my work day and then finally started cutting up the binding for the Scrappy Logs quilt. I had picked out a fabric last night (from my stash) and left it on the ironing board to 1) Iron the fabric and 2) To warm up to the fabric. When I pulled it out of my stash, I wasn't sure about it. It just seemed too strong of a colour but then I did have those colours in the quilt and it is just rounding out the quilt. So today after putting in my work time, I decided to go for it. I ironed the fabric, cut my pieces, sewed them together and ironed to get my binding pressed correctly. Took a little while but now I'm ready to pin my binding. Hopefully I'll have it all pinned tomorrow and maybe able to sew it by tomorrow evening. I already have the perfect stitch in mind. I think I'm going to do some vines with leaves. So excited! Here's what I decided for the binding.

It's a chocolate brown with deep pink flowers and I love it. Also received a fantastic deal on this fabric, 2 meters for $6!

I also did a little online shopping today too. I have a Quilt Wishlist on Amazon filled with future books that I would like to own. I'm still waiting on Mug Rugs to arrive. It may be a while yet. Anyhow I ordered two new books today :) I just love quilting books. I ordered Sew Serendipity Bags: Fresh and Pretty Projects to Sew and Love by Kay Whitt 

And Fat Quarterly Shape Workshop for Quilters: 60 Blocks + a Dozen Quilts and Projects! by Katy Jones.

I am so excited to read these books! I'm sure my spouse would agree I don't need any more books but it's so difficult not to get them. I just love them :)

Ah Mondays....and a link ;)

So I had planned on doing some quilting tonight but an online training course took priority this evening. It's one I'll be attending all week so I'm hoping that I will not need to spend all my free time working on it. I do plan on doing lots of quilting on the weekend though :)

Here's the link to Chezzetcook Modern Quilts which is so beautifully put together by Adrienne. She is also hosting the Library Project Challenge. Check out her blog and fellow quilters blogs for the beautiful quilts and quilted items. Always gives me inspiration and another item to add to my growing list of projects :)

://chezzetcookmodernquilts.blogspot.ca/2014/03/the-library-project-qal-march-report.html

Link up for March

I am a little behind schedule with my quilt. I ended up being away for a few weeks this month and worked quite a few extra hours. I am quilting the Scrappy Log quilt on my machine now. I believe I am about 1/3 of the way through. I am hoping to do a lot of quilting this weekend. I did not want to take the quilt out of my machine until I'm finished quilting the center. So I don't have a progress picture for it as of tonight. Hopefully the quilt center will be complete by the end of the weekend and then I'll add a picture of it to this post.

While being away for my work, I took my Fat Quarters for my next quilt and cut up 3 out of the 8 Fat quarters. So at least I'm a few steps further for the future quilt Funfetti. I'm not sure exactly on when I'll start this one but being prepared should make the piecing go quickly :)

I also stopped by a fabric store and purchased a few items. I bought some stencils which I'm thinking about trying in the Scrappy Logs quilt. I've never used any before so I'm slightly nervous especially since this quilt is a gift. Here's a picture of my new goodies to add to my stash :)

Times are getting busy. I'm getting married in less than a month! I need to be hitting the gym for the next little while too. Here's to hoping I have some quilting time next week to complete Scrappy Logs quilt :)

Happy Quilting!

So as promised. I finished quilting my center this evening. So here is a picture of the quilt so far. I just need to decide if I'm going to quilt the border or just put a binding on. Decisions, decisions. I hate to take away from the beauty of the quilt top with the quilting which is why it was done extremely simple.

Quilting Nook

So I was called into work yesterday so I wasn't able to quilt until late last night. I am almost 1/4 of the way through quilting Scrappy Logs. I plan on working on it more today but unfortunately I leave for one week tomorrow to work away so doing any more work on it will only happen next weekend. So I packed my small cutting board, rotary cutter, small ruler and the Fat Quarters for my Funfetti quilt that is on my library project list.

Also packed ziploc bags so I can store all my pieces separately after cutting them. It's one of the methods I use to keep all my pieces organized and I tape post-its so I can write what quilt they are for and any other important information.

Here's a picture of my quilting nook and Scrappy Logs quilt is on my machine :)

I'm not sure what my next project will be since I'm thinking about Adrienne's idea from Chezzetcook Modern Quilts where she made a pillow as a side journey away from making a quilt. I'm determined to finish Scrappy Logs but I'm also thinking that maybe I would like to work on a smaller project before starting the next quilt. So I'm not sure which project I will quilt next. Maybe one of the smaller projects on my Library List or maybe a pillow that I've had my eye on. Either way, I think a small project may be in the works for the next project after finishing this quilt.

And the Quilting Begins

I finished basting the Scrappy Log Quilt last night so I was able to start quilting this evening. I'm using invisible thread for this project since I don't want the quilting to stand out as much as the fabric used. I seem to always forget how difficult it can be when attempting to quilt a large quilt. Hopefully I will be finished the quilting part by the weekend. I'll need to purchase more thread in the next few days to finish. I'll also need to figure out what I will use for the binding. So many decisions!

I have plans to take my small cutting board, rotary cutter and the Fat Quarters for the next project while I am away for work next week. This way I can hopefully start cutting the pieces for the next quilt while I am away instead of shopping for more fabric. I am constantly trying to use up fabric from my stash. I have bought some more red prints for my spouse's quilt which I have 1/3 cut for that quilt. Little by little, I should have all my quilting list done :)

Embroidery....a new obsession

So I am away visiting family for a few days and I decided that I wanted to visit one of the sewing spots near where my family lives. So off me and my mom went to see this sewing shop. Beautiful spot and I had an opportunity to use Husqvarna's Platinum 16 long arm quilter. It was quite wonderful since I've never had an opportunity to use one before. I did like it but I also checked out the Embroidery machines as well. The Husqvarna's Topaz 20, I have seen in action since a family member has showed me how hers worked over Christmas. And by being at this store, the owner showed me a lot more that can be done with the embroidery machine that I didn't even know was possible. I am extremely considering this machine to be a future purchase.

On another note, I was reading a post over on Chezzetcook Modern Quilts and Adrienne was talking about going through her scraps and cutting up useable pieces out of them. I have this system in place, where I cut my scraps as I'm cutting up pieces for a quilt. They are pieces for Crazy Quilts, 2" squares, 2-1/2" squares, 5" squares, red and cream colour prints for a Galaxy Quilt. Plus one basket for larger size prints that could go back into my stash that are smaller than half a meter. Here's how my cutting area looks.

I have some organizing left to do on my other space in this room where my sewing machine and ironing board are located. I also may purchase a smaller ironing board in the future that will take up less space for when I'm just ironing small pieces for my quilt tops.

This hobby has become quite an addiction. I'll be putting my change away to purchase an embroidery machine in the future :)

Basting....

Well I didn't get as much accomplished this weekend as I would have liked. Just a busy weekend fundraising money for the local SPCA and getting all the regular weekend stuff done. I am basting my quilt sandwich together. I'm close to being finished. I'll need to pin for another couple of hours but then I can start quilting finally :) I'll be away for the majority of the rest of the week but I may take my fabric for the Funfetti quilt and start cutting the pieces for that quilt just so I don't fall too far behind schedule.

There's just not enough hours in the day to do all of what I want to do :)