Sunday Quilting

Happy to say I finished the quilting for Alice's quilt this morning. So excited this one is almost done. It's a Christmas gift and I hate trying to finish something last minute. I'm really liking how this one turned out. I had an idea for the binding a few days ago but I did go through my stash and found a couple of options :)

Here's a few pictures of the quilt that I was able to take outside.

So I've narrowed the binding down to three options. Option number #1 is this Michael Miller choice called "Kaylee" I picked this up last year to put into my mother's quilt which can be seen here.

Option #2 is this brown fabric with pink squares and circles. I cannot find any information on it but it does seem like it would work.

Option #3 is this newly added addition to my stash from my trip to Bangor, Maine. This fabric from Jessica Swift by Blend called "BLOMMA" was my original thought a couple of days ago. Now that I have it next to the quilt top, I'm not so sure.

Here's a look at the fabrics.

So what do you think? Option 1,2 or 3. Thanks in advance for your input :)

Julia

What a week!

Sorry I've been a little absent last week. I was away for work for the week so I didn't get any sewing in until I returned home at the end of the week. I was having withdrawals! It was very exciting when I returned since I had numerous packages waiting to be opened :) Including birthday presents since my birthday was on Thursday :)

On my return trip from the city, I stopped in Avonport. I was the first customer since I arrived 15 mins before they opened. And the lovely ladies opened 10 mins early :) I was trying not to spend too much time there since I had appointments back home but I did manage to pick up a few things. It was my birthday and so I figured I could justify the purchases :)

Here are the lovely items....

First up, is this Animal Parade Book. It is completely adorable and I can't wait to make a quilt from this book! Maybe in the New Year ;)

Next up, are these pretty fabrics. I love the discount bin at Avonport! And these were just too cute to not pick up.

Last but definitely not least, were these patterns.

I can see making a few of those Handy Who for gifts. Way too cute!

When I returned home, I had all these packages waiting for me :) My husband was starting to wonder about my shopping habit. I had to explain that certain items come every month and the rest were purchases that just happened to come at the same time :)

First off, my monthly Bargain Lover's Club package came from Sew Sisters. You can see the details on this club here. Also check out their Stuff Your Stocking event. Last year was the first time I signed up and it was incredible. You can see the details of that deal here. You have to sign up for that event before Dec 1. Here is my monthly Bargain Lover's package :)

Next package was my Block Six for BOM from the Fat Quarter Shop. I'm a little behind for my blocks. I still need to make Block Five. Things just got a little too hectic this month :)

Then there was my order from Mad About Patchwork. There was a 15% off code to celebrate Mad About Patchwork's Facebook followers. So I purchased a couple of items from there :)

I picked up some of this lovely grass print from Martha Negley for Freespirit that I just fell in love with. And this Hadley charm pack by Denyse Schmidt for Freespirit. So pretty!

Then I received my Massdrop Aurifil Collection by Pat Sloan "The Perfect Box of Neutrals". I love my other collection by Tula Pink.

My hubby typically just laughs about how much fabric I have. Sometimes he tries not to think of the money I spend on fabric but I also lovely call him an "enabler"

My gifts from him was a $40 Gift card to a LQS and these....

 And he also took me shopping to a quilt shop that stocks lots of embroidery items. So I picked out the following items :)

I cannot wait to try out the Circular Attachment on my Embroidery Machine but I'm waiting until I finish a few to do quilts first. Especially the Christmas one and a quilt that I will be donating to my hometown Relay for Life to sell tickets on.

I had ordered this pattern a while back but she misplaced who she had ordered the pattern for. So it was great that it was still there and that I could pick it up.

It's a Diaper Bag with a Changing Pad attached. I thought this would be the perfect Baby Shower gift. So I'm hoping to make a gender neutral one to have on hand for the next baby shower.

I also started quilting Alice's quilt and I finished the Star Block quilt top. It was a fairly productive but busy weekend :)

I'm using my walking foot to quilt this and I have to say, I've very happy with the way it is going. So much easier to control especially with quilting flannel. Here's the Star block Quilt Top.

I also received terrific news from Sew Sisters that I won a pack of Tonga Mini Treats - Punch! I am so very excited about that. I've never won a giveaway before. Can't wait to receive them!

Well that was a recap of my week. It was a terrific week filled with lots of blogs to visit, packages, purchases, gifts, sewing, birthday wishes and ice cream cake :)

Julia

Blogathon Canada

Carol from Sew Sisters asked me to be part of the Blogathon and I am extremely excited to be part of this! So if you're just visiting my blog for the first time, Welcome :) I've been blogging for just under a year now....I will be having a giveaway for my blog's One Year Anniversary which is less than a month away, if you are interested ;)

So a little about this blog. I originally started writing and posting pictures on this blog for fun. I didn't really expect anyone to read it (besides my sister and mom!). Through this blog, I've met other bloggers and joined the Maritime Modern Quilt Guild. I've learned lots about quilting and sewing from other blogs, my guild, and many You Tube videos. I love interacting with other bloggers from different countries. Seeing someone's finish, progress or headaches tells me that I'm not alone. When I first started, I always thought the quilt had to PERFECT! I've come to realize that the imperfections in a quilt, have their own beauty.

So I hope you enjoy this small glimpse of my blog. Here's what I have been working on lately.

A quilt for Alice.

Next on the WIPs is Maple Leaf blocks.

Another WIPs are these Star Blocks.

 The layout of all 9 Star Blocks.

And a Close-Up of one of the blocks.

My latest finish was this Tahoe Tote Bag. I absolutely love it! And it has pockets! Next one will have a zipper though ;)

Well I don't want to keep you too long from enjoying the rest of the blogs on this Blogathon. Enjoy!

And don't forget to enter the giveaways from the host bloggers :) The host bloggers for the Maritimes is Linda from Scrapmaster and Linda from Stitch Lines.

Thanks for visiting! And Thank You to Sew Sisters :)

Julia

Productive Sewing Vacation

I went to visit my family in Cape Breton over the weekend. I had taken Friday and Monday off so I had two full days down there. I spent some time with the family and we sewed some too. Before I left for Cape Breton, I managed to finish the appliqué on the Chirp quilt. Here is the before picture.

And here is the After picture :)

I find the appliqué makes such a difference. It was quite a bit of extra work but definitely worthwhile! So this one just needs to be put together and quilted. Hopefully I'll have the quilt sandwich done sometime this week and have it quilted on the weekend.

I showed my sister how to do appliqué because she loves scrapbooking so I figured appliqué would be like second nature to her. And she loves it! No surprise to me :) Appliqué has worn on me as well. I won't use it all the time but I'm happy when I do. Here's a few pictures of our sewing vacation :)

There were 4 of us sewing this weekend. A few projects were done.

 A few more Maple Leaf blocks.

 I made a couple of these blocks. I will be making 7 more of these for a quilt pattern I decided to use with my 5" squares from my scraps.

 There were the mug rugs my sister made for her first appliqué. There are too cute!

And the appliqué addiction continued as she made this on Sunday....without a pattern.

Burp Bibs that my mom put together.

Love the Oh Boy fabric! Too cute.

And many receiving blankets. She's getting ready for a craft market this weekend so lots and lots of sewing.

My cousin was also sewing with us but I didn't get any pictures of her projects.

I also had a chance to pick up a few things at some quilt shops on my way home....I'll try to post those purchases in another post.

All in all, it was a good weekend. A balance between visiting and sewing. I also have two vintage Singer Sewing machines coming my way. I'll explain more about that when I receive them after Christmas.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Sunday Stitching

My neck is sore but it was a very productive Sunday! I ironed all my applique pieces on the top of the quilt and then stitched them all on today. I used a satin stitch around the letters and a blanket stitch around the flowers. I'm extremely happy with the result. Here's a few photos to show the stitches.

Sorry for the bad lighting. It has been a pretty crappy weather weekend here. So I wasn't able to get any outdoor pictures. Maybe later on in the week, I'll be able to get some outdoor pictures. So now I just have the bottom to complete. I really like what these applique pieces did overall for the quilt. It just seems to be so much more complete :)

Hope you all had a great sewing weekend!

Change of Mind

I know I just posted that I was finished the Chirp quilt top but I've changed my mind. I kept looking at it for a few days and just decided that the green top and bottom was just too blah. It was missing something. So I decided to add some applique pieces to those parts.

I decided to put the recipient's name at the top of the quilt and I cut out some flowers to fill up the rest of the space.

For the bottom, I'll be applique the rest of the flowers that I cut out. I definitely feel better about this decision than just rushing through the quilt to finish it. I love a finish but I also love to be happy with the finished quilt.

Think it was a better decision? Have you ever had a change of mind just before putting the quilt sandwich together?