Back at it with the houses

After taking a bit of a break from the houses to work on an idea that struck me yesturday, I decided to get back at it with the houses.  I was a bit curious regarding how many houses I needed to do this quilt that I was thinking of.  This quilt is intended to be 40" x 40" and I had a specific idea that I wanted to do for the borders and such.  I took out the houses that were already completed in pairs and the new ones that I completed on Friday's sew and chat day.  To my surprise, once I calculated how many houses I needed, I realized that I had more than enough houses made to complete this small quilt.  There is definitely another house quilt in my future, as I have three stacks of house parts, still to make.....lol

Today after work, I drafted up a diagram for the houses and decided where I wanted to put in some trees.  Then I started assembling the trees.  This one I thought was cute.  I didn't realize it until it was almost complete that there is a frog, smack dab in the middle of the tree...lol.  How funny is that!!

This here is the second version of a tree in my neighborhood of houses.

I was on a roll, so kept assembling the trees, then added the spacers between the houses where needed, to have each row measure the same.

I was having so much fun, that after groceries and dinner, I had another burst of energy, so came back to complete the construction of this neighborhood.  The grass is in, separating the rows of homes, and the first border is attached all the way around.  Take a few minutes and explore this neighborhood.  Did you see what's peeking out of the doors?  Check them all out and see what you can find!!

The next border is going to be the icing on the cake.  Wait until you see what I have for it!!  It may take me a couple of days, but just wait for it, it will be cute!

Take care everyone and don't forget to take some time for yourself.

My heartfelt extras

Through the process of making the Heartfelt quilt, there ended up being a couple of extra blocks that did not make the cut, when assembling the original.  They were added to the orphan blocks containing.  Recently, I went through this container and pulled out a total of 18 various combinations, to make quilts for charity.  

Yesturday, a thought came to me about three blocks in particular.  You may say that they were speaking to me....lol.  I had put them aside and counted them as three individual items, but the thought was that they are all red, white with some pink.  So, why not put them together and make one quilt.  This instantly reduces my list by two, which is a win, win, for me.  

When I am using orphan blocks, I never really know what the quilt will look like in the end.  It's more of a try this here and that there, or reverse the position....  You know what I mean?  Until I actually start sewing them together, anything goes.  Even then, it's not finite.   

Here is how the process went.  It started with a drawing and two blocks that both measured 9" square, so that was a good start.  I decided that I also wanted this to be in the shape of a heart.  I placed them side by side and added the third block below them.  This third block is a cake plate block, which just so happens to be on a diagonal, so it naturally finished off the point at the bottom of the heart.  At first the heart looked a bit boxy, until I decided to add the small bits on the side of the 9" squares.  

By this point I figured I had enough of a pattern to start sewing.  Then I needed the two humps at the top and decided a simple hour glass unit would do the trick.  I also wanted the perimeter to stand out with either red or dark pink.  That is when the cake plate block received the pink borders at the bottom edges.  I had to keep this simple, so instead of trying to fit small blocks to fill the space between the middle section and the cake plate block, I just did a square in a square effect, so that it would be easier to work with.

 

Then I needed to bridge the gap from the dark pink edge of the cake plate block to the lower edge of the section above to close off the heart shape.  Again, keeping it simple, I decided to do a half square in red strings.  I did the white part bigger then I needed so that I could take my time and match up the most important parts, to form the heart shape.  Then cut away the extra white.

All quilted and bound!!  What do you think?  Do you like it?  I'm happy with it.  Three orphan blocks used in a quilt and off my works in progress list.  Now I am down to 57.  I am hoping that, as I go along, there may be some others that can be combined to reduce the list faster.  This quilt is going to Project Linus.  It's a NICU quilt and will go to a hospital, to cover the small baby incubators, to keep the bright lights down.

Take care everyone.

Friday's sew and chat day with the HHQG

I had a very nice time at the Friday's sew and chat day with the HHQG.  We were six of us, that showed up for the first sew & chat of the 2025/26 Guild year.  Everyone working on their own thing.  I brought a few things with me to work on.  Didn't know how much I could get done in the day, so preferred to have more, then run short of stuff to do.

We did some sewing and chatting from about 9:30am-3:00pm, and I primarily worked on the houses that I spoke about in a previous post.  All together, I made 28 of them.  Whoohoo!!  That is good progress.  I started with 5 stacks of house parts, and finished one full stack.  So assuming they all have about the same amount, I have another 100-112 left to go.  I know I will not need this many for this current quilt I have planned, so there will definitely be another house quilt in my future....

Did you see the HST (half square triangles) above, in the bottom left hand corner?  For each of the houses, constructing the roof, yields two HSTs.  That makes 56 HSTs to add to my Ocean Wave quilt pile.  This is the best way to accumulate them.  You just keep making them, as leader/enders, and they continue to pile up.

I also did a sample block of a Jean & Plaid quilt that I will be making.  This is the third item from the recently added items.  I'm off to a good start!!  Tackling 4 quilts all at once, in one day.

Yesturday was very productive!  My sister came and painted the ceilings in the quilting studio.  I installed the last of the casings around the windows, lightly sanded the first coat of paint on the peninsula, then painted the last coat.  Yeah!!  After my sister left, I spent the rest of the day cleaning up all the tools, paint cans, vacuumed, put furniture back in place and an overall clean up.  I am so happy with all that was accomplished.  Today I have some quilting to do, then maybe I can play some more with these houses.  We'll see.

Take care everyone.

Quilt-as-you-go reversable quilt

Continuing on with the post of Thursday, about tackling the orphan blocks.  By the time I sorted all the orphan blocks in the container and other bits and pieces in the other containers, I had a total of 18 items, primarily quilts, to add to my list of "works in progress".  However, when I was cleaning out some more, I came across 5 small drawers of miscellaneous panels and bits and bobs, that are waiting to be turned into something.  

Now I have to add yet another 19 more items to my list of "works in progress".  If I keep this up, I will be buried under a mountain of quilts, table runners, etc.  I'm still waiting for some of them to speak to me, about what they want to be when they grow up....lol.  In the meantime, I'll work on the stuff that I feel confident, can be put together relatively quickly.  Get them out of the way, as my brain works out what to do with the rest.  I am hoping there are no more hiding places for these things, as I am now at a two page list and that to me is a bit daunting...

The first thing from the newly added items was the houses that I spoke about yesturday.  The second item from these newly added items is this reversable quilt.  I call it quilt-as-you-go, because the blocks are already quilted, and now I am going to assemble it, in the quilt-as-you-go method, with the binding type sashing to attach the blocks from both sides at the same time. 

It looks plain right now, as it does not have the sashing on yet.  I'm hoping to cheer it up a bit with the green fabric on the left side, as the sashing for the top, and a medium solid blue for the sashing on the backside.  The sashing will form a grid on both sides.

This was laid on the "design floor" on Tuesday when I needed a break from sorting stuff.  I had these squares for a while.  They are from my samples that I make for quilting patterns.  For whatever reason, these ones were rejected, maybe due to size not fitting right, or it was a trial pattern.  Rather than throw these out in the garbage, as they're really not good for anything else, I decided to cut out all the good parts into small 4 1/2" squares and make a mosaic pattern of various quilting designs.  They are cut small enough that you don't see the whole design, so they become more of abstract art.

Below are the two separate sides.  I finished the top on Wednesday and Thursday and finalized to binding yesturday/Friday.  This quilt measures 40" x 40" and is being donated to Project Linus.  It didn't turn out too bad.  Simple, but nice.  I am sure some child will love it, to snuggle up to!

One completed of the 37 newly added items......36 more to go......lol.

Today, my sister is coming over to help me paint the ceilings in the sewing space and longarm area.  Once that is done, I can get on with things and start catching up on quilting.  It's going to be a busy day with moving furniture from here to there, so that she can paint, then back again for the second coat.

Take care everyone.

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For my own purposes.  Tally of works in progress:

A second house quilt from leftover pieces

Back on Mar 17/2023, I posted about a scrappy houses quilt, that I finished.  I just kept cutting and cutting.  I believe I still have enough pieces to make another entire quilt.....lol.  This was in a container that I used to keep beside my machine to use as leader/enders, but got put away for some reason.  Maybe because I had enough to do the first quilt, that I figured I'd take a break from them.  Either way, in my effort to clear out things around here, I pulled the pieces out and added them to a project container to be worked on. 

I'm off work today and it so happens to be the sew and chat day with the HHQG (Halton Hills Quilters' Guild).  I haven't been to one yet, as I was usually working.  So I've decided to go today and hang out with some of the guild members to sew for the day.  Fun!!  Guess what I'm bringing to work on?  You guessed it!  I am bringing my houses to see if I can make a dent in the construction of this quilt.  I'll also be bringing some 2 1/2" plaid squares, for another quilt to use as my leader/ender, but more on that one in another post.  

As for this one, I will make all those little kitted houses, then I'll cut out some parts to make trees and the grass.  For this quilt, I am also going to use up the "neighborhood" line of fabric that I have, for the borders, backing, and binding.  That ought to be cute!

I'm off to go have some relaxing time with friends, as we sew and chat.....pun intended.....lol.

Take care everyone and don't forget to take some time for yourself.

Tackling the miscellaneous orphan blocks

Yesturday after work, I took it easy for a bit.  Needed to calm my brain, have a cup of tea and chill.  As I sat in my sewing space relaxing, my eye catches on a container on the floor that I have to deal with.

As I am putting my space back in order, I'm going through what I have, to see if I can minimize what I have hanging around.  I found I had a few almost empty containers that had left over fabric, from quilts I've already finished, so that was a pleasant surprise.   One container had quite a lot of left over fabric that was already cut into 2 1/2" strips, so I pulled out a pattern that I have been wanting to make and put it with the fabric.....lol.....quilt is all cut out.....I like when that happens!

Then I reached the orphan blocks container.....the one that I spotted on the floor.  I've been avoiding this one.....for a long time.  Do you do this, or is it just me?  I don't like waste and I like to see every block have the chance to grow up and become a quilt.  Some of these blocks are extras from previous quilt projects and some have been given to me to sort out.  

I pulled everything out and sorted it by theme or colour first.  Then I tried to think of layouts.  Some were easier then others and some are still a thought being processed.  All together, I sorted the above pile into 14 different quilt possibilities.  At least half are already figured out and a few others are somewhat sketched out, with the remainder that will be worked as I go.

From a bulging container to an almost empty one....  This feels great!!  There are still a few bits and pieces, of blocks and units, left to figure out what to do with.  That will be for another day.  I'm going to concentrate on what I pulled out so far, and then come back here and see what else may have made it's way into this container.  I think that 14 will keep me busy for a while....

So over the coarse of time, you'll be seeing the progress of these little baggies.  I'll keep you up to date.  I am gearing up for the challenge!

Take care everyone.

A bit more progress on To Grandmother's House We Go

This will be a short post.  Still working away on getting back in order.  I did a "work in progress update" a couple of weeks ago on Aug 19/2025.  At the time this is where I was on the last panel to complete the blocks of the wall hanging.

From the above picture to the below picture, in a couple of evenings of chilling in front of the tv, watching a movie.  Note that the below picture shows my handwork that is not pressed, it's wrinkled, pinned and just draped over my lap.  I promise, it will look better when I finish it....lol.  When I do handwork, I don't use a hoop, so my hands easily wrinkle the fabrics, as I work.  

So as of now, I'm going to say that the tree is about 2/3 of the way complete.  From then to now does not seem like much, but it's a good amount of progress considering the time it takes to do handwork.

As for machine sewing.....well....that is going to have to wait, just a bit longer.  I have my sister coming on the weekend to help finish everything, so that I can call it done.  In the meantime, I still have a bit more painting to do.  Also, I am taking this time to revisit all the things I have in my space.  Going through the boxes, bins, shelves and cupboards.....oh my!  I am going to be at it a while yet!  

I'm doing what most people do in January to start the new year by reevaluating.  I have so many panels and left over blocks, that I can work into a quilt.  The problem is I don't remember them all.  So I am going to be making a list and resolving to get them done and out of here.  My New Years resolution, in September...lol.

Take care everyone.

Experimenting with a mustard background

I recently spoke about leader/enders in a previous post.  This too started out as a leader/ender.  This was Bonnie Hunter's July/2024 Leader/Ender Challenge.  You can get the free pattern from her blog here:  https://quiltville.blogspot.com/2024/07/2024-leader-ender-challenge-county-clare.html

I wanted to get out of my comfort zone with this quilt, so I decided to use a mustard colour for the background.  Very unusual for me!  I used scrappy raspberry through to pink colours and a variety of scrappy greens.  I decided instead, that I would do this as my primary project, or at least when I was able to do some sewing.  I did lots and lots of blocks.....then all of a sudden, I decided I didn't like it enough to make it king size.  I think the colouring is more for a younger crowd.  At the time, I saw these colours in a magazine, as a new colourway, so I'm thinking someone likes it.  But not for me.

I went with the layout that Bonnie provided with sashings and cornerstones.  It makes like a grid in the raspberry colour across the quilt.  This quilt measures 43" x 57".  Below you can see a section of four blocks and sashing.

I had so many sub blocks made, that I was able to make this next quilt as well, and I only needing to assemble 2 additional units to finish it.  This one resembles the Chandelier pattern, with additional smaller green squares running down between the raspberry squares.  I don't remember just how big this one was, but is was close to the original one above.

Here is a close up.

Believe it or not.......I still have pieces left from this leader/ender challenge.  I just don't know if I should keep them separate to make another quilt with the raspberry and green, or add them all to my stash of precut blocks.....we'll see.  I'll let you know, when I know...lol.  These two quilts went to HHQG to be distributed to someone in need.

Take care everyone.  Don't forget to take some time for yourself.

Healing Star quilt, for Vanesa at Quilts for Survivors

I am just about done with painting my sewing space.  My room is currently an obstacle coarse with all the furniture scattered throughout the room, away from the walls.  I don't have access to my machine to do much sewing.....  That is tough for me, but it will be short lived.  In the meantime I dream of quilts.

I've had to dug deep in the archives of pictures to write this post.  This quilt started out as a way to say thank you to Vanesa, who established Quilts for Survivors.  She has a heart of gold and gathers quilts for those who were affected by what happened in the residencies. 

When I first heard of what she was doing, I offered to help.  When I met Vanesa, she was going to Mel Lastman Square, with completed quilts, as part of a presentation/ceremony.  I took a box of tops from her, that she had collected from various sources along the way from her home to Toronto.  Most of which had backings and Vanesa gave me the batting.  I admire everything that she does for those who need a quilt, as a form of a hug, letting them know that there are people out their that do care.

I wanted to do something for Vanesa.  She gives so much, and I wanted to give her something to let her know that what she is doing is special.

I drafted this quilt Jan 14/2023, from something that I saw somewhere (I didn't design the star).  I can't tell you much about the design, as it was some time ago that I saw it.  A star, has meaning to the indigenous people, which is why I chose to use it.  I then chose the colours red, yellow, black and white, as those are the healing colours, in the indigenous culture.

It has taken me some time to get this done, due to many distractions and life situations.  I finally finished this quilt on Dec 10/2024.  I changed it up a bit when I got to the border, and went with a string of bricks along the perimeter lengthwise.  When I took this picture, it had just come off the longarm, so you see the batting and marking tape.  Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to take a final picture with the black binding to finish it off, before it got shipped to Vanesa.

She loved it!!  I am so glad she did.  She deserves it for all the work she does.  She contacted me to thank me and asked if I had a pattern.  There were many others that liked it and wanted to make one for themselves.  It's not a difficult pattern, as this quilt is assembled in HST block form.  You just have to pay attention to the colour placement.

Take care everyone.