About me and admiring some lovely batik fabrics

I had to laugh while reading one of my older posts from April/2014.  I was thinking of re-introducing myself and updating details to fit my current life situation.  The thing is, as I read the post, I was thinking it sounds like I could have written it now instead of back in time.  Not much has changed...  

Background about me:  Quilting is still right in the middle of everything I do...I admit to being obsessed with quilting, but there are many other things I do as well.  I am a wife and mother of three, a daughter, a son and an adult stepson, who has given us two grandchildren (a boy and a girl).  I have an aging parent (my father passed away about 6yrs ago) and siblings who have children of their own (now all adults and having children of their own).  I still work full time and now I do a lot more quilting for others on the side (now with a longarm).  I just recently, a year ago this past May, purchased a home in Acton.  I am in the process of renovating it, planting trees and other landscaping.  The renovations are probably about 90% done and I am really only getting started with the landscaping.  For my quilting I make many quilts that I donate and shortly after joining the Halton Hills Quilter's Guild I became an executive member.  First doing the workshop coordinator, and now this past year, the President.

So as you see and as my post of 2014 stated, it can get pretty hectic around here.  Through it all my family is still very supportive of my need to include quilting in my life.  When I need some down time to sew a few stitches, they understand. Otherwise, I consider us to be your typical Canadian family with a whole lot of ups and some downs.

I hope that helps you get to know me a bit and helps you understand, maybe, where I am coming from when I write my posts.  There may be times, like this week, where I am busy doing other things in my life that have to be done, but even if I don't have time to physically quilt, you can bet that I am thinking and dreaming of quilting...lol

So...to give you a bit of eye candy and add some quilt related content, here is a back in time to July 26/2019: 

This is a quilt made by a friend Mary.  I absolutely love her variety of batik fabrics.  Some of them are so unique.  Close up of the fabrics.  I like that light floral batik fabric at the bottom right hand side and that fern border.....nice.

This next picture is a close up of the quilting.  This quilt is quilted with Whisper from Urban Elementz.

Here is the completed quilt, only needing the binding.  Lovely, isn't it?  Nice lap size quilt.

Now to get going on starting my renos.  Enjoy your weekend everyone!  Keep safe and have fun.

More show and share at the Guild meeting

Today!  Yeah, it's Friday!  And for me it's a Friday of the start of my week long vacation!  Wooohooo!!  I just finished work, I'm going to write this post, go to see about dinner. take the dog for a walk and take it easy the rest of the night, as this weekend I start on the renos.  This week I am aiming to completely finish the kitchen, with tile backsplash, hood fan installation, baseboards, some plaster and finally painting the ceiling, walls, doors and baseboards.  

It will be a busy week and likely little time for quilting.  BUT, to reward myself, my mom and I are going to join in on the local Quilt store's Shop Hop that is going on all the month of July.  I've divided up the amount of stores and the Saturdays in the month and aim to hit them all.  If I don't make it, it is not due to the lack of trying...lol.  It has been so long since we've been driving around the back roads visiting quilt stores or antique malls...covid has put a damper on that sort of thing.

Since there has been no quilty things going on today, unless you count cleaning up my sewing room work areas, enjoy the back in time to June 24th/2019:

A continuation from yesterday's post...from the Halton Hills Quilter's Guild meeting.  

Another friend Susan P. made this lovely quilt.  It's in the form of a bar quilt with lots of 9-patches and half-square triangles.  My apologies for the quality of the picture.  The lighting in the basement of this church is not great.  The fabrics are beautiful and bright Kaffe Fassett.

Here is the third quilt from Maryann.  This one used up some scrappy 2 1/2" squares with a soft creamy background.

Back at this time I was fairly busy with trying to get my gardens in order, planting a couple trees and lots of customer quilting going on, that I didn't get much of my own work finished.  I did get a good amount of progress on some of my quilts (works in progress - WIPs), but no finishes. 

Quilt inspiration, two gorgeous quilts made by a friend

Today after work, I headed out to meet some old work friends, part of the original group of girls, for our dinner night out.  It is always nice getting out with the girls and catching up with what everyone is doing.  I haven't any quilting things that I worked on today, other than sorting out some pictures, so I will just get right to the.....

Back in time:

It was June 24/2019 at the Halton Hills Quilter's Guild meeting where my friend Maryann showed her quilts at show and share.  She made three of them this particular time.  This first one, I have to apologize for the quality of the pictures.  The colours are so earthy and the pictures do not do the quilts justice.

This first one is a simple block that takes the colour inspiration from the large border fabric separating the last row of blocks.  I like the idea of this large border.  I am thinking that the centre blocks would fit the size of the top of the mattress and the large border would do the profile of the mattress, followed by another row of blocks to finish it off.

This next picture is a closer look at the border fabric that the colours were chosen from.  Again I apologize for the quality of the picture.  Up close the border is a unique flower vine.

Here is a close up of the quilting.  It's a feather with a swirl, called Feather Grande from Urban Elementz.

This next quilt is also a simple block and really effective in different shades of black, grey and beiges.  It's the same block.  A star within a star.  They all look different depending on the colour placement.

Here is a close up of the quilting.  This one is called Cropped Circles from Urban Elementz.

Both of these quilts are versatile and can be made up in any colourway.  The first one you can pick your own feature fabric and pull coordinating fabrics for the blocks.  I'll show you the third quilt tomorrow...

Looking back and seeing the progress

For the past month or so, I started to have my morning tea and start the day with some handwork before I have to login for work.  I have been enjoying the quiet time and making a more consistent amount of progress on my hexie quilt.  As I was looking back in time through my photos, I came across this one from July 9/2019.  This was the last picture I took of this, before I had to take it off the design wall in preparations for our moving/packing.  This was at the time where I was with the top.

I have been making slow progress on this quilt as I didn't have much time to sit and do handwork, so it was an off and on again type thing.  But, as I look back, I realize that I have come quite a ways on this.  I guess this back in time business really helps to see it and you get to have a flash of progress without having to wait all that time in between.

About a couple of months ago I finished off adding the last few diamonds to the top half of the hexagon quilt.  That was when a really got excited and decided to try my best to work on this handwork more consistently.

It makes a difference, because just in the last couple of months working about 30-45 minutes most mornings, I have been able to get these florets with border and partial diamonds in this next picture done.  That's a lot in my eyes.

I have only two more floret pieces to do, to complete this left side border of the quilt!  I am so excited and that keeps me motivated to continue.  I am also trying really hard not to get distracted by pulling out any of my other handwork projects.  Since I unpacked my sewing room back in Feb/2022, I have stuck to it. One handwork at a time....it's not like I have any other hands to do more than the one at a time anyways...lol

Enjoy.

It worked!! Let's get started

Since my last post back in June/2019 there has been so much happening...I hardly know where to start.  So for now, I am going to start back in the past where I left off...

So...just so that you know the timeline, anything I write that is current, will just be written as usual and anything that I write about from where I left off, I will put a notation "Back in Time".  It may be weird at times talking about stuff that I am doing from both time periods, but that may also make it interesting.  Interesting in the sense that you won't be bored seeing the day to day small progress on a large quilt or project that I have finished or still in the process of doing.  We will see how it goes...I may decide to change this as I go along...

Hope you enjoy it.

Back in Time:

Some time in April/2019 I believe it was American Patchwork and quilting magazine came out with a quilt along pattern.  A quilt designer came up with a quilt to use up smaller pieces and you could do it a planed colour way or scrappy.  The block finished as 2 1/2" square, using two strips that measured 1 1/2" wide by 2 1/2" long, sewn together to make the 2 1/2" squares.  I wasn't looking to start another quilt, but you know how it goes...  I thought that this one would use up a bunch of scraps.  I am always looking for patterns to use up what I have and keep the scraps in check.  

In my case and my mom's case, we decided that we didn't want to cut up all those small pieces.  Instead, I changed up the pattern some, by enlarging the block to 3 1/2" square and using up my thin strings, so that I didn't need to cut up any fabric.  It worked out great!  

This was the side of my sewing table where I had my scraps out in piles of light and dark.  The left hand black baskets are holding the finished blocks. One basket for the light blocks and one for the dark ones.

It takes me a while to do quilts with pieces this small, so instead of making you wait, I am showing you my mom's quilt that she finished not long after the sew along happened.  Mine is the same, just using my own scraps, so there are some variances and our borders are completely different.  I'll show you mine when that timeline comes up...but don't hold your breath...it may be a while...lol.

Here is a closeup of the quilting.  I quilted it using a Baptists Fan pattern.  Spacing is about 1/2"-3/4".  Don't you just love that texture?

For my own enjoyment and recording timelines, I am adding this photo of my four legged baby girl.  Her name is Maddie.  She is a Vizsla.  She was at doggie daycare on this day in 2019 and they were doing pet photos.  The pets got to have ice cream too!  Lol...what we do for our animals.  Isn't she soooo cute!  I think so.

Enjoy today, this beautiful day, the first day of Summer here in Canada.

Hi my old friend

I am not sure I am ready for this, but I really miss blogging.  I am thinking of starting up again...

It's been a while...since 2019 in May when Blogger was implementing some changes and Apple was too...between them both it made it difficult for me to post.  Apple wouldn't allow access to blogger for my photos and later I wasn't even able to post from my Apple tablet...what a pain it was...it was no longer enjoyable and I can't write a post if I can't include photos...what is the point in that...

In any case, I figure I am going to be set for a long while with topics, going back in history and uploading my photos since May/2019 until now.  It will be a bit more work, as I take my photos from my tablet, and send them in an email to myself, in order to upload them on my computer (not Apple), so that I can post to my blog from my computer.  

But I am wanting to give it a go...

This will be my test run to see if it works.  I am uploading a picture of a quilt I quilted on my longarm for the Halton Hills Quilters Guild back in March/2019.  Some of the members got together and made the blocks.  It turn out quite lovely.  I love scrap quilts.  This block is one I want to make some day, called disappearing hour glass.  I quilted the top using Jessica's Swirl.

My 2019 UFO list - 7 left to achieve my goal. Final totals

**My 2019 UFO list - Starting the year with 41 UFOs, goal is to reduce this to 15**

1. Witch/pumpkin wall hanging (my own)
2. Reconstructed 1st & 2nd bow tie quilt (my own)
3. Reconstructed bright 6-point stars quilt (my own)
4. Gathering flowers quilt (my own)
5. Mel's romance & roses quilt (family) 
6. Hexagon quilt (my own).           
7. To grandmother's house we go (my own)        
8. Wild & goosey quilt (charity)
9. 30s fabric Omigosh quilt (no destination, yet)  

10. Tumalo squares quilt (no destination, yet)    

11. Monkey wrench quilt (my own)

12. Mini blocks log cabin (my own)

14. Summertime sampler wool wall hanging (my own)
15. Simply arranged wool wall hanging (my own)

16. Plus quilt (charity)

Waiting for quilting:

1. Reconstructed Dresden plate quilt (my own).
2. Stashbuster's ugly/sunshine BOM quilt (no destination, yet)

3. Tiny town quilt (my own)

4. Traditional 3-way BOM quilt (charity)

5. Freehand 3-way BOM quilt (charity)

6. Radiant braid star quilt (no destination, yet)
7. Modern 3-way BOM quilt (charity)

Total number of quilts completed - 32

Total number of quilts added - 13

Total number of quilts left to be completed to achieve my goal - 7

Quilts completed:

1. NICU Blue rail fence quilt

2. NICU Easy street purple star quilt #1
3. NICU Easy street purple star quilt #2
4. NICU Easy street alternate block quilt

5. NICU Burgandy log cabin quilt
6. NICU Wild & goosey quilt

7. Scrappy flying geese quilt (charity)   
8. Scrappy mountain majesties #1 (charity)
9. Scrappy mountain majesties #2 (charity)
10. NICU Scrappy strips quilt (charity)
11. NICU Red lattice quilt (charity)

12. NICU 4-patch rails quilt (charity)

13. NICU Pastel log cabin quilt (charity)

14. NICU Whirligig quilt (charity)

15. NICU Blue X quilt (charity)

16. NICU Purple pinwheel quilt (charity)

17. NICU Spider web quilt (workshop & charity)

18. NICU Checker board quilt (charity)

19. NICU Diamond chain quilt (charity)

20. NICU Pinwheel on diagonal quilt (charity)

21. NICU Blue & green 4-patches quilt (charity)

22. NICU Blue checkerboard quilt (charity)

23. NICU Green & red hearts quilt #2 (charity)

24. NICU Green & blue checkerboard quilt (charity)
25. NICU Chainlinks gone pinwheel quilt (charity)

26. Sew many strings quilt (my own, for now)
27. Scrappy Carolina chain quilt (charity)
28. NICU Green & red hearts quilt #1 (charity)
29. Gifted charm pack quilt (charity)

30. Tumbling blocks quilt (charity)

31. Red 9-patch quilt (charity)

31. Bonus Carolina blocks quilt (charity)