Starry, Starry Night

It seems everyone in my quilting circle is working with brights these days; case in point, these wonderful Wonky Stars that Anne has spent a little time with.

She recently reconnected with a friend from years ago who is also a quilter. Claire is now finding it difficult to sew so Anne offered to complete a small quilt that she had started.

I haven't met Claire, but she sounds like a talent, not only creating exceptional quilts but dying some of her own fabrics too, like these blues.

A stack of bright yellow stars came home with Anne after her visit and the challenge was to finish them up,...

...determine the final layout and then get it quilted and bound; it is to be a gift for a mutual friend. It turned out beautifully.

The scrappiness extended into the border where she incorporated several of the yellows used in the stars. The blue with the white dotted swirls was Anne's contribution and it really works nicely. Very Van Gogh.

It was quilted with a sun pattern that Anne says couldn't be more perfect for it's recipient, so she's pretty pumped about that.

Here's another shot of the quilting.

Sew lovely. What a great friend...M

Jane Joins Me In The Land of Teenie Tiny

Several weeks ago as I was preparing to head out to Jane's cottage for the day she texted asking if I could bring 1.5" strips of brights along. I thought it was a typo because she usually doesn't work that small, but after checking, it was indeed 1.5" strips that she was after. I was happy to oblige.

She had started hand stitching little 3" blocks like this, using a wide variety of prints that read like solids.

And by the time I got there she had already made great progress. Ah, the joy of scrappy.

She's been sewing away and enjoying all of those brights.

It reminds me of those gorgeous hexies that Sandy made earlier this year.

Well, she's now got 289 blocks prepped and has started putting them together with one colour block running into the next - improv and rather like a colour wash. 

It sounds like it's going to be about 45" x 57" - not a full quilt but one to hang on her bedroom wall. It's going to be gorgeous! I love having company in the land of teenie tiny....M

Tree Planting #bushfireblocks

When I was in my teens my dad was a Cub leader and my sister Betty and I helped out. We did lots of fun things to help in the development of those boys but the one thing that really stands out was a day we planted trees. It was about giving back and looking to the future, even if you were only 6 or 7 years old. Today I live about 20 minutes from the fields where those evergreens were planted. They are thriving, mature trees and every time I drive by I am reminded of the difference a small group can make, and for the long term.

Undoubtedly you have seen and heard coverage of the devastating fires that have been consuming Australia since last August. The country is burning and the losses are inconceivable - lives, livestock, wildlife, livelihoods and homes. So many helplessly watch as their world disappears.

Sunday I saw a facebook post from the Wollongong Modern Quilt Guild about the ravages to their state and their efforts to make quilts to ease some of the suffering; they have sent out a call for quilters interested in helping out. So today, in -26⁰ C weather and under a couple of feet of snow, I am again planting trees.

A symbol of growth, tree blocks are the guild's block of choice; any block you like works as long as it is 12.5" square and has a low volume/white/pale grey background. The quilts will be beautiful and diverse, just like their communities. Mail blocks to arrive by the end of February to:
     Woolongong Modern Quilt Guild
     P.O. Box 54
     Jamberoo, New South Wales
     AUSTRALIA 2533

I landed on improv trees. I loved making them for this quilt and was keen to play with them again. Given the size of the block, I decided to try making a small grove of trees instead of just one per block and I wanted to use bright and uplifting fabric. This Kaffe Fassett green fit the bill.

You have to be careful when piecing these blocks to ensure that you sew the branches and trunks in the proper order or you end up in a pickle, so once I had cut the background I laid everything out and methodically worked through it...

one piece...

at a time.

Voila! Block number one.

Then I used the trimming from the first block in the second.

It is hard to see but I also worked in two additional cream prints.

And here is block number two. Originally these trees were going to fill more of the left side of the block than be centred but at the last minute I trimmed a piece of white from the right and added it to the left side. I think I should have left well enough alone, but it still works.

I'm really happy with them - they remind me of saplings with that fresh green that you only see in the spring - and hopefully bring a sense of rebirth to the ultimate user of the quilt(s) that they are sewn into....M

Looney Tunes

Well, either I have gremlins in my sewing room or I am just going looney (right now the safe money is on the latter). I had made a bit of progress on my wonky baskets and wanted to see what they all look like together, but apparently that was a big ask.

I was certain that the two original blocks were together in the sewing room but when I picked up what I thought was 'them' it was only one. Whaaaaaat? So the search was on. I mean really - how far could it have gone? I had only just made it! I got into such a tizzy that if I hadn't had photographic proof that the block existed I would have seriously doubted that it did. I know my sewing room is in need of a tidying up, but this was ridiculous.

Just before I went off the deep end I found it sitting on a chair just outside the room. Sheesh. I am literally becoming a basket case.

So now there are four blocks and there's a fifth under construction.

When it is finished I will definitely pay attention to where I lay it down....M

Getting a Handle on Things

Somewhere in my sewing room are a dozen scrappy, wonky baskets. They had lived on my design wall for a time but then were 'safely' packed away to who knows where when I needed to use the wall. The big question is where.

I've been mulling over how to complete them and looking at lots of ideas for flowers and handles that could be used to fill them, but it needed to be a simplified design so that everything didn't become a jumbled mess. Then I found this wonky basket tutorial. It answered my questions about how to build the blocks (the basket bottom would align with the edge of the block) and I realized that I could piece the backgrounds, inserting the occasional soft floral instead of filling them with flowers. All I needed was to figure out how to sew the handles. Brilliant, but where were those pieced baskets?

Long story short, I have ripped my sewing room apart from top to bottom several times now and they continue to elude me so, before I went totally crazy, I sewed a few new ones.

The handles are made with bias strips so my surplus bindings will be perfect for this - I just have to trim them a little narrower. I started with green polka dots but from the get-go something just wasn't right. The tutorial suggests pressing the curve and then sewing down the handle by machine, doing the inside edge first. It just seemed to be fighting me so I opted to hand sew them thinking that I would have more control.

After ripping out my first attempt and switching to a lighter thread I was optimistic but by the time I finished the first edge I could just tell that the outside edge wasn't going to sit right no matter how well I pressed it. And then the penny dropped. This particular binding was cut on the straight of grain and not on the bias; little wonder that it didn't have the flexibility it needed. Time to rip things out again!

So, after all of that, my first basket is complete and a second handle is now prepped and ready to go. One block is rectangular and the other closer to square, but that's okay - I will build the top around the blocks that I end up with.

Time to get my blood pressure back to normal and sew down that handle. Hope you enjoy some hand sewing today too, but without all of the aggro.....M

A Big, Big Bee

If you are looking for a special way to celebrate Canada's 150th birthday, the gals at The Canadian Quilters Association have hit upon a great idea. They are planning a HUGE quilting bee - maybe Canada's biggest ever - to create 1,000 quilts. That's big!

Over 88 guilds from across the country are participating in Canada's Big Quilt Bee but you don't have to belong to a guild to get in on the fun. It all culminates in a four-day quilt bee at Quilt Canada 2017 in Toronto from June 14 - 17.

It's not only a lofty goal (pardon the pun), it's for a great cause. The plan is to donate two quilts to every room at Ronald McDonald Houses across Canada, which provide families of sick children with a home to stay at while their child is being treated at a nearby hospital. These are extended stays, often as long as six months to a year, so when they leave for home they can take their handmade quilty hug with them.

They are asking anyone interested to make Slab blocks or quilts using Cheryl Arkinson's pattern - lots of fun, improv stitching.

For an extra sesquicentennial touch, they are asking that each block include one piece of fabric from four different Canada 150 fabric lines specially designed by various manufacturers. I found these three pieces and have incorporated the two on the right into each of my blocks.

My blocks have a very patriotic feel - all reds with a little white tossed in for interest. The blocks finish off at 12", so they are big, and come together quickly.

For full details visit the Canada's Big Quilt Bee; you'll find everything that you need to know there if you're interested in helping out. Remember, you can give one block, or two, or enough to make a full quilt top (there are two different size options); the deadline is May 30.

So, my Valentine this year is to finish off the last of my 12 blocks. Fittingly, I will be wearing my 'Ronald McDonald' socks as I sew, a snazzy Christmas gift from Finland that I received from my brother and his wife a few years ago....M

The Other Half of the Pile

You saw my collection of little four patches that emerged from the scraps that I dug out from the corner of my cutting table. Well, I've also put together 35 crumb blocks with the remainder. It boggles the mind because that pile just did not look big at all.

Granted, I dug into my red and green scrap bins just a bit to round things out, but really, a quilt's worth of crumbs sitting on the corner of my table?! Ah, the power of the pile!

I started out making 5" blocks but increased them to 6.5"; they will finish off at 6".

There are several that are really crumby...

and then there are some with larger swaths of colour to help everything breathe a bit. I found that if I just put a few together at a time I got more variety with the layouts, otherwise they all seemed to start looking the same. At times it felt like the pile would never disappear (initially I thought that I might have enough for a runner - ha!) but a little stick-to-it-ness paid off.

Originally they were all side by side on the design wall but they weren't looking like much so I've spaced them out a bit which I think lets the individual blocks shine a bit more, so I will sew them with a narrow sashing. It's not a huge quilt but will be fun to use on the sofa; I think I'll call it Crumby Christmas.

I've also found the perfect backing for it - this Debbie Mumm snowman print. I cannot even begin to imagine how old it is but it works nicely and it will be nice to get it used....M

Snowballs For My Backing

You know how quilters love to pet fabrics? Well, consider this a virtual fabric petting session.

I found a great fabric for the backing of my improv trees online for a great price in Hancock's sale bin so I took a chance that the colours would work and ordered it. By the time you pay duty, and with the low Canadian dollar, it really doesn't make good sense for me to order from the States, but the stars aligned for this one. Happy I took the chance because it's going to be perfect (it's the piece on the left).

Like the binding fabric, this one too had the word 'snowball' in the name of it, 'snowballs and diamonds' maybe; it's from Marcus Fabrics. I can't remember, but I really do like it. It's warm enough without being overpoweringly beige. Interestingly, I didn't notice the subtle overall almost bias gingham the pattern creates until I took this pic; if you squint a little you really see it. Even more reason to like it.

And, since I had depleted the creams and whites in my stash, I made a quick stop in Stedmans on the way home from a business trip to Toronto last week. They had fat quarters on sale so it was a bit of a no brainer and I found a few extra pieces to add to the pile.

That lovely orange Philip Jacobs floral came with my Hancock's order - I just couldn't resist - as did the pale blue Anna Griffin floral at the bottom of the pile. Another great deal, which is good because I needed enough for the backing of a project that I haven't even started!....M