Month: November 2020

Some things are not meant to be.

/ quiltinggail / 14 Comments
Sometimes things don’t work out.

Last week I said I was going to work on an “After Quilt.” Well, I did, I was trying to turn a piece into a cute stuffed animal. It was a piece of fabric that I glued hearts and teardrops on. Then I free-motioned them down. My plan was to make a cute elephant stuffy. When I sewed a couple of pieces together, it became obvious that it wasn’t going to work. The hearts and teardrops were sticking up and looked ugly. It did not work out … it couldn’t be fixed … (and some of my virtual retreat buddies agreed with me) … so into the trash it went. GASP!!!! I don’t do that! But there was no saving this one! So it died. But have no fear, it’s not going to the landfill! The useless fabric was used in stuffing another stuffy – that I will show you soon.

What’s in the Future?

Yup, I have some plans …

Mystery Quilt: Between December 26 and 31, I plan to have a mystery quilt … right here on the blog. It’ll be a smallish quilt (43″ x 43″) and it’ll be easy to have at least the top done before 2021 becomes a reality! I’ll give the fabric requirements in the near future.

Stay at Home Round Robin: Some blogging friends and I will be doing this, starting in January. More information to come.

I can show you!

This is the mystery quilt that we did at the guild! I was the “lead” for the quilt, so I HAD to make it ahead of time. But, until the guild was given the solution, I couldn’t show you. All of the fabrics were from my stash.

This is not my pattern design: it is from a book. We have permission from the author to use the patterns for the guild. If you are interested in the name of the book – contact me and I’ll tell you. I won’t say the name of the book here because I plan to do more mystery quilts for the guild from the book. And I want it to be a mystery for them!!!

Continue reading →

Virtual Retreat

/ quiltinggail / 16 Comments

This week, a bunch of us were suppose to retreat at a lovely place about a 45 minute drive from my house. There are usually 18. Then, since Covid, the facility reduced the number to 12, then to 10 and then said “no” to overnight stays. But they offered us “Day” retreats where we could go out to sew, go to a restaurant to eat and go home at night. Uh, no thank you … I probably live the closest to the facility and many of the others have about 1.5 hr drive. And who wants to drive home in the dark on a stormy November night? None of us. And, in the end, we would have had to cancel anyhow because of further Covid restrictions.

SEW … since we’re lamenting that we can’t retreat in person … I bit the bullet and paid for 1 month of unlimited Zoom. Everyone that is part of our core group and a few others were sent the link and we Zoom and sewed away for 4 days.! That’s a LONG time for a Zoom quilting retreat!!!

However, it seems like everyone got a lot of sewing done. One lady said, “I got way more done staying home because I wasn’t up wandering from table to table to chat with everyone!”

It was a LOT of fun to “see” friends that I haven’t seen for a LONG time.

SEW … you’re probably wondering what I got done. Actually quite a bit. A lot of this and a lot of that. I did finish 2 pillowcases with the John Deere fabric I bought.

Continue reading →

Catching Up

/ quiltinggail / 15 Comments

Now that some self-imposed deadlines are met, I feel like I’m catching up.

Connected Project

I haven’t mentioned this project before. Our guild decided to do the “Connected Project.” A fun project where it connects various guild members together. We’re not suppose to know what the finished block is like and although I’ve seen a Youtube videos, I don’t know exactly what my block will look like. The idea is that we are divided into groups of 8. Each of us is given a paper pieced block (with various options from simple to complex) and we make the block in the colours that are chosen by my group mates. It was fun to go through my scraps and use some of them up! I can’t show you yet … but I will show you what I’ve done when I’m allowed to.

On the right is s a picture of the scraps of fabric left after I cut the blocks into their finished sizes.

Below is the 7 envelopes all ready for the mail. AND, they are nestled into a UFO that is NOT even on my list. It was just sitting there when I was looking for something to show off the envelopes. OH my … how many more UFOs will I find when I’m not even looking for them???

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is ayhlprbyqkqgzy0haehbga_thumb_3ab5.jpg

If you look closely at my PHD list, you’ll see “connected” is not considered “Finished.” I have done my part for now. I’ve got 7 envelopes from other quilters that I get to open Dec. 1. Then I’ll be putting my block together.

Hanging Sleeve
This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is nftlzorhi6ge1ol7ulua_thumb_3ab0.jpg

In my last post (HERE), I showed you a B&W photo of a hanging sleeve using a blind hem. One lovely person asked if either Kathleen or I had a tutorial on it. Well, Kathleen, the very smart quilter that she is, has a tutorial on it. You can check out her blog post HERE. While you’re visiting Kathleen, check out her tons of tutorials. Well worth the visit!

Morewood Mystery

You can find details of the mystery quilt HERE. I’m all caught up. This is November’s clue.

Inspired by Nature Blog Hop
This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is screen-shot-2020-11-04-at-11.58.30-am.png

This week you have the opportunity to win a fat quarter bundle of Venetian Marble or Tiki Punch! Both are wonderful collections!

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is screen-shot-2020-11-21-at-4.18.41-pm.png
a Rafflecopter giveaway Design Wall Piecing:

After Quilt: This term is new to me … but I completely understood it when I heard it. It’s those bits and pieces that are left over when you finish a quilt. SEW … I’m going to be working on an After Quilt.

Scrappy 4 patches: This is in the same state that it was last week. It hasn’t moved off the design wall.

Quilting: 

Nothing happening … yet

Stash Report

A sad week in this department. A local quilt store was closing their doors … with some good sales. When I went, everything was 65% off. Can’t complain about that! One good thing: a quilting friend was right behind me in line … we chatted up a storm and the wait went quickly then!

Here’s a picture of the damage. My husband was with me when I bought the first pieces of John Deere fabric and he “ordered” me to buy more (6.5 yards). He has a plan for them … of course I’ll be doing the sewing! The blue with white polka dots is for backing baby quilts (4.5 yards). A total of 11 yards will be added into Fabric Added this year.

And yes, I bought some quilting rulers, glass head pins in a tin, and (2) 4 yard zippers by Annie (with zipper pulls).

SS yellow
  • Fabric Used this week    0 yards
  • Fabric Used this year:       279.5 yards
  • Fabric Bought this week:   0  yards
  • Fabric Added this year:      61.5 yards  (my husbands amounts as well)
  • Net Fabric used                    229.0 yards
  • Husband’s purchases: 17 yards (which are added into my total amount of Fabric added this year). For those of you who don’t know … my husband often buys more fabric than I do … so, I’m keeping track!
Stitchin’ Time

I’m aiming for at least 30 minutes a day.

  • January – Sept: 290 / 304
  • 30 min days/  Nov:   22 / 22
  • Total days in 2020: 312 / 325
  • Percentage = 96% 

For more Stitchin’ Time, you can check out Kate’s blog: Life in Pieces

TO DO 

I’m linking up to Roseanne & Sue’s “TO DO” Tuesday. Their blog is “Home Sewn by Us.”

Last week’s list:
  1. Secret project  #3 : finish quilting, bind and photos √   done
  2. Work on UFO (Scrappy 4 patches) (to flimsy stage) not done
  3. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes.  √   done (did this when Secret Project #3 was complete and I could put all the stuff away!)

Even though I didn’t get my Scrappy 4 patches to flimsy stage, I did get a couple of things completed that weren’t on the list:

  • Connected Project
  • Morewood Mystery
This week’s list:
  1. Work on UFO (Scrappy 4 patches) (to flimsy stage)
  2. Work on an After Quilt
  3. Make Pillow Cases with John Deere fabric
  4. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes

No UFOs finished.

Eekes … I didn’t add the UFO that my envelopes are nestled in … perhaps it’ll be a finish next week!

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE! Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

*****************************

Linking to:

Inspired by Nature Blog Hop: Week 3

/ quiltinggail / 5 Comments

I can’t wait to see what my fellow Island Batik Ambassadors create this week! Make sure you follow along! Scroll down for the rafflecopter link for your opportunity to win some awesome fabric!



November 23:

Connie Kauffman, Kauffman Designs
Suzy Webster, Websterquilt
November 24:

Pamela Boatright, PamelaQuilts
Michelle Roberts, Creative Blonde
November 25:

Vasudha Govindan, Storied Quilts
Leah Malasky, Quilted Delights
November 26:

Sally Manke, Sally Manke Fiber Artist
Gail Renna, Quilt Haven Threads
a Rafflecopter giveaway One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE! Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Hanging Sleeves

/ quiltinggail / 28 Comments

OK … in THIS POST, I talked about how I hate hand sewing on hanging sleeves. I really dislike hand sewing. period.

Making the sleeve is easy …

Edited

  • Measure the width of the quilt. Add 1″
  • Take the width of the quilt and cut a 8.5″ strip
  • Turn under 1/4″ on each end of the strip.
  • Sew this strip lengthwise with a 1/4″ seam.
  • Secure the sleeve to the quilt
    • sew the top of the sleeve just below the binding
    • Press the bottom of the sleeve, measure up 3/4″ on the side towards the quilt. Press
    • the last pressed line is what you fasten to the quilt (this leaves space for the rod to be inserted so that the quilt can hang

When I’ve done this for quilt shows, I’ve made the sleeves and pinned them on. They’re only going to hang for a couple of days, so I don’t need to worry about rust or too much stress.

Anyhow … after talking about how I HATE hand sewing, I had 2 comments that I thought were worth mentioning.

  • Gene Black an Alabama Artist suggested fusing the sleeve on. I think this is a great idea for a wall hanging!
  • Kathleen, from Kathleen McMusing, suggested putting them on with a blind hem and using invisible thread. I thought this was a brilliant idea.

SEW … when a gal needs to get 3 quilt sleeves on, she uses her sewing machine. As you can see, I used the blind hem stitch. There was a grey thread in the bobbin (that’s what you can see) and I had Aurifil invisible thread on top. There is NO stitching visible on the quilt! Perfect.

Continue reading →

Inspired by Nature Blog Hop: My Day

/ quiltinggail / 43 Comments

I received “Ohana” fabric collection to use for this blog hop. Aren’t the fabrics awesome?

They made me think of flowers … Well, there are pretty flowers in some of the fabrics. H I thought of the Accuquilt die that I have, “Cleopatra’s Fan.” To me, this die never made me think of a fan, but it did make me think of flowers …

SEW … off to EQ and I played around with the design and the fabrics and came up with this …

Below is some of the pieces on the Accuquilt die. I wasn’t able to lay all of the fabric out at once because I wanted specific fabrics in specific places. So each fabric was cut and placed into the sections where they were destined to go.

I did need to have reverse pieces of each fabric for this block. However, working with Island Batik fabrics, it is seldom that I can decipher the wrong side from the right side. That made it super easy! I just needed 8 pieces of each cut and I didn’t have to worry about right or wrong sides! Island Batik fabrics are pretty cool that way!

Here are all of the blocks on the design board before being sewn together and borders added.

Here’s a close up of the quilting from the front. I outlined all the shapes and quilted little 3 or 4 petal flowers in the grey neutral portions. Wavy leaves formed the border.

And from the back showing more of the border’s wavy leaves.

Once the borders were added and the quilt quilted, … I only had 2 fabrics that I had not used in the quilt … and neither of them was good as a binding. A scrappy binding just didn’t feel right for this quilt. I was given “Marble-Purple-BE” as a coordinating fabric and it is perfect for the binding. Just a hint of the dark purple frames the quilt.

Stats:

  • 54″ x 54″
  • Quilted with Aurifil #2600, light grey.
  • Binding attached with Aurifil #2581, dark purple.
  • Hobbs 80/20 batting
  • Pieced and Quilted on my Janome Continental M7 sewing machine.

Be sure to visit my Blog Hop Partner, Mania and see the quilt she made with the same fabric collection! Ohana!

Ohana should be arriving in stores soon!

Opportunity to Win

There are 3 opportunities to win some fabric! One from me and 2 from Island Batik.

From Me:

You could win scraps from 5″ x 10″ to 12″ squares of 12 Ohana fabrics. If you live in Canada, in the comment section, tell me how nature inspires (or could inspire) your quilting.

From Island Batik:

Click on the link below to have an opportunity to win Fat Quarter bundles of wonderful fabric: either Sweet Hearts or Love and Kisses

Click HERE

Disclaimer: All of the fabric and supplies (other than my sewing machine and iron) were given to me by Island Batik and the industry partners!  Thank you! 

AurifilLogo3-Website
Hobbs Logo
One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE! Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

*****************************

The Latest about Masks

/ quiltinggail / 27 Comments

Did any of you see this article from CBC Marketplace about masks? Click HERE.

After reading this article, I asked Island Batik what the thread count is for their fabric. Here’s what Elizabeth Phillips (Marketing and Graphic Design) said, “Our greige goods are the highest quality we can purchase. The thread counts are stated a little differently when buying the prepared for dyeing cotton but It’s a little higher than 600.”

So there you have it! If you’ve been making masks with Island Batik fabrics … you’ve been doing the best you can.

And yes, I’ve made masks with Island Batik fabric … here’s a picture of my purse with the matching masks!

Design Wall Piecing:

Scrappy 4 patches: The setting triangles are added as well as the first border. I need to dig out some fabric and audition it for the 2nd border. This needs to be bigger. At the moment, it’s 38″ x 44″ … if I add a 4″ border, that will make it 46″ x 52″. I’ll be happier with that size!

Quilting: 

About the secrets … Secret #1 & #2 are done … #3 is almost finished. Then I’ll add the hanging sleeves (with a blind hem and invisible thread) to #2 and #3.

Stash Report

No finished projects, no shopping …

SS yellow
  • Fabric Used this week    0 yards
  • Fabric Used this year:       279.5 yards
  • Fabric Bought this week:   0  yards
  • Fabric Added this year:      50.5 yards (my husbands amounts as well)
  • Net Fabric used                    229.0 yards
  • Husband’s purchases: 11.5 yards (which are added into my total amount of Fabric added this year).
Stitchin’ Time

I’m aiming for at least 30 minutes a day.

  • January – Sept: 290 / 304
  • 30 min days/  Nov:   15 / 15
  • Total days in 2020: 305 / 318
  • Percentage = 95% 

For more Stitchin’ Time, you can check out Kate’s blog: Life in Pieces

TO DO 

I’m linking up to Roseanne & Sue’s “TO DO” Tuesday. Their blog is “Home Sewn by Us.”

Well, I got the priority quilting done: IB November will be showcased on Tuesday as part of Island Batik’s “Inspired by Nature” Blog Hop. I was privileged to work with a fantastic fabric collection! Come back on Tuesday to see the quilt!

Last week’s list:
  1. IB November: Quilt and Bind √   done
  2. Work on Secret projects: Finish #3 not done
  3. Work on UFO (Scrappy 4 patches) (to flimsy stage) not done
  4. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes. √   done
This week’s list:
  1. Secret project  #3 : finish quilting, bind and photos
  2. Work on UFO (Scrappy 4 patches) (to flimsy stage)
  3. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes. √   

No UFOs finished. One Start in 2020 finished.

I did add the remaining UFOs to my list … just so that you KNOW I have more! (grin)

Inspired by Nature Blog Hop

Click HERE to see this week’s awesome Ambassador quilts!

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE! Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

*****************************

Linking to:

Inspired by Nature Blog Hop: Week 2

/ quiltinggail / 1 Comment

Here is this week’s line up:

November 16:

November 17:

November 18:

November 19:

Be sure to Click on the link below to have an opportunity to win some wonderful fabric: either Sweet Hearts or Love and Kisses.

a Rafflecopter giveaway https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js
One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE! Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Linky Parties

/ quiltinggail / 18 Comments

Some of my followers ask why I link my blog post to other bloggers linky parties. Here’s why:

When I first discovered the wonderful Internet world of quilting, I was totally amazed, but found I was often just visiting the same sites. It didn’t help that I had no idea about Google or search engines or Pinterest or anything. And this was YEARS before I started my blog!

Then one day, I happened upon a blog where there was a Linky Party each week. I believe it was Judy Laquidara of Patchwork Times and her Linky Party was about what’s on your design wall. I found it was an amazing source and changed every week. Through the Linky Party, I discovered many blogs that I still follow today.

Also, during that time, she had a free quilt pattern. The challenge was to use a stripe fabric and scraps. I have no idea when Judy did this, but I finished it in 2009. This was the result:

And, I played with the stripes and made big big blocks for the back. That was fun!

Continue reading →

Remembrance Day

/ quiltinggail / 6 Comments

On this Remembrance Day, I think of poppies. How they originally symbolized the end of WW1 and now include the remembering of the many fallen soldiers of various wars.

I made this quilt for a Quilt of Valour using the Island Batik fabric collection “Freedom.” It is my own design.

In Flanders Field

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
  That mark our place; and in the sky
  The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
  Loved and were loved, and now we lie
      In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
  The torch; be yours to hold it high.
  If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
      In Flanders fields.

Written by John McCrae, Guelph, Ontario.

Busy week

/ quiltinggail / 18 Comments

Yes, I’ve had a busy week. Since Covid started, my calendar has been pretty blank. A couple of weekly Zoom things, daily walks and not much else, you tend to get use to it! Then BAM … all of a sudden, I had 2 dentist appointments (cleaning and fillings), a blood work appointment, a doctor’s appointment, a short guild Zoom meeting, a family Zoom quilting day, as well as the usual 3 weekly Zooms … Oh me, oh my … I felt almost overwhelmed. And to think, I used to have all those appointments, work full time and still managed to get a lot of quilting done! Sigh … Enough of my week … back to what’s important to me: Quilting!

Design Wall Piecing:

Scrappy 4 patches: On point was the final decision on making this little quilt. I know it looks like a mess at the moment! I have some of the setting triangles sewn on … some are pinned and one row ready to be sewn together. I got most of this done at the family Zoom quilting day!

Continue reading →

What’s happening?

/ quiltinggail / 14 Comments

There’s a LOT happening in my studio … but most of it I can’t show you yet.

This month is an “Inspired by Nature” Blog Hop with Island Batik. That project is now sandwiched and needs quilting. This Blog Hop promises to be another amazing one! Everyone is making a project “Inspired by Nature” and is using awesome fabric that will be available in stores later this month!

Of the other secret projects:

  • Secret Project #1 is done.
  • Secret Project #2 is being quilted
  • Secret Project #3 is ready to begin …
Design Wall Piecing:

Scrappy 4 Patches: I have a bunch of 4 patches … these were started from a charm pack at some unknown date in the past. I found them when going through my stash. They were tied up with 2 semi-coordinating fabrics and I don’t know what my plan was or is …

Do I make another bag similar to THIS one, only with smaller squares?

Continue reading →

PHD in 2020: Nov. 1 Report

/ quiltinggail / 22 Comments

SEW … how are YOU doing with your PHD in 2020?

  • Are you getting there?
  • Are you thinking of starting?
  • Have you given up?

Where ever you are with your UFOs … if you’ve made any progress at all … that is good! Very good!

This year, I have done (in my opinion) extremely well with finishing UFOs. So far, I have finished 17! And when I consider that one UFO turned into 3 quilts … (Florabunda) … and another UFO turned into 2 quilts … (Dog & Cat) … Yup … I’m pretty pleased!

Continue reading →