Two Finished!

I finished my black and white quilt  a month early for our guild's president's challenge.  I used embroidery thread to quilt it, two strands, and quilted it horizontally and vertically.   The black thread does not show unless you look really close.  Only my coloured threads show which is kind of cool.

  The fabric is cotton left overs, the batting is bamboo from Pellon and the screening is when I broke our screen as I ran through it to answer the phone as I didn't see it=)

Do you know what is coming next? The 'Undie Quilt'!  I probably should think of a better name for it, but that could prove a bit difficult, I mean it is underwear=)

I did a stipple stitch to quilt it in white thread and chose not to quilt the underwear so that they would pop out a bit more.

 The embellishments are Riley Blake Fabrics, the batting is bamboo from Pellon and the fabric is from Trend-Tex Fabrics. What do you think?  

Finishing and Starting

Woohoo!  I finished up my wearable for the Canadian Quilters' Association Trend-Tex Challenge.  
It is our annual fundraiser, our only fundraiser and it helps us with operational costs.   This was under my duties this year as VP.   The theme was 'Modern Ways' and we added in a wearable category along with the quilt category.

Above is the front, and there are 3 pockets inside and it is lined.  Below is the back.   I even went all out and padded the strap so it is ultra comfortable.   

In case you didn't know (and the pics above gave no hints), I have an obsession with circles and dots.   My dear friend MT showed up at our guild meeting last month and plunked a bag of fabric down and told me it was to help my addiction.

Guess what was inside?  Hundreds of these precut colourful circles.

Does anyone have any super ideas about what I can do with them, and please do not say hand applique anything=)

During all the circle excitement, I started another project.

Our President's Challenge at my guild is a black and white quilt.   I designed a quilt on my sketch pad, made a few notes and got underway.  You can see all my black and white, with a sneak of grey in there, of fabric.   

I then pieced them together in groups of twos.   Did you notice that I added a few bits of colour to wake you up.   

I have to sew them into rows and then join them all.  But it is still not done, then comes the crazy part.

Stay tuned!

Magnetic Board Tutorial

This tutorial is so amazing!   My friend Stephanie, put together the most amazing, non-sewing, kid friendly, functional, colourful magnetic board ever!   Check it out here.

I have read these instructions and they are so clear and precise.  I plan to do this with my kids this summer.  Stephanie had her daughter do one with her as well, it is that easy!

Go check it out and be sure to leave a comment.   If you do make one, buzz me a pic and I will post it.

Now I do have to tell you that at our year end guild dinner last night, I finally won Judge's Choice award for the President's Challenge.   Remember we had to make something nice out of some really ugly fabric?   I designed a miniature Dresden plate pattern and used that.   

  Off to get working on my next quilt of Sugar and Spice.   I am doing a border that is taking more time than the quilt top.  I can't wait to show you!

Miniature Quilt

Our guild had it's President's Challenge last week.   The challenge was to take  a piece of fabric that you now say, 'Why did I ever buy this?' and use it in a quilted item.  Here is the fabric I used.

I found a piece that fit the bill perfectly and then tried to decide what I could turn it into.   I have never done a miniature quilt before, so thought this would be the perfect time to give it a try.   A miniature quilt is basically a real quilt pattern scaled down to a very small size, usually less than 24" in diameter.   After combing the internet for a while for tips, and not finding much, I forged ahead.

I also have never done the Dresden plate before.   The only problem is there is no pattern for the Dresden plate in a miniature.  So after several attempts with paper, I had a pattern I believe would work.

I did figure out quite quickly that I must sew with a 1/8" seam instead of the usual 1/4".  It is amazing what the iron can do to make your blocks look good.

I made four blocks and put them on a white background.  You end up with a hole in the centre, so I put a white circle in the middle, with a cute button in the centre of each.

Now just to be really crazy, I wondered how small I could make my prairie points.   I used 1 1/2" squares for them.   Let me just say this was fiddly work to stitch down.  

I'd love to hear your opinion on my newest quilt!

And this is the last day to vote for me, please click on the bright flower on the top right hand side bar and vote.  Thanks!

February is Here

So much snow! We spent the afternoon clearing a spot on the lake, drilled a hole and it flooded our rink. We can't wait for it to freeze.

I am making my prairie points for my president challenge quilt and am worried I am going to run out of fabric. That will definitely be trouble. Time will tell. I haven't tried placing them around it. Still cutting and ironing and ironing!

photo by flickr.com