Getting Ready for Christmas

Falalala... it's Christmas time... and along with that is the busy time of year... yet I am determined to make things as relaxing as possible!  That being said, I'm still procrastinating on Christmas cards (to do or not to do...!).  

This is probably my last post for the year, but that's ok.

Like I just wrote... I want to relax!

I finished up some new and some old projects:

My 1st ever Christmas stocking!  This is a lovely quilt-as-you-go pattern and it sure was fun to do!

Front of the stocking

Back of the stocking

My son thought it was fun to wear.

I made a few of these easy paper ornaments for the tree... and with leftover paper, I made some paper Christmas tree links.

November's Freebie 15 block - "Transferware".
16" x 16"
(Quilt block colours look quite blah in this photo, oops, but they really are lovely.)

November's Freebie block is called "Transferware"  

Transferware is a ceramic where historical scenes and delicate patterns, such as florals are transferred onto fine china, making it affordable for middle-class families.  Transfer printing involves etching a design onto a copper plate, inking the plate then transferring the design onto tissue paper; this is then applied to the ceramic and fired with a glaze.  The result is the wonderful dishes we call transferware.

Here's a print-out of the November Freebie 15 Companion.
There are to be two 8.5" x 8.5" squares like this; the fabric is black & white.
I love this year's Freebie's but so far I am not too crazy about the companions' colours: the colours seem so dark compared to the Freebies.
That being said, I think I have fired myself from doing any more Freebie companions for the year!!
Seriously, this is the worst pattern to follow - ever!
The centre piece is actually cut out like a stop sign, but the instructions for lining everything up just exasperate me!!!!!

I finally also tackled some UFOs (Unfinished Objects/Projects) which are awaiting quilting (to be done next year).

Remember this pukey quilt top???  Well, it is NO MORE - Yeah!!

Layer Cake Quilt Along - Quilt top #1 (hacked)

I added a pink-with-white-polka-dots fabric for sashing.

A lady at the quilt store helped me select a border sashing, but when it came down to putting it all together, the border was just bad. Bad. Bad. Bad.

So... a simple brown border came into being.

Layer Cake Quilt Along - Quilt top #2 (done)

Scrappy Stars Quilt

I had finished 11 of these 9"x9" stars about a year ago as a BOM, but then the local quilt store closed and I had to make up my own 12th star block.

And then it sat and sat and sat... until now.

I love the finished quilt top.

I can hardly wait until this one is quilted!!

Scrappy Stars Quilt Top

Quilt Blocks, Quilts and a Quilt for Cancer

It has been such a busy last month-and-a-half, but things have finally slowed down a bit, and I managed to tackle some quilting projects again.  Oh, the therapy of quilting!!  :)

First up... the June quilt blocks for Traditional Pastimes' "Freebie 15" BOM:

Freebie 15 Companion: "Bird Tracks"
I really buggered this one up, and it's too small, but I was not about to redo these flying geese!
Usually, I enjoy the flying geese units, but for some reason, I just wasn't getting these instructions!  :(

Freebie 15: "Low Tide"

****

Remember this quilt top?  This was the quilt top I made for the Fat Quarters Stars Quilt Along that finished up a few months ago.  Well, it sat and sat and sat on my sewing table.  The greeny-yellow was driving me mad... so I HACKED it all apart!  Yeah!!

Now I have 12 blocks that will need to be resewn... MINUS the pukey green-yellow!  :)

Be-Gone, Pukey sashing!!

****

There there is this big quilt... from about 1 year ago... Moose on the Porch's Layer Cake Quilt Along.  I FINALLY did some repairs, and my church quilting club friend Dalene quilted it together for me.  It was the first quilt she has done in which blocks were set on-point, but I think she did a purty nice job on this quilt!  This quilt is looking lovely on our guest bed.

****

A few months ago, I signed up for Heather Spence's Spring 2012 Mystery Quilt.

Well, I am finally done!

My friend Dalene did an amazing job with the quilting on her long-arm machine!

I absolutely love this quilt!

This quilt is going to be raffled off this autumn and all donations will go toward Breast Cancer.  I haven't determined yet how I will raffle it off or which cancer association/foundation the proceeds will go toward, but it WILL be donated!

I hope to raise money for breast cancer, and one lucky person will WIN this quilt!

The reason for this quilt donation?

My Mom has been diagnosed with breast cancer, and today is her first day of radiation.

This is for you, Mama!

52" x 63"

Stay tuned for information on how to win this "breast cancer" quilt!!

On a Roll Again

It seems that I haven't been finishing off a lot of projects lately, but I did have one project on the go that I just couldn't add to the blog because it was a baby gift for my sister, and I know she checks this blog.  :)

So without further rambling, here is the crib-sized quilt that I made for my newest nephew, Troy!  

Welcome, baby Troy!

Quilting was done in a meander stitch, and I used a varigated brown/cream thread.

 The backing was a polka-dot flannel.

Baby Troy on his quilt.
Born February 9 weighing in at 9 lb, Troy is now 6 weeks old and 13 lb!
He's a cutie!

I made this bag about a week ago for my church's quilt group.  We make quilts for patients with cancer, and we add a quilt in a bag so it's easier for them to bring their quilt (and perhaps a book) into hospital for treatments. 

We moved our son into a "big boy bed" and I added a quilt I had made last year.
Lots of bright colours & fun polka dots.

This photo looks really blah but the colours truly are better up close.
It was overcast & very windy today, so I took this pic indoors.
Anyways, this is my finished Fat Quarters Stars Quilt Along quilt top.
Measurements: 59" x 75.5"

I whipped up this table runner last week, but I still have to add batting, backing & binding.
Measurements: 12" x 20"

 And finally... a quilt I am very excited about... the Synchronized Squares Quilt.
I had started this quilt along last year, but I then realized that it was meant to be a rag quilt, so all the coloured squares were to be ragged edges... and I do NOT like rag quilts.
I then pieced this quilt together without ragged edges (ie, the "nice sewn seams") and I just LOVE this finished look.
The squares are layer cake squares that I won last year from another quilt along!

Measurements: 48" x 56"

A peek at the backing: orange with polka dots.

Things on my sewing list now:

• finish up civil-war-coloured layer cake quilt top
• finish green/yellow/brown/white table runner (quilt top done this week)
• start ABC crib quilt
• catch up on the next 2 quilt blocks for Freebie 15 & Companion

... and then perhaps I can start catching up on my very, very overdue photo albums. 

A Few More Blocks

February has been such a crazy busy month... and I am hoping March will be a little less busy and will allow me to catch up on some sewing projects.

I did manage to complete 4 quilt blocks.  The blocks are FAR from perfect, but there comes a time when you really just want to get it done.

Freebie 15: Sand Dollar

Freebie 15: Sand Bar
This block is smaller than it's supposed to be (12") and the sandbar squares are so terribly crooked - agh!

Block 11 "Fractured Star" for Fat Quarters Stars Quilt Along

Block 12 - "Faceted Friendship" for Fat Quarters Stars Quilt Along

Twelve stars all done... now to add sashing & bind to finish them off as a quilt top!

I have the fabric to finish up the FQSQA quilt top, but I just need some time now!

I am finishing off binding for 2 quilts, so will post photos when they both are done. 

Fat Quarter Star #10

Block #10 for the Fat Quarters Stars Quilt Along came out yesterday, and since I was home today I whipped up this fancy little star.  So cute, eh?!! 

Block # 10 is called "Milo's Star" and the pattern/directions can be found on Moose on the Porch Quilts' blog.

And here are the 10 stars thus far... I have ideas already for sashing & borders but it really depends what fabrics are available in the local fabric stores. 

The next few weeks are going to be crazy busy for us, so the sewing machine has been tucked away for a week of two.  :(

January Quilt Blocks

 I have been taking it pretty easy this month in the sewing department.  After a busy Christmas, it was nice to catch up on things around the house; I worked a few shifts at the hospital, and I had 2 photo sessions which required hours of photo editing.

I told myself I was not able to tackle sewing until the photo editing was done... and so now that's finished, I have been sewing for the past few days... Ahhh... bliss!!

The first 2 quilt blocks are for the Fat Quarters Stars Quilt Along:

Block 8  - "Easy Spinning Star" 

Block 9 - "Make Mine a Double"

All 9 blocks so far - 3 more to go.

My local quilt shop, Traditional Pastimes, has a few BOM on the go, and I am doing the "Freebie 15" quilt along... if I go to the shop on the 15th, I get the main block for free (provided my quilt block is done) and I simply need to purchase the companion for that month's block.

First up is the "freebie 15" - the log cabin designs were supposed to be really narrow strips, but I gave up and cheated, substituting a block then finishing the final 3 rounds of the cabin.  

The original log cabin centre required strips of x/16th"  - ??seriously??  I can barely sew a straight x/4th" any given time.  I'm still pleased with how this block turned out.

Block 4 Freebie - "Skipping Stones"

Block 4 Companion - "Riptide"

Freebie 15 & Companion & 18 small hour glass units (3.5" x 3.5")

The first 4 Freebie 15s & the companions

When the Freebie 15 & Companions are done, there will be 24 12" blocks + all the 3.5x3.5" hourglass units... I can hardly wait... it will be a large (queen or king-size) quilt... and oh so nice.  Too bad I don't have a cottage by the ocean.  :)

Happy New Year!

 Happy New Year to 2012!!

Now that Christmas is past, I can show 2 quilts that I finished in December last year but I just couldn't add them to this blog because they were Christmas gifts for 2 of my sisters.
I have 5 sisters so that is a lot of quilts to make... and that will probably be the extent of my quilt giveaways as quilts do tend to be quite expensive... but I love my sisters dearly and so I don't mind splurging on them.

Gift #1: Modern Patchwork Squared Quilt Along Quilt (P2QA)... done!

Don't you just LOVE the quilting my friend Dalene did on this quilt??? !!

Leaves were quilted along the borders.
The brown with polka-dots was the backing.

My sister Christina loved this quilt.

 Gift #2: The Summer Sampler Series Quilt Along (SSSQA).  This quilt required a lot of paper-piecing and it was a lot of fun.

Add caption

Dalene quilted this one, too.  I just LOVE the pink stippling done on this quilt. 

My sister Rochelle loved this quilt.
(Her daughter Maleah is hiding behind this quilt - haha)

Now onto other projects:

The Christmas Tree Pants that I made fit quite nicely under our tree.

I finished Block #12 for the Birdie Stiches Quilt Along 2011

All 12 blocks (Canadian edition) of Birdie Stitches Quilt Along 2011

Block #6, "Cathedral Star",  for Fat Quarters Stars Quilt Along

The first 6 blocks for the Fat Quarters Stars Quilt Along.

Block 7, "Twinkle of Hope", for FQSQA

I didn't like my final edition of last month's Freebie 15 Companion, so I purchased another block & pieced it together the way I preferred...  This one is called "Pebbles".

Block #3 for my local quilt shop Traditional Pastimes "Freebie 15" quilt along.
This block is called "Ripples in the Sand"

Freebie 15 Block 3 Companion - "Snails"
(The colours are a tad yellow on this pic b/c of the lighting.)

I am not planning any new projects at this time as I have a few items that need finishing:
- 3 quilt tops that need batting, backing, binding, quilting
- ABC quilt that needs to be started... then completed
- piece twelve 9.5"x 9.5" stars together into a quilt
- work in progress on FQSQA & the "Freebie 15" quilt blocks

Hopefully, this will be the year that I will finally complete some photo albums!!

What is on your to-do list for 2012??