Reading and Celebrating

I hardly ever have three books on my bedside table at one time, so this little collection is quite interesting.

 Twilight – which my daughter tells me is wonderful was brought out from the big City and deposited in the stack this weekend.

A Sobering Moment – is written by my brother-in-law and I can’t wait to dive into the pages to see what has been written.  He assures me that all characters are fictional and that any wonderfully, super talented sister-in-law that is mentioned is not me.

The Quilter’s Kitchen – was an anniversary gift from my daughter and I have already finished reading it.  Must say it was a very easy read and that some of the recipes look very appealing.  I can see this one going into the cookbook bookshelf instead of into the quilting bookshelf and will be pulled out at different times of the year.

 

I apologize for the darkness of this picture, but I just had to post about my mother-in-law’s birthday party.  She certainly doesn’t look 85 to me!  The whole family got together over the weekend and helped her celebrate . . . some of us were out later than others, of course!

These little pansies on the cake were too cute . . . and tasted not bad either.  I started thinking about the birthday cake weeks ago . . . what with this diet new healthy way of eating thing I have going on, I told myself that I would be allowed one piece of cake on Anna’s birthday.  I cheated and had TWO! and have had to walk a few extra miles since then.

On the quilting front there’s not too much going on.  I have finished the second Loonie Blooms wall hanging and am considering using it for a class that I will be teaching early in 2010.  I’m also trying to finish writing directions for another pattern that I’ve been working on and finalizing some machine quilting on another design.  Have any of you started a Loonie Blooms quilt?  I would love to show them off when you’re done, so make sure to send me a photo.

 

This fabric came last week for a project that is planned for sometime before Christmas and I’m expecting a package of fabric that I won – I WON!!! – from a wonderful fabric designer.  I’ll show you that parcel and give you all the information when it gets here . . . ideas are spinning as to what to create.  Can’t wait!

How was your weekend?

‘til next time,

M.

Loonie Blooms

 

Annette's wall hanging is in the mail and I’ve finally gotten this pattern put together for everyone!  Major difficulties with computer programs and posting pdf’s but I hope everyone can pop over to the Scribd links (see below) and download the pattern.  All of the information on pages one, two and three of have been copied here in the tutorial, but to make the actual pattern you will need to download the “appliqué patterns & supply list” (see link below).

This pattern has been designed using the raw-edge appliqué technique . . . any other methods will require you to make adjustments as necessary. Remember that this is your design and it is OK to put on as many flowers or leaves on it as YOU want. Add buttons or beads for the flower centers – make it as “loonie” as you want! (Oh, I forgot to tell you about the name of the design . . . the larger centre circle in the middle of the bloom was traced from a Canadian $1.00 Loonie – I decided the $2.00 Toonie was just too big).

Loonie Blooms - Appliqué Patterns & Supply List

Loonie Blooms - Page 1

Loonie Blooms - Page 2

Loonie Blooms - Page 3

Following the supply list included on the template sheet cut and lay out all of your background, border pieces and ground shape. I used many prints from the one line of fabric and the scrappiness of it appeals to me . . . so if you have a piece of fabric that fits, put it in! My fabrics came from a MODA Scrap Bag, except for the flower pot which was cut from a charm square and of course the background, backing and binding where cut from yardage. This project would be a great way to use up some fabrics from the scrap bin – remember those little pieces you just threw in there – dig them out!

Referring to the project photo, sew the borders to the background fabric – note that the ground shape is inserted before the outer borders are sewn on.

 

Once all borders have been completed, give it all a good pressing.

Trace all of your chosen appliqué shapes on the paper side of the Heat & Bond fusible web. Roughly cut out the shapes leaving a small allowance on all sides. Iron to the wrong side of all your chosen prints – cut out on the drawn lines.

Stems – cut a 3” x 17” piece of Heat & Bond and press it onto the wrong side of your green stem fabric. Let cool and then cut 5 strips either ¼” or 3/8” strips by the 17” length – whichever width you prefer.

Now that you have the background all pressed and ready and you have your stems and appliqué shapes all ready to go, it is time to start positioning things where YOU want them to go. I found that to get the nice curve on your stems is easiest done by ironing it from the bottom up – gently curving the stem as you press it. I found that by starting with the centre stem and working your way out is easier. Take your time and get things in the spots where you want them. If you forget to position a leaf you can usually go back and reheat the stem with the iron and then gently lift the edge and slip the leaf shape under.

Find matching threads for all your fabric and use a bobbin thread that matches your backing.

I used a zig-zag stitch to stitch down the stems on my first wall hanging, but a machine blanket stitch would work as well.

Now it’s time to stitch your shapes. Set up your machine for free-motion quilting and drop your feed dogs.

Lower your needle into the shape (fairly close to the edge) and then raise the needle and gently pull on the top thread to bring up the bobbin thread to the top. Hold on to your two threads and lower the needle up and down in the same spot to secure the threads. This can create a bit of a thread lump on the backside so I like to darn in my ends . . . I know it takes a bit longer but I think it does give a more finished look. I usually stop my stitching after doing a few shapes and darn in those ends – this helps eliminate stitching over the loose threads.

Now start free-motion quilting around the edge of your shape. I actually went around my shapes three times – no reason, but that was just the look I liked. You can do only two or even choose more if you wanted. This method does take a bit of practice and I find that by going around your shape more than once kind of fills in the squiggly, meandering stitches that we all make – it would take a lot of practice to not have the stitches go helter-skelter like some of mine!

You can also add details to your leaves, flowers or stems if you feel that you want to branch out from the raw-edge stitching. Stitch in some vein lines on the leaves or some petal shapes on your flowers – anything you choose adds even more detail.

You could also make some curly-q’s or stitch some free-form leaves – anything goes so have fun!

I used a cream top thread and meander quilted the rest of the quilt top; quilting around, not over, the appliqués shapes.

Once all the stitching is complete, prepare your tabs.

Cut two 3 3/4” x 8 ½” rectangles from the print and background fabrics and layer one of each  right sides together.  Fold in half horizontally and place the 60 degree line on the folded edge; cut as shown to form the little point. Stitch ¼” from the edges, leaving the straight edge open for turning. Turn right side out and press.

With the right side of the tabs facing the wrong side of the top of the wall hanging, baste the tabs approximately 2¼” in from each side. Flip the tab over to the right side to make sure it is facing the right way!

Now prepare your binding strips and stitch to the front side of your wall hanging, mitering corners as you go.

Hand stitch the binding to the back side.

Make the little buttons following the instructions on the package.  Stitch the tabs and buttons in place.

Label your little creation and enjoy!

Send me photos when you get your “loonie”  little project done . . . I’d love to see the blooming variations that everyone comes up with!

‘til next time,

M.

Slowly plodding along . . .

You know how you wake up every morning and have all these plans of things that you’re going to get done?  And then if you’re like me, by the time you get home from work you just don’t feel like doing anything.  Well I guess I shouldn’t say that I didn’t get anything done . . . it’s just not the things that I wanted to get done, I guess.  Monday night my daughter and her boyfriend stopped in to stay the night on their way home from a wedding; Tuesday night hubby had a blood donor thing so supper was really late; Wednesday night the grass was calling our name and we didn’t get to eat supper until 7:45 p.m. – not sure what tonight will bring but I will still hold on to my plans until they get completely dashed.The fabric for Annette's wall hanging that she won showed up on Tuesday.  It is patiently waiting on my work table for the binding decision.  I couldn’t choose just one of the Patisserie prints, so I had to order three different ones so that they could audition for the binding job.  We’ll see which one Annette chooses.

I have started on the pattern and the appliqué for the tutorial for the wall hanging, but it doesn’t look like too much of that will be happening until the weekend now.  Maybe next week I can get the tutorial posted for you gals . . . keep those fingers crossed!

I ordered some black and white wool from Cottage Quilting in Kelowna, BC so that I could make my little wool sheep for the Bunny Hill BOM July block (which is still in progress!), and I also purchased this quilt pattern designed by Primitive Pieces by Lynda.  I know it’s a little hard to see the detail, but pop over to her site and have a boo at this one and all of her other designs – I like her style and especially some of the names she gives to them.  Now I don’t usually choose individual patterns, but something about this one struck me . . . I also think I have some fabrics that will already work for it without going shopping.  So we’ll see when I can get to this “wanna-do”.I stopped into Fabricland the other day to pick up a spool of thread (sucks to live in the Country! – sometimes) and I found these buttons on sale for 1/2 price . . . now I’m all ready for Halloween and Christmas projects – yeah, I really needed these didn’t I . . . but no one can say I’m not prepared!

How’s your week going?

‘til next time,

M.

Things that I have learned . . .

1. I was not aware that there was a site out there that was devoted to posting about giveaways and other quilting news, but I have now found Quilting Craft Gossip and also Blog Events Dex – Giveaways.  Make sure you check out both of these sites and even set your system to follow these if you want to keep on top of what the giveaways are out there.  Really neat sites!
2. I have found the hilarious “30 Day  Shred” lady at Pop Wahm Buzz who can describe in detail the indescribable pain that exercise can do to one that is not quite prepared for it, which I now also know first hand, but have worked through most of it (I hope!).
3. I also found a new technique at Carl Islet Works called Japanese meshwork which looks very intriguing and I will need to do some research on.  I love the design on the pillow tops!
4. The Quilt Shoppe is having a celebration and fabric is 25% off until the 22nd of August, plus Rachel over at p.s. i quilt is having a giveaway that is in celebration of the 2nd Anniversary for The Quilt Shoppe.  You can get lots of entries if you follow the guidelines!
5. I am surprised and thrilled to have doubled the number of followers that visit my blog . . . WELCOME to everyone who stops by!
6. I didn’t know how good this would feel!  Giving away something is so very satisfying . . . I just wish I had a wall hanging for everyone that stopped by.  I’ll get right to work on that tutorial/pattern thing and try and get it posted before Christmas – just kidding!  It better be before that :0)

And just so that I have some photos on this post I will show you the Gobble Gobble package that came yesterday from The Fat Quarter Shop.

 

I LOVE these colors and prints!  The line is from Sandy Gervais and you can visit her blog over at Pieces From My Heart.  Now my “want-to-do” list is even longer . . . I have a Halloween/pumpkin/Fall themed quilt design bopping around in my head . . . I need more time (or focus!!).

‘til next time,

M.

The winner is . . .

Well, really, though I can’t just post the winning number until I have a chance to say thank you to everyone who stopped by and left me a comment and also for those that posted about my 200th giveaway on their own blogs.

A simple little thank you sounds so “little”, so I would like to say a HUGE, BIG THANK YOU to each and everyone of you!

I have found gals out there that have the exact!  same taste in fabrics and books as I do . . . I have found wonderful new and intriguing techniques that I will be going back to learn more about . . . I have found some blogs that just made me laugh out loud . . . I have found new patterns that I just MUST have and most of all I have found some wonderful new friends out there!

OK, so you’ve had enough about the thank you’s . . . so now I will get down to the business side of this post . . .

I used the Random Number Generator and punched in my total number of comments that I have been printing off randomly and numbering throughout the week, and the lucky number was 89, who just happens to be . . .

Annette

from Sunshine Yellow Creative Stitching.

Congratulations Annette!

THANKS to everyone for helping me celebrate and to say thank you, my next task is to try and create a tutorial or at least a pattern for this design so that you can grab up some Fig Tree fabric and make your own wall hanging .  My other next task is to get back and visit all your blogs in greater depth than time allowed this past week . . . so watch out because I’ll be lurking around out there!

‘til next time,

M.

ONE MORE DAY!

Friday the 14th – sometime in the evening – I’ll make the big draw.  Do you have your name in yet?

This is so much fun!

All these new blogs that I’m finding are fantastic . . . and I’m trying to get to each one of them.  Even if it is just a brief visit the first time, I will be going back to spend more time looking around in the next week or two.  So many new things to see!I also wanted to show you some photos that my nephew took this past weekend while he was out visiting.He really enjoys getting out in my garden with his big, fancy, way-over-my-head-to-understand, camera.  These photos are soooooooooo much clearer than the ones that I take – I’m floored by the clarity!   Carter also had fun trying to keep this monkey in his focus . . . Mysty was on a grass eating mission and we were trying to keep her from doing that.  She does look a little ticked off, don’t you think?

Anyway, I’ll be back tomorrow night sometime to post the winner of the wall hanging, so I’ll see you then!

‘til next time,

M.

Weekend Happenings . . .

First off I would like to say how thrilled I am to have met all you ladies who have stopped by and entered my 200th Post Giveaway!  It’s not too late yet for anyone who comes for a visit . . . you have until the 14th – this coming Friday.

This has been so exciting . . . seeing just where everyone is from and what your interests are.  Visiting everyone’s blog and having a tour there has taken up a few of my spare moments over the last couple of days.

I have found the fabric that I want for the binding for this little wall hanging and will now wait impatiently for it to arrive so that I can put the finishing touches to this gift for some lucky person out there.

So here are the rules again if you haven’t already entered:

Leave me a comment (could be anything like "WOW!  I have just the spot for that!" or "Gotta have it!" - really anything goes (within reason, of course!)

• If you want a second entry link to my post with this picture on your blog, then come back and let me know you linked it.

• Make sure there's a link back to your blog (or an email address) so if you win I have some way of contacting you! (I notice that there are a couple of people that I will not be able to contact if their name gets drawn – so double check that you don’t have the “no-reply” thingy happening).
• Check back here next Friday the 14th to see if you’re the lucky winner.

Other weekend happenings included:

Headed to Home Depot and ordered our new windows for the front of the house and checked out the tile section to see what was new.  Those are some pretty funky lookin’ tiles there . . . but the light green is very, very close to the paint chip that matches my tub in our upstairs bathroom that will eventually be undergoing a huge makeover.  If I use the 3” narrow strip of either the stripe or circle tile (not both!) and the rest gets redone in the white tile, it might work – still a little more “hip” than I was thinking of.  It’s an option I guess.

The lilies in the garden have been mass producing blooms for the past few weeks and I’ve been out there cutting bunches for my table top display.  This one is probably my least favorite shaped one, (the petals are narrower than all my other ones – it looks too skinny!) but has this brilliant color, dark speckles and little slippers on the stamens . . . very cute!

My daughter was out from Winnipeg for the weekend (my son has settled in with us once more!), to celebrate my husband and my 10th wedding anniversary.  We celebrated with a fancy, dancy supper at Remington’s in Brandon and returned home to watch an interesting movie with a totally unrelated ending, kind of movie.  Not sure if I will recommend “Knowing”  with Nicholas Cage as a great movie, but I guess it was better than some I’ve seen.

This wonderful, “interesting” bottle of wine was given to us by my husband’s brother and SIL.  It was a very good wine after we got past the “does it smell like cat pee” phase!  Weird name for a wine, but worth a chuckle and a taste.

I’ll be back on the 14th sometime to post the winner of the 200th post giveaway . . . see you then!

‘til next time,

M.

200th Post Giveaway!

OK folks!  Here it is.

Instead of weeding the garden or chasing the dust bunnies under beds, I have been working on my 200th post giveaway.  I felt so bad that my 100th post went by without so much as a hiccup, that I just had to make the effort to make something for one lucky person.

But . . . now I’m thinkin’ that I really like this one too much to giveaway – I LOVE these colors!  Really, though, I will give this wall hanging away to someone.  This is my thank you to everyone out there who has stopped by and had a visit with me at some point over the past 200 posts.

But I will be making another one for myself really soon . . . there are still lots of prints to choose from in my Scrap Bag.  Maybe the second time around I’ll make up a pattern and tutorial for a future post.

Remember my MODA Scrap Bag that I got a couple of months back?  I discovered many of the prints are from Fig Tree's Patisserie collection and they worked up into this beautiful muted toned wall hanging.  The colors in this fabric line are gorgeous and I’m telling you that this looks pretty awesome hanging on my wall right now.  So if you’d like to see this hanging on your wall really soon, keep reading to the end of this post.

      I designed this pattern to use the raw-edge appliqué technique that I have so admired from Kellie’s Don't Look Now! blog and have used in a number of other projects.  This technique is quick, fun and very rewarding – if you haven’t given this a try yet, head over to Kellie’s blog to find a couple of free patterns to give it a go.  You won’t be sorry!

 

I love these little covered buttons that I used for the tabs . . . they really add that final little touch to a lot of my projects lately – can’t get enough of them!  They are so quick and easy to use, and make such a big difference.

 

So here are the rules:

• Leave me a comment (could be anything like "WOW!  I have just the spot for that!" or "Gotta have it!" - really anything goes (within reason, of course!)
• If you want a second entry link to my post with this picture on your blog, then come back and let me know you linked it.

• Make sure there's a link back to your blog (or an email address) so if you win i have some way of contacting you!
• Check back here next Friday the 14th to see if you’re the lucky winner.

While you gals are all busy posting, I’m going to track down some fabric to make the binding for this little lovely!

‘til next time,

M.