My Mum is a weaver...

Mum weaves rag rugs.  And she does it really well.  She made this Pendleton wool beauty for us for Christmas.  Of course it is far to gorgeous to go on the floor so I will lay it across the top of the couch once the Christmas rag rug is put away.  Oh my word.  Soft, muted but with that wonderful soft red. Thanks, Mum!  Maybe I will just wear it!

Mum also brought me a grey and yellow rug.  It matches my sewing room perfectly... except for the 70s flooring.  You can tell it is my sewing room because of the piles of fabric and that lovely cone of Aurifil on the counter.  We have rugs from Mum allover the house.  You can see the progression from simple stripes to these complicated patterns.  Clever Mum.

Last Minute Makes

Pillows are a quick last minute Christmas make and I made a couple just last weekend.  Christmas blue nested stars and then a green plus cushion with texty fabric.  Just fun with zippered backs.  All wrapped up and ready for giving.  The count down is on!

Just a little snowman

I made this last weekend for a guild ornament swap.  So much fun.  Little paper pieced snowman with little tiny stippled quilting in the grey dots.  I used snaps for the eyes.  I think he is a little cross-eyed!

Winner!

and the winner is...  according to random number generator.... 160

and that is Nicole who lives in Victoria!  Congratulations Nicole, I will send you an email!

NicoleDecember 8, 2014 at 1:44 PM

And I follow via feedly. Thanks!

A Finish: Plaid Baby Michael Miller

   Name:  Plaid Baby 

Design:  Scot's Plaid  Block

Size:  36"" by 46""

Fabric: Michael Miller Cotton Couture including the back and scrappy binding

Quilted: by me with Aurifil 50 wt in wite in straight lines 

I finished this baby quilt on the weekend.  I used the Micheal Miller Cotton Couture Modern Quilt Guild bundle with a bunch of brighter additions.  The block is a traditional block called Scot's Plaid and I tried to have a nice mix of the colours throughout the quilt but I allowed a fair amount of randomness.  Some same colours do touch and at first I was a bit fussed about that and then decided it was just fine.  I had fun with the back.  The colours are really lovely.  And a scrappy binding just for fun.  I have not used these solids much before and they are very lightweight and soft.  Almost drapey.  Lovely colours.   I especially love the darker orange/red.  I think it is called geranium.  Nice!  

The quilting is simple.  I followed the seam lines about 1/4" away and used my favourite Aurifil 50 wt in white.  The quilting resembles the plaid in a away.  Linking up with Amanda Jean for Finish it Up Friday.

Don't forget my Sew Mama Sew Giveaway!  One more day!

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day: December 2014

Oh my goodness!  Welcome to my stop on the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day!  I have a Cotton and Steel Mustang Maple Squares Charm Pack to giveaway.  Available on in Canada, apparently!  Who knew?  And a lovely spool of Aurifil 50 wt in a very versatile grey to add to the giveaway fun.

This Giveaway is open internationally and all you have to do to enter is
1) leave a comment telling me where you are in the world and
2) followers, new or old, get another chance with a comment about how they follow me.

Please leave your email if you are a no reply blogger (wordpress blogs for instance!)


I will pick a winner on Friday, December 12, 2014 after 5 pm Pacific Daylight Time.  Good luck!

Edited:  The giveaway is now closed.  Thanks everyone!!!!  

Already December?????

How did that happen?  It was summer time just yesterday and now it is December!  I spent Saturday with a bunch of my guild at a curved piecing workshop.  It was great!  And I did pick up a few tricks and that is a good thing.

I made these oven mitts last weekend for Husband.  His oven mitts were looking a little sad and he asked me to mend them.  And I did that but noticed that the batting was starting to be thin and they were definitely worse for wear.  My grey scrap container was overflowing so I made some slab blocks big enough to cut out the oven mitts.  Added some batting and some insulbrite. Quilted it.  Binding and we were good to go.  They have been test driven and he has not burned himself with them so they have passed the test.    Officially, scrap project #3.

Linking up with Leanne for Scraptastic Tuesday!  Don't forget to enter the Sew Mama Sew giveaways!

Works in Progress...

I started doing something with the MQG Michael Miller Cotton Couture challenge bundle.  I am not sure how many of you are familiar with the bundle but it was a selection of muted pastels.  Lovely but not my palette.  I ordered some brighter fabrics and finally took the plunge.  And this is what happened.  A whole lot of little blocks.  It will be a baby quilt.  Nothing too innovative for sure but there it is.

I also started a Christmas gift and this is a sneak peak.  With a monogram on Kraft-Tex no less.  And if you look closely you can see a golden retriever hair in the centre of the photograph.  Good grief.  What a fur ball!

A new thrift store opened up in our town last week.  I went in for a peak and left with 2 hats for my costume box, a bag of buttons all in pinks and some perle cotton.  The pink buttons were awesome with lots of vintage lovely including the buckle and some wonderful pink glass buttons.  Thank you, thrift shop.

And I picked up this amazing calender at the local book shop.  Seriously.  Weeks and Ringle and it comes with all the patterns.  Squeal!  Perfect for my sewing room.

Linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced for Work in Progress Wednesday.  Have a super rest of your day!

Fabric and stuff

I do belong to the best quilt guild (FVMQG) ever.  Truly.  Not at all biased.  We get super involved in the big Creative Stitches Show in Abbotsford each March.  This time around Robert Kaufman is sponsoring a mini quilt challenge.  We need to modern up a traditional block using the super awesome new Kona Cottons and some Architextures by Carolyn Friedlander.  We are very grateful to Robert Kaufman for sponsoring this challenge with free fabric and prizes and now I just have to get busy!

Which brings me to my next point.  Sew Sisters has all the Kona cottons and they have scads of Carolyn Friedlander fabric including her new line Doe.  And it is really lovely.  

Sew Sisters is also gearing up for their Stuff your Stocking Event.  Check it out.  I am off to do just that.

Autumn Gemstones: A Finish

  Name:  Autumn Gemstones

Design:  Gemstones block from Rachel -Stitched in Color

Size:  64" by 84"

Fabric: Stash/scrap fabrics, low volume fabrics for the background

Quilted: by me with Aurifil 50 wt in cream in straight lines 

I finished this quilt on the weekend but I have had a busy week at school so did not have enough light to take a picture.  Today it was forecast to rain and again I thought I would not be able to get a picture when I got home from work.  I sort of asked my husband if he could be my quilt photographer today if the rain let up and part way through my school day, I received an email with pictures.  What a sweetie!  And I did not get home until it was dark and it was also raining so I am doubly delighted.  So here it is, Autumn Gemstones.And just like the last Gemstones quilt, I made back in 2012, this one is also for a friend. I hope she likes it.  I made it for Jean.  And Jean and I became great friends at university back in the dark ages and have reconnected on Facebook many moons later and this is for her, in autumn colours to help her remember New England and Eastern Canada in the fall while she whiles away her days in sunny Florida.

The quilt is a big one because it just sort of grew.  I used an assortment of fabrics from my stash and used low volume white and off white prints for the background.  I was really stuck with the setting triangles.  In my first Gemstones quilt, I used really dramatic triangles in two colours.  I tired that with this one but it was not hitting my happy place.  I just could not do it.  I tried a few possibilities but then decided to make more blocks or rather half blocks and use them as the setting triangles.  That worked.  

I quilted straight lines across the quilt about 3/4" apart in Aurifil 50 wt in cream.  I always find that the quilting brings the quilt to life and adds the texture that makes it work.  I am so pleased with how this has come together.  I backed the quilt with a small green and orange print with a length of a Lotta Jansdotter print from awhile ago.  The quilt is bound in a burgundy print that is also found in the blocks.  It is very autumnal.  And somehow all those disparate prints work.  

A few more things if you have stuck with me this long.  Sew Sisters is hosting their Blogathon Canada with some absolutely awesome prizes.  Please do check it out.



And I will be linking up with Amanda Jean for Finish It Up Friday!  Have a lovely rest of your week!

All about the scraps

Leanne at She Can Quilt hosts a once a month Scraptastic Tuesday.  You can link a post about a scrap project or a post about scraps.  This post is all about scrap management.  I like to try to keep it all under control.  I keep a small basket on my sewing table.  It is small on purpose.  I don't want to let the scraps go too long without dealing with them.  Scraps have a way of taking over.  Just saying.  When the basket gets a little overfull, I know it is time and I sort the piles into colours.  I keep linen scraps in a separate pile and if the solids are substantial, I pop them into their own pile.  Once the scraps are sorted, I stuff them into their respective colour plastic shoebox.

You can see all the plastic shoeboxes here on my shelves.  I have double boxes of some colours.

I also keep 5" and 4" squares in their own bin, especially if they are leftovers from certain projects because they are a good start on another project.  I am not yet convinced this is always a good idea but I am going with it right now.  I try to keep strips in a separate bin but I am not sold on this idea.

I have started keeping leftover binding in a tin.  I used to just toss them in the strip bin but then I started thinking that I would have binding available for small projects if I was better organized.  I like this idea.

All the little bits that are too small go into a Britex shopping bag.  I fill it up and then pass it on to a guild member who loves to make little HSTS out of all those little leftover triangles.  The rest of it goes into pin cushion stuffing apparently.  I have to say that getting rid of a large quantity of the little sawdust bits felt fantastic!

Another great way to deal with scraps is swapping with a buddy.  I just did that this past week with Cynthia.  Her scraps are so much more interesting than mine.  And I think she feels the same way about mine.  He he he.  Perfect.  Look.  Gnomes!

Linking up with Leanne.  

Work in Progress Wednesday

It is Remembrance Day in Canada today.  We had the day off school.  I would have spent the day with a lot of sewing time but the wind kicked up and then we were without power for several hours.  Anyway... before the power went out, I did get the back made for this quilt and it sits basted and ready for quilting.

The blocks up top are bee blocks for Toni.  For the month of November, Toni asked for red white and blue with a touch of grey for a July quilt using Cluck Cluck Sew's tutorial.  I already have these blocks in the mail and feel pretty good about that.  I realized after they were in the mail that I did not follow the tutorial.  I am so programmed with making wonky stars that I did just that.  My points are pretty uniform so I hope they work for Toni.


And then when the power was out, I spent some time reading.  We have a curved piecing workshop coming up at my guild so I am getting a little excited!

I also have this pile of Michael Miller Cotton Couture staring at me for the MQG challenge.  I ordered some extra solids and they took FOREVER to get here.  Like a month from ordering to delivery.  Seriously.  

Don't forget about  Sew Sister's Blogathon Canada if you are a Canadian Blogger. You can read all about it and about all the awesome sponsors over here.  Linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced for Work in Progress Wednesday.

Around the World Blog Hop

I have noticed these Around the World Blog hop posts popping up around the blogosphere and the other day I was tagged by Karen who blogs at Karen Walsh Textiles.  Thank you, Karen!  Karen is fairly new to quilting and makes really lovely cushions with seabirds on them.  They are really lovely.  Have a look.  So here we go...  Thanks for stopping by and if you would like to see some of my quilts, I have tabs up at the top with links to each quilt finish.

. What am you currently working on?

I am currently working on a quilt for an old friend.  Fall colours was the request so that is what is happening.  I also have a long term quilt on the go with Don't Call Me Betsy, the lucky stars block of the month.  This has been on the go for the past 2 years and I have to say that I am glad that it is nearing the end.  I will be glad to call it done.  I tend to work on one project at a time and work on it until it is done.  I call it being a monogamous quilter.

How does my work differ from others?

Good question.  I guess we all have our unique colour sense and that is what defines our style.  I may make a quilt from a designer's pattern but my fabric choices make it mine.  I mix it up and I think my colour choices are what makes my quilts look like my quilts.

Why do you write/create what you do?

My husband told me I needed a hobby when the kids left home. I always listen to him. He he he. I needed to do something that was very different from my full time work as an elementary school principal. Since sewing has always been my thing, with a few breaks as life became busier, quilting seemed to follow quite naturally.  I saw a quilt a colleague had made and thought, hey, I can do that.  The rest is history.  Blogging followed soon after and I have been blogging for about 4 years or so.  So quilting has become my stress buster.  I made him the Sunshine quilt up at the top.  Just because.

How does your creative process work?

I am a weekend quilter.  I usually start with an idea.  Maybe just colour ideas.  Or a block that I really like then shop in my stash for fabric and then I just go for it.  I always have a quilt on the go and I get my inspiration from all over the place.  

And passing on the hop...

I am passing this on to 2 of my quilting buddies Lysa and Cynthia.  They are simply awesome and you should go and meet them if you don't know them already.

Blogathon Canada: November 17-22, 2014

Sew Sisters Quilt Shop hosts the wonderful Blogathon Canada blog hop during the week of Nov. 17-22, 2014.  It is great fun hopping across the country getting to know Canadian quilting bloggers.  And there are prizes too!  Lots of them.  You can check out the sponsors below. So fun!

Here's how it works:
Each day host bloggers will introduce themselves and their work on their blogs. They will include links to more blogs from their province so you can visit those blogs as well. The host bloggers will also host a giveaway of some of their favorite goodies from Sew Sisters Quilt Shop so you have a chance to win every day of the week!

Not only can you win prizes from Sew Sisters on the host bloggers blogs, you can also enter giveaways on our blog during Blogathon week!

You can check out the sponsors below. So fun!

The Hosts:

Monday, November 17	BC	Stacey	Stacey in Stitches
Monday, November 17	BC	Jessica	Momiji Studio
Tuesday, November 18	Maritimes	Linda	Scrapmaster
Tuesday, November 18	Maritimes	Linda	Stitch Lines
Wednesday, November 19	AB	Kelsey	Everyday Fray
Wednesday, November 19	AB	Leanne	She Can Quilt
Thursday, November 20	SK	Heather	Peace.Love.Quilt
Thursday, November 20	MB	Lori	Night Owl Quilting
Friday, November 21	QC	Josée	The Charming Needle
Friday, November 21	Territories	Janet	Caribou Crossing Chronicles
Saturday, November 22	ON	Lorna	Sew Fresh Quilts
Saturday, November 22	ON	Sandy	Upstairs Hobby Room

Join the Party:

If you would like for the host blogger from your province or territory to link your blog in her post please write to Sew Sisters at:  connect@sew-sisters.com and they will add your blog to the list. Please note that you need to be a blogger living in Canada and your blog should have posts about quilting or crafting to be eligible.

Grab the Blogathon Canada Button for your blog so you can have a quick link to all the fun!

Blogger's Quilt Festival: Nominated in the Viewer's Choice Category !!!!

Okay... seriously!  Squeal!  I received an email from Amy, of Amy's Creative Side and host of the Blogger's Quilt Festival saying that This Way and That is one of the nominees for Viewer's Choice in the Blogger's Quilt Festival!  Eek!

With around 550 quilts entered, I have to say it feels very special.  So... with that said, hop on over to the festival and if you like this small quilt, I would be just tickled if you sent your vote my way.

Here is the link to Viewer's Choice... there are some awesome quilts waiting for your votes!