Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Free Shipping at Sew Sisters!



Sew Sisters has free shipping in Canada today and tomorrow.  Seriously awesome!  Just a little bit of a fabric enabler post.  I am going to stock up on some Kona solids and I have been eyeing up the new Eclectic Elements line by Tim Holt called Wallflower.  Seriously droolworthy.

Here is just one of the prints...

Eclectic Elements - Wallflower - Rose Parcel

Getting zippy with it



The Fraser Valley Modern Quilt Guild will be swapping zippy pouches stuffed with some goodies at the next meeting.  I got my zippy on the other day and used a bunch of purple scraps.  I had fun using my so neatly organized scraps.  Wow!  What a difference it makes to have all the scraps neatly pressed and all the strings organized.  I just sat at the sewing machine and selected strings from a purple box and then put all the leftovers away.  Bing, bang, boom and there it was.  A zippy pouch.  I had fun with the quilting.  Lovely soft purple Aurifil #50 wt.  And I used one of Cynthia's handy dandy zipper pulls.  This one says dream big.  Isn't she clever?

Happy Birthday, Mummy!

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Fun find!


Daughter and I hit Michael's on Friday evening for a bunch of wedding stuff.  As we were working our way through her list and figuring out ways to optimize coupon use, I just happened to notice these wee lovelies.  Oh my goodness, Michael's has caught the Zakka bug!  So they came home with me.

Monday, April 27, 2015

On the Design Wall...


I finished putting together what I started last Saturday at the workshop with Krista.  Seriously fun to do this.  The possibilities are fabulous.  So measuring abut 30 by 34", I will finish this as a wall quilt.  I didn't get it sandwiched because I was too busy admiring it on the design wall.  I can be so focused and productive when I am sewing at home but workshops and sew-ins, I don't get much done with the exception of a whole lot of socializing.  For some reason, I was super on task with Krista and I had all the strips and the centre checkerboard finished.  My mind is now full of quilting possibilities.

Linking up with Judy for Design Wall Monday and Lee for Work in Progress Wednesday!


Sunday, April 26, 2015

So busy...



Yesterday was our daughter's wedding shower.  It seems that the last while has been all about the wedding and that is just awesome.  I did manage to take a few pictures before all the food hit the table and the plastic wrap came off.  It was such a lot of fun but man, was I tired last night!  Now we are counting down to the wedding.  Hopefully I will find some quilting time.  In fact, I hear my sewing machine calling my name as we speak.

And this wee fellow thought that wedding shower was the place to be!  Have a super Sunday!


Saturday, April 18, 2015

Many Hands Make Light Work... Modern Baby


  Name:  Many Hands Make Light Work
 
Design:  Modernized Disappearing 9 Patch :  a tutorial by Kristy Daum but with 4" squares
Size:  35" by 48"
Fabric: Stash/scrap fabrics, Kona Ash for the background
Quilted: by me with Aurifil 50 wt in light grey in crosshatch

 So during the Creative Stitches show in Abbotsfod in March was a lot of fun.  Our guild, The Fraser Valley Modern Quilt guild had a fabulous display of modern quilts and we also had 2 presentations on the main stage.  While I showed a powerpoint and did the talk thing, my fabulous guild members, Cynthia, Barbara and Vera on the Featherweight constructed the bulk of this quilt with a bunch of 4" squares I had cut and brought along for that purpose. We used the Modernized Disappearing 9 patch tutorial but with 4 " squares.    Not too shabby.  Let me tell you, Vera sewed with her little Featherweight until it could give no more.  It is actually in the repair shop.  Just as we finished the last presentation, it stopped working.  Too funny!

So once I got it home, I threw the rest of it up on the design wall, did the final construction and the quilting.  I used a fabulous light grey Aurifil for the crosshatch quilting and a Stof print for the binding.  And there it is.  Many Hands Make Light Work.  It was breezy during the photo shoot so the quilt kept blowing as it was on the barn wall.


We wanted to demonstrate how to modern up a traditional block.  In selecting the fabric, I wanted to make sure the fabrics did not read as "baby" but that it would still look like a baby quilt.  It works.

And I am off to spend the day quilting with Krista from Poppyprint.  Have a wonderful Saturday!

Monday, April 13, 2015

Doing my homework


On Saturday, I will be taking a workshop with the fabulous Krista from Poppyprint and author of the brand new book above.  Krista will be teaching us Improv under the Influence and we will be making her Chess on the Steps pattern.  Quite exciting.  I picked and cut fabric in preparation.  Homework done.  Check.


Friday, April 10, 2015

Fabric Friday


How fun is this?  It is an Aunt Grace print from Marcus fabrics and I now have almost 8 metres of it.  I did not plan on it but I went to check out a funky fabric store on my way home from work.  Overseas Fabric in Abbotsford.  Seriously fun.  Warehouse like with scads of brilliant coloured silks and satins and bling.  Lots of bling.  But they also have some quilting cotton and some really quirky extra wide quilt backing.  And deals.  Lots of deals.  And there may have been some bargaining too.  Just saying. So what started out as, oh, I will take 3 metres, please, became something different.  It went a little bit like, 3 metres?  Let's see how much is left on the bolt?  Oh-7 metres or so?  How about you take it all for $25.  I didn't stand a chance.  So it is mine.  All mine.  Happy Friday!

Monday, April 6, 2015

Where does time go?


First of all.  Happy Spring and Happy Easter even though both have already passed.  While I was on spring break, we picked up a few new hens to add to our little flock.  We were lucky enough to find 2 Americana layers.  We named them Hilary and Michelle after a pair of powerful American woman.  Hilary and Michelle lay very pretty eggs.  Just saying.

I also made a pile of double thick receiving blankets for my quilting buddy's new wee grandson.  She is all over the quilts so I thought a stack of super thick, cozy receiving blankets would be the ticket.  So fun!


Other than that, I made 10 cloth napkins with mitered corners today.  Managed to steam burn my thumb pressing all those quarter inch hems.  Seriously.  Ouch.

Tons of family came for Easter.  Second wedding dress fitting for daughter.  So special.  And wedding picture viewing with son and daughter in law.  Wedding plans for wedding number 2 of 2015 are shaping up as is the yard.  And that is a good thing since we are the venue!