Bee Blocks on the barn wall...

Here they are!  So pretty!  I made these Kaleidoscope blocks for Nicole  for That Stash Bee.  This is a free block pattern from Quilter's Cache and Nicole's colour choices just sing!  I have to say that I had moments of frustration when making these.  Lots of gnashing of teeth and grumpy stomping.  The really silly thing is that it was not about the block or the sewing it was about the darn printing of the template!  Seriously!  If I opened up the template and printed it, then I got the template at the size that Nicole wanted.  I did that and made one block which is 4 little blocks.  Then I went and printed out 4 more templates.  When I printed more templates, I saved the pdf file and printed it from my saved copy.  I happily made 4 more sections, making one more block.  But it was so much bigger!  OMG!  Are you kidding?  Simply by saving the template, the template became about 25% bigger and since I made the second block the next day, I did not clue in until the block was completed.  Long story is that I now have 4 of these blocks finished.  2 of them will be popped in the mail and then the super sized blocks (not that super sized but bigger) are the start of a really awesome quilt with a great colour scheme!!!

That is the story.

And some pillows...

I made this pair of pillows for daughter for Christmas.  She has requested pillows for their guest room.  A beachy sort of look.  I had already given her a quilt so the pillows needed to work with it.  The quilt was quite busy so the pillows couldn't be.  I decided to use some small scraps in the same colour palette but with lots of negative space.

So there they are.  Not matching.  Not even the same size but a pair nonetheless.  Quilted in straight lines in Aurifil 50 wt in white.  Lots of straight lines.  The pillows are backed in a natural linen/cotton blend from Robert Kaufman and a bit of a stripe.  Beachy.  And finished with an enclosed zipper which happens to be my new favourite pillow finish.

A Friday Finish.  Check.  Linking up with Amanda Jean for Finish it Up Friday.

A year in quilts...

Happy New Year!  I have had another quilt filled year!  I would add that if you are interested in any details about any of these pictures, I do have links at the top of the page for quilt finishes.

Linking up with Lynne at Lily's Quilts for Fresh Sewing Day!  And I just happened to receive her lovely book 500 Quilt Blocks for Christmas!  Yay!

Shop Hoppin' with the Fraser Valley Modern Quilt Guild

I had this idea.  What if I invited a bunch the Fraser Valley Modern Quilt Guild to go on a shop hop with me?  What if I said I would drive?  How many quilters could I fit in my van????  And how many others would join us?  Lots!  I think there were 9 of us altogether.  We started at the Spool of Thread in Vancouver.  That was fun!  Forgive the phone pic!

I added some low volume fabrics to the stash and some Liberty.  YUM!

Then we were off to lunch at Canteen Mitra for lunch!  Seriously yummy!  Thanks Cynthia for the great idea!



Fabricana in Coquitlam was the next stop.  Sales!  Lots of them.  We spent some quality time at Fabricana before heading off to Surrey to Save On Fabrics.  Save on Fabrics is a discount fabric store.  You never know what will be there.  They stock quilting fabric, lots of garment fabrics (excellent selection of wool melton cloth) and all sorts of other stuff!  I scored some Anna Maria Horner fabric along with a seaside print that is so wrong it is right!  I have been feeling buyers regret for a year at not buying any of it and was delighted to find a vast quantity this time on a giant roll.  I also found some monkeys, a ditsy floral print and a great black on white dot because I am really trying to build up the low volume options.



I checked in with husband at this point because it was starting to get dark.  I told him we were still on the road.  He decided the whole adventure was like bar hopping for quilters.  Totally.  I then learned we were close to Wineberries.   Why not?  And what a nice shop that was!  I picked up some American Jane rulers.  The first few of us in the door scored the last bit of that until Cynthia unearthed a fat quarter.  The ladies in the shop were delighted to meet Cynthia because they had her entire Christmas line and were almost sold out.  Oh, that was fun!



So here is the rest of what followed me on home.  The sales were great.  I am sure this will be an annual event! And I was so tired when I finally got home!!!!!

Gifted...

I made this Perfectly Quilted tote for my Mum for Christmas.  I gave a sneak peak a little bit ago  but I could not reveal the whole thing.  Apparently she was hoping it would come her way when she spotted it in progress on my blog.  She has a thing for blue and white so I had to be particularly obtuse when saying, oh so casually, that I was making it for a "friend."  He he he.

I have said it before and I will say it again.  This is a great pattern.  And this is the other side.

And the inside...

And this is something my Mum made for me.  A bum warmer for my sewing chair.  Clever isn't she????
I did not realize this was something I needed but it has made my sewing so much warmer.  Who knew????
Thanks MUM!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!  May there be many quilty surprises under the tree!

Modern Scrappy Bits Swap... Round Five

I received my Modern Scrappy Bits Swap package just the other day and it came all the way from the UK.  Thank you so much, Kath!  She made me a lovely covered journal and then sent a giant pile of scraps which included some lovely linen and a bunch of ribbon.  Nice!!!!

I have joined the Modern Scrappy Bits swap since it started and I have always received fabulous swap packages!  I anticipate another round in the New Year.  Keep an eye out and join in the fun!