An invitation.

All things are not right for all people. I have been blogging for about a year now and I realize that it is not for me. I find that I labour over the text, moving things around, loading pictures all of which seems to come easy for most people.  So I have made a Face Book page called "All the Pretty Pieces" . I invite you to look for me and "like" my page. Once you have done so you can invite your quilty friends to "like" me from your FB profile by clicking on the "invite friends" spot on the right hand side of your page. Here is the profile picture I used, so look for that when you are searching.

Sorry if this excludes anyone who has been following my blog. I will "blog" once in awhile but will use my FB page regularly. I will continue to follow my favorite blogs, so you will be hearing from me. Your blogs are such a big part of my quilting journey, how I am inspired and feel apart of that bigger community. Thanks to those who have followed my blog.  I  have so appreciated your encouragement!

Be blessed and continue to enjoy your journey!

D

Slabs!

Are so much fun. I have been wanting to try them ever since I bought the book "Sunday Morning Quilts"

Here is a pic of the ones I have made.

Cheryl, one of the authors of the book, posted a blog requesting "slabs" to make into quilts for the Calgary flood victims. I was just the push I needed. They are so fun to make and are definitely scrap busters. Instructions are in the book or Cheryl has put instructions on her blog. The deadline for sending her  the slab blocks is July 30th. 

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer!

Watch out for today's blessings!

Pinwheels!

I have always loved pinwheels. Especially in quilts, of course. I found the patterns for them a little intimidating. Angles or templates. Until I bought one of Kim Brackett's books called "Scrap-Basket Surprises". She has an amazingly simple way of doing pinwheels. The blocks are 6" and there is lots of fabric from "Connecting Threads".

A close up of the border quilting and the back. I used several different quilt designs for the backgrounds of the pinwheels. I also pressed the seam toward the pinwheel fabric so they pop very nicely when the background is quilted.

I made this quilt for me. To hang in my sewing space, which I painted this spring. The first coat I painted was bright and I liked it but I ended up toning it down a bit. You know how that goes! So my DDIL suggested to add color with accessories. I think this little quilt does the job perfectly!




Watch out for today's blessings!

Wedding pics and a come back!

Well as most of you know our beautiful daughter got married, April 27th! What an amazing mind blowing day it was. Such a beautiful ceremony. We are very blessed to have Alan Guinan become part of our family!

Here we are before the wedding! Our son and his wife were here for five days, from far away. Totally a God thing!

It was hard to settle to anything after the wedding but I do have a couple of things to share. Have also been gardening when ever weather permits.

I love cathedral windows. I found a good tutorial on Kim's blog. Such a good idea to make something small if you want to try something new, rather than make plans for a huge quilt. I found them a little tricky to make, so now know I would not make a big quilt, but do love the pin cushion. I have made a couple. Great little gift!

This little wall hanging I made for friends of mine before the wedding. That is how I see them, as lights. Beacons for those around them. Their friends and family. Children and grandchildren (which, as it so happens we share). I did a bit of trapunto on the buildings and boats. Hard to really see.

First time to try HST. They are a lot of fun. I did a bit of research on how other people do them. Lots of instructions out there. I liked the idea of cutting the squares an inch bigger than the finished block, rather than just 7/8" bigger. Then trim to size.




Last but not least, a finish. Had the top made for a while, so it was a matter of getting it quilted. My rendition of one of the  Ivory Spring designs. Pattern inspired by  Atkins Designs called, Yellow Brick Road.

The back!

Thanks for visiting. Hoping to be a bit more regular with the posting, so post are shorter and quicker to get through!


Watch out for today's blessings!

A quick share.

Sharing this quilt I made for a special friend. I gave it to her last week so can post pictures. It is in purple and greens. It the Atkinson design Yellow Brick Road. I have used this pattern several times. It is fun to do and uses FQ. Uses the whole entire FQ which I like. A couple of things I wanted to point out. The q-design is a longarm rendition of Patsy Thompson's "plumes". She has some great q-design that I have done on my domestic machine, so want to learn them on the longarm.

The back

The next photo shows a q-design that I learned from watching Jamie Wallen's youtube videos. His work is stellar and worth having a look. He has a web site as well. Gives lots of tips and has an online store.This particular design he marks out. I wanted to try marking to see what the process was like. To see if it would be an option for me. It is a lot of extra work. I really like the free motion better, I think. But if there was something specific I wanted to do I would use a marked design again. This quilt was also the first one that I quilted the top border, then center of the quilt and bottom border. Then took the quilt off of the rails and turned it, put it back on to do the two side borders. It was a bit time consuming but not as scary as I thought it would be. I would do that again for sure if the occasion presented itself.

Have a great weekend, in spite of the snow, if you are getting some where you are.

Watch out for today's blessing!

It has been a month!

I am always amazed at how much time has passed since my last blog! Time flies when you are having fun, or busy or both!

I first want to share the addition to my sewing space. I posted pics on Facebook a while ago but haven't blogged about yet. It is a sewing surface that goes the entire width of my sewing room. WITH LOTS OF DRAWERS! Two sewing stations. If you are wondering if that is a bottle of wine you are right. We had a little celebration on its completion.

My Dad made this for me. He has been a a carpenter most of his adult life. He does everything with such exactness. He was able to make a hole in the top that fit my plexi glass table exactly, so now it is level with the sewing surface of the new bench. He is 81 years young! So great for putting bindings on larger quilts.

Can you guess what is going on in the next photo? 144 tiny jars of grape jelly for wedding favours. The day is fast approaching.

The little runner I made for Janine's shower gift.  It is a Laundry Basket Quilt pattern.

It was so fun to do. I love Edyta's patterns.

A shot of Janine opening her gifts at the shower. 26 more days before the wedding. It is hard to focus on much else. We are all getting excited. Family coming from US, and western Can. to add to the anticipation of the event.

I have completed two quilts since my longarm has been fixed. Will post pics next blog, probably with a wedding picture or two!

I trust everyone had a great Easter. He has risen indeed!  Spring to follow soon I hope.



Watch out for today's blessings!

Mysteries

One of the favorite topics of quilter's is our UFOs or I like to call them WIPs. Work in progress gives a better feeling of moving forward. Life is like that, a work in progress!

Two finishes to share. Both are Mystery Quilts, which I total enjoyed. Mystery Quilts can be a stretch. Not knowing anything about the pattern except the pile of pieces cut in various colours sizes and shapes. Yikes. Sent my OCD...ness running for cover. If you haven't ever participated in one, they are fun.

Here is the first one. It is from 2009. Don't even remember the time line, but this one sat mainly because I had no idea how to quilt it. I have blogged about it before. Even asked for advice. Thanks to those who replied. I combed books and mags. I got out my disappearing pencil and did some designs on the blocks and spaces. Nothing seemed to be "just right". It wasn't until I had it loaded on the longarm with my hands on the handles did I know what I was going to quilt. Even at that moment I didn't have a plan, just started quilting. I am pleased with the result but it was hard on my brain:)

It looks like it is ready to go for a magic carpet ride!

The second one is the 2012 Mystery quilt. It is the largest quilt I have done, I think. Needless to say I was thankful for the longarm! That design is in the entire center of the quilt. I did it free motion so don't look too close. It was so fun to do. The circles aren't perfect but when it is on the bed you can't really tell. The print is Dandelion Girl by Fig Tree Quilts for Moda.

Close ups

On the bed,

Thanks for stopping by!


Watch out for today's blessings!