A little road trip

Hubby had to work in Charlottetown PEI, so I went along for the trip. I look forward to these little trips, just to have a break in the routine. To watch a little TV, read, nap, you know.

View from my hotel. That strip of blue is of course, the ocean.

Next a picture of the hotel we stayed in. It was built in the early 1900's. It was a famous hotel in its day. It is still beautiful. It has been updated with all of the modern conveniences.

Walked along that board walk which was almost at the waters edge.  That white building is seniors apartments. Awesome to retire there!

Of course I took some hexies to work on. I have them in various stages of development. Using scraps of course. It was good to get some completed. Each one is like a tiny little quilt.

You know the how the saying goes, "Good to get away, good to get home"

I have completed a couple of things I want to blog about, so hopefully it wont be as long in between blogs. I am always amazed how much time has passed!

Watch out for today's blessing.

Bits and pieces.

But they are exciting bits!

These piles represent two strip quilts. Strip quilts are so fun. One pile has 99, 7 1/2", blocks and the other pile has 80, 8 1/2", blocks, which completes the numbe  of blocks I need for each quilt. Instead of using muslin for the foundation, I used paper. It worked well and the resulting quilt will not be so heavy. I  am going to link up with Amanda at Crazy Mums Quilts for her Finish it up Friday.

The next "piece" is my first Swoon blocks. I was bit scared after doing the first one. As you see, because I picked a black back ground, it looks like a Halloween block even though it is pink and yellow. But then when I did the next one, I felt better. I love how the strips look. I was not careful to lay the strips a certain way so they would line up. Kind of like life, you never know what it will throw at you next.

And the last but not the least "bit". This book arrived in the mail just this morning!. I have hardly cracked the cover, because when I do, I wont be thinking about anything else. I did "peak" as I waited for the pictures to upload. So amazing and inspirational. This book is a must have for anyone wanting to expand their FMQ horizons. Check out Diane's Gaudynski's blog. Lots of tips there as well.

Well that's it for this fine Friday. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Watch out for today's blessings!

Post Script!

Just a note about my previous post.  I neglected to say that the applique design is not mine. I got it from a quilting magazine that I have looked for off and on all weekend, to no avail. The quilt top has been finished for awhile, so the quilt mag is not right at my finger tips. There a distinct possibility that I will not find it:(. I feel bad about that. I so appreciate all of the design, quilting process and believe that credit should be given where credit its due. It is hard work and I know that a person  pours a bit of  themselves into the things they create. I appreciate the quilting community for the willingness to freely share patterns, techniques etc. With out that, the quilting process would not be as rewarding and fun. I am still  hoping I will find that mag! In the mean time, thank you, who ever you are, for sharing your design, that I thoroughly enjoyed doing!

Thanks also for the kind comments about the quilting:) So encouraging!

Keep an eye open for today's blessings!

Tulips

Is it too early for tulips and thoughts of spring? I am done with winter. Even though our winter here in NS was basically a good one, I am wanting it to be over. It is +14,  and the sun is shining today so thought I would post pics of this little quilty I finished this week..

Picture of the quilting:

Hand applique and machine quilting.
I  am thankful for people who so freely share their expertise on their blogs.  Leah Day, whose link I have posted on my blog before and Wendy Sheppard. Her blog is worth a visit. She is published in many magazines. Her FMQ is amazing and her "Thread Talks" are a wealth of information.

There is some newly purchased fabric in the washer as I type, to complete a couple of tops I have on the go. When one is completed, another one takes its place. That is the way it is supposed to be, right?!!!

Watch out for today's blessings.

Turning Twenty

Well not really. I am afraid being twenty is only a distant memory. I am talking about the "turning twenty" quilt pattern. I am sure many quilters have made one. I made this particular one a couple of years ago with a couple of friends that wanted something  not too complicated and quick to put together. It is now complete due to my effort of making my WIP pile a little smaller.

There is everything in this quilt as far a fabric goes. I aimed for fabrics that went well together at least in my opinion so there are batiks. Asian, and regular cottons. What I wanted to make note of though, was the quilting. My daughter in law gave me a quilt book for mother's day last year. It is by Malka Dubrawsky. She does amazing work.

As you can see it is quilted with parallel lines that are different widths apart. Now, I must confess that I measured the distance from previous line of quilting and made little "tick" marks as I was going along, also measured from the edges of  the blocks to help me keep the lines parallel  to the blocks and quilt edges. I did not do it free motion. Malka does hers free motion and she does not mark anything. I knew I would find it too frustrating to do that so did what was comfortable for me. I liked how it turned out. The close lines of stitching make the quilt feel extra bulky and solid. Even though it took a bit of time I would do this on a quilt again because of that. It is fairly easy too. Good for a beginner.

Keep an eye out for today's blessings!

Donna

Happy Valentine's Day!

Dont you love it when something happens with the perfect timing, without planing. I finished this little table topper yesterday and put it on the kitchen table. (I know, it looks like it is bed size). Thought it looked great, like it was saying that spring is on its way even if it was in the minus high teens yesterday.

I got up this morning and realized it was Valentine's Day. Happy Valentine's to me! Perfect timing.!

The quilt design is called "Lolly Pop Chain". So fun to do. You can find it on Leah's site. When her page comes up click on 'find a design' or type name of design in search box. She has over 365 designs! Also she shares almost everything you could ever want to know about FMQ.

I had a bit of a challenge finding something to use for the binding. I have this habit of planning tops but not backing and binding. So as I chip away at my pile of WIP there is a mad scramble to find something suitable. I had used most of the extra fabric that matches the top for the backing. I used three different pieces. Something I dont often do but liked how it turned out. It is a good way to use some of your stash. I did find one small piece, though, in the back of my fabric cupboard. It was a match and there was just enough.  

Hope everyone's Valentine's Day is full of chocolate, love and then chocolate!

Keep an eye open for today's blessings!

D

Fun and easy.......

........and beautiful. I have blogged about this quilt before. It was not complete then but it is now finished. It is  hard to see but I used left over fabric for the binding.

It  is a great quilt for the beginner or for someone who has been quilting for awhile, and has lots of scraps. A young women I know has just started one. She has done lots of sewing but this is her first quilt! So exciting. I think she is hooked.

Also wanted to share a couple of pictures of a quilt that I quilted, but my daughter Janine pieced the top. This was one of her first attempts at quilting when she was in her teens. (She is now in her twenties and is into anything to do with fiber). She wanted to quilt it herself  but wanted it for her apartment so we decided I would quilt it so she could enjoy it. I wish the colours turned out better, but you get the idea.

Some of the quilting; I used an over all "plume" design. Not really feathers, but bits of feathers.

And last but not least, I cant resist showing pictures of one of the things I have on the go right now. It is of course scrappy, but selectively so. By that I mean I am using similar colours but using different fabrics to represent those colours, if that makes sense. You can get the pattern here. She has made it a print able one!

Thanks for sitting with me awhile. Hope there is a little time in your life for a "scrap" of creativity.

Keep an eye out for today's blessings.

D