Trips!

You know that saying "take a trip and never leave the farm" well she took a trip and never left the sewing room! This pattern just makes me happy! I was trying to be strategic about the block placement. Then I got to thinking it was a bit like life. You never know what life will throw at you. So am really tempted to, pretty much, pick up a block and use it. Turning the blocks to make the trip pattern and that is it. Yikes. It is a bit scary for me to do it that way. I made 64 blocks so the quilt will be 96x96. I want to practice a new design by Angela Walters. The quilting will not be too noticeable so that is perfect.

Also finished the last quilt that is going to Thailand. It is the Yellow brick road pattern, which is fun to do and fat quarter friendly. Most of the fabrics came from Connecting Threads. My daughter made the top and I quilted it.

We had some extra squares left over so put them in the back. The colour of backing is a nice bright green. Lost in translation!

We are bracing for a blizzard this weekend here in NS. Must dig out my hexies in case the power goes out.


Watch out for today`s blessings!

Happy New Year!

I realize that Jan. is almost over. Most quilters are well on their way to new projects and tackling the WIP pile as part of New Years resolutions. Dreaming of BOM patterns and considering what classes to take.  All the things that quilters do in Jan. because it gives us a new "start" so to speak.

I have had a delightful distraction, so have just started letting my brain go to quilty things. Our daughter got engaged over Christmas! We are so thrilled and excited. Her future husband is an amazing young man and we are happy to have him join our family. The wedding date is set for April 27, 2013.  We have been planning, making lists and dress shopping. What fun.

 

I also want to share this Christmas gift I received. It was from my daughter in law and son. It is special for two reasons. One, of course is because it came from them. My son made the frame. Second, the gift of something quilted is a gift that quilters don't often receive. I love gifts of quilted things. As quilters we tend to most often give gifts of quilting to people who don't quilt. That has been my experience anyway. Amazing eh! Thanks to you both!

Finally a sneak peak. Remember this quilt?

We are having very cold weather here in NS. Hope everyone is warm where ever you are!


Watch out for today's blessings.

Bits

I think that is the title of a lot of the blogs I post. I think one of my New Years resolutions should be to post more often. Smaller posts, that is the answer. I guess I am some what of a haphazard blogger. It just is not something I think about until I have a few things to share. It kind of catches up with me. Anyway will en devour to catch up.

First, I wanted to share about the new threads I ordered from Connecting Threads. As some of you know I recently started long arm quilting. So was trying out different threads. The polyester cones
work so well. Hardly any breakage at all. It is a fine thread which is the look that I like.

Next, finished this little quilt last week. It was a top that someone gave me. It is a scrappy one to say the least. There is every thing in there. Even fabric with tractors! I felt it deserved to be quilted. The same amount of work goes into a quilt top no mater what fabric is used. It was a good one for practicing on. I think it will make a great summer table topper, despite the odd Christmas fabric :)  Pics coming up. See if you can see the tractors. Quilt design is Angela Walter's.

The first and only mug rug I have made. It took a bit of time to make. Sorry it is side ways ;( I just know there is a way to fix that!





















Next a Christmas table topper. The hexies are about the size of a sandwich plate. Had a bit of trouble with the binding so went on line. Found a great tutorial. Here. Heather has a tutorial for the inner angle and the outer angle of hexies.

And last but not least, my niece Annie Rose at the long arm machine. After a little verbal instruction and two minutes practice on the side where the batting is,away she went. She just stepped up to the handles and pressed the start button. No fear or hesitation. The quilt that she is quilting on is her own design. She is a very talented young woman in so many areas. What a privilege to share the love of quilting with her.

Everyone is no doubt in the midst of preparing for Christmas. Remember the real reason for the season is the birth of our Saviour.

Watch out for today's blessings!

As promised

An update on how the quilting is going on the long arm. To say the least it is lots of fun and I still can't believe I own one. It is challenging to not be on it all of the time.

This quilt I did with swirls, which are my favorite to do so far. You can see that they need to be a bit more uniform but that will come.

This next quilt was pieced by a friend of mine. The top was given to me as a gift! I have to say that it is my all time favorite style. So scrappy and the pieces are 1 3/8", finished. It is big enough, to more than cover a queen sized bed. Because of all of the small pieces and moderately dense quilting it is heavy.

There are two different blocks. Pic below shows the two designs. The design in the little nine patch block was a flower of sorts and the strip block had back and forth quilting in the first and third strip.

There was also two borders. First border was two squares wide, so I did a crosshatch of sorts. A bit wobbly but it is such a fun design to do, so I want to get better at it. The other border was made of  the strip squares so it  made a piano key border. I quilted back and forth on every other strip, the same as I did the blocks.

These last two pictures are for Esther over at Threads on the floor. We discovered from blogging back and forth, we were making the same quilt, "Celtic Knot". Check hers out. Her color ways are  different from mine. It has 2,025, 2 1/2 " squares. My top needs borders and it is ready to quilt. It will probably be after Christmas. Not sure how I will quilt it yet.

As you can see, it is scrappy!

Thanks for checking in.



Watch out for today's blessings!

Happy B-Day to my amazing sister

I was the first one to turn fifty, and slowly but surely all of my siblings follow. It is my sister Dianne's turn this year.

I was thinking the same thing, she sure doesn't look fifty. She is beautiful inside and out! She loves those around her, freely and with all that she is. Her life is a testimony to the love that is given to us by God. Having her apart of my everyday life is such a blessing!

This is the little quilty I made for her birthday. It reminded me of her giving spirit. I called it " A Mother's Heart"

A close up:

It is a from Mckenna Ryan's "Bella Garden". So fun to make.

The long arm is buzzing along nicely. I try and spend a bit of time on it every day. Pics soon!

Watch out for today's blessings!

What I have been up to!

Before too much more time has passed I wanted to share some pictures of how the long arm quilting is going. I never dreamed it would be so much fun. There is a definite learning curve though and I am trying to be patient.

This quilt was a good one to start on I think. The strips gave me the idea to practice a different design the width of every three or four strips. Here are couple of the designs I tried.

Next is a picture of a quilt I did for a friend. She made the top and I quilted it.

The back, an all over design.

And last but not least a sneak peak.

Thanks to all of my quilting heroes. Linda, Esther, Leah Day, Wendy Shepard, Greenfairies, Angela Walters and Patsy Thompson, just to name some. So appreciate your contribution to my quilting journey.


Watch out for today's blessings!

I have gone over to the long side!

I will explain in a minute. Maybe you can guess:)

But first I can not believe how long it has been since my last post. What a whirlwind of a summer and beginning of fall. Lots of stuff happened, both good and challenging. I want to share some of the good things!

 My Sister was home from Florida and my niece from NY that I had not seen for five years. We all had such fun. They rented a little cottage very close to our house. Ten days goes by super fast.

Then we had 80th B Day celebration for my dad. Had tons of food, family and friends old and new. Mum and dad!

My amazing Dad and his four kids.

In Sept one of my nephews got married to and amazing young woman. What beautiful ceremony.

Next Phoenix Arizona for a week. It was like being on another planet. Scenery was so amazing!
This was the view from our hotel room. First time we had ever traveled to a place like this.

And then end of Sept into Oct, 3 weeks in Alberta, visiting the sweetest little family. Not bias at all. We had sooo much FUN! Walks and talks, reading and playing, holding and hugging. Basically I was given the privileged to do life with them. That is what I enjoy most of all.  Thanks guys!

As far as quilting goes, I feel like I have lived vicariously through my favorite blogs. I believe blogging (for me anyway) has an ebb and flow just like life. I loved keeping in touch and seeing all of the projects that were accomplished over the summer. Good job!

Well now to explain the title if you haven't already guessed. They say that a picture is worth a thousand words so.........

This machine IS actually in my studio! Even as I look at this photo I am still amazed. I never dreamt in a million years that I would have a long arm sewing machine, but there it is. My sweet husband convinced me that now was the right time to get one. It is a Pfaff Precision 3. Hubby and I opened the box, went step by step until it was set up. Followed the DVDs and manual to the letter and before we knew it, it was ready to go. It is a dream to sew on it.

First stitches sewn. It is so fun!

I was never a "jump in with both feet" kind of a person, but I did with this. I have a "real" quilt on the machine now, trying out different designs to get the feel of it. It definitely will take a lot of practice, but I am looking forward to the process.

Glad to be back! Will be posting a bit more often I hope. At least now you know where I will be and what I am doing!

Thanks for catching up with me.

Watch out for today's blessings!