Memories of week-end past...

Sometimes I wake up on Monday morning and can't believe the week-end is really over? What? Two days? That's it? I managed to cram a fair bit into this past week-end, while still getting some of the quiet, down time I need to re-charge for the onslaught of another week of teaching the kiddos.

I got a running start on Saturday with a trip to the farmer's market, a solid hour and a half of Miss K's (of Miss K's Dare fame!) b-ball, then I was off to the main event - a Stitch n' Bitch session with Adrienne from Chezzetcook Modern Quilts.

You know the best part about days like this? Learning stuff! In relatively short time we were together, I learned all about Stash Bee (which I've decided to put off for another year), Bloglovin' (which I've recently signed up for and claimed my blog on), how to machine sew a binding (haven't done that in forever!) and likely a few other things. I forget what things I taught Ade other than Frixion pens! We talked a lot about the upcoming first meeting of the Maritime Modern Quilt Guild... just think how much we'll learn once we get a whole bunch of MQs in a room!
Oh yeah, and we sewed stuff!

One tricky bit about sewing off site is figuring out what to bring...

 

The pile just kept growing and growing. In the end, I brought a three small projects as well as my blocks received to date for ModQImprov Canada. Surprisingly, I managed to fit it all in one easy to carry bag. Life Tetris! Who says video games don't give you real life skills? The main project of the day was quilting Ms. C's girlie baby quilt. Dominique over at The Running Thimble asked a fine question on my last post about this quilt when I was seeking some direction on the quilting. She asked what I most wanted to highlight (I've paraphrased a bit here!). I opted to emphasize the asymetrical squares created by the placement of the HSTs.

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I quilted it in a pale pink to match the Kona Pearl Pink. I really should make a New Year's Resolution about being more bold with my thread choices!

Then on to the binding... I really wanted to finish this piece, but wasn't in the mood for hand sewing. Enter machine binding! I used to do this back when I first started quilting, but stopped because I just didn't like the results. My binding has come a long way since those days, so I thought I'd give it another shot. The Wonderclips (again, I should be a spokesmodel!) helped a lot, but catching the binding on the back whilst sewing on the front didn't work out so well for me. I had to re-visit quite a few sections... more reason to be matchy matchy with one's thread! In the end, I'm pleased with the result, but I don't know that I'll be abandoning my hand stitched bindings any time soon.

I like sewing at Ade's... her studio space is so sunny and bright. And there's all that fabric to admire. When she wasn't looking, I sneaked a few yards worth of lovely FQs into my bag. Just kidding! Breathe, Adrienne!

My next project for the day is another from the Quilting Project Protection Program. Sadly, I can't tell you too much about it, but I can show off this fun fabric I got to slice into! I can't decide which one of the Keep Calms I like best!

Of course, I had to work some solids into this project! That's Blue Jay, Cardinal, Orange, Jade Green, and Amethyst (from front to back).

Cute little taggy bits.... what will they become, you ask? Stayed tuned! If you have good eyesight, my notebook might give you the answer! ☺

I also brought along this other project from the QPPP. Sorry, once again, I can't share much about this one for a while... I can say that it's now quilted and bound. All that remains is to sign it and send it to its forever home.
There's nothing like a productive sew day to make you feel like you've made the most of your week-end! I can hardly wait for Ade and I's next Stitch n' Bitch session. We're going to take on Elizabeth's Hartman's Sewing Circle Tote... should be interesting given that Ade firmly states that she is a quilter. Not a sewist. But the pay off of this quilted bag should be enough to keep her going... I get to try Quilt As You Go (and offer moral support on the dreaded zipper)... could be an interesting day!

Make sure to check out Blogathon Canada put on by Sew Sisters - there's a lot happening this week! And I'm proud to say that my quilt-y pal is repping for the East Coast! Woo hoo, Adrienne!!!

Have a large week, everyone! ☺

J