Look both ways...

Happy New Year! It's that time of year again... time to look back on 2014 and look forward to 2015. This is one of those sorts of posts that I write more for myself than for you, dear reader. Please permit me a few a year! ☺


2014 Achievements (If you'd like to compare them to my goals for 2014, check out last year's post!)

• Purchased no quilt magazines and I don't think I bought any books. I did purchase a few digital downloads (Good Old Hockey Game, Big Butt Baby Pants, Preppy the Whale), but have made each and every one of them!

• Finished these items from The List - Starburst QAL, Christmas pillow cases & pillow covers, Good Old Hockey Game.
• De-stashed when I moved my studio - still working on sending some things to new homes!
• Made two twin-sized quilts to be donated to the Choices program at the IWK (one needs layering and quilting).  I donated a number of baby quilts as well.

• Completed 5 projects as part of The Library Project! Check 'em out here!
• Made lots of items to welcome Double Trouble into our home

• Completed all blocks of the Pile o' Fabric SkillBuilder BOM up to October

• Made blocks for my virtual bees (ModQImprov finished in May and Global Scrap Bee finished in August)
  
  

And moving on to this year's quilting goals. Though I'm not going as hard core as Adrienne over at Chezzetcook Modern Quilts, I am simplifying this year. I'm keeping it to three guiding ideas: #1 - The List, #2 - Use my resources wisely, and #3 - Make time



#1 - The List
Every year at this time, I update my UFO/WiP list. It involves much poking into closets, shelves, and bins in search of WiPs. This year, when moving my studio, I lost the paper list. Oops! Here's a portion of the 2015 version. It's already printed and up on the bulletin board - ready to cross things off as I go!

Improv Herringbone (ModQImprov blocks) - make more blocks & piece top
Toes in the Sand - Layer, quilt, & bind
Underwater - Appliqué, layer, quilt, & bind
Warm/Cool HST - continue making blocks
Selvages - continue making blocks
Sochi Diamonds - Bind & add hanging sleeve
Batik Strip - Layer, quilt, bind, & donate
Skill Builder BOM 2014 - Finish blocks (October, November, December) piece & bind
Honey - Add hanging sleeve
Charm Pack Cherry - Layer, quilt, bind, & donate

#2 - Use my resources wisely
I have a considerable stash of fabric and I enjoy the odd FART or trip to my LQS (please refer to the Alphabet Soup tab if you are mystified by this sentence). I'm not saying I won't buy fabric... I'm just going to work from my stash when I can. It gives me an odd sense of satisfaction! And as for my magazine/book/pattern resources, I've likely got enough inspiration on my shelves to last me well into another decade! That said, my new copy of Patchwork City arrived today! Nothing wrong with the occasional treat! Time is a resource too... so I'm not going to be making big quilt-y commitments this year. The QALs will just have to go AL without me for a while!

#3 - Make time
This is could be tough to achieve this year. Life has changed a lot in the past seven weeks and there doesn't always seem to be time for quilting and blogging. That said, this isn't just a hobby for me - it's a creative outlet and a stress reducer. I'm going to make a conscious effort to get to as many MMQG meetings and Sew Ins as possible and to get into the studio each day and make something that brings me joy, even if it's just for half an hour. Stress reduction is no less important than laundry or vacuuming... there it is...

Quilting is joy for me. I'm going to keep on blogging about it! Happy New Year everyone... here's to a joyful 2015!

J

P.S. I'm linking up with Yvonne @ Quilting JetGirl who is hosting 15 Quilting Resolutions for 2015 link-up. I've far from 15... but I bet she'll let me link up anyway! :)

WIP Wednesday - More hexies and a heck of a lot of quliting!

Wednesday's rolled around again and my major WIP, Double Trouble, is well... still a work in progress. To distract myself from the discomfort, I've been sewing a fair bit. Isn't it amazing what some quilt therapy can achieve?

This past week-end saw me heading off to the October Sew In for MMQG. I've given up on taking my machine... though MANY of my guildmates offered to carry it to and from the car for me. Such nice ladies! I took advantage of the comfy couch and spent the afternoon handstitching the binding on Honey. Just a sneaky peeky for you today... finish post coming soon!

Our little (but growing!) guild has been asked to participate in a zipper pouch swap with the Victoria Modern Quilt Guild. I couldn't pass it up... I do love a swap! But I figured I'd better get moving and make something before DT makes their appearance! Of course, I decided to do something simple...

Yeah, right. Apparently all the work I've been doing on Honey has turquoise-y hexies stuck in my brain. And I couldn't make large hexies. Where would the fun be in that? These are ¾ inch.

Honestly, the biggest problem with hexies is knowing when to stop. I'm done now. Honest. I just need to quilt this critter and turn it into a zipper pouch!

I finally decided how I wanted to quilt my Global Scrap Bee quilt - which apparently I haven't blogged about since August when the blocks were just starting to roll in! I've been working on emphasizing negative space lately, so I quilted only the white sections. The blocks are so linear - I wanted the FMQ to work with that feeling instead of against it. That goodness for my Pile O Fabric Skill Builder blocks... I used this pattern on the Library Shelf block and it just seems to fit the Converging Corners block.

Sometimes I get into a project and realize that it would have been better to work on the dining room table. This quilt didn't seem so big until I sat down at my studio desk and got to it! A few needles were broken before I realized that the weight of the quilt was really pulling on my machine!

And then... thread-tastrophy! With only this small (one block, really) section left, I completely and utterly ran out of white thread. Progress stalled... oh well, it's not like there's a world wide white thread shortage or something.

An emergency trip to the LQS yesterday (and comments of "You're still sewing?" from the ever helpful staff) saw me finishing all that lovely FMQ today. Now I'm off to handstitch the binding... if the weather holds, I might even cram in a quilty photo shoot one day this week! There's a great location I've been eyeing up for a couple weeks!

Hope you found some time to sew this week - whether you needed it as quilt therapy or not! ☺

J

I'm linking up today with WIP Wednesday @ Freshly Pieced and Let's Bee Social @ Sew Fresh Quilts. Gotta love a link up to get me motivated to post!

WIP Wednesday - A little bit of this, a little bit of that...

I've been feeling a bit ADD with my quilting lately. I mean, I'm spending a lot of time in the studio, but it doesn't seem like much is getting finished. I keep bouncing from one thing to another!

In the past week, blocks have been rolling in from my bee mates in the Global Scrap Bee. I was Queen Bee for July (you can read about my royal request here)... check out the lovelies that have arrived so far. far!

Last night I whipped up 4 more blocks... I love the way the corners come together and take your eye away from the original block. I figure if a couple more trickle in, it'll make a comfortable sized snuggle quilt. And I already have a good idea of who it might need to live with ☺

I'm also completely up to date on my Pile O Fabric Skill Builder BOM blocks. Yay, me!☺ This month featured more appliqué with Liquid Stitch. Again, I finished two blocks without even turning the machine on. So strange. These are meant to be spools of ribbon... a little more abstract than the rest of the blocks in the series!

 And these ones... can you guess?

If you said books on a shelf, you'd be right! I worked hard to match the font colour on the selvage to the Kona used. I know, I know... only I would care about that! And I managed to work in two selvages in French. Oh, the things that make me happy.

I'm linking up today with the Needle and Thread Network, as well as with WIP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced.

J

Global Scrap Bee - August Edition!

Well, I've been replaced! Now that July is over, I'm no longer Queen Bee. My bee-mate and sister Square, Q-D, has replaced me. Her request for the month is the Urban Chicken block from Wombat Quilts. Hard to believe she didn't pick something paper pieced!  In terms of colour, she requested bright vibrant colours. Of course, I was given a little nudge...

 Sadly for Q-D, I didn't have enough of either of these fabrics left in my stash to make the initial 3½ by 14½ inch strip required for the block. I went with these instead...

To make this block, I had to do something new to me... sew my strips into a tube. This technique always made me nervous, but it worked out perfectly. I made the tube, then sliced it up and detached it at different points to get my strips of coloured squares.

The Urban Chicken block even leaves room for a little improv - these triangles are supposed to be wonky!

I really worked at getting the seams on my squares to match up perfectly. I even channeled Q-D and used pins (though not in this pic!)

 And here it is all finished... lovin' how those Domino Dots and Pearl Bracelet look!

I enjoyed making it so much that I decided to whip up another one... and Q-D made me two blocks when I was Queen Bee, so it's only fair. I know one of these prints isn't as dark in value as it should be to make the block just right, but Q-D's been a little hooked on Carolyn Friedlander's Botanics lately, so I couldn't resist working some in!

It's hard to believe there's just one month left in this bee... and then I'll be bee-less. I've been toying with the idea of starting one of my own... anyone interested? I was thinking perhaps of a Kona bee...

J

I'm linking up with Anything Goes Monday @ Stitch by Stitch!

Global Scrap Bee - July Edition!

Happy Canada Day everyone!

And you know the best part (other than a day off and local strawberries appearing in the supermarket)? July's my month to be Queen Bee for Global Scrap Bee!  For me, the toughest bit of these on-line bees is choosing the block for others to make. Not too easy, not too hard. Not too small, or you even up making a pile yourself to get a decent sized quilt. So many factors! And then there's colour... and I'm not so good at decision making!

On a recent post, I got a few great suggestions. I've also been pinning ideas to my Bee Blocks board on Pinterest. When a bee mate posts a tutorial on FaceBook (or Flickr where our bee began), I pin it. It's so much easier than scrolling through past posts when it's time to make the block.

In the end, I've decided on the Converging Corners block from Film in the Fridge. I figured that this time, I'd make some test blocks before I launched them on my bee-mates. I'll finally be making an aqua and red quilt! This palette from Design Seeds sums it up pretty nicely (though it is a little Christmas-y for July)!

http://design-seeds.com/

Out came the red scraps...

 And then the aqua...

Partway through, I thought some greys would look good and give a little more variety to the palette...

 Then I remembered these prints... perfection!

 And the finished product!

 I had to sneak this little fox in... he's just too cute!

I can hardly wait for the blocks to start appearing in my mailbox!

J

P.S. If you're looking for something a little more patriotic, check out Adrienne's (from Chezzetcook Modern Quilts) finish from earlier this week. Fabulous!

Global Scrap Bee - June Edition!

This month's Queen Bee requested a Liberated Wedding Ring block and provided this tutorial by Little Miss Shabby.  And she said it could be as scrappy as we liked! Ultra scrappy produces studio conditions like this...

 And this...

These improv-y scrappy bits are built on strips of paper.... not a technique I normally use, but it worked well for this block. 

 Then to trim them down.

Major snafu when adding the white triangles to the scrappy strips... my poor abused ironing board decided, for the first time ever, to bleed purple dye onto my lovely Kona White. On the up side, the block wasn't fully assembled and I could easily replace it. Apparently, a new ironing board cover should be on the to do list! ☺

 Et voilà! C'est fini! Yeah... it's not even June 30th and I'm done my block! And it's already in the mail!

Now, dear readers, comes the tricky part. I've just realized that I'm the Queen Bee for July and I haven't decided on a block. I've got a couple ideas... there's Birds in the Air... but I'm not sold. Any suggestions for me? Honestly, choosing my own block is the hardest part of bees!

J

Global Scrap Bee - April Edition

Nope, you didn't read wrong! I had a major air head moment and completely missed doing a block for April's Queen Bee, Robin Sue from over at RobinSue Quilts. Honestly sometimes I wonder where my brain is these days!

Anyway, Robin Sue was kind enough to create her own tutorial for the Colorado Beauty Block she requested. And we got to make it in whatever colour we wanted! I opened up my cool scrap bin, planning to cut into some turquoise, but look what greeted me...

How could I resist those lovely royal blues? They're leftover bits from J-Boy's Good Old Hockey Game quilt and they're large enough to work perfectly for the needed 4 inch squares. Love that Pearl Bracelet!

 Don't you just love an HST? They come together so quickly and are just so darned versatile!

I just had to include a shot of the newest addition to my studio, brought back from the US by the Z's. My new scrap basket! It's made by Beth Ezold of Fernhaven Quilting and Crafts in New Hampshire. And I'd be lying if I said I wasn't sort of trying to figure out how it's made! ☺

And here's the finished product! I do love it when I can sew in the evening and still get good outdoor light to snap a pic. Summer's here on the East Coast! Please excuse my toe... it does add a nice little pop of red to the composition though!

Now I can truly say I'm back on track with my bee blocks! Next up, Queen Bee for June Barb's request for a Liberated Wedding Ring block. But I still have the rest of the month for that!

J

Global Scrap Bee - May Edition!

The Queen Bee for this month, Ruth from Charly & Ben's Crafty Corner,  requested a Scrappy Star block and provided this tutorial from Clover & Violet. The idea was a bright solid star on a low volume background. No trip to the LQS required for this one!

Cutting - check! I went for Kona The Breakers - a more recent addition to the line. Love, love, love this colour!

 Have I ever mentioned that I love chain piecing? It's just so quick!

 And time to sew the star points. Oops! Not quite...

 That's better!

 Now to lay out all the bits so that my repeated low volume prints aren't close to each other!

And done! This block came together so quickly!

I'm excited to send it off in the mail this week (with a few other overdue Bee blocks!)

J