off to Scotland

Well, I am off to Scotland a another day!

We are going for a family wedding. It should be fun, everyone will be in their kilts...

well..... maybe more like this....

and me in my fascinator....

My biggest problem right now is how to pack this!! I think that I will put it into a shoe box and carry it on the plane...hate to trust it in the checked baggage- I have seen how they get thrown around!

Anyway, I will be out of computer contact for a couple of weeks! I will be in withdrawal by the time I get back!!!
See you in September! ; )  
(don't have any great giveaways while I am away LOL)

Work in Progress Wednesday

Now that "Daydream" is finished (whew!) I can move on to other things!
So back to the "Square Dance"...laying out the blocks...

and adding a border...

"Oasis" is now ready to baste and quilt...

The "wonky blocks" are still sitting in a bag somewhere  (oops)

And now I have started something new...

 This pattern was in a Quilt magazine, and I am using the fat quarter bundle that I bought in Newfoundland (Thank you again Andrea from Comfort Cove designs.)
I don't usually follow a pattern, and this reminds me why....lots and lots and lots of little pieces!!!
Oh well ......I need a challenge!

Now I am heading over to Freshly Pieced to see what everybody else is up to this week! Such fun!!

Etchings

I had a layer cake of "Etchings" by Moda..

Love all the muted colors with splashes of red.
I didn't really have a plan in mind, but wanted to highlight some of the really cool fabric...maps of Paris...blueprints of elevations of buildings...

so I started cutting, leaving a 5" square, and the rest into 2.5" strips- one 10", two 7.5", and one 5"

I cut 3 layers at once and then I mixed them up so each block had each of the 3 prints...

Then starting with the 5" square, and adding the 5" strip first..

then the same fabric 7.5" strip...

then the third fabric for the next 7.5" and 10" strips...

trimming off the little bits from the edges...

Voila! That is my block! It finishes at 9.5" .
And the great thing about this is that there is hardly any waste.....just a little pile of the edge trimmings left from the whole Layer cake!! Nice!!

Not sure yet if I will add some sashing or just sew them together in a random fashion (well as close to random as I do!!).
Stay tuned : )

I see apple pie in my future..

I guess it is a sign that summer is coming to an end....the apples on my little tree at the cabin are starting to fall off, so I guess it is time to pick them. Last year I only got an ice cream pail full...but they seemed to over achieve this year.....

I think I see a lot of apple pie, apple muffins, apple betty....maybe I will be browsing for some new apple recipe ideas too!!

I did have a little visitor too....

this little guy flew into the front window, and landed on the chair below. He seemed a little dazed for a few minutes, but didn't seem to be hurt, and flew away again after several minutes.

great giveaway!

First of all I want to thank you for all the kind comments about Daydream!! 
(I love flattery....keep it coming....it is a good motivator LOL)


Here is the quilt in it's new home....looks perfect! Now I love it again!

And now about the great giveaway...over at Green Fairy Quilts! They are giving away a Fat Quarter Bundle with 38 fat quarters in it, a Jelly Roll and a Layer Cake.  WOW!! that is quite an amazing giveaway!!  Check out their blog page, they tell you about their charity, children in Romania. (Donations accepted here.) 

Friday finishes !

Yeah! Whoopeee!!! Hooooray !!!!
I am finished Daydream!!!

I am sure you are all tired of hearing me whine about all the issues I had getting this one quilted!! I am kind of tired of it myself. But once it was washed and dried the imperfections are barely noticeable....

Maybe I love it again....

I love seeing other people do pieced backings, but am not a big fan of doing it myself (I think I like to relax and keep it simple) But I was short on the backing so added some leftovers from the front.
I am also not a big fan of orange, but thought this backing was perfect..

Anyway, glad to have it finished, I am packing it up to take to the cabin this weekend, where it will find its new home on our bed there.

I need an explanation...

I am busy adding the borders onto "Oasis" today....

and so far so good! But I need an explanation.

I was reading a blog awhile back giving a tutorial on how to properly add borders...Measure through the center of the quilt to get the true size, and make your borders that length.  Of course hers was perfect, so both sides were the same length. Yeah, well mine aren't always quite that perfect...I am sort of a "close enough" sewist!! (I know the quilt gods will punish me .....and frequently do when things don't match up in the end!!)
Anyway, I digress...so I emailed her and asked her what to do if the sides are not perfectly the same.

mmmmm..I am thinking that she has never had that problem!! Haha!  She suggested that maybe I should ease in the longer side !

So here is my question...why is that so important??

When I make smaller items like wall hanging, of course you want to make sure that it is even and square, but on a quilt that is 60" or 80" does it really matter if one side is slightly longer? Wouldn't it look better to have it lie flat rather than ease in part and have little ripples??  Unless you are entering a show, or hanging it, will you ever notice a slight difference?? I am not talking 2" ...that might be different...but 1/2" or 3/4" even, on a large quilt doesn't seem that significant to me. I would be interested in your comments!

Now back to my "slash and sew" approach to borders!!

Nearing the finish line

Have you ever had a project that just seems to have problems right  from the start:??
Well maybe not from the start....when I was -30C. last winter these bright colors did cheer me up...

But is seems that there has been one little problem after another...my backing was a bit too small- that is ok, I added a strip from the front fabric.

...I ran out of thread...OK, not a big deal, I ran to the store to get more.
...multiple problems with the FMQ....back to the repair shop, get all the advice that I possible can.....try every solution that I can think of.....leave it alone for 3 weeks (best solution yet!)

But.. I did come back to this..and the FMQ seems to be some better, although I am still have some problems with breaking thread (and I have tried changing thread several times).

I tried to do a circular flower kind of pattern all over....

and on the borders just a continuous loop...

And (little happy dance here) I am finished!! Well close to finished anyway.. I still have to add the binding... I have the binding ready to go on. I like to use 2 1/4 " for my binding, it is pressed and sewn....but I am looking at this little pile thinking that it doesn't look like quite enough....

So I measured it out, and you know what....I am short about 6"!!! Can you believe that (my amazing math skills in action again!)  I may just add a little "signature" scrap from the border???

I am so ready to be finished with this one! I am glad that you are not able to take a closer look, I am not proud of the quilting here at all. I have kind of lost the love for this quilt...hope that a run through the washer and dryer will hide some of the mistakes!

Friday finishes !

Friday finishes.....

Sorry, I got nothing!

Going golfing instead....

check back next week...LOL

Work in Progress Wednesday

I really don't have much new to talk about....still working (or not working) on all the same projects.
1) Wonky blocks

2) Square dance

3) Daydream.....(and yes Jan...I should get back to this and get it finished LOL)

4) Oasis

5) tote bags for Christmas presents.

6) new clasps for little purses.

and a few more little baskets...Yes I am addicted!!  I now have a basket for everything!!!

Now off to work... maybe will get to some of this tomorrow???

Bag Lady

Bag Lady....that would be me....and yes, it is partially to avoid going back to finish the FMQ on DayDream!!
I sewed another of the "Daytripper" Bags...

The pattern was from an old quilting magazine, (Izzy & Ivy Design). They go together so quickly and easily. I am starting to work on Christmas presents. I think this would be a great Christmas present...might have to make one for myself too!


I also saw these cute little change purses over at OCD-obsessive crafting disorder blog. They are so cute ..you have to check them out!! So of course I went straight to the Etsy store that she mentioned and ordered some frames!!
Isn't Etsy amazing ...you just point at something and before you know it....it arrives in your mailbox!!  


Anyway yesterday these arrived!!

I went in search of glue, but couldn't find the brand that was recommended, but have gathered all the necessary supplies...glue, heavy interfacing, fusible interfacing, the printed tutorial .....

and some bits of fabric....

No....I actually haven't started anything yet....but the day is young!

Back to Reality

My vacation at the lake is coming to an end. ....we are going back to the city today.

Sometimes it is nice to get back to routine though. I will miss the amazing quiet and the beautiful sunsets..

But on a happy note...it is time for the giveaway draw to celebrate my 50 (actually 54 now!!) followers! 

I want to thank all of you first of all, for sharing this blog and offering your comments, opinions and suggestions. And so many sweet and funny comments about what 50 means to you....

but ok, ok...on with the draw.....

                      True Random Number Generator

Min: Max: Result:8Powered by RANDOM.ORG

And the winner is.....(drum roll here)....

             Verna G said...

             Hi Flo
             Just joined altho I have followed your blog for some time. It is very interesting and hopefully         stimulates me to do more.

Congratulations!! Can you send me your mailing address, and I will send off your gift!