Well, I got a big surprise the other day...I won something! I never win anything, so that was very sweet!

I want to thank Rachel at p.s. i quilt, for hosting a stop on  the Pat Sloan "Focus on the Centre" book tour...This was what I won..Pat Sloans new book..

It really is a great book. I like the idea of making something interesting, surrounded by several different borders! 

And I have a couple of little panels that this approach would work well with too! 

If you want a copy of this book, check out Pat Sloans store.

tote bag blunder

Some days I just don't pay attention to what I am doing! Do you ever have days like that??
I have been making a few more tote bags...and in a moment of fog..
....I cut the corners out of the wrong end of the fabric!

So the corners were actually at the top of the bag, where the front pocket flap joins on! Yikes!
I just about threw the whole thing away, I was pretty frustrated!

But then I decided to cut it down, and use what I could out of it.  And this is what it ended up like...It is about 10" high, and 9" wide...

I added a little touch of fun with these buttons..






They are from Button Mad.  I just love them. And even more special...they are handmade by women in South Africa. Check out their web page, it is a great story!

I think they added just the right amount of whimsy...and made up for the bag being chopped down to miniature size !!

and the winner is....

Giveaway Day has been so much fun! Thanks to Sew Mama Sew for hosting this!

Such a lot of great things offered out there by lots and lots of great blogs.  I spent way too much time browsing around...but maybe I will win something to make all that time worthwhile ???

Thank you to all of you who stopped by for a visit...and welcome to all the new followers!! (I love company )

So, down to business here....my giveaway was this little bag...

                                 
And Mr Random number picker chose #112 !!

True Random Number GeneratorMin: Max: Result:112Powered by RANDOM.ORG


OK...techno wizard that I am.....I cant get the random number generator to print any numbers here!!! Really????  I don't know what I am doing wrong, but you will have to trust me that I entered the numbers !!



Congratulations Nina!! I have sent you an email, so please get back to me with your mailing address.

Cheater finish!

I have made one of these before...they are so quick and easy! I call it my cheater baby quilt.

It is actually a panel, so no piecing involved!
I needed a quick baby gift, so whipped this one up in short order.  I used a bright flannelette  for the backing..

And just FMQ  easy flowers, loops and hearts all over..

For baby quilts I like to use the flannelette for the binding too, so the edges are soft.

I also usually machine sew the binding, because I expect that it will get washed often. I tried this time to use one of the decorative stitches that are on my machine.  It was supposed to be little hearts...looks a bit more like squashed tulips!..

But soft and cuddly none the less...and ready to give away!

So I will link up with  TGIFF...and check out what others have been doing!

Appliqué progress

We spent a few days in Edmonton, the capital city of Alberta, here in Canada. I did quite a bit of walking...there are some nice trails here. I also explored the Parliament Building...

They gave free guided tours there, very interesting!

But on to the appliqué experience .... I found the ironing board in the hotel room was a great work space!

DISCLAIMER: I don't know anything about needle turn appliqué, so I am only relaying what my experience has been in trying this out! I appreciate any and all help, comments and advice!!

I started by placing the stems, fitting them to my template, and pinning them in place...

My first few stitches were too visible...

so I learned to just catch the edge of the fold on the edge, which made the stitches almost invisible...

For the leaf, I had to clip the inside curve..

I had some problems with the points...they didn't turn out very pointed! But I found if I folded the point over, to make it flat..

then folded both sides in....it looked much better...

I tended to finger press the edges, both to mark where the turn should happen, and also to make placement on the template a bit easier..I think a smaller allowance might be better, 1/4" makes it a bit bulky in some places.

I dont have a light box, which would make using the template very easy, but I found just holding it up gave me a clear picture.

On the outside curves, I learned to only turn under a small bit at a time...turn. ..stitch...turn...stitch..

If I turned under too much ahead, it made flattened, pointy bits to the curve...

with small bits at a time, the curve was much smoother....

I was VERY, VERY  slow ...but here is my first finished  block !! I am so happy !!

I am also hoping that this will get faster with practice......or I might not live long enough to actually finish enough blocks for a whole quilt!!

So I am ...in progress !
and linking up to The Needle and thread Network..

and Work in Progress Wed..

GIVEAWAY DAY

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED! THANKS FOR PLAYING.

This is it ! The day is here...time for some blog fun!!  The fun starts today, May 21, and lasts all week long.

Go over to Sew Mama Sew and check out all the great blogs and great giveaways!!

And what do I have to give away???  Well, I am glad you asked!

I have this cute bag...

It measures about  9"x13"  and has a magnetic snap closure. I love these colors...almost enough to keep it for myself!! But it is up for grabs!

So how do you enter to win.

• leave a comment here telling me what your favourite season of the year is! I love spring..I love watching all the trees and flowers come to life again!
• If you are a follower, you get a second entry! Just leave me a second comment telling me you are a follower....and thanks for following !!
• International entries welcome ....I love you all !!
• BE SURE YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION IS INCLUDED! If I can't reach you, I will make a second draw, and you will loose your chance. So if you are a "no-reply" blogger, be sure to add your email in your comment.
• Draw will close May 25 at 5pm PST
• winner will be contacted by May 27
• prize will be shipped by June 1

Good luck and thanks for playing!

Post Mothers Day

I just had to share these beautiful flowers with you...

\
My daughter and son-in- law gave these tulips to me for Mothers Day, and they have opened up beautifully and are such wonderful colours!! Love them !!

Hope they brighten your day...because they brighten mine!! :)

Bloggers Quilt Festival

This is always such a great event! The Bloggers Quilt Festival at Amy's Creative side. Thank you so much Amy for organizing this! There are so many great quilts...such inspiration!  I spend hours browsing around looking at all the wonderful projects.

This year I am entering a very special quilt....I made this for my son for his birthday. 

My son and his girlfriend have just returned from backpacking around Europe, so not only do I love these colours, but the fabric,which is Etchings by Moda,  has street maps and elevations of buildings in Paris! Perfect! So I have named the Quilt "Memories of Paris".

The pattern is designed by Sarah Soward, in one of my favourite books..Jelly Roll Inspirations.

It is machine quilted on my home machine.

For the binding I used a tiny polka dot print..

And the backing is a fun print that echoes the colours of the quilt top..

Hope you enjoy the Quilt Festival, and thanks for dropping in for a visit! Leave me a comment so I know you have been here! :)

Appliqué Update

First of all, thank you to all of you who commented on my aversion to shopping!! I am really very happy to hear that I am not abnormal....or maybe you are all just as abnormal as I am ...HaHaHaHa!!

Update on my Applique project..

OK....the first step was to make the tubes for the stems... I cut the bias strips, as directed, and sewed them with a scant 1/4" seam.

Then I realized that what I thought were pressing bars were actually turning bars, to turn tubes inside out! COOL!! They have this little flange on the end, that you catch the edge of the fabric with...

And then push it through the tube....I thought that would make a much neater piece to work with. ....

Only problem here .....there is no way on God's green earth that I could get it pushed through.
I tried trimming the seam, I tried making a smaller seam so that the tube was larger...but still no luck!!

So back to the original plan..and what the book told me to do in the first place...turn the seam to the back and press the tube flat.  I did use the bar to help with this. I am not sure they are intended to be ironed over, as they are made of plastic...but nothing melted ..whew!

I actually got pretty good at sliding it out just ahead of the iron too.
You have to be a bit careful, because they are on the bias, so will stretch. I gave each one a good shot of steam at the end!

Another thing I found is that it was much easier to work with shorter pieces. Because the longest stem is 7", I cut the long pieces up into smaller sections.  So now I have stems....

They are all packed up now too, ready for the journey!

On the Road Project

I am going to be doing some travelling over the next few weeks. I am not scheduled to work for a couple of week, so I am going along on my husband's business trip. So that means that I will have quite a lot of time to myself during the day...mostly in a hotel.
I do like to walk, and will probably go to the work-out room .....

( that sounds like a well intentioned statement doesn't it??) , but that won't fill the day!! 

I really am not a shopper .....I know, I am probably the only women in North America that hates to shop, but, that isn't my thing, I only last about an hour!

So I decided to find a project that I can take along...without taking my sewing machine.
I did a sample block of needle turn appliqué a while ago, and that looked like something that would be easy to pack, and I could practice my needle turn skills.  So I saw this pattern in one of by books...

The book states that it is actually a very old pattern, inspired by Marie Webster, a quilt designer in the early 1900's! I love the antique look to it.

So off I went to the fabric store!  I was fortunate enough to meet Dorothy,  a lady from our quilting guild, there. She was the "Featured Quilter" at the 2011 Quilt Show, and had some amazing quilts on display. You can check out some of her work on their website. Anyway, she was so kind, and offered me lots of advice on what the best fabric choices would be. She suggested Heritage Cotton, in plain colours, no prints, if I wanted to stay true to the original concept. Thank you Dorothy!

Now....I really don't know what I am doing here...I am no expert...so if you see that I have gone astray, please let me know!!

I traced the pieces onto plastic loose leaf dividers...

Then drew around the template, adding a 1/4 " seam allowance to turn under. (it looks bigger, but really is 1/4")

I folded the fabric so that I was cutting several at a time (I am lazy!!)

Then cut my bias strips to make the stems.

I will have to sew these, and press them with my new pressing sticks..I haven't tired them out yet though.

The background blocks are 8" ...and the pattern says they will be trimmed to 7 1/2" when the appliqué is done.

I also traced the block pattern onto the plastic too, to help me with accurate piece placement..

So I guess I really haven't done anything yet, but will pack all these bits and pieces up and take them with me, and see how it goes!! Stay tuned!!

Thats my work in progress this week, so I am linking up to the Needle and Thread Network,

and Lee's Work in Progress Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced.