Friday finish...BUT

Well I do have a Friday finish! And I even had my post written all ready to show you !

BUT....I have reached my quota for pictures??? I am not even sure what that means..and I dont have the time today to figure it out!

So for now I guess you just will have to imagine my beautiful little green quilt!! :)

P.S. any tips on what I do now would be greatly appreciated!!

Happy Thanksgiving !

wishing everyone in the US a Happy Thanksgiving! Hope you have time with family and friends!

Chubby Charmer Bag Fun!

I am actually down in Fountain Hills (Phoenix area) for a couple of weeks. And no, there is no snow here!! In fact it was warm enough for a dip in the pool today :)

But on Saturday, I spent the day at a LQS, Quiltz, here in Phoenix.  There was a class, taught by Barb Spitanly, making a Chubby Charmer Bag...

It was fun meeting some other quilters, and actually producing something so pretty and functional as well.  The class was based on a pattern by Penny Sturgis,

but Barb has added a few little touches, like using "Soft and Stable" as interfacing. It makes the bag very sturdy, but still soft...mmmm....I guess that is what soft and stable means, right?

Anyway, I used some leftovers from my "Arizona Gold" quilt (and no the quilt is not finished yet!!)

The lining has pockets on both sides...and a hard matte board insert for the bottom...

and there are little snaps inserted on the sides to close it up a bit.

I am really happy with this bag! It was quick and easy to make, and such a great size for packing up projects, or taking a quilt to guild for show and tell!

In fact, as I was leaving I found this fabric...

Wouldn't this be spectacular for another one of these bags?? I couldn't resist...had to get some!

hst...extra bonus

I still haven't finished my "Briar Rose" quilt... it is basted and waiting to be quilted! I am getting there!

But...when I was making it, I had to trim off all these little triangles...

I know..probably should just throw them away...but they are sooooo cute!!

And sewn together make the cutest little squares...only 1 1/2"!!  I am sure I will find a use for these someday!

 How about you...would you save them or chuck them out??? 

WIP ...Curio

I wanted to try something different with this layer cake...Curio by Moda.

I have been using a lot of white as my neutral background, and thought I would try going darker for this. I found this really pretty olive greenish fabric...so went with that..

The one problem I am having is matching the colour for borders and binding!! I took it into my LQS and tried out every green, brown, yellow...but couldn't find much that worked. And then when I did pick something...it looked TOTALLY different when I got it home..so I didn't use it either!! I did find something in my stash that seemed to work though.

I think it is a really interesting change...but must admit...I like my white background better!!

The pattern is from England Street Quilts ( I love her blog...so many great quilts ....check it out!!..free patterns too!! Bonus!)

So that is my WIP for this week...and it is nearly finished!!

So lets check out what else people are doing over at Lee's WIP..

And the Needle and Thread Network..

left overs.. to a mug rug!

I had some bits leftover from my 3-dudes quilt, so just played with them...my very first "mug-rug"!!

and soooo easy!!  And big enough to add a snack or cookie beside the mug.

I am actually giving this to a gentleman who has a special interest in researching family tree history!  A friend from my quilt guild (Thank you Elizabeth !) gave me a lot of information about my ancestors, (back to the 1800's) ...who came to Canada from the the same place as her ancestors..Bukovina, Austria.  Anyway, she also connected me with this gentleman who has even more information!! And apparently we are even related back there in history somewhere!! Isn't that cool!!

So I met up with him for coffee while I was in Calgary, and he was amazing!! So much information! And so many links and connections ...I am overwhelmed!!

Lest we forget.

the "Maze " Block

I am having fun with the "Saturday Surprise" blocks from my LQS..Periwinkle Quilting.

This week the block was called Maze...

It is so much fun getting all these little bits, and ending up with something interesting (hopefully!...I am getting better at following the directions..hehe)

and here is the finished block..

I posted my previous progress before...here are the first four blocks..

I think this will be quite stunning when all 20 blocks are added together!!

OK...I know this is a small finish...but I am linking up to Friday Finishes at TGIFF anyway! 
                                                      










and also to Friday Felicities

Something fun coming soon to Canada!!

Isn't this a great idea!! Check out this ...Sew Sisters Quilt Shop is organizing a Blogathon Canada !!

Blogathon Canada runs from the 19th of November to the 24th.

Here is what they say:

Here's how it works:
Each day host bloggers will introduce themselves and their work on their blogs. They will include links to more blogs from their province so you can visit those blogs as well. The two host bloggers will also host a giveaway of some of their favorite goodies from our store and you will have a chance to enter two giveaways each day for five days and three giveaways on the last day!

What a great chance to "meet"  more Canadian bloggers! I can hardly wait for this to start! So much fun.

snowed in playtime...3 Dudes style

Well, when my flight to Calgary (for my daughter's convocation) was cancelled, it gave me 2 days of free time...with no commitments! So because it was freezing rain and icy outside, I spent the time playing in my sewing room.

I had this jelly roll ..Warmth by Moda..

and wanted to try out a quilt on the Missouri Star Quilt website (I love there videos!). This one was created by the 3 Dudes, and is really quick and fun. The video is very clear, and easy to follow, so I wont spend a lot of time explaining all the details.

But basically, you sew several strips together lengthwise. You can use any number...I sewed 5 strips, mixing up the colours. Then you cut them into squares... the size of the square will be determined by how many strips you use...
With 5 strips, by squares were 10 1/2 "

Then stack 2 squares, with the strips running perpendicular to each other... (you actually match up the edges, obviously, but I just did this so you could see the direction)

Sew all the way around the outside with a 1/4 " seam, and then cut this on the diagonal.

When you press them open..fit them together to form your block!! Easy Peasy!!

This goes together very quickly. ...

just play with the blocks until you get a pattern that you like. It is pretty scrappy, but I just tried to be sure the colours were fairly evenly distributed throughout. (taking a digital picture help to see this more easily...you can often spot problems this way)

Then I added a couple of borders..

and zipity doo da...the top is finished!! Add it to my pile to quilt!

So that is my WIP this week so I will link up to
The Needle and Thread Network..

And Lee's WIP Wed..

Voting at the Bloggers Quilt Fest

It is voting time!! There are so many great quilts...even though it has been narrowed down to a few in each category.

Here is the link to go and vote.












Some of my favourites are:

Tribute to Danny is a finalist in Favourite Group or Bee Quilt.




Favourite Hand Quilted Quilt category

Who's Your Granny?  

Homespun,...Favorite Scrap Quilt category

Go have a look and pick your favourites!

Change of Plans Friday

Today is Friday.
Today my baby girl is convocating from University in Calgary.
Today (and last night) all flights out of Saskatoon are cancelled due to a huge ice/rain storm that have left the streets and runways like a big sheet of ice. Travel on highways is not recommended and the planes wont land here, so I can't get to Calgary. I am so disappointed.
       

She totally understands, and would rather that we be safe than try to travel, but I feel bad that she is alone out there for her convocation. Oh well, not much I can do about it! ....maybe send her some flowers?? I have offered to take her out for a fancy dinner when we are in Calgary next week too.

So if I am stuck at home...and really don't even want to go out here...I might as well play!!

and I have the next Surprise Block from Periwinkle...

......another session of trying to follow instructions!! I think it is good for me ....to make myself more disciplined..right? Besides, the blocks are really cool!

And I can spend some time browsing all the entries in the Bloggers Quilt Festival! 

Nominations are now open. Wow, that is a big job..there are so many great quilts there, and so many categories.. (my entry is # 128....just in case you were wondering! hehe..I entered it as a bed quilt, a scrap quilt and home machine quilted)

So if you want to find the nomination form it is here. Have fun...this could take awhile!