Developing my FMQ skills

I decided that I needed to work on developing my FMQ skills.  I tend to fall back on a my go-to pattern of echoed teardrops.  I thought about going to take a class and Judi Madsen from Green Fairy Quilts is not only an amazing quilter, but was teaching classes in Edmonton this summer!!  But when I looked at the cost of travel, hotels, classes etc, it was going to cost a lot!  Not to mention that this summer was very busy with a family wedding and lots of house guests saying with us, so it would be hard to get away. The other deciding factor was that the classes were all demo classes, with no opportunity for practicing the skills yourself.

So I bought one of her books....  Quilting Wide open Spaces



What I liked about this book is that it included a pattern for a quilt and then detailed instruction for how to quilt it.  Judi has a very distinctive style, and it is very dense quilting and intricate patterns!  At first I was a bit intimidated by the detailed patterns, but thought I would give it a try anyway. I had a problem initially with making the quilt top...lots of 7/16" type of pieces....which I struggle with!  And obviously made a mistake, because my blocks did not turn out properly and my points don't match up !!  :(

But I decided that since I was just learning a practicing it was OK!  I am sure that I would make lots more mistakes anyway!!!
I was pleasantly surprised ....although it is detailed it is not that difficult!!  Oh, lots of mistakes...don't get me wrong!  But...with such dense detail I found that it is not that obvious anyway!  Surprise!

The bottom line is I have learned A LOT!  Also , I have learned that  I will not likely quilt this way on most of my quilts.  Although I like how detailed it looks, I find the quilt is a bit more stiff, and not as soft and drapey. 

 And it took a LOT of time to do. What I will do , though, is incorporate some of this into my quilting.

  And also what it has done is really increased my confidence.  I am much more relaxed now when FMQ , which really helps.  I would recommend this book and practicing these patterns if you are looking to expand your FMQ.  Thanks Judi! 

Quilting Blues

My niece is getting married!  Of course , time for a quilt!!
But she loves blue.  

I realize that I don't have any blue in my stash!  Really, almost nothing!  And when I look at all my quilts, there is very little blue, almost none, in any of them.  A real eye opener!

So off to a friendly quilt store..Prairie Chicks...and stock up :)  They had a great FQ bundle of blues with a little beige/tan mixed in...perfect!   "Grand Traverse Bay" by Minick & Simpson 
But why stop there....so I had to buy a bit extra as well!

I needed something quick and easy, as I had to get this off to her soon...so just a simple block.  But it turned out lovely, I think.

The backing was quick and easy as well, This fabric added some interest without having to piece anything.

I quilted it quickly as well, with an all over teardrop...my go-to quick and easy pattern...

So it is finished and off to Ontario for the wedding.

And as it turns out, I did get a bit carried away buying fabric, and had enough to make a second quilt!  Bonus!!  So I tried out my first "Plus Quilt"  Such fun! Pictures of that one another day!

Not sure what I will do with the second one, when it is finished, but my grandson might need one :)

Bee update

I have been keeping up with my bee blocks.  Quite fun!
Last month the call was for anything about birds.  So I tried a bird LOL

I have not done much paper piecing, and still find it very challenging.  Everything is backwards and upside down!  Oh, well, it turned out pretty cute.

I also used a few scraps to make this one...

Every bird needs a home, right??

decision time....playing with HST's

Ok, time to vote here!  

I have been playing with the layout of these HST's and have narrowed it down to 4 options:

I know there is a mistake in the bottom left one...I had trouble with that one, and would need to work at it more carefully.

What is your vote?

catching up .....again

I have had trouble maintaining any kind of routine, and as a result, have neglected my blog yet again.  When I thought about the reasons I wanted to continue, it is mainly for myself...(as I may not actually have any followers anymore anyway LOL)  I started this blog partly to give back to a community that helped me develop into the quilter that I am today.  I learned so much from all of you!!  But I also started this to document my progress, my successes, and even my failures as well as having a record of the quilts that I have made.   And that number is now over 60!  So , although it is sporadic, I plan to continue !

It has been a very busy summer in our house.  We had a wedding!

My stepson got married in July, and lots of my husbands family came over from Scotland for the wedding....and stayed for some playtime at the lake :)  For a few days there were 11 people living in our home!! YIKES! But all went well, and everyone had a great time.  The wedding was beautiful, the bride was beautiful, and the weather was great for pretty much the whole time.

And of course, I made a quilt for their wedding !!

This was actually started a couple of years ago, as a block of the month from Periwinkle Quilting, called "Black, White and Bright"
The backing was a really fun flannel I found in Arizona..it is a crossword puzzle...and so cozy too.

It is quite large, about 100" x 90"!  So was a challenge to quilt on my home machine.  Also because it was black and white I couldn't use one colour of thread throughout, so had to quilt the white with white thread, and the black with black!  It was a challenge, but fun to do as well, and really stretched my FMQ skills.

I think they loved it!

And of course I also have been keeping busy with my little grandson !!

 What a sweet little guy! I have been able to babysit him quite a bit, and am not sure how I am going to leave him and go to Arizona this year :(

Bumble bee :)

Well, my first venture into Quilt bees has met with a few bumps...or bumbles...So I guess it is a bumble bee.....HaHa.... for me anyway :)

Once I gathered all my scraps, and new bits of fabric, the block came together really quickly....BUT...

can you spot the mistake??

Wow...surely I can make a simple log cabin block correctly, can't I???  Guess not!
Somewhere along the way, I reversed direction, I guess.   She is doing a Bento box type quilt, so will be cutting each block into four pieces, but I decided that I really could not give that to my bee mate, especially when it was my very first ever bee block!  

So I whipped up a second one, using pretty much the same fabric bits..
She wanted wonky...and I tried, I really tried...but really....I don't do wonky very well....it is sort of like random LOL
Much better!

But now...what to do with the "bumble block"???   Well, I couldn't waste it, so ....

I ripped the whole thing apart...

and fixed it! So now I have 2 blocks to give to her.  Bonus!

I thought I would work ahead on the June block...it was triangles...I like triangles.
Of course I misunderstood her directions, and only looked at the example picture that she used for inspiration.  oooops....


It looks good.....but she wanted A STRIP of triangles!   So back to the scrap pile...again...

So I guess this bee mate will get two "blocks" as well!
If I keep making mistakes, everyone will be getting lots of extras LOL

my first bee.....really!

I have read so much about quilting bees, and seen so many blog posts and pictures, but I have never participated in a bee.....UNTIL NOW!

I attended a MQG meeting last week,and they were starting a new bee.  I only have to commit to making one block each month.  That doesn't sound like much at all.

This really shouldn't be a source of stress....I mean they are meant to be fun, after all.  But when do you overcome all those insecurities about whether or not your block will "measure up" ?  What about fabric choices??  Oh, yes, I do get a sample of what they want....but do you think I have any of those colours in my scrap boxes???  Maybe, but then are they fabrics that she would like???  or modern enough?? or ....or...or...

OK, calm down!   I can do this! Right??

Maybe??

Whats the worst that can happen...

So lets get started...I have a "Colour Seed" palate to work with, so lets dig through some scraps....
maybe these....

Or maybe not.  I think I need to add some to my stash!!  So I went and bought these (they were on sale, though!)

So, now I will get started on the block. It seems pretty straight forward.
Oh ....wait....it is "wonky"!  I dont do wonky very well....something to do with everything has to be straight and all lined up. Even my "random" is orderly, remember???

And then I have to come up with a block that I want when it is my turn.  I am already stewing about this one!!  LOL

back from the sun

Yes, it has been a long time! And a very busy time, as well.

We have returned from Arizona...quite a temperature change!  But it is great to be home.  And I am getting lots of snuggle time with my grandson...he has grown so much!
                                        
I was busy in Arizona, and actually completed four quilts...Wow...that even surprised me.
This one is a remake of a previous quilt.

My niece was visiting from Mexico at Christmas and asked if she could have a quilt, so I let her choose one.  But it was one of my favourites, so when "Strawberry Fields Revisited" came out I knew that I just had to make another one.  The pattern is "Briar Rose" by England Street Quilts

This one is made from all the left over triangles of a previous quilt. You can see the original quilt here. It was a bit of a challenge as not all the scraps were the same size, but it turned out well.  It is great to use up all those scrappy triangles too!

But there was still left over bits of fabric, (yes, I had gathered way to much green for the original quilt , hehe)  so I actually got another quilt by using up every scrap that seemed to work with this.  A good old HST did the job.

And finally, my "Patriotic Quilt" , as my DH calls it...
                                                   

This was a jelly roll that had been sitting on the shelf for a long time. I started out with different blocks (sorry, no pictures) and I hated it....so I cut them up into pieces and added some more white, and actually like how it turned out.

Since I have been home, I have made a few baby quilts, and some sewing for family requests, but havent started anything....or finished a WIP since I have been back.

I did attend a meeting of the Saskatoon Modern Quilt Guild yesterday.  It was so great to finally get to a meeting.  I met a lot of new friends...even one who said she followed my blog (good to meet you, Barb!)  

Final Applique Update: Everything is coming up TULIPS

Many of you will recognize these blocks....

this has been a very long term project. You can check back and see some of the process here.

This was my "travel project" because it was easy to pack and transport.  And I finally finished enough blocks to make the size I wanted.

So I sewed the rows together, added some borders and finished the quilt top.....

then it sat in my sewing room for a very long time, because I was afraid to start quilting it!  Does that ever happen to you?  I had put so much time and effort into the hand appliqued blocks, I was afraid that I would ruin it with the quilting!

This quilt has so much negative space...and white!! So all my stitching will show!!  YIKES!!

But my DH was out of town for a couple of weeks, so I decided my goal would be to get the quilting DONE!!

Ok....now where to start??

Well, with my new found skills at feathers....I thought I could figure something out!  I started with the outer edge of the tulip pattern.  I know, I know....all the quilt police will be drawing a gasp of alarm at this faux pas!  But that is what I did....so there :)

Again, I started drawing my pattern out on paper

Once I was happy with the pattern I drew it onto the fabric with a pink quilters pencil.  Chalk wouldn't work because the fabric was white. And yes, I did test it and wash a sample first to be sure it would come out, but I was still very nervous colouring pink marks all over this!!

But all was good!

Then I worked on the centre parts of the pattern , again practicing first on paper.  I didnt use the pink pencil for these.  It got too confusing, so I actually just kept the drawing close by and went free hand (so to speak)

Not every part is exactly the same, but really, who is to know!!

I found that I could break this down into smaller segments, and just repeat them.  Not so intimidating when you take one small bite at a time!

Then on to the borders!  I wanted to try my feathers out again....so here we go!

Not perfect, but I am pretty happy with them!

And it is finished !!  I can hardly believe it myself!

This was a long time in the works...

And I think the quilting turned out well,  I guess I didnt have to worry about it for so long!!

So my tulips are in full bloom now!

My Finish!!  linking up to TGIF at Quilt Matters! 

play mat in progress

I have had an idea in my head for awhile now for a play mat for my baby grandson.   It looked like a good idea...when it was in my head!

I must admit ....it is a lot more work than I had anticipated.....of course that is usually what I find! Guess I don't start out with realistic expectations sometimes.

Anyway, it started with lots of sketching of ideas...

My thought was to have a kind of "peek-a-boo" mat,  where there was a picture hidden under the leaves on trees and behind rocks and grass.

 So.....first step was to create the backdrop.....a sky, a hill, a pond and a tree trunk.

I sandwiched a layer of batting and some flannelette backing and did some quick FMQ.  Some little waves in the pond, clouds in the sky and grass in the hilly parts.

So far so good!!

Then on to the added features... a smiling sun.. and a few little creatures.

I used lightweight fusible fleece on the fabric before cutting out the little creatures, and the sun, airplane etc.  For the small details like the bird wings, and eyes I used fusible interfacing then a zigzag stitch to hold them.

Then on to the tricky part. Each of these little creations had to be appliqued onto the background!  I used a zigzag stitch to applique them in place, which meant a lot of rotating the quilt around and around!  Fortunately it is a small quilt!  The "Berenstein Bears" saying kept running through my head...."And this is what you should not do !!!!"

But I did get them all attached.

And then added the covering leaves, cloud etc.

So when you peek under each leaf...there is a surprise...

under the cloud....an airplane!

A bunny hiding in the bushes..

In the pond ,

 a surprise under the water lily!

I am not sure that this was really worth all the effort..but it is almost finished , and that is what he is getting for Christmas!! I just have to add the binding.

Linking up to TN&TN .  Hope everyone else is have a good week!