A Mid Month Finish

When I teach a miniature class, I always start with making 9 patch blocks to deal with seam allowance issues right at the beginning. If the students want to donate their test blocks, I sew up a scrappy quilt and give it back to the guild for a raffle or whatever they want to use it for. This mini quilt is made from the Grand Quilt Guild students' blocks. I will always remember this class because it was very challenging for me...I had just got my braces on and was in a lot of pain, and the ladies were so kind, patient and caring.
As you can imagine with little 3" blocks made from so many different sewers, it is a challenge sometimes to get the seams to match up and for the top to lay flat. It is a little wonky in spots, so I decided to do a wobbly line quilting design to distract your eye from the other wobbly parts, and I think it worked just great!

I will soon mail it off to the guild, but for now I am enjoying it hanging on my studio wall. It looks perfect here on my sunny yellow walls!
Want to see what other quilters have accomplished this week? Hop over to Confessions of a Fabric Addict!

Mini Trips

At mini club last month we studied the trip around the world (TAW) pattern. This is the design of my oldest UFO, which you can read about here, and it's one of my favorite classic quilt patterns. It's so simple but can be very challenging to make with lots of seams to match and long strip sets to control.
I made this mini version from batik fabrics a few years ago, and the squares finished at 1/2".

I recently put the binding on this mini a few weeks ago. It is made from the Windham reproduction line of fabrics called More Pink & Chocolate, which you can see here.


And here are the projects from the group...some are finished, some are in various stages of completeness, and some are headed for the garbage apparently (they aren't shown in the photos!).

These are made by Nancy (who put her trip on pointe) , Jake, Carol (who is still working on the other half)  and Diane.

The top 3 in this photo are made by Anne, who couldn't decide which colour way to sew, and ended up making all 3! And the green and blue trip was made by Cheryl.

These trips were made by Jackie, Lynn, Sandy (who made 2 exactly the same and already gave one away), Marilyn, Audrey, and Lana.


What a fabulous treat for the eyes each month as we see how each person's fabric choices turn out. We are always inspired by their creativity with borders, settings, and embellishments.

And speaking of trips, I'm planning to take a mini  trip to Michigan with my Mom and sister to visit my little sister and maybe take in a quilt shop or two!

Design Wall Monday?

Yep...it's design wall Monday again!

Truthfully, nothing is on my design wall today.

I have been consumed with Christmas activities and travels, which I will tell more about later this week. But last week there were lots of gingerbread people on my design wall.




I first saw the gingerbread block on Jeanne's blog Luv 2 Stitch  when she made a pile of potholders while at a quilting retreat. They were so cute, I just had to try making them.  I made a 6 1/2" potholder size and then made some smaller 2 3/4" blocks, put them on point, and made a little mini quilt.

These blocks were so much fun to sew, I decided that December's theme of my monthly mini club would be gingerbread.

When the quilters came over, there was lots of gingerbread fun to be had! Susan brought some candy wrapped in gingerbread cellophane and a gingerbread towel. Bernie brought adorable gingerbread cookies for us to snack on while we sewed.
And here is the design wall...the larger blocks at the top,  some mini blocks in the middle, and on the bottom left of the design board you can see one gingerbread mascot sent to the class by Barb's nephew! I hope some of these gingerbread blocks were finished in time to be under some Christmas trees.

You can check out some other design walls at Judy's blog - click here.
If I get any sewing time this week, I be sewing step #5 of Bonnie's mystery and I will get to see how the blocks will look...can't wait! Come by later this week to see what new quilting store I visited over the holidays!

National Quilt Day

Yesterday was "National Quilt Day" in the US... I think it should be an international celebration with the whole world having a day off work to enjoy quilting! However, the next best thing is having a whole Saturday to enjoy quilting activities, wherever you live.

In the morning the mini quilters came over and brought the quilts they finished last month, which was the Wheel of Mystery pattern. (You can see my first one here and my heart version here.) The variation and creativity in these quilts just makes my heart sing! Each one is a little treasure! I love it when the quilters pull their projects out of their bags and we get to see all their finished quilts. If I loaded the photos correctly you should be able to click on the photos to enlarge them so you can see more details, including unique quilting designs, fancy stitching, and button and bead embellishments.

This photo shows the beautiful projects from Tuesday's group, and the two quilts on the right are made from the same charm pack, but look so different!

In tomorrow's post I will show you what I worked on in the afternoon of National Quilt Day.

It's all Andrea's fault!

Last year I saw a quilt on Andrea's blog (Welsh Quilter) and thought the block looked like a fun one to play with. So I made a mini quilt (put on sunglasses and click here to view) with 3" blocks and had so much fun that I decided to share this block idea with my mini quilt group. This week they brought in their quilts made in January using Andrea's block and here is the wonderful outcome! The photos should enlarge when you click on them (if I downloaded them correctly!). What an amazine variety of fabrics and colours!
Almost everyone found that the "on pointe" layout was a bit (or a lot!) of a challenge, but the results were worth all the work! I think this project resulted in the most finished quilts and tops so far!

Carol made her own unique version of the layout, which she called "a mistake" but we called it "creative license"!
See what happens when one quilter inspires another...thanks Andrea!

More Trees on the Table

Thank you for all your votes on my mystery quilt layout...I was
overwhelmed by all the response! Thank you for taking the time to consider your preference. Of the on pointe choices, the preference was the brown floral (B). The votes on the straight layouts (C and D) was fairly even. And the overall winner was B. I tried to layout the blocks again today and realized that I unintentionally had layed out all the blocks backwards to Bonnie's layout! She has the "flower" blocks on the outside and I put the 9 patch on the outside! I guess I must prefer it that way...I did every layout option that way. The only problem is to do that layout, I need about 10 or 12 more 9 patch blocks. I absolutely do not like the flower blocks on the ouside against the brown setting triangles, so now I have to calculate if I have enough fabric to make more 9 patches for layout B. Stay tuned to see how it all works out!!
I forgot to post the quilts that the mini quilters brought to class last week. In December we made the Trees on the Table pattern from Marcie at Patchalot Patterns. Thanks again to Marcie for sharing this design with us. You can see the plaid one that I made for my nieces here. It was such a fun project to make and resulted in these fabulous little quilts!
The quality of these photos is not very good and I apologize for that because the detail of the quilting and embellishments in these quilts are really fun.
I will have to play around with my settings again. I had the camera set for photographing icicles instead of quilts! Here is my neighbours house...see how wonderful the icicles are! Sometimes the eavestroughs fall down because of the weight of the ice. Having some fun in this winter wonderland!

More Connected Mini Leaves

One of the greatest joys in my life is making and teaching mini quilts. Minis are so much fun to sew because you can play with design and colour, try new techniques, and get the satisfaction of finishing a project in a reasonable amount of time. They also make great gifts!

Usually I make a mini quilt after being inspired by the colours or block patterns that I see in a full size quilt. These days I am often inspired by quilts that I see on my favorite quilt blogs.

Such was the case with my mini leaf quilt that you can see here. It was so much fun to sew that I taught it to my mini quilt class in November. It was amazing to me how different each quilt is because they all started with the same instructions, to bring 2.5" x 3.5" scraps of fall fabrics.

We met again this week to sew up a Christmas mini (which I will show in January) and here are some of their finished leaf quilts. I am posting each one separately so you can click on them and see the colours, fabrics, and quilting up close. (Sorry about the spacing problems...blogger won't play nice with me today!)

Donna's leaves

Lana's leaves

Susan's leaves

Barb's leaves (Barb quilt comes with a song track...softly hum to yourse

lf "All the leaves are brown...and the sky is grey")

Susan' leaves (another Susan - yes, 2 Susan's in the same class!)

Nancy's leaves (she gave herself a stitching challenge - can you see the triangle quilting and

border stitching?)

P.S. Advance notice to blog stalkers...I am going to surprise you by posting more frequently this week!

Quilt Classes

I have finished the baby quilt just in time! I'll be leaving shortly for the reunion party. I will post photos later today since I want to include a photo of my friend with her quilt.
But here are the photos from my last 2 classes of the quilting year. The first one is from a fun class that I teach called "3 step". One of the students is missing, but here are the other 4 brave souls with one of the pieces they chose to work on. They were so creative and enthusiastic that it was pure joy to work with them.
And here are the mini quilts from the last monthly miniature class. I posted about my interest in the 60 degree angle quilts here

and here. I have finished one of my own ("Hazardous Materials") and have 4 other quilts in various stages of completion. It is lots of fun and I still think I want to make more. Of course I am thinking I could go even smaller on these pieces and have also hand pieced one of them. I'll post more on that another time, but look at these fantastic mini quilts! All made with the same technique...amazing!

Miniature Quilt Class

Somedays you just wake up and feel thankful for the ordinary things you can enjoy today that you didn't have yesterday...like computer access! My computer is still working today - yippee! Last night's blog entry appeared, and I am getting some email download! Also today is Good Friday so we all have a day off and some much deserved rest. I will hopefully get some quilting time in this weekend and hope to do lots of machine quilting. I am putting myself under pressure to get my CC quilt finished since Bonnie's new mystery at Quiltville is starting April 1st.

Here are some photos from Tuesday's miniature quilts class. These are their projects from January's class using Wendy Vosters' snowpeople paper pieced blocks. The photo quality isn't as good as I usually can get, so I'll have to figure out if that is computer or camera related (or user error!).

But I think you can get the idea of these wonderful little quilts. One of my favorite elements of this class is to see the personal touches and creative additions that these quilters add - in their choices of sashing, borders, embellishments, quilting, and even block additions/ modifications to accommodate "errors" !!

This month they worked on the connected hearts quilt that I finished for the February class, which I had to cancel - you can see my mini here. It was very interesting to note that each quilter tackled sewing their project in a different way.

These are the styles I noticed:

-sew each pieced component in the order listed on the instruction sheet by reading each step

-sew the quilt top row by row, starting at the top and working down to the bottom row by looking at the quilt picture

-sew each complete heart block, then join the hearts together, and finally work on the border pieces

It was fascinating to me that each person had the same task, and each one tackled it differently! It again demonstrated the different styles of the quilters and their creativity.

Myself, I usually like to follow the written instructions to complete one block first, and see how it turns out. Then I will go on to mass produce the block components and put the quilt together using the pictures/illustrations.

What is your style of sewing together a quilt top???

Dreamcatcher Mini Quilts

There is a wonderful quilt pattern on the Quilt in a Day website by Sue Bouchard called Dreamcatcher. Sue wrote the pattern to finish 28" x 28". I tried making it using 1.5" paper pieced blocks and it made this cute Christmas gift for someone who loves the Thimbleberries fabric line.

Sue gave me permission to teach her design in this small size and I presented it as a mystery project to my mini quilt class. I had to make another one since I had given my first quilt away. And look what happened! I knew the design, and had already sewed it once and still made a few mistakes in piecing the top! What is wrong with me these days (I did the same thing with Bonnie's mystery quilt)?!?! Let's just blame it on the winter weather.

For the mini class, the students had to pick 5 fabrics (border, light background, and 3 other coordinating fabrics) without knowing what the final design was. That was quite a challenge but they did a great job. Here are their wonderful little Dreamcatcher quilts. Isn't it just amazing how the fabric choices change the look of the design?!?! I just LOVE that!

Slowly but surely I am getting things done for Christmas. One of my goals this year is to get my Christmas Cards actually mailed so that they arrive before Christmas!! I've already missed the deadline on that for the overseas and US cards, but I haven't given up yet on the Canadian ones arriving on time.
I taught two mini quilt classes on the weekend. Many quilters seem to be tired and as overwhelmed as I am...many are "burning the midnight oil" getting quilted gifts finished in time for gift giving. Here are some of the projects they brought back from previous classes.
I finally got all my Christmas quilts hung up and thought I should show you one of my favorites...a table topper on my dining room table, an older design by Deb Kaffunger of Quiltaholics.

Carpenters Wheel Minis

In this week's mini quilt class I was teaching how to strip paper piece easy blocks using scraps. I will post some photos of this another time, but I wanted to show the wonderful quilts the students brought back from October's class. They pieced Carpenters Wheel blocks that finish at 10 1/2". I challenged the students to only use FQ's from their stash. Didn't they do a great job?!?! That is one of the things I love most about quilt classes is seeing the finished projects, and how happy the women are with their efforts.

I have been resisting any thoughts of starting the new mystery, and keeping the deal I made with myself! I have pieced the backing, and here is the photographic evidence that I have everything ready to pin baste! Tomorrow I plan to baste and quilt. I usually like to do a combination of stitch in the ditch and free motion quilting, so I'll start with the walking foot to stabilize everything and then see what happens next!

Let's Make a Deal

Sometimes I play this game with myself when I want to start a new project but know that I have too many UFO's and I really should not begin a new quilt. I make a deal with myself...if I finish something then I can start something new. So on the weekend I bought the batting, backing and binding for my Christmas quilt and plan to quilt it this week. And if I do that, my reward is that I get to start a new mystery by Merete Veian (read about it here). I already have pulled out fabrics from my stash in anticipation of starting. I wonder if I have enough self discipline to actually quilt the Christmas quilt before I start cutting and piecing the mystery?!?!

And I am one to talk!!! I taught a mini quilt class on the weekend and was encouraging the students to finish their monthly projects, even if they don't feel like they are loving the outcome. Even if the blocks are crooked or puckered or less than "perfect". Each finished quilt adds to and/or refines your skills. And mini quilts are the perfect excuses to practise your skills! Here are the adorable house quilts that were finished from the paper piecing class last month. Aren't they great ?!? The students had a choice of making 2" blocks or 1" blocks or to try both sizes. Most started with the 2" block and some brave souls made the 1" blocks too. And each finished project taught the quilter something new that they either will never do again, or that they want to do more of.
Anyway, I better practise what I preach and finish that Christmas quilt before I start a new project...now repeat after me: "I will follow through on my deal with myself"!

Girls Weekend Away

It was a difficult week taking care of my mother-in-law, who was discharged from hospital with no support services and no plan, other than to see her family doctor. The hospital staff told us they "waitlisted" her with home care and we would be called when they could assess her. So, we privately hired some staff from ParaMed, and we managed to cobble together a care plan that got her safely through the week. We also got her a Lifeline so hopefully she won't lie on the floor for more than 12 hours again if she has another stroke. Although my mother-in-law insists that staying in her own home is better for her (as opposed to moving to an assisted living facility), it sure is more nerve wracking for us. My husband and I remind ourselves constantly that "we can only do the best we can do".

On friday I taught a mini quilt class on working with fusible interfacing as a foundation. These are the finished minis that the students brought back from the last class (which was on paper piecing mini quilts). To give you an idea of size, each goose measures 1 1/2" x 3/4"! They did a great job!

After teaching, I "ran away from home" to enjoy a delightful visit with my sisters and my mom. We have had "girls weekend away" for several years, (click here for the blog about last year's trip) and this year we went to St. Jacobs, Ontario and stayed at the Jakobstettel Inn. The town was beautifully decorated for Christmas, and this quartet was singing Christmas Carols as we arrived at the inn. It was a little shocking to realize that it is already the middle of November and I had not yet given the Christmas season one minute of thought! It was a wonderful and relaxing time together...just what I needed.

I have been hand stitching block #5 of my "Journey of a Quilter". Earlier in the week I stitched the word "burdens" and was surely feeling the weight of that word. As I was stitching tonight, I came to the word "laughed" and was very thankful for all the laughter we had this weekend which will help me to survive the burdens of the weeks to come.

Too busy living a great life!

I have been too busy living to have time to blog about it :)

We had my husband's family for the Thanksgiving weekend, and this past weekend we had my entire family together for 2 days for a belated Thanksgiving celebration. We took my family on the Grand River Rafting trip and had another fantastic adventure. The photo on the left shows one of our rafts...my husband is the guy at the back of the boat trying to steer.

My 10 year old nephew said to me "today is a day that I wish would never end"! This photo below shows all the children ready to get going...yes, there are 10 of them between the ages of 5 and 15! And there were 8 adults (plus our guide Garth) rowing the rafts. What a great family memory we created!

And we are in the middle of planning my daughter's 16th birthday party celebrations. Here is the invitation production:

She thinks that each birthday should be a series of celebrations including 1) a big party, preferably a sleep-over (which I call a "stay awake" since there is rarely any sleeping going on!) 2) a party with immediate family members, and followed by parties 3) and 4) with each side of the extended family! I really cannot believe my great blessing in having such a creative, loving, talented and wonderful daughter! We waited a long time for her, and she was well worth the wait!

Besides planning family celebrations, I have also been very busy teaching quilting classes. Here is a photo of the project that the Friday class made last month. Today I taught a project using half square triangles made using the Angler 2, which is a great tool for speedy production, but not completely accurate (I'll show the finished quilts after next month's class).

I am heading out of town to lecture and teach for the Orillia Quilt Guild for the next few days and am looking forward to meeting some new quilters. See you when I get back!