Thursday, June 11, 2026

Flitting from Project to Project and I Quilted This!

Hi and welcome ☔ We're getting rain after a couple of wonderful sunny days. It was time for the rain to come since it got very hot and muggy. It was hard not spending my morning in the back yard, but I'm sure the sun will be back 🌞eventually! Let's see what I've been playing with.

FMQ an Orange House

I haven't done much stitch-in-the-ditch on the Rainbow Neighbourhood quilt since last week. I got bored and so started free motion quilting (FMQ).

I was a little nervous because the last time I FMQ I had serious problems going left! I'm not sure if I got better results because I doing less swirls or if going slowly helped but the FMQ with cotton and polyester thread worked well. Yay!!!!!

FMQ the front of the house and the yellow star

You can see some of the stitching

When I change thread and start FMQ the grass, I'll see if I get the same great results 😊

Back on Track with the Baby Quilt

The last time I posted about the baby quilt, I noticed that I had an oops at the bottom of the second row. It took me a while to get to it, and to figure out what I had done wrong but I did it.

Square Dance quilt is now fixed and ready for two more rows

I've got all of the Kona solids fabric picked out and planned. The pieces are all cut out for the next row. It's now a matter of getting it done!

Slow Stitching Mémère's Placemat

This week I had the chance to keep stitching my grandmother's placemat while watching the Fast-N-Easy Quilters Paradise Summit. It's a virtual summit with many fun. simple projects to quilt. It features many teachers and techniques. So far I haven't succumbed to the temptation of trying anything out. I did take detailed notes on a couple of the projects that I'd like to try eventually. Even if I don't make the projects, I learned something from each presentation that I watched. It was also the perfect time to stitch.

Stitching each large square using different designs

By the fourth block I needed something different - circles!

At this time, the plan is to stitch the whole placemat except for the small tulip squares.

What I learned

I seem to be restless these days. I spent some time in my studio but didn't feel like making much. It's all good - this is meant to be a fun hobby, not a job! I'm happy that I got a little further on three of my projects.
I'm really happy with the FMQ on the orange house. I had originally thought of only using my walking foot but with a big quilt, that's a lot of shifting the quilt around. I'm glad that I tried the FMQ - and even happier that it worked.
I took full advantage of the nice weather last week to hang out in the back yard watching the critters. One of the squirrels just cracks me up and the grackles have had their baby. It's really noisy when it's hungry 😀

Feeding time for baby grackle

Squirrel antics

I really hope to make some lovely art quilts one day, based on these visitors.

Related links

A finish, June's OMG and I Quilted This!, June 04, 2026 (Rainbow Neighbourhood)
Baby Quilt, Upcoming Retreat and I Quilted This! May 21, 2026 (baby quilt)
Projects in Progress and I Quilted This!, May 27, 2026 (slow stitching)

Linking party

I'm linking up to many fun linking parties. You may want to check some out 😍

Monday Musings, Design Wall Monday, Sew & Tell,

I Quilted This!

Welcome to the I Quilted This! linking party that celebrates quilting on a domestic machine or custom quilting on a long-arm. Feel free to link up and share any recent project, even if you're not quilting it!

Here are the posts that included FMQ, ruler work and walking foot quilting last week. Thanks for linking up 😊 and consider grabbing the button.

This week Melva of Melva Loves Scraps, finished two versions of her Little House Sew Along 2026. She hosted this very successful Sew Along. I love the blocks within the log cabin. You'll want to check out the participants' quilts.

Melva's Little House Sew Along quilt

Melva's second Little House Sew Along quilt

Chris from Chris Knits Sews quilted a baby quilt and a birthday banner for her latest grandchild.

Details of a baby quilt

Birthday Banner by Chris

It's now your turn 😍

Thursday, June 04, 2026

A finish, June's OMG and I Quilted This!

Bonjour and welcome 😎! Thanks for dropping by. The weather has been so lovely here. My favourite part of the day is a morning (not too early) having coffee outside in the backyard. I've been able to do this almost every day. Evening are often in the studio. I'm happy to say that the scraps from my retreat are all put away. There is hope yet for a tidy studio!

Scrappy Improv Sewing Machine Cover

It's done! The improv sewing machine cover that I worked on during my quilting retreat is finished. I like the pattern because it used ties to close the cover. This makes it reversable and easy for those of us who are accuracy challenged!

Sides 1 and 2 were created years ago to make a scrappy fabric bag based on a lesson from Craftsy. It never got passed the stage of sewing two scrappy panels for the bag. Before leaving for the retreat I sewed them together to make sure that they would be big enough for the sewing machine cover. I just added a couple of inches on each side using wonderful fabric that looks like patchwork. I knew that it was too wide but that gave me wiggle room when trimming everything. I also used that fabric for the binding.

Side 1 of the machine cover

Side 2 of the machine cover with orange ties

Sides 3 and 4 were created at the retreat on the Featherweight. There was only one spot where the tension problem showed up. I just FMQ over it - no problems here 😁

Side 3 - lots of 2" blocks!

Side 4 - I got bored with the 2" blocks 😂

You may have noticed that the cover seems quite wide. I did trim it but ~~probably~~ could have trimmed it another 3". I wasn't going to take the chance that it would be too small. There's nothing wrong with some extra room - it might grow into it!

I used a variegated thread to sew the binding on. I sewed it by machine - not great but good enough. The other thread in the photo is a pale pink InvisaFil thread used to FMQ.

Machine cover with threads used on the project

Here are a few images of the FMQ.

FMQ sewing machine cover

More FMQ

The scrappy sewing machine cover with ties

June's One Monthly Goal (OMG)

I've been trying to start quilting my Rainbow Neighbourhood QAL flimsy for a while now. Making the quilt sandwich was my April OMG. I forgot to put it as my May OMG and would have made it since I sandwiched it on May 31st. Quilting the Rainbow Neighbourhood project is now my June OMG. I've started quilting it in-the-ditch. The goal is to do all of the in-the-ditch quilting by the end of the month although I hope to get it done quicker than that. I need this lovely finished by the beginning of August for our friends' 40th wedding anniversary.

The day and night skies have all been stitched-in-the-ditch


Using the walking foot to stitch-in-the-ditch. The quilt is 68" x 65"

I also joined our local quilt shop's, Quilty Pleasures, Summer UFO Challenge. This is one of my three UFOs/WIPs on the list.

What I learned

I'm very happy to say that I didn't have to make the orange ties for the cover. When I was gifted my friend's hand-dyed scraps she had included at least a dozen ties that she would have used to make masks. I'm so grateful because I really, really dislike making these!
I had a difficult time FMQ anything that went left. I know that my machine doesn't like it when I sew in the left direction but it was a little ridiculous. I ended up doing more squiggle lines than I usually do. FMQ forward and backwards is fine. I'll eventually get the machine cleaned and checked but for now, there are no left turns allowed!
For the machine binding, I used a 2" strip but didn't fold it. Again, I'm always afraid to make it too small but 1¾" would have been better. I'm happy to report that my corners were awesome 😊
The Rainbow Neighbourhood quilt will be mostly quilted using my walking foot. If I need a few swirls in the sky, I can FMQ them, probably very, very slowly!

Related links

Projects in Progress and I Quilted This!, May 27, 2026
Baby Quilt, Upcoming Retreat and I Quilted This! May 21, 2026
A Orange Scrappy FMQ Finish, April 02, 2026 (April's OMG)
Final Rainbow Neighbourhood Quilt Top, June 28, 2023 (all of the project details are in that post).

Linking parties

I'll be linking up to many fun quilting parties, including the June OMG. You may want to check some out before linking up below😊 Monday Musings, Sew & Tell, Put your foot down, Off The Wall Friday, Finished (Or Not) Friday, Beauties Pageant, TGIFF, Patchwork & Quilts, 15 Minutes to Stitch 2026, Oh Scrap!,

I Quilted This!

Here are the posts that included FMQ, ruler work and walking foot quilting last week. Thanks for linking up 😊 and consider grabbing the button.

Gretchen from Gretchen's Little Corner used up tons of her scraps, even the ugly ones, to make these two quilts, that are not so ugly! Gretchen FMQ diagonal lines in the white blocks and borders. I'm sure both of these compassion quilts will be loved.

Gretchen's two "not so ugly" quilts

Terry Knott of On Going Projects finished quilting her 2022-23 temperature quilt.

Terry's 2022-2023 Temperature quilt

Terry custom quilted the quilt

Look at all of the details of the quilting by Terry

Diann from Little Penguin Quilts made this lovely orange placemat. She used larger squares so that the lovely elephant fabric would show up nicely.

Lovely orange placemat by Diann

The back and simple quilting of Diann's placemat

Melva from Melva Loves Scraps finished her Pieces from the Past quilt. She used some traditional looking quilting designs for the blocks and the sashing.

Pieces from the Past by Melva

FMQ details by Melva

Brenda from Songbird Designs has finished embroidering, piecing and quilting her Sunshine Cove quilt. This is the centre medallion. What a beauty!

Brenda's centre medallion for her Sunshine Cove quilt

It's now your turn 😍

Saturday, May 30, 2026

An Orange House in Quilter's Cove QAL

Hi and welcome 😎 For the month of May, the colour of our house is orange. Quilter's Cove is slowly getting populated! I'm glad that you're here to check out the latest addition to the village. It's never too late to join the party if you want. If you're looking for the I Quilted This! linking party, it's here.

Lovely Orange Houses in Quilter's Cove

I started the house last weekend at the retreat but was tired by then and didn't get much done. It was a good beginning and I finished it tonight, just in time for the party.

A pretty orange house

If you're interested in learning more about the Quilter's Cove QAL, go to the QAL's main page on Kat's blog - see Related links below.

I'll add June's colour as soon as I find out what it is!

What I learned

I wanted a different perspective on the house, so I added the area in front and around the house.
I used the FMQ design by Lori Kennedy for the car - I think that it worked well. I'll be outlining it, possibly in black, when I FMQ the block.
I used a burlap trim for the front yard fence - I'll embroider it on when I put all of these together in a quilt, just to make sure that it stays put if laundered.
I seem to be incapable of making a straight house - oh well, at least I'm consistent😀
It would be nice if I did make the next house with time to spare, but at least I didn't forget!

Related links

A Quilter's Cove QAL, main page on Kat's blog
A Pink House in Quilter's Cove QAL, April 27, 2026
A Fun Red House for A Quilter's Cove QAL, March 28, 2026
A Quilter's Cove QAL for February, February 28, 2026
A Quilter's Cove QAL Link-up and SAHRR, January 31, 2026

Linking parties

I'll be linking up to some fun linking parties. You may want to check some out! TGIFF, I Quilted This! Put your foot down, Off The Wall Friday, Finished (Or Not) Friday, Patchwork & Quilts, Monday Musings, Oh Scrap!, Design Wall Monday,

It's your turn to link up below!😍

Wednesday, May 27, 2026

Projects in Progress and I Quilted This!

Hi and welcome 😎 I'm happy that you could join me today. I have a couple of new projects in progress to share with you. Nothing fancy, just fun 😀

Scrappy Improv Happiness

I had a wonderful time at the retreat last weekend. I met some really lovely ladies that I hope to keep quilting with again. I also played with scraps, my Featherweight machine and even my Kenmore! Here's what the two sides of my sewing machine cover looked like at the end of the retreat. Both are roughly 24" x 27".

Side one - created a few years ago for a tote bag that never happened

Side 2 - created last weekend

Here is the Featherweight in action.

Featherweight working well

I was very lucky that one of the ladies attending the retreat has two Featherweight machines and is very knowledgeable. She gave me some useful tips that I greatly appreciated. I sewed with it for a couple of hours before noticing that the tension was not great - it looked fine from the front, but not the back. I unstitched the seams that were much too loose. The others will be fine since I'll be densely FMQ the cover!😉

When I got home Sunday evening, I sandwiched both sides and started FMQ with InvisaFil. The first picture has small squares FMQ with hearts. This is fabric that I had used to make my mother a quilted wreath.

Hearts FMQ on the small squares

More FMQ

I've been FMQ from both sides of the fabric since the cover will be reversable. I've quilted ¾ of the cover so far. I'll be cutting it to size, binding it and then adding ties.

Slow Stitching Mémère's Placemat

When my grandmother moved into assisted living I quilted a couple of pieces for her. I thought that this would be a wall hanging but when she saw it, she decided that it was a placemat.

Original wall hanging/placemat for my grandmother

After her death, I got them back. Now that I'm doing more slow stitching, I want to stitch this up to use it. This is what it looks like so far.

Stitching the blocks with running stitches

Going around and around

Stitching it diagonally

So far I'm stitching the larger blocks with a running stitch. I may try something different in the pink background section.

What I learned

I was nervous about bringing the Featherweight to the retreat. I'm glad to report that it worked like a charm. Other than the tension, it was really great - and even better when I fixed that!
I brought my Kenmore with me just in case (like Gail suggested). I did use it Sunday afternoon since it hadn't been used in a few years. It was good to take it for a ride 😁
It was fascinating using the Featherweight, then going to the Kenmore and finally my jag (Janome) in the evening at home. The Featherweight chugged along, the Kenmore glided and the Jag purred 😊
I'm looking forward to trimming the sewing machine cover, adding a scrappy binding and then the ties.
On Sunday afternoon I worked on my orange house with my Kenmore. Since I had only brought white thread, I used the bobbins from the Kenmore to sew with. I knew that it could be done but I had never done it. Very cool and a great way to empty a bobbin if you need to.

Related links

Baby Quilt, Upcoming Retreat and I Quilted This! May 21, 2026
Remembering Jeannette (1915-2013), March 06, 2013

Linking parties

I'll be linking up to many fun linking parties. You may wish to visit some before linking up! Monday Musings, Design Wall Monday, Sew & Tell, Put your foot down, Off The Wall Friday, Patchwork & Quilts, Slow Sunday Stitching, 15 Minutes to Stitch 2026, Oh Scrap!,

I Quilted This!

Here are the posts that included FMQ, ruler work and walking foot quilting last week. Thanks for linking up 😊 and consider grabbing the button.

Gretchen, from Gretchen's Little Corner, quilted two lovely rose panels with a pink picture frame pattern. Both are slightly different - can you spot the difference? Gretchen used diagonal lines across both quilts.

First Rose Frame quilt by Gretchen

Second Rose Frame quilt by Gretchen

Gail, from Quilting Gail, made a gorgeous baby quilt, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. The quilting is exquisite - you'll want to check it out on her post! Gail used the Silly Moon rulers, Twinkle, Rocket, Charming to quilt it.

How gorgeous is that!!!
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, made by Gail

Some of the quilting by Gail

Gail's quilt got two prizes!

Kat from Scrapbox Quilts made her sixth Villa Rosa quilt in six weeks for the challenge. For this one she used the Discovery pattern and quilted it with both rulers and FMQ.