Thursday, July 02, 2026

Converting House Blocks to Quilt-As-You-Go and I Quilted This!

Hello and welcome 😎 With the hot and muggy summer here, I'm mostly estivating, except when it's cool enough to have my first coffee outside. I'd rather spend some quality time in my studio than wilt in the garden. I can take the heat, sort of, if it's not too muggy out so we'll see where I end up spending my summer!

Quilt-As-You-Go (QAYG) House Blocks

I was planning on doing this after I finish FMQ my Rainbow Neighbourhood quilt but I just couldn't help it. For my Quilter's Cove QAL, I bought a few brown fabrics for the window sills and really wanted to see what it would look like in an Attic Window setting. Here they all are.

Six houses now as attic window blocks

Attic Window

If you're not familiar with the attic window block, here's what's happening. To create the attic window, I have added the inside of what looks like a window sill to the house block. That's the dark vertical brown, and then the light brown strip at the bottom. Doesn't that look like you're looking at the house through a window? The light pink/gray fabric on the side and on top are the sashing that separate the windows and add contrast.

Attic Window added to the orange house block

Because of my total lack of planning, you can see that the window ledge is cutting up the roof of the orange house. I measured all of my blocks and decided that they would each be 9" x 10½". That means that the orange, pastel and pink blocks were trimmed while I had to add an extra strip to the red, blue and green blocks. Here's what I did.

For the red house I needed to add ¾" to the width of the block. I wanted to keep it simple so I found hand-dyed scraps for the sky and the lawn. Not perfect but really good enough once the attic window and sashing are added.

Adding fabric to the side of the block

Trimming the extra fabric on the block

Here is the finished block.

The added strip doesn't show much on the red house block

Here's what my first house, the blue one, looked like when I originally made it. It was the smallest block of the batch.

My original blue house was much smaller

Here's what it looks like after adding a couple of inches to the width as well as embellishment.

Updated blue house as an attic window block

For the green Danish houses, I needed to add ¾" to the width of the block. Here's what it originally looked like.

The green block was not quite wide enough

If you look carefully, you can see that the dark brown vertical sill is just a tad wider than the sill.

Adding a ½" of dark brown to the green houses block

Quilt-As-You-Go

Now that the houses are in attic window blocks, the next part will be to quilt-as-you-go. It's exactly what it's called. I'll be adding batting and a backing to each attic window block and will quilt them separately. It's easier to quilt a smaller block than it is a full quilt. Once it's FMQ, you stitch the fronts together and then the backs. Probably not quite as simple as it sounds but it's not too difficult. Hopefully I will have considered everything while I converted the blocks to attic windows. I'll deal with it once all of the blocks have been quilted. That's a problem for future me 😁

What I learned

When I decided to put the houses in attic window blocks, I did a lot of research on how there were done. Finding free patterns on the internet helped a lot.
Getting all of the blocks to be the same size was a challenge but I love that kind of problem solving! 😊
I have no idea why I assumed that the window sills needed to be brown (when I looked at the window sills in our house, they're all white!) Anyway it worked out well.
I'm really happy that I found the pink/gray fabric for the sashing in my stash. I think it's perfect. Since I now have lots of brown fabric, I might use one of these for the backing. I need to choose before I start the QAYG.
I'll share the QAYG when I start it, probably in August since I now have to get back to my Rainbow Neighbourhood quilt.
I like the way the additions to the two blocks, the red and the blue houses, came out. Adding extra fun elements to the blue house made it easier to hide the addition!

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.

Gwyned Trefethen is eagerly anticipating the return of her Bernina but meanwhile she made a wholecloth sampler of FMQ designs.

FMQ sampler by Gwyned

The writer of Based On A True Story blog finished her Carousel Quilt which she had first posted about in 2017! The quilt is really stunning although the border didn't cooperate. She finished it and it looks great - without the border!

BTW, I haven't been able to leave a comment on your blog, so thanks for linking up!

A lovely Carousel Quilt finish

Melva finished a lovely ABC quilt. It looks wonderful, even if it wasn't in the colour way she was hoping for. Sometimes you have to go with the scraps you have!

Melva's scrappy ABC quilt

It's now your turn!

Saturday, June 27, 2026

A Pastel House in Quilter's Cove QAL

Hi and welcome 😀 It's the last Saturday in June. That means that we're having a linking party to show off the latest additions to Quilter's Cove. The colour for this month was pastel, something that I don't play much with as you'll see by my house 😂. Click here if you're looking for the I Quilted This! linking party.

A Pastel (Fairy) House

If you've been following my blog for a while, you know that I love colour, the brighter, the better. So it wasn't easy to make a pastel house. When I think pastel, I think soft and dull colours. So how to use pastel colours without the block looking dull? I'm thinking that the solution might the contrast. What do you think?

This is my first attempt at the pastel house. I made the background and the house using quiet, pastel colours. However I just couldn't help adding some bright elements around it.

First attempt at the pastel fairy house

After taking photos of this block, I just had to ask myself....is the block about the house? If so, then I really overshadowed the pastel house with the addition of bright colours around it.

So I made a second block. Thank goodness I had only glued on the additional elements. In this second block the additional elements are more in keeping with the house's colour palette. But is it too dull?

Second version of the pastel house

I wasn't going to even show you my first attempt but when I show my block to JJ, we wondered if the block needs to be about the house? If not, then we like the second block best. So is the block about the house or not? I'd really like your opinion.

This is how the pastel house block looks like with two other blocks.

Three of the houses - does the pastel house look too dull?

To learn 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 July's colour as soon as I find out what it is!

What I learned

The pastel house does look a little dull but I will be using contrasting thread for the windows and door when I quilt it. That should brighten it up a little.
If I hadn't stitched the purplish flower on I would probably have removed it but unless I cover it up, it's staying put!
The second version of the house doesn't include the pink bird but the final one will - is just need to cut another one out - I managed to remove his tail feather when I un-glued him.
I don't think this house is any straighter than the others.... oh well 😁
I'm still hoping to quilt-as-you-go these blocks but I don't want to spend too much time on it since the Rainbow Neighbourhood needs to get done by the end of July!

Related links

A Quilter's Cove QAL, main page on Kat's blog
An Orange House in Quilter's Cove QAL, May 30, 2026
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! Sew & Tell, Put your foot down, Patchwork & Quilts, Beauties Pageant, TGIFF, Oh Scrap!, Monday Musings,

It's your turn to link up below!😍

Wednesday, June 24, 2026

Another Week Already? and I Quilted This!

Bonjour and welcome 😊 I'm surprised that another week is over! It was a very busy weekend with Father's Day, my son's birthday, National Indigenous Peoples Day and the Summer Solstice. We celebrated and it was awesome!😀

More FMQ Houses

I have more quilted houses to share with you. As you can see in the first image, I had the purplish pink thread out. I still have the blue star block side to stitch.

Pink house quilted

Pink house at night quilted, along with the lawn and walkway

Lawns and flowers have been quilted on two of the night houses

I took out a lighter green thread and started FMQ more of the yards. Below is a reminder of what the quilt looks like. I've now quilted houses 1, 2, 3, 6 and 7 except for the rooves. The front of house 4 is quilted and most of the lawns and yards of the first three houses, as well as those of 6 and 7 are quilted.

There are small details on most houses that still need to be FMQ, like windows and doors but that will come as I keep quilting.

A reminder of what needs to be quilted on the Rainbow Neighbourhood Quilt

June's OMG

Finishing the stitch-in-the-ditch for the Rainbow Neighbourhood Quilt was my June OMG. I've done most of the stitch-in-the-ditch and then went on to FMQ 6 of the 8 houses. Yay for me! 😎

Slow Stitching

I couldn't help it, I joined the Summer Hexie Sew Along with Mad About Patchwork - a store located on the outskirts of Ottawa.

Wednesday I spent most of the day outside in the backyard. It was pure retirement heaven.

Stitching hexies (EPP) outside

Bloomers with hexie

I haven't decided yet what fabric I'll be using to make the hexie flower ring. I tend to go scrappy but maybe my scraps could match in style or colour? They have to be different, otherwise I'll get bored...and we can't have that!😁

While I'm playing with hexies, I'll keep making hexie flowers for the Bloomers SAL that I started last year with the Quiltery. I have two hexie flowers made. Here's one of them.

What I learned

The FMQ of the houses and yards is going well. In one stitching session I can get a house and a little more done.
I'm really trying to keep the FMQ simple since I want to get it done! I just can't help it though. It's impossible for me to use an all-over design on a quilt that has so many different fun elements. That is why I learned to FMQ 😍
It looks like the rain will be back tomorrow afternoon, so I'm going to try to spend the morning outside. At the very least I can have my first cup of coffee there 😊
I'll be preparing a bag for my hexies so that I can easily take them with me.
This weekend is the last one for June. That means that I'll be hosting the Quilter's Cover QAL on Saturday. I've got and idea, fabric and an initial layout. Wish me luck!

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.

Terry of On Going Projects finished quilting her Kaffe Challenge for her guild. The quilt, Dash is quilted using a meander in the colourful Kaffe fabric and arch lines in the solid dashes.

Terry's Dash quilt for a guild Kaffe Challenge

Lots of texture in Terry's Dash quilt

A quilter at Based on a True Story has finished a gorgeous baby quilt after finally getting a machine that quilts properly! I'm so glad that she's back on her quilting journey. Her Dogs in Sweaters quilt was quilted with paw prints and squiggles, and Dachshunds on the sweaters.

Dogs in Sweaters Quilt

Gwyned Trefethen has had to slow down while her Bernina is in the shop. We can all sympathize. Since she had to slow down, she experimented FMQ a tulip appliqué.

Gwyned's experimenting with FMQ a tulip appliqué

Melva from Melva Loves Scraps is doing a 100 days challenge. She is doing all kinds of creative projects and one of them is making hearts that she will then embellish and give away.

Melva's quilted hearts to be embellished and given away

Brenda from Songbird Designs entered her quilts in her guild's quilt show. Wow! They were both amazing! Her Peaceful Village at Sunshine Coast won two ribbons. We've seen the quilt in progress and now we see it in all of its glory!

Brenda's Peaceful Village at Sunshine Cove

Brenda's Sedona Starburst (and Miss M)

Kate from Life in Pieces finished her lovely Chilhowie quilt, a 2022 Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt. She quilted it on her domestic machine with her walking foot using diagonal lines across the centre and straight lines in the border.

Kate's Chilhowie quilt finished on her domestic

Kate's Chilhowie quilt quilted with a walking foot

Sandra from mmm quilts made a third version of her Lyra pattern for her quilt along. It's called Arabian Nights and it's stunning! You may also want to check out the Lyra Quilt Along parade.

Sandra's third version of her Lyra quilt - Arabian Nights

It's now your turn 😍

Thursday, June 18, 2026

A Finished Flimsy, FMQ, slow stitching and I Quilted This!

Hello and welcome 😊 Another week has whizzed by. We're back to more seasonal weather and lots of rain. Yesterday the rain drops were so big that my patio umbrella was vibrating 😮 Let's get to the good stuff!

A Finished Baby Quilt Flimsy

The first baby quilt (of three) is now a finished top. It's actually one row less than the pattern but it's a baby quilt and didn't need to be that long. It measures 43" x 47". I just want baby to be wrapped up in it when it's cold and they're going out in the car or to play on the quilt on the floor.

As I mentioned, this is the first of three baby quilts. Three of JJ's friends had babies this winter. JJ helped me plan the quilt and chose the novelty fabrics based on her friends' hobbies. This one has fabric featuring Star Wars, pickleball, smoothies, and cute animals, including dinosaurs. I have three more blocks that I'll be adding to the back (hockey, trucks and mittens) and JJ will design and prepare the label.

A baby quilt flimsy from the Square Dance pattern

FMQ Two More Houses

I had fun FMQ two more Rainbow Neighbourhood houses.

Yellow house now FMQ

The brown house at night is also FMQ

My process is to take out some thread and then do all of the FMQ that I can with that colour. I started with white, since I was piecing the baby quilt before this. I did all of the insides of the blocks on the side walls. I then went on to yellow and then brown since I could use the same bobbin thread for both. So far it's worked very well.

I haven't quilted the yards or the actual rooves since they're another colour. The quilt has 8 houses and a park. I've FMQ 3 of the houses, so 5 more left! I'm also looking forward to playing in the park!

Slow Stitching

While watching video tutorials and catching up in the TextileArtist.org's Stitch Club, I've continued stitching my grandmother's placemat. I wanted to stitch something different in the pink sections and happened to watch Mirjam Gielen as she demonstrated how to do an organic honeycomb stitch. It's not a great stitch to quilt with since it's difficult to keep the tension even but after ironing the placemat, it wasn't too bad - at least not worth un-stitching😁

Honeycomb stitch on the placemat - a little wabbly but fine

I'll be using the honeycomb stich for only these two sections

This afternoon it was cool enough to stitch outside. It's my favourite retirement activity. There seems to be new baby grackles and squirrels around. They really don't like each other but they mostly behave 😃 Today I took out my floral watercolour concertina book and stitched away while watching the live nature show.

I started using "W" shapes - they stitch easily

Adding a lot more stitches to the pages

The concertina book - many more hours of stitching left 😍

What I learned

After finishing the last two rows of the baby quilt, I wasn't in the mood to make another two rows (the squares and then the triangles). I looked at the quilt and decided that it was big enough. It is for a baby, and would be fine for a toddler.
I do have three more novelty blocks to add, so I'll make a fun pieced backing since the quilt is wider than 42" (of course).
I do want to quilt the baby quilt but the Rainbow Neighbourhood quilt is a priority. However, if I can FMQ a couple of houses per week, in a month, I could have most of it finished. I was thinking that this gave me tons of time but July is just two weeks away, 😳 so I'll be focusing on the Rainbow Neighbourhood quilt.
I'm happy to report that I've only had issues with my white thread when FMQ. I have no idea what that's all about but the tension at the back just wasn't quite right. However with the other coloured thread, everything was fine. I was using a piecing thread, so next time I'll use something a little better for the FMQ.
The slow stitching on my grandmother's placemat wasn't as great as I hoped but it's still fine. I'll finish the last of the yellow perle cotton and then do something else for the other pink blocks.
I had a lot of fun stitching on paper on the concertina book. The first page is the easiest, after that it gets a little clumsy but it's all good.
I want to explore what other very simple stitches I can use on the paper. I have done some French knots. The vases on the collages are card stock, so I'll be able to try something different on those.

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, has finished quilting her two final compassion quilts for the year. Awareness & Butterfly Beauty are both lovely quilts. Gretchen did some straight line quilting in both and added a piano key border and diagonal quilting in the border corners of Butterfly Beauty. You'll want to check them out!

Awareness, made and quilted by Gretchen

Butterfly Beauty, Gretchen's own design

Kat from Scrapbox Quilts finished quilting her Peaches quilt for the Quilts 4 Kids Program. It's quilted in a straight lines pattern in a zig zag style.

Kat's quilted Peaches quilt

Preeti of Sew Preeti Quilts participated in a blog hop to showcase a new collection of fabrics, Sunflower Spice. They are gorgeous! Preeti created a wonderful queen sized quilt, Phagun, which she quilted on her domestic machine. You won't want to miss reading more about it and seeing more eye candy! Also, you'll want to check out her very cool pouches made with a recycled Nepal napkin.