Thursday, May 21, 2026

Baby Quilt, Upcoming Retreat and I Quilted This!

Hi and welcome 😎 Spring is here 🌺! It was hot yesterday but very reasonable today. I'm sure that some people want it to stay hot but it'll get here soon enough. Today I worked outside in the yard and inside in my studio. It was both a long time coming.

Baby Quilt Coming Along

When I searched my blog, it looks like I hadn't worked on the baby quilt since January. The pattern is called Square Dance from the Modern Baby book by Martingale. I had made a rough plan but a lot of info was missing, so I redid that and I'm good to go.

This is as far as I got yesterday. Can you spot the mistake that unfortunately can't just be called a creative anything.... It was too late to fix it, so it'll be there the next time I start up.

Two full rows and an oops!

Here's a progress photo since I took it! 😀

Progress on the baby quilt

I've drawn out the entire quilt and took out the fabric as I was making decisions. It's not the way I usually do it but I needed to know what colours are in the next row to make the corresponding HST (half square triangles). At least I get to decide on the novelty fabric when I'm making the block 😊.

Getting Ready for a Retreat

On Saturday and Sunday I'll be at an intown retreat. It's with a new group to me. I've only met the leader but I'm really looking forward to it. I've become pretty isolated in my studio. Other than doing groceries and meeting a friend for coffee or a meal every once in a while, I've been avoiding almost all social interactions in groups. Hopefully this will get me back in the groove.

Several years ago I bought a Featherweight sewing machine. I was told that it worked, but I hadn't tried it out yet. So last weekend, I took it out of its case and gave it a go. It does work and using the original manual (in French!) I was able to sew a bit. However, I didn't want to do much since it needed maintenance. I found an amazing video that went through pretty much everything I needed to do.

My featherweight sewing machine - older than me!

I wasn't able to locally find the grease they recommend so I found an alternative at Canadian Tire. It was quite the job greasing and oiling it but it was less intimidating than I expected. It does work but I think that it's noisier than the one on the video. I'm going to see if anyone at the retreat uses a Featherweight and compare notes. I did take out my trusty Kenmore so I'll have no problems sewing either way.

As for projects, I don't want to bring anything too difficult, so I went through some of my scraps and cut 2.5" squares. I've also started playing with scraps to make a sewing machine cover for my Jag. I found this cute one that just has ties, so the fit will be more forgiving.

To make - a scrappy cover for my Jag

I'm also going to bring fabric for my orange house for the Quilter's Cove QAL. As well, I bought some fabric to convert my houses into a QAYG (Quilt as you go) project. That would require thinking - so we'll see how my brain is working. I did find a pattern and made notes, so I may be able to mock one up. Since the retreat is only a 10 minute ride from home, I can always come back if I'm missing anything.

I also usually bring a hand stitching project to work on if I need a break. I'll remember to pack it.

What I learned

I did learn an important lesson about making the row of HSTs for the baby quilt:

Make the blocks but only trim them once the row is done and ready to be sewn together. I obviously didn't trim them all properly, so I had a couple of blocks that were quite smaller.

I guess I should mention double checking that all of the HSTs are in the correct spot but it seems to be a recurring lesson that I have to learn over and over!
I think I've figured out how to extend my design wall for these larger quilts. Hopefully it'll work.
I hope that the Featherweight will work well but at least I'll have my other machine with me.
Two days feels like a lot of time but it usually isn't. If I can play, meet new quilters and have some fun, that would be wonderful, although a new scrappy cover for my jag would be lovely 😊

Related links

Getting stuff done and I Quilted This! (First Baby Quilt in the making), January 22, 2026
Sewing Machine Rehab, Featherweight Maintenance Grease and Oil
Sewing Machine Rehab, The Ultimate Singer Featherweight Guide
A Quilting Life Pattern by Sherri McConnell Patchwork Sewing Machine Cover

Linking parties

I'll be linking up to many fun linking parties. You may want to check some out, after you've linked up below. 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.

Gretchen from Gretchen's Little Corner has started her Spring quilting. This turquoise patchwork quilt was the first one. It got some in-the-ditch quilting, diagonal lines in the white blocks, straight lines in the white border and then Baptist fans in the border. What a simple beauty. You might want to go read her post.

Gretchen's turquoise patchwork quilt

Gretchen's Baptist fans in the border

Terry of On Going Projects quilted her Beyond the Surface quilt. It started by quilting-in-the-ditch, followed by adding ghost flying geese and finally jazzing all of them up. It really looks great! To read more about Terry's process, check out her post.

Beyond the Surface quilt by Terry

Terry added more sunshine and shadows with quilting

Terry added some almost continuous curves within the geese

Kat from Scrapbox Quilts is on week 5 of her 6 Quilts in 6 Weeks Challenge. This one is a lovely colourful flannel quilt.

Kat's fifth Villa Rosa quilt

Sally from Crafts, Caves and Cooking made this amazing lone star quilt called Supernova (all lone start quilts are amazing!!!) Sally created lovely corner designs to make her lone star quilt stand out. Check out her post for more info.

Sally's Supernova quilt

Gwyned Trefethen has finished quilting her Secret Mission. Have a look at the FMQ from the back of the quilt!

Gwyned's Secret Mission quilt - FMQ from the back

It's now your turn 😍

Thursday, May 14, 2026

Embroidered Victorian Pin Cushion and I Quilted This!

Hi and welcome 😊 Today's sun was greatly appreciated 🌞 It's still too cool to stay outside to stitch but it's getting there. I just love watching and feeding all of the neighbourhood wildlife. I finished my embroidered Victorian pin cushion, so here it is.

Victorian Pin Cushion

I wasn't sure if I would make the pin cushion but when I embroidered the pattern on a smaller scale onto lovely vintage cotton, of course I had to make it. Because the handkerchief had a lace trim that I wanted to include in the pin cushion, I didn't use the pillow case method. I just made it up as I went along.😀

Embroidered Victorian Pin Cushion

The good thing about embroidery is that it covers machine stitching lines very well. I even took out my pretty pins to put into the cushion...I'll need more of those.

This is what the sampler looked like last week

The last two stitches to add were the beaded wheat ear stitch and the half wheel buttonhole stitch. I did the buttonhole stitch on the yellow sampler without drawing it - so I learned from that and drew the half circle on my pin cushion sampler.

Drawing the half circles to get it right

What I learned

The size of the embroidery hoop you use matters! I was originally using a 6" hoop for my first sampler but since it felt small, I switched to an 8". This turned out to be larger than the fabric so it wouldn't keep the tension. So I switched back to my 6" but just adjusted the fabric when I needed to.
I don't always use an embroidery hoop but for these more "formal" stitches, especially placed in rows, it was necessary.
I don't like drawing the whole stitch because I don't usually follow the drawing anyway, but it was needed to make the half-circles roughly the same size. It worked out well.
If you've been following me for a while, you know that I don't like making things that require accuracy, so this was way out of my comfort zone. Now that I proved that I can do it - the question is do I want to do it again? Probably not 😁
It's nice to play with stitches, although I'm not a huge fan of embroidery floss. I found it really hard to thread my needle when I was using 4 strands. It's not so much the original threading as the multiple threading required when you make mistakes and have to pull the thread out - and you can only do that by taking it out of the needle.😕
To keep the lace trim on the pin cushion, I attached the back to the front at each end and sides, having two pieces meet in the centre. I then buttonhole or blanket stitched the edges so they wouldn't fray.
I channeled my mother's MacGyver talents when putting it together - the important thing is that it looks ok and won't leak filling!

Related links

More Slow Stitching and I Quilted This!, May 07, 2026
Why Not Stitching (WNS) Academy

Linking parties

I'll be linking up to many fun linking parties. Why not check some out after you link up below? Monday Musings, Design Wall Monday, Sew & Tell, Put your foot down, Finished (Or Not) Friday, Patchwork & Quilts, 15 Minutes to Stitch 2026, Slow Sunday Stitching,

Project details

Created during the WNS Academy's Victorian Sampler Challenge

Size:

Material: embroidery floss, beads, Kona cotton (first sampler) and vintage cotton handkerchiefs and filling

Techniques: embroidery stitches: sheaf stitch, beaded chain stitch, tacked herringbone stitch, beaded fly stitch, beaded wheat ear stitch, half wheel buttonhole stitch as well as back stitch and blanket stitch.

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.

Kat from Scrapbox Quilts shared with us her week 3 and 4 quilts as part of the 6 Quilts in 6 Weeks Challenge.

Honey Bouquet quilt made with flannel scraps by Kat

Kat used ruler quilting to finish this lovely quilt

Deb, A Scrappy Quilter, quilted up a whole bunch of quilts that she and her grandchildren layed out. You'll want to check out her post to see all of them!

A lovely stroller quilt made by Deb with left overs

5" squares make up this cute quilt by Deb

A pretty yellow quilt with a gridded centre by Deb

Preeti of Sew Preeti Quilts has the pattern of her Rainbow Sprouts Quilt available in her shop. It was first featured in the Make Modern Magazine's Issue #68. She also has a great Rainbow Seeds quilt made from the left-overs of the Rainbow Sprouts quilt.

Rainbow Sprouts Quilt by Preeti

Rainbow Seeds quilt by Preeti

Sandra of mmm quilts has a gorgeous quilt, Diamond Baby, in the latest Make Modern magazine. She took some amazing pictures on her trip to Eastern Canada. You'll want to check out her post!

Sandra's Diamond Baby at Fisherman's Cove

Lovely quilted details on Sandra's Diamond Baby

It's now your turn! 😍

Thursday, May 07, 2026

More Slow Stitching and I Quilted This!

Hi and welcome 😊 I hope all is well with you - thanks for taking the time to visit!

Slow Stitching

This week I'm participating in an online challenge with the WNS Academy. We are stitching a Victorian sampler. It's been a change of pace to mostly follow instructions. As you may know, that's not my forte! My sampler is not great but then it is a sampler.

Victorian Sampler Challenge

Each day we get a different stitch. The top one is the sheaf stitch. The second day was the beaded chain stitch. I did this one three times. In the image below you can see my two rows of chain stitch using big beads. I made the first row with only 3 strands of embroidery cotton and the embroidery barely showed. It was better in the second attempt when I used all 6 strands.

The first two days of the challenge

For my third attempt at the row of chain stitch, I used smaller beads. Using the smaller beads was better but my line is terribly wonky.

The third day was the tacked herringbone stitch. Day four was the beaded fly stitch. I really enjoyed this one! Today we did the herringbone ladder stitch. I also enjoyed that one but I found out why it's important to make the base back stitches even!

Stitch challenge so far

We have two more stitches to do and then we're supposed to make a pin cushion. Since I've really enjoyed the stitching, I'm considering making the lines of stitching shorter so that the pin cushion will be a practical size.

Update May 8

I decided to start a new sampler to use for the pin cushion. I used a couple of hand kerchiefs given to me by a friend 😍. I put a layer of Steam-a-seam lite between the 2 fabrics. I'll just be using a corner of it to stitch on and then use part of it to make the pin cushion. I wanted to share this with you - it's so much better!

Embroidery on vintage hand kerchief to make the pin cushion

Once I erase the Frixion pen lines, it should look great. It does seem that my chain stitch is just naturally wabbly, even after making it four times! Oh well, proof that a machine did not make these. 😁

Nature's Texture - an Online Exhibition

Nature's Texture, an online exhibition of the art made by students of Fleur Woods at Take Two is now available. The exhibition is incredible and I'm so glad to have my piece, Views from Near and Far, included in it.

View the exhibition

My piece is on page 76. In case you don't have the patience to check it out, here is a screenshot of the page.

What I learned

The challenge is interesting. The instructions on the video are good but not very thorough. I appreciate being told why certain supplies such as threads are used, etc.
I'm really not very sociable in these types of events and don't use the facebook spaces.
I wasn't going to make the pin cushion but now that I'm getting into it, it would be nice to make a better version of these stitches and make something useful.
It can be difficult finding needles that are big enough for the embroidery thread but small enough for beads. I usually use tiny size 11 or 12 beads with silk thread, but these are too small. I'm glad that I found some slightly larger ones that mostly went though the needle!😁
Making a piece for the exhibition was a great experience but now I seem to be rudderless. I know that this happens after a big project is finished. I'm just hoping to get back to all of my other projects soon.

Related links

Linking parties

I'll be linking up to many fun linking parties. You may want to check some out!

Monday Musings, Design Wall Monday, Sew & Tell, Put your foot down, Patchwork & Quilts, 15 Minutes to Stitch 2026,

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.

Gwyned Trefethen received her thread and is back FMQ her secret mission. I'm sure that we're all looking forward to seeing this lovely secret!

Gwyned FMQ her secret mission

It's now your turn 😍

Thursday, April 30, 2026

Island Batik Fabric and I Quilted This!

Hi and welcome 😊. The weather here is all over the place but this morning the poplar in my back yard had leaf buds. There was no greenery yesterday and now there are tiny leaves peaking out! Between the explosion of bulbs and the birds hard at work constructing their nests in the neighbourhood, it must be Spring! 😍

A Future Quilt Make-over

I was one of the lucky winners of a bundle of Island Batik fabric for the 2026 SAHRR. That was the best gift ever since after over 10 years of sleeping under it, I have a king-sized quilt to repair/make-over.

Island Batik bundle of fat quarters

With 169 blocks to quilt, I never did finish FMQ it. This caused some of the problems but unfortunately a few fabrics just disintegrated around the FMQ. I've been buying batik fabrics ever since I started quilting. Back then, I didn't know that not all batik fabrics are of the same quality.

Batik king-size quilt - after 10 years, in need of serious repairs

I started FMQ the quilt in 2016. All of the 8" blocks had been stitched-in-the-ditch. When we first slept under it, only 23 blocks had been quilted. By 2019 I had 54 blocks FMQ and in 2020 I had 120 blocks done, that's about 2/3 done.

In my 2020 post I had repaired a few of the blocks but since then it's gotten worse and I just did what I do best - I ignored it by putting another smaller quilt over the worst of it! I really didn't know if I should fix the quilt or just throw it out but when I won these fabrics, I knew that it would eventually get fixed.

A couple of weeks ago we bought a new bed cover. Since it wad deeply discounted, it's quality and lovely to sleep under. This means that I can now work on the original quilt without having to take it off the bed and then put it back on to sleep 😁

Block I fixed the last time - there are many more!

Next week I'll be washing the batiks as well as the king-size quilt. After that, I'll figure out how many blocks need to be repaired or replaced. I'm hoping to fix a few blocks at a time but this will be a big job over several months.

May's One Monthly Goal (OMG)

For April's OMG I managed to iron the flimsy. Next will be the backing and then the sandwich. My objective remains the same - to start quilting it, at least in-the-ditch. I'll be linking up to May's OMG when it opens 😊

May's OMG

What I learned

I now know that batiks, like other fabrics, are not all the same quality. I now should have enough batiks to fix the whole quilt.
Since I'm not sure which batiks were the cheaper made ones in my stash, I've only been using batiks for art or wall hangings that won't be washed.
I was gifted some gorgeous batiks from Alaska that I'll be adding to the quilt - thanks Lise😀
Thank you so much to everyone who was involved in the SAHRR 2026 and a particular thank you to Kathleen who mailed the box to Canada - wow, no wonder no one wants to ship to Canada from the US anymore....so a very special thanks!😍

Related links

How many more blocks to FMQ?, September 08, 2020
Only 115 blocks left on Free Motion Mavericks, August 15, 2019
Only 146 blocks to go!, July 09, 2016

Linking parties

I'll be linking up this post to many fun linking parties, including the May OMG. Monday Musings, Sew & Tell, Put your foot down, Off The Wall Friday, Patchwork & Quilts,

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 (contact me if you need the coding).

Gretchen quilted this colourful Fabric Vortex quilt for her grandson. She quilted it with a spiral design. Gretchen made the quilt reversable using orphan blocks. Her grandson was thrilled! If you're interested in learning more about making a fabric vortex quilt, Gretchen has included all kinds of links in her post. I'm looking forward to going down that rabbit hole once this late post is finally published!

Gretchen's Fabric Vortex quilt, quilted in a spiral design

The back of Gretchen's Fabric Vortex quilt - made of orphan blocks

Kat from Scrapbox Quilts worked on her second quilt in the 6 quilts in 6 weeks challenge. She was able to find a UFO started last year that was a Villa Rosa design - Honey Bouquet. Kat quilted her scrappy quilt on her domestic.

Kat's second quilt for the 6 quilts in 6 weeks challenge

Anne-Marie of Stories from the Sewing Room found out that one of the quilts that she custom quilted in 2024 was on "display at the AQS shows in Daytona Beach and Hartford this spring and will also be on display in Paducah." What amazing news! You'll want to check out the FMQ on her original post.

Custom quilted by Anne-Marie in 2024

It's now your turn 😍

Monday, April 27, 2026

A Pink House in Quilter's Cove QAL

Hi and welcome 😕 I'm so sorry to be late this month to host April's Pink House for the Quilter's Cove QAL. I knew there were days left in April after the weekend but didn't realise that it was the last weekend of the month. So without further ado, here's the linking party.

If you're looking for the I Quilted This! linking party, it's here.

New Pink Houses in Quilter's Cove

When I first posted, my house was not at all finished, but it was started. The whole house revolves around the pink garage door 😁 This is the hippie pink house in the burbs, i.e. what my house would look like if I was let loose.

This is the final version. It's going to be fun FMQ these blocks once the quilt is done, or when I figure out how to quilt-as-I-go.

Hippie pink house in the burbs - final

Pink house version of when I first posted.

Hippie pink house in the burbs

The blue background is a scrap piece that is roughly the size of what I want my block to be. It's a great way to ensure ~~conformity~~ consistency without measuring 😂

I'll keep updating pictures of my pink house as I add to it.

Update: May's colour is orange - so start thinking about your orange houses soon!

What I learned

If I'm going to buy an agenda, I really should use it!
With the time crunch (I realised on Sunday that the last Saturday of the month was the day before!) I decided to go with what I know - a burb house.
I want my houses to be fun, so with the pink peace fabric, I knew that a hand-dyed fabric would be perfect. With better lighting, you'll be able to see it!
I love the thought of a hippie in the burbs....which is what I am but only my back yard reflects that a bit!

Related links

A Quilter's Cove QAL, main page on Kat's blog
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 many fun linking parties. Why not check some out? Monday Musings, Design Wall Monday, Sew & Tell, Put your foot down, Off The Wall Friday, Finished (Or Not) Friday, Patchwork & Quilts,

I hope that you'll join us in the linking party below.

Thursday, April 23, 2026

Views Both Far and Near and I Quilted This!

Hello and welcome 😎 I'm thrilled to share Views Both Far and Near with you. I learned so much and I'm so happy that it's finished. The last few days have been very intense - I'm glad that I don't do this for a living!

Views Both Far and Near

Last week the piece was getting close to finish. It's mostly a blur but by Sunday evening I knew that I would have the embroidery finished on Monday and that I would spend most of Tuesday framing it. I also watched the course that Take Two provides all of its student on photographing our art with a cell phone. That left the photography session for this morning.

Views Both Far and Near

In the last two weeks you've seen a lot of process photos. Here are a few closeups of the finished piece. In the area where the nut was (I never did find it!) I added various semi-precious stones such as amethyst, since stones are also a part of nature. I also added some fun critters such as the bird next to the clover. I stitched many tiny flowers in the areas that I had covered in stem stitch. Very loose couching was used above the orange proddy flower. It covered the area quickly and looks like fields of plants.

Details of the stitching

A rabbit lurking behind a row of plants

The top of the piece with shells and a turtle hanging out by the water

In the image below, you can see how the canvas was covered on the sides. It was quite the learning experience!😧

Side view of the piece.

I mentioned in my last post that Take Two also offers a course on how to take photos of our art with our cell phones. It was a great course and I learned so much. I even discovered that my phone has all kinds of editing settings that I had been looking for! It turns out that the default was on auto - so when I explored further, I found out how to adjust colour, brightness, etc.

After the section on lighting, I knew that the best photos could be taken in my dining room in the morning. The wall next to the window has wonderful lighting but is painted a taupe colour, so I stuck a white cardboard to the wall and used the existing nail to hang the piece. The cardboard doesn't have to be centered since I'm going to get closer and crop the image anyway.

A white cardboard sheet is placed on the wall
to get the best lighting

The other thing I learned was that it's best to use your feet to get closer to the art that you're photographing than to use the zoom function on your phone. It's too bad that I can't do that with the wildlife in my backyard! 😀

What I learned

I learned many things while making this piece. Most of these you can read in my previous posts.
I did learn a lot while trying to attach the art piece to the framed canvas.
In theory my method should have worked but when I attached the piece to see if it would work, I hadn't stitched the sides much. I learned that when you add all of that stitching, the art contracts and becomes smaller.
I did what I could, but it's certainly not to a professional standard. Since I'm keeping this piece, that doesn't matter as much.
Next time I'll try to face the piece and then attach it to the canvas, if a canvas is necessary.
I'll add more photography tips as I keep learning. 😊

Related links

Time is flying by and I Quilted This!, April 15, 2026
A very slow-stitching project and I Quilted This!, April 09, 2026
Updates and Happy New Year!, January 01, 2026
Many Updates and Free Motion Mavericks, November 20, 2024
Scraps, Embroidery and Free Motion Mavericks, October 31, 2024
More Joyful Embroidery and Free Motion Mavericks, October 23, 2024
Joyful Embroidery with Fleur Woods and Free Motion Mavericks, October 10, 2024
A bit of this and that and Free Motion Mavericks, September 26, 2024

Linking parties

I'll be linking to many fun linking parties. You might want to check some out. Monday Musings, Design Wall Monday, Sew & Tell, Put your foot down, Off The Wall Friday, Finished (Or Not) Friday, TGIFF, Patchwork & Quilts, Beauties Pageant, Slow Sunday Stitching, Favorite Finish for April,

Project details

Project created for submission to Nature’s Textures, An online exhibition from Fleur Woods and Take Two

Title: Views Both Far and Near

Size: 10" x 12"

Materials: monk’s cloth, hand-dyed and commercial fabric, perle cotton, silk, linen, and cotton thread, silk, cotton, wool, synthetic, and linen yarn, thread bobbin, semi-precious stones, shells, beads, ribbon, felt, batting, art canvas

Techniques: embroidery, thread weaving, punch needle, coiling, "cuir froissé"

This project, as well as the two below will be at the Fibre Fling 2026 this Friday and Saturday.

Views Both Far and Near at Fibre Fling

Views Both Far and Near - label

Glimpses of Antarctica at Fibre Fling

Glimpses of Antarctica

Desert Landscape at Fibre Fling

Desert Landscape

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.

Kat from Scrapbox Quilts is participating in the Make 6 quilts in 6 weeks Challenge with Villa Rosa Designs. Her first quilt, Cabin Fever is very cute. Kat quilted it in a cross hatch.

Cabin Fever made by Kat - the first of six!

Margo Young of MY Quilts and Crafts finished and gifted two baby quilts. They are so cute!

Baby quilt by Margo

Another baby quilt by Margo

Preeti of Sew Preeti Quilts finished another lovely quilt, Polite Society, for a magazine about using precuts. Check out her post for more of her precut friendly patterns.

Polite Society by Preeti

Gwyned Trefethen is getting ready to FMQ her secret mission. Here is a sampler of the FMQ designs that will be on her quilt.

Gwyneth's FMQ practice sandwich

FMQ loops with open hearts by Gwyned

Terry from On Going Projects finished quilting her 2021-22 temperature quilt. It really looks great! You'll want to check out her post to read all about it.