Sunday, March 17, 2024

2 Colour Mystery Quilt and Updates

Hi and welcome. I hope that you're having a great weekend. I've been working on a few of my ongoing projects. Thanks for letting me share these with you. 😊 

Making HSTs (half-square triangles)


This week's clue for the Mystery Quilt was to create HST. Amazingly enough, it's one of the blocks that I'm pretty good at. I make them two at a time, and because there's always a little bit of wiggle room to square them up, they usually come out pretty accurately. 😁

That's a LOT of half-square triangles (48 and 24!)

Blocks and HSTs made, with a couple of extra cut pieces


I've never participated in a mystery quilt before, and I wondered how they would keep the finished piece a mystery. After all, once you make a block or two, you're bound to have an idea of what the quilt will look like. So, instead of making blocks, the mystery is prolonged by getting you to put minor things together like partial blocks and HST. It makes use of the production line concept.

FM Embroidering the Noon Sun


Making the second Sun for my hanging outdoor piece was much easier once I'd made the sunrise sun (see Related links below). The Sunrise Sun isn't quite finished but the FM embroidering is done. For the Noon Sun, instead of using a scarf, I used a long piece of yellow organza folded in half with a layer of yellow tulle in the middle.

Noon Sun free motion embroidered in 2 shades of yellow

I couldn't help it, I ended up embroidering past the 6" border. When I finished embroidering, I tried out an 8" hoop since it fit into it.

Trying the piece in an 8" hoop

I then placed it in the 6" hoop and loved the effect that the extra stitching has outside of the hoop. 

I love how the stitching looks on the outside of the centre

I'm not thrilled with the inside of the hoop, but I'll add some hand-embroidery with 2 shades of yellow perle cotton to give it more texture and interest. I may also add some beads to make it twinkle outside. At this time, I'm thinking that cutting the sheer fabric outside of the hoop to make it move in the wind, could be cool 😎


I'll be embroidering the centre with perle cotton and possibly adding beads

What I learned
  • I'm thrilled that the production line of the HSTs went well.
  • It's funny how some quilting blocks are easy and other not so much. I think that I have a lot of experience making those HST.
  • I've also been playing with the embroidery hoop of Sunrise. I'll share this with you when I get it right - it's been an interesting journey!
  • I'm looking forward to embroidering the Noon Sun. I'll be linking this post on Slow Sunday Stitching and hope to play with it today.
  • I can't wait to start those clouds and birds, which is the next level of the hanging piece. That's going to take some ingenuity. 
  • Next week I want to start sewing together some of the panels for Hubby's panel quilt. Hopefully that will go well. 
Related links
Linking parties
I'll be linking up to many fun linking parties, including Slow Sunday Stitching and Free Motion Mavericks😀. Why not check them out if you get a chance. Off The Wall Friday, Put Your Foot DownPatchwork & Quilts, 15 Minutes to Stitch 2024



Thursday, March 14, 2024

Creating a sunrise on Free Motion Mavericks

Hi and welcome to week 573 of Free Motion Mavericks. It feels like Spring, especially after the coming of daylight saving time and that wonderful daylight. I always remember my great-aunt at this time. She would joke that she was tired all summer, after missing her hour of sleep. That's how I remember that we loose an hour in the Spring. Thanks matante Marie! 😁 

FMQ a sunrise


I've started on my outdoor hanging sculpture for our Fibre 15 Outdoor "Impermanent" Summer exhibit. 

In progress - Dawn Sun

You may recall that I want to make a hanging piece based on the mindful stitching below. The Dawn Sun is the first. I tried using 2 strands of wire around my first version but it was flimsier than I expected. Because the suns are round, I was able to place this first one in an embroidery hoop, which I'll be able to paint. 

A Nod to the Great Pottery Throw Down (Season 1)

Top half of my plan - I still have to figure out the rest

I found many sunrise images on the Internet. It's not always easy to tell a sunrise from a sunset. Often the sunrise is softer and can be surrounded by pink and/or orange. Below you can see some yellow organza in front of Dawn Sun. I'll have to work with other colours and see what I get. Hopefully with the organza and the painted hoop, it will look like a sun rising at dawn.

Dawn Sun - adding organza will help make it look like a sunrise

Here are a couple of process pictures. Since I'm making 2 more suns, you'll probably see a few more 😀. I used an old scarf to free motion embroider on. I placed the scarf in a 10" hoop and then used a smaller 6" embroidery hoop to outline the circle. 

This first image is my first attempt. I free motion embroidered it and then added two 22 gage wire around it. I attached it to the small basket in front of my sewing machine as a guide for making the second one.

First attempt at a sun, using wire to keep it round(ish)

Marked scarf in the embroidery hoop

Free motion embroidering the outline, adding sun rays and
then stitching the inside of the circle

Some of the scarves and organza that I'll be using


2-Colour Mystery Quilt


In case you missed the post, I'm working on Canuck Quilting Designs' 2-Colour Mystery Quilt-Along. I learned a lot - mostly to check many times before cutting and sewing! I'm sure that it will go better this week - I just got the latest instructions in my inbox!

First blocks finished!









What I learned
  • I'm glad that I've started this project because there's going to be a lot of technical things to figure out as I go along.
  • One obvious thing that came to me is that if I use glue, it has to be waterproof or else things will fall apart. 
  • For example, I want to use Solvy water soluble products but if the glue completely leaves the piece because of rain, the end piece will become droopy. I can still use Solvy but I'll also have to use wire to keep the shapes.
  • I'll be using old scarves that I have or that I've bought as well as my stash of organza and other translucent fabrics to create all of these pieces. I'll be playing a lot to see what works best.
  • I just got the next clue for the mystery quilt - we're making HST. I think this might be easier - wish me luck!
Related links
Linking parties
I'll be linking up to many fun linking parties. Why not check them out, after you link up below? Sew & Tell, Needle & Thread Thursday, Put Your Foot DownOff The Wall Friday,

Free Motion Mavericks


Did you know that Preeti has a new pattern out and that her testers all posted their version on the same day? Preeti's newest pattern is called Rainbow Parade. I just love the placement of her colours. It's a really sweet quilt.
New pattern at Sew Preeti Quilts - Rainbow Parade

Frédérique of Quilting Patchwork Appliqué made a very different quilt - yes, it's the same pattern but the colours are so different! What a great way to show off this pattern's possibilities!

Frédérique's version - Parade

Denise at A Quiltery created another amazing quilt! For the Butterfly Garden-Log Cabin Blog Hop, her quilt background features log cabin blocks in a very pale batik. Add to that the yard light/birdfeeder, flowers, sun and butterflies and you have a real gem of a quilt. I won the pattern on Denise's site when it came out. I really want to make this quilt!😊 

Denise's Butterfly Garden quilt with log cabin blocks

It's now your turn!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Monday, March 11, 2024

2-Colour Mystery Quilt

Hi and welcome 😊 I've been trying to stay away from challenges and quilt-alongs because they are my number 1 creators of UFOs. Also, I'm accuracy challenged, so traditional quilts are not my favourites....but this is a mystery quilt with only 2 colours and it's designed by Joanne at Canuck Quilting Designs. I was a tester for one of her quilts (before I dived into art quilts). I love her designs and her instructions are exactly how I like reading my patterns. So....I just had to participate.

2 Colours Mystery Quilt 


I thought that I had the dark fabric for the mystery quilt but I couldn't find anything I liked in my stash for the lighter colour. I figured that if I had to buy fabric, that I might as well get both fabrics. I got lucky and found some fabric on sale at my local quilt shop. The dark green was the end of the bolt and the lighter fabric was in the reduced basement.

Fabric for week 2


Week 1 - cutting fabric


Here is my fabric cut for week 2. I really don't like cutting fabric and I'd rather do it in chunks than to cut it all at once. Besides, some days I'm more accurate than others - so it's good to spread out the task.

Choosing, washing and cutting fabric

Fabric all cut for week 2 plus an extra block for later

Before cutting anything, I figure out on paper, what I need to cut as a first step. As you can see, I arrange my fabric using large paper clips. The clips have numbers because I created them when I learned to do foundation paper piecing.

The written strips with the sizes of each block are selvage edges from the fabric that I've just cut. I find this a great way to keep myself organised.

Accuracy Challenged


I was very careful when I cut my strips but I still managed to mess up my 5" strips. Since I have more than enough green fabric, I cut as much as possible from the non-wonky part, and then sub-cut it to 3" width and then 5" long. 

I was working on a green cutting mat and had difficulty seeing the green fabric underneath my ruler, so I flipped it over and cut it that way. It worked!

Cutting fabric from the back - it's easier to see!

Now I try to quilt a couple of blocks to make sure that I have everything correct, before I do chain piecing. That's because if there's more than one way to stitch the pieces together, you can guarantee that I'll find it!
The wrong way of sewing the blocks together!
The block on the right is the correct way.

I even placed a block in front of me to make sure that I got it right....and I managed to get it wrong once more before it came out ok!
A block on the wall to ensure
that I get it right...

After getting it wrong a second time, I called it quits. Today I was hoping that it would go better....well, I did get quicker at pulling the stitches out! I now have 6 blocks done of each colour combination. Six more and the first week will be done!

Blocks for week 2 done! 😊

What I learned
  • Is knowing that I'm accuracy challenged a good thing or is it a self-fulfilling prophecy? 
  • I just figured out that I was using the wrong cutting chart - so I have more fabric to cut! 
  • I really do try to be careful, but it's when I think that I finally have it under control that I stop checking 3 times before doing anything, and then get it wrong.
  • Don't let me deter you from making this quilt. I'm sure that you would be fine 😁
  • Now you know why I prefer improv blocks and art quilts - but I don't want this to stop me from making quilts with regular blocks. It's nice to have a variety of projects on the go, and I do consider myself a quilter....just not a great piecer 😊
Related links
Linking parties
I'll be linking up to many linking parties. Why not check them out? 




Thursday, March 07, 2024

FMQ a Friend's Quilt on Free Motion Mavericks

I have a free motion quilting (FMQ) finish this week. It's my girlfriend's first quilt and I offered to quilt it. It's gorgeous!  

FMQ with Wavy Lines


Sylvie, my friend, took a quilting course last winter. We pinned it in May last year and I finally started doing the stitch-in-the-ditch in August. I was busy with my niece's quilt in the fall but started the FMQ in February. I was about a ⅓ of the way through so to motivate myself to get it done, my March One Monthly Goal (OMG) was finishing the FMQ. It's done was lots of time to spare 😊

FMQ finish 😊

Here are a few quilting process photos. I sent Sylvie these two photos in August.

Stitch-in-the-ditch

I stitched-in-the-ditch around each large square
I took these photos today.

FMQ wavy lines on the width of the quilt

It's amazing how much you can put through the neck of the machine!

I took these photos on top of our king-size bed.

What wonderful texture the wavy lines give!

Another photo of the wavy texture.

I'm so glad that it's finished. I did learn a lot on the way.

What I learned
  • I'm so glad that I've finally finished FMQ Sylvie's quilt. I feel guilty that it took so long but she did say to take my time 😁
  • This FMQ was different than I expected and it took me a while to figure out why.... It's because I usually only quilt a little area at a time. For this one, I quilted it on the width, so a much larger area than I usually do.
  • That brought with it a few difficulties that took me a while to manage. I have this bad habit of doing one or two wonky stitches between the time that I stop and when I start. When I work in a small area, it's not really noticeable, but on the width, it could be noticeable. 
  • I worked on it diligently and got much better. For one thing, I tried to stop in an area where the fabric could hide my wonky start and stop if need be. Finally I just got better about stopping and starting.
  • You know that I'm accuracy challenged, and that goes for the amount of space between the wavy line. I started off with wavy lines that were close to ones that were farther apart. Overall though, it does look ok. If everything but a small area was different, then it would show, but since it's all different widths, it looks consistent!
  • My daughter and I carefully looked at the wavy quilting to see if there was anything off. She did find an area where 4 squares met that needed to be quilted since in that area, the wavy lines were very wide. I added a wavy quilted line the width of the block and it looks better.
Linking parties
I'll be linking up to many fun linking parties including the March One Monthly Goal (OMG) as soon as it opens! Design Wall MondaySew & Tell, Midweek Makers, Put your foot down, Needle & Thread Thursday, Can I Get A Whoop Whoop?, Beauties Pageant, Finished (Or Not) Friday, Patchwork & Quilts, 15 Minutes to Stitch 2024

Free Motion Mavericks


Last week was a very productive week for many quilters. Thanks to everyone who linked up!

Melva worked on a sampler quilt that she is quilting as you go (QAYG). It's a great way to quilt in small sections, instead of having that whole quilt on your domestic sewing machine. It looks great!

Melva's sampler that she is FMQ with the QAYG technique

Gail has created two quilts from fat quarters that she was gifted. Two very different looking quilts with the same fabric collection! Both quilts were quilted with the Silly Moon’s “Rocket” ruler. You can see the details of the quilting on the close-up.

The Pin Dot Floral collection with a white background

The Pin Dot Floral collection with a black background. Check out
the quilting in the outside border!

Details of the FMQ with Silly Moon’s “Rocket” ruler 
Anne-Marie of Stories from the Sewing Room finished her February OMG (she's also hosting the OMG now). She finished her art quilt - it's really stunning! 

Anne-Marie finished her February OMG - an art quilt!

It's now your turn! 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Saturday, March 02, 2024

Fun with Red Scraps - Love All Around

Hi and welcome 😊 Today it's about a scrappy challenge done with hand-stitching and embroidery.

February Table Scraps Challenge - On the Road


The colour for February was red and of course, the theme was hearts. Here's my mini.

Love All Around - Table Scraps Challenge for February: red and hearts

When I realised that I would be away at the end of February, I packed up a little travel pouch of mostly red fabric, both hand-dyed and commercial, as well as thread, perle cotton, scissors, Frixion pen, pins and needles. I also included in the pack my travel light with magnifier.

The small travel pouch with my lamp & magnifier

I made this little piece mostly in the truck, on the way to Toronto. It's on a 4" x 4" white flannel backing. I used 3 different pieces of hand-dyed fabric for the background. I love the yellow-red piece on the top 😊


I started by tracing and cutting out the hearts from commercial fabric. The top two are hubby and I. They are touching but each is fully outlined, even when it goes through the other heart. That's to symbolize that yes, we are together, but we are still individuals.

The next three red hearts symbolize my wonderful adult children, Jeannine and Stéphane and Sarah who is now part of our family. The yellow heart, which touches mostly Stéphane and Sarah but is also part of our sphere, is Poppy. She is very much a part of our family. 😍 We are all surrounded by lots of love!

I enjoying adding texture and dimension to my pieces. These are the scrunched up fabric layers on the side. They can mean absolutely anything that you like since you are the viewer of the art. 😁

On the way home


On the way home, I stopped in at a quilt store in Belleville, Artistic Quilts With Colors. It sure had a lot of funky fabrics! I was very reasonable and only bought 5 beautiful fat quarters, 2 spools of thread and some Tula Pink ribbon. 

Shopping on my way home

Wednesday, when we drove back to Ottawa, the temperature went down by about 20 degrees. The wind was incredible. We were very happy to be back. 

One Monthly Goal
For my March One Monthly Goal, I will finish quilting my girlfriend's quilt. It's about ⅓ done 😊

March OMG - to finish quilting this gorgeous quilt!

What I learned
  • Next time that I pack, I'll have to include some more contrasting fabric and thread. Because I want to do a red piece, doesn't mean that it should all be red! I'm glad that there were some snippets of yellow in there. 
  • The piece looks very red until you look at it closely. A little more contrast, even if it was only the thread, would have been good.
  • I only used my lamp and magnifier a couple of times, but I'm not going anywhere without it! It makes threading a needle so much easier.
  • I also brought a small pair of heavy duty scissors. They were perfect for cutting the little bits of fabric and they actually fit my large, knobby fingers.
  • I've started working on a small mindful stitching piece about my eye. I've been wanting to do this since the fall but it wasn't a happy story at the time. Things are now good and I'm ready. I'm looking forward to sharing it with you.
  • The fabric on which the pouch and mini rest is an ombre fabric that I'll be using for my Two Colour Mystery Quilt with Canuck Quilter Designs. I need to find a light background fabric in my stash and then I'll be ready to start. Hopefully even an accuracy challenged quilter will be able to do it! Update: I've changed my mind on the ombre, I just couldn't find a light fabric in my stash that I liked. I did get some great priced new fabric, so I'll have to show it off as soon as it's washed and cut!
Related links
Linking parties

Project details


Love All Around mindful stitching piece
made for the February Table Scraps Challenge
Size: 4" x 4"
Material: hand-dyed and commercial fabric, thread and perle cotton
Technique: hand stitching and embroidery





Thursday, February 29, 2024

Swirling Leaves 3

Hi and welcome! I'm thrilled to say that I finished my February Monthly Goal (OMG). It's a great motivator. Thanks Anne-Marie. 😁

Finishing Swirling Leaves 3


By mid-February, Swirling Leaves 3 had been free motion quilted (FMQ). I knew that I had the rest of the month to finish it, until I realised that I would be out of town.... It was time to get it done!

Swirling Leaves 3 finished ✔

I don't know how you feel about finishing your quilts, but it's not my favourite thing to do. In the last year, I've been working on my binding skills and I'm happy to report that this was the best binding that I ever did! I took my time, remembered my tips such as, 
  • How to make those corners straight, (see Related links below)
  • Checked to make sure that the seams would not be in the corners and 
  • Finally did lots of ironing after putting the binding on, and 
  • Since it was going so well, sewed it on by machine!
It wasn't perfect but much better than usual! 

Machine stitched the binding down

Of course we all know that it's not the end of the finishing work if it's a wall hanging that we are giving away. Next comes the label and then the hanging sleeve. 

I've managed to find a quick and easy way to make the label. 
  • I cut the fabric that I want to use, 
  • Add fusible web to the back, 
  • Use pinking sheers to trim the edges and then 
  • Iron on the label to the quilt. 
  • I also practice what I want to write on a piece of paper before using a permanent fine marker to write it up.
Label ironed on but not written on yet

Here are a couple of tips for the hanging sleeve. 
  • I use a FriXion pen to make a straight line that I follow when stitching it on. There's nothing worse than having to re-stitch it because it's crooked! 
  • I also add a dowel for the hanging and tell the person that they can add wire or string at both ends, or just hold up the wall hanging on short nails or long push pins at each end of the dowel.

What I learned
  • The binding was better because I took my time and practiced what I have learned. I do believe however that the Quilting Goddess was smiling upon me!😍
  • I used a two inch strip for the binding, even if it wasn't folded. I'm so worried about the binding not being wide enough but the next time, I'll try a 1¾" strip and see how that goes. 
  • I wrote myself a note on my bulletin board about using the 1¾" strip, referencing this post. Hopefully I'll see it!
  • I'm glad that I realised that I needed to get this done before the end of the month because even if it's a leap year, February is still a few days short!
  • The pictures are really not the best - not enough light, too much light....I need to get this post up, so this is what you get!😕
  • On a personal note, I'm back from my trip and my appointment went very well - the tumor in my eye is shrinking. It's going to be a slow process but "tout va bien aller!" (everything will be fine!)
Related links
Linking parties

Project Details

Swirling Leaves 3
Size: 22" x 18½"
Materials: commercial and hand-dyed fabric scraps
Techniques: improv piecing, appliqué, free motion quilting 






Free Motion Mavericks


Welcome to week 571 of Free Motion Mavericks. 

Diann of Little Penguin Quilts made a lovely red scrappy placemat for the February Table Scraps Challenge. She used the Hanging Diamonds quilting design and it looks great! 

red scrappy placemat by Little Penguin Quilts

It's now your turn!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter