Hand stitching fun and Free Motion Mavericks

Bonjour and welcome 😊. Thanks for dropping by. I haven't done much creatively but Fibre Fling 2025 was inspiring. It was one of our best shows ever.

Kawandi style mat in neutral colours

I started this Kawandi style mat in neutral colours for my niece a couple of months ago. I'm actually very impressed with how it looks, considering that they are neutral scraps 😁 You may know that I don't generally consider them colours - but these really are lovely!

Stitching on the train in early March

This is what it looks like - almost finished!

Kawandi style mat in neutral fabrics

Small Embroidery Piece

In mid-April I shared with you a small embroidery project that I've been playing with. I have many embroidery projects on the go, but this one is small and just for play - so not intimidating! I continued working on it during Fibre Fling. I didn't get much done since I was busy chatting up potential members, existing members, visitors and friends. It was a lot of fun.

Small embroidery piece coming along

What I learned

• Fibre Fling was a great show but as an introvert, although I had a great time, it's really hard on my energy. I'm finally starting to feel more like myself.
• I was inspired by the beautiful pieces there and am looking forward to checking out the photos that I took. It's always a good show but there was some truly amazing art.
• I didn't work on my Floral Fusion, which was my April OMG. I'm not going to post it again, just try to finish it!
• I stopped working on the Kawandi style mat after I realised that most of my stitching was being done in hospital waiting rooms. That's not the energy that I want for the piece, so I'll quietly finish it a home this week to give to my niece while she's back in Canada.
• I'm looking forward to taking some great outdoor photos once the Kawandi style mat is finished - my back yard is just brimming with bulbs. It's on of my favourite times back there.

Here is a picture of my favourite bulb, miniature irises. I had some other pretty lilac coloured flowers but the rabbit wasn't content with the apples and seeds out there. It ate all of them!!! I hope they tasted good 😋

Miniature irises in the backyard

Related links

• Fun Scrappy Runner and Free Motion Mavericks, April 17, 2025

Linking party

I'll be linking up to many fun linking parties. You may want to check some out. Please consider linking up below. Monday Musings, Design Wall Monday, Sew & Tell, Put your foot down, Needle & Thread Thursday, Off The Wall Friday, Finished (Or Not) Friday,  Slow Sunday Stitching, 15 Minutes to Stitch 2025

Free Motion Mavericks

Welcome to week 529 of Free Motion Mavericks! It was another productive week! Thanks for linking up. Here are the projects from last week that included FMQ, ruler work or walking foot quilting. 

Kat from Scrapbox Quilts finished 7 new Bear Hugs. They are so cute and all were FM quilted, just because 😊You can check out the quilts on Kat's latest Bear Hugs post.

Seven FM Quilted Bear Hugs Quilts by Kat

Quilting Gail made a beautiful quilt, Befitting Fours, using the Petal Poetry fabric line by Island Batik. The quilt was featured in their Fall/Winter ’24 Catalogue. Here is a look at the quilt and the FMQ.

Befitting Fours by Gail

FMQ flowers on Gail's Befitting Fours quilt

Preeti made two quilts for the Island Batik April Challenge. This is a version of the Drunkards Path quilt block. The block is called Moon over the Water - it's so lovely, especially in these two very different quilts. Preeti used her walking foot to quilt with squiggly lines.

Preeti's two different versions of Moon over the Water block 

It's now your turn! 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Scrappy Runner Finish and Fibre Fling 2025

Hello and welcome 😊 Thanks for dropping by. This week I was able to finish my scrappy runner and prepare my pieces for Out of the Box (OOTB) Fibre Artists' show, Fibre Fling 2025. Things are very slowly getting back to normal and I am very grateful!

Scrappy Runner Finish

It's finished and I'm so happy with it. 

My Scrappy Runner and the two cuties

If you recall, I made this runner, and the cuties, to place at the back of my car, to help me find my car when in a parking lot! It worked!!!

The cuties were posing on the trunk of the car

They are now installed in their new home.

This is what I see from outside. A great way to find my car😍

Here is a close-up of the runner. Some of the free motion quilting (FMQ) can be seen but some of it was very hard to see, as I was stitching it! The plan was to do an all-over pattern but after the first 5 strips, where I couldn't see what I was stitching, I decided that variety was a good thing!

FMQ - on the 4th and 5th strip, I couldn't see what I was stitching!

More FMQ designs and the Velcro that keeps the cuties attached

The other end of the runner

Here is the FMQ from the back. I used scraps from the runner to bind the quilt. That's always fun! 

Runner seen from the back

So much FMQ texture

The Scrappy Runner is also my Table Scrap Challenge for April. I thought that the colour was teal, which my runner has quite a bit of. Being scrappy, it also has red in the orphan blocks, which is the actual colour of the month. 😁 So I'm good for both colours but not the theme, which is rain. However, the cuties are bound to see rain since they're in the car! 

Rain on the car!

Fibre Fling 2025

Here are the two pieces that will be at Fibre Fling this weekend. I spent the evening preparing the pieces to be hung. I'm afraid that I don't always finish my pieces for exhibition (with hanging sleeve, label, etc.) as soon as I'm done.

You may remember my Project Quilting 16-1, Mythical Creatures. I made it in the allotted week, based on a TextileArtist.org workshop with Woo Jin Joo, on Korean mythology. You can check out the post in Related links below.

The Rabbit's Adventure - based on a Korean folktale.

My second piece, called Scrap Happy, also comes from a TextileArtist.org workshop of July 2022. It was with Natalya Khorover and involved working with scraps. I didn't finish the piece as she suggested because I loved the scraps and embellishment as they were. I attached it on a canvas. I looked for this piece in my blog but it looks like it never got posted. So here it is, Scrap Happy. I have donated it for a raffle. Visitors to the show can buy tickets and put them in the boxes of the art that they would like to win. The funds go to the Food Bank, so it's a worthy cause.

Scrap Happy

Fibre Fling 2025 - Friday and Saturday

What I learned

• As always, I love playing with scraps. The runner was a fun, whimsical project that helped me get through these tough few weeks. Looking at the cuties in the back of the car makes me smile. This is exactly why I make quilts and art!
• It'll be nice to see The Rabbit's Adventure on display at the show. It's my best piece so far this year.
• I'm actually going to miss seeing Scrap Happy in my studio. I hope that it goes to someone who will also like it's whimsy and colour.

Related links

• Fun Scrappy Runner and Free Motion Mavericks, April 17, 2025
• Imagine and Free Motion Mavericks, April 09, 2025
• PQ 16 - 1 Mythical Creatures - A Korean Folktale, January 10, 2025

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! Sew & Tell, Needle & Thread Thursday, Monday Musings, Put your foot down, Off The Wall Friday, Beauties Pageant, Patchwork & Quilts, 15 Minutes to Stitch 2025, Oh Scrap!, Slow Sunday Stitching, 

2025 Table Scraps Challenge, Favorite Finish (April 2025)

Free Motion Mavericks

Welcome to week 528 of Free Motion Mavericks! It was a very productive week! Thanks for linking up. Here are the projects from last week that included FMQ, ruler work or walking foot quilting. 

Preeti of Sew Preeti Quilts had two quilt patterns published! Two great quilts from one lovely fabric line. 

Preeti's Brighton quilt was published in Make Modern Magazine

Preeti's Let's Dance was published in Quilter's World

Donnalee used one of her rulers to quilt gentle curves on her Wonky Hearts panel quilt. To see more details on how she quilted it, check out her post.

Wonky Hearts quilted by Donnalee 

Quilting Gail was on a retreat and used her new book, Picture Patchwork, to make three quilts. The first one is a great little train. Check out her post to read more about the book and see her other projects. Gail quilted the train using Silly Moon Rulers: Rocket and Beanie.

Quilting Gail's latest quilt - Train from a great new book

It's now your turn!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Fun Scrappy Runner and Free Motion Mavericks

Hi and welcome 😊. I'm so glad that you're here! Things are looking up health-wise in our household, the sun is shining and flowers are peaking out 🌞. Spring is here - Yay!!!

Fun Scrappy Runner

I've taken some time to put together my latest scrappy runner for my two stuffed doggies with rabbit ears. 🐰They are so cute. Here is the runner with the two cuties.  

Scrappy runner before FMQ - with cuties

Lovely shot with the sun in the window!

This is what the runner looks like. You can see that it's made up of two very scrappy pieced blocks, with scrappy strips on each side and between them. 

I'm looking forward to FMQ it. Hopefully this weekend! 😊

Scrappy runner

Small Embroidery Piece

At some point in the last few years I drew/painted on fabric. I believe that it might have been with water colours. I found the piece a while back and attached it to a hand-dyed stretchy background fabric. It is a bit of a challenge - I tacked the top fabric to the background loosely but I've had to unstitch most of it to avoid puckering. It's not going to sit perfectly but hey, that's life 😁. I'm sure that I'll be able to do something to either hide the puckers or accentuate them.

Playing with embroidery

What I learned

• I'm having a great time adding strips to the scrappy runner - possibly too many of them! I'll FMQ what I have and can then make it shorter if I have to.
• I'm really looking forward to having these cuties keep me company in the car. 😍
• I used the same blue sheet for the backing since it worked so well for the small blue scrappy quilt.
• I'm considering doing an all-over pattern for the runner, just for something different.
• We are nearing the end of the month, so I'll have to FMQ Floral Fusion soon. 
• I don't have any plans for my small embroidery piece. I do hope that my background fabric will fit over a canvas. That would be the easiest way to finish it.
• I'm getting my pieces ready for Fibre Fling 2025. I only have the Rabbit's Adventure piece on display. I am donating a piece for the raffle, "Scrap Happy", that I think I may have missed and not shared yet. I'll do that next week!

Related links

• Imagine and Free Motion Mavericks, April 09, 2025
• PQ 16 - 1 Mythical Creatures - A Korean Folktale, January 10, 2025

Linking parties

I'll be linking up to many fun linking parties. Why not check some out? Remember to link up to Free Motion Mavericks' party below. Put your foot down, Off The Wall Friday, Finished (Or Not) Friday,  Patchwork & Quilts, 15 Minutes to Stitch 2025, Oh Scrap!, Slow Sunday Stitching, Monday Musings, 

Free Motion Mavericks

Welcome to week 527 of Free Motion Mavericks! It was a very productive week! Thanks so much for linking up while I've been almost absent. Here are the projects from last week that included FMQ, ruler work or walking foot quilting. 

Preeti of Sew Preeti Quilts has released a new pattern - Austin. You may remember it since it was published a while back in Make Modern Magazine. Preeti showed us an EQ photo of the quilt in pretty Spring colours. You may want to go and have a look!

A close up of Preeti's Austin, quilted with a wavy stitch

Kat of Scrapbox Quilts has FMQ two more lovely Bear Hugs. They are so cute! Both were quilted using fancy rulers! Here's the front of both quilts. You may want to go to her post to see the quilting from the back!

Kat's Bear Hugs #11, quilted with radiating lines

Kat's Bear Hugs #12. You'll want to check out the back of
the small quilt to better see the quilting, 

We have a surprise finish by Anne-Marie at Stories from the Sewing Room. Anne-Marie quilted a small quilt that came as a kit. It has two layers of batting and is absolutely scrumptious 😍. As you may know, this is my favourite type of FMQ. 

FMQ in progress - Anne-Marie 

  

Finished FMQ quilt by Anne-Marie

Brenda of Song Bird Designs participated in the Island Batik Drunkards Path Challenge with her quilt, Maze. What a lovely quilt! The quilting is exquisite. 

Maze, designed by Brenda, is Chloe approved!

I'm so excited that Kate, from Life in Pieces, has taken out her walking foot to quilt one of her pieces. This Sad Kitty trivet was made by her daughter, Grad Girl. Kate started by quilting a sandwich, following Jacquie Gering's instructions in her book "Walk", which Kate and I highly recommend!

Sad Kitty, quilted by Kate

It's now your turn!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Imagine and Free Motion Mavericks

Hi and welcome. There isn't much happening here but today I changed up the quilts on the one wall of the house that I can re-organise. I wanted to share my Imagine quilt - it's as good a time as any.

Imagine - 2015 Music Challenge

I can't believe that it's already been 10 years since this quilt was created for our guild's Music Challenge. I had a lot of fun putting it together and even more fun FMQ it. You can read the blog posts (see Related links below) if you're interested.

Imagine - created 10 years ago!

We woke up two days ago to snow! I had noticed that my phone said that there would be snow/rain but there was a good foot of snow in the back yard, and it kept snowing most of the day. It's partly melted and with luck will be gone by tomorrow ❄ I know...it is just April.

Our April snow - showers to come eventually

A very brave bird...
I'm glad that I put food out the day before!

Fun Scrappy Runner

When I'm stressed, I reach for whimsical - so I bought these two stuffed doggies, in their bunny ears, to put at the back of my car. I'm hoping that it might help me identify my car from the back - because it's a white car, like every second car in the parking lot!

I brought down my scrappy bin that is mostly filled with strips and a few orphan blocks. I grabbed two orphan blocks from my Exit Strategy piece and started attaching strips. I want to make a runner to place under these two cuties so that I can Velcro them into place on the back - otherwise they keep wondering off!

Cuties on top of the new scrappy runner

Tomorrow I'll go measure the back of the car since the dogs will be on each side of the middle head rest. I haven't driven my car since the snow storm. I'm hoping that by then, the snow will be completely melted off it!

Scrappy bin of mostly strips and a few orphan blocks

What I learned and updates

• Taking some time off for self-care was a great idea. I was too tired to get excited about anything quilty - I know...scary! 
• Hubby is back home with an IV of antibiotics. It's really amazing what they can do - the IV is replaced once a day and then is pumped out every 8 hours. We go to the clinic once a day to get it changed. 
• I'm still having fun with my Finch bird Minty - I'm achieving many goals so that she can go on adventures around the world. Right now she's in Vancouver discovering Nanaimo bars and Stanley Park.
• I went into my studio for the first time today to do some stitching. It's still a disaster but I'm quite good at working around and ignoring piles of stuff!
• It felt really good to stitch up scrappy strips.

Related links

• Imagine
• Update on March Challenge, March 30, 2015
• Many Challenges, March 07, 2015
• Fibre Fling 5 Show, April 10, 2015
• Exit Strategy
• Self-care and Free Motion Mavericks, March 28, 2025

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, Off The Wall Friday, Finished (Or Not) Friday, Patchwork & Quilts,

Free Motion Mavericks

Welcome to week 526 of Free Motion Mavericks! Thanks for linking up. Here are the projects from last week that included FMQ, ruler work or walking foot quilting. 

Kat from Scrapbox Quilts has two lovely Bear Hug quilts to share with us. These are the perfect pieces to practice FMQ on. Way to go Kat! You can see details of her quilting by visiting her post.

Kat created Bear Hug #8 from an orphan/test block 

Bear Hug # 9 made by Kat with a twist n' stitch tool

Denise from the Quiltery made a quilt with a variation of the Drunkards Path. Not only is the fabric beautiful but her layout is truly stunning! I love all of the mouvement in that quilt. Denise FMQ it with four petal flowers.  

Denise's Drunkards Path Variation 

It's now your turn!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Free Motion Mavericks

Hi and welcome to my very quiet post. The only thing that got done this week was to wash the Small Blue Scrappy Quilt. I put it into the dryer (I don't do that often but the results give such fluffy goodness). 

Small Blue Scrappy Quilt

Finished and washed, the small blue scrappy quilt is ready to take to the guild meeting next week.

Small blue scrappy quilt washed and ready to give

April's One Monthly Goal (OMG)

I tried to have this quilt as my February OMG but it didn't happen. Maybe I'll have a little bit of time to devote to it. There is only minimal FMQ to add and the binding (which will be in the darker colours). I'm hoping that this can get done. I would love it to hang on my daughter's wall. 😊

It's the Floral Fusion wall hanging, made during the quilt a-long hosted by Denise at The Quiltery. 

My April OMG - the Floral Fusion wall hanging

What I've learned

• It's been a turbulent week here. Hubby is back in the hospital as infection set in. It was only superficial (as in not deep into the wound) but they did need to operate to clean everything up. The nurses and doctors have been amazing. I am so thankful for our health system. It may not be perfect but it is accessible and won't eat up our savings!
• Self-care has helped enormously. Daily reminders of what I need to keep healthy, including stretching and meditation has helped. I'm far from calm but I'm not a total mess 😉
• I did attend the April Fibre 15 meeting and was glad for the companionship and the excuse to get out the the house to do something for myself. I did a tiny bit of embroidery, so nothing to show there.
• I also put as a goal to read a blog post per day. It didn't happen every day but quite a few. I'm glad that I was able to do at least that!
• Thank you so much for your comments of support. I'm not usually so obviously personal in my posts but it's been a hard time. I appreciate you all. Thanks 😍

Related links

• Self-care and Free Motion Mavericks, March 28, 2025
• February's OMG:  PQ 16-3 Common Blocks & Free Motion Mavericks, February 06, 2025

Linking parties

I will try to link up as much as I can, including the April OMG. Remember that you can link your post below, even if you don't FMQ or machine stitch your own quilts. Monday Musings, Sew & Tell, Put your foot down, Off The Wall Friday, TGIFF, Finished (Or Not) Friday, Beauties Pageant, Patchwork & Quilts, 15 Minutes to Stitch 2025, Oh Scrap!, Needle & Thread Thursday, 

Free Motion Mavericks

Welcome to week 525 of Free Motion Mavericks! Thanks so much for linking up. Here are the projects from last week that included FMQ, ruler work or walking foot quilting. 

The Joyful Quilter FMQ her lovely yellow March Table Scraps Challenge finish. What a cute mini! She even wrote the words of a song on it, since that was the theme. Check out her post to see what song inspired the piece!

Joyful Quilter FMQ yellow March Table Scraps Challenge mini

Brenda from Songbird Design participated in the SAHRR parade. What a great modern, geometric quilt! Brenda used rulers for some for the quilting. You'll want to check out her post to see the back of the quilt's lovely quilting!

Brenda's SAHRR 2025 Finish!

Brenda also created a gorgeous Bunnies in the Garden quilt for her March Island Batik project. She used her embroidery machine for the bunnies and flowers. I don't think that she FMQ the quilt, but she used parts of Karlee Porter's digital motifs on her quilt. I've included it here because these are great inspiration for FMQ motifs that you might appreciate. Check out Brenda's post to see close-ups of each block. It's truly worth it!

Brenda's Bunnies in the Garden quilt 

It's now your turn!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter