Wednesday, August 20, 2025

Another Border on the Cowboy Panel

Hi and welcome 😎 It's been a good week! On Monday the Out Of The Box (OOTB) Fibre artists group had an outside meeting. It was such a treat to chat and visit with friends, outside in a park. We even had a gaggle of Canada geese wondering over. What a treat! I've also spent time outside in the backyard, ignoring the weeds and feeding and watching the birds, squirrels and chipmunk. They're an entertaining bunch! Their antics always make me smile.😀

Top Border on the Cowboy Panel

I'm so glad that the two side panels were easy to put together. If they hadn't been, I'm not sure that I would have gotten to the top panel so quickly. From the start, my math was a mess, even if I was so sure I was doing well! I don't know where I went wrong but it doesn't really matter since I'll be following the finished top border to make the bottom one!

Top and two side borders attached!

As I mentioned, I did all the math to figure out how large to make the brown rectangles between the blocks. I thought that I had it, but when it was put together, it was at least 2 inches longer than the quilt! 😕 I tried to figure out where my error was, but ended up just un-stitching and making each rectangle a half inch smaller. That should have worked but I still ended up reducing two of them by another half inch! By stretching the panel fabric, I was able to make it more-or-less even.....then I looked at the results and the border was upside-down! That's where I left it last night.

This morning in the backyard, I un-stitched the border and then sewed it together again, this time facing the correct way. It's done. As much as I would love to get the flimsy finished by the end of the month, I think that I need to leave it for at least a few days. I want to keep loving it and not let it frustrate me.

Here are some fun pictures of the Canada geese and the ~~chipmunk~~ squirrel and birds in my backyard.

What a treat! I don't usually get this close 😊

A small part of the gaggle of geese!

The bird was not intimidated by the ~~chipmunk~~ squirrel!

What I learned

I've said it before but I guess I haven't learned my lesson yet - STOP before getting too tired!
I'm actually getting much better at un-stitching and it doesn't bother me as much as it used to.
I have no idea where my math went wrong but at least for my bottom border I'll be measuring each part of the top border and using it as the template.
It would be nice to get all four borders done by the end of the month. I want to get this project out of my studio and gifted.
I've almost finished my next Table Scraps Challenge. The colour is teal and my BB quilt is almost completed. I attached the binding, clipped the edges and it's ready to be stitched.

Free Motion Mavericks

Welcome to week 545 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.

This week Kat of Scrap Box Quilts finished a child sized quilt with lovely scraps and a fleece backing. She FMQ with an assortment of designs, including a feather!

Kat's child sized quilt

Melva finished an aqua Viridian's Chain quilt - what a lovely photo by the morning glories!

Melva's aqua Viridian's Chain quilt and morning glories

Donnalee made a couple of very cute placemats for Zoey. Isn't she cute? Donnalee also made some very scrappy fall placemats. Check out her post to see Zoey's other placemat!

Zoey has new placemats made by Donnalee

Lovely scrappy fall placemat by Donnalee

Vicki of Vicki's Crafts and Quilting made two Happy Jacks wall hangings. Here is one of them with a cute backing. Check out her other Happy Jacks wall hanging.

Happy Jacks wall hanging made by Vicki

The back of Vicki's Happy Jacks wall hanging

Gail of Quilting Gail finished 2 lovely bags this week. Gail FMQ the loops in the first bag. This smaller bag with the hexie fabric is also gorgeous. Check out Gail's post for a link to the pattern and some options on making them.

Gail's large bag with some FMQ loop-d-loop

Gail's smaller bag with hexie fabric

Sally of Crafts, Cavies and Cooking loves free motion quilting, although she finds it stressful to start. Well she's off to a wonderful start on her Sunny Stars quilt. Check out the design on the back of the quilt. You'll want to read about it on her post.

Sunny Stars - FMQ by Sally

Sally's FMQ as seen from the back

It's now your turn!

Thursday, August 14, 2025

Cowboy Panel Quilt Coming Along

Hi and welcome 😎. It's been so hot and muggy that the studio is a nice cool haven! I had an incredibly productive weekend working on BB quilts. They are partially FMQ and I'll share them with you soon. Today it's all about the two sides of the Cowboy panel quilt that I started during the SAHRR 2025 this winter.

Cowboy Panel Quilt with two side borders!

For my July One Monthly Goal (OMG) I added a first narrow border around the Cowboy Panel. August is not even half over and I've managed to piece together the two side borders with eight of the blocks I created during the SAHRR (Stay At Home Round Robin).

Cowboy Panel quilt with 2 side completed borders

I'm not sure which day I worked on this but it went so well, especially the first side panel (to the right in the photo). The only tricky part of putting the second border together was the second (jean and red plaid) block. It was just a little smaller than all of the 6½" blocks. I added coping strips but they were too narrow so I ended up removing them and just adding the block as is. I used a scant ¼" seam and in the end it worked out well. I'll ensure to stitch around that block when I quilt it, to make sure that it stays put!

This is the image I took of the first border - it barely fit on my design wall.

First border done!

I've started getting ready for the top and bottom borders. I'll be putting 5 blocks on each of them. Since I was missing one block, I took out the small box of scraps that were left over and made this improv block. It's got fabric from some of the other blocks, so hopefully will work.

Last block - improv

Now I need to work on the math so that the top and bottom blocks on each side will match up with the side borders.

What I learned

Once I measured and wrote everything down, it was fairly simple to make the borders. I drew it out like a pattern, including both the finished and unfinished sizes of each part.
I guess that my initial procrastination was knowing that I would have to make some design decisions at the beginning of making the borders - things such as the number of blocks in each border.
It's amazing how understanding the basic principles of quilt making helps me make up my own "pattern".
Learning about coping strips really helped me. Now I'm not as nervous fitting everything in.
The top and bottom blocks are pretty much the correct 6½" so that helps.
I'm looking forward to finishing the top and bottom borders - in theory it should go well 😁
I've already achieved my August OMG so if there's not more progress, I'll be able to link this post at the end of the month.
I've also been working on FMQ a new turquoise BB quilt that I put together on the weekend. I'm looking forward to sharing this one with you, as well of a couple of others in progress.

Free Motion Mavericks

Welcome to week 544 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.

Melva, from Melva Loves Scraps finished up a lovely Madam Butterfly quilt. Melva quilted this with an all-over medium stippling. She also learned that her machine wants her to FMQ using Aurifil 50wt thread😉

Melva's lovely Madam Butterfly quilt

Frédérique of Quilting Patchwork Appliqué wrote a post about how she made her Baby Bear Quilt. It's so cute and must be soft with those fleece sections!

Frédérique's Baby Bear Quilt

Vicki of Vicki's Crafts and Quilting finished up two fall themed Rising Star table toppers. Check out her post to see how Vicki quilted them - on lovely backing fabric!

Vicki's Sunflower table topper

Vicki's Fall Leaves table topper

Vicki also quilted this UFO - Beatrice, with all over hook swirl design.

Vicki's UFO, Beatrice is all finished!

Close up of Beatrice with the all over hook swirls

Margo from MY Quilts and Crafts finished this lovely Jagged X baby girl quilt 2.

Margo's latest baby quilt

Preeti of Sew Preeti Quilts used iron-on stabilizer to attach each section of her stitched iron case cover. That is very cute and ingenious.

Preeti's landscaped iron case cover

Gwyned Trefethen will be speaking at an area guild. Since I don't believe that her works were featured here, here is one of the quilts, "Out of the Ashes" in her series. Check out her post for other quilts from that series.

"Out of the Ashes" by Gwyned Trefethen

It's now your turn!

Thursday, August 07, 2025

A Nostalgic Trip and Hand Stitching

Hello and welcome 😎. Last week I was on a very nostalgic road trip with a friend. It was really great reminiscing about our childhood. It felt like we were saying goodbye after all this time. It's good to remember but it's also good to let go - and that's what I did.

My Favourite Provincial Park

Although I spent most of my summers at our cottage, we did, as a family, spend a lot of time at Esker Lakes Provincial Park. We are blessed with many amazing Ontario parks, but this one is special! It was created by the receding ice age that deposited lots of sand, some huge boulders and gave us many beautiful spring-fed lakes. There are also has some awesome birch trees among the pines. This is truly impressive in North-eastern Ontario.😍

When I got home, I stitched on my Almost Daily Stitching tablecloth. It had been a long time - mostly because I don't usually know what to stitch! The Esker Park photos below inspired me to stitch a few blocks.

Esker Lakes embroidery

Embroidery of a close up of a fireweed

Fireweed - the model for the embroidery

Here are a few more photos of Esker Park. This is at the beginning of Bog Trail. It really has a rugged beauty.

Swamp and lotus flowers

Rugged beauty

More rugged beauty

Here is the trail to the beach - you can see the birch trees. Unfortunately the sandy beach has mostly been flooded and taken over by the swamp.

Trail to the beach.

View of the lake from the beach

Although the beach has been taken over by the swamp, there was still a bit of a sandy beach and space to swim. Amazingly enough for a spring-fed lake, the water wasn't as cold as I remember it.

When we drove to the other end of the lake where the camping area is, we saw and heard loons. They were crossing the lake and calling to each other. It really was magical. I was able to modify and upload my recording. Click here to listen to it.

In a ditch, next to the hotel in town, was more swamp - but look what was hiding in the shade there!

Forget-me-nots hiding among the bull rushes

Embroidery in progress of a spotted Joe-Pye weed

View from the road - just a little blue peaking out!

On the way to Kirkland Lake we stopped in at the Quilting Barn in Earlton. What a lovely store. I was very reasonable 😁

Quilting Barn in Earlton

My purchases - a Christmas panel, some 5" fabric cuts and
this beautiful fabric designed by Peter Parling by Stof

I also embroidered on the last space of the row of my Almost Daily Stitching project - it's a little smaller so I just stitched an abstract design in variegated thread.

Abstract design in the square on the edge

One Monthly Goal for August

I'm really going to try to get that Cowboy panel quilt done. I put on the inner border in July and now I'd like to get at least one outer border done. I suspect that once I have one border done, that I'll be encouraged to make the others. Here's hoping!

Going to get at least one outside border done in August

What I learned

Travelling with my friend was great. Among other things, we both love food, so we found some lovely restaurants along the way.
During the trip I did play with hexies but haven't stitched them together. I'm no sure if I want to use them for the Bloomers SAL - all of the different colours might distract from the appliqué.
I'm considering either using all of the same colour for the hexies, and/or using larger hexie templates than ¾".
I've already started putting together some of those 5" fabric cuts that I bought. This month's Table Scraps Challenge colour is teal (aqua), so I've put together another BB quilt. I'm looking forward to sharing this with you soon.

Free Motion Mavericks

Welcome to week 543 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.

Kate of Scrapbox Quilts has completed more Bear Hug quilts. She's FMQ one with an orange peel design. The second image is of a baby quilt that she FMQ with various designs. The FMQ is really lovely.

Kat's Bear Hug quilt with FMQ orange peel design

Baby quilt with some lovely FMQ by Kat

Donnalee finished a lovely cactus runner using an oval circular template to quilt them.

Donnalee's Cactus runner quilted with an oval circular template

Quilting Gail finished her orange quilt for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge in July. Her design is lovely and based on the disappearing nine patch. Gail used the Silly Moon Charming ruler as well as FMQ some lovely swirls.