Colourful Learning Project

Although I haven't quilted much in the last few weeks, I did get a couple of projects finished. That's always a great feeling. Here's the first one.

I started my Beginner's Quilt-Along Quilt with the Quilting Gallery almost 2 years ago, in June 2012! I've been blogging about this project for a while now, in all of its various stages. That's what's so great about a blog; I have a record of what I did and when I did it! That is so much more reliable than my excuse for a memory. In June of 2012, I made the first 4 blocks and another 2 in July. By the end of August I had 11 of the 13 blocks completed. I was more or less up to date, until we had one week to put the quilt together and another to quilt it. That totally did me in.

Finished Beginner's Quilt-Along Quilt

I sort of left the project aside for a while. I'm not sure when I put in the sashing but I do remember adding the piano key border at a CTQG retreat in Cumberland. At some point before March 2014, the quilt was sandwiched and ready to quilt. I do know that I was waiting to learn to free motion quilt (FMQ) so that I could use it as a practice piece. At the beginning of March 2014, I had started to FMQ it using Angela Walter's Dot-to-Dot quilting technique from Craftsy. At the time of the blog, I had 5 squares quilted and 3 others marked.

FMQ on the border and sashing

In March, I joined a 30/30 challenge, where I tried to quilt for 30 minutes each day, for 30 days. I worked on the Beginner's Quilt-Along project during the first week and finished FMQ all of the blocks and sashing. It was a very hectic month with overly ambitious goals, but I sure got a lot accomplished! By the end of the month, I only had the piano key border to finish and the binding to attach. Of course, it didn't help that I couldn't find any more of my sashing fabric to use for the binding!

Since I didn't blog about it, I'm not sure when I finished the quilt. I have a vague recollection of having it done by Easter weekend. Once it was finished, I ordered some Breezy Color Absorber, because I was afraid that the red block would bleed. I had washed the red fabrics several times and even soaked them in salt, but when I rubbed off the marking pencil, some of the red still came off my wet towel. The Breezy worked like a charm and the quilt came out really lovely.

After all of that work, I still needed to create a label for the quilt. It's very pretty, even if it doesn't really look like a sunset.

Foundation Paper Pieced Label

Here are close-ups of some of the quilting on the blocks, sashing and piano key border.






What I learned:

• This was a great project and my first Quilt-Along. I learned a great deal throughout the whole project, from planning and making the blocks to quilting them. 
• The project was perfect for practicing my FMQ. I was able to use many variations of the patterns I learned in the Craftsy course.
• For the FMQ, I used a different thread for the top of the quilt, so that it would blend or match each coloured block. In the bobbin, I used very light Bottom Line polyester thread that matched the back. The thread goes a long way; I didn't have to change the bobbin thread every time I changed colours; and the thread really works well in my machine. It was a real charm.
• The one planning error I did was not putting aside fabric for the finding. I was able to find matching fabric, but I do hope that the next time I make a quilt top, that I'll set aside some fabric in a marked baggy, with the project so that I won't end up using the binding fabric in another project. And, if I don't have the binding fabric, then I should write myself a note in the pattern to say that I need to find fabric for the binding (that might save me an hour or so frantically going through my stash looking for fabric that isn't there!). Here's hoping I'll put this recommendation into action!
• So what do you do with a practice quilt that is by all standards far from perfect but made with love? You find it a good home where it will be appreciated, flaws and all. Thanks Diane!
  
  
  
  

Enjoy the rest of spring, or the beginning of summer wherever you are!
Happy quilting.


Linking up to Show Me Something Rainbow link up with Sarah Goer Quilts

Invitation to the CTQG Quilt Show this Weekend

This weekend is the Common Thread Quilt Guild's quilt show. It is held every second year at the RA Centre's curling link in Ottawa. The RA Centre is located at 2451 Riverside Drive. I hope you'll have a chance to attend if you're in the area.

Patches

This year I will be exhibiting 3 wall hangings in the "pieced wall hangings" category. You may recognize these from previous blogs. "Patches" will be there of course!

Holiday Wreath

I will also have my holiday wreath as well as Lilliane's favourite - Winter Vacancy.

Winter Vacancy

Since the quilts were already completed this winter, this is the first year that preparing for the quilt show was almost painless. I did have to make and attach a sleeve to the back of each quilt since my hanging technique of choice is pinning them to the wall (you can even see the pins in the photos!) I completed Patches' hanging sleeve almost a month ago, but that's as far as I got. Of course, the night the quilts were due, I was busily stitching the last sleeve... so for me, that was pretty darn organised!

I am really looking forward to going to the show. There are always so many amazing quilts. Since I'm working on security Saturday afternoon, I'll be able to spend some quality time looking at quilts before and after my shift. I love looking at quilts, appreciating the work and getting ideas for my own creations. Now that I am free motion quilting, it's even more fun to look at the quilts since I finally understand how they are quilting it!

What I learned:

• Even if you do part of the work ahead of time, it's not finished until the last one is done!

Hope to see you at the show and Happy Mother's Day!

Pink Lemonade Spring Runners

It seems that everyone in North America has had a longgggg winter! What a better way to celebrate spring than with a new spring runner.  This is the first of a series. I just hope that the others will be done before spring is over!

Last summer, before my brother and his family left for Denmark, my niece came over and picked a bunch of very nice fabrics that we were supposed to make something with....well, as life goes, we ran out of time before she left. In the middle of the winter blahs, I took out that fabric and started planning a spring runner for her parents and a wall hanging for her.

Set the Table, published by Martingale

Pink Lemonade Runner

The pattern comes from a book published by Martingale's Set the Table. I bought the book because of all of the quilting  that are used on the runners. It's a great way of learning more quilting techniques on small projects.

Here's the finished runner. Those fabrics and colours remind me of pink lemonade. I love it!

I had a great time quilting the wall hanging. It was just the perfect size for the cross hatch quilting.  As I went on Google to look up the term, I noticed all kinds of advice on cross hatch quilting - I guess I should have checked before attempting the runner! The runner is not cross hatched because my lines were not straight enough - the diamonds that look so pretty on the wall hanging would have revealed all of the imperfections, so the runner is quilted in one direction.

Wall Hanging for Anna

I also had a great time making a label for Anna's project. It's a 3 inch paper-pieced crocus from the fabrics used on the runner.

Paper-pieced Crocus Label

The package is being sent today. A little late for Easter but still in time for spring!

What I learned:

• Cross hatching a small project is fun but cross hatching a runner is really, really tedious, especially when it goes wonky!
• My Google search indicated that you should use masking tape to mark the project and then do the cross hatching; while one of my quilting friends said that you should quilt a few lines in one direction and then a few lines from the other direction to keep the quilt even. I tried to use the guide that comes with my walking foot, but it kept moving. Apparently I have to tighten it somewhere. I'll have to look into that!

Two Years of Blogging & Learning!

I can't believe I've been blogging for over two years now.

Blogging has become one of my all-time favourite things to do. What's not to love?

• It's about my passions (quilting & learning);

• I get to show off my achievements in a culturally acceptable manner :-) ; and

• I get to practice my web writing and design skills on something other than information management and email cleanup!!!

Projects included in my blog

What I have learned in the last two years:

• The "What I learned" part of the blog has really helped me think critically about my projects, expectations etc.  It's a great way to learn from both my mistakes and my successes.

• I've realised that I am not a planner of projects and that most of the time that's ok. I think that it comes down to my expectations of the outcome of the projects. To create an amazing quilt, planning is probably a very good thing but to learn new skills, not as much.

• My quilting depends a lot on the amount of energy I have in the evenings and weekends. That's why having an assortment of projects to work on is so important to me.

• I very often decide which project to start based on what I want to learn. I find that easier to do than when I want to create a quilt for someone specific. That's probably because then I focus on what the person might like, and of course, the pressure is on to make it look good!

• Deadlines are not my thing so I really try to keep expectations at a minimum.

• Participating in challenges and quilt-alongs are great fun, but a lot of work!

Thanks for your time & encouragement.
Andrée

Finishing up - Final Update

What a month! It was a great idea to join the 30/30 Challenge hosted by Berry Barn Designs. It encouraged me to quilt as often as possible and I got to read some great blogs, comments etc. Thank you everyone, especially Sarah of Berry Barn Designs!

Here was my list of projects and what I hoped to accomplish:

• I'll be finishing my Quilt-Along project using Dot-to-dot FMQ (free motion quilting);
• I will also be working on my frog quilt. My objective is to get the quilt top finished.
• I will be working on my Grandmother's Choice quilt.  My objective is to get 10 more blocks finished and blog about them (that takes the longest time since I usually research the Canadian facts about each issue.)

What was I thinking? I think I thought I was going to take the month off work and quilt!

Quilt-Along almost finished

Here are my accomplishments:

• The Quilt-Along project is almost finished. I used only Dot-to-Dot FMQ on it. All of the blocks and the sashing have been quilted. I just need to quilt the border with the Cathedral curves.
• I completed two blocks of the frog quilt in the first week of the challenge. That's as far as it went.
• The Grandmother's Choice quilt is coming along. Before the challenge, I had chosen and cut the fabric for 5 more blocks. This weekend, I completed them, plus one more; and then chose the fabric for another 6 blocks. I haven't blogged about them yet but I will in the near future.

Grandmother's Choice blocks

Accomplishments that were not included in the Challenge:

• I completed a DIY kimono for my daughter;
• I completed the batik quilt top that I started during week 2, when I was too tired to piece my complicated blocks (frog quilt and Grandmother's Choice);
• I have embroidered about half of the leaf for one of the projects from Carol Armstrong's Applique Inside the Lines;
• I have almost finished the Happy Villages project. It's 95% completed. I just have to add boats on the water and FMQ some waves on the water; and



Completed Batik Quilt Top

• I attended one quilt guild meeting and three classes in Canadian art appreciation.

One of the reasons I got so much done was that I went on a quilting retreat from Thursday to Sunday this week. That's essentially where I did everything that I hadn't done in the previous 3 weeks.

It was a great weekend of quilting, sleeping, reading, and eating with friends....not necessarily in that order. It was almost as good as going down south for a holiday (almost but not quite!)

What I learned

Happy Villages - Amalfi Coast

• Why am I always so ambitious in setting goals? At the time, I actually thought they were pretty realistic. Not sure on which planet or alternate universe!
• I really did get a lot done - frankly an incredible amount. It just wasn't on the projects that I had anticipated doing.
• In hindsight my objectives were made up of projects that demanded a fair amount of concentration and focus. What I did accomplish included easier projects that I could do without too much thought.   

30/30 Challenge Update - Week 3

Happy Villages by Karen Eckmeier

I had a wonderful time last Saturday at the Happy Villages course. It was taught by Jan Kittle, owner of The PickleDish quilt store in Carleton Place ON.

I used Jan's batiks as well as some of my own to create the quilt.

Postcard of the Amalfi Coast, Italy

I based my Happy Village on a postcard that I bought on the Amalfi Coast in Italy two years ago. It was such a magical area that it would be great to have a quilt to commemorate it.  This is the postcard that inspired the quilt.

This is what it looked like at 3 pm on Saturday.  It had a semblance of a village by then.

Results by Saturday evening 

This is what the project looked like by Wednesday evening. Since I left it on the dining room table, I was able to work at it in small chunks of time. I found that it was important to work on it and then leave it for a while to get the overall look of it.
I'm really hoping that the free motion quilting (FMQ) will add a lot to it. I can't wait to give the church some details.

Result by Wednesday evening

During the week I was able to do a little bit of embroidery of my second leaf. I also go the chance to moved the squares that were in the wrong place on my batik quilt.

What I learned:

• It's a VERY finicky project. Those tiny pieces are tiny! You cut the pieces, audition them and when you like what you have, you glue them to the surface.
• It's a very forgiving project.  If you don't like what you put down, you just cover it up! It's not worth fighting with the glue to remove pieces.
• Since there's so much going on, I wanted to make sure that there was some consistency in the fabrics I used. I used the same fabric for all of the trees within the village, all of my stairs were made with the same background fabric (a light mauve-pink) with the stairs a dark blue. I also had some awesome orange-yellow fabric that I used for stone walls (and the top of the church since it was made of stone). 
• Leaving it out and having it accessible to work on for short periods of time was the best way to go. I could spend a half hour or an hour playing without getting frustrated or too stiff.

Challenge Results - Week 2

The week has been a very busy one. I did have a chance to spend some quality "me" time but it wasn't necessarily spent quilting or sewing.

On Sunday, I finally got around to sewing my daughter a DIY Kimono from a lovely scarf. It came out ok, if you don't examine it too closely :-) When I finished it, I told myself that I wouldn't make another one, but since then I've been thinking that if I were to sew the front and collar by hand, it might be less trouble and look better. Here's the post.

Batik 5 inch squares

On Monday, I was so tired after work that there was no way I was going to be able to do any type of difficult blocks or FMQ. So, I found some lovely 5 inch Tonga batik mini squares in my stash. Since they were a great price, I had bought 3 packages. That was a great idea. Now I have enough to make at least a throw. The colours are beautiful - from dark blue, to pale blue, yellows and oranges. It's very rich looking.

I've worked on it for a couple of days. Here is the result to date. Once again, it's taken a photo of my project to see that I've made an error - it looks like I've messed up the pattern of the yellow squares in the top left corner. I guess I'll have to fix that up. It's amazing how you "see" so much better when looking at a photo instead of the real thing!

On Tuesday I went to the Common Thread Quilt Guild meeting. The presenter did a trunk show - she had some amazing pieces. When I went to look at her work up close during the break, I realised that I was able to recognize the FMQ that she had done. That's the first time it's happened to me. That's a sign that I'm learning my patterns. I was quite happy.

National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa

On Thursday, I went to my second class - I'm taking a Canadian art appreciation course. It's held at the National Gallery of Canada. What an amazing adventure. I get to look at great Canadian paintings in an amazing building while listening to our extremely knowledgeable and interesting professor - and the bonus... no homework. What a joy!

In last week's post, I realised that if I wanted to sew every day, I should probably bring a small embroidery project to work so that I could do my half hour during my lunch break. I brought my project to the office and I worked on it for the first time today.
This is a project that I started a couple of years ago. It's from the book Applique Inside the Lines by Carol Armstrong. I've done a couple of projects previously (here they are). This one is a set of three leaves. I've finished the red leaf and started working on the yellow and orange leaf. You start by embroidering the outline and then appliqueing the fabric within the lines. These are great projects for learning to hand applique.

Applique Inside the Lines

Happy Villages by Karen Eckmeier

Tomorrow I'm going to take a quilting class offered by our Guild. We are making our own Happy Village, based on the book Happy Villages by Karen Eckmeier. This should be a lot of fun. I'm bringing a postcard of the Almafi Coast in Italy. It looks a lot like some of the villages. Hopefully it won't be too difficult to make it look a little like it. It was such a wonderful area and we had a great time. It would be fun to remember our trip through a quilt.

What I learned:

• Sometimes I feel bad that I have so many projects on the go but then I'm very grateful when I can choose to work on the project I want, based on my energy level. I guess it's not such a bad thing. At least I do get back to most of them....eventually.
• I didn't think I had accomplished much this week, but as I was writing my post, I realise that I've been productive. I may not have worked on my challenge projects, but I did have a good week!