EQ Block of the Month Quilt

I finished the EQ BOM quilt in December, and now that it is on their blog, I can share it here.

The quilt is 35" x 41" (the blocks are 6"). I used cotton batting because I wanted the wallhanging to have an old-fashioned look.

I knew that I wanted to make an appliqué house block with the saying - Having someplace to go is home. Having someone to love is family. Having Both is a Blessing. - unknown, and thought that the EQ BOM blocks would go perfectly. The centre is 12" square

I used Aurifil #50 thread for all the quilting - lots of feathered wreaths.

Used my favourite Hera marker for marking the centre veins.

The past few days I have been cutting out the pieces for a Winding Ways quilt using the GO!, getting ready for tonights Friday Night Sew In.

It has been extremely cold here the past few days (-30C, with -40C wind chills).

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Learning Something New

I started machine quilting the table runner.

It's coming along well and I will show more of this and post a pattern when it is finished.

I used a white board to work out the quilting design - such a useful tool.

I have also been trying to figure out how to design a custom quilt with EQ7!

To enter the EQ BOM 2011 Challenge you need to send in an EQ file along with a picture of the quilt. When I made the quilt last month I couldn't figure out how to design a custom quilt and designed it the old way (paper and pencil!), not realizing I would need an EQ file. Found out this week that I do!
It is something I am definitely glad that I am learning! Did take quite a while to get to this point though!

A beautiful sunrise this morning, with such a bright sun dog.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Finishing Some BOM

I can't believe that almost a year has gone by on some blocks of the month I started in January! It seems like yesterday.

This one is the EQ 2011 BOM. I can't show you the whole thing just yet, but it is all finished. It is a 35" x 41" wallhanging. The blocks are 6" each, and were fast and easy to make.

I am adding the final borders to the Granny's Hankie BOM. I will finish the borders up tomorrow at the Friday Night Sew In. It is going to be such a large quilt, the blocks are 16". The appliqué blocks were lots of fun to make, and I am so pleased with how the whole quilt is turning out.

BOM's are such a fabulous way to make a quilt (I am thinking of designing one for the new year).

Yesterday I made two pillow cases for my sons, as stocking stuffers for Christmas (Shhh!) - I am sure pillow cases are what all young men want!! I attended a demonstration at the Victoria Beach Quilt Show this summer on how to make "Sausage/Tube" pillow cases - it seemed like a wonderful idea that I had to try it. It took me less than an hour to make these two. Here is a great tutorial for them I found on You Tube.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Catch Up

My new computer has been in the shop for a week (hopefully all the problems are fixed!), so this is a long post - amazing what can get done when I don't spend time on the computer!!

I finished off the Dresden Plate quilt last Sunday (it is in my guest bedroom).
The quilt is 95" square. The fabric is Boutique by Chez Moi (for Moda) with Kona ivory solid for the background. I used Hobbs Tuscany Wool batting. The thread is Aurifil 50WT (in pink and ivory).

I had left lots of room for quilting. It is the first time I have quilted so much on a quilt, and with a plain background. The DP's are about 11" and the blocks are 14".
I free motioned feathered wreathes between the Dresden Plates. They are echoed and the centres have pebbling (like the dots in the fabric centres of the DP's). The Dresden Plates are quilted in the ditch around them and the centres. I also quilted a loose flower/feathered wreath over the DP's. There is my form of McTavishing (great link with video) in the background.

I did a serpentine feather border around all the DP's and then perpendicular parallel lines to the border.

 The 2" squares in the border have a continuous line quilted on every side (I found it really hard not quilt more that the recommended 1/4" away from the seams at the centre - but got lots of practice).

The outer most line I quilted after I had attached the binding (thanks for the tip Wendy), so that the quilting would look even.

The only marking I did on this quilt was the lines for the feathered wreathes (using various size lids and a Hera marker - just leaves an indentation in the fabric), plus I also marked the centre of the serpentine feather border

It is all quilted on my home sewing machine (Husqvarna 870 Quilt). I like to bunch the quilt when I quilt. It was a real pleasure to quilt.

I usually vacuum out my machine after I finish a big project - for this one I did it twice. It always amazes me how much lint accumulates.

I worked on some blocks of the month too -

The November Hop to It one (machine appliqué).
For December Hop to It BOM Joan picked block #2.

The December EQ BOM.

Now that all the blocks are finished I am working on the final project (we are not given instructions for that and have to create something on our own).

These are the borders for the Granny's Hankie BOM (Novembers instructions). They went together so well, the instructions are wonderful.

I did change the pattern slightly -

The pattern called for 4 1/2" squares (mine are black) for the corner blocks, but I didn't like the results, plus it was different from the picture.

So I changed them to 5 1/2" squares, now it looks like it is supposed to.

I finished knitting a hat,

and started on a piece of Romanian Point Lace (the pattern is one I designed).

Finally!! this last picture shows all three quilts that are on the guest bed now! My first large quilt that I quilted on my sewing machine (Spanish Steps), the first large quilt I hand quilted (Orphan Block), and my last quilt that I machine quilted.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!♥

Machine Quilting

I machine quilted a table runner that my Mom made - 

the pattern is Cabin in the Woods.

I did an all over leaf and loop design with variegated Aurifil 50WT thread.

My practice on the white board before I got started.

Here is another art quilt for the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative (I hand stitched the binding down this morning while Skype-ing with Wendy and Joan - amazing world).
This one is 8" x 10". I painted the square, couched thread on it, pieced it and quilted it. I used Aurifil 50 WT red thread and the gold thread is a thicker rayon thread (Iris thread from Mexico).

I tried out a Frixion pen - it wrote beautifully on the fabric (I used a Staedtler circle template to mark the circle - thanks for the tip Wendy),

but when I ironed the quilt to get the lines out, you could still see a faint white line. I even tried water, and the eraser on the pen to try to remove the lines. I wouldn't use this pen on an heirloom quilt. It probably didn't help that the fabric is dark.

I finally got around to making this month's EQ BOM - November Novelty, just one month to go.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

EQ BOM

I made the October EQ BOM block - October Opportunity -

a quick 6" block to make (and you don't need EQ).

A beautiful sunset this evening.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Another BOM Block

Still working on catching up on BOM's.

 

Now I am caught up on the EQ BOM. This is September Soother.
I am always amazed how quick and simple these blocks are to make - they are just 6".

Siv Hege is having a wonderful celebration giveaway - be sure to check out her blog (before October 8th at midnight).

Speaking of giveaways - have you been following Moda's Country Fair Blog Hop? There are wonderful free patterns from many great designers, and fabric giveaway's too!!

I also started a photo journal blog - just one picture a day for a year, so easy.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

More Stuff

Not much sewing or blogging these days!
We leave for a two week holiday (in France) tomorrow and I just had a few things to add before we leave.

I forgot to say at the beginning of this month that for those making the Hop to It blocks we are making Block 10. Since I have not been doing much sewing, I hope it is fine that this block will be for August and September.

I did put together the EQ block of the month - August Amusement.

I also finished another mug rug with the free pattern (finished one thing this month for OPAM). I just had to do some free motion quilting and the binding.

The garden is still doing fine (lots of cucumbers this year) -


We have had a bit of rain this week, maybe the grass will come back to life. Last month was a record breaking month for the least amount of rain.

Hopefully in September I will feel like getting back into the swing of things (two family funerals in a 2½ week period gives a different perspective on life). The vacation has come at a perfect time for us.

Au revoir et a bientôt!♥

July BOM

For those joining the Hop To It BOM, we are doing block # 9 this month -

chosen by Random Number Generator.
Today the EQ BOM came out - July Journey. You don't need EQ for these blocks, and they are a fast 6" block to make.

Last month my Baby GO! broke (the handle fell off). Because it was only 5 months old Accuquilt was going to replace it, I asked to pay the difference and get the larger GO!, because there are more options in dies.

It came yesterday! You can see that it is much larger than the Baby GO! (I didn't have to send the Baby back because I live in Canada).

I also ordered a few dies since I didn't have to pay any shipping and handling. Can't wait to try them out! The bottom one is a rag die - all the little clips are all done with the GO! - much easier than the regular way.





Happy Canada Day!

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥♥♥