Ostrich Block of the Month

I finished my Ostrich Block of the Month a while ago, and thought that it was about time that I showed it off!

This BOM was organized by Myra (at Tactile Pleasures...in Fabric) through a local quilt group. Thanks Myra! This was one of the most enjoyable projects I have ever made.

This was a BOM that before we started we all made suggestions for blocks, then each month one was picked. We were able to make the blocks and project any way we wanted to. It was called 'Ostrich' because we had the option of 'putting our head in the sand' one month, and not making the chosen block (I made every block suggestion).

They weren't necessarily blocks chosen each month, sometimes they were shapes -

Triangles

Stars

Circles

Sometimes they were techniques - 

Applique 

Seminole Patchwork

Paper Piecing 

But of course, there were blocks -

Churn Dash

Square in a Square

Flying Geese

Nine Patch

Piano Keys

Bow Tie

Dresden Plate

Plus this block - we were told to start the BOM with our choice of block -

I chose a large star. 

I originally thought I would make a medallion quilt, but I quickly realized that that style of quilt needed lots of planning.

Instead I made a bed runner to go on my anniversary whole cloth quilt. It is 23"x90". I used wool batting. I decided not to quilt any feathers on it (a real challenge for me), because it would be on a quilt with lots of feathers, so I tried quilting all different kinds of lines, continuous curves etc.

The last time I blogged there was snow on the ground, now the vegetable garden is planted and growing-

the flowers beds are doing well -

incredibly windy in the photo

And I have finished lots of projects -

I made a pillow using the HexnMore ruler (the small size hexagons and triangles) - it was made to go with my whole cloth quilt and is in the photo of my bed, behind the other pillows.

I pieced a Storm at Sea quilt top,

using this ruler by Creative Grids - it was such an easy quilt top to make. The blocks are 12", and I used fat quarters in two different colours. The top is 64"x78".

I have been practicing free motion quilting (practice, practice, practice!).

I have also been knitting -

I finished a lace scarf

and a pair of socks (the pattern is Skew from Knitty).

I made a couple of shawls - 

Sweet Dreams for a dear friend

and Out of Darkness, both Boo Knits (as well as the lace scarf above)

I spun some yarn,

to make some colour work 'glittens' (gloves with the fold over top).

Lots of catching up!

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!❤

Blocks of the Month

These are my Pieces of Time blocks for February and March -

These are all the blocks so far-

All the appliqué blocks are finished, just pieced blocks left and the borders. These are 7.5" blocks.

I also finished piecing my Ostrich Block of the Month. I need to quilt it by the end of the month (the quilt group is have a show and tell for this BOM), then I will show more pictures, and reveal what I made with the blocks. (It's a quilt!!)

It is still unusually cold here and this was the frost on the screen door this morning.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!♥

Ostrich BOM

Here are my latest Ostrich block - 

four Churn Dash blocks (6" blocks).

There are a few more blocks to go (I think the BOM finishes in March), but I have decided I want to make a small 'random sampler' quilt (I am sure this style of quilt has an official name).

I used a quilt that was about the same size as the one I want to make to lay out the blocks on, to get an idea of how the blocks will go together. I am supposed to have an appliqué block, but I am waiting until the end to make one as a 'filler' block.
A few of us started making this BOM, but I think I might be the only one making it now, so thank-you Myra for still organizing this BOM!
It is fun because we are just given a block name or a shape, and we get to interpret it any way we want.

This is my latest home spun wool -

190 grams of worsted weight (about 14WPI) wool that I dyed earlier in the fall.

Here are the fibre, single ply bobbin and first skein all together. I tried Navajo (chain) plying for the first time to keep the colours clearer.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥

Back from a Break

I took a "blogger break" for what I thought would be a month and it turned into two months. Thanks to those who wrote and asked me how I was doing. Everything is fine, I just felt that I was wasting too much time on the computer.

I had a wonderful summer and here are some things that I accomplished -

I made myself a robe/housecoat with fabric I bought in Hawaii (less than $20 for 4yards for beautiful cotton!) last Christmas -

I rarely make practical things, so I was thrilled with this. I also made my husband some pyjamas since I was on a roll (no pictures, and not in bright floral fabric, but maybe next time!).

I made some more runners for shelves in my sewing room -

This one is made with little thimbles (about 1") cut from some left over fabric from a quilt I made last year. It was a leader-ender project.

This one was just to practice free motion quilting. They are both about 8" x 26".

Here they are on the shelves -

Can you tell I am running out of ways to use quilts!

I taught a Invisible Machine Appliqué class this summer, and this is what I designed for the class -

It is about 10" x 16". Everyone did wonderfully, and it was lots of fun for me!

I needed to replace some worn cushion covers and I designed another appliqué block -

The fabric I used had a paisley design, so I incorporated that into the appliqué design and the free motion quilting.

I left the appliqué and the borders puffy to accentuate them (it was so tempting to quilt a feather border, although they are only 2" borders, but I wanted to see what it would look like un-quilted, and I am pleased with the results).

I made a coordinating pieced block for the second cushion. This 12" block is "Sea Breeze" from the book 'Knockout Blocks and Sampler Quilts' by Judy Martin.

They are 16" cushions.

I have also been knitting with yarn that I spun -

This one from a pattern - "Lazy Katy" by Brigit Freyer. The yarn is from Merino Silk fibre from SweetGeorgia Yarn, in the colour way 'Maple'.

This scarf is made with Merino (from a good friend) that I dyed (it is spun about a worsted weight, and came out so soft and squishy). The pattern is 'Undulating Scarf' from a 2010 Spin Off magazine, and it is also available free on Ravelry. It is a wonderful pattern because the scarf is reversible. I changed the centre double increase because I couldn't figure out how to make the one described in the pattern (I did 'K1, YO, K1' all in the same stitch).

The next two shawlettes are ones that I designed after taking a couple of Craftsy classes (Lace Shawl Design and Shawlscapes) -

This is a lace one made from Kid Mohair that I bought while on holiday this summer (we went to where we used to live in Alberta and I went back to my old local yarn store - it was so nice!).

It is the first time I have spun mohair and it was lovely to spin.

This one I wanted to be more free form, and I made it up as I knitted, which was fun (this is inspired by the Shawlscapes class). I also spun the yarn without much thought and just enjoyed the process, and it came out really nice too. This is BFL from SGY in the colour way 'Chai Spice'

I completed some Blocks of the Month -

 
The August block for the Ostrich BOM, a Dresden Plate (this is an 18" block),

 
and 9-Patches for September (4.5" blocks).

My Pieces of Time BOM blocks for September (we took August off).

Whew!!

Thank-you so much for stopping by and have a great day!!♥