Barnswallow Quilt Show 2012

I went to a quilt show in Morden, Manitoba today. It was lovely and I have lots of pictures to share.

Please don't pin/lift these pictures as they are not my work - thank-you.

To get an idea of sizes - all the white labels are the same size.

These are from the book "Quilted Symphony"
by Gloria Loughman

from the same book

Henrietta Whiskers

A Lori Smith pattern

The following are from the featured quilter - Evelyn Hoeppner (not her in the picture). 

Even a Dear Jane!

Strings made with old ties

A collection of miniatures

The following were from a mystery quilt pattern

The quilting on this one was stunning (sorry about the bad photograph).

This one was stunning in person

a close up of the little sculptures,
made from railway paraphernalia

I liked how the feathers went
through all the borders

The borders on this one were quilted differently

Pennies from Heaven

The next two are from the Christmas section -

Even Hardanger

A beautiful old crazy quilt

licorice all-sorts

It was a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon, but the best part was that I got to meet a friend I met through my blog. We met in person for the first time today.
Thanks Maxine - I had a great time and I hope to see you again soon.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!❤

Friendship Mini Sampler Quilt Part 2

An Ohio Star for block #2.

You will need -
        from the print -
                     2 - 2+1/4" squares - for the hourglass units
                     1 - 1+1/2" for the centre
        from the background -
                      4 - 1+1/2" squares for the corners
                      2 - 2+1/4" squares - for the hourglass units

Make 4 hourglass units following this tutorial, using the 2+1/4" squares. Trim them to 1+1/2" squares.

This is the layout for all the pieces.

Trim the finished block to 3+1/2" square.

Great to see that people are participating! Thanks!

Friendship Mini Sampler Quilt Part 1

Starting the mini sampler with Fast Flying Geese.

You will need -
                one 3+1/4"  square of print print fabric
                four 1+7/8" squares of background fabric

All the blocks in the mini sampler are made from 2 fabrics (most are a print and a "background" fabric, although two days will be different). I used different fabrics for every block - different colours, with beige backgrounds -  very scrappy - don't be surprised if they are the same as last week's tutorials ;-).

My tutorial for the fast flying geese is found here.

The units are trimmed to 1+1/2"x2+1/2" rectangles.

Sew the four units together.

Part 1 finished!

Double Wedding Ring Quilt and a Sneak Peak

Yesterday I started working on a Double Wedding Ring quilt. I cut the fabric out with the GO!. I don't have it all cut out, because I wanted to start sewing it (really to see if it would work - it my first quilt with the double wedding ring die).

This is what I have sewn so far.

Just the "football" shapes are sewn - 15 of them (I have to make 71 of them). My plan is to make the quilt 5 rings/blocks  x 6 rings/blocks -then it should be about 64" x 75".
So far these are pretty easy to sew, I hope the blocks and rows go together so well.
I find that when I piece things I cut with the rotary cutter, I use a scant 1/4" seam, but with the GO! I have to use a true 1/4" seam to get the shapes for fit together well.

This is a sneak peak of the Friendship Mini Sampler Quilt Along that starts tomorrow.
It will be a little quilt - 11.5"x15". I will post one block pattern a day for 6 days (a couple of days will have more than one block made). Then sewing the blocks together and adding the border. There will be an optional appliqué, and I will also have ideas for machine quilting. It should take about a week. The pieces are small,  scraps will work, maybe a fat quarter, or large scrap for the border and binding.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!❤

Hardanger Winner

I was really pleased/surprised at how many people were interested in Hardanger embroidery - thanks to every one who entered, it was really nice reading the comments.
Hardanger really is an easy form of embroidery (especially if you cross stitch or do another type of counted embroidery), I hope more people give it a try.

The winner of my stash busting pack and kit is Fiesta! Congratulations!

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!❤

Month End Review

This month I decided to challenge myself to blog every day. I managed to keep on track (I have two blogs, but my other one is a 365 day picture blog and just takes minutes every day). This blog took a bit more work, but it was still lots of fun.
Blogging every day forced me to have "some thing to blog about", so I was productive.

April's Mini Quilts

I finished 8 mini quilts this month, they are shown here (one - not pictured - is a surprise starting later in the week).

Also made 24 Dear Jane blocks,

did some piecing on a winding ways quilt,

 machine quilted this month's Free Motion Quilting Challenge block,

and made this month's Hop to It block,

plus all the hourglass blocks for the sashing, so I would be ready when all the blocks are completed.

Knitting, tatting
and different types of embroidery.

I kept my hands busy with other hand work too.

April was a nice month to work outside in the garden (the picture was taken today and things are really growing).

I kept up with my other hobby too - cleaning my house (I admit it - I love to clean!). I did find time for cooking - not my favourite, but my family seems to think it is a necessity.

This month I also decided to exercise every weekday - I kept that up too, and am pleased with the results. I set the treadmill for 25 minutes, and at the beginning of the month I was walking about 1 mile,  now I am mainly running for 2 miles. I have also been lifting weights or doing Pilates (my favourite one is on You Tube - shown here).

I'll happily go back to blogging a few times a week! Since I try to limit my computer time every day, blogging every day left little time for other computer stuff (like commenting on other blogs or replying to comments - sorry), although I did try to keep up with my favourite blogs (the dashboard is helpful for that - thanks Blogger).
I will keep up with the exercising though - I see a "six-pack" in my future ;-)  -good to have goals!

Thank-you to every one who took the time to leave kind words, and encouragement during this past month.
I will be back tomorrow to announce the winner of my Hardanger patterns - still time left if you would like a chance.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!❤

More DJ Blocks

I made 6 more Dear Jane blocks today.

Now there are 24 - don't know how many to go (definitely won't be making the whole quilt).

That Quilt blog was very helpful for this block - B-2.

She suggested making 2 pinwheel blocks and turning one into a circle appliqué - it worked very well. I am so pleased there is a resource on the web for these blocks.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!❤

Dear Jane Weekend

It seems to be coming a pattern for me to make Dear Jane blocks while Skypeing with friends on the weekend - very enjoyable.

These are the six Dear Jane blocks I made today. I am trying to make a hard one, an easy one and a few appliqué ones every week (that's the plan this week!).

There is a wonderful blog - That Quilt - that has instruction for how she made the blocks. I read on the blog - "When in doubt - appliqué", and that is exactly what I am doing, if the blocks seem too complicated, I have been appliquéing them (invisible machine appliqué with the seam allowance turned under) -just because I love appliqué.

18 (4+1/2") blocks so far, and I have a few ready for sewing tomorrow.

The blocks sure can be a challenge, but I love the look of them, and I am really pleased with how they are coming.

Someone likes to fly their remote control helicopter in to mess up the blocks!

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!❤