Scraps anyone?

I've been saving my scraps faithfully! Enormous guilt eats at me for throwing away things that I paid good $'s for -- then there's the reality of saving a little "too" much where I feel like a hoarder! Speaking of...every time I watch the show "Hoarders" I end up tossing a few more items and donating a box or two, so all is good!  The little sampler below was hand stitched while camping and then I quilted it on the old Singer machine. It was a great little pattern that I got from an Australian magazine when I first started quilting. BAD NEWS is that I bought fabric for all of the piecing. I didn't have a "stash" (don't think I even knew what the word meant at that time!) and I didn't have any "scraps" around that I could do this with! I sure loved making it and will probably do another one. The little hearts were my first attempt at using wax paper to applique. I didn't know that you had to REMOVE the was paper, so the little hearts are still a bit stiff in there. The whole thing is smaller than a place mat and the likelihood of it being laundered to death is slim! I had no idea that this type of border was called a "piano" border, and mitred corners with the binding? NOPE! ha ha...I look at this now and just giggle, but it's my little start into the world of quilting, so that makes it quite fine!

I was thrilled to find out that Joan Ford  brought out another "scraps" book! I love this one as much as her first one! I had no idea how to control my scraps or what sizes to cut everything into. She's made it so easy to organize your scraps! I know that when I don't have anything on the go, I will be able to put together a quick quilt or two with my "scraps" that will end up looking just a beautiful on the front covers of her books! Thanks again! So exciting to browse through a book that I know will become a staple in any quilter's room! (Yeah, yeah, I know a couple of posts ago I was vowing not to buy anything! hah!) Check out her blog for more great ideas!  http://scrap-therapy-quilts.blogspot.ca/  or her other one http://hummingbird-highway.com/

While I was browsing on Amazon, I saw Julie Herman's book of Jaybird Quilts. I had this one on my list of "wants", but never got around to it yet. I thought since I had one book on order, I might as well work in another with the shipping costs! I ordered yet another one, but it's still waiting for delivery.  I'll post it when it arrives! Onto Julie Herman's book.... I love the simplicity of the patterns and the impact visually when they are done! The directions are clear (which is what my old brain needs!) Looking forward to trying some of these out! Check out Julie Herman's website! She has some great tutorials to try out! She's hooked up with Pink Chalk Fabrics where I bought her "Chopsticks" pattern for the baby quilt a while back!  http://www.jaybirdquilts.com/



What are you reading?

My favorite assistant!

Well Little Man was over this weekend for a sleepover at Nana's and Grandpa's. Trying to get him to work on a project for his Momma was a NO GO! He was quite happy to be my assistant though! Here he is holding up my latest project! Pretty good assisting for a 3-year old!

This is the baby quit for my cousin in Hungary. By the time Canada Post will get it there, I am sure the baby will be a year old! Nevermind...it will still be cuddled! This is the first project that I really practiced my free motion quilting on. Here's a closeup of some of the stiches. The only one that I actually drew on was the "A" outline. It sure gave me more confidence with each triangle that I did. A good wash gave it the super-soft cuddle to it and Little Man gave it an extra cuddle since it was going to one of his cousins!

I used 100% Egyption cotton in the bobbin and the top. One thing I did notice was a whole lot of lint build-up. I had to clean out the machine twice and re-thread the machine twice. The way it stitched was great. Some of the designs were super easy and yet some of the others not so great. I think that practice will improve my stitching somewhat. It was worth taking the free-motion class with Lorraine Stangness. It sure took the fear out of free-motion. Now I get to experiment with different threads and needles. Not too crazy though! One step at a time. The pattern is Chop Sticks by Jaybird quilts.

Creative Stitches Calgary 2012

Well! Now that was interesting! I haven't been to one in a couple of years. Did it get smaller? Where were all the people? I found it really, really quiet! I was surprised to not see so many of the quilt stores that were there years ago. I know they are still in business, but perhaps the sheer cost of renting one of the tables vs. the income they would make from sales, wasn't worth it? I did manage to find some fabulous fat quarters to add again to my stash. No rhyme or reason, but I did pick out a few black and whites that I am building on.

I also did some thread shopping. I know that so many of us use cotton, but I thought a polyester/rayon would do me well with some of those Christmas crafts that were not "heirloom" quality. I really do love the colours and I got a great deal on these. I'm thinking I may take some of them out and send to my quilting daughter up in Fort McMurray. She always seems to have to pay an arm and a leg at the quilt shop up there. My fat quarters were $1.50. Can't beat that price! The thread was $15.00 a box plus you got the third box for free. You can never have enough fabric or thread!

Speaking of thread... I have a load of cones that I am having trouble using on my machine, so I bought one of those thread stands. I hate not being able to have the right tools to use things I have right now - so the thread stand was a good buy for me. It's not pretty by any means, but it is certainly functional! I have quite a lot of thread that won't fit on the machine spool holders -- so unless someone has a better solution for me, the thread stand it is! I also grabbed one of those cute little collapsible buckets for threads and snippets. I am always taping little plastic garbage bags to my table. Until I make a cute little fabric bucket -- this is the perfect fit for now

Of course I have to give you a sneak peak at the newest project! I am excited about this one as it's a new pattern from JayBird! The instructions were fabulous and easy to follow once I got it straight in my head. I'm pretty much an "inside the box" kinda girl and I'm working towards being more spontaneous and trying new things! I love the way it all fit together easily (even if I can see my mistakes, once it's together you can't see them! YIPEE!)

"Cyber" FART!

Fabric Aquisition Road Trip! OK, not quite on the road, but did do some more on-line shopping! Can barely wait for it to arrive! http://www.pinkchalkfabrics.com has been a wonderful new find for "me". I am sure a lot of you found Pink Chalk years ago, but I'm excited to discover this new adventure of blogging and finding all the new trends! I bought the new hexi ruler from Jaybird as well as one of her patterns! What a talented young lady! You can check her out here: http://www.jaybirdquilts.com I am yet to try out the new ruler, but I have a project planned in the next month! Stay tuned! I have also ordered from Hancock's of Paducah as well as Keepsake Quilting. Both of which have been fabulous! I am so pleased with any of the products that I have ordered on line and have not been disappointed. Realize that I am new to ordering anything on line, unlike my adult children who just roll their eyes when I questioned them about the safety and "what if I don't get it and they charge me????" It's all good! Don't get me wrong -- absolutely support your local quilt stores! (When you can!) Realize that a lot of our fabrics in Canada can be double if not triple the price we can order on line.(yes, even though our measurements are a bit bigger than a yard!) If I can make three times the amount of quilts for the price of the cost of ONE here, I am going to order on line. Is that bad? I try to be very budget conscious with my passion. I have been a single mom for far too long being frugal and stretching that dollar as far as it can go. If I can get it here, for a decent price, I do -- however if it's a deal on fabric that I have been drooling over -- you bet I'll order it online! I won't even get into re-cycling fabrics here, because I'll have you know that I've done that as well! So check out Pink Chalk Fabrics, Hancock's and Keepsake or give them a try on line ordering! I can bet that you won't be disappointed! Happy Cyber-Farting!