Keeping Busy

Hello!

Well this world wide pandemic is sure interesting, isn't it?
People going nuts hording items, ignoring the stay at home if you travelled somewhere and trying to keep entertained at home.

I have a variety of hobbies that I can do here at home, just some days I do not have the concentration to do them.  I thank good ness for those who organise a way to connect remotely.  I recently participated in the Online Quilt Along organised by Gudrun Erla and will hopefully post my finished top next week.  I think we set a record for greatest number of people quilting at once!  I hope she did anyway.

In between, I, like many others, have been tackling our unfinished projects.  Here are a few of mine.

I've had these saw blades for over 10 years, meaning to make them into a clock for my craft room.  The first attempt was a failure.  But I finally got it done!  Word of experience: Do not use too much Goop.  You will stop the clock workings....

Our local hospital put out a call for fabric masks to wear over their regulation ones to make them more efficient longer.  So we got a pattern approved and we started sewing! Here are some of the ones I created for them.

Hope you're keeping busy!
Stay home and be safe!
Hugs!
Cindy

Kona Green Challange

Hello!

Now that the voting has been done and I do not have to worry about publishing too early, I can show you what I completed in early January.

The Canadian Quilt Association puts out a few challenges each year and this year I joined my Quilt Guild sisters in doing something with a Kona green fabric that also followed the theme of 'Gateway to Adventure'.

I have always been a bookworm and definitely get lost in my books.  It's like I'm right there with story, watching it happen!  So I made a book shelf of SOME of my favourite books going into a leafy background to explore.... The highlight is my favourite: Alice in Wonderland cover that I got permission to print and place in my quilt.

 The artist Jill Howarth pointed me to Scholastic who had the copyright on this image.  After a few emails, I received permission to use the image.  You see, I was entering this quilt in a competition for our guild to pick their favourite, which would then be sent to Quilt Canada in Edmonton this year.  If this was to happen, I would have needed permission.  I didn't win though, so no worries!  Now I can share it and keep it for my living room wall! (well, after it comes back from the local art gallery where I also entered it for 'Memories' challenge

This was the first time using a light box to trace the fonts with paint and marker onto fabric.  Some books have a distinctive font, like Martine, Asterix, Disney and Harry Potter.  Yes, I am bilingual and still have a warm space in my heart for those childhood favourites.

This is only the 3rd or 4th quilt I quilted myself, but I got brave and tried to stitch some words in the background....  

Total size is 16 x 20"

Hugs!
Cindy

UFOs

Hey!

I am trying to get this project done, but other projects keep calling to me....

I started this a year ago at a class I took with Sally Manke in Michigan.  What a great teacher!  Supportive, creative, and lots of encouragement to achieve my very own bicycle!  Others in the class have finished, but not me!  Oh well, it is my UFO challenge for this month.  I have 2 weeks left to sew everything down and then quilt it and bind it.

I'll keep trucking along!
Cindy

Permission to Start Over

Hi!

During a 10 day challenge I participated over Christmas, I considered something I really should have before....

I hate to waste things.  I recycle when possible and reuse what I can.  So when a project is not gong the way I like, I tend to ignore it.  And it becomes an unfinished item.

Last year I discovered temperature quilts.  I liked the idea of doing a row of yarn on a project dependent on the local weather temperature.  You pick a high or low temperature of the day and crochet a row.

My pallet is this.  I chose a different colour for every 5 degree temperature range.  (Celsius, as we are in Canada)

The pattern was hexies, cause I LOVE hexies.  And each hexie is one week of temperatures.

The hexies were ok, but when connecting them, it became messy, the colour stuck out and I didn't like it.  I got 10 weeks done, then never continued it.

Then this challenge topic was introduced.  If you really don't like it, take it appart, and make something else, or just throw it out.  I was given permission to do so.  Funny how we need someone else to say this so we feel better about it.  We were talking about quilting, but this applies to everything creative we might do!

So I took it apart and started over.  I still had the yarn.  I still liked the idea, so I did a simpler idea.  Just rows.  I am alternating a row of double crochet and a row of single crochet each day.  So my finished throw will be 366 or so

rows long, with a row of white in between each month.  Here is January!  We've been hovering around the 0 mark lately with only a couple days going to -15.

Have a great week!

Cindy

We Now Return to Our Regular...

Hello!

Two weeks ago  received a call of a cancellation in the surgery schedule.
I immediately went in for pre-op check in for getting some kidney stones removed.
Last week I had the surgery.
I am only NOW getting more mobile and I am grateful.  I know there are others in worse shape than me.  I just did not think this would land me on my butt and unable to act normally for over a week.

So now we return to our regular scheduled posts...

Just before I got sent for surgery, I was reading about the fires in Australia and wishing I could help somehow.  Then posts for quilt blocks to make quilts for those who lost their homes came up.  I sat down and sewed these just before my surgery.  It's a small thing, but I hope it will let those who lost everything that there are those who care, and they can rebuild....

The group organizing this is the Wollongong Modern Quilt Quild.  They have set up a facebook page for this undertaking should you wish to participate. #bushfireblocks

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

It's 2020, the year I turn 50!  AH!!!!

As with a lot of people, I'm feeling the need to organise and purge and make better use of my time.  I joined a 10 Day Orphan Block Challenge just after Christmas that has been interesting.  The concept by Becky at Patchwork Posse is to encourage us to get these unfinished things and do something with them.  Getting rid of the guilt and giving ourselves permission to get rid of them by either by finishing, altering the finished purpose or just plain getting rid of them if necessary.

So went into the cabinet and listed the projects I have put aside...

I have 49 listed projects!!!  AH! Again! This does not include all the ideas that pop into my head that have not had fabric assigned to yet!
I love her approach and have created a new list of UFOs for 2020.  Let's see how many I get done!  I will high-light as I get them done.  I've already finished one!

The Applique club I joined gave us a block pattern to make up for a BLOTTO at the February meeting.  I got excited and made 2 :)

What have you got planned for 2020?

Hugs!
Cindy :)

Mom's Christmas Quilt

Hi all!

For my last post of 209, I thought I'd show you the quilt I finally finished for my mom.
I started it in 2017, then put it aside for some reason that sounded good at the time. (Cannot remember what?)
This year at our guild we continued a UFO challenge. (Un Finished Objects) My mom'd quilt was on the list and the first to be picked to finish!  So away we go!  Let me start by saying I learned a very important lesson.  Denim is heavy, tough and stubborn!  I went through 7 Denim needles and a couple small cones of thread.  I was tired after each day I wrestled with this heavy thing trough my domestic machine!  But it was so worth it!  It turned out great!

I used June Taylor's Charming Circles Template to start, then thought I could do it quicker with an Olfa circle cutter.  Nope!  The denim fought back and tore up the skin of my fingers after 20 or 40 circles.  I needed 304.  Towards the end, I went back to the template to trace and hand cut them.

I used denim from all our family members and bought some pink Northcott fabric for the 5" squares.
Sewed the squares to the back of the denim, then the circles into rows and connected the rows.

As I mentioned, toward the end, the weight of the fabric was a challenge to keep under control and not strain my machine.  I got my hubby to come see and take pics to understand why I am NOT interested in quilting anything larger than a baby quilt on my domestic machine!

Once sewed together and quilted, I ran it through the washing machine and then 3 sets of 30 minute intervals in the dryer.  The lint trap needed to be emptied so not to over heat the machine.

So here is the final work about to be given to my mom for Christmas.  I added embroidered info in the bottom corner today and after this photo session, I packed it up for our trip south. This post is being written a few days before and scheduled, as I do not want to forget to share!

Happy New Year to you all and may you knock off some UFOs of your own!
Hugs!
Cindy