Quilting | FAL Q4 - 10 Reasons to Order Pizza

I have posts in my drafts un published. They are perfectly good, they have pictures, they have a touch of humor, a story and even some quilting.  What more could I ask for? yet they go un-published. The psychology of my mind baffles me sometimes.


This time I am just pushing the publish button and hope you enjoy this list of what inspires me, stresses me, entertains me and distracts me in my sewing room on a daily basis.


1. Post Punk Circus

I am sooo looking forward to putting this one together! I give away most of the quilts I make, but once in a while one stays with me. All of the major pieces are complete and ready to assemble.

2. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

I need to choose a quilting pattern for it. Roll up my sleeves, switch feet and get to it.

3. Pink in the Series of Three

This is a client quilt that needs "backing quilting and binding" - (this is the song of my people, you know who you are)


4. Birds in the Series of Three

I haven't even started this one! eek! it is a client quilt too. The same client as above.


5. Swoon in the Series of Three

This one is getting good! I am resisting the urge to desperately want to keep this one. I keep encouraging myself that I can make another one if I really want one. 

6. Wild Child 

waiting for a good thing is hard and not every client can do it so now I get to gift this one or keep it all for myself. 

7. Superman Hooded Towel

My Dear Client has been waiting ever so long for this one. Perhaps I need to take a couple of days from everything shut the door order pizza for all meals and get this stuff done!


8. Kimono

Um, This one is super old and is starting to feel embarrassing.
Finish it Sarah! Finish it.

Maybe my list is too long... I am getting all angsty just writing about all these "loose ends" I am even starting to call them derogatory names! like loose ends (sob)

But I am stubborn and addicted, so I introduce to you,


9. Jeweled Box Stars

this is a leader and ender challenge with Bonnie Hunter. I am doing the traditional pattern instead of the flipped version that Bonnie created.

That's it for me today friends, Until next time, Stay angsty,

Sarah 

Sew Fresh Quilts

Quilting | Gearing up for EPP

I cant stop quilting!! Help! now I know what people are talking about when they say they have an addiction to quilting. I am heading to England for 3 weeks and I absolutely need something to take with me to work on.

 I have been working on this box jewels block that was inspired by this Bonnie Hunters 2018 Leaders and Enders Challenge. It has made me appreciate working with small pieces and has got me thinking about EPP.

I made one in the style of the QAL but I didn't like how it was coming together, I guess it didn't fit with my fabric style.

I went back to the traditional Jewl Box Stars Block and like it much better, so much that I am keeping this quilt for sure! Yep all to myself. Selfish I know!!

My first try with EPP was the never failing hexie. The #FAM was driving across the prairies and I insisted that we stopped at a quilt shop in Saskatoon.  We stopped at periwinkle quilting shop.This quilt shop is just darling! I basically walked in and said that I had no idea what I was doing, but I wanted to try EPP for the car ride. The lovely owner put some needles, scissors, thread and templates in my hand. All I had to do was pick out some fabric! yay! that's the best part!

I looked up the airplane rules for the scissors and have cut out my templates. I am going to try the traditional Patchwork of Crosses and Jen Kingwell's Daisy Do Quilt 

Daisy Do - Jen Kingwell 

Tales of cloth -PoTC

Wish me luck!

I am linking to:



Until next time, stay fussy

Sarah

Quilting | Threads

SO, I dont know a lot about thread. Period. So, I have gone and done some research. Where is the best place to start? the fat quarter shop! They should have a good selection right?

I learned that there was a 12 weight labeled finishing thread.
There is an 80 weight labeled applique
and there is a 50 weight. (which I am not sure what it is for yet).

Hand quilters use 8 weight . Is this perle cotton?

Then there is the 6 strand embroidery floss that doesn't have a weight, but I am assuming it is like the regular embroidery floss that shows up everywhich way.

Now the yardage of thread seems to be important too from a value and "distance or time on the machine" perspective?

I found out that it actually it correlates to a size of spool - the big ones and the little ones - duh why didn't I clue in to that?

There seems to be packaged in packs, cases, single, bundled with fat quarters and in "a box"  phew. If you are not overwhelmed yet I sure am.

All of my thread is thrifted except for a couple of cones and small spools (like 2).  I am curious as to how one finds out which weight each of the spools are?

I am finding that the thread makes more of a difference than the needle when I start to have trouble with my stitches. What about yours?

I really want to start hand quilting some quilts. I am pretty sure I have a large quilting needle somewhere. I cant wait to show you all an update!

Linking with Finished or not Friday because I am definitely not finished learning about threads!

Until next time
Stay Smooth

Sarah

Quilting | Lovely For the Set of Three

Hello Everyone. It is after the summer and it seems to be "back to it" after the summer boom. If the seasons and their various levels of busyness were described in economic terms then the summer would be a boom and the winter a recession (where we get cozy and use everything we gathered in the boom)

This summer was a busy one for sure! we renovated our house, sold said house, bought a larger house, planned a wedding and got married at the larger house aannnd now we are heading to the UK in two weeks.

I have managed to carve out time to get in the sewing room, I now have a sewing room!!! i am soooo loving it so far!


I have almost finished up the piecing for this quilt for a client. it is the first in a series of three. The three do not look alike one being a swoon quilt and the other a bird quilt.

The lady I am making the quilts for made me some hand made cold pressed custom scented soaps. soooo yummy. every time i shower it smells milky and real, not chemicalyy and perfumy! thank you Rebecca!

 This weekend is harvesting the garden before we go to England! Linking to Finished or not Fridays , Off the Wall Friday , and Can I get a Whoop Whoop  , Needle and Thread Thursday


Until next time,

Stay lovely

Sarah

Quilting | #30quiltdesignchallenge2018

Hi Everyone, I have been busy participating in the design challenge hosted on Instagram by Sandra at mmmquilts. 

This challenge is harder than I thought!  The challenge is to create 30 quilt designs in 90 days. It doesn't sound too bad right.

Here are my quilt designs 1-16 from the challenge.

I have learned so much about my style, pattern tools, color, not to mention the techniques that will be used to put together the quilt. I am a fairly new quilter 3 years? but I have been sewing since I was really little.

I am still trying to find my own style of quilting so, I tried using quilting apps for the pictures below that I call Double Irish Granny and Ohio Grannies, perhaps the name indicates how I felt about these patterns. lol. 

I have started making some of the designs. one of them I designed for a commission and the other I am making for a challenge. You could say that the need to create a particular quilt drives the quilt design. 

      

Because I wasn't enjoying the process of designing on the quilting apps I tried drawing a tile and using a collage maker to rotate and repeat the tiles to make the above and below patterns. I really enjoyed this process because It allowed me to use the Low Fi pen and paper coupled with the High Fi computer technology. 

      

I only have 15 more days for 14 more designs by April 30th. I know that by then I am going to wonder and perhaps hope that the deadline was an April Fools Day joke...

Wish me luck and let me know which one you like the best! and until next time friends, stay curious

Sarah 

If you want to follow my progress on Instagram here is the link

Linking with Off the Wall Friday 

Finish it up Friday @ Crazy Mom Quilts 

Finished or not Friday @ Busy Hands Quilts 

Quilting | AHIQ Post Punk Circus

Hi! I have been waiting to show you all this! My progress on the Post Punk Circus. Last night I measured the horozantal strips of large diamonds and started taping paper together to draw the ballgown on. I wanted a bit of a pattern for the structure of the peiced hexagons so I could see where to add the next one. I dont have a design wall so I have to work on a flat surface and do the quilt in peices.

I usually only draw half of the pattern if the design is semetrical then fold over the paper to get an even shape. All of the hexagons are machine peiced because I can and I am pretty impatient. I think I have the knack of getting the Y seams down. It is pretty easy if you leave enough room in the joins.

Once I finished peicing all of the white and off white diamonds for the upper half of the background, I was not happy. Maybe I need to iorn them out, but being a newer quilter I went about putting them together a little willy-nilly and the peice did not come out straight. Iron, trim, iron, add more, iron, may be my process to fix them.





















I am holding myself back from the fussy cutting for the ginormus hair stack on this lady untuil the gown is done and I start working my way up this quilt.

I am so impatient with wanting this quilt to come together! aggh!

I cant wait to show you all the parts together.


Untuil next time friends, stay punk.



Sarah

Linking with Kaja's AHIQ Playing Wth Scale challange, Monday Making and Move it Forward Monday, and SillyMamaQuilts  , Esters blog WOW link up  , and Julie lou