The first long weekend of summer!
The girls are home from school on a PD day (professional development), so they get a really long weekend!
And at home, not here with me.
They have been staying home while their mother works when they have the odd day off.
Last week, when Courtney was home with strep, she stayed with me.
They have to be quiet and not bug her, because, even though she is home, she is working in her office.
They are now old enough to realize that she is working.
Hayley wants to stay home , but her Mom has her come here, too.
I have enrolled them in some art classes this summer, I offered a week of dance camp too but no one was interested.
  And really, Courtney has to rest her knee.  She really injured it in the winter, falling on ice.  It's been 6 months and still hurts if she overdoes it.
So they will be here for most of the summer.
 Courtney loves to swim in the pool.  
She got in it at 68 degrees.....BBBRRRR.
It's warm now ..81 degrees.
This will probably be the last summer I have them both, they are getting old enough to stay at home.

I have been doing some quilting.

I took a couple of quilts at guild the other day.
These ones are ready, or mostly ready to quilt.


not gray, it is really green

I have 4 to work on this summer! A cute little orange and pink one from one guild that was a kit and I already finished, and told you about in my last 2 blogs and two from my other guild that are ready to quilt, plus one that I had to layer.
I started with the largest one...a pieced Christmas quilt.
Very pretty!
I was given a batt for this quilt, but it was garbage...thin, with holes.  I wasn't going to waste my time using that batt, so I got one from my stash.
Then I layered and pinned the quilt, started quilting and I noticed the back was bubbling.
I picked it apart and then used quilt spray on it.
I (machine) quilted along the blocks on a diagonal.
Then inside the block along either side of the white squares, down through the whole quilt.
I used a pale-ish green thread on top and a dark green in the bobbin.
In the side and corner triangles I will free motion a motif....just searching for the right one.
I have one in mind just need to scan, resize and  print it out.   And opps!, printer is out of ink...going to have to go and buy some more!  LOL!
I haven't decided what to do in the wide border...maybe something Christmas-y.

I have finished machine sewing the binding on
 the little cuddle quilt I brought home.  All I have to do now is hand sew the binding.
I used my new tool that I bought at the quilt show!

creative grid easy angle finder

 You use it to help  mark the sewing line on the corners.
The corners are sewn instead of folded, to create the mitred corner.
It's actually very easy, and if you are familiar with Heirloom sewing, the technique is the same.  I think I said before that I had tried to do this, without the tool and not knowing just what to do.  If I remember correctly, I didn't have enough fabric then, either.  It turned out, but I hand sewed from the right side of the fabric to do it.
Like I said ...I knew want I wanted, just not how to accomplish it.
I really like this method of sewing the corners, and this  is what judges in quilt shows are looking for.
Not that I would ever, ever be in the running for a ribbon!



the back

When I attached the binding on the cuddle quilt, I didn't have enough fabric....no matter how I tried...not long enough.  I only received 4 strips of the fabric width.  I really needed 5.
And I have absolutely nothing like this fabric in my stash....
So I used a different colour completely.

front of the quilt

The original binding is multi-colour ...orange, pink, yellow, purple.

  I choose a purple and white print to go with it.

 Since I am doing this method...I might as well show it off.

The mister left for 5 days of golf!!!
And the weather here was cold, wet and dreary!
I had a quilt guild meeting,(I usually do, he goes away the same time every year!) and that meeting was the last of the year, so it we had a pot luck dinner.
I made meatballs...BBQ meatballs.
 The ladies usually rave over them.
They are just ground beef....fried and then smothered in BBQ sauce.
I don't make my own sauce, but I sure doctor it up!
I buy just the regular BBQ sauce, then I add....smoke flavouring!! lots of smoke flavouring and garlic powder! mix it up and YUM!
I reheated the meatballs for an hour before I left, so that they are (hopefully) piping hot when served...and ...I must admit...they are good.

At the meeting we did all our exchanges, ATC's, Block of the Month,...oh yeah ..
and
Awarded ribbons to our quilt show winners.
I brought home a cuddle quilt to work on.
And work on it I did.
I sewed up the (really easy) blocks, (just a focus fabric square with sashing and cornerstones).
Then pressed it all and layered it ready to quilt.
BUT!  My iron is acting up...half the time it won't turn on (it's "auto-off").
I ended up buying a new one and holy crap!!! was it expensive!!
But pressing is done and quilting is almost complete.
I quilted all around the sashing, then got out the painter's tape and taped off diagonal lines to place an "X" through the centre of each block, and through the borders.

I used my homemade pinmoors to pin the whole quilt together and they worked great!

Sorry for the fuzzy focus...the camera didn't like the bright yellow orange fabric, and I find it really hard not to shake when I use only one hand to snap a pic.

So, now all I have to do is bind this little quilt and work on the others that I brought home from my "other" quilt guild!                                                                            

It's been a while since I blogged.
I've been a little busy  trying to sort out my sewingroom.  I used to able to put my hand on whatever I needed.
 Now...
Things are moved around a little.
I still have a lot of stuff upstairs in a storage room.  Some large pieces of fleece, some knits, and battings.
I have a small storage space under the stairs, but the mister uses that for his golf clubs.
Well, we now have a whole lot more storage in the garage.....maybe he can keep them in there for the winter.....
I have been doing a little sewing.
I finally started (and finished) my ATC's.
And EXCHANGED them!
I had an idea in my mind what I wanted to do. 
But that's not what I did do.
I started with a 12 square of hand dyed fabric. 
I wanted to highlight the swirls of colour with stitched flowers, but I ended up just quilting flowers.
I then cut the 12 inch square into 6 card sized pieces.
I then fussy cut  a yellow-gold flower and fused, then sewed that down to each card.
Next I fussy cut butterflies, 2 of each....then fused 2 back to back so that they were double sided.


mine



 

 

Mary Jane's
 

I attached them to the card, leaving the wings loose so that they would flutter!
Couched some Ricky Tims "razzle dazzle" heavyweight thread to the edges for a bit of sparkle, then zigzagged the edges to attach the paper post card to the back.








MaryJane's is layered, framed and quilted


















Pam did a super job on this one...it's woven!


Pam's

 

Sandra's is appliqued, satin stitched and echo quilted

Sandra's



Janice's

 

Janice appliqued (turned edge), quilted and embellished hers with braid and a cute little dragonfly charm.                                                                                                       

                                                                                                       

Everyone seemed pleased with the ATC's they received, and a lot of people signed up again for next year!                                                                                                      

  And so did I!