Improved Nine Patch

Can you tell I found my Double Wedding Ring Template set this weekend? Remember when I made this block at a class two summers ago? (and no, I still haven't made any more...) 

Well I discovered that the template set also allowed me to make Improved Nine Patch blocks. (The template is From Marti Mitchell). I was inspired by these gorgeous blocks (scroll down, they are worth it) by Amy at Badskirt.

Up first is my pillow for Pillow Talk Swap 4. My partner loves bright colours, Heather Ross and Flea Market Fancy (who doesn't??). I had fun pulling out a few favourite fabrics to make this block. At first I was concerned that it had too much pink, but the friendly people over on flickr seemed to like it.

What kind of border do you think I should make? I was thinking patchwork with aqua, orange and pink. Or maybe just aqua...I'm up for any ideas that you have!

Since I was on all roll, I decided to make another for Austen for The Maple Leaf Quilting Bee. I'm behind (sorry) so I was just happy to get this done before another month passes by.

I'm pretty much in love with these blocks. I'm thinking that I need to make a baby quilt with this pattern (without squaring off the blocks). I found that once I got going the curved piecing wasn't as difficult as I remembered.

Hope you have a wonderful Monday!

Bee Inspired VQB Wrap Up

I finally finished my last block for the bee inspired Virtual Quilting Bee. It's a bit embarrassing to admit that this was supposed to be April's block, but I'm pulling out the "I just moved" excuse. 

Lisa sent a beautiful mix of prints and solids for her block and asked for something inspired by a quilt Tacha made for her daughter. Go check out Tacha's gorgeous quilt...don't worry, I'll wait...check this one out too...it is made with lovely Heather Ross horses (which I adore) and improv style piecing. Yum.

So, this is what I came up with. I'm annoyed that the yellow is touching in two of the corners, but I decided I can live with it. I'm really not a tear apart kind of girl.

As for my own bee inspired blocks. Do you remember this stack of fabric? Well, now it is a stunning stack of quilt blocks. I really need to move them out of the UFO pile and into the WIP pile. It would be a lovely complement to my new pillow in my living room.

Have you assembled any of your VQB quilts? Or are they like mine sitting in nicely organized piles? How do you get your inspiration to get them finished?

In love...

I'm in love with my online quilting bees! They make me try things that I never would have the guts to try on my own.

Happy Friday everyone!

(And don't worry, Tacha, your hexes made it safely out of the leaves. Getting them out of my daughter's hands may be another story...)

A few finishes...

After my last post about all the WIP's I have, I finally have a couple of finishes to show.
First is my DQS7 quilt for my partner. I even made my first hanging sleeve. It was easier than I thought. Just have to make a label and collect some goodies to send.

Second, my Good Ol' Summertime Mini Quilt Swap. This little mermaid is swimming off to my partner tomorrow as soon as I make a label. And finally, my wonky stars for Rachel for our Stash Busting Bee International. They were a blast to make and a great use of little scraps of favourite fabrics. I like the 6.5" size much better than the 12.5". I'll have to add it to the list of must makes...

So the list from last post now looks like this:

• Doll Quilt Swap 7
  
• Crazy Mom Quilts 9-patch (yes, from the first round)
  
• Blocks for Rachel for the Stash Busting Bee International
  
• Block for Krista for bee inspired Update: about 90% finished, just have to sew the four parts together!
  
• Quilt for my sister's wedding. I've already told her it will be late. Update: got the backing last week from this store so I'm ready to start piecing it together.

Not too bad considering my husband was away for a week and I've had a house FULL of visitors. I'm going to keep working on those WIPs though. NO NEW PROJECTS :(

How many of you do the 'WIP Wednesdays' posts? What else do you do to motivate you to get those projects finished? How many WIP are you comfortable having on the go? How many do you actually have? I'm interested to know...

Happy Sewing!

July is MY month!

July is my month for bee inspired. Okay, I'm sharing it with Quilt Dad but could I ask for a cooler person to share a month with???

I sent out my fabrics last week and some of my group members have already received their packages. Sometimes Canada Post is pretty amazing!

I fell in love with this Heather Bailey print when I was in Saskatoon in February. I used it for the colour scheme for my quilt.
I asked for wonky quarter log cabins so that I can make a wonky bento box quilt. This is my inspiration.

Here are some pictures of the fabrics I sent out:

Can't wait to see what everyone comes up with!

A Star for Donna

Here is the star that I made for Donna for bee inspired.

I think I probably should have reversed the darks and the brights because they seem to compete a bit too much, but overall I'm happy with it. And I'm getting much better at making my blocks a true 12.5" square. Yay.

And my Old Red Barn Quilt is now at Marianne's to be long-arm quilted. Yay! I am so excited to see it....

Stash Busting Bee...

Are you looking for the give-away post?

I am lovin' my bee inspired virtual quilting bee. So a while back, lizziwhiz suggested starting a Stash Busting VQB as a twist on the typical bee. What fun! What a great way to share (use up) some of the fabrics in my stash. So now we are rolling...

My fat quarter and charm pack stash:

There are two groups for the Stash Busting Bee: 1 for US participants only, and 1 International for people who will ship anywhere. I'm in the International group. And we need a few more players...

More stash:

The basic idea is that when it is your month, you send out approx. 5" square piece of fabric from your stash to each member of the group. They will use their own stash to make you a block and send it back. So in the end you will get a beautiful scrappy quilt. And you get to share the stash love.

Do you want to join? Go check out the 'rules' here and join if you want to share some stash love!

Simplicity...

I was in a simple mood this weekend. And it was really reflected in my blocks for bee inspired.

First, here is Nettie's block. Can I gush about the fabric enough? I LOVE it. The fishes, the farmer's market, pandas, Little Red Riding Hood, and tiny mice with cheese. What else could you ask for?

Then, Deanna's block. She asked for a strawberry and chocolate star for her daughter. Again I kept it simple. Hope you like them!

It's a gift to be simple...

Bee Inspired - Rachel's Blocks

I finished my first blocks for the Bee Inspired Virtual Quilt Bee. Rachel asked for any block with pinwheels. I took the liberty to make two blocks with the gorgeous fabric that she sent.

The first was the Housewife block from the Quilter's Cache. I couldn't resist the title!

The second is a Double Pinwheel. I chose this one because they looked so pretty on Rachel's inspiration quilt. And I chose this version because it wasn't paper pieced.Next up for Bee Inspired: Vacation Home blocks!

Weekend Projects

I've been working on a few things this weekend...

First, on the Bee Inspired front, I am still waiting (rather impatiently I must add) for my fabric. The joys of living in the middle of nowhere. One positive side effect of being one of the last to receive my fabric is that I get to see everyone's finished blocks before I even start mine. And they are beautiful! Rachel has picked gorgeous fabric and a block that is very versatile. Go check them out! In the spirit of Rachel's pinwheel quilt, here is a photo of the pinwheel quilt I made for my son before he was born last year:

Next, I have been working madly on my Doll Quilt Swap 6 quilt. Here's a peek. In fact I have an entire quilt top made, but now I am having second thoughts. Last night I created a second, practice quilt to work on my free-motion quilting. Here is my practice stippling:I also tried the "sketch" method outlined here. I love this method because it doesn't have to be perfect. Heck, even better, it isn't supposed to be perfect because it is meant to look like a sketch! That's my kind of quilting.This is a picture of the back: I'm pretty happy with the quilting. But I also like my mock-up way better than the actual Doll Quilt that I made so I think I may have to rethink my creation. Perhaps change the borders, or maybe the centre, or maybe start all over??? At least I have some time to dwell on it. Overall, I am so impressed with the creative and beautifully constructed quilts in the DQS pool that I'm feeling a wee bit insecure about my own talents. I think I just need to take a step back, relax, and pick it up again later in the week.

And because I am Canadian, this entry wouldn't really be complete without a comment on the weather. So here it is: It snowed here again this weekend. Almost 6 inches. I don't think winter will ever be over! My husband and are already dreaming of becoming 'Snow Birds.' I'm not even 30...doh!

Bee Inspired

I am so happy that I was chosen (via that good old hat) to participate in Rachel's Bee Inspired Virtual Quilting Bee. Yay. I couldn't sleep last night I am so excited. Check out the flickr group to meet the other quilters and follow along. It is my first VQB but it seems very beginner friendly. Now I just have to start collecting fabric. I think I'm seeing red...