A Quilt for Eoin

     I have a quilt finish to share with you.  It's a quilt for Eoin (Owen) who is Rory's younger cousin.  If you forget who Rory is I made him the star quilt you can see here.  Eoin's quilt was a much quicker finish but it packs a colourful punch.

     It's the row additon pattern from Modern Plus Sign Quilts by Paige Alexander and Cheryl Brickey.  I pieced it in a few hours and quilted it in a few more.  I quilted wavy lines with my walking foot with a 50 weight lime green Aurifil thread. I followed the shape of the plus signs a half inch inside the edge of each one.

     This quilt was made entirely from fabrics in my stash, except for the backing fabric.  I had purchased a green fabric for the binding but it didn't work so I went with a blue on aqua polka dot I had on hand.  You have to love a polka dotted binding.

     Row addition is my first finish for the second Quarter FAL this year.  You can see my original list here.  Finishing this quilt was also 1/2 of my April One Monthly Goal.  I'm happy to let you know that I finished the other 1/2 of my goal as well which was to complete and send my sisterhood swap blocks before April 27th.  Here's a photo of all my blocks before I mailed them.

     I know at least one of these has made it to it's destination.
Linking with the OMG linkup at Elm Street Quilts and the Favourite Finishes linkup at Meadowmist Designs.

2019 FAL the Big List

     Today is the day the link ups open for the 2nd Quarter of the 2019 Finish Along.  Putting my list together was fairly easy as a lot of it is carried over from the first quarter.  I did finish two projects on that list and for now one of them has dropped off.  Here's where we stand at the moment.

1.  Grande Scrappy Tiles:  This is the project that I am currently working on, when it's my turn to work on the  sit down long arm we own.  I think I have about a quarter to a third of it quilted, so it should be done fairly soon.  It depends on how much life interrupts my quilting time. I have to admit that when the choice is between using the machine or babysitting the grand kids, the kids always win.

2.  Clam Shell.  I have yet to make any progress on this one this year....but it's still hanging in on the list and I think it's the quilt that corresponds to the number pulled for this months UFO completion at my guild so I might be finishing the flimsy.

3.  Batik Quilt:  I was  hoping this one got picked as the April UFO for the guild for, as there is not a lot that needs to be done to get the quilt top finished.

4.Row Addition:  I've actually got the quilt top finished for this one. It was the March UFO and a very easy one at that. I've already washed the backing fabric so I'm thinking it will be done soon.

5.  Might as well keep this bag on the list in case I feel inspired to finish it.

6.  And I still owe my co worker a gift made of these fabrics. No worries here that Row Addition quilt above is for one of her grandkids.

All of the above projects were on the first quarter list.  Here are a few others that might push those aside.

7.  I'm participating in the Sister Hood swap and I'll need to finish up the mini quilt for that when my blocks arrive.  I'm about 1/2 finished the blocks I'm sending out.

8.  My modern guild is making donation pillows so I'll be making a pillow.  Here's a possible starting point.

9. I'll add in the Modern Plus Signs Q.A.L. quilt because even though the quilt along is over, I did start the quilt and I'm still working on it.

  I was going to round this list off at an even 10 but when I went to look for the final project to take a photo I couldn't find it!  This probably says a lot about the state of my life and my sewing room.  So that project is off the list.  If I find it, it will be on the third quarter list.  So,there we go...working away on all these projects but still open to creative challenges when they pop up.  What's on your list?  Linking up with the Quarter 2 F.A.L. linkup at HandWrought Quilts.

Goals for April

      I did manage to finish my goal for March well in advance of the deadline but I didn't manage to link it up.  Oh well it's really all about moving projects forward isn't it?  It's time to come up with a goal for April and I have two projects that are well on their way and have deadlines for this month so in a spirit of optimism I'm going to list them both.

Goal one is to get all the sub blocks done for the #sisterhoodswap.   Here's a shot of potential dress fabrics for the sisters, along with the cover of the pattern.

     You may have seen the swap on instagram.  Berene of @happysewlucky came up with this great pattern as a  fundraiser to celebrate International Women's Day. She managed to raise $4,000 Canadian for the charity @beautifulworldcanada   and the funds will be used for the education of two girls in Africa.  One would like to be a teacher and the other would like to have her own sewing business.  You could just buy the pattern or participate in a swap with 7 others.  I decided to do the swap and I have to have it done by April 27th.  I'll meet the goal. As soon as I post this I'm heading to the sewing room.

     My second goal is to finish turning this pile of fabric into a baby quilt.  It's an easy pattern and I'm hoping to get it done by Tuesday.

     Actually I've traded out a couple of the fabrics. The top two are gone.  The top one because I decided against the purple and the second because when I opened it up to iron it I noticed that it had faded in the crease lines.  I was a bit surprised by that as I don't think it was stored in a lot of sunlight, but then I realized I had bought it on sale and that it is an organic cotton.  I'm thinking that the particular dye used for this colour may not be very stable.  Wendy suggested that I use it as a bag lining because it is a beautiful fabric and I can look at it in the bag.

     So those are my two goals and I'm confident I will get them both done this month.  I'm joining the OMG linkup with Patti of Elm Street Quilts.  Hopefully I manage to link up my finishes this month.

Squeezing in another First Quarter Finish Post

     One day, maybe one day I will have my life return to a pace where I can keep up with quilting and blogging in a more systematic way.  Until that happens I'll keep dipping in when I can.  Today I'm sharing a small finish that was completed on the last day of the 1st Quarter, but I've had no energy to write this little post, until now.

  I sewed along with @johannaweidner, in March for the Bloembasketalong.  Here's my finished basket.

     I generally prefer sewing flat things like quilts, but making this little basket was a lot of fun.  It's not perfect, especially the binding but that's ok it's the first one and I made it at sew alongs so not on my best machine.  I think the main fabric is an older design by Anna Marie Horner....and the solids are Konas.

     Here's another shot which shows the one handle for the basket.

     I think I will make a few more of these baskets in the next while.  They will make great gifts.  It would be nice to make a couple for my grand boys and they would also make great  gifts for co workers and quilting friends. This is my second finish for the 1st quarter of the 2019 FAL.  The original post is here.  I'll be linking this post with the FAL link up at She Can Quilt.  I'll also link up with the TGIFF link up which is hosted by Laura of Slice of Pi quilts this week, and with the Bragg About Your Beauties linkup with Michelle of from Bolt to Beauty.

A Friday Finish!

     I came back from Quilt Con full of ideas and energy!  It was just what I needed.  But I came back to the news that things are not going so well for my friend with cancer.  I pretty much dropped all the work I was putting in to quilt alongs to finish her quilt.  Here it is on the front porch.  It's much too windy out and dirty out to risk hanging it anywhere.

     

     I chose the Pixellated heart pattern which is a free pattern from Robert Kaufman because I knew it would be a quick make and I needed to make it quickly.  I cut the heart fabrics which are two peach and two gold ombre confetti dots before going on our two week trip.  I chose colours that remind me of the clothes my friend likes to wear.  She's a red head.

     For the backing I chose this wild Kafe Fasset print of Feathers, also because I thought she would like it.  If nothing else it adds some brightness.  I used a light coral Aurifil thread that I picked up at a thread event at my local sewing machine shop.  If you ever get to go to an Aurifil event at a shop go.  It was really worth it.

     I used my walking foot on my domestic machine for this.  I did straighish line quilting diagonally through the blocks first then used the intersections of those lines to quilt horizontal and vertical lines with no marking on the quilt at all.  Thanks to Jaquie Gering for this technique.  

     I have continued to work on my longer term quilt alongs but I'm not concerned with keeping up with them, just enjoying the process.  And speaking of quilt alongs here's the prize I won for the Fireburst Mystery QAL which was hosted my Tish of Tish in Wonderland.

     

     Totally awesome, isn't it.  It's Shari Butler's collection "wistful winds of colour" from Aurifil thread.  It's 12 large spools of 50 weight.  Three of them a varigated.  It came with that thread chart which is also exciting.

I'm linking my finish to TGIFF which is hosted this week at Kathy's Kwilts and More , and to Brag about your Beauties link up with Michelle of From Bolt to Beauty  This is my first finish of the 2019 FAL first quarter list.  The original some what lengthy list is here.  I just may squeeze in one more finish before the end of this quarter.  We will see.

Goal for March

     I came back from Quilt Con with my head full of ideas and plans and I'm really hoping that I will find time to work on the design ideas and quilting ideas that I learned about there. But I came home to find out that a friend of mine is not in good health so this quilt has made it's way to the top of the list.

      I came home on Friday and  pretty much had the quilt top together by Sunday night.  Getting it quilted is the goal for March, although I'm hoping to get it done in a week or so.  
It's my OMG for March.  I'm also hoping to get a quilt done for the Curated Quilts challenge this month.  Wish me luck and maybe more hours in the day.  I'll link this intention up to the OMG link up for March and I'll link it with the Lets Bee Social  link up as well.
    

Canadian Quilts at Quilt Con

     Dwight and I are back from our two week trip to and from Quilt Con.  We are rested up and I'm ready to share some of the Canadian Quilts that were hanging in the show.
       I'm sure you have all seen the quilts that won ribbons.  If not you can go here  to see them.  It was exciting to see that the Best of Show ribbon was won by a Canadian Leanne Chahley @shecanquilt.  It was also exciting that Kathryn Upitis @kupitis won a  Judges Choice Ribbon for her moving Quilt " Some Things Are Not Easily Seen".  Both of are from Alberta.  Mathew Wheeler of the Vancouver Modern Guild won the third place in theMichael Miller challenge for his quilt "Delta Eclipse".    I'll share some other quilts here that you may or may not have seen in social media.
     The first three quilts were all made by my Guild Mate Jennifer Johnson, @jenniferjohnson80.
      These first two where her entries into the two colour challenge.

Here's her third quilt, Amethyst in the piecing category.  Jennifer is a super talented quilter and has had quilts in several other Quilt Con shows.

Here's a quilt by a friend from the Toronto Modern Guild.  I was happy to see that Laura Henneberry, @commonwealthquilts had a quilt "The Mighty Hok" hanging in the show.

     Erin Suliak @sulicat_north  from the North west Territories had this fun quilt hanging in the show.  Erin has had work in previous shows. She likes to work with reclaimed fabrics.

     Quarter Turn Medallion was made by Nicole Skinner @natalieskinnerquilts of Victoria B.C.  I love the precision and simplicity in the quilt.  She also did an outstanding job with her quilting.

And here is a quilt made by Bill Stearman @bill_stearman of Ontario who I met at Quilt Con two years ago.  It's called "For the Oppression of the LGBTQ2 Communities, We apologize.  Bill based this quilt on an apology made by Prime Minister Trudeau on November 28 2017 to LGBTQ2 Canadians.  The words of the speech are embedded in the quilt.

     I was familiar with the work of all these quilters, but a really fun part of the show for me was the discovery of beautiful work by Canadians whose work was new to me.  This minimalist quilt  " karella" was made by Susan Lukachko from Ontario

Hanna Farquharson @h_farquharson_studio is from Saskatchewan and she had two wonderful quilts at Quilt Con.  These were both beautiful and well made.  The first is called Breathing.  I just love the colour  green in this quilt.

Here's the second quilt with a close up shot of the detail.

     I hope you enjoyed this mini show of some of the quilts at quilt con.  In addition to seeing the quilts I gained great insight and inspiration from Yvonne Fuchs, Cheryl Brickey and Christina Camelli, in the workshops that I attended. I also had fun connecting with some of the folks I have met on line.  In addition to Yvonne and Cheryl, I met Patty of Elm Street Quilts, Paige of Quilted Blooms, Carole Lyles Shaw and Kim of Leland Avenue Studio as well as  some folks I follow on instagram. 
     I have been to two Quilt Con shows and each time I think it is my last for financial reasons.  But who knows  in two years Quilt Con will be in Atlanta and rumour has it that flights to Atlanta are cheap so you just never know.