we started the same

 - we all had 120 2-1/2" squares to use, but boy did we come up with some different ideas!
Back in this post I talked about my Little Group challenge .  Well here are some pictures of all that we created! (edited - thank you to Helen H for providing me with pictures of everyone's quilts)
I never cease to be amazed at the creativity of my fellow quilters!  Enjoy!

Brenda's

Colleen's

Debbie's

Evie's

Helen D's

Helen H's

Louise's

Sandi A's

Sandi H's

Wendey's

Wendy's

Mine is shown here
My apologies to Karen - I missed posting her's initially!

Happy quilting!

Trip for 2 to Boston

(although I am forever calling it Tea for Two!) is done except for the label and handsewing the binding down!  That will happen as a hand project while we are on vacation.

You might remember, I first spoke of this one back here.  It was a Blue Mountain Quilter's Guild workshop where we worked on this quilt, designed by Prairie Pieces.  A really fun partner project, where both of you end up with quilt tops.  Now that mine is nearly finished (and I think this might almost be a record for me actually getting a workshop quilt finished within the same year!  It is just over a month since I did that workshop.  Sometimes I amaze myself!), it is going to be a present for a friend we are going to visit while on vacation.  Shhhh!  she doesn't know, but I think we're safe, as I don't think she reads this blog!

I had great fun quilting this using a Leafy Meander from Kim Stotsenberg's book, "Just Leaf It". You should pop over and check out Kim's blog as she does some beautiful quilting. 

 

I also had a lot of fun piecing the back from leftover strips - I think I like the back even better than the front! (I love the quilting and the quilting is so much easier to see back there!)  

 

I haven't made up the label yet as I'm waiting for inspiration to strike in terms of a name - any suggestions?

Happy quilting!

What, another challenge?

or two!

I'm in a local group called "The Little Group"  we meet a couple of times a month and always have a blast!  A few months ago Colleen, one of our very well organized and creative members decided we should do a "Cooperation" project.  Each of us was to cut 120 2.5" squares, keep 60 for ourselves and bring the rest to a meeting where we would put them in the pot, and take turns pulling some out, until we were each back at 120 squares in total. 

We were then to put all the squares into a bag and then pull them out and stitch them together in the order that we pulled them.  The original idea was to piece them all together into one big unit that you could then border as you wanted and end up with a small quilt.  Most of us decided to do some type of variation on that.  Oh we ended up with some amazing quilts - but of course, I didn't get any pictures of the others.  I will see if I can get some from the ladies who were snapping them and show you!  We ended up with 9 patches and snowballs and applique and yoyos - some dimensional HSTs, wonderful settings and borders, and even a bag!  It was great fun!

Mine has become a baby quilt that will be going to a work colleague expecting her second child

Oh, and the second challenge?  Well one of the members of our group is the owner of my LQS  The Needle & I quilt Shop and Sewing Centre, and she thought it sounded like a great idea, so she's doing a similar  challenge through the store - more 2 1/2" squares in my future!

Happy quilting!

But I'm not done yet!

Well along with celebrating our first birthday, the Vancouver Modern Quilt Guild had our reveal for our Robert Kaufman Kona Charm Challenge.  Wow - were there ever a lot of wonderful creative quilts shown off! - just check them out here.
Unfortunately, I didn't manage to get the quilting finished, delayed in part as described in my last blog, but just plain ran out of time and energy, but I did reveal the in progress quilt

on the design wall

I am really pleased with how it is turning out!  Our challenge was to use all of the charms in a quilt.  We could add any other fabrics we wanted, but the charms had to remain the focus of the quilt.  Being me, and loving a challenge, I immediately took the 5" squares and cut them in 6 pieces, and then sewed them back together. (Edit:  I cut 1 3"square, 2 2" squares, 2 1" squares and had a 2x3" rectangle left which I pieced into the back.  The small squares finish at just 1/2") In describing what I was going to do at a retreat, I was immediately greeted with "There's medication for that, you know", and that became the name of the quilt.

partially quilted

All of the colours appear on both the front and back of the quilt

the back

I'm just doing a simple zigzag for the quilting, which hopefully, I'll get finished before we go on vacation, at which time I will take much better pictures.  Wish me luck!

the quilting

.
The summer is shaping up to be a busy one!
Happy quilting!

whoops!

A few guidelines for me to keep in mind NEXT time!

If watching the Stanley Cup final game:

• do not run between the computer and the TV when making and printing your label on to TAP
• do not try to quickly fuse that label to your quilt back in the second intermission so that you can start quilting said quilt, so that you can show it at the guild meeting the next night
• always check that label before putting the iron to it

 

The above image is what appeared on my quilt back the second I put the iron to the TAP - wouldn't you know it, it transferred immediately this time!

• Otherwise you will spend the rest of the second intermission getting to this point

the quilt back with a hole where the label used to be

•  and then having to create a new label - mirrored this time before printing, and then piecing in a new patch for said label to adhere to.

Perhaps this was indicative of the disastrous end to an exciting series...

Happy quilting!

It`s reveal day!

Today is the day the Tangled Textiles first challenge projects are going to be revealed.  Make sure you pop over here a few times to see what everyone has created!

Our first challenge was `Games`.  Very early on I had an idea of doing a childhood game that we played a lot as kids - Hide and Go Seek.  Living in the country, throughout the summer we often played outdoors in the evening until it was too dark to find anyone anymore.  What fun memories this challenge evoked!

Without further ado, here`s Ready or Not!

  I had a lot of fun trying some new techniques - stamping and painting, and did some thread painting and yarn couching, raw edge applique.  Some things I would definitely do differently, but all in all I am very happy with how it turned out.  

Fabrics include commercial, batiks and some hand dyes, and I managed to find everything I needed in either my scrap basket or my stash, being very happy with how the free woven piece I had created some time ago for a mug rug swap fit so perfectly in the area in the upper left where I wanted the impression of sky and fir tree.

I can`t wait to hear what the next challenge will be!

Happy quilting!

We found some sun!



don't you just want to go running down there and jump in the lake?

Yaay!  It has been in short supply around here this year, but we went to the Okanagan for the weekend, and while they threatened some showers and clouds, we had mostly sunshine. 

Calm morning

  

Okanagan Lake

Summerland Orchards

 The temperature was a little lower than normal, but it still reached about 23C, and that was fine by me!  We did a little wine tasting, a little wandering and a little more wine tasting, and naturally, we also did a little purchasing.  We've come home with a dozen new bottles of wine to sit and enjoy.


isn't this just a fabulous pinecone?


Not a lot to show on the sewing front, as everything I've been working on is for challenges that can't yet be revealed, but I will give you this little tease of my first challenge piece for the Tangled Textiles, an international cyber fibre journey.  Our first theme was "Games" and our big reveal is going to be June 15 - that's coming up this week, and I can't wait to see how everyone has interpreted it!

Daisy, daisy give me your answer do....

Happy quilting!

It was definitely a good mail week!

Just this past Monday I wrote that I was sending my parcel to my QT Swap partner, and guess what?  It arrived today!  That means I can now show you what I made.  I teased you before like this

But here's the whole mini for you to see now

I had so much fun making this!  I had thought about it for days okay, weeks, but it wasn't until last Friday that I actually started!  By the end of Friday, it was complete except for the binding and buttons, and now here it is less than a week later and it's already on Tina's wall!  Go see it on Tina's blog - needles-n-notions - as well,.  Tina has got some really great closeups of areas that I didn't think to take pictures of - duh!

Edit:  I was asked what my inspiration was for this piece, and I have to say there was no one single thing.  I've been greatly admiring some of Melody Johnson's work for a while, and that had a strong influence on the idea I wanted to communicate.  As well, I took a workshop with Judy Farrow a couple of years back and just love the freeform curved piecing that she taught us.  Add to that a class with Bonnie Hwang, doing free form leaves - which is what I just recently used to make my leaf place mats - put them together, along with my love of red and neutrals, and there you have it!  Lucky for me that in the making of this piece, I still have two of the red on white backgrounds and 4 white on red background curved pieces, and I'll be having more fun soon!

Well, if that wasn't enough excitement, I received my quilt from Tina today, too!  Check it out!

The lovely mini qt received from needles-n-notions

the back, showcasing the fabulous quilting

the goodies that came with

Isn't that all just wonderful?

But wait, the fun does'ot stop there!  Yesterday was also a fabulous mail day as I finally received my DQS10 Swap quilt.  Now this little beauty took the long road to get here from Bulgaria, but it was worth the wait!  Look!

(that's disappointing - blogger is insisting on putting it on its side!) This little quiltie has fabulous hand embroidery and quilting on it 

 Go here to see it upright in all it's glory!  Thank you Domoshar for creating this and sending it to me!


the pile of goodies that I got - wow! tons of stuff!

 What a good week it has been!  Now, if only the sun would appear.....


Happy quilting!