MQG fabric challenge

You know I am always up for a challenge!  The MQG is a great source of challenges, some of which even come with fabric - added bonus!

A few months back I responded to an email about the latest Riley Blake Fabric challenge - it was a good thing I responded quickly, as the fabric was gone in no time! 

The challenge was to use the provided fabric  - The Cottage Garden by Amanda Herring aka The Quilted Fish, and only that fabric, (plus you could add any Riley Blake Basics), to make something quilted, make something new and to challenge yourself.  Check out this video Amanda has put together that details the challenge and gives some background on the fabrics.

I love this quote that just appeared this morning - it is a great way to approach life!

What to make?  I've made quite a few things in my time, but one thing that I had not made, and which I've been intending to make, was a sewing machine cover.  Making it quilted was no problem!  Challenging myself - okay, work with no pattern, (okay so that's not really a challenge, I tend to do that a lot!) try some techniques you've not done before - I've never made a Dresden plate before, and I've not used the porthole technique before either, so lets include those.  Oh, and that cover has to actually fit my machine!

With my plan laid out, at least in my mind, it took some time before I could actually put it into place, but I finally managed to get started about a week ago, and this morning I finished it off.  Just in time for the Vancouver MQG meeting tonight.
I'm thrilled with how it has turned out!

it's got to have some matchstick quilting, right?

my appliqued Dresden plate with porthole

used all 6 fabrics

keeping my machine dust free!

Oh, and this one is on my Q3 list for the Finish a long!  Score!

Happy quilting!

Janet

On the road!

The piece I created for the CQA It's Time for Colour! travelling show is now being exhibited at Satin Moon Quilt Shop in Victoria, along with all the other quilts that have been received.

It will be there for the next two weeks before continuing on its journey. If you can't make it to Victoria to see the exhibit,  all the quilts in the travelling show can be seen in a gallery page that is now up on the CQA website - you can check them out here, and see whether the quilt you are interested in is still available for purchase :)  Remember - its for a good purpose - The Children's Wish Foundation.

I said in my last post that I had a finish to show - instead of working on UFOs that have been hanging around - in some cases for years - I was captivated by 6 little improv pieced squares that were sitting around - I showed you them here and here.  Now, it is a finished quilt.  I like it when I can say that!





Linking up to The Needle and Thread Network this week.

Happy quilting!
Janet

Kismet!

Don't you just love it when you are working away on a piece and it needs something else, and you find the perfect piece of fabric in your stash?!?

A few months ago, I did a workshop with Catherine Nicholls where we explored various pen and ink techniques.  You've see one of my pieces as a result of that workshop in the last Tangled Textiles challenge.

In class we were using the pointillism technique, and a maple leaf.  I was working on plain white pfd fabric, and while I liked my leaf, the black and white was just too stark.  When I got home I decided to play with some inks I had picked up at a quilt show earlier in the summer.  I dampened my fabric and then dropped red, yellow and blue ink on it to try and create reds, oranges and greens.  It was the start of fall and I was seeing colour beginning to appear in the trees.  Because ink will travel quite freely on dampened fabric, it didn't pay any attention to the shape of the leaf as dictated by my dots - resulting in a colour wash around the leaf as well as on it.  I added more yellow in the background to soften the white, and it was okay.

 

We had also done some letter outlining - again mine was black on white and very stark.  It was a nice sunny day, so I thought I would try some sun printing using some leaves from our Japanese Maple tree.  I dampened the fabric, but this time I put some ink and water in a little spray bottle and spritzed the fabric, placed my leaves, and put it out in the sun.  The results were mediocre - the leaf outlines just weren't very sharp.  With nothing to lose, I grabbed my black ink pad, pressed the Japanese Maple leaves into it, and then printed them onto the cloth in roughly the same spots they had been on for the printing - much better!  A final brush with a bit of green ink and I'm liking it!

 

My piece still needed something else.  Two years ago and the CQA Conference in Halifax I had taken a workshop with Gunnel Hag on surface design.  We had printed some large maple leaves on fabric.

Amazingly, the colours I had printed were almost identical to the colours I had ended up with in my dyeing experimentations!  Still too much white background, though, so everything went into a strong tea bath to tone them down and tie them together.  Now we're happening!  The printed leaves needed a bit more definition, so I had fun with some pointillism on them.  All those tiny dots - it is very soothing - zen-like to dot away - I may end up adding dots to all kinds of things!

Time to piece it all together, and do my usual very dense quilting.  :)

 

love this sunny shot to show off the quilting texture!

 

and there she hangs - welcoming folks to our fall home.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian friends!

Happy quilting!

Linking up to The Needle and Thread Network

I just felt I had to

I had all kinds of other things that I should have been doing, but I was trying to organize my sewing space and got distracted by a pile of charm squares.  A very quick and easy top was put together yesterday, and I quilted and bound it today.  Success!

Now, to try and get back to making some headway in my sewing space...

Hope you're having a good summer, with lots of fun and some sewing thrown in!

Happy quilting!
Linking up to The Needle and Thread Network

and Finish it up Friday, over with Amanda Jean at Crazy Mom Quilts

Welcome 2012!

Happy New Year everyone!  We ushered the new year in nice and quietly around here - just they way I like it!  Hope you got to enjoy it in your favourite way, too!


Even though I had high hopes yesterday of actually getting another 2011 finish done before the clock ran out, it was not to be.

Drop in was a good time chatting and visiting, with not so much sewing taking place!  Today, well maybe I'll start the year off with a first finish?  We'll see!


My focus in 2011 was to work on my FMQ - I think I had a successful year, and look forward to doing even more practice this year, and with SewCalGal's 2012 FMQ Challenge to keep me going, I am already anticipating a good year!  A big goal for me this year is to do a wholecloth quilt - and have it ready for the Blue Mountain Quilter's Guild quilt show this October.  I have also committed (should be committed?) to working out of my stash and trying to whittle it down a little.  Hopefully, there will be some string quilts and scrap quilts making an appearance this year!  I joined a Stashbusters group over on the MQResource site to keep me going on this one!


Here's just a little of what I accomplished in 2011 - see my sidebar for a more complete listing, if you are interested!

A few of my favourite 2011 finishes

Not included in this mosaic are any of my Tangled Textiles Challenge pieces, or any postcards for the 4x6er's group, as well as a variety of smaller projects completed for swaps or just because!


I am looking forward to a productive and fun 2012 - I hope you are too!


Happy quilting!


Linking up to Fresh Sewing Day over at Lily's Quilts!

on to new projects

I can finally say this one is done, and going out the door today!

Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian friends and happy quilting to all!

WIP Wednesday

34 of 88 done!

Making progress, on at least 1 of my WIPS, grabbing 30 minutes here and there!

Happy quilting!