Storm at Sea - Gift Opening

My daughter was part of the bridal party for her girlfriend's wedding and was present when they opened the Storm at Sea Quilt so she was able to get the following picture.

Glad to see they both look happy with it!

Storm at Sea - Finished Quilt & Cushion Ready for Gifting!

My daughter chose the pantograph for the quilt, Viola Petite by Patricia Ritter & Leisha Farnsworth.  Here is a picture of the quilt while it was on the frame for my DSM.

Here is a picture of the label on the back after the binding has been put on but before the quilt has been washed.

We had a few extra pieces and my daughter made two more grey diamonds so we could make a matching cushion cover.

And here is the simple envelope back.

Here is a picture of the full quilt after washing which measures 86 x 98.

And a detail shot.

Here is the back.

And a detail shot of the back which shows the pantograph really well.

It has been finished for couple of days and the wedding is tomorrow!
Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish it up Friday. http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.ca/2017/06/thread-catchers-and-more.html

Storm at Sea - A Finished Flimsy

Last night my daughter was over and we finalized the decision of which fabric to use for the last border on the quilt.  I got them sewn on this afternoon and here it is.

We are VERY pleased.  Now the plan is to get it quilted and bound this week and we will be one week ahead of her girlfriend's wedding date.

Linking to Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish it up Friday
http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.ca/2017/06/socks-for-z.html

Storm at Sea & Secret Sewing!

My daughter was over last night so we worked on the Storm at Sea quilt.  It is now one piece!  We tried it out on our queen size bed and have decided we will add one more row of pattern around all four edges (the diamonds and small squares) before adding a strip of the background print around all four sides as well.  Then we will have to decide if the binding will be just one of the prints used in the quilt or if we will use multiple prints.  We were also looking at pantographs to decide which one to use but didn't choose one yet.

And in case you were thinking that the blog has been really quiet and I haven't been sewing, it is just that what I am working on is going to be a present for a family member who looks at my blog so I don't want to spoil the surprise.  I started on Sunday from scratch and as of yesterday early afternoon, I have a completed quilt top, approximately 53" x 70", a pieced backing and prepared binding, so all that is left is the quilting and binding!  The pantograph has also already been chosen and I can't even tell you what that is or it would give away the surprise!  Maybe a sneak peak at the binding would be ok though....

Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish it up Friday.

Batik Bird Beach Bag - Say that nine times fast!

I am very excited about this finish!  It started with a batik fabric challenge at the Mayflower Quilters' Guild and then I was inspired by a quilt made of birds on Sew Preeti Quilts' blog:  http://sewpreetiquilts.blogspot.ca/2017/02/he-tweeted-she-tweeted.html

First a view of the inside.  The challenge was to use the batiks received in a game plus any other fabrics you wished.  I must admit that I wasn't very fond of one of the fabrics but since I had to use it, I put it in the bottom of the bag....

Here is a picture of how thick the layers were that I had to sew through when I attached the bottom.  My machine went through it with no problems whatsoever.  I used the foam that has knit fabric on both sides to give the bag body and stability.  This is the first time I used it and I really liked it.  The bag will stand up on it's own, but is still nice and soft.

Here's a picture of the outside of the bag.  The bag is 18" wide, 6" thick and 16.5" tall and is made of 18 bird blocks.

And, just for fun, here's a picture with it packed for the beach with room to spare for other items.

My daughter was over yesterday working on the Storm at Sea quilt in the background so here's a picture of it.  There is only one long seam left to sew and it will be entirely together.  Sorry the picture is sideways here, not sure why, when I open it on my computer it is right side up....

Linking up to Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish it up Friday!

Storm at Sea Update and Shamrock Table Topper

Here is the Storm at Sea sewn together in vertical rows.  I do not use pins if I can avoid them, but I pin matched all the centre points on these rows and it worked very nicely.

Here is a close up to show that no points have been cut off.

This afternoon, my daughter tactfully pointed out that this quilt is a project we are supposed to be doing together and I admitted I have gotten excited about it and barged ahead and done most of it. She is coming over tomorrow evening and we will work on it together.

I then decided to work on my Shamrock Table Topper.  I have a new ruler foot and set of rulers so decided to use some of them on my DSM (domestic sewing machine) and play at quilting the Shamrock.  I did not expect to be perfect.....  However, I also did not expect to be SO BAD!!!!!  Here is a picture of the mess I made and the tools I used to accomplish it!

This shall be ripped out immediately!  Some of the stitches are very large, but others are very tiny.....  OUCH!  It even hurts my eyes!

Storm at Sea - All Blocks Made!

Just added three more colours and diagonal rows 14 to 19 plus finished the last two corner blocks with the same fabric as rows 18 & 19. I really love it!

Next step is to sew all the blocks together!  Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish it up Friday!

Storm at Sea Update

Another day, another colour, another two diagonal rows added to Storm at Sea for a total of 15 rows now.

And a close up of the fabrics to do them justice.

I'm really liking it!

Storm at Sea Update

Two more diagonal rows added in another colour for a total of 13 rows now.  I am loving it!

And a close up so you can see the fabrics better.

I still have to sew the individual corner square units, centre square units and side diamonds to each other, but this quilt is coming together quicker and easier than I thought it would!

Storm at Sea Update and a start on a Shamrock Table Topper

Another colour was added to the Storm at Sea Quilt which means 11 diagonal rows have been completed.  I really like the fabric in these two new rows!

Because it's March 1st, I thought I would work on something for Saint Patrick's Day.  I string pieced a block which was 18" by 12". I used cheap Christmas wrapping paper which is like news print as my base.

I then cut out three 6" by 12" strips which were each then sub-cut into a 3" strip and a 8.5" strip.

I then added 2" snowball corners to the adjacent wide ends of the 6" by 3" strip and two adjacent narrow ends of the 6 x 8.5" strips.  I also cut out 3" by 3" squares to complete the corners.

I then cut out a 6" square of background fabric and a 1.5 strip of one of the green fabrics and cut the square diagonally and inserted the strip and trimmed it back to 6".  I then cut out a 6" x 3" and a 8.5" x 3" strip of background to make an 8.5" square to attach to the three 8.5" shamrock leaf squares.

And voila, a shamrock block.

Not bad for using some green scraps and a bit of background fabric. The block is currently 16" square but I will likely put a border of background fabric around it before I quilt it.

Storm at Sea Update

I have another colour added, which means two more diagonal rows, so now I'm up to 9 rows done.

I'm enjoying this quilt and would make another with or without the hearts.

Progress on Storm at Sea

I got two more diagonal colours added to the Storm at Sea Quilt.  Plus each of the centre and corner square in a square in a square units and the side diamond units are sewn together although not to each other yet.

Here is a close up of one of the hearts so you can see the details of the fabric a bit better.

I was hoping to get one colour added each day so I am progressing well!

New Design Wall and Storm at Sea Options

My husband helped me wrap three 1" x 2' x 8' Styrofoam insulation boards with quilt batting for a 6' x 8' design wall.  This is the first step in moving out of the unfinished basement room I currently sew in into the rec room. :-)

I am working on a Storm at Sea quilt with my daughter inspired by this picture fround on Pinterest.

Here is my first attempt at putting the colours of strips in order, but I think this one has too many greens together and the light gray sticks out too much.

In attempt number two the greens are better distributed, but the light gray still sticks out.

Attempt number three and the light gray still sticks out.

Attempt number four and the light gray melds in better with the central light fabrics.  I think the yellow looks like the sun shining across the water. Now I think the dark gray stands out too much.

My favourite.

Now to find out if my daughter agrees or not!

Fabric Shopping!

My daughter and I took a trip to Avonport Discount Fabric on Monday and came home with nine pieces of batik for a Storm at Sea quilt.  She was knitting a scarf and we chatted and I only missed one exit as it was right on top of the previous exit so had to backtrack just a little bit. My friend M and I have gone to Avonport several times and we seem to always have to backtrack once each visit, and I'm not always the one driving...

I also picked up some solids in black, yellow, red and blue. I can't say what I'm making with these fabrics except to say a lap quilt as the person who will receive the quilt reads my blog...

That evening I heard It's Sew Time is having a closing out sale so had to visit it on Tuesday. I'm sorry to see them close, but 50% off is a good deal! I got a couple more batiks which may fit in with the ones purchased the day before and a storm at sea ruler which will really help with the cutting and piecing.

I also purchased two neutral background fabrics and a piece of coffee bean fabric, just for fun.

I also picked up a pineapple ruler and some bobbins.

Needless to say, with all this running around, I didn't actually get any sewing done!  It's currently snowing big fat flakes sticking to everything out there so maybe Wednesday will be a snow day = sew day!