Hello February

Until recently, I'd always thought I was a planner. I equated being a list maker, with being a planner. Apparently they aren't the same thing. On my quest, yes quest, to become more organized and finish up some long unfinished projects, I am going to start planning. Oh yes.
So here are the projects I will finish in February.

1. It's a Hoot, 2. Elfies, 3. Advent Stockings, 4. Magic Tiles

 I'm linking up with 

Goodbye January

Sometimes it's really nice to go back and look over all you've accomplished. I like to see in one place, that yes, I'm actually getting somewhere. I had fun with origami, lots of piecing, a bit of quilting and some handwork. I even managed to fit in a three day trip to Calgary with one of my kids. Oh right, and work too!

Head over to Lily's Quilts too see what everyone else has been working on!

Morigami

Once I get started on something, I tend to get a bit carried away with it. With Jessica continuing to post origami links, I have been busy paper folding. How cute are these hearts? They make a perfect mini garland for my favourite picture of my kids. I'm not really a Valentine's Day decorator, so this is the perfect touch.

The picture hangs on my gallery wall above my sewing desk, so I get to enjoy it every day. 

I'm ALL Thumbs!

Ok, so it's my not-so-helpful helper who is all thumbs. Thank goodness it's not me! Lola is a polydactyl cat.  She's got 26 toes, while the average cat has 18. When people first notice it, they tend to be more than a little surprised. Some people's reactions are actually quite funny.

....and the top half....

Better Late then Pregnant

I guess the title is only funny is you ever watched  The Golden Girls. It was something that Blanche said on more than one occasion. During the years the show was on, I didn't actually "get" the saying. Well, I get it now, and it cracks me up every time. Anyhoo.......About 6 months ago Katie, Faith and Lee hosted the Summer Sampler Series. Participants quilted along for about a month and ended up with a 12 block sampler quilt.

1. I've done, 2. Summer Sampler Series, 3. Bali Sampler, 4. Summer Sampler Series, 5. Border 091411, 6. Summer Sampler Series quilt in Habitat, 7. another baby quilt, 8. Summer Sampler Quilt Finished!, 9. Completed Sampler Quilt, 10. Summer Sampler, 11. Summer Sampler quilt, 12. SummerSamplerQAL.TopSashed0001

Really pretty, right? So even though I'm 6 months late (but not pregnant - whew!) I'm going to jump in and make it. I've got a bundle of Lecien's Flower Sugar which is very pretty, but generally not my style. I wanted to make a quilt in fabrics that I ohhed and ahhed over in other quilter's quilts, but had never used myself. I'm not sure how quickly I'll make this quilt, but if the four blocks I made this weekend are any indication, I'll be done soon.

Star of Virginia or Sawtooth Star/Variable Star

Greek Cross

Mosaic

Flower Garden Path

This one is a whole lot just a little wonky. I'll have to decide how much that bothers me......

I'm linking up with

Busy Fingers

After a whirlwind trip to Calgary to visit my aging grandma, I'm back home. As nice as it is to get away for a few days, it's even nicer to return home to a family who missed me. Being away from my sewing machine for four days meant if I wanted something to do, it would be handwork. So, in between visiting with my grandma and other assorted extended family members, I didn't get a whole lot done.

I have a great start on hexagons for a flower garden quilt for my daughter. And that's all I managed because I needed more hexagons but I couldn't find the size I needed. Sure, I found 1" and 1-1/2" but not 1-1/4"!

As tired as I was when I got home, I managed to stitch for a bit. (My husband is always amazed when I say that sewing relaxes me. I know I'm not the only one who feels that way.) I finally put the binding on this tiny little Christmas runner. The snowflake embroidery patterns are from Carina of Polka and Bloom. Before Christmas I took an online stitching class from her. I can now, finally, do more than backstitch! Carina is one of the creative ladies behind &Stitches. If you're a stitcher and haven't yet checked out the e-zine, you really should!

See? Definitely little. Here's a close shot of the stitching. I'm not a great stitcher, but I like how it turned out.

I did my Whirling Star for the Solstitce Star Series.

 

I also put the finishing touches on my noodlehead gathered clutch. The tutorial was easy, however,  I'm sure if I'd actually followed the directions, it would have been even easier. The fabrics are Art Gallery Fabrics, which is definitely one of my favourite companies.

It's little too, just large enough for my hexagon supplies!

The last thing I made was a new pink flower pincushion. My old one was maybe 10 years old. It was part of a swap package, so it made me sad to see it go. I think it held up pretty well but had a few rogue pins inside that would stick me every now and then.

See? Old, and new.

I'm linking up with

and  Crazy Mom Quilts

On the Surface

When quilting a quilt I generally follow along the pieced lines. It's quick and easy to quilt a quarter inch from seam lines, but it doesn't always add that special something, especially if there is already a lot of contrast in your colours. I think it's a popular choice because you don't have to work too hard coming up with a design, or spend hours marking it out.

In this orange and purple quilt, the fabric was pretty busy to begin with and a lot of creative quilting would have been lost in the fabric. I handquilted in the orange rectangle about an eighth of an inch from the seam line and quilted an X through the purple centre square. I quilted like this more for utility than anything. This quilt was one of the first I made after I began quilting in 1999.

I quilted similarly on the cover for my desk trash can, but this one I machine quilted.

In my weathervane runner, I quilted diagonally, following the lines created by the star points. It keeps your eye moving to create more interest in the blank spaces. I love how this one turned out.  I will definitely be making some more traditional blocks with modern fabrics. I made the blocks using a tutorial from Don't Call Me Betsy

I made the flower basket quilt for my mother in law in 2004. She has since passed on, so now my daughter has it hung on her wall. I handquilted a lily pad lily in the upper half of the basket. I wish it were easier to see in the picutre, but nothing I did would make it stand out more. I love the way it looks, I think the rounded edges of the quilting softens the pieced lines of the basket. Besides, every basket needs a flower!

I've made a few log cabin quilts, but this is the only one that I made for myself. It was one of my first forays into creating a quilting design that worked with, but didn't follow piecing lines. I am so happy with the way it turned out. I love the rounded lines. I'm not too keen on the butterfly border, but what can I say? I made this one in 2000.

I generally don't know how I'm going to quilt a quilt until after it's done and I've had a chance to stand back and look at it for a while. I usually plan something out in my head and begin measuring and marking. I've never sketched anything out beforehand to see how it would look.

I'm at a bit of a loss for planning the quilting for my sliced coins quilt. I think maybe some kind of allover pattern. This top was made with instructions from Don't Call Me Betsy I think I'll look to the Sliced Coins Flickr group for inspiration.

 
This HST quilt will be easy, I'm going to quilt a quarter inch from the seam lines the way Rita of Red Pepper Quilts did with hers. I still have to add a thin yellow border, but it's almost ready to go. I loved working with this fabric line, it's Momo's "It's a Hoot" with a few Kona solids thrown in. I wish I had bought more than a charm pack to work with, I'd love it if this quilt were larger. 

Going through my stack to find these quilts to take photos of made me realize just how many unfinished projects I've got going. Yikes. Time to get off the computer and get sewing!