In Loving Memory

I've come to the conclusion that blogging helps keep me accountable! I can't even remember all the quilts that are laying about in various stages of completion. Honestly, there are around a dozen I believe. With stacks of fabric just waiting for their turn to be called "unfinished". It's all they know...poor things! They need to strive for more. ;)

There was a finish this weekend. A very special finish. A four months late finish. But who's counting? My goal is to donate a quilt to a local NICU every September in memory of my friend, Amber. I don't want to get into it too much...but Amber was a beautiful young woman, filled with light & love that was taken away from her family and friends much too early. Oh, and cancer really sucks. I am refraining from using the curse words that scream in my head when I think about cancer. You're welcome.

This is the second quilt I've donated so far (my friend is actually dropping it off at Victoria Hospital in London, Ontario tomorrow for me). The fabric is happy; with trees, turtles, squirrels, cozy sweaters & scarves and playing children.



The photos aren't great, I didn't have too much time with it after it was finished & washed up.

        Stats   

    Fabric: Little Apples by Aneela Hoey
+ Kona Medium Grey, Coral & a random pink

    Pattern: The front is from the Sparkle QAL hosted by Megan & Jeni

    Size: 36 x 36"

I hope it provides some comfort for a family in need. Amber will be smiling down on them, of that, I'm sure. <3    

 

Hello there!

Made it to the sewing room over the weekend, which was both surprising & lovely.
There was bee work to be done! When a package leisurely makes it way through the postal system, it kind of makes you want to jump right in & get sewing when it finally shows up. So much so, that I didn't even worry about messing up someone else's pretty fabric. See what happens when I don't worry?!
 It's not awful. But it's far from my version of "perfect" (Definition: Not perfect, but close enough for me, depending on which project I am working on.) After finishing those chevron sections, I realized that I may have picked the worst fabric possible for my star points. (I know, 'what chevrons...?' right?!) This was the only fabric I was to contribute from my stash & if making the star OR the chevron stand out was the goal, I failed. This was completely overshadowed by the fact that these sections did not line up with the corner pieces (which I am in love with, btw). I am still not sure why...! My package was missing in action long enough that Marian sent me another. Dare I try again? (How much extra fabric do you have for this project Marian? Should I send the second package back unharmed? haha)



Immediately after finishing this block, I decided it was the perfect time to sew up this quick little quilt I've had cut & waiting since June. It gave me no trouble whatsoever. Which was nice of it!



That blue star fabric in the center is flannel, as is the backing. All fabrics are from Riley Blake's "All Star" collection. It was approximately 44" square before washing.
  I hope it keeps baby M. nice & cozy!  <3

For Brielle, with love

A long, long time ago, I spotted this bedding on Anthropologie.com. That photo with all the chalk board, yeah, LOVE IT. Cut to about nine months ago, one of my bestest friends had a baby girl. I picked out one of my favourite fabric lines & got to work. Then I stopped when my quilt top was almost finished....you know how it goes. The newborn is now closer to being a one year old! (Ouch, sorry to the baby mama, but it's true...) (Also, look away if you want to see it in person first)

Here she is.




And the back, with a little bit of hexie love there in the middle...

Quilt Stats
Fabric: Aviary 2 by Joel Dewberry
    Kona Charcoal, Eggplant, Artichoke, Violet & Aloe
Size: 45 x 45"
Pattern & Quilting: Me, wingin' it.

 

Hexagons. I like them.

A warm welcome to the new followers I picked up during Giveaway Day (week). Thanks for being here! I try to post once a week, but as you can see, I have been slacking off lately, in quilting & in blogging.

The second month of our Don't Worry {bee} Happy bee has got me going again though...with Hexies!
These are for Chelsea. I'm still trying to decide which method of basting I prefer, so there's lots of variety in these.


I was worried that hand sewing would cause my carpal tunnel to act up but luckily, I've had very little problems with that so far. So I figured I should make some for myself too...! This will be part of a quilt backing that needs finishing up. The back, I know...not an ideal place for such adorableness...




I might be back next week with a quilty finish. You can't make me pinky swear though.

May Giveaway Day! *winner*

....And the random winner is....Michelle Hudak, who said, "Lilacs are my favorite flower and no brunch is complete without bacon..the crispier the better."
Michelle, I am with ya on that bacon thing.

Thanks for stopping in, I know there are a *lot* of great giveaway posts to check out this week, so I will make this quick!
I am offering up the Sunday Basket Brunch Quilt pattern from BasicGrey for Moda. International entries are welcome. A winner will be chosen randomly & announced on Friday.



To enter, tell me your favourite thing to eat for brunch. Or your favourite flower (Cosmos are mine!)
Following my blog is optional, but I would appreciate it  :)

 

Bloggers' Quilt Festival: Retro Flowers

I bought Christina's Retro Flowers pattern a little while ago, when Curves Class was first announced. The quiltalong came at a perfect time for me so I signed myself up! I knew I wanted to test out the pattern a little before jumping in with both feet & making a huge quilt. My leftover 'Pretty Bird' bits & pieces seemed like a good place to start. Not unlike the last time I used these fabrics, they grew on me the longer I worked with them. I had wanted to use up all my Kona Ocean...but when my little test project started to become more, I had to order more fabric! (Such a shame, eh?)


My little machine gave me some trouble during the piecing process...so glad I stuck it out though! I turned my blocks on point & a baby quilt was born. The plan was to use Kona Tangerine for the binding, with a mostly Ocean backing. Well, immediately after making the orange binding, I knew it wasn't going to work for me. It had to be Ocean. I was not about to wait on another order of Ocean, so the backing became a mish mash of all the leftover fabrics from the front.

Quilt StatsFabric: Pretty Bird by Pillow & Maxfield
 Kona Ocean & Robin's Egg
Size: 36 x 48"
Pattern: Retro Flowers
Quilting: All quilting is done by me, on my clunky old Kenmore

A little help, please?

I am looking for opinions. My 3 year old niece said, "That's so pretty, it's my favourite quilt, how did you make it so fast?" I didn't bother to ask the husbeast on this one.

Is this crazy busy?






I couldn't wait to cut into my Domestic Bliss layer cake, my first ever layer cake! I ordered some Kona solids to coordinate with it, but I ordered them on Saturday, the same day I started cutting...So, they weren't here on time! haha.
As I was cutting & sewing, I was loving it. Ironed, trimmed, stuck them up on the design wall and then....did not like them so much. I slept on it. I like it better now, but it still seems to be just a little too much.
I have eleven more blocks, I could add another row. I could sash them (even though it's not my favourite task!). I could group them in blocks of four & sash those....I just don't know. And I want to go sew them right this second! Still, without solids or any idea what to actually sew together. *sigh*

Thoughts?

Additional info: It is not destined to be a certain size, or live with anyone I know. I just needed the fabric...and will probably try to sell it when it's finished.