I’m participating in the Doll Quilt Swap 4 this summer. Here’s a picture of what Alison sent me. I love the colours and I found the perfect spot for it, on my side table in the living room. Thanks Alison, it’s beautiful.

My contribution is done, I just need to throw it in the wash to remove the glue and fluff it up and I’ll get it in the mail this week. I’ve really enjoyed this swap. I’ll post a picture of my finished piece once my partner receives it… don’t want to spoil the surprise.

The Nashville AQS show will be in full swing one month from now, and I’ve already made my first purchase.

I was reading Pat Sloan’s July Newsletter on the weekend and she had featured this adorable pattern, Chubby Chicks along with her green Nikki fabric, that I just had to have. So I sent her off an email asking her if she’d mind bringing it to Nashville for me, saving me the shipping cost. No problem, it’s packed in her suitcase already.

I’ve had a few emails from other Quilting Bloggers that are interested in having a get-together in Nashville, either for coffee or drinks. If you’re interested, please post a comment below and let me know when the best day/time is for you to meet.

I’ll be there the entire festival time, so I’m pretty flexible. I posted a few weeks ago my schedule and places I’m hoping to visit. Many thanks to all who have sent emails regarding my trip, I’m overwhelmed with all the options. Visting so many States in one trip means a lot of planning.

Last weekend, I finally got around to picking my fabric and pattern for the Doll Quilt Swap. I’ve been wanting to do a paper-pieced project for a while, so I could put to use the mini iron my folks bought me at Christmas and also to try out the paper made specifically for paper piecing.

I chose a geometric pattern from Carol Doak’s Easy Paper-Pieced Keepsake Quilts book. I picked four coordinating fat quarters that I purchased from Connecting Threads a couple of months ago. I decided on the stars fabric pictured below. I love the fabric I purchased from there, the quality is great and it washed up very nicely. Needs a higher than normal iron setting, but that’s not a big deal. I purchased a bunch of threads from them too that I can’t wait to use in upcoming projects.

The next picture shows the progress I’ve made and my set-up next to the sewing machine, which is to the right of the photo. It’s very comfortable and I can easily roll from one side of the table to the other. The mini iron is fabulous to work with. Thanks Mom and Dad for the great gift. I use the 1/4″ masking-like tape to hold the pieces to the paper while sewing instead of pins as I find pins distort too much. I’m loving the special paper too, it’s very easy to sew and ironing doesn’t make it wobbly (you’ll know what I mean if you’ve ever used every-day paper).

So far, I have 9 of the 12, 4″ blocks completed. I’ll probably do a 1″ sashing between each block and finish off with a 2″ border.

I’m hoping to wrap the project up this weekend, but we’ll see how nice or not the weather is.

Look what the mail-lady brought me yesterday. A lovely assortment of items from Spring Market from Rachel at 2nd Avenue Studio. Market in a Box, the next best thing to being there.

Included are various flyers and brochures for new products, fabrics and patterns, two packets of charm squares, a flower pen, a flower seed packet, some jelly beans and a white chocolate shaped flower (yummy).

Thanks Rachel!

From the All People Quilt web site is this cute 1930s Doll Quilt. Triangle-squares rotate this way and that to create the overall diamond pattern. A variety of feedsack prints are held together visually by the use of a single solid blue fabric. The finished size is 17-1/2″ x 21″.

I am participating in the Doll Quilt 4 Swap, and have been struggling trying to come up with an idea as my partner didn’t give any clues on what she liked or wanted. Then again, neither did I .. haha! I like this little quilt, but I think the blue border overpowers it way too much. I might try something like this but with a much paler colour for the border. Any ideas?

Living in the Nation’s capital for the past 6+ years, Canada Day has become my most favourite day of the year. It starts pretty early in the morning, and lasts well into the early hours of the next day, sometimes with a nap in the afternoon to keep me going. The city buzzes with energy and excitement and SO MANY PEOPLE! The fireworks at the end of the evening are spectacular.

I have warned/reminded my friends that I am very selfish on Canada Day, and I’m also easily side-tracked. So, if something catches my eye, I’ll be gone, even if that wasn’t the “plan”. I figure everyone is entitled to one selfish day to do exactly what they want, when they want. This is my day.

I’ll probably start the day with the Canada Day Parade down Elgin, then I’ll scoot over to Metcalfe to avoid the crowds and head up to the Hill for 11:30 or so. I’ll stay on the Hill for the noon show, or at least to see the Snowbirds, the SkyHawks, Blue Rodeo and Paul Brandt.

Eventually, I’ll make my way over to friends’ for a BBQ, then I may “break tradition” and head back to the Hill for the evening show, since I’m a Blue Rodeo and Paul Brandt fan. Hard to say for sure, as the fireworks from the Hill aren’t nearly as good as from other locations in the city.

Below are some free Canadian-themed patterns, a video I shot of the snowbirds, some Canada Day pictures from past years and some Canadian humour.

Canadian-Themed Free Patterns

• Maple Leaf Weave
• Quilt Canada
• Canadian Comfort and Remembrance Project
• Paper Pieced Canadian Flag

Snowbirds 2007

Shot at Pariament Hill, Canada Day 2007.

Photos

The cutest little girl is my niece Lucy (with her dad); this will be her third Canada Day. The beautiful fireworks photo was taken by my friend Tom. The rest of the photos I took.

Some Canadian Humour

Jokes brought to you by Is It Beer Time Yet?, which may not be work- or family-friendly for all.

• 40 Signs That You May Be Canadian
• Signs that you might be too Canadian for your own good
• US Navy Ship vs. Canadian Lighthouse
• The Making of Canada
• You know you’re from Canada when…
• Best Coffee in Canada
• 25 Cent Piece
• Top 10 Reasons

If you’re Canadian, I hope you have a fabulous day. I’d love to hear how you spend your Canada Day, please leave a comment.

Happy Birthday Canada!

It’s official, my first visit to an AQS Quilt Show has been booked … Nashville, here I come. I didn’t register for any actual quilting classes, but picked a few lectures and some touristy events. Here’s my list:

• The Quilter’s Link
  Tuesday, August 19, 7:00-8:00pm
• An Evening with Billie Lauder
  Wednesday, August 20, 7:00-8:30pm
• General Jackson Luncheon
  Thursday, August 21, 11:00am-3:00pm
• 200 Years of Quilts with Chris Moline
  Friday, August 22, 10:00-11:00am
• Scrapple with Donna Slater
  Saturday, August 23, 9:00-10:00am
• Quilter’s Fanfare
  Saturday, August 23, 1:00-3:00pm
• Grand Ole Opry - Saturday - 2nd Show
  Saturday, August 23, 9:00-11:00pm

I received my Nashville vacation guide in the mail yesterday, full of wonderful information on places to visit. Here are a few things that have caught my attention:

• Belle Meade Plantation
• Belmont Mansion
• Cheekwood Botanical Garden & Museum of Art
• The Hermitage, Home of President Andrew Jackson
• Travellers Rest Plantation & Museum

How I’m actually getting to Nashville is still up in the air. Right now, I’m looking at driving and extending my mini-vacation to almost two weeks. If I drive, the tentative route will take me from Ottawa, crossing the border in upper west New York, making a slight detour from Google Maps to visit the far northwest Pennsylvania, though I haven’t determined what’s there worth visiting there yet, cutting diagonally across the entire state of Ohio (that state is huge), into Kentucky, then Tennessee.

Coming home would be a much longer drive as I want to hit North Carolina (maybe South?), West Virginia, Virginia (Richmond!!), scoot around to avoid Washington and Baltimore (I don’t see how to do that yet), and into Pennsylvania on the east side, stopping in Harrisburg, Allentown, Lancaster and Reading, up through Syracuse, and back to Canada.

I obviously need a better US map, which I’ll try to pick up this weekend. I’m open to trip planning ideas. Any special must-see places would be appreciated. Aside from quilting (obvious!), I’m into history, civil war specifically, gardens, life in the South, historical architecture.

Anyone want to share a room? I’ve booked into the Gaylord Opryland Resort for the entire conference, August 19th to 23rd. It’s a standard room with two queen beds. If anyone is interested in sharing, send me an email. I figure if I can cut my accommodation costs in 1/2 I’ll be able to buy more fabric and goodies. One thing though, I hate the cold, so if you’re the type that loves to have the air conditioner blasting, then we would not make good roommates.

As it gets closer, I’ll start a list of Who’s Attending Nashville page. If there’s enough interest, perhaps a Quilting Bloggers meet-up is in order one evening for drinks or a morning for breakfast. Thoughts?

Seriously, dad, close the browser window and walk away from the computer … now!

For the rest of you, look what the mailman brought!! (Can you see me jumping up and down!)

A couple of weeks ago, in Kaye Wood’s Newsletter was a great pattern featuring some beautiful fabric of various tools. My dad is a Handyman. How perfect is this fabric?

And the coordinating fabric.

I quickly fired off an email to Kaye’s helpful staff, begging them to sell me, or tell me where to buy the fabric. They put me in touch with Donna over at Pieceful Patches, and lucky me, they still had some of the fabric in stock.

I purchased one panel (about a yard), which has 20-6.5″ tool blocks, 3 yards of the coordinating tools on black fabric (the picture doesn’t do it justice) and 2 yards of the tiny multi-coloured washers. There’s other coordinating fabric available too, and I think the entire line comes in navy as well. Best of all, the fabric is a wonderful quality, great weight, it’ll be a pleasure to work with.

I also purchased a package of reversible prairie points, for some yet thought of project in the future.

I’m so happy to finally have a quilt plan for my dad, as I’ve never made him one before, and no previous ideas inspired me like this fabric does.

Quilting Bloggers Reach a Thousand Contest Update: Did you see? Only 20 more bloggers to go until we reach a 1,000. My guess is I’ll be picking the three winners tomorrow, so be sure to check your email to see if you’re one of them.

I think this quilt pattern has been secretly calling out to me to make it. Several months ago, my mom was given a huge stash of fabric and quilt books & magazines from a friend of a friend who was downsizing. My mom doesn’t sew, she knits and paints, but sewing is not her forte. So, I was the lucky recipient of all these wonderful gifts. I kept some of the fabric, and the rest I donated to Victoria Quilts Canada.

One magazine in particular caught my attention and has lived on my window ledge, on my desk, on the sewing table and on the TV hutch for the past while, calling me to pick it up every time I walk by. It is Quilting Ideas, Fall 2003 issue from Better Homes and Gardens.

See the adorable quilt on the cover? Well, imagine my surprise when I was browsing the All People Quilt web site a week or so ago and discovered this pattern, Hearts & Flowers Appliqué Quilt featured on their home page. Of course, I stared at the picture for a long time, then went in search of the magazine, and sure enough it is exactly the same pattern.

While I don’t have kids of my own, I do have a wonderful 2+ year old niece, Lucy. I’ve had great ambitions to make Lucy her first quilt since before she was even born, yet I still haven’t. I have made her a wall hanging and crocheted her a blanket. I’ve had a few patterns picked out for her, and even the fabric purchased for each, yet still no quilt.

Well, she’ll be getting this one, either for Christmas or her third birthday next February. I’ve already traced and rough cut all 70 pieces of the fusible web. I’ve been going through my stash of fat quarters picking out the various pieces of fabric. I’ll be doing the blanket stitch around each piece by hand. I can’t wait to see how this one comes together.

Further to my post last week on Sewing Ergonomics, Marguerita sent me this post she wrote on making your own Custom Sewing Desk - Cheap.

While not the prettiest to look at, this idea definitely has potential for me. I am loving free-motion quilting, but finding the stress on my shoulders and upper back prevents me from sewing as much as I would like.

I need to find out if I can buy adjustable legs from Ikea for my existing table, then I’ll look into getting some foam core. I have some spare paint, and might even try painting the foam core… we’ll see how ambitious I am.

I have some concerns about the static, as my apartment is very dry in the winter with electric heat and concrete walls. Does anyone have any ideas? I wonder if I can eliminate the vinyl altogether and instead use a paint that has some slick-ness to it. I think a phone call to my Dad, the Handyman is in order.

Contest Update: I have had three wonderful donations offered for the upcoming contest… you’re going to love them. Details will be posted in the next couple of days, so stay tuned.

Newsletter Update: If you missed the first edition of the Quilting Gallery Newsletter, it is now available on-line: Issue #1 - June 2008 - Are you a Quilting Blogger?.

Every Friday, FabricMom has a draw for a Fat Quarter on her web site. I was the lucky winner of this gorgeous piece of fabric, Orange Spiral, that arrived in the mail today. Be sure to check her site each week to enter.

The mailman brought me two wonderful Pay it Forward gifts the past couple of days.

Caron from Michigan Quilts sent me this lovely Tulip Needlecase.

Tami of Lemon Tree Tales sent this gorgeous Mini Art Quilt.

Check out the great hanger on the back … soon to appear on a project of mine too. hehe

Thank you both, the gifts are treasured.

Quilting Bloggers update:

The total bloggers is now at 686… more than 60 added today alone, and it’s only mid-afternoon my time.

I updated the Promote page which contains banners that you can use on your site to link back here. I added the code blocks to make it easier for you to copy and paste the code itself to add the banner to your site. Any problems or questions, please contact me.

Here are a couple of wall hangings that are in my living room/sewing area. They are pre-printed fabric, which I quilted (not easy to see). In the centre of the panel, I did my first free motion meandering that wasn’t on a piece of scrap. It turned out fine, but I need lots of practice.

I found this old table-top ironing board someone had left beside the garbage bin downstairs. It needs some new padding, and a new cover, but I think it’ll work nicely on my table beside my sewing machine for certain projects.

Some Google searching turned up this Ironing Board Recovery Project tutorial.

Updated:

A few more tutorials:

• New Ironing Board Cover
• SUPER Easy Ironing Board Cover Tutorial
• How to make a new ironing board cover and why I’m an idiot

Here’s a quilt I made for my sister’s birthday that I gave to her a couple of weeks ago. I had hoped for it to be a Christmas present, but that didn’t happen. It uses 168 hour glasses. I used up all of the 6 inch Charm squares I had collected. It’s the biggest quilt that I’ve ever machine quilted. (I must ask my sister to measure it for me … hey sis, can you measure the quilt, please.)

I used Spray Basting for it, and it worked really well, in most cases. I had some puckering problems in one area, on the front (back is fine), and I’m not sure whether I didn’t spray enough or what happened. It’s towards one of the edges in the middle of the quilt. Any ideas? Once it was all quilted and washed, the puckering is hardly noticable anymore.

I quilted all seams, stitch in the ditch style. First I did the rows, both horizontal and vertical, then I did the diagonals in both directions. The quilting took me a lot longer than I thought it would, but I got much faster as time went on too. I’m far more confident now too.

I used Shelley’s updated tutorial on Joining the Ends of Double-Folded Binding, and it worked flawlessly the first time. I was so thrilled.

I thought the back looked nice, so here’s a picture, showing off the quilting lines.