Wednesday 27 November 2013

And The Winner Is…….

Number 1.  How funny is that.  Random number generator picked number 1 which is Carla. What is funny about that is she had told me that number 1 never gets picked so she usually waits till a little later to comment.  This time she went for the number 1 spot and as a result, is the winner.

Thanks to everyone who played along on my Blog Hop.  It was  a lot of fun reading all your comments.  Sorry I haven't responded to all of you, life has been a little overwhelming lately.

Now for a little eye candy for your Wednesday morning.


This quilt was put together by my Postie Quilting Group.  It is for a co-worker who is retiring in the early spring.  We are ahead of the game on this one.  Woohoo.


This is the same block with cornerstones in the sashing.  I made the blocks and the Posties put them together for me.  Another wonderful group effort.  This is going to someone special, can't say who just yet because I don't want to ruin the surprise.

The block used for both these quilts is from the Stash Busters Quilt Along.  You can see how to make the block here.

Sunday 24 November 2013

Stash Busters Quilt Along Week 13

This weeks block is a little funky, with a whole lot of fun thrown in!


I have seen it a couple of different places on the web and thought what the heck, let's give it a try!

To make the block you will need either a 15 degree ruler, or the template available here. When you print the pdf file make sure you are printing at 100 per cent.  The wedge template should be 6" long.




Cut a 6 " strip of both your feature and background fabrics.  I used the 7" line on my ruler.  If you are using the template, use the photo for placement.  Cut 12 wedges from each fabric.


Sew a background fabric wedge to a feature fabric wedge.  Repeat for all 12 units.


Sew the twos into fours, and then sew three sets together to make a half circle.


Sew the two half's together.


Now comes the fun.  Take your ruler and cut from the tip of one wedge to the tip of another wedge cutting across three wedges.  Because you have twenty-four wedges, you will end up with an octagon.


Your's should look like the picture above.

From your background fabric cut four 6" Easy Angle pieces.


Add to the corners of the octagon.  I know they are a little big, but I thought why cut another strip when I had the 6" strip left over.


Once the corners are on, square your block up to 12 1/2".

The pdf you downloaded earlier has a circle on it.  This is for the centre.  You may use whatever method you prefer to appliqué the circle to the centre of the square.  Two of mine I fused, the middle block I needle turn appliquéd the centre.


Have fun with the block and don't forget to post your pictures to our flickr group to be eligible for this months prizes.

Thursday 21 November 2013

Blog Hop Party with Give-Aways




It's time for a Blog Hop Party!  Quilting Gallery is once again hosting this event, which I am certain will be a smashing success.  Thanks Michelle.

Join in on the fun.  Spend the week hopping through all the great blogs and checking out what prizes they have for you.  Hopefully you will discover a few new blogs created by some very interesting people

For my prize, I am giving away a Hoffman Bali Pop "Breakers."  It contains forty 2 1/2" strips of beautiful Balis in various shades of Blue.  I will ship internationally.


Mmmmm, delicious!  To be entered in my draw please leave a comment as to whether this is your first blog hop or not.  That's it.  I will draw a random number on November 26 and let you know if you are the winner.  If you are a no-reply blogger or a guest commenting as anonymous, please leave your e-mail address within the comment.  Now get busy, click the button below to link to all the other fabulous bloggers that are participating.  Have fun!!!!!!

Blog Hop Party with Give-Aways

Sunday 17 November 2013

Stash Busters Quilt Along Week 12

This weeks block is another block that is made from four smaller block units.  Make all four units and then play with the lay out to come up with something you like.


For each quarter of the block you will need one 3 1/2" Easy Angle piece of a feature fabric. From a second feature fabric cut six 2" Easy Angle pieces.  From the background fabric cut one 6 1/2" Easy Angle piece, four 2" Easy Angle pieces and one 2" square.


Lay out all your pieces as shown.





Sew together in the order shown.  Sew the centre diagonal seam on the unit.  Make the other three quarters of the block.


Play with the placement till you are happy, then sew the four pieces together to make your 12 1/2" unfinished block.


I used a different setting for each of my blocks.


Here is an example of a quilt where I used the diagonally setting of the block in a two block quilt.  It makes a great alternate block.

Don't forget to post pictures on our Flickr page to be entered in the draw for this month's prizes!

Friday 15 November 2013

Margaret's Angel Quilt

I just finished quilting Margaret's Angel Quilt and thought I should share with you some of the quilting techniques I used.


The swirl filler is one of my favourites.


Followed closely by little folksy hearts.


Outline quilting is a trusted filler for applique.


One of Carla's favourites is the pebbles.


I hadn't quilted any McTavishing for a while so I added it in.


I tried to stipple as small as I could and still see it.


This funky orange peel is always fun.


I call this one melons.


You can still see the chalk lines that I used to mark my reference points on this piece.


And here it is, Margaret's Angel quilt.  A special thanks to Margaret for agreeing to letting me show you the "sampler" quilting.

Sunday 10 November 2013

Stash Busters Quilt Along Week 11

This week I picked a fairly easy block.  Life has been a little hectic, so I wanted something I could get done quickly before I headed out of town again.


From your feature fabrics you will need four 4 3/4" squares and four 3 1/2" squares.  From the background fabric cut eight 3 1/2" Easy Angle pieces.


Sew the four larger squares into a four patch unit.



Attach two of the Easy Angle units to each of the 3 1/2" squares as shown.


Lay out the block and sew together.


Have a wonderful Sunday everyone.

Wednesday 6 November 2013

Hoffman Bali Tiles in Volcano


This is the quilt that I made with the Hoffman Bali Tiles and Snap Pops, both in Volcano.  I love it!  The fabric should be arriving in your local quilt shop shortly.  I only used half a package of the tiles and 12 of the 40 snaps.



The quilting was a lot of fun.  I used glide thread to add a little pop to the batik fabric.


Since I didn't need all the tiles and pops in the package, one of this months prizes for the Quilt Along is the remaining fabric.  The second prize is "Celebrate Great Quilts!"  Good luck everyone and happy sewing.

Sunday 3 November 2013

Stash Busters Quilt Along Week 10

Today's block is an oldie but a goodie!  I came across it here at the Moda Bake Shop.  I just couldn't wait to resize it so we could use it for our quilts.


The block can be broken into quarters, so I will give instruction for one quarter.  Repeat three more times to make the block.



From a 2" strip of feature fabric cut two 2" squares and two 2" x 5" Easy Angle units as shown above.


From a 2" strip of background fabric cut two 2" squares, two 2" x 3 1/2" units and two 2" x 3 1/2" Easy Angle units as shown above.


Lay out the units.


Sew together into rows.  When sewing the Easy Angle units together make sure there is a quarter inch overlap.  The seam allowance should be where the two units intersect.


Once the rows are together, sew the quarter block together.  It should be 6 1/2" square at this point.


Make the other three pieces of the block and sew all four units together.  The block should be 12 1/2".


I played around a little with the placement in the middle block.  You may set your block however you wish.

I have drawn the winners of last months prizes.  Betty has won the Nancy Halverson book and pattern.  Katherin has won the Bali Pop.  Congratulations to both of you!  I will be posting Novembers prizes shortly.

Happy sewing!