Scallops, Vines and Waves Template by Quilt in a Day

Adding a Wave border to a quilt is fun and easy using the Scallops, Vines and Waves Template by Quilt in a Day.  Sylvia asked if I would mark the following quilt with a wave border before I quilted it.

I used the Template with it's very easy to follow directions.  

I marked the quilt with a blue water erasable pen.  Any erasable pen will work, as long as you can see it on your border fabric.

The inner wave was marked with the template about 1 1/2" from outer edge.

For the outer wave I used and extra ruler to measure from the first border just to be sure the template was straight.

Included in the template is a traceable corner unit.

This is what the edge looks like after a bias binding is added.  Wonderful job Sylvia!

The marked wave made a great edge for the feather border.  What a fun quilt to quilt!

Matt and Leslie's New Home

Saturday Matt and Leslie took possession of their new home.  Both of them were pretty excited to get the keys to their own place!  Congratulations to the proud homeowners.

The new homeowners set to work, with a little help from their family, painting the new dwelling. The previous owner was a smoker, so the entire house needed to be scrubbed down and painted.  Saturday was extremely busy with Leslie painting well into the night.

I arrived back this morning to find them both raring to go.  Matt was the jack of all trades today, including Starbucks run and going back to my house to let Blanche in out of the thunderstorm.  Leslie was a painting machine.  She was determined to get most of the painting done today.

We all decided that Leslie and Matt weren't afraid of heights, just afraid of falling.  Therefore, Doug and I climbed the makeshift scaffolding over the stairs to paint .

When I left this evening Leslie was determined to paint just one more wall before heading out. Way to go Matt and Leslie, you certainly got a lot done this weekend!

Bali Boxes

Bali Boxes is a fun twist on the traditional Bento Box pattern.  I used a Grasshopper Bali Pop and twenty assorted 4 1/2" squares.  This would be fun if you used a jelly roll and matching charm pack, or simply cut forty 2 1/2" strips from your stash and add in the twenty 4 1/2" squares.

To make one square you will need two 2 1/2" strips that contrast, and a 4 1/2" square.

Cut one strip into two 4 1/2" lengths and two 8 1/2" lengths.  Set the remainder of this strip aside to use in the binding.  Cut the second strip into two 8 1/2" lengths and two 12 1/2" lengths.

Piece the two 4 1/2" lengths to either side of the 4 1/2" square.

Add the 8 1/2" lengths of the same fabric to the  top and bottom.

Piece the 8 1/2" lengths of the second strip to the same two sides you pieced the 4 1/2" lengths to.

The last two 12 1/2" pieces complete the basic block.

Using your rotary cutter and ruler, cut through the centre of the block both horizontally and vertically.

Turn both the lower left and upper right quadrants so that the little inner block is in the outer corner.

Sew the four pieces together to make one block.  Make twenty blocks in total and piece together as shown at the top of the page.

The finished quilt is about 46" x 57".  Have a great day!

Quilting Is A Gift You Give Yourself

Quilting gives me so much joy.  In this hectic life that we all lead, it is wonderful to take time with our families, friends, and our hobbies.  The following picture is of a little quilt from Applepatch designs.  The saying above the quilt was a gift from Terry.  She saw it in a quilt store in her travels and thought of me.  The wool is from Sharon.  It is from her own sheep (Shirley.)  Sharon spun and knit if for me.  Thanks to both Terry and Sharon for your kindness.  This quilt hangs in my living room and reminds me every day of what wonderful friends I have.

I do occasionally take time to knit a little.  Twist of Fate yarn shop is closing and has some wonderful deals on yarn.  I picked up these two beauties on Friday.  I might have to go back before the last day at the end of the month.

Of course I have done a little quilting this week.  I have just finished quilting a Sampler quilt for a friend.  I have quilted a few of these, so to mix things up, I played a little in the blocks.  The light in the log cabin was screaming for a feather, so I had to oblige.

Have a great day and remember to give yourself the gift of time to do something you really want to do!

In a English Paper Piecing Mood

One of my favourite things to do to relax is to english paper piece.  A couple of winters ago I decided I needed to make a miniature Grandmother's Flower Garden Quilt.  I used 1/4" hexagons to make this little beauty.  The quilt is 12" x 14" and took me longer to complete than most queen size quilts.

Just in case you aren't up to 1/4" hexagons, here is a quilt made from 1/2" hexagons.  It is from the book Quilt's from Grandmother's Garden by Jaynette Huff.  The quilt is a little bigger at 23" x 26".

My current project involves kite shape pieces and the fabrics shown below.  Stay tuned to see what this becomes!

Nothing Like a Good Steam Iron

When I teach quilting classes I am often asked whether or not I use steam when pressing my seams.  I always use steam.  Of course if I'm pressing a bias seam, I need to be careful not to stretch the seam.  A good friend of mine remembered me once saying "there is nothing like a good steam iron."  She saw the little beauty shown below and purchased it for a birthday gift for me.  I'm so lucky!!!!!

The following pictures of steam irons were taken at the Chute Lake Resort that Doug and I stayed at recently.  The Resort has a wonderful assortment of antiques, ranging from steam irons to linesman tools, and lots in between.

Cycling the Kettle Valley Railroad

Cycling the Kettle Valley Railroad is an amazing experience.  Due to limited time and even more limited ability on my part, Doug and I cycled pieces of the railway.  We would love to go back and cycle larger sections but we would have to train a little bit first!

We started our adventure in Princeton.  Heading east from Princeton we road through the 1000+ ft. tunnel. We were told the lights would be on, but later found out they only put them on on weekends.   Riding in the dark is not something I recommend, but it was the quickest way through so that is what we did.  The scenery was amazing and thankfully the trail was well kept.  With a maximum 2 per cent grade on the entire railway, even the most novice mountain bike rider can ride the trails.

The following morning we decided to ride east of Princeton.  The switchbacks heading up the hill sounded daunting but were much easier than we thought.  The trail takes you through rolling farm land.  After about 20 km we turned around and headed back to our camper.  The second day was taking it's toll on my body!

We traveled down the road to Penticton and stopped at the info centre to check out the best approach to the trails in that area of the province.  We decided to drive to the Chute Lake Resort and set out from there.  We road the trail north of the resort for about 7km and then back.  We found the trail a little sandy in this area.  The fire of 2003 went through this area so it has an interesting landscape.  The areas that were burnt are starting to rejuvenate.

The last day of our ride we drove along the trail for about 12 km until we encountered the first tresle.  The bikes came out and off we rode towards Myra canyon.  The first 9 km was a nice hard packed trail with lush growth everywhere.

We entered the Myra Canyon which is 12 km of well maintained trail.  Eighteen trestles, two tunnels and lots of tourists.  There is a trail guide available to answer questions and lots of signs explaining the different attractions.  This section has parking lots at either end and is easily accessible from Kelowna.   This section of the trail is perfect to walk, run or bike by people of all abilities.  A must see!

During our ride we encountered several deer, a moose, a rabbit, lots of chipmunks, squirrels and marmots.  The most interest was a black bear on the last day.  We were upwind so he didn't know we were coming.  Doug hollered at him to get off the trail.  The bear ambled off the trail then stopped to watch us ride by.  A wonderful B.C. wilderness experience!