Celebrate Christmas Quilt-along

Have you heard about the xmas QAL over at Quilting Gallery? Basically, it's 36 designers, contributing a block design each, stretched over 12 weeks (so we get 3 per week to do). With a xmas theme. Oh, and there's some "super deals for quilters" too, like 40% off certain fabric lines at certain stores, that sort of thing. Doesn't really apply to me 'cos it's all overseas, so any savings made would be negated by the killer shipping costs. :(

The three focus fabrics

I'm taking part, despite not having a giant stash of xmas fabrics. At first I thought I'll just use some reds and greens, and a bit of cream thrown in for contrast. But then I found in amongst my greens, some olivey flowery prints which I bought last year mainly because of the price and not because they were lovely fabrics. But there's enough (I hope!) to use as the background/focus fabric. All the accompanying prints and plains match -- I used the coloured spots on the selvedge to match them up. Close enough, anyway!

The fabric palette

The first block was designed by Pat Sloan, called Pat's Red and White. My version is sewn in slightly different colours...

Pat's Red and White --- Raw-edge applique for the basket in the centre, blanket stitched by hand (only because I feel I have more control over my hands than I do my machine).

At the time I write this, I am stitching Block 12. Fifteen blocks to date have been published. I'll show block 2 tomorrow.

Cat quilt and a bag

My cat, like many others, likes to sit/lay/sleep on quilts. Which can be inconvenient, if you're in the middle of working on the quilt. So I decided to make my cat her very own quilt. It's not going to be very big - about 24" square - which will be about the right size for her to stretch out on if it's laid on the floor, or to fold/bend so she can hide under it.

So far, it's more or less just a prototype, so not made out of any fancy fabric. In fact, I've gone green and recycled, using old flannelette pajama fabric for most of it, in pinks and blues:

I've used 12 different prints/plains for the 3" squares. The border is 3" navy flannel.

The other side is going to be a bit more colourful. I'm still cutting patches out for that, so there's no pic yet.


Another project I'm working on is a quilting bag. It's supposed to be big enough to fit a quilt into, which is just what I need for an upcoming guild meeting this week. I'm going to take a quilt along for show-and-tell. Which will be fun to show it off, but at the same time not fun because I don't like public speaking. But I'll just have to get over myself and do it.

Anyway, the bag isn't finished yet, but the front and back stitching and quilting are done, so I took some progress pics:

Central panels, Chinese Coins-style, pieced from my scrap tubs. I designed this side myself.

Some of the blocks I designed myself; the others are from the original pattern, which is entitled "Patti's Quilting Bag" by Louise Audet, from Handmade magazine, vol. 26 no. 7.

One thing I've learned from this (and it's an important one) is:

Measure and mark quilting lines! Don't just trust yourself to eyeball it correctly. The bottom photo shows my wonky hand-quilting; the one above it has far more consistency in the spacing of the stitching lines. (Not necessarily the quilting stitches - I still have a long way to go, I know!)

The second half of the year

Yes, I'm still around.

And so is my cat:

One of her favourite places to snooze is right in front of my monitor. It's warm, and she's trying to tell me it's bedtime for both of us. Which it is. My cat does not lie.

What I've learned today...
is that I seem to get severe writer's block the longer I leave this. Naughty me.

Flowers

Even though I've had a break from blogging, I haven't had a break from sewing. While watching TV coverage of the natural disasters occurring around the world, I was busy with a needle and thread. Various things have been worked upon...

This pic I took in February - the last "official" border on the Patchwork Posse round robin. I've actually added another border of my own devising since then. I'll show you that in a day or so.

Border of flowers, embroidered and appliqued

Pretty cool huh? Each flower centre is unique, and all made from leftovers of other fabrics used in the quilt.

Yellow flower on the left will have a button in the centre, after quilting.

What I've learned today:

It's not always a good idea to work on more than one project at the same time.

There is the above quilt, which I'm itching to get quilted (first have to get/make the backing). And there is also a quilt I began early last year, which my daughter was going to have to keep warm with last winter (i.e. June - August). Then, the goal was for xmas. Now, the goal is her birthday - which is in one month.

I'm trying, I really am. (In case you're wondering, I've yet to show any pics of it.)

It doesn't help that I've "misplaced" two blocks. Instead of wasting time looking, I've decided I'll make a couple of replacement blocks.

That's bound to make them turn up.