Saying goodby to Google Reader....

Have you heard?  Google Reader will soon be gone.

       And I have to wonder how long it will be before Google Friend Connect follows...

For me.... Saying goodby has been a piece-of-cake.

But that's not such a bad thing.  Because there's a new reader in my blog life now.

      And I have moved on.

Bloglovin' is now my reader of choice.  And we are so much more compatible!

I have chosen to have it delivered each day to my inbox.  One email - and with one click I can open a tab to Bloglovin' and see any new posts from all the blogs I follow.  My Bloglovin' list shows the first few lines of any new posts with a picture.  Then I can choose to read those that catch my eye first.  Each opens in a new tab.  When I am done reading and/or commenting, and close that tab, I am returned to the Bloglovin' tab and that post is already marked as read.  I love it!

Are you interested to know how to import the blogs you follow on Google Friend Connect and Google Reader to Bloglovin'?

        Again....  Piece of cake!  (I seldom refuse a second piece!)

You just create a Bloglovin’ account and in the process it asks if you want to import the blogs you read on Google Reader to your new Bloglovin’ account.  Click the button to import and that’s it!

  Here's a step by step...
(1) Go to this page, (2) click on ‘Google Reader’, then on (3) ‘Import from Google Reader’, (4) then on 'Accept' to grant authentication and off you go!

And while we're at it.....    Let’s go with BlogLovin as a Google Friend Connect replacement!
      If you prefer to read your favorite blogs on your phone or iPad, here is the Bloglovin’ app!

Thank you all for being such loyal readers.  Your visits keep me smiling!

To follow my blog with Bloglovin', you can click on the sidebar buttons found under my profile pic.
       All the choices are still there for now.

But if you don't wish to sign up with Bloglovin'.....
   You can still choose to have email updates by clicking on the RSS button instead.

Keep quilting!

Week Two of Plum and June's Summer Blog Hop 2013

Head on over for a visit with our lovely hostess....
Beth at Plum and June's!

She's rounded up a wonderful group of friendly folks for this summer's Blog Hop.  It's been a pleasure getting to know each one.  By following their blogs, I have been finding all kinds of quilty inspiration.

Hey!  Take some time this weekend to check out what creative goodness this week's line up of wonderful folks are up to.

And don't cheat yourself by just reading the latest posts!  Stick around and nose about.  There is just sew much to discover!

Julie @ Jolie Maxtin

Melissa @ Melia Mae Quilting

Adrianne @ On The Windy Side

Molli @ Molli Sparkles

Laura @ Little And Lots

Sarah @ Duck Egg Threads

Kelly @ My Quilt Infatuation

Cari @ There's A Thread

Valerie @ Between Quilts

Announcing..... A Scrappy Star Quilt Along!

Want to join me in a Quilt Along?  Are you ready for a challenge?  Here she is!






Follow my blog to get the news when I make my first post about the Quilt Along on June 21st.... My 10th wedding anniversary and, bonus.... the first day of summer!  Whoo - Hooo!



And don't forget to grab my "Quilt Along with Me!" button from my sidebar if you would like to join in the fun.  Clicking on the linky button will bring you directly to this page where I will be archiving all the posts from the quilt along for easy reference.



Hope you will consider following Sew Fresh Quilts so you'll be sure to know when the fun begins!  It's easy as pie to do!  Just click on one of the buttons at the sidebar.  There are plenty of options... RSS will allow you to choose your favourite Feed Reader or subscribe to have my latest posts directly to your email.  And the Bloglovin' tab will allow you to follow me there.  (I do love Bloglovin'!)  If you are into Facebook, Google+, or Twitter you can find me on those too!


I have also added a new tab to my sidebar, called Quilt Along Flickr Group.  Clicking on this tab will take you directly to the Quilt Along with Sew Fresh Quilts Flickr group where anyone can add their pictures to the pool and share in the summer quilt along love!

Linking up this week with some of these linky parties.  Click on through to join in the fun.  Great chance to see what everyone else is up to!

Hope to sew, er - I mean - see you there!

Keep it quilty!

Scrappy Neutral Background Quilt - Day 22

What happened?
I think I've been distracted lately...  Taking part in the Summer Blog Hop by Plum and June (you can see her sweet button on my sidebar) has encouraged me to do some spring cleaning on the ol' blog.  That virtual spring cleaning is even more time consuming than the real life thing!

Then there was the creating of a new project, some kitten place mats that I blogged about here.
Also, helping my mom to restore a quilt made by my Gramma over 30 years ago took up quite a chunk of my time.

And all of yesterday was spent making a new tutorial.  Hope it proves helpful to lots of other online quilters!

So today is dedicated to getting back on track!  I started blogging about this project on May 25th.  And can't believe it has already been 22 days.  Here is a pic that I made up to get a feel for the over all look of the quilt.  The white areas will actually be using my feature fabric that I blogged about here.

She's going to be a big one!  100" x 100" made from 2" finished squares... I better get back at it!
If you would like to be kept up to date on my progress, I welcome you to follow along.  Plenty of ways to do that can be found on my sidebar, under my profile.  Hope to see you again!

Lorna:)

Edited to add... I'm linking up to Kelly's new Thursday link up at My Quilt Infatuation.  Come over and give her a visit and see what everyone's up to!

Happy Go Lucky Block Tutorial

This morning, I was visiting my friend Paula's blog,  The Sassy Quilter.  She had posted about her lovely "Virtual Quilting Bee Block #3".  This block's tutorial is found on {the studio blog} by April Roenthal.
It is called the Happy Go Lucky block.  However, my tutorial will show how to make that block without using triangle pieces.  That's right!  No bias edges!


You will need to double the ingredients shown in the photo below.

Using a 1/4" seam, with RST (right sides together), sew the small squares to the small rectangles.  You can either press the seams open OR press the seams toward the squares.

With the squares at opposite ends, sew the units together with RST along the long side.  If you are pressing seams open, you do not need to clip the seam allowance.  But if you are pressing to one side, you must clip the seam allowance half-way along the side, as shown.

 

Draw a line on a 45 degree angle from the corner of the rectangle section, through the point where the seam was sewn on the square, to the other side for both ends of the unit.

If this is not clear enough, here is a virtual sample of the one with the seams pressed open.

Here is a virtual sample of the one with the seams pressed to the sides.

Place your unit squarely onto the 4.5" x 5.5" rectangle and sew directly on each line from edge to edge.  Then, using your rotary cutter and ruler, separate the unit between between these lines, as shown with the red line.

 Press toward the large triangle, even if you have pressed all seams open up to this point.

Trim off the little 'dog ears' from the seam allowance.  Place the units into their proper order to make the block.  Sew them together... And Voila!

Please note: Although I had to make a second attempt at this block because of poor picture quality, no seam rippers were harmed during the making of this tutorial.



A really cute block... It looked familiar.  Aha!  I just seen it here...

Recent changes at our local library allow for us to now borrow books from additional libraries within the county.  For me, this is very exciting news! The number of quilting books available has zintupled!

Yesterday I picked up "Quilts from the Heart" by Karin Renaud (Martingale & Company, 2009).
In her book you will find instructions for making Mary's Triangle Block on pages 12 & 13.  Following Karin's directions will result in two of Mary's Triangle blocks.  And you will need 4 of Mary's Triangle blocks to make the Happy Go Lucky block.  Karin credits this method to Sally Schneider's "Scrapmania - More Quick Pieced Scrap Quilts"(Martingale & Company, 1994).  Karen says, "In the intervening years I have not found any method that works nearly as well."  And I would like to add that this method does not require the sewing of any triangle pieces.  Oh, ya!

Gramma's Quilt

Loved to death.  That's how I would describe the condition of this quilt when it was handed over to my mom.  Loved to death.  The backing worn and ripped and the binding shredded and almost non-existent.

My mother's mother made many quilts, busily piecing them on her old Singer treadle machine.  Most were made from re, er....  Um, up-cycled Crimplene fabrics.  Old slacks and dresses.  Then tied by my mother and her mom with knotted yarn.  According to my mom, Gramma made most of them in the staggered brick, diamond shaped pattern, as seen here.

As I spent the day re-tying this quilt, stretched taut upon its new backing, I thought of my Gramma and her fondness for this pattern, and realized it would not require the matching of seams.  No points to line up with the staggered bricks.  A versatile design - simple, fun and accommodating to a hodge-podge of fabric scraps.

The kids (my son in particular) helped throughout the afternoon, from beneath the quilt, poking the needle back up for me.  And we tied well into the center - all around.  I was able to bring the quilt home that evening, honoured I had been given the okay to replace the binding.  Then I tied the center by using a hoop.

I would like to thank my cousin, Jennifer.  For keeping this quilt for well over 30 years.  For loving this quilt to death.  And for allowing my mother and I to renew the condition of our Grandmother's well loved quilt. Thank you, Jennifer.  And thank you, Gramma.

Kittens now a Craftsy Pattern

What started out as a fun break turned out taking up most of a week.  But I am happy with the results.

And have just added the pattern to my Craftsy pattern shop.

It has been a busy week otherwise...  Did some spring cleaning on the blog....  Been doing my best to keep up with all the emails and blog hopping with Plum and June's....

And I've been helping my mother to restore a quilt her mother made over 30 years ago.  I will be posting about that soon - if it ever quits raining so I can get some photos!

I am also anticipating the arrival of a shipment of fabric to whip up a recipe for the Moda Bake Shop.
Sew much excitement!

Lastly, my daughter will be leaving at 6:00 am for a class trip to Quebec City.  Sew this Kitten had better call it a night and get herself a cat nap!

Plum and June's 2013 Summer Blog Hop

A quick post, to let you know about Plum and June's 2013 Summer Blog Hop, which begins tomorrow...

It is an opportunity for some worthy new quilting bloggers to make an impression.  And hopefully gain new followers.  In preparation, I have done a little spring cleaning on my blog

and have added the Bloglovin' button to my sidebar.  It is now my reader of choice and I will be adding each of the following participants to my reader list.  And I hope you will too!

Here is the list (And I am excited to be on it!):

Friday, June 7
Nancy @ Owen's Olivia

Amy @ 13 Spools

Ashley @ Wasn't Quilt In A Day

Casey @ The Studiolo 

Nanette @ Yeah, I Made That

Ange @ Heart Of Charnwood

Kim @ Robot Mom Sews

Erica @ Kitchen Table Quilting

Friday, June 14
Julie @ Jolie Maxtin

Melissa @ Melia Mae Quilting

Adrianne @ On The Windy Side

Molli @ Molli Sparkles

Laura @ Little And Lots

Sarah @ Duck Egg Threads

Kelly @ My Quilt Infatuation

Cari @ There's A Thread

Valerie @ Between Quilts

Friday, June 21

Leigh Anne @ Ella's Cottage

Stacy @ The Tilted Quilt

Sarah @ Quilt Candy

Jackie @ NW Patchwork

Liz @ Beadqueene's Bits And Baubles

Erica @ Happy Fabric

Stephanie @ Simple Sewendipity

Lauren @ Seraphym

Amy @ Cloud CouCou Crafts

Friday, June 28

Green @ So Sew Green

Gwendellyn @ The Rainbow Revolts

Jessica @ Stitched In Thyme

Amira @ Little Mushroom Cap

Kathy @ Kayak Quilting

Michelle @ Factotum Of Arts

Paula @ The Sassy Quilter

Kris @ Sew Sunshine

Camilla @ Faffling

Friday, July 5

Christa @ Christa Quilts!

Alyce @ Wonderland By Alyce

Anna @ The Crooked Banana

Rachel @ Sew Happily Ever After 

Stephanie @ Quarter Incher

Shayla @ Sassafras Lane Designs

Caroline @ Carolines Craftiness

Lisa @ Hilltop House Creative Works

Friday, July 12

Leona @ Leona's Quilting Adventure

Karen @ Karen, {Novice} Quilter

Anne @ PlayCrafts

Rachel @ Let's Begin Sewing...

Jan @ Sew And Sow Farm

Anna @ Quilting Along The Grain

Cath @ Wombat Quilts

Sarah @ {No} Hats In The House

Friday, July 19

Karen @ Little Birdie Quilting Studio

Kathy @ Kwilty Pleasures

Katie @ Snuggle Up With A Dish From Karma 

Alison @ Making Happyness

Ella and Nesta @ Ella & Nesta's Little Room

Adrienne @ Chezzetcook Modern Quilts

Nicole @ Modern Handcraft

Aylin @ AyliN-Nilya

Kelsey and Amanda @ Everyday Fray

Friday, July 26

Em @ Sewing by Moonlight
Vicki @ A Quilter's Mission

RobinSue @ RobinSue Quilts

Elise @ Lovelea Designs

Elizabeth @ In The Boon Docks

Jenny @ A Note To Follow Sew

Lorna @ Sew Fresh Quilts

Sonia @ Fabric & Flowers

Emily @ Sew E.T.

Kitten gives me a Fun Break

Hello, Kitten... First attempt at a new idea.

This is something I started on yesterday afternoon and worked on after lunch again today.  It is all raw edge applique.  I just top stitched next to the edges.  Then free motioned loopy loops on the beige rose background and did some tiger stripey details on the kitten.  Unfortunately... they don't show up very good.

But I am not a terribly experienced free motioner, sew I thought blending the thread would be best on this first attempt.  Next run will be using some contrasting thread.

Totally honestly... I got this idea while browsing and googling for cat quilts and found this cat quilt pic here.

Now there was no pattern for sale and one of my Facebook fans was interested in getting a pattern.
I decided it would be reasonable to copy the method, but not the actual cat.

Making this kitten helped me to get a feel for how to make one, but I need to make some changes.  Like the detail on the kitten's paws.... There is too much.  It is too fiddly....  I've got to simplify.

I can also see that the background I chose is not fading into the background enough and the fabric chosen for the kitten itself is too dark... But I love those blue eyes!

If Karen Oyler is reading this... Send me a private message on Facebook here.  OR comment on the Sew Fresh Quilts facebook status update announcing this blog post.  I need your address!  Your kitten awaits!

Keep it quilty....
Lorna <3

Scrappy Quilt - Neutral Background - Day 10

Facebook is asking, "What have you been up to?" Well, aside from housework, meal making, and errand running... And working on writing up some new patterns....

The answer is Half Square Triangles. And I have been cutting, matching up, sewing, pressing, cutting, trimming, pressing again and clipping these little treasures for days! But it still doesn't look like much!

 

They are sew cute though!

Here is how I make my HST's....

Making Half Square Triangles - A Tutorial

For the purpose of this diagram the right side of the fabric is shown in pink, while the wrong side is shown in white.  Please note that the fabric squares should be ‘sandwiched’ with right sides facing together, and line up on all sides as accurately as possible.  The diagram does not show this accuracy for demonstrative purposes only.

First determine your finished size square.  For my scrappy neutral quilt I am using squares with a finished size of 2".  Add 1" to the finished size square to determine how big to cut your pieces.  So, I need to work with 3" squares to make my HST's.

Using your rotary cutter and acrylic ruler, cut your fabric along the width of the fabric to make strips measuring 3" and sub-cut these strips into 3" squares.

STEP 1:  Take a color square and a neutral square and ‘sandwich’ them together with right sides facing together as shown in Figure A.  Using a pencil and ruler, draw a diagonal line on the wrong side of the neutral fabric, from the top corner to the bottom corner as shown in blue in Figure B.  This is your guide line.  Sew a ¼” seam on the right of the blue line from edge to edge as shown in red in Figure C.

Chain piece your HST's by continuing these steps shown in Figures A, B and C for about 10 other pairs of squares, sewing the seams, and without cutting the thread.  At the end of the last seam, turn your chain of sandwiches around and sew back along the opposite side of the guide line on each sandwich square.  Remove the chain of squares from machine, bring them to your ironing board and clip the threads between the sandwiched squares.  Your squares should all look like the one in Figure D.  Press to set the seams.   

STEP 2:  Having sewn two seams across the diagonal of each sandwiched square, and pressed them all to set the seams, it is now time to cut them along the blue guide line as shown in Figure E.  Now to trim each of the resulting triangles to size using your acrylic ruler.  Your finished size square is 2", but your unfinished square has two seam allowances, so your UNFINISHED square is 2" plus the two 1/4" seam allowances = 2.5".  Measure 2.5" from the seam to the corner, and make sure the seam is at a 45° angle to the sides, as shown in Figure F.  The seam will line up with the dots on your ruler.  Trim the square.

Now open the triangle and finger press the seam open.  Press the seam open with the iron.  Flip the unit over and re-press it on the right side.  From the right side of the fabric, your square should look like Figure G.  Trim the fabric points (dog ears) so that you have a neatly finished square, as shown in Figure H, and….  Voila!  Perfect 2.5” Half Square Triangle Blocks!

Scrappy Quilt - Neutral Background - Day 6

Two days of kids at school and husband on afternoon shift have resulted in progress for me.

Lots of cutting.  Lots of sewing.  Lots of pressing.  More cutting....

Yet it seems that not lots is getting done....

I am so used to doing quick quilts - large pieces - small quilts - easy quilting - ta-da!

But this project is different and it has become another lesson for me - or rather a process.

My first lesson was to teach myself to finish what I start and not to leave a project 1/2 done.  It's not that I don't believe in UFO's or have a problem with them.  It's just that I have had a lifelong problem with loosing interest in things and not finishing.

Next lesson to learn:
Patience.  Planning all the way through.  Taking the time to do anything over that I am not completely happy with.  Not that I am expecting perfection.  That will never happen!  But I know that if I notice something that is not quite the way it should be, maybe no one else will be able to notice later.... However, I will look back on it and think, "Now that the quilt is completed, I wish I would have been more patient.  Redid that block or piece and been completely and wholly satisfied with it before continuing."

I am an impatient quilter.  I guess that comes from being an impatient person.  Ha, ha!  Impatient and impulsive... That's me! Great for road trips though!

I started with a few ideas for a neutral background, scrappy quilt.  Decided if I was planning on scrappy and wanted lots of variety... 2" finished sized squares were needed for nothing smaller than a queen size quilt.

2" sized finished squares!!!!!!!!! Am I completely nuts?  Scarey to me...  And this project is not a lot of strip piecing.  Some, but not a lot.  Otherwise it would not be random enough... And I am shooting for variety.  Scrappy.

The past two days have involved a lot of HST production.  And practicing patience.  But I could not resist laying out those prepared pieces for a little look at how it will look when it comes time to start the actual sewing of rows!

Sew here is a little peek at the fruits of my patience.  I need to add some variety to my choice of warm colours.....

Oh, and P.S.  the feature fabric.... I finally read the selvage... It's Florentine.  Designed by Peggy Toole for Robert Kaufman.

Scrappy Quilt - Neutral Background - Day 4

Slow progress....

Yesterday was Saturday, and I wanted to let my daughter sleep in a bit.  So, I ended up doing the dishes and baking some muffins.  Her bedroom is right next to my sewing area.

Eventually, I did get my neutral strips sewn together and cross cut into 2.5" sets.


Experimented with a few layouts.... 

And considered making some revisions to my plans...
And did some unsewing...

I did not feel like I had made much progress, but today I awoke determined not to feel discouraged.  By the time I returned from church, I had a mental image of EXACTLY how this quilt would be when finished.  I returned to my grid paper and solidified the plan!  Just got started in the sewing room....

When in walks my son, Russell.  He is the guy I rely on for decisions concerning colours and design.  I can always trust him to give me a worthy second opinion.  But today it was different....

You see the light green shoe box to the right of Janome?  This is Russell's quilt box - a project he started soon after I got my machine and it has been waiting for a time when Russell was ready to continue the work and I was willing to give him some time on the machine!

So here we are in the quilting hallway...  Russell has five rows of 12 - 5" finished squares together and three more rows ready to go.  He was wanting a break after that.... Agreed he wanted some pics taken and be in a blog post....  And now he says he wants the computer!!!!!!!!!!!!!  The nerve...

Sew I'm outa here and getting back to Janome before Russell changes his mind!!!!!!!

Scrappy Quilt - Neutral Background - Day 2

Spent the day yesterday washing and ironing all the new fabrics... Not very exciting, but satisfying.  And I began cutting strips.  2.5" for the scrappy squares and 3" for any hst's.

This quilt is planning on being 96" x 96".... Sew a finished square of 2" is quite small.... I'm a bit scared!

I am not accustomed to doing a project that will take so long to finish.  And all those corners to get them all lined up.... Yikes!  Maybe I should plan ahead and go out and buy a new seam ripper now.  The one I am currently using is getting a bit dull and I have a feeling it will be quite useless by the time I make it to connecting rows for this quilt!

I chose all the fabrics to be used in the scrappy neutral background - 22 of them.  Included four light 'coloured' strips just to jazz it up a bit.  All beige and grey seemed little boring to me.  And lined up the strips in a row to get a feel for the order.  Called my son for his opinion.  Any that look like they should not be included?  Should they be rearranged?

And began sewing the strips....

Now it is Saturday morning.... Waiting for my daughter to get up so I can continue.  Her room is right next to the sewing room.  I'll give her until 10:00.  Does that sound fair?

Scrappy Quilt - Neutral Background

It took a little while this time - but it's happened again....

I have a plan that's been forming.  And a new quilt is taking shape in my head.

It all started on May 4th, when I seen ChrissieD's blog post here.  This post was called Bonzer Trunk Show - Up Close With Sarah Fielke's 'hand quilted with love' Quilts.

Sarah's Paint by Numbers quilt wiggled it's way into my mind and has refused to leave.
And now that neutral background has become my latest obsession. Now, I know it's not something that is new to everyone.  Maybe I am the only one that had yet to realize how wonderful it can be on a quilt...

Also, I must admit that the Scrappy Swoon that made it's way onto Google Images via the Hopeful Homemaker has also had an impact. This Swoon block was originally created by Camille Roskelley of Simplify.  Her Swoon quilt pattern is available here.  But I really admired the scrappy version.

So, gazing at all the images of the scrappy neutral backgrounds and the scrappy swoons till my eyes were burning.  And cramming them into my mind (and onto my Sew Fresh Quilts facebook page) until the two were become quite nicely acquainted....

I did spent a lot of time, Googling around, looking for block inspiration, scrappy examples, neutral backgrounds....

When I run into this free tutorial by Jessica of Common Threads on Craftsy called the Inverted Star block.  What inspired me with this star block was the use of warm and cool colours....

Aha!  Now we have a neutral, scrappy background....  Some kind of scrappy version of a block... Made with warm and cool colours.  Choosing a block was almost all that remained.

I decided to go with the Inverted Star block and the Weathervane block, both very similar blocks - enlarged to enable a scrappiness - but not so large that the whole quilt is made of only one block!  The centers of both blocks contain a negative space - one a star and the other a square.

Out comes the grid paper and a freshly sharpened pencil.... How big is this quilt planning on being?
The old pencil crayons fill in the little scrappy squares of the blocks and their background... and then the centers - What to do with the negative space in the centers?  No. Not white. Sleep on it.

I was treated to a day out with my friend Linda today.  We went to a little Red Work workshop in Waterloo.  And then viewed some quilts at a couple of small shows.  Went to a nearby quilt shop whose fabric did not get my attention. Had some great ice cream.  And then went to Len's Mill Ends fabric shop in Hawksville.

Here I found some great additions for my neutral background - from right to left - a grey, shimmery stone-like fabric, some text prints, a light green I could not resist, and a map layout found on the clearance rack.  I was satisfied with my find!  Went to the cutting table, which was unmanned - or womaned..... And it was there that I found the beauty on the left.  Expensivest fabric I ever let myself indulge in.  It went against everything I was raised to live by concerning expenditures.... But it didn't take me long to decide that no matter the cost - that fabric was going to tie it all together.  Fill in the negative space, go with the blue and green cool colours of the block AND go nicely with that negative background without becoming one itself!  Besides it matches the light green fabric that I could not resist!  And I DESERVE it!  And am happy with it. And I'm in love with it. And it completes me!  Ahem...  Er, was that a little too loud?

Blogger's Quilt Festival - Spring 2013 - Flowers in the Sun

  It's time to celebrate quilts!  This is my first time participating in the Blogger's Quilt Festival and I would like to thank Amy.  Sew....  "Thank you for hosting, Amy!"  And thank you to all her wonderful sponsors who have made this year's festival possible!

I sure have enjoyed reading through many of the posts of past entries, from the last three years, and am sew excited to be a part of this year's festival!

Flowers in the Sun

After seeing Julie Pickles - Mod Pop quilt, I wanted to design something using curved piecing, too.  I had been wanting to make a full size quilt and this is the second project I came up with using curved piecing.

I was drawn to turquoise fabrics and had managed to grow these retro beauties into a nice little humble stack.  A recent acquisition of some pretty black and white prints paired up with them nicely.  The Kona green and a green batik, along with the array of oranges and yellows, seem to compliment those turquoise flowers perfectly.

 

  

 

The pieced backing was created using fabrics left over from making the front and includes one of my labels, which I ordered from Spoonflower.

I used Amanda Jean's method of Honeycomb quilting as seen on her Crazy Mom Quilts blog.  It took two full days at the kitchen table - and a Doris Day marathon on Turner Classic Movies... But I LOVE how it turned out!

I chose my favorite machine sewn binding method, which I found on Aunt Marti's 52 quilts blog.  I am addicted to it!  The little pop of color is such a nice touch.

Sew as you can see, I did not make this quilt without any help.... I found my inspiration all over the web.  Thank you all, fellow quilting bloggers!  The online quilting community has given me the inspiration to do what I love - and love what I do.  Thanks to all quilting bloggers for sharing their projects, their ideas, and that love of quilting with others.

Blogger’s Quilt Festival Stats

Finished quilt measures : 80″x 92.5″

Special techniques used : curved piecing

Quilted by : Myself on my Janome home sewing machine

Best Category : Favorite Bed Quilt, Favorite Home Machine Quilted Quilt

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Blogger's Quilt Festival - Spring 2013 - Sew Retro, Baby!

It's time to celebrate quilts!  This is my first time participating in the Blogger's Quilt Festival and I would like to thank Amy.  Sew....  "Thank you for hosting, Amy!"  And thank you to all her wonderful sponsors who have made this year's festival possible!

I sure have enjoyed reading through many of the posts of past entries, from the last three years, and am sew excited to be a part of this year's festival!

 

Sew Retro, Baby!

After seeing Julie Pickles - Mod Pop quilt, I wanted to design something using curved piecing, too.  This is the first project I came up with.  When my son, Russell viewed the drawing I had made on graph paper, he said the design was very old fashioned - hence the choice of Retro in the name.

I   

If there was any one fabric color I had collected in abundance, it was pinks.  Some dark, some plain, some polka dotted.  Some with a touch of green.

A pink, grey and white polka dot flannel was purchased for the backing.

 This close up shows the detail of the simple outline quilting along each seam.

I chose my favorite machine sewn binding method, which I found on Aunt Marti's 52 quilts blog.  It has become my signature binding!  It did take me a while to decide on just what fabric to use, but when I seen this checkered candy cane, I knew she was just the one.

The online quilting community has given me the inspiration to do what I love - and love what I do.  Thanks to all quilting bloggers for sharing their projects, their ideas, and that love of quilting with others.

Blogger’s Quilt Festival Stats

Finished quilt measures : 48″x 54″

Special techniques used : curved piecing

Quilted by : Myself on my Janome home sewing machine

Best Category : Favorite Baby Quilt, Favorite Home Machine Quilted Quilt

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Oink A Doodle Moo - In Blue!

Finished my 40" square baby boy quilt.
  And it's ready for some little farmer to be snuggled in!

Spent all day Thursday piecing something for the backing... But it was ugly :)
Finally decided to go with the blue fabric used on the blocks and am sew happy I did.  Much sweeter!  And I love the little goat pieced in with the label.  He's a keeper!

Yesterday was running around and cutting the lawn, but I found a little time to start the quilting, which I completed late this afternoon.  And started applying the binding using my favourite method.  I am sew hooked on that!

Finished the binding right before supper...
And quilted the stars right after...

Linking up (this last minute Friday finish) to Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Link a Finish Friday, Freedom Fridays and Crazy Mom Quilts.