What we are working on

 We had another productive day at Prayers and Squares yesterday. We did some talking and planning around our fund raising for the summer and I think we now have a workable plan. There is one quilt for sure that we are going to be taking donations on and will offer tickets in return for the donations. It is the Aurora Ridge quilt , designed by McKenna Ryan, that I finished earlier this spring. It is currently hanging at the church and can travel to the events that we have planned to enter. We finished bindings on a number of quilts yesterday, and we figures out a pricing formula and we hope to sell some of these in the coming months. We think the animal ones will go quickly, or at least that’s our hope. The moose quilt got its binding, a lovely dark blue to set off the centre. I’ve been working on a Great Granny Square quilt here at home for the past few months. This past week I got it all together, quilt as you go style. It got a binding yesterday. The back is interesting too. There was a panel with the large spiral prints on it that would have been difficult to work into a quilt but made perfect backing for some of the blocks. And then, Janet did the quilting on this scrappy quilt. We have a couple more quilts left in the pile to be bound and also a couple in the to be layered pile. All in all, we are being very productive. I’ll link up to Finished, or not, Friday

Slow Sunday Stitching

 I’m slowly stitching away on my Connections quilt. Once again, thank you to all who sent me 2 inch squares. Unbelievably, I have gone through almost all of them! When they first arrived I thought there would be more than enough to finish this, but no. I’m going to go scrounging through my stash here and at the church and cut bits off things to get more. I’m almost halfway through the second half of this quilt. Hopefully when the other half of this half is finished,  it will declare itself done.

I’ll link up to Kathy’s Slow Sunday Stitching

What we’re working on

 We had 2 quilt top finishes yesterday at Prayers and Squares. Marg finished this one, using the animals from the Moonlight Stroll series. And Janet finished this scrappy one. Here at home I've been working on another Pat Speth sampler. It is well over halfway finished. I am hoping that a couple of hours on it this afternoon will finish it. Then it can go onto the pile waiting to be bound. This will make four in that waiting list. I’ll link up to Finish, or not, Friday and then get into my sewing room to finish this one. 

What we’re working on

 We didn’t have a lot of new things to show in the past couple of weeks. We’ve been working on finishes, getting bindings done and labels and things like that. Also doing layering on five or 6 more quilts. But this week, we started a couple of new projects, both using the Moonlight Stroll small wildlife panels. Marg started a new design to use them in. She got all of this done in one afternoon, but then had to stop because we don’t have anything in our stash that works for sashing. We will have to go shopping. And then I have started another Step Into Moonlight quilt pattern. The first one was given away, so I hope to have this second one as a fund raiser. And then here at home I’m slowly working on getting things finished. I’ve been working on this sampler for quite a while, but it got put into time out in order to finish some other things that had deadlines. However, it will be in time out again for a while. I need to do the quilting on these 2 quilts, also hopefully to be used in fund raising. We go through a lot of fabric and batting in the course of a year. We still have lots of scraps and leftover strips to use for quilt tops. It is the backings that we run out of frequently. We have given out 12 quilts so far this year. If we assume 3 1/2 yards per top and binding and another 3 yards for backings, that adds up to 78 yards of fabric used in just the first 4 months of this year. Rather mind boggling. Anyhow, I’ll link up to Finish, or not, Friday and then get to work on the quilting. I’m hoping to finish one of them this afternoon.

Slow Sunday Stitching

 Happy Easter to everyone who celebrates it, the best, most excellent day of the Christian year! He is risen!! We are off to church to celebrate in a few minutes. I’ve just time enough to write and post this. It won’t be a long post. I’ve made progress on Connections. I have two rows and a spacer row all stitched together and a partial spacer row in place. I’ve removed a bunch of the papers as I’ve been sewing so I have more pieces to glue baste again. 

I’ll link up to Kathy’s Slow Sunday Stitching

Slow Sunday Stitching

 My Connections quilt is growing, although not all that fast. But that’s OK, it is, after all, slow stitching. It now measures about 30 x 46 inches. I would like it to be a lap sized quilt that I can use next winter. I’m aiming for somewhere around 48 x 60. So I will keep going and add rows as I get them finished. I have a row and a bit of another one ready to add. But I think I might work in smaller sections before adding them to the main piece It is getting a bit cumbersome to handle. I’ll have to do some measuring of the sections to figure out how many rows to do before adding them. Actually, I don’t need to do that. All I need is another piece the same size as what I’ve already done. The hexagons, triangles and squares are all 1 1/4 inch finished sides. Once again, thank you to all who sent squares so that I could continue with the quilt. 

I’ll link up to Kathy’s Slow Sunday Stitching and then maybe go do some measuring and figuring.

What we are working on

 We had multiple projects come to a finish yesterday. We have found over the past few years that the quilts we have a hard time keeping up with are those that are needed by men, especially men who are/were very outdoors orientated. So we try to keep some outdoors themed quilts on hand. Most of the time, as soon as we have one of them done, it is gifted out. So our focus lately has been to get more of them done. We also have found that they are the ones that do well for selling as fund raisers. We finished 2 tops and their backings yesterday that will fit either of those uses.  We’ll get them layered next week. We have a couple more of these beautiful animal panels to do. The Star Trek quilt is fully finished, with a fun star themed binding. And then Janet found a partially finished baby quilt in our to-be-worked-on pile and added a couple of borders and then did the quilting to finish it. The borders took it from “meh” to wonderful.

I’ll link up to Finish, or not, Friday

Slow Sunday Stitching

 My evenings this past week have been taken up with stitching on Connections. Thank you to those who sent me some of their 2 inch scrap squares. You have increased the connections found in this quilt and enabled me to keep going with it. I’m sure I have enough now to be able to finish it to a reasonable usable size, most likely a lap quilt to perhaps use next winter. It currently measures about 29 inches long by about 42 inches wide. I’m working now on adding the single row to join these 2 sections. After that I’ll likely start a new section and perhaps make the next ones longer. Although, thinking about it again, 60 inches long is a good lap quilt length. I have lots of time before needing to make that decision. For now, it is just fun. 

I’ll link up to Kathy’s Slow Sunday Stitching

What we’re working on

 This is going to be a very quick post. I only have one photo, of the finished Star Trek top. we didn’t get a lot of sewing done yesterday. Almost as soon as w got to the church at about 1 pm yesterday, the power went out. Marg had a thermos of hot water and some tea brought from her house just down the street and we had a relaxing and fun tea time. When the power wasn’t back on by just before 3, we decided to call it quits and go home. And of course, that’s when the power came back on. In the time between 3 pm and 5:30 pm we layered 7 quilts. The backings all needed to be pressed which is why we couldn’t do them while the power was out.  Anyhow, here’s the Star Trek quilt.  It is one that was layered yesterday. I’ve brought it home and will get it quilted sometime this week. I’ll link up to Finished, or not, Friday

What we are working on

 I have 1 quilt top finish and 2 progress photos to share today. There are quite a few more that are so close. I hope to have photos of those next week. We are hoping to do a mammoth layering session next week. But for today there is this lovely piece that Janet finished on Thursday. The colours in the body of the quilt were chosen based on the colours in the border. And then I have a progress photo of the Star Trek quilt. It is one of those that I hope will be finished by Thursday. It just needs a few more borders added.

Over 10 years ago I started the McKenna Ryan quilt called Aurora Ridge. I pulled it out a couple of months ago and started back in on it. It is now all quilted, free motion on my domestic machine in a quilt as I go style, one block at a time. It is all sewn together now. There is a cover strip left to hand stitch down along the long crosswise seam on the back. And then it will get some borders. This is going to be used as a fund raiser for our Prayers and Squares group. 

I’ll link up to Finish, or not, Friday

Stay at Home Round Robin

 Today is the day when those of us who participated in the Stay at Home Round Robin post our finished quilt tops. I had hoped to have the quilting finished as well, but that didn’t happen. Too many other projects got in the way, along with weather preventing getting to the church and a bout of illness too. There are a bunch of quilts that are going to need layering soon, so we will probably do a marathon layering day. But in the meantime, the top is done. I am so happy with it. What a great way to spend the long winter weeks, planning and executing and then looking forward to the next prompt. I hope to be able to participate in this yearly, God willing. The centre block was an old orphan project. All of the fabrics came from my stash or the stash from our Prayers and Squares group. This will end up as a donated quilt to that group. 

I’m linking up to the finished SAHRR parade. There are so many unique quilts there, all based on the same prompts, each one so very different. I have a strong affinity to symmetry, as my quilt very definitely shows. But I am very drawn to the ones in the parade that are asymmetrical. Somehow, I don’t seem to be able to do it, but I do like looking at them. Maybe that will be next year’s challenge to myself, go way outside my comfort zone and do asymmetrical. 

Slow Sunday Stitching

 I’m continuing to work on my two current EPP projects. I have others that are UFOs buried in a bin. At least I know where they are. I’ll likely get back to them at some point, even if it is to combine them with something else. I spent some time earlier this week adding some flattened hexagons to my six point stars for the Willyne Hammerstein pattern Flower Power. And then, because I got responses from my call for 2 inch squares, I’ve spent the rest of the week basting those squares to their papers and stitching more Connections units. Thank you to all of you who responded.It is so much fun to play with someone else’s fabrics. I haven’t touched my cross stitch lately. I’m thinking of picking it back up once the weather warms up and I’m able to stitch outside. Of course being outside actually means inside of a screened tent shelter to provide protection from those nasty biting black fly critters, the one and only down side to living in Muskoka.

I’ll link up to Kathy’s Slow Sunday Stitching

What We’re Working On

 We had the full complement of our Prayers and Squares ladies present yesterday, so it was a good time to finally do our demonstration of Foundation Paper Piecing. Janet, Barbara and Marg participated. And by the end of the day they had the letters for the Star Trek quilt finished. Pat worked on another quilt which isn’t far enough along for pictures. And Susan worked on the last of the fabric organizing. Sharon was there as well and also worked on a quilt, but no pictures of that one either. So far the finished pieces of the Star Trek quilt look like this. There is one more of the Alpha symbols to finish and then the whole thing can be put together. All of the paper pieced components of this quilt came from the website Fandom in Stitches. I’m hoping to have the top finished by next week so we can then get it layered and ready for quilting. Although thinking of it now, I’m not sure if we have anything that will work for backing. How sad..... We’ll need to go shopping... LOL. Something with stars on it seems like it would be good for it. 

I’ll link up with Finished, or not, Friday

Slow Sunday Stitching

 It was such a lovely day on Friday that my husband and I went on a drive to Minden, about 90 minutes from home to do a bit of fabric refreshing. There is a quilt shop there called Remember Me Quilts and More. It is owned by the loveliest, friendliest lady. I needed border fabrics for the McKenna Ryan Aurora Ridge quilt that is hopefully on the fast track to being finished. And then I wanted some bright and happy fabric that I could semi-fussy cut for a new EPP project. I seem to have renewed my obsession with EPP. It’s a Willyne Hammerstein design from her third book called Flower Power. I’ve gotten a start on the centre stars. I’ve cut them stack and whack style rather than true fussy cutting. I didn’t want any more fabric swiss cheese and I think this will work. There is lots of motion in these, which is what I was hoping for. 

I’ve had to put my Connections project into time out. I’ve run out of 2 inch squares. Originally, the squares came from some of my friends at the London Friendship Quilters Guild, which led to the name Connections. Would any of you reading this be willing to send me a small envelope of 2 inch squares so I can continue this project? Nothing big, perhaps just enough to fit into a regular envelope that can go in the regular mail. That would be so much fun. If so, contact me at caleeshepherd at gmail.com and I’ll send you my address. Don’t leave it in the comments as I likely won’t be able to respond. So many comments now come through as no-reply. Thank you in advance, so much. 

The really big news for here though, for the slow stitching, is that I’ve finished My Tweets. It  is trimmed and waiting on binding. I took it with me to the church on Thursday to spread it out on the big tables to trim it and then laid it out on the floor for a picture. I’m going to bind it in the same fabric as the sashing/border so it won’t look too much different than this when it is done.

Anyhow, it is time to get this day fully started. So I’ll link up to Kathy’s Slow Sunday Stitching and then get to it.

What we are working on

 I haven’t done one of these posts in a few weeks. Our Prayers and Squares meeting last week was cancelled due to weather and the week before I wasn’t there due to illness. Susan continues to work on getting all our boxes of donated fabric organized and into bins and onto shelves. I think she might be on the last tote box now, unless of course we count the 2 boxes of Christmas themed fabrics. There is one almost finish. It just needs its final blue/grey border added and then it can be layered and quilted. It is likely going to be used as a fund raiser. I’ve been working on more sampler blocks at home. So far this year our small group has given out 7 quilts. As fast as they get done they seem to have people in need to go to. It’s a wonderful ministry.

I’ll link up to Finished, or not, Friday

 

Slow Sunday Stitching

 I took the last quilting stitch in My Tweets this past week! The last stitch went into the junction of those three sashing bits. Celebration time! However, it is currently still sitting on the chair in a heap, still in the quilting hoop, waiting to be trimmed and bound. Hopefully I don’t leave it too long. Since finishing that I’ve been rather unfocused and unsure of what to do next. I picked up my Jackrabbit cross stitch, but had a difficult time trying to concentrate on the tiny threads and the counting. I ended up ripping out stitches two different times in his right ear, so I put that aside. Then I went digging looking for an EPP project I started years ago, back in 2019, according to this blog. It’s called Connections. I found the fabrics and the papers and got started on doing some more glue basting. But the biggest thing I’ve been working on this past week is machine quilting an old McKenna Ryan project. I’ve dived in and am doing some free motion quilting on my domestic machine. It’s actually going better than I thought it would. The hand sewing bit comes in on the back. I’m doing it a block at a time and then putting it together quilt as I go style, which involves hand sewing cover strips over the seams on the back, hence the slow stitching part. I really want to get this one done so we can use it as a fund raiser for our Prayers and Squares group this spring/summer. It is the pattern Aurora Ridge.  According to this blog, I started it way back in 2016. I bought the patterns as kits with the fabrics in them. I’m not sure why it got put into cold storage. But anyhow, it is back in production. I have one more block to put together. Pictures to follow in more detail in another post. I’m linking up to Kathy’s Slow Sunday Stitching

Slow Sunday Stitching

 I have reached a milestone this week. All of the quilting in the bird blocks for My Tweets is now finished. A few nights more work on the sashing and bottom border and it will be ready for trimming and binding. It could very well be finished and up on the wall by the end of March, which has been my goal since I picked this back up. And of course, there is no getting close to finishing one project without thoughts turning to “what’s next?”. I am seriously thinking of getting back and picking up some much neglected English Paper piecing projects that have been packed away in a box that I’ve recently found for years. I’ve gone so far as to order some more papers so that I can get them to a finish. 

I’ll link up to Kathy’s Slow Sunday Stitching

Stay at Home Round Robin prompt 6

 I’ve been slow this week working on my SAHRR. Unfortunately a virus of some sort got me at the end of last week and I’ve been feeling punk and unwell. No energy for even any hand stitching, let alone sitting at the sewing machine or doing any cutting. It seems to be easing off now, so I was able to get some work done on this project today. The prompt this week was “kites” or something beginning with the initial “K”. Well that was easy. I’d already done some Kites Tails, a pattern found in the Quilter’s Cache site,  in my quilt in a previous round. So I thought do the same, but in a bigger size. And because I wanted this quilt to end up rectangular, I’m just adding them to the top and bottom. I have one row of them almost done. But I’ve hit a bit of an energy wall, so will have to call it quits for today. I’m hoping to have it all put together in time for the reveal link party. In the meantime, I’ll link up to The Darling Dogwood who is hosting the link party this week.

What We’re Working on

 There were only 3 of us at our little group yesterday, so our progress was slower and there is less to show. But there is still stuff being done. We are working on ideas for fundraising, a necessity for supporting the number of quilts we do each year. We have a number of lovely wildlife panels that will work well. This one is ready for its borders. They are all animals found here is Muskoka.  The Great Granny Squares only need 2 more blocks and then it is ready to put together. The sampler in blues and greens that I’ve been working on here at home is finished, except for binding. And I’ve started another, also in blues and greens with the addition of a gold in the blocks. 

These are fun to do and a great way to gradually build quilts in between working on others. Susan has finally made her way through sorting all of our odds and ends of fabrics. She’s sorted it all according to sizes and colours and it makes it so much easier to see what we have and hopefully use it. I may end up starting another of these samplers using purples, as we seem to have a lot of that as well.  I brought a bag of purples home with me so we’ll see what it becomes.

I’ll link up to Finished, or not, Friday

 

Stay at Home Round Robin, prompt 5

 This week’s prompt for the round robin was “Quarter Log Cabins”. A block I love to sew and which works really well with what I have so far. I need 20 of them for the idea I have. The finial decision though, will depend on next week’s prompt. I’ve only managed to get 10 of the quarter log cabin blocks made. I ran out of the dark blue fabric, which was cut offs from some backings. But I know there is more of it on a bolt at the church, so I’ll pick it up tomorrow at our Prayers and Squares sewing day. In the meantime, here’s how it looks so far. Final decisions and add ons will happen next week which will be the last prompt. As it is now, it measures 54x54 inches. I would like it to end up longer than it is wide, but that too will need to wait until next week. I’ll link up to Brenda at Songbird Designs who is hosting this week’s SAHRR link up.

Slow Sunday Stitching

 We are currently in the middle of yet another winter storm. The second in a week and it is dumping a fair amount of snow on us. I have no idea how much, but I must say that I am more than ready to be done with winter. In the meantime, there is plenty to do indoors. A few weeks ago I estimated that it would be taking me 2 weeks to do the hand quilting per square of My Tweets. That was a huge overestimate. I’ve actually been doing 2 squares per week. At this rate the hand quilting just might be done by the end of this month. It will certainly be done before the end of winter, which has been my goal. I am really enjoying revisiting each of these blocks as they are quilted, remembering the fun I had choosing the colours, especially for the tails. And also enjoying the feeling of having spring in my lap, if not outside in reality. I’ve been indulging myself in a little more spring dreaming by going through a seed catalogue, getting ready to order my seeds, especially those that need to be started early. But until then, I’ll enjoy the spring flowers and birds in this quilt. I’ll link up to Kathy’s Slow Sunday Stitching