Fish Quilt is Done! Fish Quilt is Done!

What a saga getting this quilt finished!  But first, here it is.

I started this quilt a couple years ago, and finished the top relatively quickly.  I was working on it out here at the acreage on weekends, when I was still going back and forth to the city to work during the week.  It was winter, so there wasn't a lot of work to be done out here.  So, lots of time to sew. 

I have a mid-arm, which was in the city.  I loaded the top on, and did a couple passes.  Then, a combination of procrastination and warmer weather set in.  It sat for months!  When we sold our house in the city, and had to move the mid-arm to the acreage, that posed a problem.  It's hard to move a loaded quilt!  I had to figure out how to roll it on to the bars, and remove them from the table to move them.  Then wrap it so it wouldn't get dirty in the process.

It worked, though, with only a couple minor hiccups.  One was that the quilt got a little rumpled, so I had to iron it ON the mid-arm frame, each time I rolled it forward.

More procrastination ensued.  The garden and yard was much more enticing than my basement studio.  Finally, this winter, I sat myself down and told myself to smarten up and finish that quilt!  And went back to work on it.

The one smart thing I did was draw out the design I used on the top border and cornerstones.  After a year, there was no way I would remember how I did it.  That saved me having to unroll my quilt back to the beginning.

Finally, I finished it, and it turned out better than I expected.  (They almost always do - I don't know why I sit on the quilting so long.)

Here is a close up of some of the quilting.  I was going for a fish scale effect.

I backed it with this wonderfully soft flannel.  I'm sleeping under the quilt now, and it makes for a really cozy quilt!

And finally, just because I never tire looking at my view, here is a shot out my kitchen window, just as the sun was coming up the other day.

Colleen

Moving Right Along

When I was working, I had visions of me quilting, quilting, all day long.  Turns out, that hasn't happened.  There are other things to keep me busy.  But, I have been getting a lot more quilting time in than I used to - that's for sure!

I joined a quilt group in town.  It's very small, only about a dozen members, but that suits me just fine.  We quilt for the entire day (9 - 5), then go for supper.  Then, some of the ladies go back and quilt into the evening.  For me, 8 hours is enough!  

I have finished a couple table runners.  Both of these are kits.  Theoretically, they are nice quick projects.  That's without factoring in the procrastination.  They both sat for quite a while waiting to be quilted.

This first one is bright and cheerful - springtime colours.  I have it on my table now, in contrast to the very cold temperatures we've been having.  It warmed up today to -7 C.  This is the warmest it's been in a month.  Most daytime temperatures have been around -20 C.  (January was mild, but we're paying for it now!)

The second one won't come out till the heat of the summer - when I'm in the mood to eat watermelon.

And a close up of the quilting.  I did wavy lines in both directions.  Easy!

I've got some other things almost done - should be able to post again in the next few days!

Colleen

  

Car Seat Quilts

My daughter and son-in-law have just had twins!  A boy and a girl.  I'm not posting pictures, as I haven't got permission from them to do so, but I do have pictures of quilts (surprise!)

I made them each a quilt to cover their carseat.  This is a Moda Bakeshop pattern, the Sophie Car Seat Cover, by Jennie Pickett.  I saved it years ago, as it was so cute - and I knew it would come in handy in the Canadian climate.

Here are my versions:

The colour is off, as I took the picture indoors, after dark.  They are actually more of a teal colour than the pictures show.

The quilts are identical, but I quilted them differently.  This one is quilted with swirls - a la Kathleen Riggins.  My daughter gave me Kathleen's "Diary of a Young Swirl" last Christmas, and I was able to put the instructions to good use!

The second one is my version of the Pop design, from Christina Cameli's "Step by Step Free Motion Quilting" book.  I say "my version" because, if you happen to have the book, you'll see it really doesn't look much like Christina's version.  But I'm happy with it!

Both quilts have made their way to my daughter's place, ready to use when the twins come home from NICU.  (They are both doing well, just having a few issues as a result of being preemies.)

And, no doubt the quilts will be needed.  Here is what it looks like today at my place!  We've got about 10 inches of snow so far, and it isn't supposed to stop until later on tonight.

Colleen

One Finish to Report

I really intended to get more done this quarter!  I could offer all kinds of excuses, but you've heard them all before.  (Probably from me!)

In any event, I do have one finish for the Finish-A-Long.  This is an Easter table runner - finished in lots of time for next Easter!

This was a kit that was on sale.  I probably wouldn't have bought it is it wasn't, as the bunny is kind of funny looking.  It looks a little better after I quilted it.  I used metallic thread and outlined all of his "parts" which made them stand out a bit more.  

It's the first time I have used metallic thread.  I discovered, fairly quickly, that the stitch regulator was not the way to go.  Once I turned that off, and slowed down a lot, the stitching went quite well, with very little breakage.

My other complaint with this kit was the fabric.  There were two different purple batiks.  They were so similar, though, you can't even see the flying geese beside the flower.

Enough whining though.  It's done!  And ready for next Easter.

I leave you with a photo of, what I think is a Mock Orange  Last summer, I saw a few white flowers hidden behind an overgrown lilac next to my house.  I cut out most of  the lilac, and was rewarded this year with this pretty bush!  I'm quite pleased with this gardening success!

I will be linking up with the Finish-A-Long gals.

 

Colleen

Let's Dust This Old Thing Off and See if it Still Works

It's been a loooong time since I've written anything here.  Lots has happened, which I'll get into in some other posts.  (All good, but not so much quilty.)

I will use this post to post some entries in the Finish Along.  I do have quite a few to finish, but I'll concentrate on these three for now.

This is my fish quilt.  The fabric is all fish themed.  When I spread the top out on the floor like this, Mr CQT and my mom both thought it was Christmas trees!  No sense of imagination, those two.  Anyway, I'm halfway through quilting it, so should be able to finish it up as soon as I stop procrastinating.

Next, is an Easter table runner.  You would think I would finish this up for Easter, right?  Nope, didn't happen.  I did have the top finished for Easter and spread that on the table.  Again, Mr CQT could not figure out what it was supposed to be.  But with this one, I don't blame him.  That bunny is in a really weird position.  (If you can't see it either, he has his back to us, with his head up in the air and crooked to the side.  It was a kit on sale - what can I say?)  I'm almost done quilting this now, and have the binding ready to put on.

Third is another table runner.  This one was another kit I picked up somewhere, several years ago.  I really like the floral print, and I've never done that ribbon piecing, so that was fun.  It needs to be quilted and bound.

And finally, one more kit.  I've done the cutting but that's it.  This one makes a wall hanging and a table runner.  Both about coffee, which, I confess, is something I can't live without.  This one should be fairly quick and easy.

I'm linking up with the Finish-A-Long gang.

Colleen

Scrap In a Box is Done!

And it only took a year!

Last year this time, Charlotte, at Scrapitude Quilts started the clues for her second mystery, Scrap in a Box.  I kept up to her for a time...well, you know.

I pulled it out again before Christmas and started plugging away, and, Ta Da!

I dragged Mr CQT outside yesterday, which was a VERY cold day, and had him hold it for me.  He even took off his gloves to daintily hold the corners, like I've taught him.  Behind there, he is saying "Are you done yet?  Have you taken any pictures yet?"

I'm really happy with how this turned out.   I started out with this stripe as a guide, and pulled mostly scraps in red, pin, orange and yellow.  I didn't realize the colours would be so cheerful! 

And it's the perfect size for a couch quilt - long enough to cover your feet and wrap around you for a nice nap!

I quilted it with a fun pantograph, with dragonflies and flowers.

Either that pantograph was real easy, or I'm getting better at this longarm stuff.

And, I used the stripe again for a bias binding.

I finished just in time to link up with Leanne's Scraptastic Tuesday.

I Haven't Been Quilting

Because we have bought ourselves an acreage!  We've been looking for years, and have finally found our ideal property.

The property is 9.5 acres. About 5 are developed, and the rest are currently being farmed by the fellow that farms the rest of the quarter.  The house was built in the 70's and, although it has been very well maintained, it has not been updated since it was built.  It needs some work on the interior, for sure, but, for now, it's very comfortable!

And lookee here!  A barn!  We have no plans to actually use this, but it is gorgeous.  My first thought was "barn quilt block", but Mr. CQT put the kibash on that idea.  Not to worry - there are a couple other buildings that could hold a barn quilt block quite nicely.

There are gorgeous trees everywhere.  We are having a challenge identifying them all.  The previous owner was a bit of an amateur horticulturalist, and the yard is quite nicely landscaped.  We are trying to identify the trees that are here using our "Lois Hole's Favourite Trees and Shrubs" book.  Many of them were not on Lois' favourite list, so that makes it more challenging.  I need to get my sister out here - she's the gardener in the family.

There are several outbuildings. This is one - it was used as a woodshop by the previous owner.  With some work, it could make a good quilt studio.  But, there's also lots of room in the house, so maybe not necessary.  Mr. CQT has a huge shop, so he's in heaven.

It even comes complete with a privy!  Luckily, it's not operational (although, in the first few days, when we were figuring out the well, it might have come in handy).

And, to complete the whole experience, we adopted this little cutie:

This is Ralphie.  There was some confusion about her gender for the first few days, so she's ended up with a sort-of masculine name.  But she comes to it already, so we don't want to change it.  She's border collie, 11 weeks old now, and she's as smart and sassy as can be.

So, this has kept me pretty busy these last three weeks.  I've been on vacation, but Monday, it's back to the office, and only out here on weekends.  I'll have to set up a sewing room here too - I've surprised myself with how much I miss my quilting time.