UFOs...why I start them

UFO, are not unto themselves such a bad thing. (Says she will a list an arm length long). But think about it, UFO can best be described as a creative idea expressed in fabric (for quilter artists), in glass (for glass artists), in yarn (for knitters), in embroidery thread (for needle crafters), and so on. To make my point about carpenters I only have to point the camera in the direction of my son's wood shop. I digress.

So I saw a great 2" scrap buster over on Quiltville. Two four patches joined end to end and paired with a 3.5" by 6.5" and set staggered style...or Barn Raising...I doodled the design down and made a few rows to capture the essence of the pattern. I have used blue as my dominate colour of the larger rectangles, but the 2" bits are anything goes. This will now become my leader and ender project.

 

I used blue and cut pieces as I hunted through the drawers and bins looking for just the right bright pinks, oranges, turquoise and blues for my next weekend class at Earthly Goods.

We will be using this ruler and pattern.

This yellow gray is my background choice.

I KNOW I am my own worst enemy.

Back to my UFO pile: it will be seriously be worked on between now and Christmas, as a few of these have been identified as presents for my grandchildren.

Today I am getting the Tumalo Trail put together, all the blocks are made, and the backing ironed. 
I love these cows! This is for the oldest grandson, born into a family of ranchers. Enter the brown theme for the SoScrappy aficionados that are keeping up with making all sorts of lovely chocolate, mocha, and espresso flavored blocks.

Much love and hugs to you all
Kathy

Busy is as Busy does

I love this new "Kick" block, and how it emphasis that simple piecing can be so attractive.

On Thanksgiving Monday I was happy to get going on my RSC2015 and get the first two rows together. I have chosen to take my brown alternate blocks to the upper border. All this while I listened to an audiobook, Ysabel by Guy Cavriel Kay. This was my first fantasy novel...now I want to listen to more that he has written.

These mocha, caramel and chocolate string blocks are just gorgeous. Wont be long before they get featured in a quilt. Just haven't come up with that design yet.
 
Today I have been in a class at Earthly Goods Quilting taking the Necessary Clutch Wallet class. A fabulous wallet designed by Janelle MacKay of Emmalinebags. The exterior I chose is/was a tea towel I bought in Ireland (June 2015) made by Avoca Mills. The Bright as a Button fabric is so cheery. I moved the teatowel label to suit myseld. This wallet will hold it all. Phone, lipstick, my cable needle, coins, cards...what you don't carry a cable needle with you?

Betty Ann Gandall, my favourite bag lady did a fabulous job of taking us through our paces. She is amazing, knows all the short cuts and just how to make every project just perfect.

I am connecting up with SoScrappy to share all the mocha and chocolaty loveliness.

love and hugs...

Making the best of a holiday

 I am making the most of my holiday Monday. I am working in the studio, doing laundry, soup pot on.

This is the LAST of the  RSC15 blocks. Now the joy of making connector blocks will now begin in earnest.

With the 2" scraps I have made another 16 patch-in-a-Sawtooth Star.

Love and hugs
Kathy

Thankfull for a warm and overflowing studio...in brown

This is Canadian Thanksgiving weekend and as I look around I have so much to be thankful for. A warm home for my family, full studio, time to create, dear friends, good health...the list goes on and on.

Time to create this week has been focused tidying the studio, working on some chocolate and mocha string blocks. These are so rich and lovely and I do look forward to using them in a quilt, as yet of a design unknown!

The 16-Patch-in-a-Sawtooth blocks (well more like mocha and caramel).

And some decluttering of the storage room...long overdue.

I am linking up to all of those celebrating the colour brown over at SoScrappy.

Love and hugs to you all
Kathy

Scotland was amazing

I am back from a 10 day textile tour with Celtic Quilt Tours in bonny Scotland. We saw castles and cattle. Edinburgh has both a castle and a palace! We had brushes with royalty, in Edinburgh, Prince Andrew -Duke of York, and in Dundee, Prince Charles and Camila. No pictures, their motorcades were much too fast.

We saw amazing textile factories like the historic Verdant Jute Mills in Dundee and the now restored Knockando Woolen Mills near Aberdeen.

If I had had a computer with me I would have tried to blog about it, but in a pinch I did post pictures to Facebook. All of the pictures are public, so if you just search my name (and "friend" me) you will get to see lots of inspirational sights and happening.

We attended a patchwork class with Ann Hill where we (Canadian and American travelers) were paired with a Scottish quilter. We exchanged gifts, ideas and addresses. I have amended my block to include a hour-glass border. My thistle was made with a yo-yo that was in my sewing kit and a piece of fringed tartan that had been gifted to me from a scrap found in the Edinburgh Castle Woolen Mills shop. My piece is ready to quilt and be added to my "Textile Techniques Book".

 

That half day class was followed by the VIQ dinner (Very Important Quilter) and the International Gathering of the Guilds, with guest speakers, from Scotland, Ireland, USA and Canada. It was a highly charged and entertaining evening with much laughter and the most splendid Show and Tell! What a great event.

I am home now with laundry done and souvenir fabrics spread out on the table. These are so fun to have with the memories that came with each stop; Melrose, Peebles, Latham, Linlithgow and Glasgow patchwork shops. And the tartans from my new quilting day partner and friend- Ann.

My friend Kim Caskey was in Devanter Netherlands to give a presentation to the Dear Jane club there. She then shopped her way through France and Germany before joining us in Scotland. Because she knew I was working with orange in September, she bought me these two beautiful phat-quarters.

So, speaking of orange I finished the last of the orange twirly blocks last night.

To ease my way back into studio life I have worked on some brown string blocks and the first Chocolate block, looks like a Maltese Cross Medal to me.

I may be late to the party, but I am hooking up to SoScrappy over here.
love and hugs
Kathy

Orange you glad it's September

Orange you glad it is September and you get to play with all these oranges??!! I am loving these two sampler blocks as provided by Angela over at SoScrappy.

Meet Whirler

and Twirler

I cannot stop making the orange string blocks and some have already found there way into the next quilt. Remember the poppy painting from April? When I showed the picture to my 11 year old grandson, he asked innocently enough, "what about copyright Grandma"?

Well Ty, this quilt will be called "Poppyright", and it has been fun using up my yellow string blocks for the background, and red blocks for the poppies, and the green for the leaves (to come next), and the 'light orange' blocks down the left side and across the bottom to define the light coming in from upper right. I LOVE it, and this is what shall be waiting for me when I am back to the design wall in October. There are several more poppies to be added. I am just freehand drawing those on to Steam-a-seam and placing them randomly on the back of my red string blocks.

 Ditto for the leaves which are being made of the green string blocks. I am using metres and metres of green bias 'tape' that my late friend Lou Punko had made for the stems. This photo does not show the brilliance of the yellow. I will have a better shot outside to better capture the true colours once it is complete.

Check out all my friends sewing up lovely orange goodness over at SoScrappy.
Love and hugs....
Kathy

4 x 2 =3.5 + 5" = 4.75"sqare

Only a quilter will get that you sew together 4 2" squares to have a 3.5" square. As invited to do so several months ago by Edyth Sitar, and that is what I have been using as my L/E's. I have been using my aged colourwash squares, which I have have added to over the years, or have been gifted, or have bought others at guild garage sales. I am getting a bit of a stack and what to do with them?

To this you add 4 triangles cut from a single 5"square to your 3.5" square and


 ...ta da...it is sewn back together as a 4.75" square. And yes, I know it is nothing but bias outside edges, but this is where Mary Ellen's Best Press is saving my day.


I have been in several 6" and 5" scrap swaps over my 30+ years of quilting, and it is now time to clean out that bin. As you will confirm, some of these are really 'vintage' fabrics.

I played with settings for a while, I think I love this 'seminole' setting between two spacing bars. Though this Jinny Beyers is too dark.

And this grey is too wimpy...


I have unearthed a few more choices and think I have found the one that will work for me. Stand by for the final reveal. It is time to sew up this stash!

But in the meantime, I am getting ready to head to Scotland with CelticQuilt Tours. Be back online and on topic (scrap quilting) in October.
Love and hugs
Kathy