A week of finishes - Day 7 :: Key Fobs

There's nothing like the end of the quarter to make me become more productive.  The link up for the Finish Along 2016 Q3 is already open!  Before last weekend I didn't have one FAL post up here - now I have 6 - hooray!!

So lots of finishes this week:

Day 1 - My Favourite Colour - a rainbow mini - post here

Day 2 - Project Linus - Christmas quilt - post here

Day 3 - Children Made Project Linus - post here

Day 4 - Project Linus (again!) - post here

Day 5 - Siblings Together Quilt - post here

Day 6 - Heart Quilt - post here

Day 7 - today and here it is ..... key fobs!!  Not on my 2016 Finish Along Quarter 3 list but a lovely quick start and finish in a few hours and it used up lots of scraps in the process - bonus!

These are all ready to be sent to various people but I definitely will be making some more - in fact I can see lots more being made!

Linking up to Finish it up Friday over at Crazy Mom Quilts. x

A week of finishes - Day 6 :: Heart Quilt

Earlier this year people from a FB group I belong to and people from IG sent me heart blocks which were to be made into a quilt for Project Linus.  It's only taken 9 months but one quilt is now made ....

If anyone is reading and they don't see their heart(s) don't worry they are safe and will be well used!

It's funny how the blocks can sit there for so long and then I pieced the top in one night and quilted it the following afternoon.  It's also on my 2016 Finish Along Quarter 3 list - 6th finish (Number 6 on the list) - which motivated me this week because the quarter finishes tomorrow!!  Where has September gone?

I now have a good pile of quilts to sew the Project Linus labels on to which will keep me busy one evening. x

A week of finishes - Day 5 :: Siblings Together Quilt

Siblings Together Quilt Group is a group that was formed to help the Siblings Together charity achieve their aim of providing every child who attends one of their summer camps with a quilt.  These siblings have been separated through the care system but are able to come together at these summer camps.

Nicky, from Mrs Sew and Sow, asked for people to take part in Mini Bees so 4 of us got together and made blocks for each other.  I asked for simple colour block 16 patches sashed with white or cream on two sides.  Not only did my 3 bees members make me them for me but some other people jumped on the bandwagon aswell - hooray.  I had enough to do 4 across by 6 down which gave a lovely size quilt.

I put it on the frame on Saturday night to join in with the #saturdaynightcraftalong on IG run by Lucy from Charm About You (@charmaboutyou).  I decided to do some organic straight line quilt with the occasional heart here and there.  Some hearts were perfect ..... and some were not!

But more frustrating was that the thread kept shredding.  3 times in 20 minutes and I called it a night and resolved to go back the following morning and figure out why it was happening.

Sometimes stepping away from something works, as if by magic, but not this time. I battled with this quilt.  I rethreaded, changed the bobbin, cleaned and oiled the bobbin area, changed the needle, played with the tension and all to no avail.  I finished it, accompanied by a lot of choice words, but could not figure out what was happening.  I loosened off the frame and walked away .... in disgust with the quilt!!  I was using variegated thread but I had used it on my Polaroid Quilt with no problem so what was going on?  After lunch I decided to load up another quilt straight away and see if I could work it out.  It was just as I was walking to the frame that it came to me .... I think you need to go up a needle size with variegated thread.  I took the thread cone off the machine and sure enough right inside the needle recommendation is #18 and I had been using #16.  Thank goodness I figured that out - for next time!

This quilt came together so well that at various stages of its construction every member of my family asked if we could keep this quilt!  Note to self:  this would be a great Bee block for next year.

This is my 5th finish from my 2016 Finish Along Quarter 3 list (Number 14 on the list).  I am linking up today with Lorna over at Sew Fresh Quilts for her Let's Bee Social. 

The Bloggers' Quilt Festival is up and running this week.  Entries were made last week and the voting has now commenced.  I have entered for the first time this year and have entered this Rainbow Mini in the Mini Quilt Category:

and Should I Stay or Should I Go in the Original Design Category.

If you like either of these, and if you have a minute, I would really appreciate a vote from you .... there's some lovely prizes to won!!  Just click on the Category links above, find the mini pic of my quilt and click on the heart in the corner - it turns red when you have cast your vote.  Voting closes on Friday 30 September.  Even if you don't want to vote just head over because there are some amazing quilts on show ...... my to do list is growing longer by the day!

A week of finishes - Day 4 :: Project Linus (again!!)

So this Project Linus quilt is bought to you by my daughter!  

I took a Home Ed group for sewing earlier in the year (you can see some of the other quilts here and here) and this was the last one to be finished off ....

I was especially happy with this one because this daughter is very rarely in the studio or sewing.  Her reason being .... "But Mum you do it so well and so quickly!!""

I haven't done any swirly quilting for a while and I realised again how much I love it.  Many thanks to the people who commented on my recent post and  told me that the quilting motif on it was called a paisley design (rather than my description whirly pearls!).

And the girl herself, who is usually so camera shy.  I was astonished when she let me take a photo of her and then astonished again when she said I could put it on here.

This is my 4th finish from my 2016 Finish Along Quarter 3 list (Number 16 on the list).  I am obviously not going to finish all 25 but I am on track to have a few more finished before the month's out!

A week of finishes - Day 3 :: Children made Project Linus quilt

This wonderfully colourful quilt was made by Home Educated children at a local group.  4 children took part in making this and really enjoyed the chance to use a sewing machine.

It was a simple case of quilting and binding for me ....

I decided to try out a star pantograph.  You may recall that I am very new to pantographs, my first attempt can be seen here, and I am still not quite sure  what I think of them or my skill in using them!

Whilst I was doing it I thought I didn't like the way it looked but once it was off the frame and on the wall I thought it looked OK!

This is my 4th finish from my 2016 Finish Along Quarter 3 list (Number 17 on the list)

A week of finished - Day 2 :: Project Linus Christmas

Earlier in the year I received a box full of goodies for Project Linus.  One of the items was this top, already pieced, just waiting to be quilted.

This project has been on my list since January but at last it is done!!

A simple stipple in red Glide thread finished it off nicely.  I have some more Christmas tops to piece together .... hopefully in time for this Christmas!!

This is my second finish on my 2016 Finish Along Quarter 3 list  (Number 7 on the list)

A week of finishes - Day 1 :: My Favourite Colour

Earlier this year, Popular Patchwork announced a fun challenge for a mini quilt entitled My Favourite Colour, which were going to be on show at their stall at the Festival of Quilts in August.  I ummmed and aaahhhed about what was my favourite colour and then, as is my wont, I was very close to the deadline and I just had to make something ... anything ... any colour!! 

My solution was to make a rainbow mini because truly at different times all the colours are my favourites.  It started with some graduated colour strips ....

and then a bit of handstitching ....

Surely it needed a rainbow?  I had recently just used my Quick Curve Ruler for the first time and thought why not give it a go ....

  and it actually worked OK ....

But to use it ....

or not?

As you can see I decided not!  It needed to be the width of the piece and looked a little funny the size it was.  Being really new to curves I didn't have time to practise how to get it like I wanted.  I decided on straight line stitching first ....

but then decided to fill the top portion with gorgeous little swirly pearls (don't quote me on that - I've no idea what this quilting motif is really called!) ....

and just because I like this shot ....

Ta da!  I was going to have a rainbow effect on the binding so that each colour lined up under the columns of colour however, time was against me  Instead I brightened it up with a rainbow of prairie points.  This was a new technique for me but was really simple to do and I would definitely do it again.

This finished at 15" x 10.5".  The white is Kona cotton and the colours are all scraps.  I quilted it with Superior Magnifico in White.

I will look forward to getting this back and hanging it up in my studio ... which reminds me I better find out when it is coming back to me!

This is also a finish on my 2016 Finish Along Quarter 3 list - the first one I have linked up (Number 22 on the list)  .... I'd better get busy this last week!!

Pick a letter, any letter!

My Mum turned 80 in August.  What do you get for your Mum when she turns 80?

What do you get someone who has most things and has just decided to start decluttering after 30 years in the same house?

What do you get for someone who, after a few hard years, decides to buy herself a soft top sports car a week before her birthday?

What do you get, or make, for someone when there is only a week left until their birthday?

Why you make a Scrabble mini quilt of course!!

My Mum and I, and indeed all the children, often play Scrabble so it seemed appropriate.

My daughter, 12, now plays with my Mum, 80!

I loved the way this turned out in the end .... although part way through I was beginning to worry it wasn't going to look as good in real life as it did in my head!

I used twin needles to attach the white grid fabric and decided to use those as the quilting lines aswell.  It gave a zig zag appearance on the back of the quilt, which I actually quite like - speed, efficiency and good looks too!

Now the question is what to make her for her 81st?!!

Linking up to Finish it Up Friday today.

Bloggers' Quilt Festival - Rainbow Mini - Autumn 2016

And for my second entry into the Bloggers' Quilt Festival, hosted by Amy Amy's Creative Side, I am entering a Rainbow Mini into the Mini Quilts category.  I have just realised that I never named this mini ..... it was made for the Rainbow Mini Swap Round 2 on IG back in February this year.

This was an original design that started with some scrappy stars and developed from there.  The full story of this quilt can be found here if you want to know more!

This was the first quilt that I had made with so much negative space and I had great fun filling it all in with my longarm quilting.

It grew organically and encompassed both ruler work and freehand guided feathers.  I learnt a lot on this quilt and was really sad to see it posted off.

My other entry, Should I Stay or Should I Go, can be found here.

Entries are open until 24 September so you still have a few days to think which quilt of yours you may like to enter.  If you do please let me know and I will head on over and have a look!