Thanks everyone who entered my 200th post giveaway. Interesting that this time I only had 5 people who actually entered. I don't know if perhaps last week being spring break people were away or perhaps the books and fabrics just didn't appeal to folks. My 100th post giveaway had 27 responses. So this one makes it for great odds for those who replied.
The winner of the Dresden plate template, the book Dresden Plates of Distinction and the fabric is Gina (AKA CatWhiskers).
The winner of the Quilters Home Fall book and fabric is Mary (AKA Needled Mom).
I also have some bundles of fabric here that I was going to have for a my choice giveaway for a favourite comment (or two). Since there are only 3 people left, Angela, Hetty and Elizabeth (AKA Sand and Sunshine), and all of you are my loyal followers each of you will receive a package of fabrics as a thank you for reading my blog and providing such wonderful encouragement.
Thanks ladies for participating and please send me your snail mail addresses. I have to get mailing envelopes sometime over the weekend, and then I will ge the packages out to you next week.
Enjoy the rest of your week and happy quilting.
Vicki
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Elaine Quehl Workshop In Full Bloom - Part 3
Happy National Quilting Day. I hope everyone has had a chance to enjoy working on a nice quilting project today or will get a chance this evening. I have finished cutting out the rest of the fabric pieces for the poppy wall hanging and the first version is up on my design wall. As a first attempt I do like it. As I look at it I do see a few places where I do need to make some changes to the fabric that I selected because there isn't enough contract between the pieces or too much, but not many. I will wait for a few days before making any changes just so that I don't make any quick decisions. This is what it looks like at the moment.
Once I'm happy with the final choices then the fun part starts, I have to take everything down very carefully from the design wall, because each peice has to be ironed on in order from A1 through K10, so this will likely be the challenging part in making sure that I don't mix anything up.
Once I'm happy with the final choices then the fun part starts, I have to take everything down very carefully from the design wall, because each peice has to be ironed on in order from A1 through K10, so this will likely be the challenging part in making sure that I don't mix anything up.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
March Madness - 200th Post Giveaway
The giveaway is now closed and the winners will be announced in a new post.
It's March Madness time and I have just reached my 200th post. Now I'm not into basketball, but I can relate to the madness part. First, it's been a very long, cold and dreary winter so I'm feeling the effects of cabin fever and looking forward to spring. It's just beginning to warm up here in Toronto and I certainly hope it continues to do so with no more surprises from Mother Nature.
Since this is a blog about quilting, let's talk about things that drive you nuts when it comes to quilting, this should be good for a laugh of two. I'm a true believer in laughter helping to cure what ails you, so I'm hoping that this entry can make you laugh and put a smile on your face.
So perhaps I will start out with a couple of "What was I thinking" moments that just happened recently. I place an order for some fabric about a month ago and was beginning to wonder what had happened to it, since normally it should take about 2 weeks to get here. I then get an e-mail just over a week ago saying that they got my order returned to them because my address was incomplete and I would be credited the cost of the fabric but unfortunately not the shipping (that's normal). So I go on their web site and check out what I had entered on my account page and I completely forgot to put in the street number for where I live - DUH!. That certainly makes it rather difficult to deliver anything when they can't find which location on the street to drop off the package at.
Early this year I was looking to buy some templates to make Dresden plate blocks and found some nice ones made by Ardco from precision metal that are window style which would allow you to audition fabric if you wanted to fussy cut the plates. The templates came in 6", 12" and 14" block sizes. The price wasn't bad so I decided to order all 3 sizes. When they arrived I look at the templates and I have this puzzled look on my face, the 6" template looks very small to me. Boy this would be a lot of work cutting these tiny plates, there is no way that they are 6". Then it dawned on me, DUH, the individual plates are not 6" in size, the finished block is 6" in size. How many times has this happened to you, when you read something, but you completely misinterpret what you read. So the templates that actually make a finished 12" or 14" block aren't bad, but for me, the 6" one is just to much fussy work that I will never bother to use it.
My last recent madding event was when I was working on the Secret Garden quilt. I typically measure twice, cut once. Well with that quilt, I think my motto should have been measure twice, then measure once again before cutting. Several times I ended up cutting blocks the wrong size, sashing the wrong size, and finally when I was sewing together my binding, which I cut at 2 1/2", the last piece didn't quite match. So when I measured it, for some reason it was cut at 2 1/4". My bag of extra scraps grew faster this time around.
On a final note if you wish to read an older blog of mind you can go here to read about the time I ended up quilting a file folder to the back of a wall hanging that was going to be a present for our friends in Hawaii.
http://felinesandfibrearts.blogspot.com/2010/05/bird-of-paradise-convergence-quilt-part_09.html
So time to show you what I have this time around for the March Madness giveaway. The first giveaway will honour the 6" Dresden plate template. You will receive the template, a book titled "Dresden Plates of Distinction" by Sharon Stroud and 4 pieces of fabric.
The second giveaway is a book titled "The Quilter's Home: Fall" by Lois Krushina Fletcher and 4 pieces of fall related fabric.
Both of these giveaways will be based on a random selection from the comments that people leave. To win one of these giveaways you must answer any one of the following 3 questions to share a little laughter with everyone. If you just leave a comment saying to count me in and not answer one of the questions then you will not be entered in the draw. If you have a preference for only one of the prizes over the other let me know and I will make sure your name is in for the one you want.
In addition I will have at least 1, maybe 2 bundles of fabric to give as my choice to the person(s) who make me laugh the most &/or puts the biggest smile on my face. I'm still picking those fabrics, so no photos but they will be good quality quilting fabrics. So here are the questions. You just need to answer one.
Question 1: What makes you mad when it comes to quilting in general and why? Is it all the ironing, running out of thread, figuring out the patterns, putting the quilt sandwich together, etc.
Question 2: What was one of the more recent things that happened to you that is quilt related that drove you nuts and why? (running out of fabric, the dog stealing your blocks, etc.)
Question 3: Have you ever bought anything, be it quilting supplies, fabric, patterns, etc. and then either when you got them, or even a year or two later, say to your self - What was I thinking. If so, what was it and what is weird, ugly or useless about this item now that you look at it.
The giveaway is open until Wed March 23rd at 6 p.m. eastern daylight savings time. Good luck to everyone and I'm looking forward to reading everyone's maddening stories.
It's March Madness time and I have just reached my 200th post. Now I'm not into basketball, but I can relate to the madness part. First, it's been a very long, cold and dreary winter so I'm feeling the effects of cabin fever and looking forward to spring. It's just beginning to warm up here in Toronto and I certainly hope it continues to do so with no more surprises from Mother Nature.
Since this is a blog about quilting, let's talk about things that drive you nuts when it comes to quilting, this should be good for a laugh of two. I'm a true believer in laughter helping to cure what ails you, so I'm hoping that this entry can make you laugh and put a smile on your face.
So perhaps I will start out with a couple of "What was I thinking" moments that just happened recently. I place an order for some fabric about a month ago and was beginning to wonder what had happened to it, since normally it should take about 2 weeks to get here. I then get an e-mail just over a week ago saying that they got my order returned to them because my address was incomplete and I would be credited the cost of the fabric but unfortunately not the shipping (that's normal). So I go on their web site and check out what I had entered on my account page and I completely forgot to put in the street number for where I live - DUH!. That certainly makes it rather difficult to deliver anything when they can't find which location on the street to drop off the package at.
Early this year I was looking to buy some templates to make Dresden plate blocks and found some nice ones made by Ardco from precision metal that are window style which would allow you to audition fabric if you wanted to fussy cut the plates. The templates came in 6", 12" and 14" block sizes. The price wasn't bad so I decided to order all 3 sizes. When they arrived I look at the templates and I have this puzzled look on my face, the 6" template looks very small to me. Boy this would be a lot of work cutting these tiny plates, there is no way that they are 6". Then it dawned on me, DUH, the individual plates are not 6" in size, the finished block is 6" in size. How many times has this happened to you, when you read something, but you completely misinterpret what you read. So the templates that actually make a finished 12" or 14" block aren't bad, but for me, the 6" one is just to much fussy work that I will never bother to use it.
My last recent madding event was when I was working on the Secret Garden quilt. I typically measure twice, cut once. Well with that quilt, I think my motto should have been measure twice, then measure once again before cutting. Several times I ended up cutting blocks the wrong size, sashing the wrong size, and finally when I was sewing together my binding, which I cut at 2 1/2", the last piece didn't quite match. So when I measured it, for some reason it was cut at 2 1/4". My bag of extra scraps grew faster this time around.
On a final note if you wish to read an older blog of mind you can go here to read about the time I ended up quilting a file folder to the back of a wall hanging that was going to be a present for our friends in Hawaii.
http://felinesandfibrearts.blogspot.com/2010/05/bird-of-paradise-convergence-quilt-part_09.html
So time to show you what I have this time around for the March Madness giveaway. The first giveaway will honour the 6" Dresden plate template. You will receive the template, a book titled "Dresden Plates of Distinction" by Sharon Stroud and 4 pieces of fabric.
Both of these giveaways will be based on a random selection from the comments that people leave. To win one of these giveaways you must answer any one of the following 3 questions to share a little laughter with everyone. If you just leave a comment saying to count me in and not answer one of the questions then you will not be entered in the draw. If you have a preference for only one of the prizes over the other let me know and I will make sure your name is in for the one you want.
In addition I will have at least 1, maybe 2 bundles of fabric to give as my choice to the person(s) who make me laugh the most &/or puts the biggest smile on my face. I'm still picking those fabrics, so no photos but they will be good quality quilting fabrics. So here are the questions. You just need to answer one.
Question 1: What makes you mad when it comes to quilting in general and why? Is it all the ironing, running out of thread, figuring out the patterns, putting the quilt sandwich together, etc.
Question 2: What was one of the more recent things that happened to you that is quilt related that drove you nuts and why? (running out of fabric, the dog stealing your blocks, etc.)
Question 3: Have you ever bought anything, be it quilting supplies, fabric, patterns, etc. and then either when you got them, or even a year or two later, say to your self - What was I thinking. If so, what was it and what is weird, ugly or useless about this item now that you look at it.
The giveaway is open until Wed March 23rd at 6 p.m. eastern daylight savings time. Good luck to everyone and I'm looking forward to reading everyone's maddening stories.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Elaine Quehl Workshop In Full Bloom - Part 2
Here is my progress on the In Full Bloom Poppy Wall Hanging.
What I ended up doing first on the big paper pattern was writing down in general terms which colour each petal was as a reference. So whether it was a light red, medium red or dark red, and the same with the orange and yellow sections, these references were marked. Next I went and made drew up all the pattern pieces on the steam a seam light, petal by petal. On each pattern piece I also wrote down the colour reference. Then when I actually worked on selecting the fabrics, I worked on one petal section at a time, pulling fabrics based on the colour references, and building the poppy a section at a time.
I found working this way was better for the way my mind thinks, than to draw out a pattern piece on the steam a seam, then go and pick a fabric for it, then cut that fabric out and build the petal linearly. Once the whole flower is finished I will review all the colours and there may be a few changes depending on how they all play together.
For those who read my previous post in the first 2 days of my posting it, you would have missed the links to Elaine's web site and blog so I'm reposting them here if you wish to go and have a look at her work.
http://www.equarelle.ca/ & http://www.elainequehl.blogspot.com/
What I ended up doing first on the big paper pattern was writing down in general terms which colour each petal was as a reference. So whether it was a light red, medium red or dark red, and the same with the orange and yellow sections, these references were marked. Next I went and made drew up all the pattern pieces on the steam a seam light, petal by petal. On each pattern piece I also wrote down the colour reference. Then when I actually worked on selecting the fabrics, I worked on one petal section at a time, pulling fabrics based on the colour references, and building the poppy a section at a time.
I found working this way was better for the way my mind thinks, than to draw out a pattern piece on the steam a seam, then go and pick a fabric for it, then cut that fabric out and build the petal linearly. Once the whole flower is finished I will review all the colours and there may be a few changes depending on how they all play together.
For those who read my previous post in the first 2 days of my posting it, you would have missed the links to Elaine's web site and blog so I'm reposting them here if you wish to go and have a look at her work.
http://www.equarelle.ca/ & http://www.elainequehl.blogspot.com/
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