Second chances

I was working on this quilt at a retreat. The intention was to make 2 quilts - the pattern produces 2 different blocks and I figured I could make 2 quilts for donation from some scraps I had.  But when I got to the retreat, I realized that I only had 1/2 the fabric I needed for that plan. And then, when I started cutting my blocks I wasn't thinking, and cut half in one direction and half the other way.  Which completely messed up the lovely pinwheels that were supposed to show up in one of the quilts.

I grumbled and complained about it, and almost tossed it back in the bag. But at that point I just wanted it out of my sight. So I finished up the blocks I had and played around with the settings to put them all into one quilt.  This is what I came up with - not horrible, and a reasonably effective use of the scraps I had on hand. And, it's 50x70", so just right for donation.

I was so annoyed with it, that I decided to release it to the wild at my Victoria's Quilts meeting and let someone else deal with it. I dropped it off for someone to make a presentation bag one week. And started having seconds thoughts about it - so I picked it up last month to quilt myself.  I guess I just can't let go.

Amazing Labyrinth - January UFO

I have been working on this labyrinth quilt since 2012. I designed it after I first saw the Labyrinth Walk quilt pattern. I loved the idea, but that pattern has no entry/exit to the maze. I could not bear to the thought of making a maze quilt that had no route through it.  So I hunted up some mazes on google and found one I liked.

 I drafted it - first on graph paper, then painstakingly square by square in EQ.  Then, I had to convert it from squares into more reasonably sized pieces (I didn't want to piece a quilt that was all 2.5" squares - although in retrospect that might have been easier).

The pattern is available in my Etsy store.

Finding fabric for this was a challenge. Shops around here don't seem to like carrying the light end of the spectrum. I could find 3 med-to-dark fabrics that worked together, but finding a light in the same colour family proved impossible. Even the med-light in this quilt was hard to find. Eventually I just gave up and used a cream for the light fabric.

I pieced the backing from my stash. I had looked for something I liked, but a purple fabric was just too purple. I thought I bought a grey flannel for it at one point, but I used that for my Christmas quilts. So rather than spending yet more money, I decided to raid my stash and see what I could do. I figure people won't be seeing the backing very often anyway.

The fabric near the top is shades of purple, fading to teal and yellow - I thought it would look neat if the top of the quilt is folded back on itself.

The whole quilt is custom quilted. I picked a different design for each colour, in an effort to accentuate the 3-D effect (walls & floor of the maze).  Luck was with me - the only thread I had that was a good colour match was a single (partial) spool of a discontinued thread line.  I decided to chance it, because I didn't want to wait until I could get out to a store. Loaded, started quilting - and finished with only a few winds left on the spool!

I'll link this post up with Patchwork Times when the January UFO report goes up.  Also linking up with 18 in 2018

Diamonds Within #4

I rarely make a quilt more than once. But this one is apparently an exception.  I saw this in a book (Diamond Chain, by Barbara Cline) and knew I just had to make it. So, the first version was completed in 2013.

The local quilt shop wanted me to do a class on it, but thought it would sell better as a square quilt.  So, #2 came about - squared up and colours reversed so the star is coloured and the background pale.

Then, a friend (actually, a student from that class) asked for help completing her quilt, so I took care of that for her last year.

And recently I dug up the bits leftover from the class samples when I taught it back in 2014.  These have finally become a full quilt, pictured here.  One day, I'll even get this one quilted, but for now it's going to sit at the bottom of the pile, because I'm pretty tired of this particular pattern.

Modern Plus

Woohoo, another UFO finished! This quilt barely made it onto my UFO list this year (#16, I think). But I needed to test out a new pantograph for a customer and the design was just perfect for this quilt.  So I pulled it out of the closet and loaded it up. Fortunately it was one of the quilts I'd already picked backing for, so I had a nice soft blue flannel all ready to go, and a batting just waiting for a place to be used.

This top was designed and pieced back in 2016, for a presentation at the Ottawa Modern Guild on "make it modern". I made a traditional plus top, and then designed a couple of more modern ones. My black and white (which was a Christmas gift in 2016) and this one.

I quilted it with "retro lines", which nicely reflects the plus shapes in the quilt top.

And then bound it. I knew I didn't have any grey left, so I was going to try to hunt down some of the blues in the quilt top. Then I remembered my binding box - where good binding goes to die.  When I finish binding a quilt, I take the leftover strip of binding and toss (stuff) it into this little bin. So for this quilt, I dug through and pulled out all the appropriate blue/teal pieces and sewed them together. Voila - ready-made binding!

Ruler bag V2

After making my first ruler bag (see yesterday's post), I realized that I needed a lighter option. Hence, ruler bag V2 - the portfolio. This case carries a 24x18" mat in a zipper pocket on one side, with a sleeve for a 24" ruler in front of it.  And on the back side, 2 zipper pockets to carry a few rulers or other odds and ends.  I made this one with 2 handles - one for carrying by hand (really short, so it doesn't drag on the ground) and one for carrying over your shoulder - which could have been longer, but it does the job.


I've taken this bag to a couple of day retreats since it was completed.  It is incredibly light, and definitely reduces the juggling required to carry the cutting mat and rulers from car to room.


The pattern for this bag is available from my Craftsy store

Ruler bag

With our weekly meetups to sew on Bonnie Hunter, I got pretty tired of hauling my 24" cutting mat and 24" ruler in and out, trying to juggle them and all my other parcels.  So I decided I needed a bag to carry them in.  I knew kind of what I wanted - a pocket on the outside for the mat, and maybe the long ruler to keep it safe. And some pockets inside for more rulers, since I was carrying an entire bag of them around to these sew days.

I redesigned it several times in my head - how I would attach the zipper, how to keep it stiff, etc.  Then one day I was out at a quilt shop picking up a new ruler and I spotted 3 yard zipper tape - perfect for the main zipper on this case!  And at the dollar store I found craft board (someone had suggest the corrugated plastic for sale signs, but I couldn't find them. Craft board (foam core) seemed perfect instead.  So now I had the supplies, it was time to get started.

It took me about 3 days, and 4 broken needles, but this is what I came up with.  It carries my mat and 2 long rulers on the outside. And has a pocket inside for every ruler I own.  I think the hardest part was figuring out how to sew all the pockets together in stacks (from the top one down!). There are a couple of things I would do different next time (and will change when I write the pattern for this). But it came out just like I was hoping and is perfect for carting around all my rulers.  The 2-way zipper goes all the way around 3 sides. Each pocket has a snap closure so rulers don't slide around in the bag when it is lying down for transport. And the handles wrap all the way around the bottom of the bag for extra strength and security.

It is however quite heavy (although some friends commented that, given what it is and how much is in it, it's much lighter than their options).  After taking it to one sew day, I quickly determined that shorter retreats need a lighter option, to carry just a selection of rulers required for that single day's activities.

PEI Modern Guild Mystery - step 4

Well, this step has been done for a while, but I finally figured I should post it before I get #5 complete. I'm taking that step to a retreat, so it should be done before the end of the month.  Hopefully I have enough fabric - the next one seems to need a lot, and I think I skimped when I decided to make two quilts.