Thursday, May 23, 2013

One block down...eight to go

 
One quick post before I leave for NYC, Montreal and a drive across the prairies with my DD.  Will try to post on the road...who knows, I may stop at a quilt store or two along the way. :-)
 
Work on my baby urban nine-patch has come to a grinding halt as I ran out of the lovely peacock blue fabric.  More is on the way and will have to wait until my return. 
 
For the time being...here's a peek at a completed block.
 
 
Enjoy!
Mary-Frances
This is going to be a vibrant quilt...love that peacock blue from Kona!  Just noticed that my camera is set for 2012...ooops!  Better change that right away.

This is the nametag I made for our modern quilt guild challenge.  There were so many cute nametags made, with beads and charms...I must remember to take photos next time!  You could also find us on Facebook if you like...just search for Calgary Modern Quilt Guild.

Monday, May 20, 2013

Spring flowers are everywhere...

Even in my sewing room!  I walked into my LQS the other week and saw some lovely bloomin' fabric...little did I know, they are the latest arrivals from Liberty.  Bought a roll of quarter yard cuts, that's one of each fabric they had in-store.  They are far too pretty to cut just yet, I keep taking them off my fabric shelf and look at them...imagining all sorts of wonderful quilts to be made!

And when I haven't been doing that, I've been out in the garden.  My spring tulips finally opened and they are just a treat to see when I arrive home, so cheery.  There is much work to be done in the yard, even though it is a much smaller yard than my previous home.  All in good time though, right?  A garden is an ever evolving project, moving things here and there, planning, digging, planting, watering, weeding and taking time to enjoy the results of course!

Enjoy!
Mary-Frances

I was immediately drawn to the blue fabrics...

...but noticed the pastels too...so pretty.  Are these considered low volume I wonder?  Maybe not the blue, pink and yellow one.

What to do with these beauties???


 
Now for some real flowers!  I planted 50 bulbs last fall and all but 5 have come up.

I love the shades of pink on the Bergenia's  blooms...so vibrant!

Picked this up at my local Home Depot.  Their selection of planters gets better every year.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

A little of this and a little of that

Hello all!  Just a quick post to show you what I've been up to.  More modern monday blocks made, which means I've finished my eight blocks for the month...just in time too as the guild meeting is tomorrow! 

Had to make a nametag for the guild, it's the smallest paper piecing I've done...so far.

And last but not least, began work in earnest on my baby boy quilt...not for me, but for my niece who is expecting her first child in July.

Enjoy!
Mary-Frances

My spools block...could have made those inner triangles a wee bit bigger.

I love this block, it's in the running for my favourite so far.  However, it turned out 1-inch larger than it should be, so will have to cut it down, which will add to the wonkiness but I don't want to just yet!

Didn't I tell you this was small?  2.5 inches...won't be doing that again!  Still need to add some white fabric on the bottom so I can write my name, add backing, quilt minimally, add binding and bring to my guild tomorrow...hahaha!

Piecing the nine-patches together.  I'm making a modified Urban nine-patch pattern using my Quick Curve Ruler.

Making the first cut...eek!

Ok, so far so good.  Three more sides to go!

This is what I have so far.  All nine blocks made, the turquoise sections for the blocks are cut out and have started on the outer arcs as well...more to come next time!

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

modern monday blocks

Hello all, just a quick note to show that I have been in the sewing room and I did make two additional blocks for my modern monday quilt yesterday. 

It was such a beautiful day here on Monday, sunny and warm, warm,warm!!  I wanted to spend time tidying up the garden but was happily distracted by the great giveaways available in the blogosphere....man oh man, I cannot believe all the fabric and books and other goodies to be found.

Sew Mama Sew is hosting her semi-annual giveaway extravaganza.  There are 275 bloggers listed who are having giveaways and just as importantly, are willing to ship their prizes internationally...yoohoo! 

Have fun!
Mary-Frances

Well, if you've stuck around to check out the photos, thank you!  Here's the whole gang so far, 20 blocks made of 64.


Here's my wonky bars.  This used up some of the smaller scraps which I was glad to do. 


This little sweetheart was paper pieced.  I quite like it even though the photo is rubbish.  Two more blocks to make this week and I've completed my eight blocks for the month...which means I'm actually keeping up with everyone else in the guild - yoohoo!

Saturday, May 4, 2013

May the 4th be with you!!

Happy Star Wars Day one and all....;-)

The force was with me yesterday as I was super motivated to get four more blocks done on my Modern Monday quilt.  The sun was shining and my garden needed tending, but I was in the groove and didn't want to leave my cozy sewing room...I didn't even want to stop and make supper (thank goodness for leftovers and microwave ovens, right?). 

I have four more blocks to do this month before our next modern quilt guild meeting and I need to make myself a nametag...kinda stuck on that one...what to do?  I have another week to mull that one over.

Enjoy!
Mary

Here are the latest blocks for my Modern Monday quilt.

Block 17 - hour glass variation, not sure what happened when I made this one but it is 1/2 inch too small....oh well.

Block 19 - another star block..I love star blocks, one of my faves

Block 20 - wonky shoo fly 

Block 18 - wonky flying geese

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Almost finished

Hello everyone, what a crazy week this has been.  More divorce nonsense to deal with, DD's 24th birthday (which was lovely) and interviews for my fall practicum have kept me away from the sewing room this week.  I do have one little project that is nearly done, only the binding to go.

Here, take a peek, won't you?

Enjoy!
Mary

I'm almost done this table runner, just need to add the binding.  I bought the quick curve ruler and wanted to test it out.

I did the quilting myself, something I hope to do more of in the coming months.  I stitched in the ditch around the curves then did a back and forth pattern, a ribbon stitch or soft zig zag?  Not sure what to call it.


I filled the spaces between the curves with circles, they look a little like pebbles, don't they?


I've also started a new project for my niece's first child, due in July.  The colours are wonderful and I love this print for a baby boy.


I'm using the quick curve ruler for this one as well...here are the four blocks cut and ready to go.  I'm bringing this project with me to the quilt-along this Saturday night, so I will have more photos for you next week!


I'm using the Urban Nine-Patch pattern, but will make a crib size quilt, so there will only be nine blocks.