Stash Busting Baby Quilt or Wall Hanging

I love stars and especially large ones. I have been dreaming of making this for a while and finally started this last night. 

I am excited that I have a completed top!! 

May even get it put together by tomorrow.

The good part . . . all from my stash!!

I was looking at blogs yesterday and found a finished quilt that Ida of Ida Rather Be Quilting made which lead me to the pattern for two adorable Star Quilt patterns by Amy of Diary of a Quilter.

Super easy with lots of possibilities!

Still working on my Modern Maples Quilt. I only need to make 5 or 6 more leaves and I'll be finished the top on that one.

Seems like with the long evenings, there is more time to quilt. 

Enjoy your weekend!!

Shauna

 

A Year in Review

I was quite surprised by what I actually accomplished last year.

Sometimes it doesn't seem like much is happening,

so was very happy when I started looking and pulling this post together.

It also highlights how many projects 

need to get finished too! 

Here is my pictorial year in review.

How fun were these cute bags.

Pillow cases - I think 16 in all.  Phew!!

All so different, interesting and also fun.

Different pillows completed in all shapes and sizes.

I tried my hand at some firsts like

printing on fabric and paper piecing.

Cute little projects.

Great tutorials out there to help me achieve my finishes.

I have lots of unfinished projects . . . .
For 2014 I will try to complete them.

Some of these I haven't even blogged about like the Coffee hanging.
This is appliqued and not my favourite method of quilting.
The stars started by me but completed by someone else
- they were a project we did at the retreat last year for the hospital.

But here are my bigger finishes . . .

A couple of baby quilts.

A queen size, double and single quit.

All bring back memories -

some happy, like a wedding gift or a quilt for a friend
and some not so happy,
like a quilt made for an Aunt who is dying of cancer

With every stitch that is made, I reflect, pray and have gratitude
for the ones I make my creations for and for myself.
I am learning to not worry where I am in life or my circumstances.
Things change in a heartbeat, for good or bad
but that which is in your heart is what will
carry you through all the ups and downs of life.

Wishing you all the best for 2014!!
 

Quilting Doldrums

In looking at my blog, 

I realized that I haven't posted anything since the end of September.

Where has the time gone??!!  

And here it is already the middle of October.

I haven't been doing too much sewing the past couple of weeks. 

I guess I have been busy with other things and

have been in the 'Quilting Doldrums'.

I do have a quilting weekend coming up so I had better be getting it together!

I am having trouble picking out my fabrics for a double wedding ring quilt 

which is on the agenda for the quilting weekend.

Here is what I've picked out so far . . .

 I need two more fabrics and then I'll be on my way.

I'm not so sure why I am grappling with this so much.

Since I haven't posted anything for a long time, 

I thought I would show off a quilt I made 4 years ago for my nephew.

It was one of the first quilts that I made and definitely the first I quilted myself.

I used flannel so it would be nice and cuddly.

If I remember correctly, my sister wasn't sure if she was having a boy or a girl.

I remember using a pattern from a book at the library and before I could finish,

I had to return it.

I remember it being challenge working with an all flannel quilt.

All in all, it came together nicely and was enjoyed.

What more could a quilter ask for?

Hope you are enjoying your week!!

Shauna

Jungle Joy

Don't you just love Fall?

I have been working like a busy beaver this past week and now have 'Jungle Joy' quilted.

All that is needed is to put the label on, bind it then give it a quick wash.

This was a fun and quick project and I am very pleased with the results.

I did simple geometric quilting on this quilt. 

Lovin' the way the triangles turned out.

For the backing I used a piece of flannel that I had left over from my nephews quilt.

It was just the perfect size.

I wasn't blogging back when I made my nephews quilt so can't show you right now.

Perhaps one of these days I should I post on my former quilting life before blogging.

I love this piece of flannel!

And one last view.

Enjoy your weekend and all that it will bring!

I'm linking up with AmandaJean at Crazy Mom Quilts.

If you haven't checked out her blog, you should do yourself a favour and do so.

Shauna

Elephants Abound

What a busy week sewing I've had.

Last week Michelle posted this baby quilt along with the instructions.

Thank you!

I just had to try it and am happy that I did.

A friend of mine asked me if I could make her a baby quilt for her niece.

The couple doesn't know what they are having so neutral I needed to go.

 I think this fits the bill nicely.

I'm hoping that the aqua border works. 

I am second guessing myself.

I also can't seem to come up with a name for this quilt.

I've used the elephants before in a different baby quilt that I made called Elephant Walk.

Yesterday morning we had the most wonderful looking moon going down.

Somehow, the pictures never look as fantastic as it does in person.

It was still fairly dark so this as good as it gets.

 

On the long weekend in September I took a trip out to Radium to visit my mom and dad.

They have a trailer out there and it is a beautiful place to retreat to.

The weekend was lovely - good company, food and weather!!

You can see I was working hard,

or hardly working!!

I have decided that I like Fall.

I think Fall grounds us. 

It makes us look forward to the year ahead and sets our focus.

It's a time to prepare for Winter and think about what we want to accomplish.

I even find myself wandering through the bookstore and eyeing 

the neat pens, folders, and sticky notes.

Always was a sucker for those kinds of things.

Enjoy your weekend and all that it holds for you.

I am linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts who is hosting Finish it Up Fridays.

Shauna

Sweet Dreams

Feels so good to have a finish to show this week.

Sweet Dream quilt top finished and I'm lovin' it!

I originally blogged about it in this post.

It's for a friend at work.  This is her first baby and so very excited to share in her joy!

 It was very quick and easy to put together and I'm very happy with it.

I've decided not to put a border on it (a first for me) and had it confirmed by a couple of my blogging friends.

Started quilting this quilt and still not 100% sure how I'm going to quilt it 

nor how it's going to turn out.

I need to get it done by the August long weekend and have a week of holidays coming up so . . . .

I know what I'll be doing.

 I do love the bright colours in this quilt . . . it's happy and that is just what I named it - "Happy".

 I'll leave you now with a quote I read recently.

In our daily lives, we must see that it not happiness that makes us grateful, but the gratefulness that makes us happy.  

- Albert Clarke

What are you grateful for this weekend?

I'm linking up with AmandaJean at Crazy Mom Quilts.  I'm very appreciative that she allows us to link up our finishes on Fridays. 

Shauna

The Ice Cubes are Looking for the Nearest Freezer!!

That's because it is very hot here in Calgary today.  

It's a mere 33 degrees Celsius!

For maybe some of you, you are used to this kind of heat but there are usually only a couple of times during the year that it is this hot.  

My condo does not have air conditioning

so . . . 

going to bed at night where the thermometer in the house registers at 27 - 28 is a tad hot.  

This too shall pass though and one must remember this . . .  

. . . when we are in the dead of winter and it's -20 celsius.

A friend from work just had a baby and I had planned to make a quilt for her.

They chose to not find out what the gender was so silly me, I couldn't make a quilt that could be for either sex, instead I made a 'girly' quilt and wouldn't you know it, she had a boy!

So I went shopping on Friday and bought something that was more appropriate for a boy 

rather than soft pinks, greens and a sprinkle of yellow.

And here is what I put together over the weekend.  Just put the final stitches on the top before 9 o'clock last night.  Just in time to clean up before thinking of heading back to work.

 

I think that I am not going to put a border on it 

- strange for me as I don't think I have done a quilt without one.

Your opinion - does it need a border?

I have been reading this book called Paris, Paris - Journey Into the City of Light.  

It's written by David Downie who delves into some of the history of 

different people and places around Paris essay style.  

Have enjoyed it immensely and wished I had read it before heading to Paris last November.

 I would recommend this book and have fallen in love with Paris all over again.

On that note, I'm going to lay on the couch and watch 'Midnight in Paris.'

One of my favourite movies of late.

Enjoy your evening!

Shauna

Coins are Stacked

The past weekend was a long weekend and I tacked an extra day on top so had 4 glorious days.  

Was so nice to have the time off work but 

I really should have gotten much more done around the house.  

Poked around the house for the first day and half and then I went down south of town to visit a quilting friend.  We enjoyed each others company, got lots of sewing done, went for a long walk through the back forty and helped her hubby move the cows from the corral to the pasture.  Not sure I was much help with that but I can say I ran with the bulls that day. (he, he, he)

I just love the beautiful song of the meadow lark and the wide open spaces of the prairies.

It really is like a breath of fresh air to get out of the city.

It was very productive sewing wise.  

The coin quilt is now quilted and I just need to get the binding sown on.

 For the backing I chose a bright and cheery yellow.

I really like the way this one came together.  I must say I am partial to pink and girly quilts.

I did all of the quilting myself.  

Nothing too elaborate here.

I did a honeycomb down the white sashing and then just did corner to corner on the coins.

Can hardly wait to get the binding on now and get it in the washer.

I have been working on this little quilt or wall hanging for quite some time now.  

I kind of got my second wind though and have it over 3/4's done.  

It was nice to have another quilter look at it

 and think it looks good so I'll push through and get it finished.

Cute panel though.

Well, I am heading off to the Festival of Quilts tomorrow.

I'm hoping that the rain will stop as it has been raining for at least 2 days straight now.

I'm linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts for my finish.

Have a great weekend all!!

Shauna

Bloglovin & Stacking Coins

Apparently in order to claim my blog on bloglovin I must post this link:

<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/5222445/?claim=mtrhn2n3fem">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

I've been working on my Stacked Coin baby quilt over the past few days.

The top had been put together and all I had to do was stretch it, pin it and start to quilt.

Does anyone else out there have one of these handy gadgets called the Kwik Klip?  I find it saves on the fingers when trying to pin.

The line of material is called Posy by Aneela Hoey for Moda.  It's really cute!

I blogged about this quilt originally here.

 I did my previous quilt without my quilting gloves.  For some reason I could not find them.  It's hard enough to quilt and without my gloves it was doubly hard so I went to the local quilt shop yesterday but they didn't have any in stock.  So . . . . next on my list was to head down to good old Canadian Tire to look at their gardening gloves.  

And I found the perfect pair!  

They fit great and the palm and fingers are done with grippy stuff.

They are so bright I should not loose them!

I may not get out to the garden this weekend as it is supposed to rain off and on so it may be a good weekend to catch up on life as well as getting some quilting accomplished.

One last picture, I promise.

Hopefully I'll be posting sometime this weekend my finished quilt.

Shauna