November 9, 2009 by rosewillow
I am now officially moved back into my sewing room after not having the use of it for a while this year. My design wall has a new home, too, and it has grown to fit the new larger space. It’s now half of a folded tablecloth, instead of a quarter! 
This used to be our garage, and my husband had it converted for me a few years ago. The room itself is 9 x 12 ft, and there is a 9 x 5 ft box room at one end. No windows in there, so that is where my fabric stash lives, safely away from sunshine and dust.
At the front of the main room is a lovely large window, and there stands my Lillian. She is a Singer VS2 (vibrating shuttle) treadle sewing machine, manufactured in 1887, and she sews a beautiful stitch. I use her sometimes to piece blocks and make small projects like pillowcases.
I found lots more UFOs when I was re-organising.
I’m glad I had the presence of mind to label these pieces. Otherwise I might never have figured out where they are supposed to go now!
I found these colourful blocks and thought they would look cheerful and nice on display. It’s great having a permanent design wall now — it’s very inspirational to see the blocks from a new perspective and also fun to use them for decorating!
Here’s a larger group:
The fabric scraps from this project were used to make a very special quilt…
for my little dog, Nigel. 
To see what other quilters have on their Design Walls today, please visit Judy Laquidara’s blog, Patchwork Times.
Happy Quilting!
Posted in Design Wall Monday, Quilting and Sewing, Sewing machines | Tagged design wall, Design Wall Monday, Judy Laquidara, Patchwork Times, quilting, quilting UFOs, Sewing, sewing room, Singer treadle sewing machine, Singer VS2 sewing machine, vintage Singer sewing machine | 7 Comments »
November 8, 2009 by rosewillow
A finish, a finish, I finally have a finish!
Here is my version of “Freeze Frame”, a Quilt for an Hour pattern designed by Judy Laquidara.
Here’s a better look at some of the fabrics used in the quilt.
I am estimating that I used 7 yards of fabric for this quilt top, calculating from the fabric requirements given in the pattern and counting the fat quarters that I used for the squares.
I loved making this quilt, and I am already thinking of another version in other colours!
My Stash Report totals for Week 45 are:
- Bought this week: 0
- Used this week: 7 yards
- Bought Year-to-Date: 24.875
- Used Year-to-Date: 92.375
- Net Used: 67.5 yards
To see Stash Reports by other quilters and to find the pattern for “Freeze Frame”, please visit Judy’s blog, Patchwork Times.
Happy Sewing!
Posted in Judy L's Quilt for an Hour, Quilting and Sewing | Tagged free quilt patterns, Freeze Frame, Judy Laquidara, Quilt for an Hour, quilting, Sewing, stash report, stashbusting | 9 Comments »
November 2, 2009 by rosewillow
In the Spring, I started a little Ice Cream wall hanging as part of a design challenge on someone’s blog. I have lost the original instructions, but I think we were limited to two colours and a background with some embellishment. I made a little drawing on my computer of what I thought the tiny quilt would look like:
I got six blocks made, and then one thing or another came up, and I didn’t finish the project in time for the deadline. Today I’ve been looking at those blocks and wondering what I could do with them now.
Aha! I could set the Ice Cream Cones like Crossed Canoes! And I could use some other ice cream colours to make enough blocks for a lap-sized quilt…
and add some embroidery and maybe some little buttons to look like sprinkles.
What fun! The planning is almost the best part of quilting!
To see what others have on their Design Walls today, please visit Judy Laquidara’s blog, Patchwork Times.
Happy Quilting!
Posted in Design Wall Monday, Quilting and Sewing | Tagged Crossed Canoes, design wall, Design Wall Monday, ice cream cones quilt, ice cream quilt, Judy Laquidara, quilting, Sewing | 8 Comments »
November 1, 2009 by rosewillow
What a shock when I realised this morning that there are only 8 weeks of Stash Reports left this year. There are still so many unfinished projects on my To Do list for 2009! I felt a surge of panic — because, silly me, I am always setting unrealistic goals for myself.
Then I took a deep breath and remembered that it’s not The End Of The World if I don’t get every single thing finished. I’ll just do the best I can and try to remember that quilting is a hobby for me, and it’s supposed to be fun!
This week I have continued to work on “Freeze Frame,” Judy Laquidara’s Quilt for an Hour project. I am about halfway through Hour 11. The last step is Hour 12, so the finish line is in sight!
I haven’t finished anything this week, and I haven’t bought any fabric this week, so my totals remain:
- Bought this week: 0
- Used this week: 0
- Bought Year-to-Date: 24.875
- Used Year-to-Date: 85.375
- Net Used: 60.5 yards
Please visit Judy’s blog to see how others are doing with their Stashbusting this week.
Happy Sewing!
Posted in Judy L's Quilt for an Hour, Quilting and Sewing, Stashbuster Report | Tagged Freeze Frame, Judy Laquidara, Quilt for an Hour, quilting, Sewing, stash busting, stash report, unfinished projects | 3 Comments »
October 30, 2009 by rosewillow
My husband and daughter had a good time carving their Halloween Jack-O-Lanterns last night. I just wanted the pumpkin seeds for toasting, and they did all the hard work for me!
Heidi Swanson at 101 Cookbooks has a wonderful recipe for Toasted Pumpkin Seeds, and I used her basic method for making my own little snacks. Using spices from my own cupboard, I made four savoury varieties:
- Garlic with Herbes de Provence,
- Curry,
- Chili, and
- Black Pepper,
each with a light sprinkling of salt.
I also made a sweet version for my little one — after toasting some plain seeds, I tossed them in a mixture of cinnamon and sugar.
Yum!
Happy Sewing — and Happy Halloween!
Posted in Holiday projects | Tagged 101 Cookbooks, cooking, Halloween, Heidi Swanson, Jack-O-Lanterns, quilting, Sewing, toasted pumpkin seeds | Leave a Comment »
October 27, 2009 by rosewillow
Judy Laquidara has posted the fabric requirements this morning for her new Quilt for an Hour project called “Morning Splash.”
Fortune is smiling on me today because I was able to find these fabrics in my stash, and they will be perfect for this project!
The polka dots are a collection of half-yard cuts from the “Giddy Dots” line by Michael Miller. I also had sufficient yardage of the black, purple, gold and white fabrics called for in the pattern.
I haven’t forgotten about my previous Quilt for an Hour project, “Freeze Frame” — it’s still in progress, and I work on it every day.
Both of these quilts are going to be Christmas presents, and working on them in this very organised QFAH way means they might actually be finished on time! At least the tops will be finished, and I’ll do my best on the quilting.
For more information on both of these lovely free quilt patterns, please visit Judy’s blog, Patchwork Times.
Happy Sewing!
Posted in Judy L's Quilt for an Hour, Quilting and Sewing | Tagged free quilt patterns, Freeze Frame, Giddy dots, Judy Laquidara, Michael Miller, Morning Splash, Quilt for an Hour, quilting, Sewing | 3 Comments »
October 26, 2009 by rosewillow
Still working on Judy’s “Freeze Frame” Quilt for an Hour project, trying to finish up before the next project starts next week!
These are the blocks for the borders. One border stitched on, three more to go! The colours look a bit Christmas-y in the photo, but they are actually forest green and rust.
Happy Sewing!
Posted in Design Wall Monday, Judy L's Quilt for an Hour, Quilting and Sewing | Tagged design wall, Freeze Frame, Judy Laquidara, Quilt for an Hour, quilting, Sewing | Leave a Comment »
October 26, 2009 by rosewillow
After making 31 blocks, I ran out of the original brightly-coloured fabrics for my sister-in-law’s Roman Stripes lap quilt. I need 80 blocks for this quilt. I no longer have any of the selvedge edges to see who the fabric maker is, and since this UFO is about 10 years old, I doubt this fabric would still be available, anyway.
After rummaging around in my fabric cupboard, I was able to come up with some similar colours which I think will do nicely in this quilt. When the top is assembled and the blocks are mixed up in random order, I am hoping the differences will look like a deliberate design element. Fingers crossed!
The top three rows are the original fabrics; the five blocks in the bottom two rows are the “new” fabrics.
To see what others have on their Design Walls today, please visit Judy Laquidara’s blog, Patchwork Times.
Happy Sewing!
Posted in Design Wall Monday, Quilting and Sewing | Tagged Design Wall Monday, Judy Laquidara, quilting, Roman Stripes, Sewing | 2 Comments »
October 25, 2009 by rosewillow
I had a little bath mat that was looking kind of sad and threadbare. I could have thrown it out or given it to the dogs, but I’m on this recycling kick lately, so I decided to make something with it. It is now a “New and Improved” Bath Mat!
Here’s the mat in its original state, with assorted fabric strips from my scrap bin.
Using the bath mat as a foundation, I started piecing the strips from the centre of the mat and worked out toward the edges, using the “flip and sew” method.
And I just kept going, adding more strips…..
…until the mat was totally covered.
I was sewing through a very thick, looped cotton bath mat, so I used my strongest, most powerful sewing machine, my Janome 6500P. This is the machine I use for quilting, and I could never say enough good things about it. It’s a wonderful machine.
Then I trimmed around the shape of the bath mat…
…and it looked like this. Nigel the dog was helping me again.
I bound the edges with bias tape, and then it was done!
This project used approximately 1/2 yard of fabric, so my Stash Report for Week 43 is:
- Bought this week: 0
- Used this week: 0.5 yard
- Bought Year-to-Date: 24.875
- Used Year-to-Date: 85.375
- Net Used: 60.5 yards
Please visit Judy’s blog, Patchwork Times, to see how others are doing with stashbusting this week.
Happy Sewing!
Posted in Quilting and Sewing, Sewing machines, Stashbuster Report | Tagged bath mat, Janome 6500P sewing machine, quilting, recycling household items, scrap project, Sewing, stash report, stashbusting | 11 Comments »
October 19, 2009 by rosewillow
This is actually a vinyl tablecloth with fleecy backing, turned wrong side out and stuck to the wall with drawing pins. But it works! And it’s much better than setting things out on the floor.
These little blocks are my newest scrap project that I work on in-between other projects. Some are from the mixed lot of Fat Eighths I bought recently, and the rest are scraps from my other recent projects. This is my favourite block in the world to make!
To make this block, cut 1 – 3.5 inch square for the centre. Cut 2 – 1.5 x 3.5 strips and 2 – 1.5 x 5.5 strips. Then assemble, first sewing the short strips on opposite sides, then the long strips on the remaining sides. They should finish at 5.5 inches unfinished, and 5 inches finished.
These are going to be charity quilts for older pre-teen children. I’m going to set them 9 blocks x 10 blocks (45 x 50 inches) with a plain 2-inch border all around, for a finished size of 49 x 54 inches — I think. That’s the plan on my drawing, but I’ll have to confirm that when I actually have one put together. They might need a wider border, or maybe one very narrow border and then one wider. This is so much fun! I am giddy with anticipation just thinking about it!
Happy Sewing!
Posted in Design Wall Monday, Quilting and Sewing, Scrap quilting | Tagged charity quilts, children's quilt, design wall, framed squares pattern, quilting, scrap quilts, Sewing | 9 Comments »
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