Sewing retreat at home

Can there be anything better than a long weekend with a good friend and our sewing machines? That's how I enjoyed the last weekend with a sewing retreat of sorts at my house, along with a few little excursions that of course included a few fabric shops along the way.

First up on my to-do list was finishing the five pillows I made for five friends, all using my Squared Summits block. I love how each of these turned out - the same, but different. Most used my all-time favourite Anna Maria Horner floral.

Here's one for my Tula loving friend:

And for my orange loving friend. I really like how this larger floral print is fractured, and how it pairs with the orange background.

This fabric pairing is especially fun:

This was the requested pillow that started it all off. I figured if I was making for one friend in my IG DM group, I should make a pillow for all of them. Makes sense, right?

And finally a pretty in pink pillow.

Here are all the pillow backs because they shouldn't be overlooked with all that pretty fabric!

I also caught up on the Modern HST Sampler with Block No. 16 - Whirly-Gig. This is a really striking one.

My friend and I finally exchanged the minis we made for each other in our private Tula/Jaybird swap. We decided to both make Jaybird's Glimmer quilt.

Here's the pillow I made. That black butterfly fabric is the perfect background.

She made me a gorgeous and sunny mini that right away went on the wall in my kitchen, where she intended it to go. I like how they're they same pattern, but so different.

We also took a drive up to Woolwich Township to see the covered bridge, which I suggested was a great backdrop to get a photo of the Rebel quilt top she just finished using all Grunge fabric. Isn't it beautiful? Well, I got quite the surprise after the (windy) photo shoot when she handed me a card that said inside the quilt was for me!!! Wha?!?

I still can't believe it. I had wondered why she seemed in such a rush to get it done. Little did I know it was because she wanted to get the top pieced before my birthday. I really and truly was surprised. Best surprise ever.

Bee block round-up

I keep forgetting to post these latest blocks in my quilting bee.

First up is a yellow, black and grey version of the Double Star block. Love that owl fabric!

And here are two pink and navy blue Tic Tac Toe blocks. This is my favourite block of the bunch, and it looks great in the colour scheme the August queen bee picked. I chose to go with pink, but she picked a few other colours people could use with the navy corners.

I really loved how this one turned out with the C+S fabric and text print.

Eternal bloom

This pillow was made as a thank you gift for an Instagram friend, who so kindly offered to accept blocks to be made into quilts for the victims of the devastating Fort McMurray wildfire from American quilters and sent them on to the Ottawa guild. She has an amazing garden that she so kindly shares peeks of on Instagram, so I immediately knew I needed to make something with a garden/floral theme.

I love that centre C+S print, and the pillow pattern is a variation on the maple leaf block used for the charity quilts. Then I know I can always count on a diamond cross hatch for the quilting, especially when it's pink!

Little gifts

These pretty little patchwork projects were made for the three sweet daughters of friends. I got a last-minute invitation to a pool party where they would be, so of course I decided I needed to whip up something. Which of course also meant I was later than I planned as I frantically finished these. They turned out so cute!

Fresh off my Polaroid pillow high, I decided to make unicorn Polaroids, slightly enlarged to capture more of the print. I added the cutest pink kitty fabric for the shadow and a sparkly silver for the background. My favourite part is the pocket on the back for them to tuck their little treasures, and there's pink ric rac to finish it off. Here's a close-up:

They seemed to be quite a hit with the girls, and that's the best a maker can hope for!

No scrap left behind

Feeling a bit burned out on swapping, I suggested to a few IG friends that we do a travelling quilt bee. Each person makes a centre block, then sends it to the next person in line to add to it. And so it goes until a completed quilt top comes back to you. We just sent off our centre blocks and I'm so excited to do this! I'm looking forward to the challenge of adding to other people's quilts and also to see what they come up for mine.

Here's the centre block I made:

It's got a bit of everything I love: bright colours, text prints, traditional blocks. I'm really happy with it and hope it inspires the ladies in my group.

Of course I can't just toss those little corners cut off flying geese and HST, so I made a mug rug for my desk at work. That binding fabric is perfection. I wish I had a bolt of it!

Hearts for love

After a brief but anxious separation from my sewing machine while it was in for repairs, I've been happily and busily sewing again. One of the first tasks was finishing this heart pillow to go with the Polaroid pillow I made as a wedding present for a dear friend.

I love how this turned out. The black and white really makes that pink pop! And I love that thin pink border. I stuck with fairly simple quilting in a light grey aurifil.

Here they are both together:

This past holiday weekend I dropped by their place to drop off my pillows and hear all the details about their wedding. It was simple, with minimal planning and fuss - sounds perfect to me!

Sampler catch up

Finally I took some time to get caught up, again, on the Modern HST Sampler quiltalong. I cut out two blocks a while back while my sewing machine was in for repair, then just didn't get to making them for a bit. Unfortunately when I did, I realized I cut out a block I already made. Sigh. Hopefully those bits won't be what I'm short when I get to the end of the quiltalong.

Here is block No. 13 - Turnstile.

Block No. 14 - Introspection. I quite like this one.

And finally block No. 15 - Windmill. This was fast and fun to make.