A couple surprises

Today I was quite happy to give away two surprise gifts. The only thing better as a crafter than giving a handmade gift is when someone is really surprised.

The first was a wee quilted pink heart. Full confession - I meant to make it twice this size, but I've been using so many 1.5" squares lately in different projects I went into autopilot at the cutting table. It was only after I had the strips all ready to sew together that I looked at it and thought, "Hmm. This looks small." So instead of a wall-hanging, it became a mat for a teapot. Which actually worked out perfectly because it was for the lovely ladies that own the bakery and cafe next to my workplace. They kindly offered to host a high tea for a friend and co-worker who is soon going on maternity leave, along with me and another co-worker who are all addicted to their coffee and baking. The heart went under the pretty floral teapot as we enjoyed our finger sandwiches, cookies and then a scone topped with jam and cream. Yummy!

I knew I had the perfect fabric for the back - a bright pink with floral panels that turned out to be just the right size. Here I am assisted by a kitty who decided to stand in as Vanna White:

The mini looks a bit wonky in the picture, but it was quite square. Honest. And look at how perfectly the binding matched in one spot. You couldn't do that if you tried!

The next gift was for the high tea's guest of honour, who is soon having her second baby. I made her a sock monkey rag quilt that she insisted she buy the fabric for, so I still wanted to sew something as a real gift. She told me the baby room theme was safari, so I was thrilled when I looked in my stash and found a bright bundle with elephants, giraffes and polka dots. I picked up a couple more polka dots in different colours for the needed yardage, and white with multi-coloured dots for the back. The result is such a wonderfully bright and cheery quilt good for a girl or boy.

I quilted simple straight lines on both sides of the seams in bright yellow and used every last scrap on the back. I wasn't sure about using a predominately white fabric for the back, but I love it!

The binding was done by machine because I thought that would be more sturdy for a baby quilt that will be washed often and really handled. That's starting to go a bit better for me now after a bit of practice. This time I also pressed the binding toward the front, which I think was a real help. I don't know why I never thought to do that before.

Today I also hit 3,400 kilometres on my bike - thankfully a rain-free ride after getting drenched yesterday. Although the weather is iffy now that fall has truly settled in, I'm trying to get in as much cycling as I can. Autumn is my favourite season and I just love riding through the countryside and soaking in the fall colours, the moody October sky and the farmers busy harvesting the last crops.

Trials and tribulations

This should have been a quick and simple border on my mini medallion. Just strips of alternating squares. Easy peasy, right? I knew right away I wanted to pair up the gold Netorious print from Cotton + Steel and teal and gold from Carolyn Friedlander's Botanics collection because they looked so nice together where I used them in the medallion centre.

I hesitated for a moment because both prints are favourites, making me oh so reluctant to cut into the precious FQs. But cut I did. Nine 1.5" strips according to the instructions. And here's where the wheels fell off. And then the wreckage caught fire and became a raging inferno. Well, maybe that's a bit too dramatic. But I sure did have that panic sweat only a sewing problem can induce.

Right now I am working with a borrowed machine since mine seems to be stuck forever at the repair shop. Mine has a special setting for a scant quarter inch you use with the quarter-inch foot, the borrowed machine does not and so I had to adjust the seam allowance myself. Apparently it was a bit too scant because when I sewed together the first strip of 28 squares it was 3/4 too long! Boy that difference adds up quickly with a bunch of wee blocks. What to do? Thankfully, I thought, at least I don't have to rip out all that stitching. I can just change the setting and sew right alongside the first line. Well, guess what? That made it almost a half-inch too short. Really!?!

Then things got more desperate. I ripped out the original sewing so I could press all the seams open because pressing to the side shrinks it a bit. That brilliant idea gave me about a 1/16" more. Sewing rage rising. What happened to my quick and easy border!?! Look at the two seams in the photo below. Who would guess such a teeny difference would add up to such a gigantic headache?

I ended up blending the too scant and too wide seams on each strip, sewing a few and then ironing and measuring until it was the right length. I was so relieved to finally get this border sewn on. I was not going to let it defeat me!

Oh, and as I was resewing all the seams, I realized the instructions told you to cut double what you needed. DOUBLE. So half my seam allowance aggravation was totally unnecessary. Plus now I have all these orphan bits with seams of various widths to remind me of the experience. But my medallion sure is looking pretty!

Crafty like a fox

Do you have any fabric in your stash, just a few FQs from a collection, waiting for the perfect project to come along? I've been holding onto this cute fox and quail fabric from Birch for some time now. Just look at this fabulous little fellow sitting in tufts of long grass:

Finally the perfect project appeared this week. A friend's relative is going through a tough time, and I asked what were her favourite colours with the thought of sewing up a little cheer. Orange! And what peeked out of my stash, but these foxes and quails in orange and blue. I knew I wanted to fussy cut the foxes and I settled on a simple patchwork pillow. I picked up a lovely shiny orange thread to quilt simple straight lines. (The first photo most accurately shows the colour.)

On the back I used a bright zig zag fabric with a bit of orange and blue, and the orange thread appears again.

I'm really happy with how it turned out. Quilted pillows are so nice - soft but reassuringly sturdy at the same time. (I couldn't help but pat it every time I walked by.) I hope it will bring some cheer and comfort to its new home.

Crafty photo acrobatics

A quilt photo assistant sure would be handy sometimes. Instead I had to spread this quilt top on the grass, run back inside before the wind caught it and perch on the ledge outside my sliding doors to get all of this in frame. And now I'm realizing I really should have got a close-up because you can't see the background is teeny multicoloured polka dots. Sigh.

This pinwheel quilt came together pretty quickly in a week of not even concentrated sewing. But now I think it will have to go out for quilting because it's a bit too unwieldy for me to handle on my machine at 71” x 54.5". I was thinking swirls, like wind blowing through the pinwheels.

Weekend round-up

This was a busy weekend packed with sewing, cooking, cycling, shopping and lots more. I'm not sure how I fit it all in!

Let's start with two new soups I made in the slow-cooker, both I'd recommend because they're simple and tasty. Both are those great slow-cooker recipes where you don't need to brown anything, just dump it all in and let it simmer. First up on Saturday was vegetarian lasagna soup. This was super tasty. I added extra veggies because why not? A spoonful of a ricotta and mozzarella cheese mixture on top makes it even better. The last few leaves of basil from my herb garden were stirred into the cheesy goodness.

Then Sunday I made chicken enchilada soup. Mmm! I topped it with a dollop of sour cream, minced red onions and cilantro and had some blue corn chips on the side. Instead of canned corn, I picked up a few fresh ears from a nearby farm. That tastes so fresh and it's wonderfully crisp. On Sunday I also pedalled to a few kilometres shy of doubling my cycling distance from 2012. Tomorrow I'll pass 3,100K. Woohoo!

Although I have several sewing projects on the go, I just had to make this Cat Star block that popped up on Instagram when I realized how perfect suited the Cotton + Steel kitties were for the design. I also got bold and cut into my Essex linen, which was really nice to work with. I love how it turned out - especially the odd kitty peeking in from the corner. I think I'll make it into a pillow.

I also finished the binding on a baby quilt for a friend, whose baby shower is next week. That counts as working way ahead in the crafty world - done a whole week before the deadline! There was even time for wash before the photoshoot.

A strip of the leftover bits add some interest to the back.

This was the first time I quilted with Aurifil and I think the bright pink looks great with the more muted shades of the top. The kitty fabric (Here Kitty Kitty by Clothworks) really is lovely, very light-weight and almost silky. Now I see the appeal of making a quilt out of voile. That would feel like heaven!

I also finished my pinwheel quilt top, but it was dark by the time I sewed on the last border and the grass was too dewy this morning. I'll post a photo later.

I love this shot of my progress on my mini quilt swap. So much colour! So many teeny pieces!

I put a halt on all my works in progress, including the swap mini, when I reluctantly had to part with my sewing machine after it went cuckoo bonkers and a tune-up became a necessity. Hopefully it will be home very soon. My mom was kind enough to lend me her travel machine (likely sensing the desperation in my voice when I said my machine would be gone for at least two weeks. Two weeks!) Knowing each machine has a slightly different idea of a scant 1/4" seam, I thought it best to work on new projects like the pinwheels that I could start and finish on the borrowed machine.

And boy do I have a bunch of projects on the go! I recently joined a block of the month club for the Moda Modern Building Blocks quilt. The first four blocks are done (I should really get a picture of those to share) and soon October's fabric should arrive. I'm also waiting on a gifted collection of Aurifil to get started on the quilting for a couple more baby quilts. What a treat - thanks Miss C!

So long, triangles

I just wrapped up the triangles chapter in Tula Pink's City Sampler book. And thank goodness! Adding HST into the blocks definitely slowed down the sewing. With these 10 done, I'm now up to 70. Getting closer to 100! Good thing too, since the stack of Laura Gunn fabrics is getting slim.

I guess I liked this combo below, since I used the exact same for almost the exact same block later.

This one was a beast - 30 pieces in a 6.5 inch block. Crazytown!

I am loving the green here:

Another chapter done! Although it's hard to imagine a time when I won't be working on these blocks. They're such a fun diversion.

Swap mania

I recently joined a mini quilt swap on Instagram and immediately my mind started racing with ideas for what to make for my partner. No sooner did I seem settled, then I scrapped the idea and had a new one. I bought a bundle of Anna Maria Horner FQs, but it just wasn't bright enough. Then I kept waffling on the pattern.

Finally I am certain with this:

I picked out vibrant pink and purple prints, which I'll combine with this striking black crosshatch. They'll all go into a classic Jacob's Ladder block, which jumped out at me while looking at the guide to local barn quilts trails. I think it's gonna look awesome!

As part of the swap, we were supposed to make a mosaic of inspiration for our partners to post on IG. Here's mine with lots of bright colours and bold patterns. There are even a few of my past, present and future quilts in there (Sea Breeze mini done, Tula's 100 Blocks in progress, and Park Bench on my to-do list), and some of my stashed fabric (Cotton + Steel, Meadow).

It's lots of fun to follow the swap on IG, seeing people's mosaics and the ideas they're playing with for their mini. Because it's a secret swap, nobody knows who's making a mini for them so it will be a big surprise at the end. I was super excited when this swap came up because there are so many on IG and as only a recent IGer I have been jealously following all the posts when people's packages arrive. So many amazing creations! I jumped at the chance to get in on this one, along with 559 other people. It's big! Although I've got lots on the go, including a few projects with firm deadlines which makes me feel a bit squirrely, this is nothing but fun. Now that I have the pattern and fabric, I can't wait to get started.