When Someone Says "I Quilt Too!"

I have been doing a project at work (I'm an Instructional Coach who supports teachers) that involves quilting. It is super awesome and I will do a big post on it but for now I want to address what happens when someone tells me she quilts too.

The teaching assistant(TA) in the class I'm working with eagerly told me that she, too, is a quilter. She is about 10 years old than I am (not surprising since I am always the youngest quilter) and she volunteered to bring in some fabrics to share for the project.

When the teacher was packing up the remaining fabric, she put all the fabrics together (the ones I brought and the ones the TA brought). I sorted the scraps when I got home and immediately discovered the error. Here are the bits that belong to this lovely woman:

Oh my. Do I see batiks? And muted, mottled fabrics in cream and pink and green?

I'm terrible, I know, to judge. I'm hoping she loves these fabrics and loves quilting. But they are DEFINITELY not my taste, nor what I would count as modern quilting. To be honest if THIS is what fabrics all looked like and were all I had available or saw on Instagram and on blogs I would not have started quilting. Period. 

Really what matters is that people buy and sew with what they love, and not feel drawn to any one designer or trend because it is big. Check out my latest addition, courtesy of my hubby:

Delicious, delicious Carkai.

A little different, no?

So, again, when someone tells me "I quilt too!" my first thought is a skeptical one- "But I bet you're not a modern quilter!"

How do you feel? Do you find yourself judging others' fabric tastes even when it is not fair? (And I know it is not). Do you ask more questions when someone tells you they are also a quilter?

WIP Wednesday: Jumping Between Projects But Not Starting New Ones

This Wednesday I can say that I am making progress on tackling my "must finish" quilts for January/February. I have been very, very tempted to start new projects, mostly I think because picking fabrics is probably my favourite parts of making a quilt.

My Welcome to Canada Quilt is just waiting for me to hand sew the binding down on the back, and for me to add the label sent by the organizer.

I also sewed one of two missing borders on my daughter's modern I-Spy quilt and prepped the other border but still have not sewn it on. I have the fabric for the backing but prepping backing is sort of boring sewing, you know what I mean?

I managed to sew together the quilt top for my husband's cousin's baby, due in late February. This baby gets a gender neutral quilt because mom and dad opted not to find out the sex. They are outdoors sort of people. I think I'm going to name it Canadian Wilderness.

You can see the backing peeking through- a mustard with trees, accented with a white with mustard trees. 

The whites in this baby quilt are very cream, and it is quite busy (which is why I added those delicious solid teal blocks) but I hope the parents like it. I need to get on this so I can mail it to Ottawa on time!

I also prepped a whole bunch of paper piecing templates for a quilt for my new nephew coming in March. It is going to be epic!

I am proud that I have not

a) bought any new fabric (not that I'm on a fast, per say, but more that I'm buying only things I truly LOVE)

b) started any new sewing projects.

Perhaps I can get these done in time!

Linking up with WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.

Backing Woes and Basting Foes

It is interesting how things happen sometimes.

Take for instance, my backing woes this week. My aunt, who is actually my mom's longtime best friend, makes quilts. When my older daughter was born she made her a quilt- entirely hand pieced- based on a pattern and fabrics I picked. It was (and is) gorgeous. But when my second daughter was born, I had been quilting for a couple of years so she assumed I didn't want her to make my little one a quilt. Wrong!

Of course I wanted both my girls to have a hand pieced quilt from their great aunt. She happily agreed, so I picked the fabric and pattern, and even prepped the fabric for her. Knowing she hates the binding step, I told her I would do the binding.

That is where the problem started. She assumed that I wanted the binding made out of the backing fabric and made all the binding. Then she didn't have enough backing fabric for her long arm quilter to quilt the quilt. Oh no! And when I told her I had the separate binding fabric it was too late!

So she came up with a solution. Take the backing fabric, seen here:

This is a Leah Day print that I LOVE. All the fabrics on the front are pulled from this gorgeous colour combo!

And get me, with my machine, to insert a big white plus sign into the fabric. The timelines were very tight because she is taking it to the long armer when she leaves for Florida in less than a week- and then she's gone for three months!

So I went along with the plan and now I think it was a happy accident because I really like the visual break that the white provides:

Nothing a little Kona White can't fix!

With that unexpected sewing in the middle, I also had to tackle my least favourite part of quilting: basting. Welcome to Canada has been sitting there, front and back pressed and prepped, batting at the ready (thanks to a generous donation from my friend A). Hubby was going out for the evening so I threw on some Netflix and tackled the least-fun task.

Some painter's tape and 505 Spray and you can't go wrong.

I got the quilt all basted and now it is ready for quilting. I think I'm going to stitch about 1/2" out from each seam to make a big grid. The backing is a solid red, also donated by A, which is not my favourite (the solid) because it shows all errors in quilting. But red is very Canadian and it is high quality fabric in a nice colour, so I couldn't not do it!

It is a twin-sized quilt that I hope will make one new Canadian feel welcomed.

I see much straight-line quilting in my future!

WIP Wednesday: Am I Sticking to It?

The year is underway and I have been sneaking in sanity sewing where I can. Some much needed time was given to me by my wonderful husband last weekend so I was able to get quite a lot accomplished from my 2016 list.

I worked steadily on my Welcome to Canada quilt. This is an action shot...it is twin sized now and the backing is even prepped. I want to try to get this one done fairly soon so I can donate it to a local project for new Syrian refugees to the Toronto area.

This really shows the colourful side of this quilt..I did several tone-on-tone whites and greys in the middle, then back to cascading colour. All will be revealed when it is done!

I pressed, chopped and did the lay out for my husband's cousin's quilt. I now have the rows sewn together, and now I have to sew those together to make the quilt top. It is a simple tumbler pattern using 5x5" squares which is a quick but visually appealing look.

I like the colours in this quilt. They haven't found out the sex of the baby, so I'm hoping this will work either way!

My daughter's birthday is today, and no, her I-Spy quilt is definitely not done. But all the sashing in the middle is done...just two sides to add and the quilt top will be finished. I have the fabric for the backing (from Heather Ross' Tiger Lily line) but it is not pieced yet. Progress is progress though!

The sashing is my second-least favourite part of quilting, but it is fun to see the quilt top coming together. The sashing also, unfortunately, reveals all my piecing and seam errors since they don't line up perfectly. I still love it and I don't think my toddler will notice!

Overall I think I am doing well sticking to my goals. I also haven't bought any fabric in 2016. I can't promise I'll be able to say THAT much longer. :)

Linking up with WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.

Hello, 2016! Quilty Goals for the New Year!

I made a list in 2015 of all the quilts I wanted to get done. Honestly, I didn't do all that badly. The first 7 quilts on my list got finished. Then I had an "other quilts to make" list, of which I managed to make 0 out of 4. Ouch. This was followed by a WIP list, of which I completed 1/3. Oh dear. My record maybe isn't so great after all. Finally I had a last list of non-quilt items, of which I managed 1/5. 

Of course on top of all those goals I didn't meet I did manage to complete 18 quilts total. Not too shabby!

So here is the plan for 2016.

1. Complete a charity quilt, one for a Syrian refugee new to Toronto, as arranged by @happysewlucky from Instagram. Quilty friend A saw I was working on this and is donating batting and the backing to the cause. Hooray for quilty love!

TACKLE THOSE WIPs!
I am not one to have a lot of WIPs but this year it is out of control. I want to tackle them before I start new ones, but with babies on the way in March that is not likely.

So, I need to finish:
1. I-Spy Quilt

2. Sugar Block Club from 2013, I think it was?

3. My Aviatrix Medallion. The one I knew I would take a loooooong time to finish yet started anyone thanks to quilty friend peer pressure (looking at you, C).

QUILTS FOR BABIES

1. A quilt for my new nephew.

2. A quilt for my husband's cousin's baby.

3. A quilt for my friend's little boy.

OTHER QUILTS

1. A quilt for AB, one of two kids in a group of friends who don't have a quilt from me.

2. A quilt for AM, the last of the kids to get a quilt.

3. That darn orange and turquoise quilt I keep putting on the "to make" list.

4. Aunt Sheila's 65th Birthday quilt. I have the pull done and the pattern picked, now I have a year and a bit to get it done on time!

5. A quilt to honour my much-missed friend who died in March 2015. I've sewn so much for her- two baby quilts, two "big boy" quilts, plus trips fabric shopping with her for her home for new pillows and nursery fabrics- that my whole sewing room (and particularly my scraps) reminds me of her. So I gathered up fabrics that are connected to her and I want to make a wall hanging with the pieces. I know the pattern I want to use already.

I am going to stick with those goals. There are a lot of them already in this list and I doubt I will get to them all (just as I didn't achieve too many on the last list). My prediction? Aviatrix Medallion won't be done. Otherwise I think I have a decent shot!

What is your #1 quilty goal this year?

So Long, 2015!

As this year comes to a close, I am reflecting on the quilts I made. I was shocked to discover I completed 18 quilts this year. It is somewhat interesting to note that 17 of them were gifts for other people.

Making quilts is soothing for me; I love the creativity and focus and building my skills. I also love the joy my quilts bring to others. And while each quilt made this year has a story, Flight may be the quilt that I look at with sadness as it was a gift for my friend's newborn daughter, a daughter my friend never got to enjoy because they both fell very ill the day after birth and only one, the baby, survived the battle.

Most of these quilts, however, were made for joyful occasions. Babies especially!

So here is a collage of the quilts finished in 2015- all 18 of them!

I am looking forward to more quilts in 2016: new skills, new fabric and lots of joy.

Happy New Year!

Wait. More babies?!

I know, I know. It seems like everyone I know was having a baby in 2015. I thought I was done with baby quilts for awhile.  Then I found out I have a new nephew arriving in March! His room is grey and mom is deciding on hints of navy or teal, so I pulled this bundle:

These colours make me very happy.

I have other plans up my sleeve for baby nephew. It involves paper piecing. I may regret it. The pattern printed out at 24 pages!

Also, my husband's cousin is expecting her first, also in March. She doesn't know if it is a boy or a girl but I'm hoping, knowing the mom, that these organic prints will float her boat either way.

Gender neutral and super cute without being cutsie.

I also have a work friend expecting boy #2 in March. I really want to put together something cute for her, but I'm stumped right now.

A bundle I DO have ready is this green and navy pull for my friends' three-year-old. He is one of two kids I still need to make quilts for in that circle of friends. I love this colour combo and all that Lizzy House!

I think I want a quilt in these colours!

I'm also working away on my daughter's I-Spy quilt. I'm pretty certain it won't be done by her birthday in January, but I added five more blocks after taking this picture and so now I'm happy about the size that it will be. This is an early finish for 2016, I think.

I love how this is turning out.

So, babies. At least three babies in early 2016. But baby quilts are fun to make because it means a little person will be enjoying it right away. And all babies need quilts, right?