Quilting/Bees

Although the week ahead promises to be rainy and cold, Saturday the bees enjoyed a bit of sunshine. We were quite surprised to see how much pollen they were able to collect as there were no visible blossoms we could spot. See the little yellow sacs on their legs? That's how they carry the pollen they've collected. My spring goal is to clean out fabric and the odd flimsy (i.e. pieced, but as yet unquilted, tops) which have been piling up. I found a set of Quick Trip Around The World Placemats and am free motion quilting those in circles.

While deciding how to quilt the oriental New York Beauty blocks, I am sewing red and blue scraps in 8" string blocks. They work up so quickly.

Hubby and I have been asked to do a bee display for Earth Day and it's been fun getting posters made and sorting apiary pictures into a Power Point show. We've never done a display together before and we are looking forward to this. Will post details as we move closer to the day. In the meantime, it's more string blocks until the red pile is depleted... (after which I get to buy more reds, because I can't be with my favourite colour!)

A Maritime Maritime Beauty

The title is not a typo; this is a Maritime Beauty made by a fellow Maritimer, Lynn. It's been awhile in the making, but worth the wait. Don't you love the colourful batiks she has chosen? It`s beautiful.To make your own, check at your local quilt shop for the pattern, or order it from the checkout on my website. Thanks for sharing your lovely work, Lynn. (We can see your toes in that picture *-)

There Must Be 50 Ways To...

make your HSTs (but probably Paul Simon is not going to sing about them.)
Jennifer has given permission to post this link to her tutorial for a clever alternate way to make HSTs. Try it out, and see what you think. The measurements she gives will create a 4" (finished) block. Note that the link posted above is directly to this tutorial; to go to her latest post, click on the title Bronze Wombat at the top of the picture.

For the record, I do not know what a Bronze Wombat is; perhaps we should all ask Jennifer?

New York Roundabout Progress Report

Last week, we saw the beginning of a New York Roundabout quilt by Grace from Ontario. Grace now has the top completed and is in the process of deciding how to tackle the quilting. It looks like it has gone together rather spectacularly. Grace writes that she loves the points. I expect this is the beginning of a long and happy relationship for her with New York Beauty blocks. Be warned, Grace: they are totally addictive!

IQF Cincinnati Pictures

I am so pleased to receive these pictures from fellow quilter Katie who was lucky enough to visit the International Quilt Festival in Cincinnati over the weekend. She made a special point to visit the "O Canada" exhibit to take pictures for me. I am grateful she made time and effort to do this. Katie writes that With Glowing Hearts was at the very front of the O Canada exhibit so she had no trouble finding it.

Look - here it is!

I like that Katie sent a long a couple of shots of herself; she's obviously having a great time. Hope you don't mind me posting the pictures here, Katie!

Katie also has a blog and has put together a slide show of lots of pictures from the Festival. Pop over and have a look.

International Quilt Festival Cincinnati

Well...the show started yesterday at the Duke Energy Convention Center and I'm not there, but cyber-friend Katie has generously offered to take lots of pictures on her visit and send them along. In the meantime, thanks to technology we can visit virtually. If you click this link you can watch a really interesting webcast taken at the show. It sounds like an amazing experience.
On the left side of the screen there is a link to Special Exhibits; if you click this and choose O Canada 2011 from the top, there are 12 quilts from this exhibit displayed - and mine is one of them!! :)

Patchwork Tidy Tray©

Here's a fun little project just in time for a special Easter gift. This Patchwork Tidy Tray © does double duty as a shallow Easter basket. The addition of a quilt block on the inside bottom is a happy surprise. This is a great item for traveling as it will lay flat in the suitcase and can be easily tied to form a nightstand tray for small items like earrings that may otherwise get left behind.

The block I chose is called Grandma’s Favourite and directions follow for this block. You may choose a different 5” block for your tray bottom, or even just a pretty print.

Patchwork Tidy Tray Directions

Finished Size: 5” square x 2” high Finished Block Size: 5”

Please read through entire directions before beginning project. ¼” seam allowance used throughout.

Materials Required:

4, 2-1/2” squares green (generous measure -see note below*)
4, 2-1/2” squares ecru (generous measure) *

4, 1-1/2”squares pink

4, 1-1/2” squares ecru 1, 1-1/2” square yellow

4 pieces ecru 5” x 11-1/2” (for sides of tray)

5” square heavy weight fusible interfacing (like Décor Bond)

9” square fusible batting

15” square backing fabric (this is what shows as the outside of your basket)
48”, ¼” wide satin ribbon

Thread to match

Easter grass, chocolate eggs and Lindt Chocolate Bunny (optional…but tasty )

*To make the Grandma’s Favourite block, I used a quick method for sewing HST (Half Square Triangles). I happen to like this lazy method as I don’t have to trim (directions follow). You can use your own preferred method for making the HST. To cut a generous 2-1/2” square, you want to be just a thread over 2-1/2”. If you are used to cutting on the inside of your ruler line, cut on the outside. This will ensure you don’t have to trim your block. If you are unsure, cut your squares 2-5/8” and trim your finished HST to measure 1-1/2” UF (Unfinished). Place ecru 2-1/2” squares on top of green 2-1/2” squares. Sew together completely around all 4 sides ¼” in from edge. Cut diagonally corner to corner.
Press your squares open to yield 16 HST which measure 1-1/2” (UF). Layout as shown, alternating HST with plain squares, and sew together in rows. Press seam allowance in alternating directions in each row. Join rows. Press seam allowances for the rows all in same direction. Your block should measure now 5-1/2” (UF) To Add Mitred Border: Mark and match the centre of your patchwork to the centre of one border strip. Pin in place. Sew, beginning and ending stitching ¼” from each end; leave the ends hanging loose. Repeat for all 4 borders.

Press seam allowances towards borders. Working on one corner at a time, lay one border strip on top of another.Fold under the end of the top strip on a 45° angle. Check that the fold is lined up with the corner of the block (blue pin in photo). To ensure the corner stays true, line up the excess ends of the meeting border strips to the right of the corner (red pins in photo)Verify your angle with the 45° line on your ruler.When you are satisfied with the angle, bring the hot iron down directly on top of your mitre and press.Pin the borders together to the right of the seam.Fold quilt back so that the top borders line up. Pin along your pressed line.Stitch along this pressed line beginning at the inside corner where the stitching ended when adding the border strip to the patchwork.Trim seam allowance to ¼”. Press seam open. Sew remaining 3 corners in the same way.

Fuse 5” square of Décor Bond (or any heavy weight interfacing) to the back of patchwork block to give a firm bottom to the tray.Cut your ribbon into 8, 6" lengths and stitch to your backing fabric 1-3/4” from each corner.

Iron fusible batting to backing square. Right sides together, stitch this square to the patchwork top leaving an opening along one edge for turning. Turn right side out; poke out corners (a chopstick works well for this). Press lightly. Pin open edges together and topstitch around perimeter. Using a walking foot, quilt around the patchwork square and though each mitred corner seam. With patchwork side facing up, tie ribbons in a bow in each corner. Isn't it cute?
Enjoy!

The Quilted Cow Emporium

There's a bit of Maritime Beauty about to make an appearance at an udderly delightful shop in Jacksonville, Illinois.

The Quilted Cow Emporium will soon carry Sew Karen-ly Created...patterns and has plans to offer workshops in Maritime Beauty. It would be an understatement to say these gals are having a lot of fun (especially with all the bad bovine puns!). Check out their fun website and sign up for their newsletter; I near fell off my chair with surprise on the first visit!

Maple Leaf Quilters

Earlier this week I posted a different colouring for Fruit Smoothie; here are a couple more to share. These quilts were made by the Maple Leaf Quilters located just outside of Vancouver on Canada's west coast. "The Maple Leaf Quilters are a young company offering sewing days to quilters who like small group settings to learn, as well as retreats for those who want to get away for the weekend. We do charity quilts, work with people of all abilities and believe in inclusion. We are currently working on having our website up and running as well as a blog. The class with the Fruit Smoothie will be taught in June." Here's Valerie's version: This is Joan's. The red, white and black make a striking combination: I love their colour interpretations and look forward to receiving pictures from the class. If you are in the area and interested in a workshop on sewing curves, contact Maple Leaf Quilters for more information.

New York Roundabout: WIP

Grace from Ontario is busily working on her first New York Beauty quilt. She decided to start with my New York Roundabout quilt kit from Benartex to get the hang of the process. She's half-way through and doing a terrific job. When she's finished, it will look just like my original:

If you'd like to make your own New York Roundabout, the kits are available online from Clotilde or Keepsake Quilting . If you are in Canada, the smart way is to check at your local quilt shop. (Try Avonport!) Your quilt shop can order the kit from Trend Tex Fabrics, the Canadian distributor. This way you don't have to deal with any surprises at Customs.

Thanks for sharing, Grace; we will look forward to seeing it finished!

A Seasonal Fruit Smoothie

Recently, I've had occasion to revisit the Fruit Smoothie design. I chose pastel, Eastery colours and sewed four blocks which is just the right size for a small table mat. It's fun to twist and turn the blocks to decide on the layout. It was tempting to stitch this shape for a runner.

For my round table however, it made more sense to go with a circle. The fabric is Mirror Ball Dot by Michael Miller, which has a nice sheen. It looks like a flower pieced in these colours.

To emphasize the spin, I quilted a fun, swirl design in the centre.

Yellow bias binding completed the outer edge.

It took less than an hour, start to finish, and gives a quick bit of spring colour for the table.

The daffodils from the Canadian Cancer Society should be open by day's end.

Shortly, I will post pictures of more samples of Fruit Smoothie, stitched by the Maple Leaf Quilters in B.C.