A Tisket, A Tasket; A Cute Easter Basket

Despite this being the first day of spring, here on the east coast of Canada we are enjoying another snow storm, and watching up to 25 cm of the fluffy, white stuff fall outside the windows.  Schools and businesses are closed, making this a perfect time to stay inside to create.
I seem to make a lot of baskets, mostly because I really enjoy filling them with fun and interesting items. You can see a previous one here. Sometimes you just need a small one, to let someone know you are thinking of them;  it's even more special if you can use some favourite fabrics from your stash. I chose a pink dot, but a pretty floral would be awesome. These little baskets are great for shut-ins who could use a little pick-me-up.  Other than a couple of hand-stitches to hold the ends together, this is a total no-sew project that takes little time to complete.
Opening that Pandora's box of Mirror Ball Dot fabrics last week unearthed some pretty Fairy Frost pieces I had forgotten about, including a pastel yellow which looks like sunshine;  it made a perfect lining for this basket.  I had fun working out the design, with a mandate to keep it as quick and inexpensive as possible.  Please read through all the directions before starting to make sure you are clear on what's required.

A Tisket, A Tasket, A Cute Easter Basket

Materials Required:

2, 9-1/4" squares fabric in coordinating colours for basket (i.e., one pink, one yellow)

2, 9-1/4" squares of  heavy weight fusible interfacing*
1, 9-1/4" square of fusible web for basket*

2, 1-1/4" x 11-1/4" pieces of coordinating colours for handle (i.e., one pink, one yellow)

2, 1-1/4" x 11-1/4" heavy weight fusible interfacing*
1-1/4" x 11-1/4" fusible web for handle
2 pretty buttons
Disappearing marker
Strong thread
*Pellon Craft Fuse heavy weight fusible interfacing and Pellon Wonder Under used in sample project.

Fuse interfacing to back of each of the 9-1/4" fabrics following manufacturer's instructions. 

Apply fusible web to the back of one of the fabrics;  remove paper backing and fuse the interfaced lining on top, wrong sides together.  This fuses the pieces together to create a double sided fabric.   

 Trim to 9" square.

Divide fabric into thirds both vertically and horizontally by drawing lines 3" apart with a disappearing marker. You will have a grid of 3" squares marked on your fabric.

Fold bottom third to centre along marked line and press to crease. Repeat for top section of fabric.  You can see I am using lots of steam to make a crisp line.

Turn fabric a quarter turn and repeat the pressing so that the fabric is now pressed in a 3 x 3 grid.

With scissors, cut along two outer lines on the top and bottom ends only to the centre mark as shown.  Note that you are NOT cutting in from both sides, you are only cutting on the top and bottom ends to the centre. (4 little snips, not 8).

Fold up, and bring sides together, angling a bit at the top edges.  Pin in place.

To make your handle, fuse interfacing to back of both handle and lining sections.  Fuse handle and lining together with the fusible web in between. Trim handle to 1" x 11".  Mark 1" from each end of handle.

Remove pin from basket and slip handle between basket sides and inner square, as far as the 1" marked line.  Re-pin.

Using sturdy thread and handstitches, make an X to secure ends.

I used pink Lily quilting thread which had belonged to my grandmother.  45 cents well spent, Gram :)

Sew decorative button on top to cover stitching. (Thank you for these cute buttons, Mary). That's all there is to it!

Fill it with some fun little goodies and brighten someone's day. The new stamps from Canada Post which feature spring flowers are perfect.

If you make some baskets, we'd love to see them. Kindly email pictures here.

Happy Spring!

NQD

It's National Quilting Day and naturally, I am quilting!  This patchwork puzzle is my first attempt at a design with the Mirror Ball Dot.  The pieces are scrambled so you can't see what I am making...unless you have one of those amazing brains that can rearrange the picture mentally.  I even numbered them to give you a hand! (ok...I numbered them so I could put them back in place :)  What are you working on today?

Mirror, Mirror On The Ball...

All kinds of interesting things happen when you least expect them. A couple of weeks ago out of the blue I had an email from Mark Hordyszynski.  Most of you will recognize Mark's name as the designer of Mirror Ball Dot and Fairy Frost fabrics for Michael Miller.  These fabrics stand out for their unusual hand and decided sheen;  they are quite unique in the marketplace.  When Mirror Ball Dot was first released, I did some projects with it; this nursery set entitled Yan Tan Tethera uses some of the soft, dreamy pastels of Mirror Ball Dot...

...as does this easy to sew Lollipop quilt.  Both patterns are available on my website.

I used 4 blocks from my Fruit Smoothie pattern to make this quick mat one spring.

Mirror Ball Dot created a bit of a following, and when the fabric finished its run and was no longer available,we heard stories of folks hoarding Mirror Ball Dot.  Hoarding fabric - really?  Now who would do that...?!?  :)

(besides me, I mean...)

I even saved the original colour cards.

It was very cool to hear from Mark who is re-introducing the fabric through Michael Miller.  He chose 6 quilt and fibre artists and asked us each to each come up with something unique from this fabric, fleshed out with a few colours of Cotton Couture.  How fun to get a parcel from Hawaii yesterday!

These are my Mirror Ball Dot colours to use...

...and this is Cotton Couture.

You can see the full line of colours available for both these lines on the Michael Miller website.

Mark is no small talent - a bit of a Renaissance Man- as you will see on his site, The Mad Hatter of Maui.

Mark has written a post on the others involved in the project which you can read here.
We will each be given a date in a few weeks' time to post what we've come up with.  I will post the links in the blog hop, so please be sure to check back.  How could I say no to something this fun and creative?

I just hope I can rise to the challenge.  Thanks, Mark!

Maritime Beauty Kits

Last week I teased you with photos of the back of the Maritime Beauty I was working on.

 Now it's time for the big reveal!

I just LOVE this piece!

As mentioned previously, these are some of the new fabrics which have arrived at the soon-to-be-a-real-quilt-shop, Mrs. Pugsley's Emporium.  

The collection is by Robert Kaufman Fabrics and is called "Valley Of The Kings."  It is rich and elegant, with gold metallic accents in the black, gold and purple fabrics.  The collection includes a multi-coloured stripe which I saved for the bias binding;  I always love how stripes wrap themselves so gracefully around the outer curves. 

I shot a few pictures inside, and then my helper suggested we go out in the snow for some natural light.

What would I do without Polly's help?  We tried out a couple of spots to avoid too much sun or shade, and finally found a sweet spot to shoot.

This one below is my favourite shot. 

The owner of Mrs. P's liked it so much, she has decided to offer kits on the design.  These kits are available online only for now and the first few will go at a special price and with a reduced postage rate (only $6.50!)  Mrs. P's has put together two different kits:  one which includes all fabrics, even the backing fabric, for $30.00, and one which is just the fabrics for the top for $20.00.  (If you are in Canada, there is HST on top of that of course.)
You can purchase your kit by using the yellow Add To Cart button below.  Use the drop down arrow on the right hand side  to select the kit you'd like - either with or without backing.  The pattern for Maritime Beauty is NOT included in the kit, you can purchase that separately from my website.

Purchase Your Kit Here:

Without Backing $20.00 CAD Including Backing Fabric $30.00 CAD

TTC Finished!

Yay!  The Trend Tex Challenge quilt is all finished and on its way to Newfoundland.  I'm never quite sure if it is poor manners to show the piece before CQA does on their site, so I'll just post a couple now and add the rest later.  I had a piece of a yellow Benartex batik very similar to the one used on the front, so it was perfect for the back.

I showed the grapes in Sunday's post as I was stitching them, so surely it's ok to show them finished.   That doesn't give anything away.

I changed my needle THREE TIMES to quilt this little 17" x 21" hanging.  With batiks back and front, it took no time to hear that tell-tale thunk thunk of a dull needle.  Once you hear that, skipped stitches are not far behind.  Do you listen to your machine as you stitch?  You can learn all kinds of things listening to the subtle changes in the sounds it makes.

TT Challenge

While the design is less than inspired, I am enjoying every stitch in the Trend Tex Challenge.  It was fun to pull bright threads to add a little life and definition to these somewhat muddied batiks.

My dearly beloved Bernina sang along in harmony as we stitched.  I think it shows in the finished product when a piece has an easy birth;  the joy peeks through.

Kathy Tidswell Exhibit

If you are in the Fredericton, New Brunswick area don't miss this joint exhibit by Kathy Tidswell, Brian Dykeman and Roger Smith at the Charlotte Street Arts Centre.  Kathy is a regular instructor at our Nova Scotia Fibre Arts Festival and will be returning again this year to teach.  This is a great opportunity to see some of her gorgeous work in person.

“AVIAN MOMENTS” DRAWS A FLOCK TO THE CHARLOTTE GLENCROSS GALLERY

Fredericton, NB—The Charlotte Glencross Gallery will seem to come alive with the sounds of bird call next month when the group exhibition, Avian Moments, opens on Friday, March 8^th, 2013. This three-person show will feature two- and three-dimensional works, including thread paintings, woodcarvings and photographs all on the theme of our feathered friends, by New Brunswick artists Kathy Tidswell, Brian Dykeman and Roger Smith.

Kathy Tidswell is an artist, juried craftsperson and fibre arts teacher. Trained as a biologist, Tidswell changed careers after becoming a stay-at-home mother. Now an internationally recognized, award-winning quilter and artist, Tidswell says, “I strive to recreate nature’s beauty realistically in my work.” Her textile training has included courses from Canadian, American and British quilt artists, helping her to develop her own methods of painting on fabric and free motion machine embroidery.

Brian Dykeman grew up on a farm in rural New Brunswick, developing an early appreciation and love of the outdoors and wildlife. After completing a B.Sc., M.Sc. and PhD in agriculture and the plant sciences, he fulfilled a career in agricultural extension and research. Dykeman is now an award-winning wood sculptor with his works in collections worldwide, a juried member of the NB Craft Council and a founding member of the Fredericton Woodcarving Club.

Roger Smith obtained a B.Sc. in Biology and M.Sc. in Plant Pathology from UNB. While working on his M.Sc., he took photographs for the UNB Biology Dept, and realized that photography was a more interesting pursuit than his research on potato blight. Smith spent 35 years as the scientific photographer for the UNB Biology Department. Smith is a member of the SilverFish photo collective, Photo Fredericton camera club, and a juried member of the NB Crafts Council.

Avian Moments runs from March 8 – April 15, 2013. All are welcome to attend the opening reception, March 8 from 5:30-7pm.

The Charlotte Street Arts Centre is located in the heart of Fredericton, at 732 Charlotte Street.

Changing Spoons

The other day, Lynn asked me what I was working on.  My reply was, "finishing a Maritime Beauty, hand stitching silver coins onto the Black Friday piece (30 of them, of course...), figuring out a design for Mirror Ball Dot (more on this shortly!), preparing material and stitching samples for upcoming workshops and...oh yeah, I almost forgot...the Trend Tex Challenge."  Oh dear.  That Challenge gets me every year.  It's a fund-raiser for CQA and I've participated every year since I've been a member.  I find it exceedingly difficult  - not because of the fabrics or themes, but because we are given Fat Quarters with which to work.  As primarily a patch-worker, Fat Quarters are a problem.  I never have enough.
This year's fabrics are batiks, and the theme is "Sunshine and Vines."

The yellow is a bit muddied for pure sunshine (maybe it's overcast?), but the other colours are great.  The green I particularly like.  I will put the Maritime Beauty on hold and get started on this.  It needs to arrive in Nfld. by the 22nd of this month to qualify.
And for the record...my blue "Fat Quarter" is a bit anorexic;  it measures only 17" x 20"!

All Done!

Will take some photos outside when the sun comes up.  In the meantime, here's the back:

Quilting Hijinks

Progress on Maritime Beauty was slower than hoped for yesterday.

I had the top all basted before I left for an afternoon appointment. When I returned, vandals had somehow gotten to the quilting and made a rumpled mess of everything.  I had to un-baste and start over.  Sigh... Regardless, by day's end the seams were all ditch-stitched using a neutral shade of Invisifil.  Early this morning I added a feathered wreath in gold thread.   Metallic thread is sometimes tricky to stitch;  it requires a sharp-pointed, large-eyed needle (like a metallic, top-stitch or Cordonnet) and a good reduction on the top tension to reduce drag on the thread.  My top tension was dialed right down to zero for the free motion and no issues with thread breaking.

It's hard to see in the picture, but from the back I've decided I like it and will proceed with more.

The vandals were duly located.  Isn't this one the epitome of innocence?  I expect if Polly could whistle nonchalantly, she would be doing just that.

Partner-in-crime Maddie doesn't even try to make an effort!

Sincerest thanks for all the nice comments and lovely emails yesterday.  Some who are set to "no reply" I cannot respond to, but just know that I appreciate your support and good wishes.

The Mailman Came...

...and left this big envelope:

Could it be...?!?

It was like opening my acceptance letter from university a million years ago.  I held my breath, and then I saw that magic word:  CONTESTANT!!

 My Roundabout Again has been juried into the 2013 AQS Paducah Show in April!!!

Ecstatic is not a large enough word to describe how I am feeling. Apologies to those friends who got awakened with a giddy phone call (well, you should have been up any way by then!) or received one from my almost-dead-constantly-beeping cell phone...(and I can't imagine what my husband's secretary thought was happening!)

You can see pictures of the full quilt here.  The show runs April 24-27 in Paducah, Kentucky.  I am off to charge my phone, I think I've got a few more calls to make *-)
Edit:  You can see the entire list of semi-finalists here

Zipping Right Along

Piecing goes amazingly fast when you actually have a pattern to follow!  Usually I am making it up as I go...

Today I will be joining the blocks and basting the top.  Can't wait to get quilting!

Maritime Beauty Revisited

This spring I will be offering a couple of workshops on my Maritime Beauty.  I always like to sew the pattern again before a class to have it fresh in my mind.  Those gorgeous Robert Kaufman fabrics that followed me home last week are perfect for use in a New York Beauty.  So elegant!

It takes about 20 minutes to sew each block, so (barring interruption!) this will be pieced in no time.

Smoke & Mirrors (without the smoke!)

Skip on over to Ruth's blog to see some Oriental Beauty quilts in progress, and the clever use of mirrors!
The pattern for Oriental Beauty is here.

Life Is But A Stream...

One of my blog buddies - Jennifer -whom I've gotten to "know" over the past few years lives 'down under.'  When Jennifer announced that she was going to host her own radio show, it made me wish I was within hearing distance.  Of course I am - we all are! - as the station streams live over the Internet.  Jennifer's show is Sunday 7 pm to 9 pm Sydney, Australia time which translates to 4 am to 6 am Sydney, Nova Scotia time!  I set my alarm last Sunday morning for 4 and took my laptop to bed.  It was exciting to log in, which you can do here: http://www.2youfm.com.au/index.html 

Her voice is so soothing that with Maddie draped across the keyboard, Polly snuggled in by my knees (and hubby blissfully oblivious), we all drifted back to sleep shortly after 5:30.  Naturally, this was right about the time Jennifer sent a "cheerio" my way, as well as a weather report for Amherst.  Sorry I missed it Jennifer, I am keen to try again tomorrow.  Definitely worth getting up for!

Fabricolics Unite!

It's been a fabric-y week.  First, there was the acquisition of more silks to add to the stash:

The green and white dupionis will be the background for the FINAL two antependiums.  The white is for a communion banner and the green for Father's Day. These can perk away in my head for a couple of months until they are due in June.  Even having the fabric on hand this early, I know they will still end up getting sewn at the last minute.  Funny how that happens, huh?  And speaking of funny things...

I expect the locals have been wondering about all the activity at the old clock tower building in Amherst lately.  There have been delivery trucks with boxes, and folks coming in and out carrying what appear to be bolts of fabric.  Could it be...?!?!

Yup - Mrs. Pugsley's Emporium will now be a quilt shop!!!!!!!!!!!!!  The doors are not open as yet as owner Beth is still getting things set up.  She has ever-so-kindly invited me over a couple of times to drool over fondle and admire the gorgeous fabrics:  Hoffman, Moda, Robert Kaufman, Stof, to name a few.  She even allowed some of it to follow me home :)  

This picture does not capture the sheen and lustre of these luscious prints by Robert Kaufman, but for the Magpie-eyed among us, it's enough to make us break the 10th commandment. (It's the one about coveting)

Each year during the Nova Scotia Fibre Arts Festival, the old clock tower has served as headquarters for the event.  Now it assumes a role even more involved in the fibre arts.  This is such exciting news for not only downtown Amherst but elsewhere, as the shop will have a strong web presence with online ordering.
Woo hoo! I am off to sew!