HST Baby: A Finish

It's Monday, it's kind of a long weekend with Canada Day tomorrow, time to share a finish! This is HST Baby.

This quilt was a custom order for a friend's new little bundle. When we were picking out patterns together my friend was immediately drawn to this creation from Erica at Crafty Blossom . She wanted the same colors and the black and white stripe border.

I do feel weird making  an exact replica of someone else work. But I would always credit them, and I also think that imitation is the highest form of flattery!

I did make my HSTs bigger because I wanted a strong graphic finished look. And that striped binding? Love it! You see black and white striped binding around quite a bit, and I never knew how I would feel about it, but now that I have tried it...yay! It was a bit of a hunt to source out, but of Course Pam at Mad About Patchwork came to the rescue! She had just two half meter cuts left of this Clown Stripe by Michael Miller. Sold!

For the back I pieced another column of HSTs and finished it off with some alphabet flannel. This turned out to be a good choice since the new mom is a teacher :)

 

I left that random piece of thread there just for you!

 

I can officially say that the only thing that I do not like about this quilt is this crappy photo shoot. I was trying to be a "modern" with the grey cinder block background of my garage, but now that I have the pictures here, it feels more like "baby goes to prison". Ah well, we can't win them all.

 



 

Of course I always have pet helpers. I tried to get Charlie to sit down and be  apart of the shoot, but he was far more interested in eating weeds.

 

 

We are a North American household here at chez Klenck. So tomorrow we celebrate Canada, and on Friday the USA. So whether you are North or South of the border, I hope you have a great holiday week. Party On my friends. Party On!

 

Adrienne

 

This week I am going to link this finish up at

Anything Goes Mondays at Stitch by Stitch, Monday Makers at ayliN-Nilya, Needle & Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation and  TGIFF!



TLP June Winner!

The Library Project is going strong! This month's winner of our special half-way mark

A $50 Gift Card from

is Julia from Jada's Quilting Adventures

This is an extra special pleasure for me that the Random Generator picked Julia. She is a new member to the MMQG and I am going to meet her for the first time today at our MMQG Sew In!

Congratulations Julia!
Happy Sewing Canada Day Weekend
Adrienne

O Canada! Pilllow: A Finish

I swear on a stack of Anne Rice novels that I did not plan this. But it just so happens I have a Canadian Flag pillow to share with you, just  under a week away from Canada Day!

You see, a little bit ago I was asked to make a Union Jack Pillow for a friend's daughter. It was a birthday gift.

But this friend has another daughter, with another birthday, so a Canadian Pillow was ordered :) I had a great time making this pillow. The quilt block is from Cheryl Arkison's Oh Canada! pattern.

I loved learning Cheryl's slab technique. For sure a method I will use again.

For quilting, simple straight lines and the maple leaf is machine appliqued. And on the back, some strips from a previous project found a good home.

I love this little pillow, I hope it's new owner will like it too. Do you have any Canadian themed projects on the go, or even sewing plans for the Holiday weekend? I am going to the MMQG Sew In, looking forward to a  full day of stitching bliss!

This project was my June Goal for A Lovely Year of Finishes. So linking up over at Fiber of All Sorts. And, linking up Fabric Tuesday

 

Happy Canada Day!
Adrienne

The Library Project QAL: June Report

I cannot believe how fast the months are going by. Can you imagine - we are six months into The Library Project!

June is here and I am pleased to say that I got a lot more done than last month! I have to admit I had to go back to my January post to see how many projects I picked for this little adventure. Five! Ambitious me. But, good news, this month's finish means I am almost half way there! That Volume Quilt is holding me back...hmmm...maybe next month :) But let's get back to it.

This month I tackled Quilt Improv: Incredible Quilts form Everyday Inspirations by Lucie Summers. This project is also my MQG Michael Miller Fabric Challenge Entry. The main fabric is Petal Pinwheels with some other Michael Miller goodies thrown in for fun.

This book is wonderful. The patterns leave lots of room for creativity, but also give enough direction for a beginner quilter. See the curves in there. First time I have sewn a curve since 1999. True Story.

I "bagged out" this project for a no-binding look (which I talked about here last week) and did some organic straight line quilting (organic because there is no straightness to speak of in here).

I must admit, I was not in Love with this quilt as the pieces moved to the design wall. But once it was quilted I was in love. It now has a permanent home on my studio wall. It is bright and happy. Just the thing for a sewing space.

On to the fun stuff. I think we should have a special celebration for the half-way mark. How about...

A $50 Gift Card from

 

Yay! And it is easy to win - Simply link up your June report on your own Library Project by next Friday June 27th. I will pick a random winner from all of the link-ups.

Cannot wait to see how you have been making out this month. While I am waiting I might just head on over to Mad About Patchwork and do some shopping. Perhaps all of those extra Michael Miller fabrics might have come from Mad About Patchwork;) Pam is taking pre-orders on Cotton and Steel and have you checked out their Monday Mosaics? Curated bundles that are on sale each week. This week you can get Green as Grass for 20% off.

Time to link up. Show me what you got!
Adrienne

Ps. selfishly linking up to TGIFF! and Finish it up Friday because it's Friday and darn it I finished something!

An InLinkz Link-up

Swapping Pincushions

Last week at the Maritime Modern Quilt Guild meeting we swapped pincushions.

This was really fun, albeit a little nerve wracking to make something for someone else. Especially another quilter! We had a whole Pinterest Board up for inspiration and yet, I wanted to just do my own thing. Something simple, but a nice big pincushion.

 

So I picked some fabric and raided my Selvage Jar. It was going to be simple, but I wanted to give someone some of my prized selvages. Why are they so hard to actually use?!

I was quite happy with how it turned out. It was a nice substantial size and weight. I filled it with crushed walnut shells. And before you are, because everyone does, I found them at a pet store.

I think Sandra was pleased with her pick. Purely by chance I picked the one she made. Look how cute!

 

I am having hands down the best fun with this guild. Besides pincushions, we are starting to work on our Guild Banner with some donated fabric from Robert Kauffman AND we are starting to plan for our very first Quilt Show, which will be on display at the 2014 Fibre Arts Festival this October in Amherst, Nova Scotia. Our Display will be at Festival Headquarters in Town hall! Can You believe it! We are on the Program and everything!

 

Photo Credit Linda Smith-  Scrapmaster

One last photo of Penny helping with my pincushion photo shoot. Now I must go do something guild-ee. You can do so much when you are inspired.

Adrienne

WiP Wednesday: the one with no binding

I should be working. Not fun at the sewing machine kind of working, but day job working. But I so want to show what I have been working on this week. Soooo, here I am :)

I have been working on my Michael Miller Challenge project for the Maritime Modern Quilt Guild. Look Ma I made a curve! It's a wall-hanging, improv style. There is a lot going on in this baby and as I was finishing off the top I was stumped about how what to bind it with. A solid may distract the eye, a print, this thing does not need more prints. I really didn't want a binding at all.

I have been using the book Quilt Improv by Luci Summers for this quilt so I hit the book to see what  Luci did for binding, and low and behold no bindings there either! Following her advice I made a quilt sandwich like this...

Sandwich your finished quilt top with a piece of batting. Trim batting to the size of the top.

Lay the top and batting right sides together with the backing fabric

Sew all around the batting leaving a 5" to 6" opening. Trim off any excess backing and the corners

Turn the pocket right side out and press all around the edges to get a neat seam

Hand stitch the turn-through hole closed and quilt at will!

Now, the whole issue of quilting did not escape me. If there is no binding, where do my quilt lines stop and end without a whole lot of work on things like burying stitches and the like? Simple solution, I didn't end my lines. I did this

Yup, I think this works.

I am almost done this top, so I will reveal all very soon. But this whole, no binding thing, very good deal. Mind you I don't think I would do it for a quilt that would get a lot of use, but really, for everything else, Heck yeah!

So this was fun! I love talking about something new that I have tried. But now, I must get back to the day job. Have you tried anything new lately?

Linking Up with Lee at Freshly Pieced, because I can :)
Adrienne

P.S. those quilting lines are not meant to be straight. I call this organic straight lines. You heard me. Organic.

And the Goals Go On...

It's June and I have a crap load of things on my to do list

So many things in fact that I am in serious need of some prioritizing. Pretty easy to decide mind you, you gotta do the commissioned jobs first right! So June is going to be about three projects, a baby quilt, a pillow and a fabric challenge.

First, the Baby quilt. A friends' friend has had a new baby boy and as we were choosing a pattern the clear winner was this lovely piece by Crafty Blossom.

She even wants the same colors, so I have collected the Konas and have been busy making HSTs. It is a good activity for work trips. Mind you I had to take the Oliso, hotel irons suck! Or maybe I just could not be parted from my new toy. Either way... there was a lot of this going on

Next up, a Canadian Flag Pillow. After a few Union Jack Pillows a friend has asked for a Canadian Flag Pillow for his daughter. I am going to use this pattern by Cheryl Arkison.

And last, but not least, I need to get cracking on my Michael Miller Challenge project, which is also on my Library Project List. I have fabrics in hand and Improv Quilt Selected, it's time to cut and stitch!

So, just a few goals, but for A Lovely Year of Finishes, I only have to formally declare one. So I pick the pillow! I know, I know, the "smallest thing" but the reality is they all need to be done by the end of the month and it will be nice to have a Canadian flag done for Canada Day!

Off I go to link up.

What are your goals for June? Do you have a giant scary list like me or are you way smarter and have one or two things on the go? Spill it.
Adrienne