Volume: A Finish

Do you hear that? It's clapping! I have finished Volume! I started working on this baby in March. Seriously, March. I have never celebrated the completion of just a top in a quilt before (you have already seen those pics), but now the quilting and binding too! This is seriously some of my best work (pat on back ensues).

 

Enough talking. Let's do pictures. Be warned, there are many.



The Dartmouth Common was beautiful this afternoon.
Is there anything better than fall afternoon light? I think not

 


I tried random quilting lines for the first time. I just let myself go with my instinct and used my walking foot. I like the back of this quilt as much as I like the top! With the great texture of the quilting and the Ikea Britten Nummers ...yum!

TEXTURE!

 

Oh and I am moving on from white thread for quilting.
These days I am all about color! And I think I may be addicted to mustard colored thread.

For binding I went with this Denyse Schmidt Hope Valley print. I was not sure of it, but now that it is on, I think it was a good choice.



I thought this picture was terrible because of the shadows,
but you can see the whole fence reflected. Cool.

Oh I am so in love with this quilt. Now that it is all done with pictures, it has a place ready for it on a wall on the main floor of our house. Where I can look at it every day.

The other good news is that finishing this quilt was my Lovely Year of Finishes Goal  for September. Made it just under the wire!. So I am off to link up there and also I am going to link up later tis week at TGIFF!

Do you have a favorite quilt out of  the quilts you have made this year? I think this is mine:)
Adrienne

TLP September Winner!

The winner of this month's Library Project Link up is....

Anja from Anja Quilts! Woo Hoo!!

Anja gets to pick a book from my Library :) I just so happen to be meeting Anja at MMQG Sew In Today, so going to pack books now!

Happy Saturday. I hope you all get some sewing time in on this glorious fall day!
Adrienne

Wanna Win?

Now that I have your attention... this month I had the most delightful request from Carol at Sew Sisters to participate in their Kona Club Challenge. How exciting!

Sew sisters is an on-line and bricks and mortar Canadian fabric shop. One of my faves! Their fabric choices are fabulous and the prices are sweet too! Now they also have this thing called the Kona Club. To help you build your solids stash just join the Kona Club and you can have 4 Fat Quarters or 4 Half Yards of Kona Cotton Solids delivered to your doorstep each month! I think I may need to get in on this action.

So the challenge was to develop a tutorial using just four FQs. What did I make? I am shamelessly trying to make summer last. so.....summer colors and flag bunting! That's right, let summer reign! Mind you a quick change of colors and this cute bunting will be good for any season or special occasion.

 

Today my tutorial is being featured on the Sew Sisters Blog. If you head over, you will have a chance to win your own cute little Kona fat quarter stack!

Oh and it just so happens that Sew Sisters is having a big sale right now! Go, go now!

The Library Project QAL: September Report

It's Friday! It is a beautiful fall day in Nova Scotia today and I am so excited to reporting on my Library Project because I have actually done something! Of course I get too excited and tell all of my secrets as soon as they happen, so a lot of you will have already seen my completed Volume top. But it is worth sharing again!

I have this quilt basted now and it is ready for quilting. My goal is to have it all done by the end of the month. This was my project from Scrap Republic and will mark my third finish of the five books / quilts I chose back in January.

This week I looked back on my picks for this year and I still like my choices, but don't know if I am "feeling" the two that I have left. I think some of you have done the same thing, re-evaluate what you wanted to make through the year. I think this is really natural. You need to be in a groove to make something. Besides it's not like our Libraries are not brimming with options!

So, given how many months are left this year, and the state of my schedule (holy crap I am going to be on the run from now until January) I am going to save this year's picks for later and go a different route, a personal route. Like so many other quilters, I quilt all year long and still do not have a quilt made by me for my own bed! I have been hoarding Anna Maria Fabrics just for this and have been coveting the Herringbone Quilt Tutorial from Maureen Cracknell. So, I am going to make a King Sized Herringbone Quilt for my husband and I for Christmas! I am so excited about this! Some truly selfish sewing.

So, how is your TLP going? How many of your original picks got done, have you changed your mind?

This month our prize is a book of your choice from my personal library. You will be able to chose from these options:

This is a brand new copy - not the one with all of my crazy notes!

Time to link up! Let's see what you have been up to. The link will be open for the next week and the random number guy will pick a winner on Saturday September 27th.
Happy Friday!
Adrienne

An InLinkz Link-up

Patching It Up

Well here I am! I feel like I have been very absent from the blog lately. I'll be honest I just haven't been feeling it. Whatever "it" is. I have been sewing and have a lot of exciting stuff going on and yet... maybe I am just too busy, maybe I am spending more time on Instagram? I don't know. Whatever, here I am, because I still like being here, and it is probably ok to come when I can, and when I feel like it :)

So what's up you ask? Some friggin exciting stuff! I have to tell you all about Patch Halifax. This is Halifax's newest LQS and there is just so much good stuff happening.

First, Chris (Patch's proprietress) has partnered with the Maritime Modern Quilt Guild to be the host for our monthly meetings. The creative energy of our members, mixed with the amazing atmosphere at Patch has been awesome.

Chris (Left) and Margaret, one of our Newest MMQG members

Wow, just realized how serious we all look in this photo. We are so all so intent learning how to make fabric baskets!

Besides hosting the meetings, Chris goes above and beyond to help promote the Guild. This past weekend Patch had their official Grand Opening. I was invited to do a demonstration on quilting so that folks can get not only a sense of the types of workshops that go on at Patch but also to talk up the Guild.

I chose to demonstrate how to Quilt As You Go, making a pillow cover. I was trying to think of a manageable project and I really needed to (finally) recover my couch cushions, so I made up this sample and then got working on the second one as the demo.

I cannot tell you how much fun this was. I got to sit in a beautiful patch of September sunlight, try out a brand new Bernina, quilt and talk! My favorite things! I met so many wonderful people. Including a teenager who took up sewing this summer and is now making all of her own clothes! And a lovely woman who came in and new me from my Blog! That was so cool. To actually meet a reader and hear that they like it! Definitely spurred me on to get back here.

My workstation. patch has five brand new Bernina's for use during the workshops and to rent hourly. There is also a serger. I kept looking over at that and it scares me a little.

The other thing that has been keeping me busy is getting ready to teach my very first Quilting Class! You see Patch is not just a fabric store, it is also a workshop where people can rent sewing machines by the hour to sew their own projects or take workshops and classes.

See that cute baby quilt on the back wall? Well this is the sample I made for the Beginners Quilting Class. I start teaching this Sunday and Chris has sold out two sessions already! Apparently Halifax is keen to quilt. And the QAYG Pillow? That could end up as a workshop too. So. Much. Fun.

So that's what's been going on in my neck of the quilting woods. Between the Guild, sewing and getting ready for teaching, I am having a ball!

I am going to leave you with a few more photos from Patch's Grand Opening. Too glorious not to share.

How is your fall going? Busy, relaxed. and if it is relaxed please send on the Cocktail recipes you must be using.
Adrienne

Ps. of course we cannot forget that Patch has Fabric! So of course I came away Saturday with this...yum!