WiP Wednesday: the one with a giveaway!

It's Wednesday and I have very little to report in the way of quilty news but I am pleased to tell you that this month is my Blogversary! Three years ago I started writing about my quilting obsession journey. Some of you have just found me (welcome!) and some have been here since the beginning, either way, I am just so grateful for all of you! This little space on the internet has connected me to a community like I never thought was possible.

I have this little note to myself in my sewing room

"Find your people". I don't know where I heard that, but it resonates with me. When I moved away from my home base (from Nova Scotia to Ottawa) I really got seriously back  into quilting. Once I had my fabric stash built up I was feeling great, but I also needed "my people". Folks who hoard fabric, then cut it up, and then put it back together.  This blog was the missing link! I have met so many wonderful people on-line and now in person. I am so lucky!

(the other note in this pic is to keep me motivated...someday the Pfaff will be mine!)

So, to celebrate all my "people" I dropped into my LQS - the wonderful Patch Halifax - and picked out the special little bundle just for you...

Eight Fat Quarters of delicious! In here we have some Folk Song by Anna Maria Horner, Franklin and Hadley by Denyse Schmidt, Cotton and Steel, Kaffe Fasset Stripes and a Free Spirit Solid. They are all so good! (keep reading to the bottom and I will tell you how to win)

This is a WiP post so I do have some things to share. This past week I have been working on a plus baby quilt. This quilt is a class I am teaching at Patch Halifax. I like sewing along with my students so I have an sample to show techniques on. Here I am getting the quilting done so that can see how diagonal lines work.

I also finally basted this giant star quilt, one more WiP out of the closet!

Now, on to the good stuff...to win the Blogversary FQ Bundle, simply leave a comment on this post. If you would like to share this post in social media land, please feel free to do so and leave me a separate comment for a second chance to win! Mr. Random Generator will pick a winner on Sunday March 1st.

Thanks for being "my people".
Adrienne

Linking up this week with Lee at Freshly Pieced and with the Needle and Thread Network.

i heart Kona

A couple of weeks ago Jennifer over at A Quarter Inch From The Edge threw out a challenge to curate a bundle of Kona. Now I am not one to back down from a challenge, so this morning I dug out my bins (yes I have more than one) of Kona and played around. There are so many options!

In the end, while we are in the middle of a storm, I was feeling dark and light. Now I must say that these pictures do not show that much of the light, but if you pull these colors there is a definite happiness.  The colors are Berry, Wasabi, Storm and Breakers.

This was a fun way to spend a morning and reminded me how much I like working with solids. I have not made a ton of solid projects, but one of my very favorite all time quilts is this one...which happens to be the first quilt that I made entirely of solids

I am suffering from a rare disease right now called "giantlist". You may know of it. It affects quilters who want to make everything, and because their list of wants is so large they get paralyzed to start anything. This little Kona play has been like an antibiotic to my paralysis, I am off to start a new project from Cherri House's City Quilts. Which one do you think I will make?

Are you a Kona fan? Why not make your own bundle and head over to link up with Jenn!
Adrienne

Fox Frenzy: A Finish

Are you ready for some serious cuteness!

I am officially IN LOVE with these foxes. Seriously. Last November I had a new client contact me looking to have a quilt made that she had seen on Pinterest for her new baby due in February. When She showed me the pin I knew the quilt and pattern maker right away! Kona Fox Kits by Lorna at Sew Fresh Quilts.

A quick PDF pattern purchase and the amazing assistance of Pam at Mad About Patchwork, who cut the fabric kit for me and I was off to the races! Literally. I had one month to get this quilt done in time for baby. Now, usually a month is plenty for me, but life has been hectic, so I was making this one right up to the wire as they say.

I usually don't use the same fabric recommended in a pattern, liking to make it a bit of my own, but seeing that this quilt was a custom order, I did just that and can I say that Lorna's color choices for this quilt are amazing! The pattern was so detailed on how to use the colors too. I cannot recommend it enough.

I was very unsure about the quilting on this baby. I actually used the words "paralyzed with fear" at my Guild Sew In Day where I was working on this quilt. I likely should have quilted the tree to high light it, done something leafy with the leaves, and then highlighted those foxes. But that all just seemed like too much, and I was not up to experimenting with a custom order. So I stuck with my latest obsession and gave it some walking foot wavy lines. Best Decision EVER! Once out of the washer and dryer, the texture is astounding! Makes those foxes pop! It even makes a rather flat backing far more interesting

So, there you have it, my Fox Frenzy. Time to wrap this little one up with care to get in the post to it's new owner. I hope she will be as smitten with these foxes as I am!

Adrienne

Linking up this week with

January

It seems these days that I am spending less time here at the blog and more time over on Instagram. There is something about the instant gratification... anyway, here is January in Photos. Where did the month go anyway? Seems like we were just scarfing down Christmas dinner!

A great month no?! Some travelling, studying, teaching, fur baby time, family time, quilty time and some time at the potters wheel!

 

I hope January was good for you!

Adrienne

Quilt Away Days

Yesterday was my guild's monthly Sew In Day. I love Sew In Days! But as I lugged my bags and sewing machine from my home studio to the car etc it got me thinking about what I am lugging around exactly? Why are those bags so darned heavy!

Frist of course there is the bag - a nice big bag to fill with all of your crap - I mean quilty supplies. This is the Sewing circle Tote I made last year, this thing has been amazing! I am so glad I took the plunge and made it.

Now, in the tote I usually have several smaller pouches.

What's in these you ask? Well I always carry my wonder clips with me. You just never know when you are going to need those handy suckers (especially yesterday when I was planning on doing some binding).

In the other, I had thread. Now I don't always carry a pouch full of thread, but I usually always have at least a spool on my machine and a back up in my supplies. Yesterday I was also planning on quilting but had not decided on pattern or thread so I brought a variety for a consult with my guild friends.

Then the main pouch - the big kahuna - has all of my tools. Isn't this pouch sweet by the way? this is a pouch made by a member of the Victoria Modern Quilt Guild. We swapped pouches with them recently and I love mine!

For tools, first of course there are the sharp cutty things. Rotary cutter (with a couple of spare blades), scissors (two sizes because I am anal like that), and a seam ripper. I started marking my tools with a bit of Washi tape because I travel quilt quite a bit and it is an easy way to recognize your own tools.

Next - the marky stuff. A pencil, a frixion pen and a chalk marker for those dark fabrics. Oh and sticky notes, I love me some post its!

Then, pinny things - pins of course, extra sewing machine needles, just in case, and of course bobbins! You can't pin anything with a bobbin of course, but they looked good in this picture. You can't pin anything with that tape measure either. Maybe this pic was not such a clever grouping after all!

Then there is some beauty / getting old stuff. I have approximately 50 lip balms around my domain, so of course there should be one in the quilty travel kit, some Burt's bees for cracked fingers and yes, a pair of glasses. I may or may not be hitting a milestone birthday this year, and it seems that threading the needle on the machine is just a tad easier with some magnifiers on my face!

Last, but not least, in the pouch you will find my quilting gloves for those Michael Jackson moments, an old makeup brush that I use to snag big clumps of lint from my bobbin case in between cleanings and the handy baby screwdriver for changing feet.

Man that little pouch carries a lot of stuff! Other items that are always in my quilting away bag is tape and extension cords. You never know when you will need these!

And of course you cannot quilt anywhere without a mat and rulers. I usually have three rulers in my bag, what I consider my essentials...as for the cutting may, I have a smaller mat that is usually good for travelling, but this one has a handle, which makes it a good choice when you have lots of other things to carry.

And of course my Sewing Machine! And, depending on where I am going to sew, my iron if I need it.

Oh, and don't forget your projects to work on! Yesterday I was quilting my Fox Frenzy and hoping to finish piecing a plus top.

Well, now I know why I feel weighed down on Quilt Away Days! So much stuff - and yet, I can't imagine leaving the safety of my studio without one of these items. I love Sew In Days for another reason too, seeing how people cart all of their supplies to Quilt Away Days. Some clever folks use a suitcase to cart it all (Sewing machines fit in there!). Some have fancy custom sewing machine tote bags, and some, like, me, have what seems like twenty bags slung over arms and shoulders, hoping everything stays balanced until you get to the room where you can drop it all!

So do you Quilt Away from home? Do you take your whole sewing room like me, or just a few things? What are your "can't leave home without them" items? Tells me everything!

Thanks for dropping by
Adrienne

Linking Up with Lily's Quilts for Fresh Sewing Day