Improv Like a Boss - TGIFF! & A GIVEAWAY

Welcome! So glad you could drop by for a little TGIFF! action... I have a special finish to share today (and...just maybe a prize...)


This year my Guild hosted their very first Executive Challenge. We picked three paint chips out of a brown paper bag and then we tried to make a quilt out of those colors. I'm here to tell you, I got lucky on my choices. Green, yellow, blue. No challenge there since they are my go to colors. I decided I needed to make this a wee bit more challenging and set some personal goals.

First, use only fabric and supplies from my stash. Success! I started with a Kona to match each color and then pulled some prints and low volumes.

Then I challenged myself to Improv. That's right people. I did not use a ruler for this entire project until it came time to bind. I know right. Take a deep breath. Its all over now and I did great!

If you are new to my bog here is a secret - I don't do improv. I worship the pattern. Oh sweet patterns. BUT I was determined. Armed with a sparkly new copy of  The Improv Handbook for Modern Quilters by Sherri Wood I read every detail and then started cutting squares. With no Ruler!  I have to tell you I am in love with this book. If you are a pattern girl but want to branch out? Start here!

Even though my focus was imporv, I still wanted the star to be the colors, since that was the challenge. So I kept it simple with the color grading from blue to yellow. I joined squares to make small units, joined those units together, then again into bigger units (you get the point) until I ran out of fabric.

I did really random straight lines for the quilting. I admit I am not thrilled with the quilting on this. I was in a time crunch and quilted it on an older machine that just does not have the quilting chops of the Janome. So there is a lot of distortion going on. But, overall I am super happy with how this challenge turned out. I even hung it in my living room!

I revealed this quilt last week at the Maritime Modern Quilt Guild meeting along with 19 other members who made some amazing pieces.

I know some of you like a good backside, so here it is...

The guild is running an on-line viewers Choice Contest over on their blog. You can hop on over and see the other fabulous quilts! So much talent in our group. Have fun trying to pick just one to vote for!

So this was fun! Thanks for stopping by TGIFF! If you are new to Chezzetcook, please stay and take a look around. If you are a regular visitor...hey! Thanks for coming back :)

Now it's your turn!  Link up your finishes and link back to the TGIFF! party so your readers can find us and link up too! I can't wait to see what you've finished this week!

AND

If you have made it to the end of this post you deserve a chance to win your very own copy of  The Improv Handbook for Modern Quilters.  Simply leave a comment and tell me if you are partial to improv or patterns. I'll announce the winner next Friday!

Finish on!
Adrienne

An InLinkz Link-up

Fun With Fishing

This weekend we loaded up the Webers and headed to our friend's 40th Birthday party. My hubby was in charge of cooking, you have never had BBQ chicken like his, and I was in charge of a gift.

A gift for a guy who loves the fishes.

At first my hubby, who has a hand for drawing, started to design a fly that I could then paper piece. But I have to tell you, I was not quite sure how to translate the design into something that when you looked at it it would look like... something. So I did the smart thing. A Google search. I found this pattern from Paper Panache .

The pattern was really great. But I have to confess that I did print it at 120% so that the small pieces were not quite that small... Did you notice that rolly thing? A wallpaper roller that is great for "pressing" as you paper piece. This is a new tool for me but I am loving it, as it means no iron heating things up.

A bunch of Konas, some amazing Leah Duncan print and bang! I got a fish!  I loved seeing this guy come together. Printing larger, I ended up with a 12" block and then added a linen border to fit it to a 20" pillow.

Of course I wavy line quilted this boy. It's a fish. He gets watery lines.

Tomorrow I am back to my day job after two weeks of vacation. I'm glad I got the time to make this fishy bit before I get back to my desk, that has a computer instead of a sewing machine. I think I need to find a way to sew every day. It just makes everything a little bit better.

Did you get time to sew this weekend? How often do you sew? Would love to hear your strategies.
Adrienne

In the making

Hey! Yeah, so I have been off summering. There has been some of this

A little of this

 

and this

and a fair bit of this....washing and painting our house

But of course I have been sewing in the middle of it all. Just. Cannot. Stop. So in the spirit of Wednesday, here's whats in progress in the Klenck-udio.

First I finished off a square-in-square baby for a wee friend of mine. I am teaching this pattern at Patch Halifax right now and it was fun to sew along. Such a versatile block. 

I joined my first Instagram Swap this past week. #quietplayswap has us making a paper pieced pattern from Quiet Play for our partners. So this past Saturday at the MMQG Sew In I pieced a Geometric Sewing machine...in twelve delightful inches.

I have also been pulling fabric and cutting for a new project. A sixteen patch as summery as I can make it. Its all cut now and ready for some chain piecing...

And finally.  Yes, I will make it stop. I have been working on the latest #travellingquiltscanada to land on my doorstep. Here is a sneak peek since this is secret sewing at its most dangerous! So much fun piecing this block over at Jeanette's house today! I love stitching with a quilty pal.

Well, I am glad to have checked in with you. I mean I miss you people.

Feeling a bit social this week so linking up around here - WiP Wednesday at The Needle & Thread Network and Let's Bee Social over at Sew Fresh Quilts,

and for now, I am off again to suck up the last bits if summer and enjoy some vacation days. But don't be a stranger... On September 16th I will be hosting TGIFF! and just maybe there will be a giveaway... better come back and see.

Final thought ..."finally that dogs blanket fell off the railing. Now it is mine"  the Orange Cat

Green Bay: A Finish

I finished a quilt. For me. Man that feels like a long time coming! I am in love with this green.

August 14, 2015. That is the date on the first mention of this quilt on IG (where you can find me by the way @adejklenck) so at least I made it under a year! (Just!). The pattern is Half Moon Bay from Beyond Neutrals.

This quilt is all about the green for me. I am completely smitten with the green, and the sheer amount of it! Happiness. The FQ stack of cotton and steele that was lurking in my stash was a great fit, and leaves me feeling very beachy. A good feeling.

I really had BIG intentions to try something different for the quilting part of this program, and by different I mean not wavy lines. But guess what, that's what I did anyway. A year people, it has been sitting for a year... time to get it done, and wavy lines fit into the schedule. And you know what? I love them. Aurifil 40wt in a greeny gold was the ticket!

On the back I pieced it up. Didn't want to buy any more fabric, I admit it. So I fussy cut some mustangs and put in my coveted 40th Birthday navy letter fabric. 

The crinckle that comes with the wavy lines once it has a little wash and tumble is just amazing. Loving my new, just for me, green quilt.

Have you made anything just for you lately?

ps. Thanks to Downtown Dartmouth for the great scenery! The Blue on the mural. Puh-lease.

pps. Will be linking up this week at TGIFF! This finish deserves a celebration!

Keep on truckin...almost caught up!

We're getting there folks. Thanks for hanging in there. Very soon the blog version of me is going to catch up to the real me. But first, Baby Quilts! I have made two wee quilts over the last few months.

This Square in Square Baby is a Beginners Quilting Class Sample for Patch Halifax. I can't wait to start teaching this pattern.

This year is turning out to be the year of the square in square blocks. Like 2015 was the year of the HST. Funny how these things happen. The pic below is a square in square top ready for chain piecing that I just put on the design board tonight. This quilt will be donated with other MMQG Quilts to our local childrens Hospital the IWK.

The other Baby was this Citrus and Mint custom order. You can get this sweet and quick pattern for free over at Craft Buds and My Top 100 Sewing Patterns

I had fun doing a little shopping for this project. My customer really liked the palette in the pattern so I needed to add some mint and citrus to the stash. I kept it small, really working hard at keeping to my Year of the Stash Goals.

I did straight line quilting on this, but had fun going diagonally and with a few lines together. Oh sweet Janome and Aurifil, you truly do have a great relationship.

For the back I found this dreamy brushed cotton orange / citrus brushed cotton with origami animals. Ridiculously sweet and soft like flannel. I love when you find the perfect back. 

I would definitely make this pattern again. Cool effect with the circles. Not too small. And really fast to piece. Win Win!

The third Baby i did was a gift for new we lad in our family. I made a Star Bright Quilt. Loved the blues pulled out of the Charley Harper chickadee fabric.

So, I think that's it for the baby quilt update! Next time...Minis and odds and sods. I leave you with this image.

I finally picked up everything that was on the floor in my sewing room. Sorted by project and ended up with many piles, but at least visible in order of priority. I felt immediately better. Are you an organized freak like me, or do you thrive in chaos? Let your freak flag fly!

Adrienne