Roses and Other Stuff

Another HOT, sunny day in St. John's! I can't believe the heat. This is the first summer we have been at home in at least 10 years. My garden is glorious. Look at the roses. This rose bush was a gift from the Cabot Quilt Guild in 2008 as a thank you for chairing the National Juried Quilt Show at Quilt Canada (CQA) here in St. John's. The link above showcases the quilts we had on display here for that show.

• Rose Quilt Designs on Craftsy 
• Stained Glass Rose Quilt    
• Pinterest HERE, 
• Floral Art Quilts   

Enjoy!

It's Almost Christmas

It's almost here! 

Christmas has always been my favorite holiday. I love the glittery decorations, decorating the tree, making and purchasing gifts, baking and spending time with family and friends. Most of my baking is done and gifts are wrapped and sent away and the others are under the tree.

Do you have all your gifts finished and wrapped? Or do you put things off to the last moment? In any case, you have one day left to get it all done.So why don't you take a few minutes to relax and have a look at some 'stuff' to ponder for your next project.

• I've linked up with the Needle & Thread Network again.
• Please check out the 110 links on Crazy Mom Quilts. I'm sure you will need a cup / glass of something before you start. 
• I do like this free Log Cabin Hexi Potholder pattern from Craftsy.

 A baking tradition at my house are these Melting Moments shortbread cookies. Mmmmmmm!!!

Classes on Craftsy

Happy Sunday!

Have you ever taken online classes?

Craftsy is having a sale of over 500 classes for $19.99.  Now is your chance to sign up for a class or two at a reduced rate. That's what I did last fall. So far, I've downloaded the classes but only managed to watch one of them. There is just not enough time!!!  In any case, you can do the classes at your leisure. In your pyjamas if you are so inclined.

I'm not affiliated in any way with Craftsy except to take a few classes that interested me. 

Enjoy!

Experimenting!

I decided to make a Scrap Bucket Basket from the free pattern on Craftsy.  Mine didn't turn out exactly like that one at all. For one thing, I used one piece of batik fabric and I didn't have any grommets and cotton rope for the handle (I didn't bother with a handle)! I also had to do some alterations to the length of the side so it would fit the bottom piece. The Pellon 71 F, single-sided fusible ultra firm stabilizer worked perfectly! I guess I could have used a different fabric for the lining but . . .

My light weight bucket is going in the Motor Home to hold my knitting. It might not be pretty, in fact, it's quite plain, but it is functional and I like the colour. This was an experimental piece. If I do another, it will be slightly smaller. Pockets could be made for the inside and outside. Something else to consider. However, when I made this one, I was in a hurry and wanted to feel as if I had  accomplished something. Do you ever feel like that?

Another idea for travelling with this Basket / Bucket, would to attach a top piece with a drawstring closure that could fold over the top toward the outside. To do that, make the lining longer and finish the top the same as for any drawstring bag. The outside top would fold inside about a 1/4" and then top stitch to the lining. Make sense?

Guess I'll have to make another one.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend. It's sunny here but a tad chilly. 

I decided to fold down the top. Now I wish I'd put a different colour for the lining!

This is too plain but it's a good size for holding knitting projects.

The yarn does blend in with the fabric colour I used.

Close-up showing the stitching. Does this qualify for modern quilting? Just joking. . . maybe!

It's Friday!!!

The first Friday of 2015!

Yesterday, I asked if you had any projects planned for the near future and recommended you visit The Sewing Loft. Today, I suggest you have a look at FPF: The Very Best Free Pattern Fridays for 2014 on Craftsy. I suspect many of you are already familiar with the Craftsy site but sometimes (if you are busy like me), it's always good to have a nudge and click over there to see what's happening. Even with email reminders from these sites, I often forget to pay a visit.

Each Friday, Craftsy has a FPF: Free Pattern Friday. Here's today's Free Patterns!

Enjoy!
I have no affiliation with this site except to be a subscriber like many of you. I have also taken a couple of their classes on-line. 

Also on Fridays, there is going to be Free Motion Friday from Quilts by Jen.  Check out her past Friday Free Motion projects HERE.

Trunk Show

Three of the quilt guilds in our area have worked very hard during the last year to get Australian quilter, Gloria Loughman, to visit our small part of the world. Thanks go out to the ladies on the workshop committees. It took a lot of work to coordinate with Gloria to add us to her visit to North American.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take one of the workshops but I did attend the Trunk Show on Friday evening. Gloria is a wonderful speaker and I enjoyed her talk and display of art quilts. Her use of colour is just fantastic! I was talking to a number of my friends and they highly recommended doing her workshops. She does offer a course on Craftsy if any of you are interested. You can access this course directly on Gloria's website. Just click on the thumbnail on the left hand side. Gloria has also published three excellent books.

1. Luminous Landscapes
2. Quilted Symphony
3. Radiant Landscapes

Here's a few photos from Friday evening:
Enjoy!