FNSI Results & Quilter's Academy

 Twenty two more 9 patches done. I was pretty happy with what I accomplished last night, that is until today.

At one of the guilds I belong to (Assiniboine Circle) we had a guest teacher hold a Quilter's Academy today. It's like beginner school for quilters following the tips and techniques that Harriet Hargrave uses in her books. I figure that I'm a pretty knowledgeable quilter and I was positive I knew how to do the basics like piecing and pressing - wrong. Today we were shown the proper way to make sure our fabric was on grain, proper cutting tips, the right way to press, how to achieve accurate 1/4" seams and so much more. We were shown little 3 inch finished lemoyne star blocks that were perfectly flat with no lumpy seams and so accurate they were little works of arts. There were 9 patches where every square was exactly the same throughout the quilt.

When I came home I looked at my little 9 patch blocks and wasn't as happy with them. They just weren't treated right.  At this point I have to warn you that if you are sensitive, you might want to skip the next paragraph.

Some of my seams and blocks were tugged and pulled into submission. They had been stretched, picked at, poked, ironed to the point of smoking and even mercilessly ripped apart at the seams. In fact at the risk of being reported to the authorities, I'm ashamed to admit that some were even verbally abused, then thrown heartlessly into the garbage.

Okay, you can read the rest, the abuse is over.

I'm going to take what I learned today and try to be a better quilter (notice I said better, not perfect).  I will  treat my fabrics and subsequent blocks with an iron fist a kinder hand.  There will be more 9 patches made. I will I will not beat the seams into submission, because they will match. I will post before and after pictures and I'm sure you will see the difference.  if they aren't better I'm going to drive my car back and forth over them until they beg for mercy    Or...I'll come to my senses in the morning and just be happy I got some blocks done and love them in all their wonkiness LOL!

Happy Stitching!
corina

Lots of Nine Patch Blocks

I started a new quilt over the weekend. It's from a pattern called Jake from the Quilt Patch in Moosejaw (I LOVE THIS QUILT SHOP!) It's an on-point double nine-patch in very dark tones of browns and rusts. It's another perfect quilt for the men in your life!

 I need to make 125 little 3 inch finished 9-patch blocks, which combine with plain squares to make 25 12 inch finished blocks.So far I've made 65. Now you would think that would be pretty boring but it wasn't. What's the secret to making it fun? Make them while you're on a 3 day retreat!

I spent 3 amazing days at a retreat just on the outskirts of town. It was a wonderful experience (my first official retreat!). Everyone was so friendly, making me feel like I've known them all for years. There was no shortage of talent and I learned a couple of new techniques. Thanks to Myra for organizing it! Now because I have 3 fur boys I wasn't able to stay overnight, but I made sure I was there every morning bright and early! Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures, but my fellow friend and quilting blogger over at QuilterGoingBananas did, so pop by for a visit!

Well, I'm off to make more blocks!

Happy Stitching
corina

Blogger's Quilt Festival

Amy's Creative Side is hosting the Blogger's Quilt Festival. It is a wonderful way to see hundreds of quilts, meet new blogging friends and get tons of inspiration. My entry in the festival is my version of the  Jelly Roll 1600 quilt. This quilt is called "It's a Guy Thing"!



I've been collecting what I call "no color" fabrics for a long time. They are kind of taupish, kinda brownish, kinda greenish, kinda little bit of all. I came across a beautiful striped fabric that went perfectly with them. Forty strips, 38 rectangles and some extremely long seams later and the quilt top was done.

2 of the boys wanted to be included.

Anyone who knows me, knows I have a hard time finishing my quilts. Not that I don't want to, it's just that there are so many quilts I want to make that I go off on another project before the current quilt gets quilted and bound. Well not this time! It is 100% finished. I have a confession to make though. The only reason that happened was because I was asked to teach a class at the guild on my variations of the Jelly Roll 1600 and I needed at least 1 quilt completely done!

It took me awhile to decide on how to quilt it, finally deciding on plain old parallel lines, spaced 3/4" apart. Anything else I thought of took away from the masculine look.

This was my first time teaching a class and I was really nervous. Once I got over my initial fear I had a blast. Everyone said they enjoyed it and there were several completed tops by the end of the day. I am teaching again in December. That means the other quilts will get finished too!

Thanks for stopping by to hear my quilt's story. Please go visit the other blogs participating in the Blogger's Quilt Festival! You won't be disappointed!

Happy Stitching
corina

Secret Santa

Christmas is coming soon. I've decided to take part in the Secret Santa Soiree hosted by Suzanne at Coloradolady. It sounds like it will be fun. I've got a few ideas on what I might make or buy. Won't know for sure until I know their likes and dislikes. There is still a chance to get in on the fun if you hurry!

Lots of Strips for the FNSI

It doesn't look like I accomplished much this FNSI, but I actually cut enough 2 1/2 inch strips to last a lifetime (or at least a couple of weeks). I'm not 100% sure what they will be used for (yeah right, you all know by now what they will turn into!).

 
One of my favorite blocks is the Jacob's Ladder. While searching for images of quilts made with them, I came across a gorgeous one from Piece O' Cake Designs. I liked everything about it, including the colors. Even though I could figure out the arrangement, I wanted to do a quilt that told me all that I needed to know. No figuring out how many squares, how much fabric etc. I couldn't find the pattern on their website so I emailed them. Within a couple of days, they emailed a free  PDF file of the quilt! Thank you Becky of Piece O' Cake Designs!! Here is the link to the quilt that someday will be draped over my favorite chair Jacob's Ladder Quilt.

Happy Stitching
corina

You Just Never Know!

I completely forgot to post about a surprise I got at the  Assiniboine Circle Quilt Show. We are a small group of under 40 quilters so we each entered several quilts (you need to have a lot of quilts on display to make a good show!). I entered 10 items that I had made over the last two years. A few days before the show, the club made a last minute plea for more quilts to fill the venue.  I added my Crazy Chicken quilt at the urging of my husband. I really didn't want to enter it. I was tired of chickens, it was too folksy, not enough quilting on it etc. Imagine my surprise when I found out I won 2nd place in the small quilt category!

You never can tell what people will like. Supposedly quite a few of the men that came to show voted for my chickens - who woulda thunk it! The quilt has been hanging by our computer for the last couple of years and I really wanted to take it down. DH wanted me to keep it up. Guess it will stay on the wall for awhile longer. (The pattern for the quilt is from Meme's Quilts.)

I was very lucky to win another giveaway.

 This one was from Supermomnocape. The prize was supposed to be this gorgeous gift bag. I was so excited when it arrived. The peppermint swirl fabric is even prettier in person. The bag is fully lined, and it even looks great turned inside out! The workmanship is amazing (I can't even find where she turned it out!). When I opened the bag I found these lovely surprises.

2 fat quarters (check out the crazy beach lady) and a Kate Spain Notebook/pen set

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this set with matching scissors & pincushion!

Thank you soooo much Susan! You were so very sweet and generous to send all these lovely gifts to me! You have to check out her blog. She has a wonderful series on Christmas on a budget, lots of tutorials and several recipes that will make your mouth water! I know you will want to make a gift bag so the link to the tutorial for it is here.

Happy Stitching!
corina