Sew-n-Tell

Amy and Amy have put together a sew-n-tell for projects you have completed this week. Go over to Amy's blog and add your link to the list. What a fun way to spend a Friday with sew-n-tell!

Spider Webs

My blocks for the Halloween Spooktacular Swap are done and sent off. They were a lot of fun. As always I learned a lot and would do some things differently next time.




Here are my 9 patches.




Here they are as a quilt top. It was hard to send them off once I saw how good they looked together.



Quilting has become an all consuming passion. I did more quilting this summer than reading, which is unheard of me for me. My other consuming passion has become the show House. In June, I watched it a couple of times while quilting. I quickly become hooked and have now watched 4 seasons of it. It's great to find a show 5 years later. You get to watch the shows on DVD without commercials. I have the season premiere marked on my calendar.

My husband asked me if I had any more swaps to do, and I tried to deflect the question. I did not tell him that I have 2 more, bringing my total to 7 for the year. I have my friend Jane to thank for this. The swaps have really helped me develop as a quilter and pushed me in different directions.

My dad has asked me to find a particular movie for him for his birthday in October. That is when I was planning on having his quilt done. Now I am not sure if I will wait and have it ready for Christmas. The 2 swaps are due near the end of September.

Harvesting Joy

When does a hobby become a job?

That is what I am trying to figure out. I have the day off today. Today will be spent finishing up my spider webs. I have really enjoyed doing them. I also need to finish putting together my bento box quilt in the next few days and start on my Summer quilt swap. I love how the different projects push me in new directions, make me think and grow creatively. The part I am not sure about is the deadlines. I know deadlines are necessary and they definitely help to get things done. What I am not sure about and I try to walk a fine line about is creating so much stress that quilting or any other activity loses the fun. Too much stress equals less creativity. I feel as though I am on this constantly moving teeter-totter in quilting as well as life. Perfection is unobtainable, so how do you know when you have reached the summit? I did rejoin the bag swap. I really do want to make a bag, and without the swap it may have been months before I did one.

I got this beautiful wallhanging on my vacation. Tulips are my favourite flower. I am going to try to use its words of wisdom. It now hangs in my kitchen.



Today I am going to harvest joy and I hope you will to.

Cross-Stitching

I had a great summer vacation. I did not end up getting my hand quilting organized but I did take something with me that I have had around for years and not started.




I am making a birth cross-stitch picture for my son. I have already made two of these for my nephews. I need to finish up the boats, add the name and date details then I am done. It has been a long time since I have done any cross-stitching and I really enjoyed it. Next I am going to be making one for my daughter. It is from the same designer and has bunnies on it. I hope everyone is having a great summer.

Wonderful Book

An incredible and amazing friend gave me this book. I would highly recommend it to anyone, quilter or non-quilter. It is such a beautiful story and the pictures are phenomenal. There are quilt squares on the inner front and back covers. You can also buy a companion book which is a quilt pattern book, based on the squares. It is a really great book as well, with quilts ranging from beginner to advanced.

Quilting : the next generation

Both of my children are interested in quilting. My daughter has her own scrap collection. I never thought I would hate scraps but they end up all over her room and all over the house. I would swear they grow. She has definite opinions about what she would like to sew her quilts. Usually it ends up in a straight line. My son has decided that he would like a Halloween quilt. He picked out a Halloween panel and some Halloween fabric. I think we will do some 9 patches around the panel and then add a few borders.

I also have my nephew and niece interested in quilting. My nephew and I looked on Ebay for fabric for him. He wants a red and orange quilt. My niece is interested in having me make her a quilt. I bought her this kit a couple of years ago.


This is the backing I picked for it.



I was a bit worried about it, but I felt that she could handle the black and bold colours. Well, this year she picked out some clothes for herself that was black with bright colours. I am planning on starting the quilt for her next year for her new home.

9 patch quilt along

For a while now, I have been slowly moving along with Amanda Jean's 9 patch quilt along. Here is my progress so far.




I have been a bit slower because I have been using charm packs. It is a fun way to have many different fabrics. I bought a couple of new charm packs.




The quilt is going to be for my daughter. I have not yet decided what size it will end up being. I am thinking about making it a double. I enjoy putting together all the different colour combinations.