Sewing Project - Quilt 2 - Teal Turquoise Leaves

I have finished another quilt.  I wanted to improve the sashing process and cut down on the about of stitching to make it softer.

I chose this blue ivory leaf patterned fabric.  I paired it with an aqua and teal solids.  These are cotton polyester fibers and seem thinner than 100% cotton.  As these were large pieces I just could not cut it into small pieces.

I cut 9.5 inch squares with my quilting ruler from the blue leaves patterned and the aqua solids.  I cut 10 from each for a total of 20 squares which were placed in a grid of 4 across and 5 rows.

I needed to decorate the squares somehow. I decided to add a contrasting strip which will be top stiched to the square.  I cut a strip of fabric at 4" wide and the length of the fabric. Using a 3" card stock (pink) template I ironed the .5 inch sides over.

I laid the strip across the square leaving 1" margin at the top and bottom so it would not interfere wit the corners. 

I pinned and trimmed to the square edge.  The angle was right for the next square so it was very efficient use of the strips.  I put the aqua solid on the patterned and the opposite for the other squares.

It was top stitched very near edges.  I was able to sew all 10 square in a chain process then just cut them apart.  Another efficient process.


 

The 20 back squares are dark teal and cut again with the same 9.5 inch square quilting ruler.

I used a white cotton flannelette sheet for the "batting" in this quilt.  These 20 were cut to 9.5 inches square.

I needed a pattern to hold the 3 layers together.  I decided to cut a 4" square of card stock and then pin it to the square sandwich aligned along the decorative strip.  I just followed the edge with my sewing machine foot.  Repeated for all 20 squares.

In hindsight I could have quilted the squares when top stitching the decorative strip.  Remember that for next time.

The sashing between the squares is also dark teal.  I found this video produced by Teresa from Down Under. Quilt as You Go with Narrow Sashing. I followed the instructions and the quilt worked out really well.   The sashing between the squares was cut to 10 inches in length then trimmed once assembled.  She suggested hand stitching the back sashing but that was not going to work for me.  I selected a decorative stitch with thread that matched the teal really well to close the back sashing.

The sashing between the rows was cut to 40 inches in length.  The process for putting the rows into the quilt was the same as the assembling of the squares into rows but just wider.



That left the binding.  Again it is in the dark teal fabric.  I needed 170.5 inches of binding.  I cut strips of 3" until I had what I needed.  You can check this video The Ultimate Quilt Binding Tutorial with Jenny Doan of Missouri Star which gave me all the information I needed.  Even how to finish your binding so there is no sign of where you ended.  Worked perfectly.  I used the same decorative stitch to machine bind the edge of the quilt.

I am really happy with the overall look of the quilt, the weight is lighter, and the assembly really came together really well.

Recent Photos

It has been raining a lot lately, so my walks in the morning find the landscape is wet. 

I found this shrub in the park and I believe it is Mock Orange - Belle Etoile.  Nice leaves on a bush about 5 feet tall. The web suggests it is fragrant but the rain may have affected it's scent.

Love the water drops on this white blossom which is in a cluster.  It has withstood the rain very well.

Despite regular visits to this park this is the first time I have photographed these flowers.

I had 3 of my photographs in the Open Photograph Show at the art gallery.  This is NineBark - Summer Wine.

The reception and presentations were held on Saturday at the Art Gallery. 

There were quite a few entries featuring international subjects from Africa, India and other exotic places.

Canvas wrapped entries are becoming more popular.

I met my aunt who also had submitted some photos to the show.

This was a very interesting book. I picked the book at a thrift store because of the cover.

Ginny Moon is a 14 year old autistic girl who has been placed in foster care.  It is written in her voice and it is sometimes disturbing how others react to her behaviour.

It was very insightful as to how she withdraws into her mind to process events.  She is aware of the rules hers and those imposed on her and she does her best to keep it all in check.

When she is asked more than one question at a time she does not answer either one.  She is always analyzing things to determine how to behave and act.

She learns a lot about herself and finds a new purpose at the end of the book.

I have to admit a I did consider not completing the book because life is pretty chaotic and stressful.  It is very repetitive as well because her reactions are quite predictable.

Some of the birds which  I have encountered recently. 

Of course, Robins are generally easy to identify by song and visually.  They are cooperative in sitting still enough for a photo.

The Pine Siskin (top right) was quite a bit less still and really high up in the trees.  You can see the devastated leaves so there were plenty of small green worms to eat!\

The crow decided to take flight as I took this picture.  Nice view of the wing.

Magpies are plentiful and not afraid of people for the most part so photos are quite easily taken.

The challenge this week on Flickr Macro Monday was Style Food on a Fork. 

I was sure about the tomato and cheese on a pickle fork. Here the green is avocado.  A bit of Dijon mustard, a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of black pepper finished the shot. It was a delicious photo shoot on Sunday PM.

Check my photo stream for the shot I submitted.

Sharing with Angie at Letting Go the Bay Leaf  who hosts Mosaic Monday #33.

Mersad who hosts Through my Lens #197

HB - Sister

I chose one of my oil on water abstracts for a birthday card for my sister. Her favorite color is green and she likes things that are more muted.

I will see her tonight at the Solstice Party one of my other sisters is hosting. She is hosting a party as she has just finished another summer course and it is the longest day of the year!

I love the dark edges of the bubbles and their evenness of their surface. 

There is a good variety of sizes and they sit on this ledge of muted green which is a large pool of oil along the bottom.

90th Birthday

I am attending a birthday celebration for a friend who is turning 90!  That is amazing.

I chose a navy and green floral paper by K&Company - Blue Awning Collection - Blue Swirl Floral.  It was cut to  4.00 x 5.25 inches to leave a small border of the white card showing.

I wrapped a narrow piece of white grosgrain ribbon across the front and taped the ends to the back.

I create the accent which has the 90th punched with the 1 1/4 circle then a navy at 1 3/8 then a dill green scallop.  This was adhered over the ribbon with 3D foam tape.

Nice feminine card for a grand lady!

Compassion House - Thank You Cards

I put together card kits to make thank you cards for Compassion House.

Quite a few are Stampin Up kits.

2019 Cardmaking - CH - Class 6

I have decided to stick to one layout which allows one to make a wide variety of cards.  Because I never know how many ladies will show up it makes it hard to plan the number of card kits I need. This way I can just add card kits to my box at any time and be ready for the class. The remaining kits will just go to the next class.  The ladies attending turns over regularly as they finish their treatment and others take their place.

These kits are based on the DSP Split layout where the designer paper layer is cut to 5.25x4 inches then cut again at 3.5 inches. One of the pieces is turned over and the pieces are taped together on the back.  A ribbon is laid across the join and the ends are taped to the back of the DSP layer.  This layer is then adhered to the card front.  This is a versatile layout as you can see it can work tall or wide with the narrow piece on the left or right. With alternating the combo on the double sided paper each card can be different.

The Stampin Up Artisan Label was used on this set.  The greeting was printed on white card with Kiwi Kiss and Early Espresso and punched with the coordinating punch.

The designer paper used on the card shown is by BoBunny - Little Miss - Little Miss Dorothy.  The other I selected is Basic Grey - True Love - Giddy.

The grosgrain ribbon is pink.

The greeting is adhered over the ribbon with 3D foam tape.

I chose this set of cards to have no greeting which allows it to be used for any occasion.  The designer paper for this set is by Simple Stories - Snap Color Vibe - Dot/Stripe in Green and Yellow.

The ribbon is white grosgrain ribbon.

The textured card bases coordinate with the color of the DSP in green and mustard.

It label was cut with one of the Stampin Up Apothecary Framelits.

The accent has a white silk flower in the center held in place with a coordinating mini brad.  The 2 white buttons on either side are held in place with Bling Zots.

 It is adhered to the card front over the ribbon with 3D foam tape pieces.

This is supplies from last month's class which I have converted into the DSP split style card kit.

I chose Stampin Up Print Pattern in Garden Green with the Early Espresso card stock. Some kits have the Garden Green card base.

I added a length of white grosgrain ribbon for across the split.

The star accent was assembled by layering all three and adding the tiny star brad in the center.  This was adhered over the ribbon with 3D foam tape.

I create the greetings in Early Espresso with the Teeny Tiny Wishes set and punched them with the Decorative Label Punch.  I cut the label in half along the points.  It is adhered aligned along the bottom of the card.

Recent Photos

The Ninebark is a common shrub in our parks.  There are many varieties and I have photographed a few. 
This is a new one for me. 

This is the Ninebark - Dart's Gold.  A nice cluster of white flowers with pink stamens.  As you can see the leaf is yellow green  where as the others I've seen have darker foliage.

I was lucky enough to get an ant as a bonus in this photo.

Beautiful shrub and it must be hardy as there are many around this area.

On my drive home from a visit wit Mom & Dad for Father's day I stopped to take pictures of fences for a new group I joined.

An low and behold if this Brown Headed Cowbird showed up to find out what I was up to!  This is the female.  I have photographed the male which is much darker. 

These birds are parasitic in that they lay their eggs in host bird nests.  Some of the hosts recognize the imposter and oust the egg from their nest.  Others incubate the egg to hatching but are not suitable mothers for the youngsters. 

Very interesting that there are unwilling parents in the bird world.

I finished this book this week.  My last Kate Morton book.  I have now read all 6 of her books. 

This story is centers around the Milderhurst Castle in Kent, the three Blythe sisters (Percy, Saffy & Juniper), their father Robert Blythe an author and Edie Burchill whose mother was evacuated from London during WWII and lived at the castle with the sisters.

Raymond, author of the 1918 children’s classic The True History of the Mud Man was a tortured man and isolated himself in the castle after the death of his wife.  He exerts power over the girls beyond the grave.

Juniper Blythe was a special child, given all license by her father to be creative, and when she abandoned by her fiancee in 1941 leaves her mentally unstable.  She is cared for by her sister for the remainder of her life lived in Milderhurst Castle.

Another wonderfully multilayered story and so well told by Kate.

I have heard the buzz song of this bird for years but did not know what he looked like.  

I had a chat with a bicyclist on the trail the other day who shared with me that it is a Clay-colored Sparrow!  Now I knew what to look for.

And here he is!  Of course, high in the trees the angle is not great.  I tried a different angle but then could not find him in the leaves.  That is the way it goes. 

A new bird for my list.

I had to replace a toilet seat this week.  A first for me.  The other was loose and had to be tightened regularly.  The pin on the seat finally broke so now I really needed a new one.  Probably should not have put up with the hassle of a loose one for so long.

With the help of the internet I learned what I needed, headed to the store and for a small sum of $12 came home with a replacement.  

Getting all the pieces of the old one was more challenging.  Of course the loose side came off very easily.  The other has been secured there for many years.  It was more relunctant to release.  I used WD40 in hopes of making the nut and bolt let go of each other.  No luck!  I had to use the hack saw and utility knife to break apart the remaining plastic piece of the hinge.  Being VERY CAREFUL not to break the porcelain toilet seat I worked at it in small increments until it came away.  I was very fortunate that the bolt head just fell through the hole in the porcelain. 

It was quick to install the new one once all they porcelain had been cleaned! 

I am grateful for good tools.  The blue tools in the photo are by TomBoy which were sold at home parties and I acquired a few while my sister was a rep. 

The Flickr Macro Monday challenge this week was Curves - I chose to design my own to photograph.

I used white card stock strips which were pressed against a smooth tool to turn them into circles.  These were glued together inside each other to create this shape. I used photo gels on 2 lights to change the colors.  It was set up in my photo box. 
 
This was a lot of fun.  You can check out my photo stream to see the one I submitted.

Sharing with Angie at Letting Go the Bay Leaf who hosts Mosaic Monday #32.
Mersad who hosts Through My Lens #192

HB Cousin

Another card with a custom greeting.

I chose a warm green card base in the portrait orientation in the A2 size.

I printed the greeting layer in ivory in warm green and warm pink.  It was trimmed to leave a small border and adhered to the card front.  It also includes the stem and leaf for the flower.

I used designer paper from K&C Company - K Classic - McKenna 12x12 pad in green, pink and mustard yellow.   I punched them in these 3 sizes - 1.5, 1.25 and 1.0 inches.  I corner punched them on the opposite corners.  I aligned the squares on one of the pointer corners.   These layers squares were adhered to the greeting layer with 3D foam tape.

A quarter sheet white blank insert was glued to the inside of the card.

Doggie Birthday Cards

I was asked to make some birthday cards for her granddaughters with a card she received for her birthday.

I managed to get two 5x7 cards made because it was a trifold card.

This is the full card front.  I had to cut it down a bit on the length.

I adhered it on a pink card base.

I then printed a greeting on a piece of the same pink card in Rose Red.  I trimmed the piece to .5 inch by 3 inches.  I then used a corner rounder on the top left and right corners. It was adhered to the card front aligned along the stitched line with 3D foam tape.

I placed a blank white sheet insert.





I trimmed the cut out layer of the card to just under 5 inches wide.

I chose a warm white card base to coordinate with the gate in the image.

For the greeting,  I measured to determine where I could place it then color printed it onto the card front when I printed the credits on the back.

The doggie layer was adhered to the card front with 3D foam tape aligned to leave a small border on the bottom.

I placed a blank white sheet insert.

Recent Photos

One morning this week I headed out early and further a field with the car in search of a park I had heard of on TV.

It had rained for 2 days before so there was heavy dew drops on the grasses along the path. I wanted to capture it all as it was so wonderful looking.  I took a lot of photos.

I captured this one which had a sun burst in a rain drop on the bottom left corner and another above and a little more left, bokeh of water drops further away, and a spider web in rainbow colors!






It was cool so I wore my raincoat which passed the test earlier in the week when I took my 1 hour walk without getting wet.




I have been learning new photography techniques. Last week oil on water and this week In Camera Motion.

After some research on line I set my aperture to 1/4 second and headed out to try some out.  I focused, started moving the camera and pressed down the shutter button.  The faster you move the more out of focus the photo.  I created waves in this one.

I finished my next Kate Morton book last week.   This is her first book.    I found the beginning a little slow but the middle and end were worth the wait.

The House at Riverton set in England between the wars. It is the story of an aristocratic family, a house, a mysterious death and a way of life that vanished forever, told in flashback by a woman who witnessed it all and kept a secret for decades.

Grace Bradley went to work at Riverton House as a servant when she was just a girl, before the First World War. For years her life was inextricably tied up with the Hartford family, most particularly the two daughters, Hannah and Emmeline.

In the summer of 1924, at a glittering society party held at the house, a young poet shot himself. The only witnesses were Hannah and Emmeline and only they -- and Grace -- know the truth.

In 1999, when Grace is ninety-eight years old and living out her last days in a nursing home, she is visited by a young woman who is making a film about the events of that summer. She takes Grace back to Riverton House and reawakens her memories. Told in flashback, this is the story of Grace's youth during the last days of Edwardian aristocratic privilege shattered by war, of the vibrant twenties and the changes she witnessed as an entire way of life vanished forever.

The novel is full of secrets -- some revealed, others hidden forever, reminiscent of the romantic suspense of Daphne du Maurier. It is also a meditation on memory, the devastation of war and a beautifully rendered window into a fascinating time in history.

I finally got a decent photo of a Yellow Warbler.  Their song is always with as I walk in the morning.  But considering it is about the size of a large thumb and the trees now have leaves I had given up getting a photo.

I finally spied him just singing away.  I managed about 16 photos before he flew away when someone else came down the path.

I wished he did not have the shadow on his face but at 12 feet in a tree I take what I can get.

He will be making it to my 2020 photo calendar later this year.

I did find The Magpie's Nests art installation in the Rossdale Linear Park. They are bronze and painted steel. The artists are local to the province.  Excellent art!

Parking is limited to residents. As it was before 6 am I decided to take a chance and took a few shots.  I did not stay long and it is a small park on a great walking path.

My favorite is the white sphere.  I love the shape.

Sharing with

Angie at Letting Go the Bay Leaf who hosts Mosaic Monday #31.

Mersad who hosts Through My Lens #195.

Invites Selected & Delivered

She loved them both so in the end we combined elements of both designs into a final one.


She loved the insert in the blue design.  The colors pink and green from the designer paper pad appealed to her. 

I made half of the invitiations with the pink and green set of papers and the other with the blue and ivory paper.

The scallop was punched from one of the sheets in the pad that was patterned but in a pink color only.

The green circle is the same as the card base.  The text layer is Rose Red on ivory.

Delivered those on Wednesday. 

Excellent job.

Welcome to my Kitchen - Wrap Up

It was our Wrap Up for the summer event this morning.

We invited the Baby Song, Quilting, Cardmaking and the regulars to get together this morning.  We had a large group of ladies attend this morning and a few children. 

Each group participated in bring food and there was plenty for everyone.  Quiche, fruit, yogurt, and fresh fruit.  Tea and coffee!

Devotions was based on "Fear Not" Isaiah 43:1-7.

We prayed for the forest fires burning in the north and the first responders.  Fire fighters, police officers, and those supporting them with food, rest, and emotional support.   For D-Day June 6, 1944 veterans, their families, and the chaos that is war.  For the general state of our world and the relationships among nations changes.

Raised a few dollars for missionaries overseas.   Books came in and went out. 

A good time was had by all!

Exchange Cards - May - Late

I am late with my Exchange Cards for May. 

I used supplies from the card order I delivered today to whip up cards so they can be mailed this afternoon.

A warm green (Pear Pizzaz) card base in the landscape orientation. 

I cut designer paper from K&C Company - K Classic - McKenna 12x12 pad.  I taped the piece together then ripped the bottom edge.  I wrapped a piece of ivory & gold metallic organza ribbon across the join and taped the ends to the back. This layer was adhered to the card front. 

I created the greeting layer with another sheet of the designer paper cut to 2.5 inches.  I stamped the greeting in Always Artichoke with the Stampin Up Sincere Salutations stamp set.  These were layered together and then adhered to the card front over the ribbon with 3D foam tape.

The second card is an ivory card base with the dusty blue and ivory designer paper from Frances Meyers - Suzanne Nicoll. Trimmed to leave a small border and adhered to the card front.

Wrapped a piece of organza ribbon across and taped the ends to the back.  It was adhered to the card front. 

I added a pink balloon card stock punchie (MS) adhered with 3D foam tape.  I tied a warm blue string to it and cut to the length of the card.

The greeting is a large oval in navy blue layered with a ivory and blue greeting.  These were layered together then adhered to the card front with 3D foam tape.

They are addressed and going in the mail right away!