Magpie Quilts

My friends came over to my house to play sew today and we all fit in my newly outfitted sewing space. Except the ironing board - it took up too much space, so it was set up in the kitchen. I didn't plan much sewing for today as I took most of Monday to clean and organize and sort so I would have some idea of what to pack for my fall quilt retreat on the weekend. Pile of PIGS  Our Dalemead Quilters Guild is doing a PIGS (Projects In Grocery Sacks) challenge for the second year. A PIGS project is basically any project that is not finished, it could be as little done as a pile of fabrics with a pattern, to a quilt that's waiting for a binding. Last year I counted 16 of these partially completed projects, this year the total so far is 21. Two were off to be quilted when I took this picture, but one of those is back and waiting for me to add the binding. Some of these have been here for a long time - like that fisherman on the bottom right - he's been waiting for my machin...

I tried a Faux Piped Binding tutorial from Thread Tales from a Scrappy Quilter and although the tutorial didn't specify any instructions for the corners, it turned out pretty great. I've been looking for ways to completely do my bindings with machine stitching and this is a great technique to do that.  From the piping fabric, you need to cut and piece 1 5/8" strips the length you would normally cut your bindings (perimeter of quilt plus about 6-8"). From the binding fabric, you will need to cut 1 3/8" strips the same length as your piping fabric. Join strips with a diagonal seam to reduce bulk and when you have the correct lengths, sew together along the long edge to make a 2-color strip. Joining strips for piping 2 colours for piped binding  I pressed the seams open and then pressed it in half. That meant the seam ends up on one side of the strip with a little bit of the blue showing on that side. Pressed and ready to put on the quilt  Then, I ...

Another week gone by and I'm spending more time in the sewing room as the garden is slowly cleaned up and put to bed for winter. We are expecting another grandchild in October and in anticipation of this wonderful event, big sister Penny has moved in with her even bigger sister, Isabelle and is in need of a quilt for her new bed. Earlier this summer, I picked up this assortment of pink, purple and orange fabrics that I thought would suit this sweet little girl's bubbly personality. This week, I cut each of those fat quarters of fabric into 5" charm squares and played with a few arrangements on the quilt design wall. Right now, they are arranged "Sudoko" style in groups of 9. I'm not sure this is the final layout, but I'm sure whatever the final arrangement is, it will be bright and very girly! (I wonder if this is my subconscious making up for the fact that I only had boys to sew for!) Have a great rest of the week! --Ann ...

Aaahhh! It feels so good to have a bit of a schedule back again. Today was sewing day with two of my best quilting buddies. After a whole summer of not being able to get together, it was great to catch up on the latest and see what everyone was working on. All the colours of the rainbow  My friend Marie was working on a quilt top that she started on a trip to Seattle last year and the colours and precision piecing on this quilt were absolutely amazing! She is one very talented quilter and I am so glad I get to peek at what she's creating. Pillow Shams Louise was busy with half-square triangles (she's been doing a lot of them lately!) and had a great start on a pair of pillow shams for in her bedroom. I love her bright colour choices and can't wait to see the bed runner she wants to make next. Just keep sewing, sewing, sewing I thought I would complete this quilt top in the morning and have time for starting another quilt this afternoon, but today was not the ...

Out of the way and private in the basement, this room was claimed by our oldest son when we moved here. He change the lighting from fluorescent fixtures in the drop-down ceiling to recessed potlights, added a dimmer switch and painted the trim a beautiful royal blue. When he left for college, the next oldest promptly moved out all his brother's belongings, painted the walls chocolate brown, and moved his stuff in. And life was good and these two found awesome women, got married moved out and are living their happily ever after. Chocolate brown walls Wall graffiti The youngest son was happily living in an upstairs bedroom, but when his messy bedroom became too much to look at on a daily basis, he was moved downstairs into the vacant room while he was away one summer. Because he's a musician in the military reserves, his curtains were made from camo fabric. But this summer he moved out, and, well, some of his stuff went with him, and I took the opportunity to re-do this ...