More than just a pillowcase

This is a pillow cover I made for my dearest friend. But it represents way more than just another finish off my list or another pillowcase. I am immeasurably proud of this pillow cover. Three and a half years ago when I started quilting I saw a quilt done in this pattern. I loved it, but wrote it off as one I would never be able to do-too difficult, too many curves. I have looked at the pattern now and again and felt the same sense of dread at those darn curves.  But a few months back, my dear friend found a new quilted bedspread she loved in similar tones. It didn't come with a pillow cover and she asked if I would consider making one to match. Little did she know the fear I felt when I said yes! We found fabric to complement the quilt. I took some measurements....and then it sat. I had the fabric in plain view in my sewing room hoping for inspiration.

Now, Shauna this is where your circles come in.....I spent all of May scared of sewing circles, only to find that once I started them, I enjoyed them! This gave me the push I needed to work on the pillow cover. I found a template for the petals. I sat down with graph paper and drew up the pattern and then I started cutting, sewing and ironing.

And now I have a completed pillow cover. Most importantly, I have the sense that I can take on anything I see quilty-wise. I have conquered my fear of curves. I designed a pattern that worked and actually fits the intended pillow. So now I am feeling pretty proud of myself! And I am grateful that I can share this here with you ladies because I know that you will understand! Now to conquer that fear of applique.... :) 

Katy's May Blocks for Shauna...a little later

I started working on these blocks for Shauna almost a month ago, when we got together on our local stash night to pick out our block colours, share our greys, and review the 'how to'... and I think I'm the last in the bunch to post!! Just in time for June to roll in.

Shauna and I have been friends since highschool! Our friendship dates back twenty years...gulp. I first met Shauna in choir, and then student council, and through highschool our friendship cemented. We come in and out of our lives but always pick up right where we left off. We are canoe tripping buddies, we had our babies at roughly the same time, we live about 20 minutes apart, but we have had a hard time fitting 'friendship time' in over the years. Until now! The quilting group has been the perfect way to find a bit of time every month to discuss something we both have a big passion for - art, creativity, inspiration, fabric, and treasure hunting. I think of our friendship in the same way I think of sewing or quilting. It absorbs the details of our lives, it is flexible to the changing pressures we have, and it is an outlet and a source of inspiration for me,  mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

May took me over in a whoomp. It was busy, tiring, and a bit all-consuming. So I finally sat down last night after a mostly yucky week to finish these blocks for Shauna. And I was on such a role I made an extra set in green. Shauna, you can pick and choose which ones you want to keep. I really think of you in greens, and I think you think of me in blues, so there are eight instead of four for you this month.

I did take inspiration from Shauna for my background greys. One piece I acquired on our local quilt night, either from Amy or Shauna (??)! It has swirlish whisps of smoky grey on a darker grey background. I always think of Shauna when I see swirls, so it fit right in. The other greys are all from recycled men's dress shirts I found at the Goodwill by my office on a short lunchbreak. I also found an old shirt of my dad's in the back of my closet...I've held on to some of his shirts for sentimental reasons, but what a great way to sew his memory into something new.... he felt close when I was working with the fabric last night...

I love this design so much, I think I'm going to make my own quilt with it! I can't wait to see the final product Shauna! I'll bring them by sometime this weekend.

Amy's block for Amy

Okay....I too couldn't resist making this block!  I have to admit that I actually had trouble mentally remembering to be "wonky" with this block! I know in life I am pretty good at "improvising". I have three kids, I have to be! But intentionally doing that in a quilt block proved difficult! I am tempted to turn around and make a second block of this just to test myself and practice the art of "wonky-ness"!

I decided to get this block done as quickly as possible because we are moving in about ONE month. I have a quilty to-do list that I am trying to clear off...with success I am pleased to say! I have 2 bags cut out and ready to sew for gifts for my good friends. I have the top pieced of the Zelda quilt I drew for my brother. And I finished a new boppy cover for my sister's soon to be born baby. My oldest son gave his good friend the Mario quilt I made. I have my youngest son's friend's quilt done and ready to deliver...I am really excited about it-he absolutely loves Legos...so I designed a quilt with building blocks-

And I have the top pieced for my daughter's best friend's wallhanging. I figured out how to paper-piece and came up with this-

Amy- I will get your LOVE block in the mail to you soon! Thanks again for stretching my quilting abilities! I am having so much fun with this bee!
Happy Quilting!
Amy (USA)

Is it June Yet?

OK Girls, I promise I am not trying to be a quilting over achiever:

I know it is not even officially June yet in Europe or in the US (but it is in Australia!)

I thought, however, that this looked like such a fun and colorful project; it did not require precision so it was in my comfort zone,  my husband is out of town this week so I didn't have to make dinner, and I could have been writing report cards 

but that didn't sound very pleasant 

(do you know that school doesn't get out here until 29 June?!)

So! I decided to spend the evening making this:

What a perfect way to spend my time! 

I  L- O -V- E  it!

Thanks Amy!

...and I have to say once again how delightful I think our little bee group is, how nice that we all came together!

Jennifer

PS: That really dark piece looks like black in the photo but it is just a dark purple!

LOVE- June

Hi Ladies,
First off, I will admit I was totally convinced I was July! Whoops! So... I had to improvise here. I had plans of taking all of June to perfect my tutorial with fantastic pictures and clear directions. I was looking into using paper piecing too. Alas, I don't have my fabric, and don't have time to understand paper piecing, but we're going ahead anyway!

This month we are going to use only solids, and this is done by free cutting and piecing. I would LOVE for the end product to look like this:

http://quiltycat-quiltycat.blogspot.ca/2010/09/layout.html

I love these colors. I would like bold colors, no pastels, no grays or browns or black. All cotton, please. 

I wrote to the creator of the above, and she told me that she used the book by this lovely lady:

http://lazygalquilting.blogspot.ca/2010/12/feeling-overwhelmed-by-all-love.html

If word quilting is something you'd like to do more of, she wrote a book:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1604680172/ref=as_li_ss_til?tag=lazgalqui-20&camp=213381&creative=390973&linkCode=as4&creativeASIN=1604680172&adid=1JGRPH18H1YQGR8BS1MA&&ref-refURL=http%3A%2F%2Flazygalquilting.blogspot.ca%2F2010%2F12%2Ffeeling-overwhelmed-by-all-love.html

Here is a link to some tutorials for "unruly piecing" :http://www.unrulyquilter.com/tutorials/unruly-piecing-basics.pdf

Now... onto my tutorial! 

Here are some hints that I wrote down while doing my square:

Iron your seams as you go.

Don’t cut your fabric into same width of strips! Save some squares too.

Mark a 9”x9” square on your cutting mat.

The wonkier the better!

Clean your edges before ironing.

You'll need at least nine different colors. I love quilycat's variation, much better than mine.

Okay, start with the L. I want the whole square to be about 18" x 18", so each letter will be about 9"x9". You can look at any square from the examples and try to copy them, or design your own. you can also use mine as your guide. I'm really going to start now...

Take a strip and a square. Exact measurements don't matter. The rougher the better! Sew them together. Iron seams.

Now, take another strip of your side color, or one in a similar shade. Sew it on! Iron seams.

Check that this square is at least 9"x9". If it isn't, start over. Just kidding! That is the beauty with this design. Just tack on fabric where you need it. Easy, eh? (See, I'm becoming Canadian.)

Now the O.

I would have preferred the pinks to be closer in shade. I think you lose the definition too much since they are so different.

And the V....

Whoops! I forgot to sew the piece that goes between the two sides of the V. I could have used a different color for the middle too.

And... the E.

Here it is shown that my E wasn't long enough, so I added a piece to the bottom.

Tada! So, what I like, and don't like...

I don't like that my L and V use the same background color. I want more variation. I would also like there to be variation in some of the letters. For example, two oranges for the L, but very similar shades. I would prefer that the pinks in the O were closer shades. I like how most of my lines are not totally straight. I like the slanted lines best. I like that the seams don't meet in the middle.

I hope that is clear enough. Please e-mail me with any questions!! Can't wait to see your LOVE!!!

Oh! Can you please send me some scraps along with your square? I may do a striped sashing, and would love to have most or all of the colors in it. Thanks!!!

Amy's (Canada) Squares for Shauna

I had finished these squares up until the very last step at the beginning of the month... Shauna helped me with the fabric selection- a definite bonus of having a fellow Stasher nearby! Juliette and I finished up the sewing today! Can't wait until next month!

Amy's Blocks for Shauna

I must admit that sewing circles terrifies me....I finally decided that I couldn't put these blocks off any longer and tackled them. And, lo and behold, I survived! I will even go so far as to say I ENJOYED sewing circles! Not perfect, but I will definitely sew circles again.

I decided on orange after seeing the rainbow of colors popping up. It was screaming summer to me-Jennifer you are not the only one with summer on your mind! All the fabrics are from my local quilt store. Unfortunately I have no idea who made them. I think my favorite is the orange with the suns and the gray that looks like clouds!

Thank you Shauna for the challenge! These will be in the mail to you on Tuesday.

Amy (USA)