WIP Wednesday - Penguin Party

I arrived home from Sewtopia a week ago, but it has been me this long to get back into a routine and recover from the 4-hour time difference.  I finally sat down at my sewing machine tonight.

One of the projects I worked on at Sewtopia was Penguin Party by Elizabeth Hartman.  She has great patterns, but those tiny 1-inch pieces to make the faces were brutal.  But they're so darn cute.  😊

The Child size version requires 12 penguins.

We had an awesome time in Portland and Seattle.  Next year's event is in Orlando!!

You can't tell from this photo, but the background fabric is shimmery, almost like it has glitter on it.  Now to decide on a quilting plan.

Linking up with:

Let's Bee Social @ Sew Fresh Quilts
WIP Wednesday @ The Needle and Thread Network

Midweek Makers @ Quilt Fabrication

Wednesday Wait Loss @ The Inquiring Quilter

Island Batik Ambassador Challenge - A Piece of .... Blog Hop

Note:  All products in this post were given to me by Island Batik as part of their Ambassador program.

Half of the Island Batik Ambassadors are participating in a blog hop this month.  There will be weekly round-ups highlighting the Ambassadors and their projects.  There will also be a weekly giveaway for one of the featured collections of the week.

The fabrics featured in this A Piece of ... blog hop are from the Summer 2019 collections that will be available in quilt shops soon.

Here is my lap-sized quilt:  A Piece of the Ocean.

I wanted to create a design that showcased all the great prints in this collection.  The internet, once again, provided inspiration -- hexagons and triangles.  The triangle placement is random, and I was a bit worried while I was piecing as I wasn't sure how it would look when finished.  No need to be worried...I love it!

Island Batik Islander Summer 2019 collection was created by Kathy Engle.  It features 20 fabrics in a variety of colours and prints.  Look at those bubble prints.  😍

I used the Accuquilt Half Hexagon 4.5 inch die to cut the yellow hexagons.  I didn't have a triangle die, so I used my Hex N More ruler.

Hobbs Heirloom Premium 80/20 batting - what can I say?  I love this batting.

I used Aurifil #2892 Pine to sew on the binding

There were two great prints in the collection that were too large to be cut into triangles.  So I made a matching pillow to showcase this wondeful octopus.  I couldn't bring myself to quilt through his face.

I put the turtle print on the back and used Aurifil #2975 Brass to hand sew the binding.

One last photo.

Giveaway Alert
Island Batik is giving away a Little Sir Little Miss Pre-cut Bundle.  Make sure you enter through the Rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

TGIFF - Sewtopia Challenge

Have you been to Sewtopia?  This will be my second time, and I'm looking forward to visiting Seattle.

Sewtopia works with Michael Miller Fabrics to select six fabrics for a challenge.  Each attendee receives six fat quarters.  The rules of the challenge are simple:  use one or all of the fabrics, but you can only use Michael Miller Fabrics .

Here are the six fabrics that I received.  It's a great bundle.

I wanted to make something that had "rain" so I could use the raindrop print.  I remembered a pattern that I had downloaded but never got around to making.  It's called Spring Fling Mini by JmzB Quilts.

I Googled how to paper peice with a directional print.  My raindrops are all pointed in the right direction!  😊
I used all six fabrics and added one other Michael Miller fabric.

I used Aurifil #2600 Dove to free-motion quilt "rain" and "puddles."

I knew what I was going to name this roughly 12 x 16 mini before I even started sewing:  Can't Get My Hair Wet.  Anyone who knows me, knows that I don't use umbrellas.  I always have to have a hat or a hood to make sure my hair doesn't get wet.  Wet hair = a frizzy mess.

I'm linking up with:

Thank Goodness It's Finished Friday @ Slice of Pi Quilts

Can I Get a Whoop Whoop? @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict 
Finished or Not Friday @ Alycia Quilts

Needle and Thread Thursday @ My Quilt Infatuation

Brag About Your Beauties @ From Bolt to Beauty 
Friday Foto Fun @ Powered by Quilting

Island Batik Ambassador Challenge - Top it Off

Note:  All products in this post were given to me by Island Batik as part of their Ambassador program.

The theme for the October Island Batik Ambassador challenge was Top it Off.  We were challenged to create a holiday runner or table topper using an applique technique.

After searching the internet for some inspiration, I decided on a spring/summer theme, rather than a specific holiday.

I used Lara Buccella's Crafted Applique method.  It's an awesome technique for raw edge applique.  I received some awesome prints in my July Ambassador box.  Thanks Island Batik!  Don't you just love this teal swirl.  I used fabrics from the Batik Foundations.

Matching Aurifil thread for the win.  I used all the colours:

• #1148 Light Jade
• #4659 Mango Mist
• #2134 Spun Gold
• #4225 Eggplant
• #5001 Ocher Yellow
• #3840 French Lilac

Since my design was fairly simple, I decided to practice my free-motion quilting.  Now that my Singer domestic has been serviced, free-motion quilting has become easier.  I didn't have a plan when I sat down to the machine.  I started out with flowers, but after two, I wasn't feeling it, so switched to swirls in the background.  I echoed both the inside and outside of each petal.

I used my favourite Hobbs Heirloom Premium 80/20 batting.  I love it so much, I may have ten...okay maybe twenty...or maybe more...packages stashed in my sewing room.  😊

The back is an awesome mermaid print from the Mermaid Cove collection.

I need to put some thought into a name for this table runner.  I don't work with batiks much, but I do know that I am now a converted Island Batik consumer.

This has been an interesting year of challenging myself to create new projects each month.  November's project is already done and ready for the blog hop (stay tuned for more details).  I have a plan for December and can't wait to start piecing.

Thanks to Island Batik, Hobbs Heirloom Premium 80/20 batting, Aurifil, and Accuquilt for the wonderful products.

TGIFF - Canadian Modern Quilt Guilds Swap

Welcome back to Thank Goodness It's Finished Friday here on the east coast of Canada.  TGIFF is an opportunity to showcase your finish from this week and to see what others are creating (and to share some quilty love).

September was an unproductive sewing month and an even more unproductive blog writing and reading month.  But it's now October, and I have high hopes for increased productivity...because I am so far behind.  😃

I had an opportunity to participate in a mini swap amongst the Canadian Modern Quilt Guilds.  I used Kona solids to make the Colour Wheel Wall Hanging pattern by Mari Martin for Connecting Threads.

I had the top finished in early September, and then Hurricane Dorian hit the weekend I had scheduled for quilting.  Two days without electricity messed up my routine for several weeks.  I am late getting this in the mail, but I hope my partner understands.

This is the mini I received from Maureen in Ontario.  I love the binding fabric.  It gives the appearance of a wavy edge.

Maureen handquilted this with lots of colours.

Here's a close up of her beautiful hand work.

What did you finish this week?

Link up your blog/Instagram post showing your finish by using the linkup below.  Don't forget to visit a few blogs to spread some quilty love and encouragement.  Please include the TGIFF button or a link to the TGIFF blog in your blog post so your followers can also view all the great finishes.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

You can also link up your finish with:

Can I Get a Whoop Whoop? @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict 
Finished or Not Friday @ Alycia Quilts

Needle and Thread Thursday @ My Quilt Infatuation

Brag About Your Beauties @ From Bolt to Beauty 
Friday Foto Fun @ Powered by Quilting

Island Batik Ambassador Challenge - The Bear's Square Dance

Note:  All products in this post were given to me by Island Batik as part of their Ambassador program.

The theme for the September Island Batik Ambassador challenge was Child's Play.  We were challenged to create a juvenile-inspired project quilt using the Accuquilt GO! Block on Board die we received in July.  The quilt had to be 45 x 60 inches or larger.

I received the Accuquilt 14-inch Bear's Paw block on board die.  It was handy to cut all the pieces for one block in one pass through the GO! cutter.

I struggled to figure out how to make the bear's paw block into a child-friendly quilt.  So I turned to my friend Google for some inspiration.  Here is The Bear’s Square Dance.  (Thanks to Dena for the name.)

Thanks to Island Batik for the wonderful fabrics.  I used a mix of fabrics from the Spring and Summer Foundation collections.  The colours are just so wonderful.

I miscalculated the size of my original design, and it didn’t finish large enough.  So I had to get creative with adding more blocks to make it larger.  Although it doesn't look like what I had originally envisoned, I love the new design.  It finishes at 47 inches.

I finished the top back in August, but I didn’t have any quilting ideas.  So it sat…and sat…and sat some more.  My plans to quilt in early September were thwarted by Hurricane Dorian.  I lost power for two days on the weekend I had plans to quilt.  Recovery from that and a busy time at work, meant I was scrambling at the last time to get this quilted.  So when all else fails, go for something simple.  I did some straight-line quilting.

I used Aurifil #2024 White for echo quilting in a v-shape and #3840 French Lilac (variegated) for the binding.

And my favourite batting, Hobbs Heirloom Premium 80/20 cotton/poly blend.

My plans to post this on Friday were doomed from beginning to end.  It took me a few days to get some photos.  I was offsite for work on Friday, but I thought I’d have enough time to write my post.  That didn’t work.  No worries, I thought.  I was heading to Girl Guide camp for the weekend, and there was electricity and wifi.  Turned out the wifi was spotty at best, so I wasn’t able to post.  So here I am posting after having a well-deserved nap...it's been a long and busy week and weekend.

TGIFF - Trinket Finish

I participated in the Alison Glass Trinket Sew Along earlier this year.  I finally quilted my finished top.

I made one of each of the 40 blocks, so my quilt finishes 32 x 39.5 inches.  Each paper pieced block finishes at 4 inches.

This was a good project to keep on top of my paper piecing skills.

I quilted an all-over loopy motif in grey thread.

This quilt will join my pile with the hopes of finding it's forever home soon.

I'm hoping to get back to routine after Hurrican Dorian hit last weekwns.  I was without power at home for two days and without cell and landline phone service.  And then two days this week, we had no power at work.  It's been a long challenging week, but I am grateful that I had no damage to my house.  But I am now looking to purchase a generator.


I'm linking up with:

Thank Goodness It's Finished Friday @ The Scrappy Camper

Can I Get a Whoop Whoop? @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict 
Finished or Not Friday @ Alycia Quilts

Needle and Thread Thursday @ My Quilt Infatuation

Brag About Your Beauties @ From Bolt to Beauty 
Friday Foto Fun @ Powered by Quilting

TGIFF - Jelly Roll Waves Finish

Quilting is now complete on my Jelly Roll Waves quilt I made during the QAL hosted by Myra @ Busy Hands Quilts.

It is 40 x 40 inches.

I quilted organic wavy lines in white thread.

A new baby quilt to add to my stash.

I'm linking up with:

Thank Goodness It's Finished Friday @ Devoted Quilter

Can I Get a Whoop Whoop? @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict 
Finished or Not Friday @ Alycia Quilts

Needle and Thread Thursday @ My Quilt Infatuation

Brag About Your Beauties @ From Bolt to Beauty 
Friday Foto Fun @ Powered by Quilting

Island Batik Ambassador Challenge - Star Light Star Bright

Note:  All products in this post were given to me by Island Batik as part of their Ambassador program.

This month, half of the Island Batik Ambassadors participated in the Beat the Heat blog hop to showcase fabrics from the Spring 2019 collections that will be available in quilt shops soon.  The other half were asked to create a lap-sized or larger quilt using any star block.

I designed this quilt to show my involvement in Girl Guides.  Its name, Make New Friends, is taken from the song of the same name:

Make new friends, but keep the old.
One is silver, the other gold. 

A circle's round, it has no end.
That's how long I want to be your friend.

The friendship stars were made using fabrics from Island Batik Foundations (Spring and Summer), with the red from the Freedom collection.  The colours mimic the Guiding colours as best I could with the fabrics I received in my Ambassador box:

• Pink - Sparks
• Brown/Orange - Brownies
• Blue - Guides
• Green - Pathfinders
• Red - Rangers
• Yellow - Cadets (former branch prior to Rangers)
• Purple - Trefoil Guild (for adult members not active as leaders)
• Teal - just because it was pretty and I needed an 8th colour

The stars are set in a circle to signify that Guiding friendships are forever.  The colours are arranged clockwise from Sparks (youngest girl member) to Trefoil Guild (adult member).

The flying geese are in the same colours as the friendship stars in the north, east, south, and west positions on the quilt.  These signify compass points (camping) and showing the way.  Adult (volunteer) members provide programming to assist girls to explore new challenges, develop skills, and empower each other.  Fun. Friendship. Adventure.

A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.
~ John C. Maxwell

I used Hobbs Heirloom Bleached 100% cotton batting in this 60-inch quilt.  Hobbs batting is the only batting I use, and I often forget to mention it in my blog posts.  It's a great batting.  This was my first time using the 100% cotton, and I really like it.

The free-motion quilting was done with Aurifil #2024 White.  I quilted loops (to signify circles with no end) and stars (showing/lighting the way) in the white background.  And there was a lot of background...it took me two weeks to make a final decision on a quilting plan.  I quilted wishbones in the friendship star points as dreams/wishes come true in Guiding.  Because of Guiding, I have been to places, met people, and done things that I would not have otherwise had the opportunity to do.  I've travelled to England, Scotland, Switzerland, Mexico, and India.  I've stood guard inside the gates of Buckingham Palace and was part of the greeting party when Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II visited our city.  The list goes on and on.

I quilted Girl Guide Trefoils in the centre...it is a Girl Guide quilt.  😊

The quilting gives this quilt a lot of texture.  The colours in the scrappy binding are arranged from Sparks to Trefoil Guild.

I had so much fun designing and making this quilt.  I couldn't figure out how to design it in EQ8, so I resorted to paper and pencil.  I'm looking forward to taking a class at QuiltCon with Cheryl @ Meadow Mist Designs.  I think next up is to make a mini version to hang on my wall.

Are you (or have you been) a Girl Guide/Scout?  I'm sure you have wonderful memories.

As since it's the end of the day:

Softly Falls

Softly falls the light of day

As our campfire fades away

Silently each Guide should ask

Have I done my daily task?

Have I kept my honour bright?

Can I guiltless sleep tonight?

Have I done and have I dared

Everything to be prepared?

Taps

Day is done

Gone the sun

From the sea

From the hills

From the sky

All is well

Safely rest

God is nigh