Sunday, December 18, 2016

More Snow and What Has Been Happening Around Here

More snow!? Yup!


And ice. This is from a few days ago but this is how it rolls in winter. Just wish I could be elsewhere watching it on the news and not living it!

But anyway, that is enough whining for now!

On the quilting side of life, we have some finishes as students try to wrap up their holiday gifts.


Roxanne's "Card Trick" wall hanging 


And a close up view.


Red and green scrap wreath - forgot whose it is, but it is lovely, don't you think?



Roxanne's two quilts for her granddaughters.


One of my works in progress which still needs an outside border. I am planning on using the navy blue used in the corner stones.


A sister's choice block quilt top. My last twelve blocks which had pink and purple triangle points.  My original plan was to make at least a twin sided quilt but I got really tired of making sister's choice blocks.

I have 49 with green triangle points tucked away somewhere and that might explain why I got tired of making this block.

But I recently decided that not very quilt I make needs to be a queen sized quilt!


A layer cake top ready to be webbed. I found this in the block stash the other day. I can't remember the pattern or what my inspiration was when I made it!


Today's finished top is another "Fat Quarter Quilt".  I need to find a backing and get it into the "to be quilted" pile. 

Last night I cut out the pieces for 20 more "garlic knots" to add to this group.  This block uses 2.5 inch strips. My goal is close to 100.


Tomorrow (unless I get sidetracked on to something else!) I will begin to see the rows and assemble this quilt top called "Lake to Lodge".


It uses a "cutie" collection that I bought from Tara Of Amelia's Garden of New York.
The pattern is from the Quilt Basket, LTD. of Pawling, New York.
The cutie collection consists of 16 fat eighths and was created to work with the many patterns that the Quilt Basket has developed.

Give me a few days and I will let you know how it works out. This is the first of their patterns I have actually made, even though I must have all of them tucked away in the to-do pile.

Well, tomorrow is supposed to be another cold day and my plan is to spend the day sewing. With the exception of a few phone calls, that should not take too long, there is nothing pressing for me to do.

Let's hope the day works out according to plan.

Louise, on the island planning tomorrow's sewing activities.

















Monday, December 5, 2016

First Snow of the Season!

Well here it is - the first snow of the season.
Not a big snowfall, but big enough to cause accidents, news stories and plows with sanders.
Never mind that it will all be gone probably by five o'clock. It is the first snowfall of the 2016-17 winter season and everyone is in a tizzy!


But on the island we are sifting through projects, projects in bags, UFO's and PIGS!

We never need to go shopping again!

However, as a good citizen, who wants to see the economy grow, never fear that I will give up shopping!

I just will be more selective than I have been.

PIGS (projects in grocery sacks), or in my case recycled containers, tote bags, plastic bags and paper bags, just seem to continue to grow.


English paper piecing projects (that's right, plural!) in plastic storage containers and recycled take out containers, projects in tote bags and paper bags. Finally a knitting project in the plastic bag. 

I really won't live long enough! 


Three quilt bindings to apply,


Two bindings to sew,


Neutrals to cut,


Projects to sew!

So much to do, so little time, yet I sit here writing a blog post, contemplating the weather.

Isn't life grand!

Have a wonderful, if snowy Monday.  Make progress on your sewing, even if is to sort and catalogue the many things you have available to do.  But don't forget to sit at your sewing machine and try to get something done.  It will make you feel good on a snowy day!

Louise, on the island, sorting, cataloging and SEWING!!!










Monday, November 21, 2016

The Latest Issue!

I subscribe to McCall's Quilting and the latest issue (January/February 2017) came today.


First of all, the quilt on the cover grabbed my interest ( you all know how I love piecing and stars!).
But when I was going through the pages and came to page 18, I almost fell out of my chair.

A FREE e-book called "Tales of Ireland" totally has me fascinated.  


Now I am not Irish by a long shot, but the techniques for the blocks have got me hooked.  
Crumb pieced hearts, Celtic knots, clover Applique, clamshells, hexagons, and several pieced blocks will give a quilter, who loves sampler quilts, plenty to do.  

So I make a green quilt while I refresh my skills.  There must be green in my ancestral lands and maybe a bit of Irish in me somewhere!

I urge you to go to McCallsquilting.com and check out this free e-book. Whether you are a seasoned quilter or one who is new to the craft, I know you will enjoy the challenge of this sampler quilt's various techniques.

And no, I did not get a stipend for this plug! I truly was enamored of the various techniques, although I may have to do something different with the final layout of the quilt.

Louise, on the island planning her next (sampler) quilt

Monday, November 7, 2016

Ah, November, and of All Things Binding and Fall

The title covers a lot of things, doesn't it?

Ah, November, it is finally here. Almost the end of the year, the start of the Holiday season with Thanksgiving, Christmas and lots of birthdays in my family.

The temperatures dip. And while the skies may be sunny and blue, there is a nip in the air.

My favorite tree has turned on its glorious color.


It is often the last to leaf out in the spring and now one of the last to lose its leaves.  It is beautiful this year. I guess it must be the lack of rain.

Binding continues on "Fireworks". I shòuld be finished this afternoon, if I pay attention and don't get sidetracked.


The angle of the sun makes it dip below the house next door for a brief while now, but with an increasing length of time going forward. I guess this would be like living on the eastern slope of a mountain. While it is still light, you don't experience the direct rays of the sun until the angle changes as we get closer to spring.


The sun does pop back out fairly quickly from behind the neighbor's roofline in November. But it is still a reminder, however, that we are heading towards the days with shorter amounts of daylight.

Not meaning to be depressing on this sunny afternoon!  Just observing nature's ways as I listen for the dryer to signal it has finished its cycle.

Louise, on the island, binding, while waiting for the dryer to finish!









Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Taking it Slow

After feeling like a truck ran me over, ( not that I really know how that feels since I have never been run over by a truck ) I have been taking it relatively slow the past few days.

An hour of sewing here, and hour of cutting there and binding in between.

It is all happening, but at a relatively much slower pace than at what I usually operate.

Can't say I don't like it. But it still doesn't feel right.

But anyway, here are the projects currently taking up my time in this slower paced lifestyle.


Six out of twenty "Sister's Choice" blocks finished for a 62" x 82" "Hoppin' Stars" quilt purchased from Cobblestone Quilts in Townsend Massachusetts during the Schoolhouse Shop Hop last year.


Five out of twenty blocks for the 59" x 72" "Autumn Stars" quilt. I purchased this kit awhile ago from the Missouri Star Quilt Company.


Purple and yellow four patches for a purple and pink "Bricks and Stepping Stones" quilt, a Bonnie Hunter pattern found on her blog under the free patterns tab.


Finally, more chevrons for the king sized "Celtic Solstice" quilt that just seems to go on and on.

I have many more sewing projects in my head that could be added to the mix, but I think these four are enough for now.

Oh yes, I forgot. "Garlic Knots" blocks that get made in between the chevrons when I am at Open Sew at the shop. That would make five if I did them at home, but so far I have resisted.



Going slow, one block at a time, sewing no more than 45 minutes to an hour at a time.
It is tough, but still doable, this going slow business.
But I am thankful that going slow is still an option.

Louise, on the island practicing her turtle moves.




Saturday, October 22, 2016

Newly Completed!

An update on some newly completed quilts!
You may have seen them partially completed in earlier posts as I often cannot wait to share them with you in their incomplete status.

But here are the completed ones!

Rain Stick - still can't figure out why the name, but here it is.


Next up is "Fireworks", another pattern from a Fons and Porter publication.


And on we go with sewing and quilting.  

Louise from the island, recapping newly completed projects!

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Monday at the Classroom

Just a short post to show student projects from Monday night's Open Sew.

Roxanne has worked on her "Starburst" quilt, a pattern she saw on a Missouri Star Quilt Company tutorial.


It will be a nice size to gift a lucky family member!

Marie participated in a table runner making workshop I held this past Saturday at the classroom.  


She finished her border on Monday and then sandwiched her Tablerunner.  
Her plan is to quilt this during one of our next Open Sew sessions.

Today was a lovely day (sorry, no pictures) with clear skies and temperatures hovering around seventy.

Tomorrow is forecasted to be slightly warmer.  We hold on to these pleasant days of October and tuck their memories away to be re-examined and remembered next year in January. Can you believe that in three months from today it will be January and I will be packing for the Post Holiday Quilter's Retreat?!

Puts a slightly different perspective on things doesn't it?!!!

Louise, from the island waxing "nostalgic" and enjoying the weather!






Thursday, September 29, 2016

Of All Things September

The month is almost ending and the posts have been non-existent.  
This is an attempt to correct that!


Marie's "Bourbon Street Bricks Quilt" from Jelly Roll Jambalaya Quilts by Jeane Ann Wright.
The colors are lovely and don't really show in the picture.  Sorry about that Marie!

Hexies!





I finally finished these pieced hexies.  Originally I began this project at a weekend in North Carolina with Bonnie Hunter and Mickey Dupre, called Collaboration Celebration.


The pieced blocks are also finished (a long time ago!).  Now only the border remains.  The book and pattern seem to be out of print, so I will skip that information.  Maybe the ladies will find another publisher and release it, but for now, it is a collector's item!


Dottie's wall hanging is now complete! We used M'Liss Rae Hawley's book, "Fat Quarter Quilts, Fabric Choices, Easy Piecing and Quilting Ideas", and her "Embroidered Windows" quilt as inspiration for this attic windows type of quilt.

Finally, I attended a retreat last week and sewed a top a day.  The blocks have been completed over the past few months and have been sitting and waiting for the right time to be assembled into tops.
These two still need borders.



But these two are complete!


This is called "Fireworks" and comes from a book that I cannot find right now! How terrible of me!


This is called "Rainstick" and is from one of the Fons and Porter publications.

Both use jelly rolls.  

Now they go to the long arm quilter!

Well, tomorrow sees the end of September. The weather has turned colder these past few days, but Hurricane Matthew is in the Caribbean being fed by warm breezes.
Autumn has officially begun and the summer of 2016 has departed. Not to be melancholy, but time does fly if you don't watch it and appreciate it. I hope you enjoy your day tomorrow, the last day of September 2016, even if it is cool and rainy!  It will be a great time to quilt!

Louise, on the island, wondering where September 2016 went! 










Saturday, September 10, 2016

Ahhhh, Tablerunners!

I have been working on ideas for three hour workshops. Since most of my quilts tend to be rather large , it has been a struggle to think of projects that can be completed in a shorter class time frame. But, recently, it occurred to me - table runners! 

So off I went into the finished stash.

Here are the two projects that will be offered.


Charm pack squares table runner is on the right and the Seminole table runner is on the left.
The picture is of the two prior to bindings being attached and completed.

Below are the finished projects.


The original charm square table runner


A student's Seminole table runner on the design wall.

Check the workshops and lectures tab on the blog for more details. 
Contact me by email for more information and contracts.

Louise, on the island thinking about and planning workshops



Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Classroom Happenings

Even though I have been out of commission, the students in the Open Sew at the classroom have been working hard.

Here are some pictures of what they have been up to recently.

Nancy's HAND PIECED grandmother's Flower Garden.  Designed by Nancy, she is now up to hand quilting this wonderful masterpiece.


Cindy is working on a Bruins quilt for her husband. Blocks are finished and she is sewing them into rows.  Maybe we will see the completed top next week.


Dottie has finished her nine attic window blocks and is now working on the setting and borders.
She hasn't decided on those fabrics yet.  I think she has to go shopping!


Marie has her center done on this stars and light houses quilt.  Borders are her next step.
This top is available as a quilt kit from Piecing with Poppers Quilting Center in West Greenwich, RI.


Lisa's table runner is almost complete.
From what I can see in the directions, it looks like she is ready to sandwich and quilt her creation.


I stopped in Monday night ready to sew up a storm.
Look what I got done between the talking and visiting!
It's tough when you have been away so long!


Okay, I got three blocks done and ten flying geese for another project that I forgot to take a picture of.

But it was still nice to visit and see everyone.

I think I am mended enough now to return to Open Sew.
More pictures will come in the future, since these girls really sew up a storm!

Louise, on the island, happy to be sewing and going to Open Sew again!