The Proverbial End

Way back last summer I started a very casual quiltalong here using Denyse Schmidt's Proverbial Quilt pattern. After making my Blackbird quilt, several people expressed interest in making their favourite quote or song into a quilt as well, so I gathered up a few sponsors and we got started!

This type of quilt isn't really a quickie, and I'm a pretty pathetic quiltalong host (I've discovered) as I can't even keep my own deadlines. However, I think it's time to officially close things prize-wise.  Any longer and this book is going to find a permanent place in my shelf and the fabric?  Well you all know what would happen with that!

Denyse Schimdt Quilts was kind enough to share a hard copy of her latest book as well as a jelly roll of Chicopee. I did a random drawing from everyone in the flickr group who has shared a photo of their pattern, or their fabric, or any bits of progress on their quilts.  Stitchliterate is the lucky winner of the book and Amy (aviva_hadas) has won the jelly roll. Congratulations gals!!

A few participants have finished their amazing quilts so I thought I'd share them to inspire anyone who is considering a text quilt. I love how each of these are quilted, too! 

This is Heather's sweet baby quilt 

Cathy's Proverbial Sunshine - so perfect!

Dana's beautiful quilt made for a friend in need of encouragement and inspiration.

And this is one half of an anniversary gift for Julie's husband - check out her flickr stream for the other half!

Thanks to everyone who participated and shared their progress and supported one another with suggestions and photo tutorials. Thanks also to the sponsors that provided prizes for us!

    

Proverbial Quiltalong (4) - Freezer Paper Method

Here we are with the fourth post for the Proverbial Quiltalong. We're finally going to cut some fabric!  There are a few quilters well on their way, already piecing their letters and words. For those of you still choosing fabric (and your words, for that matter!) don't worry and don't feel rushed. I just figured since some people are itchin' to get stitchin', I'd provide the tutorial for the freezer paper method that I used to cut out and piece my letters.  I first learned this method of piecing from friends who took a Ruth McDowell workshop at my traditional guild about 7 years ago.

I'm telling you, freezer paper is the unsung hero of sewing notions! I have always bought it at major grocery stores on a roll in the food wrap section, but now it's available in pre-cut sheets for feeding through your printer. Very handy for foundation piecing, but for our Proverbial quilts, we'll stick with tracing.

1. First things first. Write out your quote/lyrics/poem/saying(s) and do a tally of each letter of the alphabet you'll need. That way, you save time by only tracing the templates for letters you need.  I'm making a baby girl quilt with a lyric from Sarah Mclachlan's song Ice Cream, a lullaby I sung to my children. All of my words will be pink, except for "chocolate" which will be brown, that's why you see little letters p & b beside each tally.

2. Using a window or light table is really confusing because the pattern comes double-sided. I find the pattern is dark enough to see through the freezer paper just on a table. Cut your freezer paper into a manageable size. Lay it over the letter. Trace each element of the letter, leaving about a 1/2" between elements (this is so you can cut with a rotary cutter and not worry about 'overcutting' into the adjacent template piece).  Label each template piece as shown on the pattern, but add a code that will remind you which pieces are for background fabric.

3. Cut out each element of the letter pattern. I use a mini-rotary cutter and a 1" x 6" ruler. If you've got some arthritis, or just find it tricky, you may want to use a larger ruler for more control.

4. Lay out the templates and choose your fabrics

5. With a hot, dry iron, press the freezer paper onto the right side of the chosen fabric.

 

6. Now, using the Add a Quarter ruler, align the 1/4" ledge with the edge of the paper template and cut your fabric. The reason we don't just add a 1/4" to the paper template from the beginning is because you run the risk of shaving off a little bit of template every time you cut right on the edge of the paper.

7. Lay out your fabric pieces as shown in the pattern. 

8.Remove the paper and piece using a scant 1/4" seam allowance, following the number order given on each template. Sew piece 1 to piece 2, then add piece 3...etc. Press after each addition. Refer to your Proverbial Quilt pattern for instructions on sewing angled pieces - there is a great diagram there.

9.  You have a letter!! Best news ever: your freezer paper templates are reusable about 10 more times. Keep them all in an envelope because you never know when you'll want to make another Proverbial quilt.

Everyone works in their own way. Some are methodical and will plan ahead which fabric they'll use for every letter and every word.  I often work in a very methodical, controlled way, so when I made Blackbird I wanted to try a very free approach. I kept the left side of my brain happy by working my way through the alphabet and making every letter A, then every letter B, then every letter C required by my tally. However, the right side got a workout by pulling fabric and piecing each letter in a completely random way without any regard for what might end up next to it in the final layout. In this way, I kept the project truly scrappy and unplanned while satisfying my goals for enjoying the process. Once all the letters were made, I used a design wall to layout the words.  More on layout in the next post...

Now that B and I are sleeping under Blackbird Fly, I can honestly say that the contentment and lack of pressure I felt while making it has absolutely translated into how truly happy I am with the finished quilt.  That's why I wanted this quiltalong to remain unstructured and casual, so that all of you can enjoy the process of creating your Proverbial quilts, too!  Please keep posting your progress in the flickr group as this is where I'll be getting names for entry into sporadic prize drawings. Everyone who is quilting along has an equal chance of winning!

The Proverbial Quiltalong

 "Let's start at the very beginning , a very good place to start"

-Oscar Hammerstein II, from the Sound of Music

The lyrics to the first dance at your wedding? A cherished poem? Movie quotes? Family names? What text would you like to stitch into a quilt? The possibilities are endless, but I chose my favourite song.

After sharing my Blackbird Fly quilt I heard from several readers and friends that they have always wanted to make a word quilt.  Well, here's your chance!  I made a few calls (well, actually I sent a few emails, but making calls sounded rather pro, didn't it? Like I have Denyse Schmidt on speed dial, hehe), secured some awesome sponsored prizes and discounts, so we're ready to go!

I am so excited that Denyse Schmidt has not only given her permission to run a quiltalong using her Proverbial Quilt Pattern, her company is also sponsoring prizes! Text quilts are all the rage and there are several ways to create them including templates, patterns, free-piecing and applique, but for this quiltalong you'll need to purchase and use Denyse's pattern to be eligible for prizes, kay?

Here's some good news: quiltalong participants can take advantage of sponsor discounts both here in Canada as well as south of the border. Flare Fabrics  is offering a 15% discount on the pattern with checkout code Proverb15 until August 30th. As always, Marlene ships free within Canada. U.S. shoppers can check out Tammy's special price on the pattern at Marmalade Fabrics. Both sponsors have a limited number of patterns available so act fast to secure yours (international participants are absolutely welcome to order from either of these shops as well)!

It's summertime and the livin' is easy (hey, that could be a line on someone's quilt!) so I'm not going to be too formal with a planned out schedule or anything. I'll try and post weekly or thereabouts.  For now, if you would like to quilt-a-long here's what you need to do:

1. Order your pattern from Marmalade or Flare Fabrics or purchase at your local quilt shop
2. Join the quiltalong flickr group where we'll share our progress and discuss any issues that arise
3. Think about what size quilt you plan to make and what proverbs, lyrics, quotes, sayings, poem or collection of words or names you would like to piece. Don't forget, you are also welcome to emulate Denyse's own proverb quilt that you see on the pattern cover.

Let me know in the comments if you plan to play along. I realize there are many quiltalongs on the go in blogland at the moment and that's why we'll be taking it slow (so you have time for all of them!!). After all, it took me a year to complete my quilt. That was partly intentional though; don't let that scare you away. Not only am I slow, but I wanted this to be a mindful project that would be entirely pieced on my Featherweight while on retreats.

While we wait for everyone to get their patterns, I'll post about fabrics and layout ideas so you can start planning. Once everyone has their patterns, we'll have our first participant giveaway!  To be eligible for this first giveaway, a FQ set of Cloud 9 - Across the Pond organics from Flare Fabrics, I want to see a photo of you with your Proverbial Quilt pattern in the flickr pool. That way we all get to 'know' each other, too. I think we're going to have lots of fun and I'm imagining a small, friendly group working through our quilts together.

Thanks Sponsors!

    

A spring finish!

Here it is! My raffle quilt is complete after a marathon quilting session yesterday.

I totally copied Katy's quilt along sample and quilted horizontal lines with my Pfaff's wavy stitch. I didn't quilt as densely as she did as my thread supply for the bobbin (to match the back of the quilt) was running too low to risk it. This quilt had to be complete for our fund raising event tomorrow night. I managed to spread the quilting evenly with a row along each sashing seam and two rows through each row of squares.

Now I'm trying to decide if I should wash and dry it prior to the event. What do you think? Would the crinkly look appeal to the non-quilting public, or should I keep it crisp-looking? (fellow teammates, Di, Jo, Andrea, Marsha, Rebecca, please advise!).

I always label quilts that leave my home. Admittedly, I'm less reliable on labeling quilts staying with us because I always think 'ahh, I'll do that later'. I once read an article by a quilt appraiser who said it is important to 'quilt the label in' for security (i.e. harder to remove label in the case of *gasp* quilt theft - which does happen, sadly). I often plan to do this, but then the excitement of sandwiching and getting on with the quilting causes my brains to fall out and I forget.

Not this time. Look at me go! I sewed the label to the backing using my machine's blanket stitch and then quilted right through that sucker. I also finished the binding by machine. I love hand stitching my bindings to the back, but 20 minutes vs 4 hours was a no-brainer this time around.

I'm so happy this quilt is done. It's been pieced since mid-November (see, I always stall after the top is pieced!!), so it was about time to quilter-up and finish the job. I am a woman in need of deadlines.

To make your own jelly roll quilt, visit Fat Quarterly and look under 'tutorials'.

Well, isn't that Hunky Dory?!

I've finally basted my Fat Quarterly quilt along quilt. Katy originally posted the instructions for this simple one-jelly-roll quilt last summer and I immediately wanted to make one. I'd never used a jelly roll before. As luck would have it, a quilt shop on my summer vacation had this one on sale!

The original quilt design has all of the squares sewn together. I wanted the quilt to be a bit bigger, so I added 1 1/2" sashing strips of Kona Snow between all of the rows. Each row also has 3 vertical sashing strips place randomly in the row.

I'll be using this quilt to raise funds for my Weekend to End Women's Cancers team (see my sidebar). We're called Kickin' Cancer with Creativity, so it only seems fitting to raffle off a quilt! There has been a second quilt donated by a friend's MIL, we've got a summer adventure weekend in Whistler, BC and a gorgeous sterling silver bracelet for the raffle as well. Our final fund raising party is this Friday night at a local pub. It is really great that several local pubs offer 'beer & burger' nights for charities allowing us to make $10 on each dinner sold.

Last year when my SIL and I completed the 60 km walk (read about my weekend here), I was determined to form a team for next summer and set a goal of finding 8 more women to join us for a team of 10. I am very proud to share that we are now 16 strong and already we've raised over $30,000 for the BC Cancer Foundation.

If you've been visiting Poppyprint for a while, you know that three of my friends were diagnosed with breast cancer in the past 12 months. Two of those cases were discovered through routine mammogram. We are very fortunate in BC to have one of the very best screening programs in the country. My friends will survive cancer, and thrive, as a result. One of these remarkable women is a team member and will walk with us in August.

But first. That quilt needs quilting!

When life gives you Hunky Dory scraps....

make a mug rug!

"Allium" mug rug by Poppyprint

After cutting all of the strips of my Hunky Dory jellyroll for the Fat Quarterly Quilt-a-long, I had about an inch and a half of each strip left over. While piecing my blocks all day on Saturday at retreat, I feel deeply in love with this fabric line! I could not bear to part with those precious scraps (this is a fairly new phenomenon for me...saving small scraps, that is).

I laid out all the scraps on a piece of Steam-a-Seam Lite, put my teflon pressing sheet over top and hit it with a hot iron for a few seconds just to stick the fabric to the SASL. Then I free cut the petal shapes with my rotary cutter, peeled off the backing paper and arranged the scraps on that gorgeous piece of Essex linen/cotton blend (lime). I didn't design anything in advance, this was completely a by-the-seat-of-my-comfortable-track-pants production.

After sandwiching with a bamboo/cotton blend batting scrap and quilting cotton on the back, I free motion quilted on each petal, then around each petal with a variegated green thread. I just have to say that I am SO HAPPY with the FM-quilting results! I had been having such difficulty with it on my 'new' Pfaff Quilt Expression 4.0, but now that I'm using Inspiron needles it seems like the universe has aligned and I can quilt without breaking thread every 10 stitches. And the tension on the top and back are perfect!!! yippee!

And just 'cos I like to, I added some seed stitches in a variegated green pearl cotton #8 and backstitch and french knots in the flower centres with 3 strands of DMC embroidery floss. This little quilt measures 7" x 10" and may never see the bottom of a mug...but it was so fun to make.

Just in case you are wondering, the Essex linen/cotton blend is available in several colours from Jackie here...and at a very reasonable price, I might add!

Hello, sewing room!

The kids are back at school, the house is a disaster again (backpacks, lunch bags, permission slips, binders, paper, shoes, gym clothes....aaaaaaa!). Me? I'm very happy to be back in my sewing room.

I made this photo frame quilt for D's friend as a birthday present. She has just re-decorated her bedroom in a lilac purpley/blue colour so I think this will look great on her wall. I reinforced the corner triangles with some medium weight fusible interfacing so they are nice and rigid. The photos hold well and there's just a smidgen of white showing around each 4"x6" photo like a little frame.

Now, onto my Fat Quarterly Quilt-Along! Yesterday I unrolled this gorgeous jelly roll to press all of the strips, trim the selvage edges off and prepare to cut, cut, cut!

I'd never see any Hunky Dory fabric on the bolt, and it's probably a good thing (for my wallet!). Wow, the soft grays/pink/aqua/yellow. Delicious. I can't wait to see this quilt come together! It's not too late to join us - all you need is one jelly roll! Just click thru with the button over there on my side bar--------->

Happy weekend everyone. We're heading up to Whistler to meet B at the finish line of the big Gran Fondo race tomorrow. He and 3999 of his lycra-clad brethren (and many sisters too, I'm sure) are riding 120 km from the Vancouver Art Gallery to Whistler village. Thanks to the BBC magazine we've learned a new term: MAMIL. Middle Aged Men in Lycra - referring to the mid-life crisis set who eschew fast cars for fast bicycles and fitness instead. I love it. B's not quite there age-wise, but he is no stranger to lycra, having raced both road and mountain bikes for almost 20 years. It will be a monumental event - it's the talk of the town as race organizers are actually closing an entire lane of the highway. The cyclists are pumped because the road is in top condition after being completely re-built for the Olympics. I'll let you know how it goes!

Sunset on Summer

I'd love to share a few photos of our Last Summer Hurrah. My wonderful friend Andrea invited us to visit her family's little piece of paradise last year. We all had the best long weekend with her and her Dad, Bruce, and managed to behave ourselves and make a good enough impression to be invited back again this year! Yippee!

After a ferry trip, car ride and finally a motorboat crossing, we arrived safely on Thormanby Island, just off the Sunshine Coast north of Vancouver. Their cabin is on a beautifully sheltered sandy bay at the end of a sweet row of eclectic summer cottages. It was very near summer's end, so the bay was rather quiet...many families had returned home to the city already.

Bruce & Andrea entertain the kids with a bocci game while my nose is buried in a book

Daytime involved paddle boarding, reading, general lounging, bocci, fort-building, tree climbing, hiking/walking/swimming, cliff-jumping (the kids), swatting at wasps, nice conversation, some cooking.

T & D built an amazing teepee-style fort from driftwood

D takes a break to soak up some late-afternoon rays

In the evenings, we enjoyed cards, Jenga, Scattergories, marshmellow-roasting, wine (the adults) and more reading by oil lamplight.

T makes his move

We saw lots of cool wildlife including enormous red jellies that washed up after a storm, lots and lots of icky banana slugs, a sweet salamander AND......a juvenile grey whale just 20m from Bruce's boat!!!! Yup, we were extremely lucky to see him on our way back from a lunch run to Pender Harbour one day. Sadly, I wasn't prepared for photos. In fact, I was very nervous (I'm not a confident boat passenger). All I could think after the whale dove down was "I don't want to be in one of those YouTube videos where the whale comes up under the boat and everyone goes flying out!"

Pender Harbour pub lunch

Just when D and I thought we were lost, a trail buoy showed us the way on our hike!

I almost stepped on this little camouflaged salamander!

The west-facing beach...looking towards Texada and Vancouver Island

Someone is busy growing a new leg!

D's hand is just for scale - she's not touching this enormous jelly!

Ever since she was little-little, D has loved limpets and often wears them as earrings, too

Thank you so much Bruce and Andrea for having us again. We love you! And Bucc Bay, too!

What a great end to summer. We've had the best family time this holiday - almost a whole month off work for B and great visits with my family back east and friends here on the coast. Although they are moaning a bit, I know the kids are excited for this week. Both are going to new schools, T to junior high and D will try late French Immersion on for size.

...................and I'm heading back to my sewing room!!!! I decided to play with my friends at Fat Quarterly magazine and participate in my first ever sew along. En route to the marina, Andrea and I stopped at a favourite quilt shop and I picked up a Hunky Dory jelly roll for the easypeasy sew along. I've never used a jelly roll in a project before. If you want to play, too, check it out here!

I hope you all had a wonderful summer, too. There's still a few more hours to enter my giveaway for the lastest edition of Quilter's Connection magazine here.