Wednesday, July 25, 2018

Today is the day for the final installment for the Clementine Quilt Along

The final steps are posted for the Clementine Quilt Along today. Visit the Fat Quarter Shop's blog (here)  and for a voluntary donation you can download the finishing instructions. Just to give you a heads up the smaller blocks need to grown to match the larger blocks. They have a clever way of doing this that involved two steps but is quite effective. The difference between my background and the accent is slight so you may not identify it with my photography skills. You will be making a square in a square and then snowballing that block. The exact measurements are in the download so no spoiler alerts on that information.
And for my big reveal here is my Clementine top. Yes I said top. Not quilted yet. Sadly my go to long arm quilter is battling some serious health issues at this time and is not doing anything much beyond trips to the hospital for tests. I am praying for good news for her. And the other spoiler alert, this is a large quilt. Hubby is too short to hold this one up for a good photo so the clothesline was called to duty.
This is a beautiful quilt and I hope to find some way to get it finished soon. For those who are following along I trust you have enjoyed the process and will be making your own Clementine Quilt. This charitable initiative on the part of the Fat Quarter Shop has produced a significant donation for St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital.
I have been honoured to be part of the Fat Quarter Shop's Quilt Along group.
Piecefully, Joanne


Monday, July 23, 2018

Welcome to the Kick Off Day for Pickle Toes Patterns Vacation Time Blog Tour

A recent call for participants by Pickles Toes Patterns saw me say, "yes please".  When I surveyed the patterns we could work with I almost wished I had a granddaughter. The dresses were absolutely delightful. But it's only grandson's here so I asked for the next best thing, some doll clothes. I made two matching outfits for my neighbour's granddaughters.
This was the moment of the big reveal for them. They were all ready for bed and I went over with the outfits. The outfit I selected was the Daisy Pinafore. It comes with a top that wraps easily around the back of the doll and shorts that can be made at two different lengths. I made the Bermuda short length which is the slightly longer choice. The Play shorts are about an inch shorter.
The instructions were very easy to follow. Perhaps not as detailed as some I have seen. I believe they made the assumption you knew a little bit about basic sewing but definitely beginner friendly. My biggest challenge was putting the snaps on the pinafore. Back in the day when I was originally doing this type of thing you got a two part metal affair that had little holes in the outer ring for you to stitch through to stitch them in place. The snaps today are much nicer looking but require some level of competence to apply and not over do it.
This is a better view of the outfits. In the photo with the girls the dolls are sporting a shoulder bag purse. In this photo I removed the purse as it was not part of the pattern we were given to work with. But a word about the shoulder bag pattern. It was designed by Lesley at Berry Birdy designs. It is a small folded coin purse but with the addition of a strap it became a shoulder bag.
If you have any doll lovers who  also have small girls they may well like making  a matching little girl's dress pattern. I did not know these girls well enough and they do not live near me so I had to pass up that opportunity.
Be certain to visit the other bloggers on the tour. I have had a sneak peak of a couple of the outfits they have created and they are beautiful Thank you Pickle Toes for including me as a stop on your Vacation Time Blog Tour. And a word or two from the folks at Pickle Toes.

Pickle Toes Patterns is so excited to bring to you a collection of patterns that are easy and fast to sew. Their patterns have the basic ingredients that you need to make a new sew your own. Color blocking, different fabrics and new styles are just some of the reasons that Pickle Toes Patterns should be your go-to when looking for something fun and unique. Many handmade children's boutiques use PTP's patterns to customize their designs. Kellie the owner and founder of Pickle Toes Patterns started out just as clothing designer making custom children's clothing because she couldn't find cute clothing for her boys. Boys' clothes eventually grew into girls' clothing, which grew into making original designs. To make original designs, she had to make original patterns, and Pickle Toes Patterns was born! Pickle Toes Patterns is not just a business, we are a family. I hope you enjoy sewing our patterns as much as we enjoy making them. We hope you take the time to look at all of the other blogger's post and creations. You can follow Pickle Toes at the following social media channels.

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July 23 Quilts by Joanne and Do it Yourself Danielle

July 24 Our Play Palace

July 25 That's So Lilly and Sewing Ambi

July 26 SewGeeked and My Sewing Roots

July 27 Frullemieke and

Tales From A Southern Mom

 

We are so excited to bring you this great giveaway to win patterns from Pickle Toes Patterns and our friends at

Goober Pea Designs


Kelly J Designs

 

Jilly Atlanta Designs

 
Piecefully, Joanne


Sunday, July 1, 2018

It isn't easy being yellow-green

It's the first of the month, again, and we have a new colour for July. One that I will freely admit I have difficulty working with. Kermit the Frog used to tell us it wasn't easy being green. I might amend that to say it's not easy for me to pick out green.
I suspect we all have colours that we struggle with. Mine are found on the warm side of green. I am good with the cool side of green but get me into lime green or olive green I am never just exactly certain if I have it "right".
And further to that almost apology I am fairly confident that I missed the light medium and dark on this month too.Or maybe my back drop is overpowering.
Once again I found my Bloc-Loc rulers handy. They have a set for Flying Geese. Be certain to visit Jen at patterns by Jen (here) to obtain your next pattern and to find the links for the other participants.
It is a great block this month that goes together quickly. Once you have your fabric selections made you will put it together in no time. I trust you are keeping up. We are midway through 2018. How did that happen. They always said that the older you get the faster time went and I think someone recently did a study to find out why. I don't really need to know why, it just does.
For for my Canadian friends Happy Canada Day. It is looking like this one is going to be mighty hot in our part of the country.
Piecefully, Joanne