A little testing fun, combivan flower child style

I tested this pattern for Juliet over at Tartankiwi.(here) When I saw the draft of the pattern I could only think of the hippie days of my distant youth. So flowers were called for. There are some issues to be worked out with the pattern for printing in North America. Different paper sizes around the world can be a pain at times. But Juliet is on target to fix the problem. It was a fun pattern to make and the only real issue was margins on paper size. I am looking forward to trying more of her designs. Piecefully, Joanne

Good Night Irene sew along

I am making slow but steady progress with this sew along. I have many more 16 patch blocks done than I do the in-betweens. I have been assembling them as leaders and enders so sometimes it takes a while to have the variety one wants for a scrappy quilt.
We have had a very busy month and as a result no many posts to the blog. Our Grandson's were here for a week in February and then last week for their March Break. My goodness it seems quiet here today. Terry of Terry's Treasures who is running the Sew along would tell you there is still time to join in. For information and how to directions see her blog  (here). I am really hoping that some of my massive collection of UFO's will change status to completed and donated in the next few weeks. Piecefully, Joanne

A little string play

Our Community Outreach group, the Scrapbag Quilters were given a pile of "off-cuts" of Christmas fabric. I wasn't certain I could make them work but now that I look at the top assembled I think I succeeded. I cut the base fabric 10" and used a simple red for the centre string. The remainder of the block was sewn in the exact same manner for each block. The pattern develops when you put several blocks together. Because some of the pieces were just a little skimpy towards the edge I used a 1/2" seam through out when assembling. This is an example of putting my scraps to work.
We had the boys here all last week and not much serious sewing was accomplished. I need to get back at that soon. Piecefully, Joanne

Sewing with Certainty Series (and a little Soviet Culture)

Jess at Quilty Habit (here) has run a series that startied in the new year called Sewing with Certainty. While I think it is primarily directed at newer sewers and quilters there is much to be gained by reading her blog posts. In her final post of the series she asked readers to contribute their thoughts on blogging. In particular she asked about starting and/or managing and/or writing a sewing blog. what is our favourite part about blogging and how does blogging affect your quilting.

As it happens this week I did an online workshop about starting a blog. I was the very first to admit I am not a proficient blogger and there are many things I should do but don't so another almost classical case of do as I say not do as I do. 

I set up this blog to record my quilting finishes and to maybe on rare occasions make comments about general topics. I do not have very advanced camera skills and would not even begin to think about do a tutorial. I am happy to describe in words what I have done or if the pattern is something I have written up to send a copy to someone. My favourite part about blogging has to be reading other peoples blogs to see what they are doing. I also love to look at the pictures. So I suspect that visitors to my blog would like to see the same things here. To answer the question how does blogging affect my quilting. Probably in two ways. I am exposed to so many new ideas while visiting other blogs and I want to try them all. Just kidding, I don't have that much time left to quilt. And  it makes me want to put up pictures of better work. 

As to the picture with this post. It is a velvet table cloth we bought in the Soviet Union, when it was still the Soviet Union. We took our kids on a three week tour there almost 30 years ago. We visited Sochi, home of this year's Olympics. This lovely table cloth was one of the sovenirs we brought home. Piecefully, Joanne

Today's post is brought to you by the number 5

When my daughter was much younger she loved The Count on Sesame Street. In fact it was a toss up between The Count and Big Bird as to who was her favourite. I am in part a retired Math teacher so I too love numbers (and the things you can do with them). So when Alyce at Blossom Heart Quilts (here) asked for testers to test her remaining numbers to complete her A, B, C and numbers one to ten pattern I jumped at the opportunity. This pieced block worked beautifully and it was very easy to put together. I see a "numbers" quilt in the future.
Yesterday afternoon I had the opportunity to talk online about getting started with blogging. Preparing for the talk sure reminded me about all the things I  do not do well and made me aware of all the things I do not know. But one thing I have found out since I have been blogging is that there is always someone out there who knows how to do whatever you are trying to do and is more than willing to answer your questions.
We did not get the huge snowfall that Toronto and much of southern Ontario had yesterday. What a blessing. We have a little light snow today but nothing that makes getting around difficult. Piecefully, Joanne

Leaders and enders a slow but steady way to build a quilt

Terry over at Terry's Treasures (here) is hosting a Quilt Along titled Goodnight Irene.Today marks the beginning of month two. The blocks in the picture are my start on the project. Terry has suggested using 2 1/2" squares and 4 1/2" squares. Since I had what seemed like a limitless supply of 2" squares I down sized my second square to 3 1/2". I do like the look of the project and it is turning my 2" squares into something useful. Piecefully, Joanne

The local snow hill keeps growing

When the town plows out our tiny street, they pile up the snow on a vacant lot. This is the snow pile before the last four days of blowing snow. It is even bigger now. Why would a quilting blogger talk about snow? Well all the snow outside has kept me inside sewing. I completed the testing of another quilt for The Quilt Pattern Magazine. It is called Grecian Stars and the pattern will be included in their July issue. Unfortunately I can't show you a picture at this time. As the snow was getting started earlier this week the Kincardine Sunset Quilters held a Mystery Quilt workshop. Denise did one last year and is doing one again this year. The room we have to work in at St. Anthony's Church in Kincardine is lovely and spacious with good lighting. I got to step 7 out of 13. Second day of work is scheduled for this coming Tuesday. (And the Weather Network says 10-15 cm of snow). I have two new blocks to test for Quiltmakers 100 blocks volume 9 and in between I am working on some string blocks. Piecefully, Joanne