Have you met any new quilting friends on the Quilters Meet and Greet?

Click here to find the other bloggers

So happy you found time to stop by my blog for the Quilters Meet and Greet hosted by Benita at Victorianaquiltdesigns (here)

Hi, my name is Joanne and I am happy you have found time to visit my blog. This photo was taken the last week of August so is mighty current. We were having a sewing day for my local charity quilt group.  I organized the project for the day and made up kits and then I shrank the project and worked in size small for my contribution.

This was the project for the day. A pattern I call Simple Bricks3. It is a great project for charity quilt sewing because all the pieces for the project are exactly the same size so organizing kits is fairly simple and it is what I call self correcting. As you add to each piece it should fit the previous section. If it doesn't your 1/4" seam needs adjusting. For this one value placement is the key to success.

This is a single block from the quilt above so you can identify the location for value placement.

As you can tell from my photo I am fairly senior. I have been quilting for a little over 40 years and sewing for closer to 60 years. I have tried all kinds of different techniques and am always happy to learn something new. My personal preference is for regular piecing or foundation paper piecing. I can do applique but so far have not been thrilled with my results. English Paper Piecing is on the horizon as a new skill to learn.

Since my retirement from my day job as a grade 7 & 8 Mathematics and Science teacher I have been making charity or community outreach quilts. About 8 years ago I stumbled onto quilt pattern testing as a thing to do. I am hooked. I test for designers from around the world. They put out a call and I answer if I can meet their timeline. It is a great way to meet people and to work towards using my modest stash. Although perhaps modest is not the best descriptor.

I am known locally for my scrap quilts. And am constantly being given small pieces of fabric to turn into something because I like to take a standard pattern and shrink it. 

This wee little doll quilt is made from pieces that are 1 1/2" x 2 1/2".

Pink bricks 2 1/2" x 4 1/2"

In this one I captured a bright rainbow to complement the sheep in the print. Bricks were 2 1/2" x 4 1/2"

I am not the world's greatest photographer, another skill I need to master. I do find I am not posting as often as I used to on my blog. I do however post reasonably regularly on Instagram where I am known as turtlequilterjo.

Benita has organized a Grand Prize for visitors to the various blogs. To enter the draw please click on the photo. 

Click here to enter the draw

Thank you for taking the time to look around. Make sure to enter the prize draw. Piecefully, Joanne

Back for the September Colour Block

When I signed up this year I did not sign up for September but here I am. The flower we are honouring this month is Lavender. A lovely soft purple in colour. Lavender is known in many circles as a soothing aid to sleep. In days gone by people would make lavender sachets from dried lavender and put them in their clothing drawers to make the clothes smell nice. 

Make sure to visit Jen at Patterns by Jen (PBJ) to get your instructions and to view her video of tips and tricks. And while you are there check in with the other bloggers who have made this block to see how they interpret Lavender. Piecefully, Joanne

Christmas in July is sliding over into Christmas in August

Have you had time to enjoy some of the beautiful work that has been showcased this month? Nancy Scott of Masterpiece Quilting has created a fabulous book of Christmas themed Quilted items.

With only two days to go in the Blog Hop I am happy to show you my not quite finished project. Maybe you can identify with the bring a bag to Christmas dinner still stitching the binding in place?

I selected the O Christmas Tree Wall Hanging. This in fact is a great last minute gift because it does not actually take long to do once you settle in to do it. I decided scrappy greens were what my tree needed. So all the blocks were constructed in the same manner with a totally random placement of greens. Each block was constructed in the same manner.

Then following the clearly written and well illustrated instructions I assembled my tree.

If I had not had a few of my ongoing health issues this would have been finished. But there really isn't much to do and I think some embellishment is in order. It will be good to sit under this and work away at that later this fall.

Take some time to visit Nancy at Masterpiecequilting.com To get more details about the book itself or to find the links to the other blog hoppers. Thank you Nancy for including me on this one. Piecefully, Joanne

August; The colour challenge continues

I hope you have been keeping up with Jen and the colour challenge.

This month we are onto red orange in both light and dark forms. Picture a beautiful marigold if you are having difficulty imagining the colours.

Not a colour that I gravitate to but I think I found some pieces that are close to the requirements. I will say at this time it took me longer to find fabric in the colours I thought were correct, than it did to stitch up the block.

Without further ado here are my "arty" photos of my block with some flowers from the garden.

The first flower is one we call Red Hot Poker. As the non-flower person in our house I could not tell you if that is the correct name or not. But the oranges seemed correct.

And some daylilies. The sun was reflecting through the trees and giving me some lighter lights on the quilt block.

I know Jen is working on a setting for the blocks, so take the few moments to make up your block and then come back next month for September.

Be sure to visit Jen at www.patternsbyjen.blogspot.com to get your free pattern.

And while you are visiting her check out the other quilters who are supporting her this month with their version of the August block.
Kathy - Penny for my Thoughts
Pamela - Pamela Quilts
Sarah - The Quilted Diary

Until next time, piecefully, Joanne

Time for the success stories for the Hands2Help Comfort Quilt Challenge 2019

It is really hard to believe it is time to wrap up this year's Hands2Help Comfort Quilt Challenge. The last few months since this year's information was provided have just flown by.

Thanks again to Sarah for all the incredible work she does behind the scenes to make this annual event run smoothly. The featured shape in the weeks of warm up was the humble rectangle. An oft unappreciated shape in the quilting world but one I happen to love. I had the opportunity to be a guest blogger this year and spent my time on the soap box describing my simples bricks quilts and focussing on what I call simple bricks 3 because it is the third variation of the basic design. If you missed my guest post and the instructions for the simple bricks quilt it can be found here.

https://confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.com/2019/04/hands2hep-2019-meet-guest-blogger-joanne.html

This is my first completed and donated quilt for this year. It actually changed it's intended destination and went to a charity auction for the Senior's home where my Mom spent her final years. The quilt did well and that makes me happy.

My second finished quilt for the Challenge is one I did as a test for Janet Barker a Canadian designer from Calgary. This one is going to Project Linus through my local quilt guild, the Kincardine Sunset Quilt Guild.

My final donation quilt for the challenge this year is simply titled Ambulance. It is a design done by Lisa at Counted Quilts (here). She has a interesting way of designing that produces a very unique result. This quilt will go to my local Scrap Bag quilters group for distribution in our town.

So overall I am happy with my results this year. Three completions and a couple of different destinations. This is probably the only challenge I do because to me it is so meaningful. If Sarah decides to continue the tradition next year I can say right now "I'm all in". Thanks to all the participants. Piecefully, Joanne

As Mr. Bond would say..."diamonds are forever"

Just the logo for this blog hop is inspiring. Thank you Carol for organizing this hop. There have been some terrific projects and some inspiring ideas shown so far. The "rules" for the hop were fairly straight forward. Basically make something with diamonds.

I used this wall quilt as my inspiration.

From inspiration to reality sometimes does not quite work out. I set my diamonds together and it is somewhat like setting a quilt on point. To square up the quilt some of the edges get trimmed. I wanted to duplicate the "grout" and used black rickrack for that task. What I did not count on was even though I used a walking foot to apply the grout I got way more wrinkling than I wanted. That being said there was no way I was attacking this with my stitch ripper.

This is the right size for a doll quilt once the back is attached and binding added. I suspect I would have been smarter to stitch the "grout" on as the quilting lines with my batting in place.

Since we were supposed to post a finished project I will finish with one of my diamond String quilts. I gave a complete set of instructions for creating one of your own in a previous blog post (here).

This is the list of bloggers who are participating. I hope you will have time to visit some of them and to leave a comment here or there.

Here's the list of diamond makers:

Today - April 22

Needled Mom

Keepsake Moments

Seams To Be Sew (moved to April 25th)

Kathy’s Quilts

Kathy's Kwilts and More

Color, Creating, and Quilting

April 23

Ms P Designs USA

Vroomans Quilts

Marjorie's Busy Corner

Melva Loves Scraps

Storied Quilts

Words & Stitches

Clever Chameleon Quilting

Songbird Designs

April 24

MooseStashQuilting

Beaquilter

Vicki’s Crafts and Quilting

Creative Blonde 

Selina Quilts

Bumbleberry Stitches

Two Maker Chicks

Quilts By Joanne

April 25

Patchouli Moon Studio

Elizabeth Coughlin Designs

Hill Valley Quilter

Mageez Room

Websterquilt

High Road Quilter
Seams To Be Sew

April 26

Creatin' in the Sticks

Cynthia's Creating Ark

Days Filled With Joy

For The Love Of Geese

Quilt Fabrication

Stitchin At Home

Just Let Me Quilt

The April Colour Challenge Block is Here

Jen at PatternsbyJen (here) has posted another great block for the colour challenge. The floral inspiration for the April block is a bulb called Glory of the Snow. With the amount of non stop snow some of us have seen this past winter glory may not be the word we would use but the flower is pretty.

My photo is a little blurry but I think you get the idea. When I made my block I think I went a little on the dark side. 

Jen has all the directions on her blog. this and all the other blocks she is presenting for the colour challenge are basic blocks that she has written good clear directions for you to make them.

Remember to stop by the other bloggers who are showing off their blocks this month. 

Leanne - Devoted Quilter

Sarah - 123 Quilt

Nancy - Masterpiece Quilting

Piecefully, Joanne