another quilt finished

Yesterday was a busy day here. I finished putting the binding on the new Emergence quilt, this one is called "Emergence on the Warm Side". It's made with 5" blocks instead of 6" like the original blue and yellow one, so of course the final result is a smaller quilt. Did this so it would fit to hang in a specific spot in my hall near the kitchen.
I like these particular colors all together like this , it definitely gives the quilt an allover warm feeling. It ended up being about 31 x 35".

I also got my braces off yesterday ... I started with them last spring, the orthodontist had estimated about 18 months to finish so we ended a whole month early. So now, 17 months, many mouth blisters, and 1 jaw surgery later, I have nice smooth straight teeth for the first time in my life and I'm loving it!

New camera!!

The "30 Degrees of Separation" quilt is done. I have about 3/4 of the QoV blocks pieced now, I figure another day and the top for that will be done. I'll have to start looking for something snazzy to put on the back so I can start quilting it as soon as it's ready.

I had pieced a warm colored version of "Emergence" (the blue and yellow quilt shown below the menu here) and set it aside for a bit while I did Bev's quilts. The other night I got it out and finished marking it, got it all basted (that didn't take long ... I pin-baste minimally) and started quilting. I just work on it at night while I watch tv, I figure it'll take about a week of just randomly working on it then it'll be done.

We got a new camera this week so now I won't have to take pictures with my phone! I had an old digital camera but it took really crappy pictures unless it was outside in natural light, and even then they weren't great. This new one is a Nikon Coolpix P90, very snazzy! It has tons of cool gadgets that I haven't quite figured out yet but so far it seems pretty easy to use.

Getting things done!

I finished all the quilts I was hired to do for Bev, that was a lot of fun! Now I'm back to working on my own stuff.

I finished the "Rob Peter to Pay Paul" quilt!
It's about 52 x 64". I hand appliqued all the blocks, machine pieced them together, hand appliqued the vines on the borders, then of course it's all hand quilted. It turned out pretty good, I'm pleased with it.

Now I'm finishing up the new "30 Degrees of Separation" to replace the one I sold, I should be done that by tomorrow ... just got the border and binding to do and it's done.

I started my next Quilt of Valour yesterday. Got all the pieces cut out and about half the blocks assembled, another few days and I should be able to piece the top together and then find some backing for it. I'm planning to put it in my guild's show this October so I want to get it done by the first fall meeting in mid-September.

Tip - great product

As many people know, I only do hand quilting. Not only that, but I don't use a hoop or frame, no thimble, I do all my quilting in my lap.
One problem with this though, is that often I get cracks and splits on my fingertips, particularly my thumb. It's very painful, usually quite deep and often bleeds .... I can't do any quilting when this happens because it hurts and can bleed on the fabric.

People have suggested using the stretchy fabric bandages but I'm allergic to them, so that's out.
Then a few years ago I discovered the greatest product. They're bandages made by 3M, called "Active Strips". They're rubbery and stretchy and fantastic! I'm not allergic to them, they're tough and flexible, I can quilt and it doesn't hurt a bit - plus they 're stretchy and don't restrict movement of my fingers.

They come in regular "skin" colors for people who don't want them to be so obvious, kid designs of course, but I like the bright ones. Kinda like with my braces, if I have to wear them I want snazzy colors!

This is an excellent product and gets a big thumbs up from me!

Quilts of Valour

I got the Quilts of Valour - Canada newsletter done this weekend, so that's one thing behind me. Don't misunderstand me, I love doing it, I just get a good sense of accomplishment when another issue is done and ready to go on the website.

The picture shown here is the 3rd QoV that I've made (you can see the others at Charity Quilts). My local guild has our bi-annual quilt show in October and I want to put a QoV quilt in the show with some brochures for the program so I'll be making another one as soon as I finish the customer quilt I'm doing now.

If I could afford it (time- and money-wise) I'd make these all year long, there just doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day or days in the week to get as much done as I'd like to. I love red and this is an excellent cause, so it's always time and money well spent. Plus it gives me a chance to be creative and make something new and nifty for people who will really appreciate it.

Anyone wanting to check out the QoV program can go to our website . There you'll find information on what we do, why we do it, how to get involved and who to contact. Past and present issues of the newsletter can be found there as well. Basically, we get quilts to wounded Canadian soldiers across the country. QoV doesn't necessarily make the quilts, tho many of us are quilters and do make them ourselves, but the purpose of the program isn't to make the quilts, it's to get them to the people that need them. I'm fortunate enough to be the BC representative so I get to take quilts to the base here in Vancouver.

There's a similar program in the U.S., their site can be found here.