Color My World Green

I can't believe it is over!  This is the last installment of the Color My World Challenge.  I have had so much fun!!

The last color was green.  I use a lot of green in my quilts and so I had a lot of scraps to choose from for this block.  I am really happy with the outcome.

This pattern is called Milo's Star and is from Michele at the Quilting Gallery.  It was so easy to make and turned out perfectly.  I would definitely make more of these stars... I might even put some embroidered blocks in the center piece... or maybe appliqué... hmmmm.... can you hear the wheels turning!

Anyways,  I have to say a huge THANK YOU to M-R for hosting this Challenge.  I was a little apprehensive at first and really didn't think I would have the time to get all of the blocks done.  Once I got started however, I really had fun and couldn't wait to make the next one.  I am a little sad it is all over but am really happy with the outcome and already have a great idea of how to put these guys together.

So here is a photo of all of my blocks up on my design wall.

I am going to a retreat mid-January and am hoping to work on this quilt top at that time.

Feel free to head over to the Color My World Challenge page and check out M-R, MC and Janine's blocks.  Everyone did a lot of experimenting and had a lot of fun with color this past year!!  M-R has all the linky parties listed by color.

The last cupcake mini

So those of you who have been following me for a while know about my monthly mini quilts and about the cupcake minis I made for my girls for their birthdays. The other day I realized that I didn't post them all when they were done.

Tomorrow is my birthday so I have completed the last cupcake mini for my little family. Since I am sharing mine, I thought I would share them all, one last time.

Everyone chose the fabric for their own cupcake and my husband decided he didn't want any sprinkles on his! This pattern is from the book Count On It by Art to Heart.

I also wanted to share with you some embroidery I have been working on.

I know Christmas is over but I bought these the week before Christmas and I was in the mood to make them, so I did. I have 7 more to make. They measure 6" x 8" and will be part of a wallhanging for my dining room. I thought I would get the embroidery done now and then I can work on the piecing and quilting throughout the year. With any luck it will be done for next Christmas.

As a side note, I got a new iPad for Christmas and this is my first post using Blogsy. I have no idea what it will look like and right now I am not liking it very much. If any of you have any tips or ideas using Blogsy or Blogger or any other app for the iPad, please share so I don't rip all of my hair out trying to use this thing! Thanks!

 

Posted with Blogsy

One last Christmas gift to share

I have one last Christmas gift to share with you.  I would have shared it sooner but I forgot to take photos and so I had to ask my mom to take some for me.

I made my mom an iPad case. I knew this is what I wanted to give her for Christmas but couldn't decide on fabric.  So I flat out asked her for some fabric back in November (I think).  I told her it would be for her Christmas gift. So she gave me this awesome fabric she had stashed and didn't know what to do with.  Win, win!

 The case she received was attempt #2.  

I made a first one with a zip.  Well, I have never sewn a zipper before.  My zipper was a half inch too small for the width of the case, and so I couldn't get the iPad into the case. :(  My husband says we now have an extra large pencil case. Ha ha!

Enter panick mode, as I finished this first one on the 19th.  Only a few days left to make another!

Luckily, I had enough of her fabric left over, I cut some out using my new HexnMore ruler.  I had to find a new pattern though... no zippers this time!!!

I used this tutorial from One Shabby Chick.  It is a fantastic tutorial, so easy to follow!

One side

I stitched in the ditch for the quilting on the pieced side, and quilted lines the width of my foot on the velcro tab.

The other side

I echo quilted a little on the appliqued side and then added some embellishment stitches.

It would have been nice to have a nice slippery fabric like silk to use for the lining but I only had cotton on hand.  My mom has a cover on her iPad and so it is a little hard to get it in and out of the case.

The point was for her to have her iPad better protected when she travels to Florida this winter and I think it serves the purpose well.

The best part is that she likes it, that makes me smile!

Merry Christmas!

I just wanted to take a few minutes today to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas!

I hope you get to spend some quality time with family and friends and cherish every moment.

I also thought I would share the pillowcases I made for my girls:

We open our gifts Christmas morning but this year we will let the girls open this one gift tonight before going to bed.  I hope they have the sweetest dreams as they lay their heads on their new pillowcases!

I am hoping to make this a tradition from now on.  I got the idea from Amy at Stitchery Dickery Dock.

Merry Christmas!!

Christmas Gifts!

The girls brought their Christmas gifts for their teachers to school this morning, so now I can finally share with you what I have been making for the past few weeks!!

This joyful snowman is for my Senior Kindergardener's teacher.  He is from the book Count On It by Art to Heart. 

This angel is for my 2nd grader's teacher and is from the book Be Attitudes by Art to Heart.  I left out the lettering and added a couple of Treble Clef buttons because she loves music.

I have the privilege of being a substitute EA at my daughter's school.  I mostly work with/for a wonderful lady who works with a special needs child in my daughter's 2nd grade class.  She does so much for both my kids and has become a friend to me too.  So I made this little mini for her.  It is my own design.

close-up of stitching on house

I replace this lady whenever she is absent from school but I also take over for her at lunch time so she can go have her lunch break.

I wanted to offer something special to the little girl I work with too.  So here is the pillowcase I made for her. 

I chose bright primary colors because she is partially blind and can see these colors better than others.  

I feel so good giving something special and personal to these wonderful ladies who touch our lives in such a special way everyday.  We are blessed to have them in our lives.

I bought the hangers for the minis at my LQS.

And since I haven't shared my December mini with you yet, here is a picture of our little baby Jesus.

He is also from the book Count On It by Art to Heart.

Still a few more things to make before Christmas!  Will share soon!

 

I have linked up to TGIFF.  Go check out more awesome finishes!

Giveaway Winner

First I would like to welcome all my new followers!

I am so happy that so many people shared what they are making.  I am glad I am not the only one scrambling to get things done and some of you inspired me and gave me ideas for new projects, and for Christmas gifts next year!

And the winner is....

Lori

Congratulations Lori!  I hope you find the notions useful.

A post isn't a post without a photo, so here is a shot of a pillow I made for my daughter's gymnastics coach.  Her name is Jessica and my daughter wanted a star on there because Jessica is the star of the month in the coaches category!  She brought it with her this morning as it is the last class before Christmas break.  I put an orange and pink zebra striped minky on the back.  I hope she likes it!

I have been working hard on Christmas gifts for the teachers and my mom.  I will have more to share later this week, after we give the teachers their gifts.

Hope you all have a great week!

100 posts and a Giveaway!!

 Hello everyone!  If you are new here: Welcome!!  If not, welcome back!

I am Ginette, a 4th generation quilter who lives in Orleans ON, a suburb of Ottawa, CANADA.

Please feel free to explore my blog and check out some of my quilting projects, I love to share my passion.

I am so excited to participate for the first time in the Quilting Gallery's Blog Hop Party!

It just so happens, this is also my 100th post! How exciting is that!

I think that definitely deserves a Giveaway!

So I have decided to give the lucky winner, a few notions.

First up is a Frixion pen.  I LOVE my Frixion pen.  In case you don't know about these pens, they are a wonderful notion many quilters use to mark their fabric and it disappears when you iron over it. I love using it to mark fabric for HSTs.  

Next we have one of my absolute, can't live without, favorite tools:  a bamboo point turner and presser.  I use this all the time to make pillows, or do a "quick-turn" (instead of binding).  The point on this thing is awesome.  My favorite use for it is to turn the points when I make dresden plates!  

Last but not least we have Wonder Clips.  I personally don't use these but they are fantastic for holding your binding down when handstitching.

So there you have it, I hope you like this little bundle of notions I have put together for this giveaway.

I don't know about you, but I have been really busy making Christmas gifts this past week or two.  To enter this giveaway, just leave a comment and, if you feel like sharing, let me know what you are making.

I am willing to ship internationally so anyone is eligible to win, as long as you leave an e-mail address so I can contact you.  

I will be drawing a winner by Randon Number Generator on Sunday December 16th.

Now head on over to The Quilting Gallery's Blog Hop Party page and enter some more awesome giveaways!  

A birthday cupcake

My baby girl turns 5 on Friday.  I finished her cupcake last night.  She had so much fun picking out the buttons!

Back in the summer I let the girls pick out the fabrics for their own cupcakes. I had the fabrics all fused on to the background.  Monday I finished the appliqué/quilting and last night I attached the buttons and sewed down the sleeve.

Now everyone has a cupcake for their birthday but me... better get on that, my birthday is at the end of the month!

Color My World Blue

November's color for the Color My World Challenge was blue.

I absolutely love blue quilts.  I have made quite a few of them so finding fabrics in my scraps and stash to make this star was easy.

I found the pattern here.  It is from Konda Luckau over at Moose On The Porch Quilts.  It was so easy to follow but yet quite challenging seeing as the pieces for the center star are so small.  I had a lot of fun making this block and I think it is my favorite.

December's color is green and it is the last month for the challenge.  I must say that I will be sad when it is over.  I have enjoyed searching for both fabrics and patterns every month.  I am looking forward to putting my blocks together to create a quilt.  With my mom's help I have already come up with a design and can't wait to share it with all of you!

Now you should head over to M-R's and look at her challenge block.  It is absolutely amazing!!  She did some awesome FMQ on a solid blue fabric.

Friday Feature at TN&TN

Today I am so excited to tell you that I am featured over at The Needle & Thread Network!!

If you are new here, Welcome!!  

and if you are a regular, please head over to TN&TN where you can find out a bit more about me!

I would like to share a few photos today.  These are some of my favorite finishes.  I hope you will browse around and feel free to go check them all out.

My first quilt

close-up of the hand-quilting done by my mom and grandmother

mini quilt I made last June
You can read more about it here.

Baby quilt
You can read more about it here.

Landscape mini
You can read more about it here.

colibri - challenge quilt
You can read more about it here.

A Tisket A Tasket
You can read more about it here.

Another Baby quilt
You can read more about it here.

My daughter's quilt
You can read more about it here.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR VISITING!!

There is a lot more about me and my quilts here on this blog.  I hope you will drop in again sometime.

Tomorrow I will be posting my blue star for the Color My World Challenge over at Quilt Matters.

Today I am linking up to Friday Felicities because I am so excited to be on Feature Friday!!

The Art of Fabric Making

I saw this video this morning on Facebook and I just had to share!

It is a 10 minute video created by Ken Kaufman, CEO at Robert Kaufman to give a behind-the-scenes look at the printing process.

It is amazing to watch how fabric is made from start to finish!

Enjoy!

some weekend embroidery

I got to play in my studio on Sunday. 

I made these for some patient people who have been waiting.

And this little cupcake was made a week ago but I got to piece it into something.  Unfortunately that has to stay a surprise for now, but I really wanted to share the applique with you.

Isn't it cute?!!

a little sewing can do you good.

My big girl has a cold and stayed home with me today.  I love having one on one time with her, even if she isn't feeling 100%.  It wasn't hard to convince her to take on some calm activities today and I was really happy when I asked her if she wanted to sew and the answer was yes.

She started this pillow for herself back in June.  The 9 patch in the middle was done so we simply had to add the borders.

She is getting so good at sewing all by herself... She knows to put the fabric right sides together and keep the edges even.  She even knows how to follow the quarter inch foot without any help!

She loves this variagated thread!

She loves doing embroidery because she gets to design everything on the computer and one of her favorite parts is picking the thread colors.

Minky!

She LOVES the minky on the back of the pillow!  She spent the rest of the day laying down on it and petting it!

I am so glad she loves to create and play with fabric!  She's already learning that it can be therapeutic too.  It helped her feel better today.

And this is a little bit of what I sewed today:

This little baby should be getting her quilts soon!  Better late than never!

Something new

I brought my PFAFF in for servicing on Wednesday because it has been acting a little funny.

Last night I really wanted to sew so I went up to my studio and looked at my Husqvarna which I usually only use for embroidery.  I have had this machine for 2 years now and have always wanted to try appliqueing with it using embroidery stitches.  Since my PFAFF wasn't around, I didn't feel too guilty not working on my WIPs.  I thought this was a perfect opportunity to try the applique.

It took me about an hour to produce this:

Isn't it the cutest thing ever?

I am totally in love with this method of applique and could easily become addicted to this.  Be prepared to see a lot more of these on my blog!!

Why I have been MIA

It's been a while since my last post.  I have been quilting, but mostly Christmas gifts that I can't yet show you anyways.  

Although it is not quilting related, I thought I would let you all in on what I have been working on.

Last Saturday we hosted a Super Mario Bros Birthday Party for my daughter's seventh birthday!

We bought the Super Mario dinnerware and decorations at Party Mart.

I always like having coloring pages for the kids to color when they arrive.  It keeps them busy as we wait for everyone to arrive and also gives them something to do during transition periods.

I got this one here.

We started with a craft.  This is the part that took the longest to prepare.

The kids made t-shirts!  I bought 10 white t-shirts at Michaels and pre-washed them.  I then printed a picture of Mario's face and traced it onto the t-shirts using my Frixion pen.

Then I went over them again using black Tulip paint.  It took me a few days to do this as I did a few at a time and then let them dry completely.

We set up a folding table in the kitchen with all the t-shirts and some fabric markers.  I bought the Graffiti ones at Michaels.  The kids had a lot of fun coloring their t-shirts and a few of them put them on when they were done!

I also did a little face painting.  The birthday girl opted for a mustache like Mario's.  Some of the other kids wanted one too but most of them preferred a mushroom.

My cupcakes left a little to be desired... they were suppose to look like mushrooms... I think this is where I can honestly say I do better with fabric!

I think the kids favorite part was saving Princess Peach (the treasure hunt!).  My husband and I came up with clues for everyone.  It was truly like an adventure game where they each had something to do in order to help us find Bowser and save Princess Peach.  

The clues for the adventure game! (sorry for the bad lighting!)

I got the clipart for the clues here.

Bowser was hiding here!

We had trouble getting Princess Peach out of there so my husband took out the big guns!! 

The kids were so excited to find the coins and the Princess that were hidden inside.

We also played Super Mario Bros Bingo and a hot potato game where everyone received a Super Mario Bros eraser.

We have a very happy seven year old and all the kids had a blast!  

It is amazing all the resources we have on-line!  My daughters and I had so much fun researching and planning this party!

I am hoping to get more quilting done soon but both my machines need to be brought in for check-ups as they are acting weird, and I have a snowman birthday party to plan for my baby who turns 5 in three and a half weeks!