Color My World Cyan

Already the end of May!!  Where has the time gone?

Sorry I  have been MIA, I have been taking care of 2 sick little girls for the past week and a half so there hasn't been too much sewing going on these parts.  Everyone is feeling better now and I finally got around to sewing my Cyan star.

Here it is!

I thought this one would be easy but all those seems in the middle of that pinwheel were really hard to line up.  They aren't perfect but after ripping out 5 times, this was the best I could get, and I wasn't ripping out again!

I really think this one is pretty.

I am linking up to M-R's Color My World Challenge.  Please head over and check out her reverse appliqué piece.

Another finished top!

It was so beautiful out this past weekend that we spent time outside and in my parents' pool!  The first swim of the year is always so exciting!

I did find some time to put borders on a UFO after the girls went to bed.

I made this quilt for my eldest daughter.  I started it approximately 2 years ago, maybe more...

I was having trouble with the steam-a-seam I was using, so I got discouraged and stopped.  I took it out again last year and finished appliquéing all the flowers and hearts and then she told me it needed more! So I added more...  Then I put it away again when it came time to put the borders on.  I hate putting borders on, so I often get stuck at this point in the quilt making.  I prefer starting a new project!

I am glad this top is done now.  It is gone to my mom's and will be quilted when she has some time, maybe only in the fall.  That's okay, she's already been waiting over 2 years, what's a few more months!

I also wanted to share this little project.  It is still a work in progress.

My daughter picked out the fabrics herself.  I only have the quilting and embellishing left.

The pattern is from this book, Count On It by Art To Heart.  My mom bought it for me at a Quilt Show a couple of weeks ago.  I love their books, I have a few of them.

I love all of the patterns in this book and am going to make the mini quilts for every month and a cupcake for our birthdays!!  My youngest picked out the fabric for her cupcake this morning and I am ordering the holder this afternoon!  So much fun!!

I am linking up to TGIFF over at Dreaming in Patchwork.  Head on over to check out some other great finishes on this fantastic Friday!!

Busy week!

I was really busy this week with work and the family so not much sewing got done.

I did manage to find something quilty to share with you...

Remember these...

They became these!

And here are the backs of my new little mug rugs!

It is going to be a beautiful long weekend here in Ottawa, so we will be spending a lot of time outside and with family but I am hoping to sneak some sewing in! 

Have a great weekend!!

Quilt Show

I had a great Mother's Day yesterday.  We went out for breakfast in the morning and then I spent the rest of the day at the Common Thread Quilt Guild Quilt Show: Quilts In Bloom with my mom!

I didn't take a ton of pictures but it was a very good show.

Here are the photos of my quilts and my mom's.

Nine Patch and Oak Leaves by Alice Chancey

Grandma's Star by Alice Chancey

Mother Daughter Baskets by Alice Chancey and Ginette Vallières

Batik Star by Ginette Vallieres, quilted by Alice Chancey

Sunset Sailing by Alice Chancey

A Tisket A Tasket by Ginette Vallières, quilted by Alice Chancey

And here is my mom with her Funky Hearts!  They won 3rd place viewer's choice in the Wall Quilts, Appliqued, Mixed and Other Techniques category.  

Funky Hearts by Alice Chancey

Congratulations Mom!!

Of course we did some shopping at the merchant's mall as well.  I will share some of our goodies with you in another post.

Have a great week!

Tumbler Cushion

This is one of the fastest projects I've done in a while.  

On Wednesday I cut out the tumbler shapes with my Go! Baby and started sewing the top.

Yesterday I finished the top, quilted and assembled the cushion.  

I did an envelope closure and am pretty proud of the end result!

I will try to make another one soon.

I am linking up to TGIFF at Quilt Matters!  M-R is on fire this week!!

Please head on over and check out some great finishes!

Colibri

This year I participated in my quilt guild's challenge.  Last night they were all displayed and the members got to vote for their favorite one.  I didn't win, but I am really happy with my wall quilt and am so excited to finally be able to share it with you!

Here are the fabrics that were in the bag I purchased back in September.

Here is my final product!

 The theme was All Creatures Great or Small.

 Of course we had to include the four fabrics in the top of our quilt but there were also many techniques that needed to be included:  applique (machine or hand), strip piecing, paper piecing and creative stitching (by machine or by hand).  The perimeter had to measure less than 200".

I did some machine and hand applique, the inner border is strip pieced, my hexie flower is english paper piecing and I hand embroidered all the vines and accents in the flowers.  The little eye on the hummingbird is a french knot.

This little guy will eventually be hanging in my bedroom but this weekend he will be at the Common Thread Quilt Show: Quilts in Bloom.  If you are in the Ottawa area on the weekend, be sure to stop in at the RA Centre to see some awesome quilts!  

Next year, I will be Challenge Coordinator for the guild so I am looking for some ideas for an interesting challenge.  I have a few ideas but would love any input you would like to share.  Know of any good ideas for a challenge?

Quilters Day Swap received!

I received my package from my swap partner today! 

My swap partner is Teresa from Quilting, Stitching and Sew On.

I just love this mini quilt and can't wait to hang it in my studio!

She even sent me some little hexies!  I am thinking of making myself a little mug rug with those.

Thanks Teresa!!

This was my first swap but I am definitely going to participate in more of them!  Sew much fun!!

My Studio

 I don't know about you, but I love seeing people's sewing/craft areas!

On Friday I did a major clean-up in my studio so I thought it was the perfect opportunity to take a few pics and share with all of you my little room where I love to create!

This is what you see when you walk in.

This is my main sewing area.  I love my PFAFF!  I have had her for quite some time now and I don't know what I would do without her!

To the right of the ironing board is my little nook where I do my embroidery.

The top shelf is some craft stuff for my girls and some unwashed fabric (yes, I wash my fabric!).  The rest is tools, thread and inspiration for my machine embroidery.

This is my newest machine.  She is a Husqvarna Designer I.  I have had her for a year and a half now.

This is my cutting area, to the left of the door.  Also where I do my work on my laptop for my embroidery.  The bins above the table hold my cutters and scissors, threads and a few projects that I am currently working on.  The small cupboard on the left holds my yardage of fabric.  The scrap bins are all under the cutting table.

There is also my closet.  It is full of shelves and doesn't have doors, so it is very easy access.  It holds all of my UFOs, books, stuffing, pillowforms... all the good stuff!

I hope you have enjoyed this little tour of my studio!

An awesome Saturday!

 Last Saturday I got to spend the day at my mom's teaching my friend Catherine to quilt!

You may remember her from this post, last September.

Catherine lives in Montreal so we don't get together as often as we would like, although I think she has really been bitten by the quilting bug and things might change. 

Anyhow, she came to my mom's last weekend and we spent the day making mug rugs and placemats.

Here is some of the fabric she picked for her mug rugs.

 Hard at work!

 I opted to show her the quilt-as-you-go method, fun and simple.

Attaching the binding is definitely the most difficult part.  She is such a good student though and got it right away!

My mom convinced Catherine to buy this Janome from her so she could practice some sewing at home.  Here she is learning about her new machine!!

Making bobbins, threading the machine, changing the foot...

Here are the 2 mug rugs!!  They have since been completed and she even brought one to work to "cozy up" her desk!

Here are some of the fabrics she picked to make some placemats for her son.  Love the frogs!

We had such an awesome day!!  I can't wait to do it again!

Love you Catherine!