Ariane's Crafts and Quilts

A zigzag quilt in progress....

2012-02-09T22:08:00.002-05:00

Hi everyone!

I hope you are all well.

I've been working on a new project.

I'm making a zigzag baby quilt for a baby shower gift.

Of coarse I've waited until the last minute to make this quilt.

Sometimes, I work better under pressure.

That's my story anyways. LOL!!!!

This quilt is for a baby boy.

I picked all the fabric from my stash.

I was glad to have enough variety to make a controlled scrappy quilt.

I have 3 rows done and hope to get 3 more done soon.

I need to buy more white fabric.

I used up all the solid white that I have.

Hugs

I finished my Picnic Schnibbles Quilt!!!

2012-02-04T18:22:00.000-05:00

I finally got my Picnic Schnibbles quilt done.

I've had the top done since Nov. 30, 2009.

I can't believe it sat unfinished for so long.

It's a beautiful quilt.

I'm really happy with it.

Here it is.

And here is the back.

I machine quilted this quilt myself on my Kenmore sewing machine that is 30 years old.

The binding is also done by machine.

I stitched it on to the back first, then machine stitched it to the front.

I'm very happy with the results.

It really made my day to finally get this done.

Hugs

Potholders and Lanyards

2012-01-31T20:20:00.000-05:00

Sew!!!

That's what I did today.

I made two potholders from scraps.

Then, I went on to make 6 patchwork Lanyards.

I used leftover black and red fabric.

I love these.

My daughter has already grabbed one of these for herself.

The rest are being donated.

I hope you like them.

Hugs

And then there were four.....

2012-01-30T19:37:00.001-05:00

The other day, I showed you one mug rug made
with left over hst's from this quilt.

Well, I had enough hst's to make three more.

So, that's what I did today.

Now I have a matching set of four.

Here's a view of the back of the four mug rugs.

I just had enough of the green Frolic fabric for the back.

Like I mentioned the other day,

these are being donated to my local guild for their boutique.

I had fun making these.

All the fabric came from my stash.

Love that.

I hope you had a nice day.

Hugs

2 mug rugs

2012-01-27T22:52:00.001-05:00

So, today I didn't feel very well.

I stayed home from work and rested most of the day.

This evening I started feeling better.

I decided to make two more mug rugs.

These two were made out of fabric that was already pieced from an older project.

So, they didn't take very long to make.

Here they are:

This one used leftovers of this quilt.

And this mug rug used leftovers of this quilt.

I'm donating these to mu Guild for the Boutique Shop at our Quilt Show in June.

I've been making some little projects with my scraps.

It's fun to do.

Hugs

Small completed projects!!

2012-01-25T20:14:00.000-05:00

Some days all I want to sew are little things that I can finish in a few hours.

Today was one of those days.

I made a mug rug with selvages and scraps.

This was my first project today.

It was fun to make.

Then, I got a bunch of amazing mail.

The UPS man came first.

I hadn't bought a die in a while.

But I had all these points accumulated on the Accuquilt site.

So, I decided to order the GO! Heather Feather #2 die.

I don't usually buy applique dies.

But, I'm really glad I bought this one.

I worked on a few small projects using this die.

I finished one of them today.

This little art quilt was made using the leftover scraps from one of the fabric I cut with the die.

It's a little butterfly quilt.

Do you like it???

It's 8 X 10 inches.

I really love this die.

I will be showing more small projects with this die soon.

Then, the mail man came, and I received two packages.

These two packages are winnings from the Quilting Gallery's giveaway day.

The big package I received from Contemporary Cloth Fabric Shop.

Look at all my winnings.

It's like winning the lottery for a quilter to win so much fabric.

Thank you so much!!!!

Then, I won some beautiful dupioni silk from Cheryl Lynch Quilts.

She sent me 3 fat quarters and some interfacing to make a project.

Thank you so much Cheryl.

I can't wait to try using these silks.

So, I've had a pretty good day.

I hope you did too!

Hugs

2012 Quilt Contest by Quilt Alliance

2012-01-25T12:16:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone,

I got an email the other day from Mark Lipinski,

asking me if I could share the

"Home is where the Quilt is"

quilt contest on my blog.

( Yeah!! Mark Lipinski emailed me!!! LOL!!!)

I thought it was a wonderful contest to share.

It is open to anyone in the world,

and the Grand Prize is a Handi Quilter.

Here is a bit of what Marc sent me.

In 2006, the Alliance for American Quilt held sponsored its first annual quilt contest, titled “Put A Roof Over Our Heads”. The winner of that year’s grand prize, chosen from 74 house-shaped entries, was “Our House” created by Keti Kasrashvili, Irina Lavrinenko, Nino Chargeishvili from Tbilisi, The Republic of Georgia.

Some much happened at the Alliance for American Quilt in the last six years. With the help of an expanding roster of members, contributors and volunteers, we’re doing more than ever to fulfill our mission to “preserve and share stories of quilts and their makers from every era” through projects like The Quilt Index, Quilt Treasures, and Quilters S.O.S. – Save Our Stories. It’s an exciting time to be part of the Alliance!

The Alliance welcomes the participation of quilters from around the globe in all our activities, including our recently announced quilt contest, “Home Is Where the Quilt Is”. The 2012 contest features the same type of house-shaped mini-quilts that inspired our first 2006 contest and some truly spectacular prizes, including a Handi-Quilter machine quilting system! To learn more, click this link www.quiltalliance.org.

Home really is where the quilt is, so no matter if your home is in Tennessee or Turkey, Connecticut or Canada, Idaho or Iceland, we invite YOU to enter a quilt in the Alliance for American Quilt‘s 2012 Quilt Contest and are eligible to win prizes!

Thank you!

Mark Lipinski

So, go on and read more about it on their site found here.

I think you would love to join.

Hugs

A wonderful gift.....

2012-01-21T22:48:00.000-05:00

I received a wonderful gift in the mail yesterday.

Ann from "A Good Yarn", sent me a wonderful gift.

Look at that beautiful angel ornament.

In my favourite colours too.

And the little pattern and card are just gorgeous!!!

I was totally surprised and did not expect it.

Thank you so much Ann!!!

You are so sweet!!!

I've been doing some sewing the last two days,

but unfortunately, I can't share it with you yet.

I'm joining in

Sew Cal Gal's "GO! Ahead and Show a Little Love"

Accuquilt Blog Hop

It starts on Feb. 13th and goes to Feb. 18th.

I share my tutorial on the first day.

I didn't want to wait until the last minute to get my project done.

So, that's what I've been doing.

Here's a little sneak peak of my work.

Here is the list of participants.
You won't want to miss this one!!!

February 13th

Marjorie (Marjorie Busby, quilter)

Ariane (Ariane's Crafts)

February 14th

Connie (Quilting by the River)

Linda (Living 4 Quilting)

February 15th

Lisa Marie (Scraps of Life)

Marilyn (North Hills Quilters)

February 16th

Alicia (Heirloom Quilting)

Marjorie (Marjorie's Busy Corner)

February 17th

Sharon (Crazee Corners)

Jacque (Lilypad Quilting

February 18th

Stacey (Driving Miss Stacey)

Tracey (The Peony Teacup)

Paulette (Sweet P Quilting and Creations)

Well, I hope you are all well.

Hugs

21 blocks....

2012-01-18T07:47:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone,

I hope you are all well.

I've been working on my Rocky Road to Kansas Quilt.

At first it was going to be a lap quilt made up of twelve blocks.

But, as I kept looking at my huge scrap pile,

I though to myself.....

why don't I just keep making these blocks until I have enough for a queen size bed quilt.

I certainly have enough scraps available.

I have 21 blocks completed.

I had to buy a different background fabric because I didn't have enough of the original.

When I went to buy more they didn't have any left.

So I bought some of a similar colour.

I think I will use a few different background fabrics to add some interest.

Well, I hope you all have a great day.

Hugs

I got some blocks done...

2012-01-11T16:06:00.004-05:00

Hi everyone!

I hope you are all doing well.

Today is a day off for me.

So, I did a bit of sewing.

I have not been feeling very well.

So, it's a good thing I was able to stay home.

I finished five out of the six blocks I was working on for my Rocky Road to Kansas quilt.

I have eleven done all together.

I was hoping to get all twelve done today.

But, I think I've reached my limit.

I'm going to rest now.

I hope you like them.

Hugs

Using up my scraps...

2012-01-03T21:18:00.001-05:00

Today, I decided to work on one of my oldest UFO's,

my "Rocky Road to Kansas Quilt".

I used the paper piecing technique to make the scrappy triangles.

I have enough triangles sewn to make six more blocks.

I already had 6 blocks made.

Once I get my backing fabric, and small triangles cut, I will put them together.

That will give me twelve blocks.

I'm just going to keep sewing these blocks and using up my scraps.

I have way too many scraps.

I also made three little 3 inch house blocks.

The block on the right is done backwards.

I'm going to use that one by itself in a little project.

That one was sewn by hand.

The other two were paper pieced.

I'm following along with the quilt-along at

Building houses from scraps.

The instructions are all on the blog.

I don't know if I will make all the 366 house blocks.

But I'll make some as I feel like it, then put them together.

I hope you are all well.

I have to work the next few days.

Hugs

T-shirt refashion inspiration!!!

2012-01-01T18:22:00.003-05:00

I've been searching Pinterest for some inspiration lately.

The other day, I cleaned out some of my drawers and took a bunch of T-shirts out.

I thought I should make some things with the material.

I found some great ideas on Pinterest.

Here's a mosaic I made with my favourites.

The links are below.

1. little girls dress

2. infant hat

3. Baby pants

4. Winter hat

5. t-shirt necklace

6. t-shirt scarf

7. pieced t-shirt scarf

8. t-shirt yarn scarf

9. Re-usable grocery bags

10. Wall art

11. Pillow covers

12. T-shirt rag quilt

13. T-shirt bracelet

14. Braided Belt

15. T-shirt baby bibs

16. T-shirt latch hook rug

I'm sure many of you bought new clothes or received new clothes for the holidays.

Now you can barely get your drawers closed.

Make some cool stuff with some of your old t-shirts.

Have Fun!!!!

Happy New Year to all of you!!!

Hugs

Blogger's Choice Fat Quarter Bundle

2011-12-28T02:38:00.001-05:00

Hi everyone!!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas or Happy Holiday.

We had a nice quiet Christmas.

Fun was had by all.

I haven't had a chance to make anything,

but I stumbled upon the most amazing giveaway!

Quokka Quilts and the Fat Quarter Shop are giving away a bundle of fat quarters to a lucky winner.

You get to make up your own bundle of fabric.

You can go read the rules to enter here.

Just so you know, I worked hours to come up with this one.

I really wanted a good mix of fabric.

But I also wanted the colors to match.

Its a bit hard to do, using a computer.

But I hope I got it right.

Here is my bundle of Red, Grey and Blue.

1. Hometown Stop Sign Town Square Yardage

SKU# 5460-11

Hometown by Sweetwater for Moda Fabrics

2. Cotton Club Red Packed Dots Yardage

SKU# 3337-111

Cotton Club by Bonnie Blue Quilts for Marcus Brothers Fabrics

3. Hometown Stop Sign Cross Town Yardage

SKU# 5463-21

Hometown by Sweetwater for Moda Fabrics

4. Hometown Stop Sign Town News Yardage

SKU# 5462-21

Hometown by Sweetwater for Moda Fabrics

5. Hometown Stone Barbershop Yardage

SKU# 5464-42

Hometown by Sweetwater for Moda Fabrics

6. Remix Steel Scatter Dots Yardage

SKU# 12136-185

Remix by Ann Kelle for Robert Kaufman Fabrics

7. Remix Steel Argyle Plaid Yardage

SKU# 10392-185

Remix by Ann Kelle for Robert Kaufman Fabrics

8. Hometown Concrete Marketplace Yardage

SKU# 5467-25

Hometown by Sweetwater for Moda Fabrics

9. Stella Dot Navy and Light Blue on White Stella Dot Yardage

SKU# STELLA-1-WHITEBLUE

Stella Dot by Dear Stella Fabrics

10. Impressions Navy Taj Yardage

SKU# PWTY019-NAVYX

Impressions by Ty Pennington for Free Spirit Fabrics

11. Heirloom Indigo Versailles Yardage

SKU# STELLA-24-INDIGO

Heirloom by Dear Stella Fabrics

12. Impressions Blue Delhi Yardage

SKU# PWTY016-BLUEX

Impressions by Ty Pennington for Free Spirit Fabrics

13. Kona Cotton Cardinal Yardage

SKU# K001-1063

Kona Cotton Solid by Robert Kaufman Fabrics

14. Kona Cotton Medium Grey Yardage

SKU# K001-1223

Kona Cotton Solid by Robert Kaufman Fabrics

15. Kona Cotton Navy Yardage

SKU# K001-1243

Kona Cotton Solid by Robert Kaufman Fabrics

What do you think?

Did I do a good job picking the fabric?

If I don't win, I might have to order it anyway.

Red and Blue are my favorite colors.

I added the gray to spice things up a bit.

Love the look of grey.

Well, now I need some sleep.

I just had to get this done.

Have a good rest.

Hugs

Two little ornaments....

2011-12-16T21:35:00.005-05:00

I made these two ornaments using a pattern I have

in the Art to Heart book called Sew Necessary.

The pattern is for scissor fobs.

I thought I would using them as ornaments.

Cute eh!

I will use one as a teacher gift.

But the other one I'm keeping.

I was sick yesterday and part of today.

But, I'm feeling better now.

Back to work tomorrow and Sunday.

Have a great weekend.

Hugs

I have a finished flimsy!!! Yeah!!!

2011-12-11T16:14:00.001-05:00

Okay, so after having gone a month without sewing,

I finally got my sewing mojo back this weekend.

I finished my Broken Dishes quilt top.

I'm so happy with this quilt top.

I love the fabrics that I chose.

It's Bar Harbor with some other Minick & Simpson prints.

This is a lap size quilt.

I hope you like it.

It feels good to get sewing again.

Now I have to figure out how I will quilt it.

Hugs

Twirling Paper Christmas Balls Tutorial

2011-12-09T11:54:00.001-05:00

I hope you have fun making some of these ornaments.

They are super fast and super easy.

Hugs

A song to get you in the Christmas Spirit.

2011-12-08T07:13:00.000-05:00

My brother Joel is the singer of the Christian band "Capstone".

They are doing a Charity Concert on December 9th in Oakville to gather non-parishable food items for the Kerr Street Ministries.

Here's a sneak peak of what you will get to see that night.

The video of the song Winter Wonderland.

Performed by my brother Joel and his friend Brad.

I made something!!!!

2011-12-07T22:22:00.001-05:00

Hi everyone,

I know it's been a while.

I've been in a rut.

I just couldn't get myself to make anything for a while.

I don't know if any of you have ever been through that.

I have all these quilts that need to be finished.

But, I just couldn't get motivated to do any sewing.

I've been so, so busy lately.

I've just been too tired and not motivated.

But, today, I went to visit my crafty sister Michele.

I woke her up this morning!!!

Sorry, Michele!!!!

I had brought some of my Christmas Scrapbooking paper,

and my new fiskars circle cutter.

And I made some ornaments for my Christmas tree.

We will be putting our Christmas tree tomorrow.

It was fun to finally get something made for the holidays.

I will try to show up here a bit more often.

Hugs

EVERYTHING IS ON SALE!!!

2011-12-03T19:29:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone,

I hope you are all well.

I've been super busy lately, and just haven't had time to post or make anything.

But, I have made one decision.

And that's to put everything in my etsy store

on sale.

This sale will go on for this week, then I'm closing my store.

I will close my store on Friday, Dec. 9th.

It's just too competitive out there.

I sew for fun and don't want to have to worry

about having an etsy store.

I'm off this coming week,

so this is the perfect time to put my items on sale.

If they don't sell, then I will use them for gifts.

This is your chance to buy these.

So, go check them out!!!

Hugs

Okay....so I got a little carried away....

2011-11-17T15:55:00.002-05:00

So, what do you think?

I had a quiet day, playing with My Memories Software.

I hope you like my pages.

Hugs

And the winner is......

2011-11-16T10:53:00.000-05:00

Deb said...

I like them on FB.

November 11, 2011 11:29 AM

Congratulations Deb!

You win a copy of My Memories Suite v2.

You are going to have so much fun using this software.

I will send you an email as soon as I can.

If any of you are interested in purchasing this software,

I have a $10 coupon for you.

Just use the coupon code below.

STMMMS71727

These are a few more pages I made the other day.

I've been working the last few days and haven't had the chance to make anything.

Hopefully, I will be able to make something in the next couple days.

Hugs

Speed Scrap Sunday

2011-11-13T22:51:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone,

I participated in the Speed Scrap Sunday,

at My Memories facebook page.

Here is what I made.

I hope you like it!!

Hugs

Scrapbook pages.....and more in my etsy shop!!!

2011-11-12T23:49:00.004-05:00

My kids and I were raking leaves this morning.

I got some free brag book pages from A-Manda Creations blog.

She posts new ones everyday.

Then I used My Memories v2 software to put my pages together.

Here they are:

Aren't they cute?

Use this code to get $10.00 off this software.

STMMMS71727

I'm giving away a copy of this software to one of you on Monday.

Please go to this post to enter.

Also, I've added some lanyards that I made

this past week in my etsy shop.

So, go check it out!!

Hugs

And the winner is.........

2011-11-11T21:18:00.002-05:00

as per the Random Generator......Comment #52.

Connie has left a new comment on your post "It's giveaway time!!!!!":

I am already a follower of yours, great giveaway!

Posted by Connie to Ariane Quilts at November 6, 2011 8:26 AM

Congratulations Connie!!!

I have sent you an email.

Thanks to Nicole from Log Cabin Yardage for sponsoring this giveaway on my blog.

Be sure to go check out her online store.

She has just added a bunch of new fabric.

I still have another giveaway going on.

I'm giving away the My Memories digital scrapbooking software.

Make sure you check out this post to enter.

Hugs

This is your last chance!!!

2011-11-11T10:19:00.000-05:00

Today is the last day to enter the Log Cabin Yardage giveaway.

You don't want to miss your chance.

I will close the giveaway at 5pm eastern time.

Nicole is giving away 4 fat quarters of her prized Salt Air fabric.

So, leave a comment on this post!!!

Today is also Remembrance day!!!

So, I made a poster to honor our soldiers.

Hugs

My Memories Suite v2 Giveaway!!!CLOSED

2011-11-07T15:26:00.004-05:00

Hi everyone,

I hope you all had a great weekend.

I worked all weekend, so I didn't get to play a lot.

Today, I did work on a few scrapbook pages using My Memories Suite v2.

It was a lot of fun.

First, I worked on a Halloween page.

My daughter got all dressed up.

Doesn't she look cute?

You can click on the image to make it bigger.

I made this page with a kit I won from a facebook giveaway.

You can win so many kits for free on the MyMemories facebook page.

They have lots of giveaways.

This next page, I made with a kit I purchased from MyMemories.com.

This is done using the kit "Dreams of a Boy" by Valentina Creations.

Isn't it cute?

I also made my new blog header with this software.

This software is so versatile.

You can make cards, calendars, order photo albums, make headers and other blog embellishments.

You can make subway art, family trees.....etc.....

I love that they have Speed Scrap events on facebook.

During these events they give you a step-by-step description on how to make a special page.

I love this because you learn different techniques that your software allows.

I really love this software and would love for one of you to win a copy.

So, today I am giving away a copy of My Memories Suite v2.

You have 2 chances to win.

1) Go visit My Memories website and leave me a comment stating your favorite kit.

and/or

2) Like My Memories on facebook and leave me a comment saying you do.

This giveaway ends November 14th, 2011.

I hope you check it out and enter this giveaway.

I promise that you will have so much fun using this software.

If you want to purchase this software now,

Use the code below to get $10.00 off your purchase.

STMMMS71727

Also, I have another giveaway going on. Go to this post to check it out.

You have until Nov. 11th, to enter.

Hugs

It's giveaway time!!!!!CLOSED***

2011-11-04T05:00:00.006-04:00

Hi everyone,

I mentioned earlier this week that I would be having a bunch of giveaways this month.

This first giveaway is sponsored by:

Nicole from Log Cabin Yardage

She has a great Canadian online store in Ajax, Ontario.

She offers many modern fabric by Moda, Riley Blake and many, many more.

You could win the 4 fat quarters shown above

from the Salt Air collection of fabrics by Cosmo Cricket for Moda.

This collection has not yet been released.

This is your chance to get some of this fabric before it comes out in the stores.

How to enter this giveaway?

1) You must sign up for their Newsletter, and leave me a comment that you did.

That's one entry.

2) For a second entry, Like Log Cabin Yardage on Facebook and leave me a comment that you did.

That's a second entry.

3) Visit her store and leave me a comment telling me your favorite fabric.

That's a third entry.

4)Follow me here at Ariane Quilts and leave me a comment that you are following me.

That's a fourth entry.

So, that's 4 chances to win.

Be sure that I have a way to contact you.

If I cannot reach you via email, I will select another winner.

I will select the winner by Random Generator on November 11th, 2011.

Good luck to all of you!!

Hugs!!!

Bloggers' Quilt Festival Fall 2011

2011-11-02T12:07:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone,

Amy is hosting the Bloggers' Quilt Festival again.

I'm a little late joining, but it ends on November 4th.

So, I'm joining just under the wire.

Ha!Ha!!!

My entry for the festival is my Carpenter Star quilt.

I made this queen size quilt for my youngest brothers wedding gift.

I drew up the pattern on graph paper.

I cut out all the pieces with my GO! Cutter, and the 6 1/2 inch hst die and 6 1/2 inch square die.

I really enjoyed making this quilt.

My brother and his wife just loved it.

I quilted it myself on my 30 year old Kenmore sewing machine.

Here another picture.

I hope you like it!

Make sure you go check out all the other quilts in the festival.

Hugs

Scrapbooking Monday...or is it Tuesday....maybe Wednesday

2011-11-02T00:02:00.001-04:00

Hi everyone,

I wanted to share my newest Scrapbooking page.

Isn't it cute?

I hope that by now you realize that I love this software.

It's MyMemories v2.

Just to let you know.....

I will soon be giving a copy of this software away.

That will be next week.

So, stay tuned!!!!

On another note.....

I'm going to be having a bunch of giveaways on my blog this month.

The giveaways start on Friday.

So be sure to stay tuned for the giveaways.

Hugs

Some Christmas Mug Rugs!!!

2011-10-28T20:02:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone,

I hope you are all having a nice day.

I'm in Northern Ontario right now visiting with my Parents.

We are having a good time with them.

My Mom wanted me to make some mug rugs for a Christmas Craft sale her CWL is having next week.

She had some cute vintage children winter blocks.

I thought they would make cute mug rugs.

I made her four.

Here they are:

I hope you like them.

I should be back home late Sunday night.

Have a great weekend.

Hugs

Ariane

I have another finish!!!! Yeah!!!!

2011-10-25T23:43:00.000-04:00

Sew, this has been a productive month for me.

I just finished my "Sail Away" quilt.

I embroidered waves under the boats and wales with medium blue embroidery thread.

I backed the quilt with Cuddle Chenille.

It is extremely soft and warm.

I quilted waves in the center and stippled in the border.

My quilting is not the best, but this is a very thick quilt and it took a lot of work.

I used my old Kenmore to quilt it.

I really love the finished product.

I hope my niece and great nephew love this quilt.

I designed it just for them.

Hugs

More Scrapbooking!!!

2011-10-24T15:45:00.000-04:00

Did I say that I love my new digital scrapbooking software?

Well, I do.

It's fun.

Every Sunday, they have Speed Scrap Sunday on their Facebook page.

They teach you a quick technique to make your pages shine.

Yesterdays, was about Using Pictures in your Fat Font.

This one was fun.

I made two pages today with this idea.

See, I'm improving with every page.

It's addictive, I tell yah!!!

If you are thinking of getting this software,

here is a coupon code for $10 off.

STMMMS71727

Go check them out at mymemories.com

Hugs

I have a completed quilt top!

2011-10-23T00:38:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone,

I've had this quilt in the making for a while now.

It should have been completed a long time ago.

But for some reason, I lost interest in it.

Tonight, I got energized and finished the top.

This is an original pattern by me.

I designed it, especially as a gift for my niece.

Now, I just have to baste it and quilt it.

I call it:

Sail Away

I hope you like it.

Hugs

I have a discount code to share

2011-10-22T12:00:00.001-04:00

Hi everyone, I have a discount code for you.

Go to Tantalizing Stitches to see their selection.

The discount expires November 30, 2011

Hugs

Ariane

A little softie for a tiny baby!!

2011-10-18T21:40:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone,

I said I would be back with more baby gifts.

Well, I have one more.

It's a little bunny softie.

I didn't use a pattern.

I was inspired by Sarah & Rachel of Roxie Creations.

They sell some beautiful items.

But I really loved the little bunnies they made.

So, I took that as my guide.

I used the leftover fabric from making the cuddle blanket.

So, it's extra soft.

It's a tiny little bunny.

Perfect for a newborn.

I hope you like it!!!

Baby gifts for my Best Friend!!!

2011-10-18T17:21:00.001-04:00

Hi everyone,

I hope you are having a great day.

I've been working on making a gift bundle for my best friend from High School.

She just had her first baby on Friday.

She lives in Northern Ontario where we grew up.

I don't get to see her often.

Maybe only once or twice a year.

She is one of those friends that just knows me so well, and always accepts me the way I am.

We are quite different, but so close......you know.

I had my kids so young, and she was out in University just having a great old time.

But she always made time for me.

Now, that she has had her own baby, I'm just so excited.

She is going to be the best Mom.

These are the first few things I made for her bundle.

I made her a cuddle blanket, with cotton on one side and Cuddle Chenille on the other side.

It is oh...... so...... soft!!!!

I also finally tried the Bapron tutorial by Craftiness is not Optional.

I love these.

They are so cute and fun to make.

I made the dark pink one first.

I struggled a bit with the bias tape.

Then when I made the second one,

I decided to open up the bias tape and sew it to the back first,

then fold it over and sew it on the front.

It looks much more professional that way.

That's how I'm going to do it from now on.

I still have a few things I want to make.

So stay tuned.

Hugs

More Scrapbooking pages

2011-10-17T20:19:00.002-04:00

Hi everyone,

I've been playing with My Memories Suite again.

I love this software.

I had always wanted software like this, but never knew which one to chose.

There are so many options.

Lucky for me, I won this software on a giveaway on Jane's blog.

I thought I would start sharing some of my scrapbook pages regularly.

I will try to share a couple each week on Monday.

Now, I must say, I'm terrible at sticking things out.

But, I will try really hard. LOL!!!

So, here are the pages I made this week.

Don't you just love these.

These pages were sent to me for free.

Liz from My Memories sent me this designer pack to share with you for free.

Here is the link:

http://www.mymemories.com/store/share_the_memories_kit_1

If you are interested in purchasing this program,

I have a discount code for you to use.

You save $10 on your purchase of the software.

STMMMS71727

You just copy and past the code above when you make your purchase and $10.00 will be taken off your purchase price.

It's a lot of fun to play with. And they have a lot of free templates that you can also download.

Then they add new free templates to download all the time.

Well, I hope you have a great day.

Hugs

I have a finish!!!

2011-10-16T00:48:00.000-04:00

Yup!

I finally have a finish to share.

I know.....it's been a while.

I'm calling this one...."Marlon's Paws"

See all the little tiny paws going across the quilt.

This is going to a Chihuahua.

To keep him warm during the cold winter months.

I hope you like it!!!

Hugs

I made two more with my daughter's help

2011-10-11T17:04:00.000-04:00

Okay, this could get addicting.

Especially if my daughter gets interested in it.

Hugs

My Memories Suite

2011-10-11T14:28:00.002-04:00

Hi everyone,

I won another giveaway over at Sew Create it.

Jane was giving away the "My Memories Suite" Digital Scrap booking Software.

I was so excited that I won.

So, the two pages above were made this afternoon with this software.

The first one I made without a template, but I used a template for the second one.

There is a learning curve for this software.

But it's quite user friendly.

Which I love!!!!!

There are so many free templates, embellishments, etc. to download for free.

I'm going to have a lot of fun with this.

If you are interested in getting this software, you can get $10.00 off using my coupon code,

STMMMS71727

And they are offering $10.00 off the software right now.

So, that's $20.00 off your purchase of the software.

Thanks Jane and thanks to My Memories Suite.

Hugs

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

2011-10-10T14:50:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone,

I would like to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving Day!!

We celebrate Thanksgiving in October in Canada.

I am so thankful for my wonderful family, my job,

my friends and the wonderful quilting/blogging community.

I am just so blessed.

I don't have alot to share since I worked all weekend,

but thought I would re-share the link to my fall table runner tutorial.

I made it using the isosceles die for the GO! Cutter.

GO! have a look.

Hugs

Where have I been......

2011-10-06T14:09:00.000-04:00

I know it's been a while since I posted.

I've been busy, I guess.....just life getting in the way of sewing and blogging.

I received a wonderful bag that I won from Antmee.

It's beautiful and much bigger that I expected.

My daughter had claimed it and uses it as her school bag.

Yup, it's that big.

It's really beautifully made.

The blue is a stripped denim, so it's nice and sturdy.

Thanks Antmee. I love it!!!

I attended my monthly guild meeting yesterday.
I was very pleased to find that one of the quilt tops that I donated was all done.

I just love how they quilted it.
It looks amazing.
Now, it's ready to be donated.

Hugs

Sew What You Love by Tanya Whelan

2011-09-26T12:22:00.007-04:00

Tanya Whelan is giving away a free bag pattern on her blog. She is promoting her book Sew What You Love. You can buy it at amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com

I looks great! I love her designs.

Go check out her blog here.

I'm posting this from my iPad! Just trying it out to see how it works! I tried to add an image using my iPad, but I couldn't get it to work. Edit: I did eventually get the image posted from my iPad, but it was a real pain. It's not very user friendly to post from the iPad! :( oh well!!

Hugs

Ariane

A little dog quilt!

2011-09-17T22:34:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone,

I've been working on a new project the last couple days.

It's a small little dog quilt.

This quilt is a commissioned quilt, for a little Chihuahua.

I've made the top all out of scraps and fabric from my stash.

It will finish at 30 inches square.

This has been fun to work on.

I'm almost done with the top.

I just need to add the dogs name and a few little decorations.

Then, I can quilt it and bind it.

What do you think?

Hugs

A little denim bag for my daughter!

2011-09-15T12:29:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone,

My sister Michele @ michele made me is having the Drop Dead Denim month.

A whole month dedicated to denim.

So, I decided that I couldn't just let her have all the denim fun.

I thought a little bag for my daughter would be cute.

This is what I came up with.

There are two front pockets, big enough to put your ipod in, or your cell phone.

As you can see, she had fun posing with her bag.

Such a cutie.

I may just make a tutorial for this bag.

It's very simple, but cute.

What do you think?

Hugs

I won!!!! Look what I got!!!!

2011-09-13T22:51:00.000-04:00

I hope you are all well.

I won two giveaways in the last few weeks.

My loot finally came in the mail.

The first package I won on Darlene's blog, Quilting Daze.

It was a sponsored giveaway by Kimberly at the Fat Quarter Shop.

It's a fat quarter bundle of "Countdown to Christmas" by Sweetwater for Moda.

It's amazing.

I just love this collection.

Now, I just need to make something with it.

The second giveaway that I won was from Mary and Lindsay at Craft Buds.

I won a $25 gift certificate from Anna at the Crafty Girls Workshop.

This is the fabric that I chose to buy with my winnings.

Oh!!! I love it!

I just keep petting it and looking at it.

I love new fabric.

Thank you Darlene, Kimberly, Mary, Lindsay, and Anna for the wonderful gifts.

Hugs

First Guild meeting of 2011-2012 season!!

2011-09-08T23:23:00.000-04:00

Last night I attended the first meeting of the Limestone Quilters' Guild.

I took the leap this year and became a member of the executive.

I'm their webmaster.

It makes me a bit nervous, cause I'm not sure if what I'm doing is good.

But, I'm sure someone will let me know if I do something wrong. LOL!!!

You should check out the website.

I have added links to most of the Guilds in Ontario.

Many of these sites have free patterns that have been shared for BOM.

I had fun looking up the Guilds and find out which ones had active web sites.

It was also great inspiration for me too.

If you want to see some of the quilts that were brought in for Show & Tell, go check out the Guilds blog found here.

I really loved one of the quilts in particular.

Here it is.

I wish I had a picture of it all opened up properly.

It's just such a fun quilt. All the cats and dogs in many colors.

And check out the mini Dachshunds in the border.

Aren't they cute?

We had a guest speaker Mary Pal.

She has been featured in the Quilting Arts Magazine and Show.

Her work is just stunning.

If you have never seen her work, check out her website.

Well, I work all weekend.

So, I don't know how much sewing I will get done.

But, I will try.

Have a good night.

Hugs

2 more Bee blocks done!!

2011-09-07T03:11:00.001-04:00

Okay, it's 3:00 am and I can't sleep.

Hmmmm....that's what happens when I work nights.

Well, I finished two blocks for Ann.

These are for the Scrap Busters' Bee.

In this Bee, we make all the blocks from scraps in our own stash.

Then, we send it out to the person.

This saves on postage and also allows us to use up some of those mountains of scraps.

Ann requested string blocks.

The first one I made, didn't turn out the way I wanted it.

So, I made a second.

(We were only supposed to make one)

Oh well, it used up more of my scraps.

LOL!!!

I will send her both.

And she can use them up any way she wants.

;)

Here they are.

Block 1

Block 2

And together.....

That's it for now.

I probably should try to go back to bed.

First, I will flip the load of laundry though.

Goodnight!!!

Hugs

Finally done with all my "Maple Leaf Bee 2" blocks

2011-09-06T18:54:00.000-04:00

Here are Vivian blocks.

These are so cute!!!

And then I made Brenda's Blocks.

I really like these too.

I like the fact that these are great scrap busting blocks.

Especially your little scraps.

I still have more blocks to make for another one of my bees.

I will try to get those done later today.

Edited to add: I have found a few GO! Baby giveaways.
Here they are:

In Color Order - ends Friday, Sept 9th

Quilt it - ends Sept 14th

Hugs

Check out this giveaway!!!! closed

2011-09-02T10:03:00.003-04:00

Are you that Wantobe quilter that's been lurking around all the quilting blogs?

Well, Sew We Quilt blog is giving away a Bernina Sewing Machine today to a Wantobe Quilter.

If you've ever thought you might want to start quilting, this could be your chance.

I will sponsor you.

Just send me your info (email, name, etc.), and follow all the directions on this post,

Leave a comment at Sew We Quilt and let them know I'm your sponsor.

Note: Winners don't have to pay for shipping for this giveaway!!!!Awesome!!!!

Hugs

Look what my hubby got me......

2011-08-31T17:17:00.000-04:00

It's my very own iPad.

He got it used on Kijiji.

So, he didn't pay as much.

But it works perfectly.

I love it!!!

Thanks Honey!!!!

Love you!!!

Hugs

2011-08-30T16:15:00.000-04:00

Look at some of this wonderful fabrics that have been coming out.

I've just been drooling over these.

They are just adorable.

Did you see this new collection by Suzy Ultman for Robert Kaufman.

It's called Critter Community.

Here's the panel that goes with the collection.

Isn't it adorable!!!

I've seen it for sale at Fabricworm. com

And look at these wonderful bundles of Sandi Henderson's Secret Garden for Michael Miller.

These are at the FatQuarterShop.com

And then there is Hometown by Sweetwater for Moda.

I just love this collection.

Okay.....I have to work night shift the next two nights.

I haven't had time to do any sewing, as I only had one day off.

I've been running around trying to get the kids ready for school.

But, I've been dreaming about these fabric collections.

Maybe, I'll be lucky enough to buy some soon.

Also, I've finally opened my etsy shop.

Hope you all have a great couple of days.

Hugs

GO! Baby giveaways going on in blogland

2011-08-27T00:33:00.001-04:00

Here are a few more GO! Baby giveaways going on in blogland.

The Learning Curve - ends Sept. 1st

Craftiness is not optional - ends August 28th

Moose Stash Quilting - ends Sept 2nd

Me Sew Crazy - ends August 31st

Don't forget to sign up to receive the newsletter and get 22 free patterns.

You also get the inside scoop of all the sales and contests going on in blogland.

So click the link below and sign up.

Hugs

Scrappy Quilts - Inspiration from flickr

2011-08-25T22:48:00.003-04:00

Okay, I think I fixed the picture. Sorry!!!

1. string quilt, 2. You can call me Owl., 3. Scrappy Twinkle Star Quilt, 4. do. Good Stitches :: Colourful Zigzags, 5. I'm A Maverick Star, 6. Vintage Style ~ a la Grand-mère, 7. Project Special Delivery, 8. Stripes!, 9. shooting stars scrap quilt finished!, 10. polka dot string quilt, 11. Scrap Quilt, 12. Scrappy quilt, 13. close up of scrappy quilt, 14. scrappy quilt top, 15. Scrappy Quilt Top, 16. the other half

I'm working all weekend, so I won't be around much.

I thought I would share a bit of inspiration.

Hugs

Broken Dishes QAL, Part 3

2011-08-23T21:57:00.002-04:00

Hi everyone,

I hope you are all well.

Did you make some broken dishes blocks?

If you did, now is time to put them together.

If you are making a twin, lap, or baby size quilt,

you will have 24 blocks.

Take these blocks to your design wall or floor, and set them up as shown in the picture below.

I altered the directing of each block, then sewed them together.

This create a secondary pattern of stars.

Do you see it?

Now you can add your first plain border.

As I stated in Part 1 of the quilt along,

your plain borders are half the size of your finished HST squares, plus 1/2 inch for the seam allowance.

Sew, for my quilt, my finished HST's were 4 inches.

Therefore, my border is 2.5 inches wide.

Cut enough border strips to go all around your quilt.

I always try to cut my border strips lengthwise, parallel to the selvage.

It doesn't stretch as much this way, and it will make for a flatter quilt.

I also like to pin my border onto the quilt.

I know you don't need to do this but it helps to keep your seam consistent as you are sewing.

For the second border, you will need 4 Triangle in a square blocks.

You can find the tutorial here.

You will also need 40 HST's and 4 background squares the same size as your HST's.
Once you have these made, then start placing them around your quilt as in the photo below.

You can see that I used an arrow to point out the placement of the triangle in a square block.
I also have a plain background square in the corner.
Each side of the border will have a triangle in a square block in the center, and HST's on each side.

I don't have my border complete yet.
But, I've used arrows on my sketch to show you where to place the triangle in a square block.

If you have started working on your Broken Dishes QAL,
share your progress with us.
I'd love to see it, even if you've only made a block or two.

Hugs

Triangle in a square - tutorial

2011-08-20T19:20:00.001-04:00

Hi everyone,

I've been working on my blocks for the Broken Dishes QAL.

In the border of the pattern I drew up,

there is a triangle in a square block.

As I had mentioned in the first post of this quilt-a-long,

I want you all to make this quilt in any size you want.

Sew I need to teach you how to make the triangle in a square block any size you want too!!!

Here we go.

First decide what size your finished block will be.

(Note: this is the size of your original HST block.)

I'm making a 4 inch finished block.

Grab your graph paper and draw a square the size of your finished block.

Mine is a 4 inch square.

On the top of your square, find the middle and mark the spot.

Mine is 2 inches.

Draw a line from this spot to the bottom left corner of the square,

then draw a line to the bottom right corner of the square.

See picture below.

You will now draw a 1/4 inch seam all around your square.

You will use your paper scissors and cut out your template 1/4 bigger than that.

So, your cutting out a 5 inch paper template.

Make 4 templates.

Chose the fabric to make the triangle.

Cut 4 squares the same size as your paper template.

So, I cut a 5 inch square.

Chose your background fabric.

I cut a piece from a coordinating fat quarter.

I came up with a formula to know how big a rectangle you need to cut for this to work.

a = width of rectangle

b = length of rectangle

a = 1 inch + half the width of your finished square

In this case, a= (1+2) 3 inches

b = 2 inches + the size of your finished square.

In this case, b= (2+4) 6 inches

Therefore, you will cut 2 rectangles 3 inch X 6 inches from your background fabric.

I hope I'm not confusing you here.

Lay your square right side down.

Put your paper template right side up over your fabric square.

Pin your paper template to your fabric square.

Take your background rectangles and lay it right side together over your triangle fabric as in picture below.

You will bring these two pieces up to the light and adjust the position of the background fabric.

Make sure that you leave enough fabric at the top sticking up, so that when you iron your background fabric back it will cover the whole corner.

Now, without moving the pieces, bring it over to the sewing machine.

Make sure that you reduce the stitch size on your machine.

Then stitch on the line as shown below.

Bring your stitched piece to your ironing board and iron the background fabric back.

You will them trim the triangle fabric that is behind the background fabric.

See picture below.

This is what it will look like from the paper side, once you've trimmed the triangle fabric.

(I know I did #3 before 2. It doesn't really matter for this block which side you do first)

Now, do the same for the other side.

When I sew the second piece of background fabric, I like to start stitching in the seam allowance.

It just makes the point of your triangle look that much better.

See below.

Make sure you trim the triangle fabric on the other side too.

Now, take your squaring ruler and cut on the paper side to square your block.

See pictures below.

And you are done!!!

It's perfect!!!

Yeah!!!!

You can now make your own Triangle in a square block any size you want.

I made a 6 inch finished block, and 3 inch finished block the exact same way to ensure that my math worked for all sizes.

Make your paper template the same way.

Cutting for the 6 inch finished block is:

Paper template should be 7 inches square

Triangle fabric - cut a 7 inch square

Background fabric - cut 2 rectangles 4 X 8 inches

Cutting for 4 inch finished block is:

Paper template should be 5 inches square

Triangle fabric - cut a 5 inch square

Background fabric - cut 2 rectangles 3 X 6 inches

Cutting for 3 inch finished block is:

Paper template should be 4 inches square

Triangle fabric- cut a 4 inch square

Background fabric - cut 2 rectangles 2.5 X 5 inches

I hope this helps all of you.

You will need 4 of these blocks for the border of your Broken Dishes Quilt.

Hugs

GO! Baby Giveaways to report!!!

2011-08-17T20:54:00.001-04:00

Here are some GO! Baby Giveaways going on in blogland.

Bijou Lovely - ends Monday August 22, 2011

The Fabric Shopper - ends Sunday August 21, 2011

A Spoonful of Sugar - ends Monday August 22, 2011

The Tulip Patch - ends Wednesday August 24, 2011

Chasing Cottons - ends Tonight August 17, 2011

Don't forget to sign up to receive the free Accuquilt Newsletter and receive 22 free patterns.

Click the button below to register.

I also have the tutorial for my Broken Dishes QAL.

You can find it here.

Hugs

Broken Dishes QAL, Part 2 - tutorial

2011-08-17T10:03:00.006-04:00

Hi everyone,

Today, I'm going to teach you how to make the Broken Dishes Block.

It's a simple block.

To make it using HST's from Squares, just add 7/8 of an inch to the desired finish HST size.

Sew, if you want your HST to be 3 inches finished. You will cut your squares 3 7/8 inches.

NOTE: If you struggle with your 1/4 inch seam, make the square an inch bigger.

You have to trim it regardless. So, it's not a big deal.

I'm making one of my quilts with Charm Packs.

They are 1 inch bigger than the finished block I want.

The HST will be trimmed to 4.5 inches and finish to 4 inches in the quilt.

Let's start!

Note: always use a 1/4 inch seam.

You will need to cut 2 dark squares and 2 light squares for each block.

Pair them up like I did below.

Once you have them paired up, you will draw your sewing lines on the wrong side of the light square.

I use this cool little ruler, but you can just draw a diagonal line from corner to corner and sew a 1/4 inch on either side.

Once you have done this, cut the blocks on the diagonal line as below.

You will now have 2 HST's.

I like to iron my seams open.

They tend not to stretch the HST as much this way.

Then, I take my squaring ruler and trim these to the desired size.

Note: If you want a 2 inch finished block, trim to 2.5 inches.

If you want a 3 inch finished block, trim to 3.5 inches.

If you want a 4 inch finished block, trim to 4.5 inches.

and so on......

Once I have my 4 matching HST's, I lay them out to make sure the setting is correct.

I then, fold down to top right corner piece over the bottom right corner piece and sew the top seam.

I use a pin to line up the diagonal seam,so that they butt up nicely.

I use a 1/4 inch foot to keep my seams consistent.

Repeat with the other pair.

Once you have them both sewn together, iron the seam open.

Lay them out again to make sure you have then set properly.

Now, you will fold down the top piece over the bottom piece.

Pin in the middle and at both ends, as shown below.

Sew your pieces together, iron the seam open....

and VOILA!!!

Your block is done!!!

Here is where I'm at with my charm square Broken Dishes quilt.

It comes together really quick.

(note: the black blocks aren't all sewn up yet, I just have the HST's together on my design wall)

Don't you just love the secondary star pattern it makes.

I love that!!!

Well, that's it!!

Now you can start making your quilt.

I figured out that if you are using charm packs of 40 squares, you will need 3 charm packs.

My charm packs have a ton of dark prints but very few light prints, so I will be cutting some light squares out of some fabric from my stash that matches this collection.

I hope you have fun making your blocks!

Hugs

Broken Dishes - A quilt along

2011-08-16T15:10:00.002-04:00

Hi everyone,

I've been wanting to share a project with all of you.

Something that we can do together.

I got inspired by this vintage block, that dates back to the early 1800's.

It's the Broken Dishes block.

This block is a relatively simple 4 patch block.

It uses only 4 half square triangles to make the block.

I wanted to show that you don't need a ton of fancy software to design a pattern.

I use graph paper, a pencil, eraser, colouring pencils, and a calculator.

I also wanted to teach you how to adjust the block size depending on the size of quilt you want.

So, come share with me and I hope I can share a bit of my knowledge with you.

Broken Dishes QAL - Part 1

I always just design first,

then think of the size of the quilt I want to make.

When you use graph paper,

you chose the scale of each square.

If you look at my quilt design below,

you see that I used four squares to draw one half square triangle (hst) block.

I did this to make it easier to colour the hst's and to make my design bigger on the page.

The border measurements are kept simple.

The first plain border is half the size of one hst.

The second pieced border is the same size as the hst's.

The third plain border is half the size of one hst.

You may wonder why I have the third plain border?

Well, I like my pieced border to stand out.

Especially since I've put so much work into making it.
Here's an example of a border done the same way.

This also allows to make a statement with your binding, if that's what you want.

Each HST block can be made any size.

It can be 2 inches, 3 inches, 4 inches, 6 inches......
(Note: you always need to add 1/2 inch to each measurement for the seam allowance)

I've made up a table with all the measurements to make this quilt.

Quilt Size	Block Size in inches	# of Broken Dishes blocks	Size of HST’s in inches	# of HST’s needed	Size to cut squares for HST’s in inches	Cut Plain borders	# of Triangle in a Square blocks	Finished Quilt Size with borders
Twin size	12.5”	24	6.5”	116	6 7/8’	3.5”	4	72”x96”
Queen Size	12.5”	48	6.5”	240	6 7/8’	3.5”	4	96”x96”
Lap Size	8.5”	24	4.5”	116	4 7/8’	2.5”	4	48”x64”
Baby size	6.5”	24	3.5”	116	3 7/8’	2”	4	36”x48”

I've made up the three block sizes in different fabric collections.

I'm making these quilts with fabric from my stash.

The large block is 12.5 inches and made up of some reproduction fabrics.
I cut these HST's with my GO! Cutter and 6.5 inch HST die.

The second block is 8.5 inches and made from Bar Harbor Charm squares.
I have two charm packs of this fabric.
Sew, these are made with the squares method.

Here is a great tutorial for this method.

I was going to make a tutorial, but this one is very good.
So why do it again.
If you have any questions about this, just let me know.

The third block is 6.5 inches and made up of some Kaffe Fassett scraps and Kona White.
I used my GO! 3.5 inch die to cut these hst's.
This size is compatible with the GO! baby or GO! Cutter.

Sew if you want to join in and make this quilt with me,
just pick a size.....any size...and start cutting.

I will post a simple tutorial tomorrow on how to make up a block.
After that, I will come back every Tuesday and share my progress with you.
I might even have a linky thing, so that you can share your progress too.
This is a great stash busting project.
That's what I'm doing.

Here's a small button to add to your blog, if you decide to join.

Hugs

A bit of work on my Summer Blues Quilt!!!

2011-08-11T17:20:00.000-04:00

Sew, the last couple of days,

I've been working on my Summer Blues Quilt.

I had put some of the blocks together.

Then, I decided to change the layout, so I took them apart.

This is what I have up to now.

I have one more round of blocks to put on the quilt.

Sew, it will be 7 blocks square.

This is going to be a queen size quilt.

Each block is 13.5 inches finished.

I used 5 inch charm squares to make the blocks.

I had cut the charms with my GO! Cutter and my 5 inch square die.

I'm just trying to get as many of my UFO quilt tops done.

I need to buy batting, since I'm all out.

But, I have too many other places to put my money right now.

Sew, I finishing my UFO's.

And that's a good thing!!!!

Hugs

Some string blocks and donation blocks!!!

2011-08-10T11:00:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone,

I decided to make more string blocks for my scrappy string quilt.

I'm up to 87 blocks done out of 240 needed.

These are easy and fun to make.

I started this quilt here.

My guild also requested some donation blocks for their community quilts.

When I finished up my bee quilt top, I decided to use some of the leftover fabric to make the donation blocks.

Here they are.

I have 18 blocks made.

I would like to donate at least 25.

So, I'm pretty close to my goal.

I added some other fabrics from my stash since I ran out of fabric from my quilt.

But I like it better now. It adds more interest.

I also need a bigger design wall.

I really like the one found here, that Jackie and her husband made.

I think it's just perfect.

Well, that's all for today.

Hugs

The Wantobe Quilters Campaign!!!

2011-08-08T21:13:00.000-04:00

Okay, if you haven't already joined in the fun at

Sew WE Quilt @ Stash Manicure,

then you must go check it out.

If you are a Wantobe quilter,

As in you don't have any tools or experience quilting,

Send me an email, I will sponsor you.

I will collect your email address, phone number and send all your information to Madame Samm.

This information will not be shared with anyone else.

Then, you can go to Sew We Quilt blog and

enter to win giveaways.

There are special giveaways for the Wantobe quilters on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

You could win everything from sewing machines, fabrics, quilting tools, and patterns.

There are 12 more weeks of giveaways.

Note: You do need to have a GOOGLE account.

Here's how you do it:

GET a GOOGLE acct.( free)

and how to correct NO REPLY BLOGGERS

and how to register..

( sign up with GOOGLE

( think link will allow you to set up an acct in seconds)

To get a Google email, you still use your own,

this just allows you to be set up to leave comments to win)

( we have had over 1000+ visitors leaving comments who are what

we call NO REPLY BLOGGERS ( which means I have no way of

connecting with you)

Here is what you can do:

All comments made on the blog Sew WE Quilt @ Stash Manicure are automatically sent into Madame Samm's inbox, ( which is why you get replies from her) if you don't hear from her, she is not ignoring you, She just can't reach you).If you have the correct settings in your Blogger profile, your email address comes with it, allowing her to reply directly to you via email. If your settings aren't correct, you are a no-reply blogger, and she has no way of contacting you.

In blogger.com, click on Dashboard.
Select Edit Profile.
Check the box for "Show my Email Address."
Save changes.

You also need to be a follower of Sew We Quilt.To do that you just go to the box on the left sidebar of the Sew We Quilt blog.You will find this.
"Join this site"with Google Friend Connect.
You will see a bunch of pictures in this box as well.Those are all the 1000's of followers.Say yes to join with an open id.
If you don't follow, you can't win.So be sure to become a follower.
Good luck to you all, and don't forget that Tuesdays and Thursdays are for quilters.There are lots of prizes to be won.
Sew, if you are a Wantobe quilter,and you want me to sponsor you,send me an email.
Hugs

I've been on a blog holiday!!!

2011-08-07T21:34:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone,

I hope you are all well.

I have been taking a break from blogging.

It's summer......

and I have been spending time with my family.

I did do some sewing.

I forgot to take pictures of a few items that I made.

But I do have pictures of a UFO that I made some progress on.

I was cleaning my sewing area, and found my 4 patches for the border of my

Sew Modern Bee quilt.

This quilt started 13 months ago

with my fabric being sent out to the lovely ladies of the Sew Modern Bee.

This quilt has been a struggle for me.

I'm definitely more a traditional quilter, than a modern quilter.

I love modern quilts, I just don't succeed that well at making them myself.

So, I managed to finish the border on this quilt and the

top is now done.

Yeah!!!!

Progress......gotta love progress!!!

I also wanted to share with all the Canadians out there looking to save some money on everyday products.

I'm sure many of you watched that Extreme Coupon show on TLC.

Well, we don't get many coupons in Canada.

There are websites though that will send Canadians coupons in the mail.

I decided that I would request some for myself.

I got some in the mail and waited for the products to go on sale in the local flyers.

Then, BAM.......I dropped my coupons. LOL!!!!

I saved $32.00 on just the products below.

So, combining my coupons with the sales already on was a big savings.

Here are some of the sites I got the coupons from:

http://smartcanucks.ca/

http://save.ca/

http://brandsaver.ca/en_ca/

So, if you feel like saving a bit of money, do a google search for Canadian Coupons.

Anyways,

Have a great day.
I will try to blog more.

Hugs

Hexagon and a pouch!!

2011-07-20T17:13:00.000-04:00

Okay, so I did paper piece some hexagon out of scraps left-over from cutting those little charm packs.

I decided to use them to make little pouches.

I'm going to sell these at my yard sale.

Hopefully they sell.

But if not, I do need some for myself, so no worries.

These are all made from stuff in my stash.

Yeah!!

Gotta work!!

Hugs

A few little bags....

2011-07-19T17:27:00.000-04:00

So, I just couldn't sleep last night.

I decided to get up and make a few little bags.

These are perfect for a kids gym bag or to bring little extras when going out.

What do you think?

I spotted more GO! Baby Giveaways:

Freda's Hive - ends July 22nd

Want it, Need it, Quilt! - ends Aug 16th

Lily's Quilts - ends July 20th

Me? A Mom? - ends July 20th

Good luck with the giveaway.

Hugs

A bit of this and that.......

2011-07-18T22:56:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone,

I hope you are all having a great day.

I know I haven't blogged in the last week.

I've been working night shifts, then I had company come visit, then more night shifts.

I've been tired!!

I haven't done any sewing.

But tonight, I did make a few mini charm packs from my modern scraps.

I cut my modern scraps with my 3 1/2 inch square die and my GO! Cutter.

I made 6 little packs of 40 squares.

I'm having a yard sale on Saturday,

and I thought I would sell some of my scraps of fabric.

I might make a few more mini charm packs with my country and reproduction fabric.

I'm not sure yet.

It depends how I feel.

I'm destashing!!

Making room in my sewing area and also in the rest of the house too.

It's always nice to clear some stuff out.

Well, that's all for today.

I'm working 2 more night shifts before the weekend.

Hopefully, I'll be able to sew a bit more soon.

Hugs

My finished Carpenter's Star quilt!!

2011-07-10T12:06:00.000-04:00

I finally have pictures of my finished quilt.

Here they are.

Quilt Stats:

Size: 96 inches square

Fabric used:

"Black, White and Current" by Color Principle for Henry Glass & Co.

and

Kona cotton solids: white, black and red by Robert Kaufman

Designed, machine pieced, machine quilted by Ariane Kring

Started in April 2011 and completed in July 2011

I hope you all like it.

I know my brother and his wife do.

Hugs

Some great mail and a wonderful wedding.

2011-07-05T17:26:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone,

I hope you are all well.

This weekend I went to my youngest brother Pierre's wedding.

He married the beautiful Christa.

It was such a beautiful wedding.

We all had so much fun.

All my family attended and we danced until late in the night.

Congratulations Pierre and Christa!!!

I also received some wonderful mail today from Daisy Cottage Quilts.

I love this fabric and the pattern.

Can't wait to try it.

Hugs

A teacher gift

2011-06-29T22:19:00.001-04:00

Hi everyone!!

I hope you have all had a great day.

I made a bag today for my daughters teacher.

It was a last minute gift, as today was the last day of school.

Here it is.

I put a large pocket on the one side.

This pocket is big enough to put a large magazine.

The other side was left without pockets.

I put a zipper in the bag.

This is the first time I have done this.

It's not perfect, but it was good enough for today.

I added some pockets inside.

I tried using cotton webbing for the handles.

They look okay, but I don't think I will use it again for this type of bag.

My daughters teacher loved it.

So that was great.

I also got some great mail today.

The mail strike is over and I should be getting a few more packages in the mail soon.

This order came from Crazy Quilt Girl Fabric Shop.

I love this fabric.

Clermont Farms has some gorgeous prints.

I would love to get more of this fabric.

I will be away for the weekend.

My brothers getting married in Northern Ontario.

It will be fun to see all the family.

Edited to add:
Hey, I found more Baby GO! Cutter giveaways.
Here are the links.

Craft Buds - ends July 4th

Quilting Along The Gorge - ends July 10th

Have a great weekend.

Hugs

Sneak Peak!!!

2011-06-27T19:37:00.001-04:00

Hi everyone,

I hope you all had a great weekend.

I spent some time with the kids and did a lot of housework.

I did do a bit of sewing.

I'm only going to show a sneak peak, because this is a gift.

I don't want to spoil the surprise.

Also, on Sunday I went to the beach with the kids.

Here are my two youngest running out in the cold water.

These two had so much fun at the beach.

We were at Sand Banks Provincial Park just outside of Picton, Ontario.

On another note,

I wanted to encourage all of you to sign up for AccuQuilt's newsletter by clicking the button below.

You get to receive all the special deals that they have going on.

And on top of that you get 22 free patterns.

Right now they are having amazing deals.

If you have been wanting to buy a

GO! Baby.....NOW IS THE TIME!!!!

They are giving a free GO! Alex Anderson die set with the purchase of a GO! Baby.

You can't beat that deal!!!

I know I've been promoting the GO! Baby and GO! Cutter a lot on my blog.

But I really do love my GO! Cutter.

This is an amazing product.

I use mine all the time.

I now design my quilts, according to the dies that I have.

I try to add new dies when I can.

It makes my quilting experience so much better and I get to sew that much faster.

So, go check it out.

Subscribe to AccuQuilt's Newsletter and more chance to win a GO! Baby

2011-06-24T19:14:00.002-04:00

Sign up for AccuQuilt's Newsletter and receive 22 free patterns.

This is your chance to get a peak at the wonderful products you can make with your GO! Cutter or GO! Baby.

Just click the picture above to receive your free patterns.

And more GO! Baby giveaways going on in Blog land.

Our Busy Little Bunch - GO! Baby giveaway

ends July 1st.

Vicki B Quilts - GO! Baby giveaway

ends July 3rd.

Samelia's Mum - GO! Baby giveaway

ends June 26th.

Piece and Press - GO! Baby giveaway

ends June 26th.

Mary on Lake Pulaski - GO! Baby giveaway
ends June 26th.

During Quiet time - GO! Baby giveaway

ends June 25th.

If I find more to share I will let you know.

Hugs

Another chance to win a baby GO! Cutter

2011-06-24T12:09:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone!!

I just thought I would let you know about another GO! Baby Giveaway.

Vicki B Quilts is giving one away on her blog.

She doesn't have a lot of followers so this may be your chance to win.

So GO!!! check it out.

Hugs

Grade 8 graduation night!!!

2011-06-22T23:37:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone!

I hope you are all well.

Tonight I attended my DS2's grade 8 graduation.

He is growing so fast.

He looked so great all dressed up in a suit.

He is just 13, but soon to be 14.

I can't believe he will be in high school next year.

Where has the time gone.

He likes to pose for the camera.

Here's a few more shots.

I'm so proud of him.

He is such a great kid.

Congratulations Brad!!!

Hugs

Scrappy modern baby rail fence quilt!

2011-06-20T00:44:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone!

I hope you all had a great day today!

It was Father's day, and I spent a great day with my husband and my kids.

It was just beautiful outside.

This evening I finished working on one of my scrap busting projects.

My small 3.5 inch blocks turned into a simple baby rail fence quilt.

I decided to keep the border simple.

I'm really happy that I made this all from my scraps and stash.

I don't know when it will be quilted, but at least it's a finished top.

Have a great day.

Hugs

Have you ever just wanted to sew......

2011-06-14T19:46:00.001-04:00

but not think?

Well, that's how I have been feeling lately.

I just needed to sew to keep my mind busy,

but didn't want to have to think too much while I was doing it.

Before I went up to Northern Ontario for a funeral,

I bought the newest copy of American Patchwork and Quilting, the August 2011 issue.

I was immediately interested in the cover quilt.

You see, I had seen it before.

It was Kathie Holland's quilt.

She blogs at Inspired by Antique Quilts.

I've been following Kathie's blog for quite some time now.

She is a scrappy quilter, just like me.

Sew, I just love all the projects that she has been doing.

When, I got home, I decided to take my 1.5 inch strips that I had cut from my scraps and started making some of these blocks.

I had cut all my strips with my GO! Cutter 1.5 inch strip die.

That made my work much easier.

I have 52 blocks made already.

These were are a lot of fun to make.

They are so easy, and I used up a bunch of ugly fabric that I've had in my stash forever.

Since they are cut up so small, you don't really notice them.

I ran out of cut strips in the country, reproduction style fabric.

I still have full scrap bins though.

So, I just have to cut more.

I need 240 blocks for this quilt.

Then, as I was looking at my 1.5 inch strip bin,

I noticed I had a lot of modern, contemporary fabric still in there.

I wanted to use some of these up.

The problem was that they were shorter strips.

I also didn't have as much variety.

Sew, I decided to make little 3.5 inch rail fence blocks.

I used white as my center strip, then my scraps for either side of the white.

This is what I have completed so far.

I have 35 little 3.5 inch modern rail fence blocks.

Aren't they cute?

I think this would make a cute little scrappy baby quilt.

As I was trimming these little blocks, I had bits that were left.

So, I trimmed these bits.

Look at what I have.

These are 1.5 inch strips.

I thought I could use these to make little 3.5 inch 9-patch blocks.

I could use them in the border of the baby rail fence quilt.

Hmmm.......I'm on a roll, I think!!!

I just love scrap busting.

I hate throwing fabric out.

Sew, this project will fulfill the need to use those scraps,

have hours of mindless sewing,

and make some quilts in the process.

Oh, I forgot.....it's cheap too, since I already have the fabric.

I don't have a timeline for this project either.

Sew, I'll finish, when I finish.

No pressure.

Hugs

A new baby in the family, and a trip home!!

2011-06-10T20:42:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone,

Yesterday, my niece had a beautiful baby boy.

So now I'm a great aunt.

Isn't that exciting!!!

He is so beautiful!!!

Also, I had to drive back to my home town this week,

because we had a sudden death in the family.

It's always hard when you lose someone you care about.

But, one good thing was that I was able to see my parents.

I hadn't seen them in about 8 months.

They live about 8 hours away.

I took some pictures of my parents garden.

They live in Northern Ontario, so their growing season is a bit later then ours.

I always find it so restful to go there.

They have such a beautiful home and gardens.

It's been a week of mixed emotions, with some really sad times and really happy times.

But, I keep moving on through my days, and hopefully will have some quilty projects to share with you soon.

Hugs

I'm done the quilting!!!

2011-06-06T15:48:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone,

I finally finished quilting my Carpenter's Star quilt today.

Here it is!

The quilting is not perfect, but it's as close to perfect as I could get it with the tools I had.

And, not hand quilting it. (I didn't have time for that.)

I'm very happy with it.

I love it, actually.

I would keep it, if it didn't have so much white in it.

LOL!!

It would never stay white at my house.

Now, I just have to put the binding on it.

Yeah! I'm almost done.

Hugs

Ariane's Crafts and Quilts

A zigzag quilt in progress....

I finished my Picnic Schnibbles Quilt!!!

Potholders and Lanyards

And then there were four.....

2 mug rugs

Small completed projects!!

2012 Quilt Contest by Quilt Alliance

A wonderful gift.....

21 blocks....

I got some blocks done...

Using up my scraps...

T-shirt refashion inspiration!!!

Blogger's Choice Fat Quarter Bundle

Two little ornaments....

I have a finished flimsy!!! Yeah!!!

Twirling Paper Christmas Balls Tutorial

A song to get you in the Christmas Spirit.

I made something!!!!

EVERYTHING IS ON SALE!!!

Okay....so I got a little carried away....

And the winner is......

Speed Scrap Sunday

Scrapbook pages.....and more in my etsy shop!!!

And the winner is.........

This is your last chance!!!

My Memories Suite v2 Giveaway!!!*****CLOSED*****

It's giveaway time!!!!!******CLOSED*********

Bloggers' Quilt Festival Fall 2011

Scrapbooking Monday...or is it Tuesday....maybe Wednesday

Some Christmas Mug Rugs!!!

I have another finish!!!! Yeah!!!!

More Scrapbooking!!!

I have a completed quilt top!

I have a discount code to share

A little softie for a tiny baby!!

Baby gifts for my Best Friend!!!

More Scrapbooking pages

I have a finish!!!

I made two more with my daughter's help

My Memories Suite

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Where have I been......

Sew What You Love by Tanya Whelan

A little dog quilt!

A little denim bag for my daughter!

I won!!!! Look what I got!!!!

First Guild meeting of 2011-2012 season!!

2 more Bee blocks done!!

Finally done with all my "Maple Leaf Bee 2" blocks

Check out this giveaway!!!! closed

Look what my hubby got me......

GO! Baby giveaways going on in blogland

Scrappy Quilts - Inspiration from flickr

Broken Dishes QAL, Part 3

Triangle in a square - tutorial

GO! Baby Giveaways to report!!!

Broken Dishes QAL, Part 2 - tutorial

Broken Dishes - A quilt along

A bit of work on my Summer Blues Quilt!!!

Some string blocks and donation blocks!!!

The Wantobe Quilters Campaign!!!

I've been on a blog holiday!!!

Hexagon and a pouch!!

A few little bags....

A bit of this and that.......

My finished Carpenter's Star quilt!!

Some great mail and a wonderful wedding.

A teacher gift

Sneak Peak!!!

Subscribe to AccuQuilt's Newsletter and more chance to win a GO! Baby

Another chance to win a baby GO! Cutter

Grade 8 graduation night!!!

Scrappy modern baby rail fence quilt!

Have you ever just wanted to sew......

A new baby in the family, and a trip home!!

I'm done the quilting!!!

My Memories Suite v2 Giveaway!!!CLOSED

It's giveaway time!!!!!CLOSED***