Monday, December 28, 2020

Elizabeth saw a picture of a donation quilt I made and she really liked one of the fabrics because it reminded her of their eel. I didn’t have any extra of the fabric but after ordering from a couple of different shops I was able to get something that I thought would work.

Just in case the eel wasn’t what she really wanted, I put a fabric that I know she loves on the back.

The Guild held this class in 2019. Most of the participants made an oval rug but I thought a rectangular one would be easier. Most of the participants used lovely fabric already pre-cut into a jelly roll but I cut my own strips from some novelty fabric that wasn’t getting used up very fast.

I worked the entire class and I thought I had made good progress but when I opened the bin this week I sadly had only a few tubes made. Fortunately I had all the fabric strips and batting already cut so I could start sewing right away.

I was very surprised at how quickly it went together. Now that it’s done I’m wondering why it took me so long to get back to it.

I don’t think it has ever taken me so long to really finish a quilt after the quilting is done. I wasn’t very diligent about stitching down the binding and it took me a couple of days. I found a problem spot in the binding and needed to do some repairs and while I was knotting and burying ends I found a seam that didn’t quite catch. It’s all done now though and I can safely say that my UFO for June is finished before the deadline.

I have wanted to make a Log Cabin quilt since I started quilting – I’m drawn to those traditional blocks. At a quilt show on the Island a few years ago I saw a log cabin that I really wanted to make. I found the out-of-print pattern but didn’t take it any further. At some point I realized that I didn’t need to make a huge quilt to test out the technique. I could make a smaller quilt and know whether I wanted to make another larger one. I still haven’t made up my mind on that larger quilt.

My records show that I started this in 2019. I know I finished all the blocks at our Thursday retreat that year. I had the layout planned but it lingered in a bin until it came up on my UFO list.

I purchased the purple and green swirl fabric much before then. The quilt shop was supposed to have some matching fabric to go with it but it took a long time to come in. In the meantime I had found quite a few other greens and purples and I didn’t end up using the matching fabric. I really like the fabric but I’ll use it for something else.

A new quilting book arrived just in time for me to use their suggestions for the quilting. I didn’t follow the book exactly but it gave me a good starting point.

I have no idea where this one will end up – but that isn’t really the purpose of my quilting.

It isn’t often that I get enthused about the Guild Challenge. Most years I do it but it is usually a last minute creation and often only a block or a placemat. But this year I got really “into” it after finding a pattern at the Saskatoon Quilt Show that would be just perfect.

Create a quilt that has a circus/fair theme. Use the enclosed fabric as part of the front of the quilt. The quilt should not be huge. A small one is good. The challenge should be finished and ready to show by the June meeting 2020. Your quilt should feature an animal.

We were given a fat quarter of the striped fabric. I wasn’t sure I would have enough for all the boxes (cages in my circus theme) but I actually had a little left over.

The quilting didn’t go as well as I had hoped. My free-motion quilting didn’t work at all and my appliqué work is sketchy at the best. For most of the quilt it was just straight lines but I did try to get a bit of texture (wrinkled skin) in the elephant. I ended up using embroidery floss to attach the patches. In spite of all my cursing when I was working on it, I love the end result.

This was an entry into the Guild’s 2025 quilt show.

In 2019 Kathy Parker, a Guild member, presented the striped fabric as our challenge for the year. We were directed to use the fabric on the front of our quilt and to show an animal. Shortly after receiving the challenge I found this pattern at the Saskatoon Quilt Show and it was a perfect match. Quilted on my domestic Janome.