Postcard from Sweden QAL Step 1

Well! Judging from the number of PDF patterns I emailed out, and the excitement on Instagram, this second QAL I'm hosting should be a resounding success with beautiful colourful Postcard quilts splashed across Instagram! Now, do not fret if your fabric hasn't arrived, or if you haven't had time to peruse your stash for 36 shades and tones of the rainbow; we have two whole weeks until we start sewing. 

Postcard From Sweden Quilt Along

This is the introductory post for the 2022 Postcard From Sweden QAL. I'm so glad you are here. January in the Northern Hemisphere can be a tough slog, so I think it's a perfect time to lift our spirits by sewing something bright and simple. It's all half-square triangles in beautiful vibrant fabrics. Once again, I used Kelly's photo of the quilt as the background for the graphic.

First things first. Tracie of Riceford Streams messaged me way back at the end of September asking if I was considering hosting another QAL, since she had come across a kit for a good price, and had always wanted to make this, as she said, cheery quilt. She thought sewing with others would be a good incentive. I thought this a great idea, maybe something to make in the new year. Besides, I have a healthy stack of Kona cottons I seem to have amassed since that first QAL. Might as well use them! So I contacted Kelly Liddell in early December to ask her permission to host another quilt along. Her pattern is no longer available anywhere. If you have seen it for sale as a stand alone pattern, then do not purchase it, because whoever is selling it is a thief. This is Kelly's design, inspired by a postcard set she saw in IKEA by Tom Frazier. Her pattern was always free. If you would like to join in with the QAL and make this quilt you have a few options.

PQ 13.1 Postcard Pouch

It 's that time of year again! Project Quilting time that is, the brainchild of Kim of Persimon Dreams, hosted by her good friend Trish  @quiltchicken . The first challenge Trish dreamed up is called 'All the Colours'. As in use 'em all. In my last post I mentioned that I was going to once again host a Postcard from Sweden Quilt Along. Put that with all the colours, add in wanting to make a small gift for my niece, and boom! Postcard Pouch idea was born.

I used the Charm Square pouch tutorial, formerly available on Moda Bakeshop, that I've made at least a dozen times, substituted HSTs for the squares, based it on Kelly's Postcard from Sweden quilt, formerly available on Craftsy, tried Anna's technique at Noodlehead Open Wide pouch and another boom! It all came together beautifully.

Review of 2021 and Looking Ahead to 2022

2021 was my first year of not being an Island Batik Ambassador, so I allowed myself free rein to have fun and see where my muse took me. Well, the fun started with Project Quilting, and again I had fun all year with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. I got a bit serious tackling UFOs through Gail's PHD. All in all I had a fun year. I had goals in mind but no pressure. Well maybe a couple of times a little pressure! Self-imposed, so that's okay.

As always PQ pushed my creativity, which I love.

Skulls On Fire

Well, it took four years after buying all the fabric, but my husband finally has his very own quilt.

Does it ever feel good to have a finish on the second day of January! I'd like to thank Leanne at Devoted Quilter who is hosting TGIFF this week, for her 100 days of WIPS on Instagram #wipsbegone2021 which gave me an extra push to get this done. 

Rainbow Bowties

This was the first project I planned on for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge this year with Angela at soscrappy. I knew I needed to control those strings of mine. Did I succeed? Well a healthy throw-sized quilt later, and .... yeah, hard nope! They just multiply like crazy.

The skies are grey yet again but I hung this from our deck for natural lighting. Just a whisper of wind in the back yard today, so I got a pretty good shot. Could use a weighted bar at the bottom to straighten out that wavy. It is straight, trust me.

Letting the Bags out of the Bag

Well, Christmas is about over for another year as I write this, and it was a very special one for me, as I flew to Alberta to spend it with Brianne and Brady. I had the joy of being a part of two other special Christmas presents this year. About three or four weeks before Christmas, within the span of a week, two of my yoga students approached me, asking if I could make them the tote bag I bring to each class as a present for a loved one. They actually spurred me on to get my pattern, Positive Flow, finished up. It had stalled because I intended to include the tote bag... Below is the original bag, which I designed to showcase my Blogger Bundle I curated for Bernie's (now closed) shop, Needle and Foot. (that's her blog, always a good read).

Thought we in the northern hemisphere could use a little Caribbean Sea and sand about now!