OMG and PHD: fleurs

First of all, confession: I did not get a Project Half Done, aka PHD, to the finished stage in August. However, I am one ahead so I'm still on track to finish 12 UFOs. For September, I aim to fulfill my PHD requirement and set this as my OMG: finish 'fleurs', a 'self-round robin' I made when I was part of the Erie Shore Quilt Guild.

The criteria for this was to choose an orphan block for the centre, (mine was the hand-appliquéd Rose of Sharon) and then each month a member of the executive would specify what style of quilting would be for that particular round. For example, the first round, in October 2013, was 'stripes', the second round was flying geese, and so on. It went on for seven months. I finished mine in December 2014, after I was no longer a member. It has sat, ever since. (red face of shame)

OMG and PHD Update...With a Dash of Squirrel

The squirrel is all Nancy's (Grace and Peace Quilting) fault. I've been taken with her gingham quilts over the past couple of months, and knew I wouldn't be able to resist for much longer. Well, as soon as Whimsies was done and blogged, into the blues I went. And didn't stop (yeah, it's a DrEAMi) until I had a top.

This is going to a young boy whose colour preferences and interests I do not know. I thought the planes fabric adds a bit of woven effect to the quilt. There are six different medium blues, a blueish/white Island Batik, and four navy blues. I can definitely see more of these in my future. More on the story of this quilt when it is finished. It will be my OMG for June, and in keeping with its DrEAMi nature, I'm not stopping until it's a done and useable quilt!

Whimsies

This quilt ticks two boxes: my OMG for May and my PHD finish for May. I love how it turned out, and I love the motivation I got TO finish it by making it both of those!

This was one of the RSC challenge projects that Angela at so scrappy came up with in 2019. I was quite late to the party, but in actuality I was behaving, focussing on Island Batik challenges and other projects I was supposed to be doing. But then that little turquoise pinwheel in the second from the bottom row grabbed me (thanks Mari) and I just had to make it...along with three others, and I was smitten. Here is the post. We were deep in the throes of the major renovation so it was a welcome and fun little diversion to make a little 4.5" finished block each month. However, although I'd pretty much decided on using the Kona Ice Frappé as the background, I never did put any of them onto the background because I had no clue how I'd arrange them all. Enter PHD and OMG!

OMG and a Winner

It is so wonderful to have so many friends out there in QBL, many of whom I've had the pleasure of meeting in person. Roseanne and I have yet to meet, but one day... She it was who reminded me with her OMG post to write up my own post for December and link up by Dec. 7 at Elm Street Quilts. One day I may win a prize there, so far no such luck.

Speaking of prizes, Barb @mountainquiltworks is the winner of eight fat eighths of Color Theory. She and I nearly met up on a Go Ahead Tours trip. She'd told me about the one she was doing in 2018, but it wasn't on our radar then. In 2019, unbeknownst to each other, we'd signed up for the very same Europe trip, but her travel was the month before ours. So close!  It's so cool when a prize goes to someone I know, and, just so you know, Rafflecopter keeps it out of my hands. Thanks to all who left such kind comments on my Follow Your Own Path quilt. Be sure to let me know if you make my design.

Now on to the OMG.

Dark Blue Scraps Sorting Box and OMG

This was my OMG for July, but I didn't get it done until yesterday: make a dark blue scraps sorting box.

Still, it is done and in use, and probably my favourite one yet!

June OMG: Pink Scraps Sorting Box

After spending hours upon hours on the computer yesterday putting the finishing touches on my upcoming pattern release, which Yvonne will have a look at this coming week, (yep, another, and it's a stars quilt!) I had to work on something mindless, fun, and pink. So I started quilting the panels for my next scraps sorting box, and finished it up today.

I love it. I guess I have loved pink forever, since I used to have a pink wall-papered living room in the 90s, and the lining, which you may recall is also featured in my Bear Paw Baby quilt, was what I used to make cushions that sat on my oak chairs in my dining room... So pink is right up there next to blue. Making this box gave me a lot of joy, on a day that is special: June 21 is National Indigenous Peoples Day here in Canada and it coincides with the Summer Solistce, though that actually did happen here yesterday about 5:20 pm. Rather fitting for the announcement that is forthcoming in this post, a post that is also my OMG fulfillment post.

Blog Hop Announcement, Giveaways and OMG!

This is a quick post to take care of several items!
First and foremost, it is the start of our second Island Batik blog hop for 2020. There are four this year, yep! And hopefully you caught the announcement this past weekend on Instagram, because there's already a sweet giveaway on offer. So head over and check it out.

The hop runs May 4 - 26 with new Island Batik giveaways each week, giveaways at pretty much each ambassador's stop, and tons of inspiration and eye candy featuring the newest collections. I finally get to show you my surprise fabric bundle. You may even get a sneak peek in this post...

March OMG and Giveaway Winner

I didn't get an OMG together for February, and my January one, which you can see here, got done in record time, like within a day or two of my post but I forgot to link it up! I'd added a second one, to finish another scrap box, but that didn't happen. So! For March I am planning to get my turquoise scrap box done. I have the panels made:

That is an in-progress shot, but rest assured, they're all four complete now, just need quilting and assembling!

Project Review of 2019 and January OMG

I was updating my 'Quilts of 2019' tab today, and I realized I missed adding a project, as well as I had to enter the rest of the December ones. I thought hmm, I should make a collage of all of these projects I did, as it was a rather productive year! At the end of this post will also be my OMG post for January. Here is the first set of nine projects in more or less order of completion.

Wow, lots of bright and happy colours here! Four of the nine are my own designs too. 😊
Top row: Oh the Places You'll Go!; Moody Blues; Scrap Box
Middle: Burst of Spring; Sparkle On!; Cheerio!
Bottom: Postcard from Sweden cushion cover; Fern; Pasque Star
You can find a photo and a link to each of these posts in the Quilt Gallery tab up top and click on Quilts of 2019.

December OMG

I remembered...forgot...remembered...forgot and have actually remembered before the 7th is over. I am so glad I get friends' blogs via email as it is that that kept reminding me...

This is not on my Q4FAL List, so it's a fair OMG; I try not to 'double-dip'! And yeah, yeah, I have a ton of want to and need to-do's from which to choose! For December I want to use my House Block pattern (see sidebar for the link to my Etsy shop) or click here to get your copy for just $4, to make a Christmassy cushion cover with 3D effects.

Fall Pillow Cases OMG

Yay for an OMG that is finished in plenty of time before month's end. And yay for a WIP  that is also finally done. I should have had this on my Q4FAL List, but didn't think of it until after I'd posted, and well, that would be 'double-dipping' in the enter-to-win linky parties, so I didn't, not that I've ever won an OMG... I did win once in the FAL, and hm! I still have to go visit Mad About Patchwork and spend my moola. But I digress. Here is my finish:

When I spied a bit of snow still left on these junipers, I thought the red would look good against it... and it does! Actually kind of Christmassy, right? Good thing I got that shot when I did, because there's very little snow left only a few hours later, just a bit on the north-facing side of places. I'm good with that because this snow came way too early.

November OMG

I have not been so great at stating OMGs, and when I have, not so great at finishing them I feel, though I haven't backed that up with stats.

This month, I plan to finally get these pillow shams/cases done to go on our bed. I took off the seashell ones that go on in midsummer just yesterday and washed them, so it's high time. As per usual, there are a couple of other gotta-do's ahead of them.

OMG for June

Popping in under the wire with an OMG. But first, if you are looking for TBT, Throwback Thursday for those quilts we made before we started blogging, this month it's being hosted by Andrée at Quilting & Learning - What a Combo!

So for OMG this month I hope to get two more placemats made to match the two I made at Christmas as per my daughter Brianne's request.

I was able to dig up the correct Kona colours, thanks to mentioning them in my post about the first two I made. Yay for details!

I used Pool, Ash and Coal. The two grey embossed fabrics I used on the backs.

OMG for May

Popping in with a much shorter post than I usually write due to spending my blog writing time getting my blog hop post all ready to go for tomorrow, Wednesday May 8. Hope you will visit it; there's a giveaway!

I really want to get in on OMG this month as I've missed a couple. These two goals are not on my Q2FAL list either, so it is important to put them in the public eye, and make me more accountable, ha! The main goal is to get the pattern for this quilt, Oh! The Places You'll Go! published!

I owe a copy to Rose of something rosemade, and it's embarrassing how close the pattern is to being done, and how long it's been since I promised her a copy as part of her win, oh... was it back in January? Egad.

Getaway! Island Batik Blog Hop and Giveaways

Who doesn't love to hear that phrase, "Let's get away!" be it January, cold and dark in the northern hemisphere, OR January, summertime in the southern hemisphere, school's out and let's head to a great camping spot or the big city or the ocean...
I try to be all-inclusive, and I have realized especially over the past year, but even years ago when I had a grade 7 student from South Africa (whose mum was my first Yin yoga teacher😊) who spent a month, December/January, in the southern hemisphere summer visiting their family each year, that we northern hemisphere peeps do not recognize our sister/brother southern hemisphere peeps' seasons. So I am right here right now. Sidenote: said grade 7 student is now a doctor, as in M.D.!

And welcome to my spiralling mind! It's how I roll, both on the blog and IRL, (in real life). I always have been like that; menopause exacerbates it, and I sometimes leave my dear husband, aka MacGyver, in the dust with my spiralling and jumping around and assuming he is following my meanderings. Anyhow. Let's focus, shall we?

I am so excited to show you my quilt I designed for this hop! It's the biggest one I've made for Island Batik, measuring 69 X 84". All the fabrics were provided by Island Batik, the batting by Hobbs Batting (I'm using 100% wool, pinch me!), and the threads by Aurifil. I should also tell you that I found out this week that I've been accepted for a second year representing this wonderful company as an ambassador for their fabrics. I just love their fabrics, truly. I've been a batik lover forever, have used them solo, or mixed them in with other cottons. Here is the group I got to work with for the hop. It is called Crystal Ball.

November OMG and RSC Flimsy

Well, I didn't wait to hear from anyone in the post where I showed this possible layout on the design wall to be honest, and I sewed up the proposed layout for my RSC2018 quilt top!

I love it, and am glad I did this little-bit-unconventional layout.

OMG I Finished my May OMG

Two days ago, I saw a couple of OMG finishes, and thought, 'Did I sign up for one? And if I did, what was it?'  So I looked back through my posts, and yup, I did, when I did my Throwback Thursday post for May, it was embarrassingly apparent that the cushion cover I was featuring was incomplete...

No more!

Throwback Thursday #5 Herbs Cushion Cover & OMG

When I decided upon just which pre-blogging quilt I would write about, I realized this post would serve as my TBT as well as my OMG! Heh? How can that be? Read on to find out. Guilty secrets, true confessions, baring my UFO soul for all to see...

That is the pillow as it lives, for the past oh, 9-10 years, on my bed amongst several others. All the others there are tout fini. All finished. They range in age from the candle-wicking one, made in 1984-ish, to the Meadow Dance aqua/white/black one made in September 2017.

I'd already embroidered one Crabapple Hill pattern, and fallen in love with her designs. I always, always had some kind of handwork with me, be it knitting or embroidery, and this was so portable. I need to get back in that habit. I think aging eyes 😩 that don't see up close very well anymore are part of the reason I don't embroider like I used to. Here it is on the freshly mowed, new, I-could-just-chomp-on-it spring grass, off the pillow form:

I love these soft feminine colours, both the fabrics and threads. The 9-patch that is the centre is comprised of nine different cream low-volume fabrics before low-volume was a 'thing'. There's a little of my hoarded precious Nancy Halvorsen ' True Friends' fabrics by Benartex...who knew all these years later, this company would be such a huge part of my quilting life. The main floral fabric is a piece I'd bought thinking of using it for a kaleidoscope background fabric, but it was just so perfect for this cushion cover, that I used it all up here. The pink single-fold binding is machine-stitched to the front and hand-stitched down to the back. It's a left over piece of Moda Marbles--(How do I remember things like that? Oh, but I do. However, where I set my phone down 15 minutes ago? No clue. MacGyver threatened today to fix some kind of idiot strings to it...) --Moda Marbles from my mum's 70th birthday quilt. Okay then. That tells me it would be about 11 years old then as my mum is 81. See the value of quilt labels? I'm ticked I didn't put one on this.

Here is the back:

And this brings me to the OMG part of this TBT.  I zoomed in for you:

The blanket stitch on the back envelope edge is about 1/3 done. I had a feeling at the time that I shouldn't put it onto a pillow form because I might never finish that edge, stitched with a strand of the soft green and one of the soft pink, nor would I put on the two buttons required to close the flap. Oh, and make the buttonholes. So there it has sat (But no one will know! Well now everyone does....) for the past 11 years. So it is not just an OMG it's also a UFO! I see this on a daily basis; I pick it off my bed and set it back on the bed each day, so I touch it twice a day(!!), and it just keeps waiting patiently, every once in awhile giving me the spectacles slipped down the nose, eye-piercing look over the tops of them, 'So uh, hello? Anytime... You could finish me properly...' So I would like to finish embroidering that edge and make the buttonholes, sew on the buttons and call it done! I hope to do this by the end of May.

You may think this is a rather cheesy UFO/OMG, like I've had a lot more ambitious ones, try last month's? Two!! Both of which I did not complete... So I'm keeping it simple, but it's also got a catch: I have NO clue where, well a vague idea, my embroidery threads are. They sat in the Storage Box for five months last year and because I knew this loft was going to be renovated, I haven't set all my sewing stuff up, just the stuff I really need and use daily, so embroidery threads? Nuh-uh. The other hard part of this UFO/OMG is finding buttons. Same reason as embroidery thread. But also, did I buy some for this project? Or must I go out and buy some? So you see, not as easy-peasy a goal as it first appears.

Wish me luck!

Let's see what pre-blogging quilts with their stories (I love love love the stories) you've got for us this month!

But first! Free shipping at Craftsy! Today only! May 3! US orders only (booo, but it helps to have a daughter who lives across the river in Michigan!) and one time use only per customer.
Code: 24HRFREESHIP

and...

Be sure to check out Craftsy's new platform, much like Netflix (can't wait until I get my TV set up in this loft) where you pay monthly or annually, and you can watch classes 24/7! Do remember though that it still works like it always did: if you prefer to buy individual classes, they are yours forever to watch and rewatch time and again!


Linking up
Elm Street Quilts
Tish N Wonderland

An InLinkz Link-up

OMG for April

Sneaking this puppy in just under the deadline...

I hope to finish a top by the end of April for Hands2Help at Confessions of a Fabric Addict. I plan to make two again for Sarah's wonderful charity quilt drive, one of which has to be out of some wonderful Canada fabric. Here are just a few of the Canada-themed prints I have amassed over the past year:

My second goal is to complete an entire quilt, minimum 36" square, by the end of April, because that is our Island Batik challenge this month, to remake a vintage quilt block/pattern with a modern vibe. My quilt is in my head, and I so hope that what I envision comes into fabric! I plan to use this line plus whatever else I may need from the 'tickle trunk' of supplies they sent us.

I just love these challenges! Yes, there's the pressure, but I work well under pressure, always have. I think it's may be because it forces me to put on the blinders and ignore the squirrels and social media world and SEW!

A few items to note:

1. I hope you come back tomorrow for my postcard swap hop post. You've seen the one I made, but you'll get to see it again as well as the one I received and hear about the quilters behind them. I'll also have the list of several other hoppers.😉

2. The New Quilt Bloggers Blog Hop begins April 16! That seemed quite far away when we were back in the planning stages in January and February, and now it's just 10 days away! You will get to visit eight new bloggers each week, and did I mention that there are MANY fabulous prizes?.

3. I have been fairly quiet on the affiliate links front of late. I think it's worth noting in this post, however, that Craftsy (affiliate link) has a couple of great deals on right now. The first is a 7-day free trial of their Unlimited Classes platform:

And the second is 50-60% of hundreds of classes on this weekend, April 6-8...

4. Connecting Threads (affiliate link) has a great deal on this weekend only, an extra amount off your purchase, and that purchase can include some, or all, sale merchandise!

Remember they have batting, aka wadding, 30% off all this month too, a great time to stock up, which is something I usually do during their sales or Craftsy's. I have been using more Hobbs batting, partly because we got some in our IB goodies, but also because I got it at Michael's with a coupon and I really am liking both the 80/20 cotton/poly as well as I'm in LOVE with the Tuscany 100% poly. The Thermore is pretty amazing too for minis, gotta say! What is also amazing is CT's free shipping policy(to US, Canada, UK, and Australia), so if you do nothing else, at least check that out.

Okay off to finish the postcard post and link this up with Patty at Elm Street Quilts!

Dutch Garden Quilt OMG

My One Monthly Goal is done! I haven't met my goal in the past couple of months so I am really pleased that I finally have succeeded.

I had to get a photo of the top by the water. This is looking north on Bird Key. You can see Lido Key on the top left, and Sarasota on the top right. This is the intracoastal water, which is between the barrier islands, or keys and the mainland. This quilt is for my aunt's 80th birthday, which was, um, April last year. In 2016 I brought her and my mum here to Florida for a lovely week, so I think it most fitting that I finished assembling the top here in Florida!

I just love how it turned out. I agonized for a few days with rearranging the stars to evenly distribute all the prints and the colours. The border is a 1-yard kit that came with the original kit. I didn't make the pattern that the kit was for though, but one out of a Pam and Nicky Lintott book, Layer Cake, Jelly Roll & Charm Quilts. This was the kit:

I was pretty disappointed at first, because there was no indication that the yardage consisted of only one yard and 5 charm packs! However, this quilt pattern is perfect for it, and yielded a 54X72" quilt using just 4 of the charm packs and the yard for the border! Sweet! That extra charm pack will be a prize... You can still get this fabric, (affiliate link) though the kit I bought is no longer in stock. Hmm, I see there are no more charm packs, so I've got a rarity for a prize! Getting the quilt totally finished is one of my Q1 goals.

I made this quilt once before, as part of the Desire to Inspire Henry Glass Challenge back in June 2015, just slightly smaller, and without a border:

On the beach of Lake Erie

It's one of my favourite quilts.

So, that extra charm pack? It is destined as a prize in my #30quiltdesignschallenge I'm hosting on Instagram. There are also some sweet prizes from The Red Hen Shop and Clinton Modern Creative. Click the hashtag link for some pretty fabulous quilt designs! There are quite a few of us participating this year, and once again I am, and I think we all are, having fun, being pushed a little, and being amazed and inspired by the creativity in each of us.  Here is a little collage of three of my designs. The one in EQ8 (really liking this programme, no affiliation) is what evolved from a 'homework' quilt, playing with symmetry.

We have chatted about all the places that seem to inspire us with design; the yellow quilt just zipped into my head when I spied that well-known phrase on a billboard that week. Interestingly, the hexagon design of Feb. 19 gave me a 'frisson' of incredulity. No less than four of us played with hexagons on that day, unbeknownst to each other. Isn't that amazing? I know authors, poets, musicians, artists, speak of sometimes tapping into a stream of creativity where designs/works/words just flow, and they feel that they are just the vehicle. I fully believe in that, and perhaps this was a glimpse of tapping into that stream, just being in sync with each other.  Feel free to hop in anytime; the first draw for the first 10 designs, or however many you have come up with, is February 26.

Also not too late is joining in with my Postcard from Sweden quilt along.

My stack of 35 fabrics in colour order (Mulberry is missing, sigh), not 36, pointed out by Kathy, a reader and an observant one, just prior to cutting. I'm half way through the cutting.

There are some exceedingly sweet prizes available; click the link in my sidebar to check out the main post, or click on the Quilt Alongs tab at the top of this page. Kits are still available, with free shipping within each respective country of the shop's location. Please check out that Quilt Alongs tab for details. The following links will take you directly to the Postcard from Sweden kit at each shop:

Stitch Stash Diva
Mad About Patchwork (free shipping code: MMMQAL)
The Tartan Reel

If you love rainbow quilts, please visit Kelly's shop, Jeli Quilts. She is the designer of this FREE pattern, what a darling she is, to have it as a free download, and you will find she has a ton of rainbow quilts and blocks. 😍

Linking up
Sew Fresh Quilts
Quilt Fabrication
Elm Street Quilts