So Close…

Why is it that when you have a deadline for a project and you work and work and work every spare minute on it and are on track for achieving that deadline that you hit snags. Does the universe pull together to stop you from succeeding? I was “THIS” close to finishing the Christmas Beast king-sized quilt for my parents to give before Christmas day (the 23rd). Picture this, Friday December 21st and I’m on the third border (of four in case you needed clarification) and it’s all going smoothly. Christmas music is turned up and I’m really in the groove of

The Christmas Beast Revisited

I took antibiotics last week (after about 6 weeks of being ill with a bad cough and various colds in between) and I feel like myself again! My dilemma with the Home Organization 101 challenge and completing the King-Size “2011 Christmas Beast” (that is now becoming the 2012 Christmas Beast!) has split my time and attention. I have been dedicating one hour per day (at least) on the quilt and get it done. This will allow me to complete the Office/craft room organization goal that I have because it will clear up a lot of space and give me a

My Inexpensive Machine Quilt Frame

Waaaaaaaaay back in the spring I decided to research a quilting frame. With my ambitious king-sized quilt (which I dubbed the 2011 “Christmas Beast“), I wanted to frame it around my machine instead of try wrestle it while attempting to top-stitch. The summer is too hot for wearing a quilt while sewing – even if my craft room is housed in the cooler basement. I have already spent many hours in just creating the top that consists of hundreds of 2×2 inch finished squares and several borders (you can link to the Christmas Beast to see the top). I want to

Christmas in August Wedding Quilt

My cousin is getting married this August 11th. She loves Christmas so I got inspired this past year to make her a winter/holiday quilt for her wedding present. It’s a queen-size quilt in a really warm flannel material with bamboo arctic batting. I hope it is as warm for them as it looks, feels and sounds! Here is the top before I quilted it. I wanted to have some fun while trying out my new quilt frame so I chose the inside of the squares to have a meandering stipple. I was trying to follow the general flow of the

Kids, The Garage and Sewing Project Update

Holy heat wave here in Southern Ontario. When it’s hot out my brain gets mushy and I come up with little that is worthy of mentioning on the blog, especially since I don’t accomplish much when I’m too hot. Summer holidays have started this week for the children. Ava is now going into Grade 1 and Travis will enter full time Junior Kindergarten in September. I remember thinking when Travis was a baby that September 2012 would be so far away and here we are approaching it in a few months. Good thing about him being a January baby is

The Christmas Beast

I have been so incredibly focused on making the items I have planned for Christmas. Three Saturdays (including today) to work on my surprises. I’m excited to both work on these projects and show them to you. Here’s a sneak peak at the “beast” which I am dubbing the king-sized quilt. I had exactly, to the edge, enough fabric to finish one of the cream-coloured borders. And guess what I did? I scorched a piece of it. I tried to put vinegar and washed it out right away to no avail. Thank goodness I found an itty bitty piece I

Friday Night Sew-In (Follow Up)

Today I feel motivated again. Friday Night’s Sew In inspired me to continue working away at the king-sized quilt with 2″x2″ finished squares top. I’ve worked on it Friday, Saturday and now today (Sunday). This is a labour of love but sometimes it feels mostly like a labour. It’s going to be beautiful when it’s done and I can hardly wait to show you. I would take photos today but a) it’s a Christmas gift and I want it to be a surprise and b) I’m taking enough of a chance typing out this update post (I just got busted

Halloween and Christmas

I’ve got that inspired bug about me. I’m working on the king sized quilt for my parents, finished Travis’s Halloween knight costume (crocheted), I’ve started one for my daughter, and just started organizing my office/craft room. One project for Christmas gift is done and I’m calling today to book our Christmas photos appointment. I know – crazy, right?! This morning I went through papers that were in the “to scrapbook but don’t really know what to do with it” pile and got the kids papers/art sorted by year. The plan is to organize books for each of them with their

Finished, New and Ongoing Project Updates

I’ve been accomplishing quite a few projects lately, some of which were not on the “to do list” but were so cute I had to do them! I did a baby blanket to give to new baby Adam (a future daycare client!). Great stash-buster of my baby yarns. I also “whipped up” a crayon wreath for the front door. To make the wreath, I purchased a pressed board wreath circle, hot glued a pack of 64 crayons. I added a few school cutouts (apple, school house, school bus) to the top and voila! Instant front door and Back-To-School wreath. My

Quilting Tips

As you may know, I am on my 3rd quilt (all queen sized) and the two most valuable tips I can share are … stick your ironing board behind the table you are sewing on, at the same level of the table. It will hold the bulk of the weight of the quilt you are not using (wish I had figured this out 2 quilts ago!). I also discovered a temporary fabric adhesive (505) that can be found in quilting stores. I used that to sandwich the fabric (batting on the floor then spray and add the backing, flip so the

I Agree *

quilt

So Close…

The Christmas Beast Revisited

My Inexpensive Machine Quilt Frame

Christmas in August Wedding Quilt

Kids, The Garage and Sewing Project Update

The Christmas Beast

Friday Night Sew-In (Follow Up)

Halloween and Christmas

Finished, New and Ongoing Project Updates

Quilting Tips

Hi! I'm Elizabeth

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