Tuesday 30 June 2015

2015 Finish Along - Q2 Finishes

Woohoo - it's the end of Q2 and time to link up your finishes!  I hope you've had a productive quarter and I can't wait to check out what you've been making.

Here is a quick reminder of the rules:

The Rules:

- At the start of each quarter there will be a linky party for you to link up your proposed list of finishes. You must link up in order to be able to be eligible for those prizes at the end.  Please only enter ONE blog post or flickr photo or instagram photo at this starting link-up.

- In order for your projects to be eligible, they must at least be a tangible project at the start of the quarter.  That means, at the very least, a pile of fabric pulled along with a pattern, or a quilt top needing to be quilted, or a half knit jumper. I love seeing your bee blocks, but they won't count unless you happen to be turning them all into a fully completed quilt!

- As you complete each of your projects on your list, write a post all about it, or a description of a Flickr pic.

- At the end of the quarter, link up each individual post/Flickr pic (please link back to your original list in some way). For each finish/link you complete, you get an entry into the draw, and therefore it's in your best interest to write up a separate post for each!

- A finish is defined as a completely finished project, eg a quilt, quilted and bound, a bag that's fully lined and functional, or a jumper that one could wear out in public. I'm happy for you if you get a quilt top completed in one quarter, but hold onto it for the next quarter and see if you can get it quilted and bound before entering please.

- You won't be punished if you don't finish your entire list, so feel free to make a big list and roll projects over from one quarter to the next if you need to.

- All qualifying finishes will be put into a prize draw, and the names drawn at random for each of the prizes donated by our sponsors for that quarter.

- The finish link party will be open for a week, and then the next quarter will open on the following day.

- During the week that the finish link party is open, there will be a series of tutorials appearing here on the blog. If you'd like to contribute a tutorial, please drop me an e-mail at adrianneonthewindyside at gmail dot com.

- The FAL is open to anyone, anywhere in the world.

I'd love if you'd spread the word about the FAL by popping my button in your post or on your blog.  You can grab the code for a large button or a small button below:

2015 FAL at On the Windy Side

2015 FAL at On the Windy Side


The awesome prizes for Q2 of the 2015 Finish-Along, provided by our wonderful sponsors:


Rachael from imagine gnats is providing a $30 gift voucher.


Sara from Sew Sweetness is providing 3 patterns of the winner's choice.


Melissa from Sew Bittersweet Designs is providing 3 patterns of the winner's choice.


Becca from sew me a song is providing a $25 gift voucher.


Green Fairy Quilts is providing a $25 gift voucher.


Mad About Patchwork is providing a $30 gift voucher.


Juliet from Tartankiwi is providing 3 patterns of the winner's choice.


Alyce from Blossom Heart Quilts is providing a copy of one of her gorgeous patterns.


The team at Make Modern are providing a copy of the current issue of their magazine for two winners.

On the Windy Side

And finally, I will be providing a copy of each of my self-published patterns to a winner (full disclosure - at the moment there is only the one!).

So, start linking up.  The linky party closes on 6 July at 11:00 p.m. PST - if you're in a different time zone, please check and make sure you know what time that is in your part of the world so you don't miss the close.  World Time Buddy is my favourite time converter.  I'll remind you closer to the closing time.

Please make sure you link up a separate post for each finish.  If you need a refresher on how to link up, Katy from The Littlest Thistle did a post which explains how to use the link-up tool really well - you can find it here.

If you're planning to use instagram to link up, Katy from The Littlest Thistle has done another tutorial on how to link from instagram using your computer (here).  If you are working on your phone or your tablet, Rhonda's tutorial on how to link from instagram (here) is for you.


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Sunday 28 June 2015

2015 Finish Along - Q2 reminder

Hi lovely people.  This is just a quick reminder to let you know that the linky for Q2 finishes will be opening soon (on Tuesday 30 June, in fact).  You'll then have a week to get your very last minute finishes done and linked up before the linky closes on 6 July at 11 p.m. PST.

If you need the code for the button you can find it right here:

2015 FAL at On the Windy Side

2015 FAL at On the Windy Side

Get stitching and I look forward to seeing your finishes!

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Saturday 27 June 2015

Caturday Wisdom #126

Always present your good side. Mila
 
Mila doesn't have a bad one, obviously, but for us mere mortals it's solid advice.
We have misplaced the SD card for our camera (sidenote: if anyone in Wellington has found an SD card filled exclusively with pictures of cats and quilts, get hold of Adrianne) and it's winter and dark by the time we get home so Ralph and Ivy photos have been a bit thin on the ground lately. Luckily Mojo and his sister-cat Mila have been very obliging.
We have a new SD card now so the cats can get back into model-mode this weekend, they will be pleased.
 
 
 

Saturday 20 June 2015

Caturday Wisdom #125

Keep your focus on the important things in life. Ivy
 
I loved reading about all of your 'freshwater cats' last week, clearly Ralph and Ivy need to put more work into their tap-drinking.
Today's picture is an oldie, I took it when this quilt was still in progress which couldn't be 'published' before being shown at Symposium, even in the background of a cat photo!
Adrianne was away for work one night this week which caused Ralph to meow despondently at me the entire time. The poor little dummies even got all excited because they heard a car park in the street outside and they thought it was her getting home. It's nice to know they care, even if they only show it when you're not there.

Monday 15 June 2015

Rainbow Blossoms Mini

Woohoo - I have a finished quilt to share with you today!  This is another one on my FAL Q2 list (here).

Rainbow blossoms mini 

I started this quilt when I made my #igminiswap quilt - I knew I was going to love it and wanted one the same for myself.  This mini is almost identical to the first one, but I decided to mix things up a little bit by using a slightly different fabric for the binding, and also quilting it differently.

The coloured fabrics are printed by Karen Lewis Textiles - I really love how special and unique these hand printed fabrics are.

Rainbow blossoms mini 

I've been enjoying cross-hatch quilting lately and particularly organic cross-hatch quilting.  You can see on this mini that my lines are roughly evenly spaced, but they are not particularly straight or perfectly evenly spaced.  It's so quick and simple to do, and, like all cross-hatch quilting, gives great texture without being distracting.

I really couldn't resist putting something pretty on the back - I bought this Suzuko Koseki print from Stitchbird (you can find it here).

Rainbow blossoms mini 

I wanted the stitching to be a little more visible on this mini so I used Aurifil 40 weight thread in my absolute favourite colour (2021).  It's the best off-white and I have it in every weight.

Rainbow blossoms mini

As I'm sure you can imagine, the cats are super respectful of the hard work that goes into making a mini quilt like this, with all those tiny pieces.  Ralph thinks its just the perfect place to plonk his little butt.
2015 Finish-Along

Hey - my finish today conveniently matches the 2015 FAL button!  How are you guys going with your Q2 lists?

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Saturday 13 June 2015

Caturday Wisdom #124

Some things are destined to remain mysterious. Mojo
 
Is there a cat in the world who fully understands the tap/sink/water concept? Probably, yes but I haven't met them.
Ralph and Ivy certainly don't though after a period of trial and error (every time, not just the first time), Ivy occasionally manages to drink from the tap without her ears catching all the water.


Thursday 11 June 2015

sew me a song - shipping special


My lovely sponsor Becca from sew me a song just sent me an email to let me know that she is currently running her annual school's out flat rate shipping special - woohoo! ​


The deal is:

$2.50US/$9.00 Canada/$12.00 Everywhere Else

Thursday 6/11/15 through Sunday 6/14/15

No coupon code needed. Rate will be applied at checkout.


Of course, I had to include photos of some of the scrummy things in her shop at the moment.


Mmm, so tempting!

Saturday 6 June 2015

Caturday Wisdom #123

Finding a reliable heat source will ensure you enjoy a warm and happy winter. Ralph

Unfortunately I don't sleep that well so I'll often have a nap on the couch at some point during the weekend to catch up. Ralph does this also (not just on weekends) so I frequently find myself with a little nap buddy which works out quite well for the both of us. He's very malleable when dozy so I can just put him where I want him and he'll sleep there.
Ivy will sometimes deign to sleep on you but god forbid you try to move her or yourself - that is not acceptable.

Thursday 4 June 2015

Drunk on blue and green

A few weeks ago I shared this blue and green drunkard's path quilt top.  I think I got it basted pretty quickly after that but it has taken me a while to get it quilted.

Drunk on Blue and Green 

For this quilt I used a kind of batting that I haven't tried before, Quilter's Dream Green Batting which is made from recycled bottles.  How cool is that?  I thought it went pretty well with the theme of the quilt.  I got this batting from Massdrop and a twin size package was more than enough to baste this quilt.  I used my usual pin basting method and I didn't have any major issues with it, although I use a hera marker to mark my quilts and I found this batting didn't take the crease as well as cotton batting usually would.

I decided to quilt a cross-hatch grid on a slightly wonky angle.  I wanted to keep the quilting simple but slightly off key.  I used about 5 or 6 different blue and green threads, including Wonderfil, King Tut and Mettler.  The colour differences are pretty subtle in the finished quilt.

Drunk on Blue and Green

I'm pretty delighted with how this quilt has turned out.  It was a surprisingly easy, quick make, and the pieced back is a bit of fun.

This quilt was actually on my Q2 FAL list!  I think this is my first finish for this quarter - I need to get back to that list and make some progress!

2015 Finish-Along

Hopefully everyone else is doing better than me with their Q2 FAL lists!

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Monday 1 June 2015

Strawberries and Sugar - the start of another new quilt

Phew - I'm back from my slightly unscheduled blogging break!  It was nice to take it easy for a couple of weeks but I'm planning to be back for a while now.

Can I tell you a (not very secret) secret?  I don't even like strawberries.  But I do think they make for pretty cute prints on fabric!  A couple of weeks ago, I went to Fabric-A-Brac (an awesome event where people pay to have stalls to sell off their excess fabric stash and all the proceeds go to charity) and scooped a bunch of lovely sweet and soft fabrics, including some Cath Kidston prints.  Then I stopped by Nancy's Stitch Studio for their reopening in their new shop a few doors down the road, and adding some more deliciousness to my bundle.

Untitled 

A couple of weekends ago I pulled in a few more fabrics from my stash and had a lovely quiet Sunday morning making a big old fabric mess.

Untitled 

I need to make another simple square in square quilt as a class sample for my Modern Baby quilt class, so I thought I'd use these fabrics to make something totally different to the other versions I've made.  First I made four blocks.

Untitled 

And then I made nine.

Untitled

The blocks come together pretty quickly and over the last couple of weeks I made enough for a quilt top.

Strawberries and sugar

I have now basted the quilt using my trusty pin basting method, so I can use it as a sample for this week's class.

Strawberries and sugar 

Hopefully next weekend I'll get time to quilt it so I can use it to demonstrate binding in the last class of the series.

Strawberries and sugar

Fingers crossed!

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