"quilts"

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There Was Sewing

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While I was away I spent 4 days at the Pictou Lodge with the Mayflowers Quilter Retreat. Three straight days of sewing in log cabins! All meals made for us, cozy cabins with ocean views, and an amazing group of women.

I taught my Improvisational Piecing class. With a three days in front of us we were able to spend a day on techniques and exercises, then each student got the chance to run with it. Everyone started with an idea and some fabric then went to play. And play they did! Seventeen students and seventeen different projects. I love them all!

Thank you so much to all my students and the Mayflower ladies for a great time. I am totally inspired by you all.


















And way up at the top there? That great lady was making her first quilt for herself after fifteen years of quilting. The pink and purple blocks are hers. Can't wait to see how it all comes together.
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Hugs and Kisses

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Hugs and Kisses 
105'' x 90''

The Beast is finally done! I really should call it that instead of Hugs and Kisses. It doesn't seem quite appropriate for something that is supposed to be a romantic gift.

I actually finished it a few weeks ago, but it's taken me a bit to clean up our room and take photos.

For more on the progress of this quilt you can check out these posts.

The fabric stack
In Progress
Admitting Defeat 
Clear the Decks (committing to finishing this and only this quilt)
Been Quilting in progress
Picking Binding (you'll see I went with none of these)

Quilted with Wonderfil, a local thread company. It was a great variegated pink that worked nicely. And Aurifil white on the Xs. As usual, I used Quilter's Dream 100% cotton batting in Select weight.

And now we sleep under it. We can still keep the window open even though fall settled in to a night time chill. With all that quilting it is a heavy quilt that wraps around us.




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Friday Favourite - The Kwik Klip

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My least favourite part of quiltmaking is basting quilts. It really is the reason quilt tops languish in my closet. I think I'm slow at it, that's part of the problem. And now, with our TV in the basement, I can't rope Hubby into helping me anymore! I baste on the living room floor. When the TV was up here he had no choice - watch me get in his way or get on the ground and help me. Now he runs away to the TV as soon as he sees me pull out the masking tape and pins.

Loving me is not enough, the only reason he was willing to help me is that he was allowed to use the tool involved. Men and tools, right? Man oh man, he can wield a Kwik Klip like the boss.

Honestly, if it wasn't for a Kwik Klip none of my quilts would get basted. I am a pin baster, and I use a lot of pins. (I didn't think it was a lot, but then I saw people commenting on an IG photo of someone else's basted quilt. So many pins! Wow, you sure use a lot of pins! And there I was thinking that it looked totally normal. But I don't get puckers with my quilting. Happy for that trade off.) So the Kwik Klip makes very short work of closing all those pins. And it saves both what is there of my nails and my fingertips.

You simply hold the tool in your dominant hand, lift up the straight part of the pin, and clip it into place. Done. I've heard of people using an old teaspoon to the same effect. That, however, is not as fancy as the tool. And seriously, if a tool is what it takes to get your man to help you with the basting then a tool is what you should get.

I'm sharing this post as part of National Sewing Month, brought to you by The Sewing Loft. Check out a month long list of sewers sharing their favourite tools.