Tips,Tools and Techniques June 2016

This is a new segment for our blog, where members can pass on some of their favorite Tips, Tools and Techniques. To kick things off and show an example of what I mean I'd like to start of with a Tip.

Bonus Half Triangle Squares TIP:

I'm sure most of us know of the stitch and flip method for snowballing corners.  What some of us may not realize, is how much we waste by throwing the excess from said corners away.....So here's my tip:

When you draw a line from corner to corner, add a second line 3/8" or so away as well.

 After you sew the first line turn them right around and sew the second line too.  It takes very little time to do. If you wait to do it later,you will probably just toss them in the scrap bin. So do it right after you sew the first line. Then just cut between the 2 sewn lines.

What does this little bit of extra time yield? A whole bunch of BONUS HTS's (half triangle squares).

 They just need to be pressed and trimmed to a usable size. 

Then put them together into some fun HTS blocks, and there are tons of different varieties...

So what?, You may say. But add a few more blocks or some sashing and the next thing you know, you have a sweet little quilt. Perfect for a table runner, pillow, baby quilt or wall hanging.  

It could have ended up in the garbage bin.

Okay folks, now its your turn... Have a favorite ruler you'd like us to know about? Know a way to do perfect machine binding.  Let me know and we can create a blogpost featuring your favorite TIP, TOOL and TECHNIQUES.

June Sew-In 2016

This months Sew-In took place at Susan's High Tide Retreat and Studio, in the picturesque locale of Gunning Shore. We had a great group of 16 in attendance.  A new member joined us.  Welcome to Corinne. We also had two guests, Wendy from Fredericton, NB and Joanne from Kensington.

Janice wasn't able to stay, but she brought some quilts for us to see before we send them off to Fort MacMurray.

Thanks Janice, for making sure these were able to be sent along with the others. (These will be shown later in the post).

Here's Wendy, showing us one of her finished quilts:

Wendy was also working on these orange and teal blocks. They are going to be set on point.  Really, really pretty. Love this color combo.

Lucinda brought in these blocks she received for the California Block Exchange. We will be putting these together for a fabulous charity quilt.

Here she is out on the deck, enjoying the spectacular view with Gail. While Lucinda worked on a binding and a shawl...

Gail worked on her "Travelling Tulips" blocks.  Here is just a few of the blocks, playing with possible layouts...

Heather J. was working on her Curved 4-patch blocks.

Corinne was working on her "Bali Bags" pattern.

  
Corinne also had this little cutie to show us. (Disappearing 9-patch pattern)

Lydea and Heather C. were working on some Quilt As You Go placemats. Here's Lydia's almost done.

Later in the day Lydea started working on a lap quilt...

and had some fun pulling more fabrics from Susan's batik stash.

Liz was working on assembling her previous "Queen Bee Blocks". This block is called "Mod Circuitry" by Elizabeth Duckson, but Liz is renaming her quilt "Connecting Mod Friends". Very fitting I think.

Helen worked on some lovely blocks from a MSQC tutorial called "The Rising Star Quilt"
Can't wait to see this one come together, Lots of negative space to play in!!!

Cathy spent some time working on her "Metro Rings" pattern.  This is going to be a summer project for her and her Mom visiting this July.

Roberta needed some help choosing a backing for this one...

Roberta was also working on her Mystery BOM "Spruce It Up" Here is her June Block.

Velda had this amazing quilt to show us. She started her binding for this one,

and, she laid out a few rows of her "Gene Pool" quilt.

Jean brought along her Kona solid to cut into FQ's for the June FQ swap. Remember folks, if you signed up please bring your 13 FQ's to the June 23rd meeting.

Here's a start to Jean's "Patchwork City". These look fantastic and so much fun, maybe she might let me play along???

We took a break for our potluck lunch. Lots of yummy choices, nobody left hungry:

We ate our lunch, relaxed on the back deck and enjoyed the sunshine.  The view was pretty stellar too.

After lunch we hung all the donated quilts for Fort MacMurray on the clothesline, and tried to time the picture just right. But the wind didn't exactly cooperate. With helping hands we managed a few pretty good pictures:

Thank you so much to all the members who donated quilts for Fort MacMurray. I'm sure they will be a huge comfort to them as they work toward getting their homes and lives back to normal.

Well, that pretty much wraps up most of the happenings at the June Sew-In.

I would like to extend a huge thank you to Susan for hosting our crazy group. We appreciate the time and effort she put forth to make the Sew-In so much fun.

Reminder about upcoming events:

June Meeting: June 23rd (7-9pm) Sobeys West Royalty
 39 Babineau Avenue, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island C1A 0C9

July Sew-In: July 9th (9am-4pm) Sobeys West Royalty
 39 Babineau Avenue, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island C1A 0C9

July Meeting: July 28th (7-9pm) Sobeys West Royalty
 39 Babineau Avenue, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island C1A 0C9

Meet our Guest Blogger June 2016

I'm very excited today!!!.  I came across this blog a short while ago, and reached out to the author about doing a guest blogpost, she graciously agreed and responded in record time.  That means that she is our very first guest blogger, and I am very happy to let her introduce herself and her blog. Without further ado....

 

Hi! I'm Lorna McMahon - a maker, a mom, and an avid quilter. I am also a passionate pattern designer and the author of the Sew Fresh Quilts blog. I’m honoured to be here today and eager to share with you a little about myself and how quilting has changed my life.

I am a wife and mother of two teens. I live on a little 50 acre farm in Southwestern Ontario. We are beef farmers and do a little cash cropping of corn, wheat and soya beans. I never did figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up. But now that I am over 50.... It looks like I have become a quilter. Prior to motherhood, I worked in a variety of industrial and manufacturing settings and was previously employed mainly as an apprentice Millwright and welder. Now I finally realize what was meant by transferable skills. Whether you are talking about carpentry, metal work, or quilting, the Number One rule is  "Measure twice - Cut once". But in the quilter's rule book, you will find that this is quickly followed by rule Number Two: "Always buy more fabric than you need." I live by rule Number Two.

My quilting journey began back in 2012, when I designed my very first quilt for my daughter. I had no idea what I was doing at the time. But with all of the information shared by other talented quilting bloggers, I googled my way to a finished quilt. And from there.... I was hooked. Fast forward to today, I am living a creative and fulfilling life, sharing what I have learned along the way and connecting with quilters from across the globe at my Let's Bee Social link up.

My design style makes use of traditional piecing methods to create fun and modern minimalist designs. A few of my signature items are the “Elephant Parade”, "Black Birds" and “Dog Gone Cute” quilt patterns. My work is regularly sponsored by one of today's top fabric manufacturers - Northcott Fabrics - and has been published in Quiltmaker magazine and Quiltmaker 100 Blocks. One thing has lead to another and I am now doing trunk shows and leading workshops for quilt guilds within my local area.

 

Q&A:
 

1. What do you love about Modern quilting?

What I love about modern quilting is that you can interpret modern in whatever way suits you. I personally love to use traditional piecing methods to make minimalist designs and pictorial quilts. To me, modern quilting is also about the modern way in which quilters gather. We are a global support community. Gathering both in small and large groups via guilds and sew-ins. And gathering in cyber space, courtesy of the world wide web to meet at blogs and on social media. Quilters, by nature, are always giving support to one another and to those who are the recipients of our craft.

    2. Where do you draw inspiration?


 First and foremost, I am inspired by the One who is the Master of all things beautiful. God created a perfect world and filled it with the most amazing and lovely things. Nature is my inspiration. Other artists renderings of nature are also inspiring. Studying the work of Charley Harper has helped me to develop my own style of modern minimalism.

 

   3. What are you currently working on?( Can we have a sneak peak?)


What am I working on? Well, I do have a few projects that are currently in the design stage. Modernitional Bear Paw is one that I am currently obsessed with and hoping to start working on very soon. This design is intended for entry in the "MODERN QUILTS: Redesigning Traditions" show that will be held at the Ontario Museum of History & Art in Ontario, California from December 1, 2016 to January 22, 2017.

   4. Solids or Prints?


Solids and "reads like a solid" prints are my preferred fabric styles.


   5. Precut Bundles or Stash?

 

  As tempting as they may be, I am not a big fan of precuts. I tend to have a quilt planned before ordering fabric to suit the design. And use my stash for smaller projects.

   6. Favorite Tool or Trick you can't live without?


Aside from the over-the-counter reading glasses that I started wearing while quilting, my favourite tools that I can't quilt without are my pointy tweezers, seam ripper and small snips.

   7. What's your favorite Blog/Designer?



I really can't say that I have a favourite blog or designer/blogger. I spend a lot of my online time reading the blogs of those who have joined in the Let's Bee Social link up parties that are hosted each Wednesday at my Sew Fresh Quilts blog. At the party, these bloggers share a link to their blog post and then take some time to visit the blogs of other participants to see what they are sharing. I feel a strong connection to those who are regulars at the Let's Bee Social and have become close friends with many of them, following their blogs, and interacting on social media, such as Facebook and Instagram.


   8. What's one thing we should know about you?

One thing you should know about me is.... I live in a very isolated, rural setting. But, thanks to quilting, I am not alone. And am always open to meeting new friends. Hope you will consider joining me for a visit!

 

Quilting has opened up a whole new world filled with creativity and fun. And enabled me to make meaningful connections with so many like-minded makers and stitchers. I would love to meet you, too! Join me at the Sew Fresh Quilts website where we can share our love of quilting.

Keep On Quilting On!

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This guest post was written by Lorna McMahon, modern quilter, pattern designer and the author of the Sew Fresh Quilts blog. Lorna uses traditional piecing methods to create modern quilt designs. Popular items include her “Elephant Parade” and “Dog Gone Cute” quilt patterns. On her website you can learn from her creative processes as she shares her love of quilting, tips and clever tutorials.

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