All About Me - Progress

This is the progress on the All About Me Halloween quilt so far.

The only place I could find to take a picture of this quilt was off my deck. Since it is evening, the sun is quite low in the sky and is responsible for casting a shadow from the tree over the top left hand corner of the quilt.

This piece now measures 88" x 99". The pattern does not call for a border, but I think I will end up adding a border anyway.

All About Me

This is tonight's progress on my Halloween version of "All About Me". Three rows are now together.

I am having a little bit of difficulty since I don't have a design wall to put this up on. I tried placing the blocks on a piece of flannel. That worked, but I don't have a wall big enough to hang the flannel on. I have been using the floor as a substitute design wall and then moving the blocks to the bed of my long arm.

I am planning to make my quilt 8 blocks wide by 9 blocks long. That will make my quilt's finished size 88" x 99". I haven't decided if I will add borders or not.

Progress on My Recent Projects

I posted on June 22, 2008 that I bought two new patterns. I have started working on both projects. Yes, I still have UFOs to work on and yes, I have started two new projects at once without finishing either project. Oh well, this is how I work. I flip between projects as the mood strikes me.

First up, is Charm Party Tote by Penny Sturges of Quiltsillustrated.com fame. You remember, the company with the motto, "No wimpy bags". This bag has been renamed, "Charm Walker" by a good friend and you can see why by taking a close look at the picture.

I have been talking about the multiple layers of Pellon fleece in this project and how when this bag is finished it will be able to stand on its own. In fact, I think it will be able to follow me as I walk through the mall. That has advantages as I will have more room to carry shopping bags if my purse can move on its own power.

This bag is only the outer layer so far and it stands pretty well. Imagine how stiff and proud it will stand once it has the Pellon lined pockets which are attached to the Pellon lined lining added!

Last night I looked for this project to show my mother and I couldn't find it. With all the joking I have been doing about it walking away on its own, I thought maybe it had given up waiting to be finished and had walked itself right out of my studio. But alas, it was there, turned inside out and thus camouflaged against all the other fabric in my studio. What a bag--it has the ability to walk on its own, and can camouflage itself into its surroundings when necessary!

Charm Walker, walk on!

This is the progress thus far on my Halloween version of All About Me by Atkinson Designs. I have plans to make this quilt large--queen bed size. These are only a few of the blocks. I was so anxious to see how it looked that I quickly laid out some of the blocks last night so I could share a picture.

This one could be renamed, All About Fun, because that is exactly what this pattern is, FUN!

FABs Saturday Sew-In

This morning was the FABs Saturday Sew-In. This Saturday's project was both designed and organized by Cher with a little help from LindaJ. (Linda worked out the drafting of the pattern in EQ.) The pattern was affectionately named, CGF. I'll leave you guessing what that stands for! LOL

The pattern was drafted first with a feature fabric square of 12 1/2" (cut size). The alternate block was actually a rectangle that was made up of one 8 1/2" square and two 4 1/2" squares.

Last night LindaJ came up with an amended version--8 1/2" square, one rectangle 5 1/2" x 6" and two squares cut 3" square.

I decided to make my version of the pattern, "half size". (That is half the size of the original pattern.) I had a bin of pre-cut 6 1/2" squares already cut and another bin of 2 1/2" squares. I had a few leftover partial 4 1/2" strips that I cut into 4 1/2" squares and I cut a few of my 5 1/2" squares down to 4 1/2" squares.


This was 6 of the first blocks arranged on the floor to see how this patten might look scrappy.
All the squares are now finished but not yet sewn together.

My quilt center finished at 30 1/2" x 42 1/2". Because I think my quilt is a little wild, I am going to add a border or two to rein in the colour a bit and tame things down. I have not yet added the border as I was debating on the colour. However, this bright green has won the most votes from the FABs so far.

BC 150 Years

2008 marks a very special anniversary for the Province of BC. It has been 150 years since the founding of the Crown Colony of British Columbia in 1858. BC 150 is a yearlong celebration marking this anniversary.From June 12 to July 6, the CP Spirit of 150 Rail Tour is visiting BC communities along the Canadian Pacific rail line. Last Wednesday night the vintage CP 2816 Empress steam train rolled into our community.

The following are pictures that I took of the steam train as it sat on the tracks near our house.

The train came complete with a conductor.

These ladies looked like they were waiting for the train to leave the station as they would have years ago.

The train brought along its own live entertainment.

This engine is not quite as old as the steam engine that led the train but we suspected that it may have been along to provide some extra power for the Empress.

This is the back of our yard/house (our house is on the left with the black roof). This picture was taken as we walked across the baseball diamond between our yard and where the train was parked. The view of Mt. Cheam was breathtaking on Wednesday night.

The following information appears on CP's website and further describes the Empress.

About the CP Empress
CP's 2816 is a class H1b Hudson type locomotive built by Montreal Locomotive Works in December 1930. The CP Empress is now the only surviving H1b Hudson and is one of only a handful of preserved and operating CPR steam locomotives in North America.

Initially the locomotive ran westward out of Winnipeg to Calgary and eastward to Fort William, Ontario (now part of Thunder Bay). Locomotive 2816 then moved into service on the Windsor-to-Quebec City corridor. Its last assignment was at the front of a Montreal-Rigaud commuter train, making its final revenue run on May 26, 1960. Having logged more than two million miles in active service, 2816's fires were extinguished.

Today, after a complete three-year rebuild, 2816 is restored to the original specifications with external details from the 1940/50s.

My Patterns Finally Arrived

I ordered two patterns from my local quilt shop on May 3. The shop called Thursday to say that they were finally in. Whoo hoo! (That is Pamspeak for Yahoo!!!)

The two patterns were, "All About Me" from Atkinson Designs and "Charm Party Tote" from Quiltsillustrated.

This picture is not my quilt, it is from the cover of the "All About Me" pattern. I plan to use my collection of Halloween fabrics to make this quilt.

This is a picture of the tote from the cover of the "Charm Party Tote" pattern. I have 4 Moda charm packs--two from their "A Little Romance" line and two from their "Sonnet" line.

The "A Little Romance Line" is the softest purple/pink/green collection of fabrics. I started on that tote last night. I am determined to stay as close as possible to the directions on this first tote that I am making. I know the next time I make this pattern I will be making some modifications. The pattern lists fifteen 1/2" buttons in the supplies required, but if it weren't for the picture of the finished product, you would have no idea there were buttons on this tote. No where in the pattern directions does it mention when these buttons are supposed to be applied or where. I am applying buttons before putting the lining in the bag so I can hide my threads from the back of the buttons. Also, the pattern designer claims their motto is, "No wimpy bags!". This bag is anything but wimpy if you make it according to the directions in the pattern--there is fusible fleece applied to the front and back of the bag, fusible fleece applied to the lining, fusible fleece applied to the inside and outside pockets. This bag will definitely be able to stand by itself when I a m done with it. Also, there is no closure on this bag. I am thinking of applying one of those magnetic purse closures to the bag this time. I am looking at other purse / bag patterns to see if there is a way that I can apply a zipper if I make this pattern again in the future.

Today, I am taking a break from working on customer quilts. I have been working on the WFC--that is Wacky FAB Challenge. I can't show pictures as this is totally secret. It is a secret for the person that I am exchanging with and for everyone else. On the agreed upon date (or sooner if everyone is finished ahead of time), all FABs will log online at the same time and open our exchanges. This should be fun. There has been a lot of teasing and hinting going on--but no one is revealing what they are making.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day!

Today was such a nice sunny day, we celebrated Father's Day by grilling and eating outside.

Because the weather has been so cool and rainy lately, today's weather was a welcome change.

This is (from left to right) my mom, dad, husband, daughter, and son.