Cotton Theory Workshop

Wow, what a fabulous workshop.   We came home totally exhausted but full of knowledge.  Nancy was a wonderful instructor and took all our mistakes in stride, ripping out seams and ironing pieces for us all.  More than once I goofed and sewed the seams wrong but she just got me doing something else while she did the ripping. 

I didn't get the tablerunner finished, no one did, but the last few steps were explained and Maria and I will get together this week and finish it up.  I will post some pictures then to show you the difference between the Cotton Theory and regular quilting.

I was so enthused with this new way of quilting that I bought a book to make another tablerunner and the scissors used when doing this type of quilting.  They are very sharp so that they can cut through multiple layers of fabric.  (Like 12) You will understand that more when you see the pictures of the finished tablerunner.
What a great day.

Peggy 

Cotton Theory

Last night I went to a Trunk show put on by Nancy Eichel .  She is a Cotton Theory Certified Instructor. 

Cotton Theory is a very different way of quilting. 
Cotton Theory quilting is a new and different way to construct your quilt. It's backward!

Unlike traditional quilts, which are pieced together, layered with batting and then quilted, Cotton Theory projects are quilted first, one segment at a time, and then assembled using Betty Cotton's fold-and-finish procedures.

Most quilters enjoy piecing together the top of a traditional quilt because they can see the design as it takes shape, and the results are rewarding. The actual quilting, however, can be a challenge, especially if your traditional quilt is large. Often, quilting becomes the least favorite part of constructing a quilt.

The Cotton Theory method makes quilting easy, no matter the size of your quilt. You quilt each piece individually before you construct your project, so quilting becomes just as enjoyable as piecing together the design.

You can quilt pieces creatively and accurately to produce completely reversible quilts with decorative stitches and optional machine embroidery.

During Cotton Theory assembly, you sew the raw edges of your quilted pieces together, leaving seam allowances that are folded on the outside of your quilt and then stitched in place using one or more Cotton Theory techniques. This adds an extra dimension to the surface. The result is a reversible quilt that combines sewing, quilting and embroidery, if you choose. You end up with two quilts - one on each side - by constructing one project.

All work is done with a sewing machine; there's no need to do handwork.

I signed up for an all day workshop tomorrow.  It will be interesting to see the results.  I will post a picture of what I make. 
 
Peggy

Quilter's Guild Block

At the last guild meeting everyone was asked to make a paper pieced block that would be put into a quilt or placemat to be given away.  We were given the pattern to use.  Our guild gives placemats to the clients of Meals-on-Wheels and they also participate in a fund raiser for a local charity where they sell placemats.  Here is my block that I made.

It was made in 4 sections and sewn together to make one large 11 1/2 inch block.

Peggy

Dresden plate square

I went to class on Saturday and discussed with the instructors how I was going to sew my Dresden Plate  to my square and we/I decided to use a blanket stitch with invisible thread.  I have decided to make a small lap quilt out of the squares.  I chose 6 squares the same and put them on to the gold background that I purchased at Beaver Bay, MN.  I am going to make sashing the same colour as the centre circle and then try to find a border print that will bring it all together.

I think the gold really compliments the blues.  I hope I don't have too much of a problem finding a border to go with it all.

Peggy

Home from Duluth

We came home from Duluth, Minn yesterday in a driving rainstorm but with not mishaps along the way so everything is fine.  I made some fabric purchases for some things I will be working on.  I already have 2 quilts that have to be quilted and a tablerunner to finish and now I am working on a Dresden plate.  I haven't decided yet what I am going to do with the finished squares, maybe I will make a quilt, but still undecided.

The Dresden Plate called for 20 blades but when I sewed them together there were too many to lie flat so I took out 8 and then I had to add 4 more colours and I ended up with 2 different plates.  NowI will just make more plates the same as these two and figure out what I will make in the end.

I started this for the class that I am taking.  You can work on any project and the instructors will help you.  This is something I have seen before but never attempted so I thought it was a good opportunity to try my hand at it and get some help along the way.

Peggy

Dandy Bag

I made a new Dandy Bag today but I forgot to take a picture so I will have to ask Christine to take one when she gets it.  The fabric is Black & White & Current by Color Principle for Henry Glass.  It is black on white and white on black.  I do this all the time.... I got the parcel all put together and then remembered that I wanted to take a picture.  I am not taking the parcel apart so I will have to rely on Christine.

Peggy.

Work in progress

I have 2 quilts that are going to be finished this fall for sure.  The halloween one has been sitting there for a few years and it is still not quilted.  As soon as Mike gets home I will have him help me spray it and sandwich it.  It goes so much easier with 2 people.  The other one is the one I have been working on for the quilt classes.  It is finished but I need to purchase the backing for it.  We are heading to Duluth in a week so I expect to pick it up at one of my favourite quilt shops along the way.  The border doesn't show up very good in the picture but if you click on it and enlarge it, the colours come through.

This quilt is pieced and appliqued.  The cats, and the apples are pieced and the bats are appliqued.  I want to get this finished so badly.  It has been sitting there for ever calling out to me so this is the time.  The binding is the same as the small first border.  I will post a final pictue when it is done.  Maybe this is the incentive I need to get going on it.

Peggy

Water Bottle Holders

I finished 2 more water bottle holders today.  These are so easy to make and really neat to have so that you are not carrying your water in your hand all the time.  These were made for my nephews wife and for my daughter-in-law's sister.  The fabric for the purple one is called "river rock" and it looks like a rock bed at the side of a river.  It was a fat quarter that I picked up at the local quilt shop.  If you spend over $20 and belong to the "Stash Club" then you get a free fat quarter of your choice.  Charlene likes purple so I thought that was a great choice for her and Beth likes green.  The green one is a Batik fabric that looks like leaves.

I always make the shoulder strap adjustable so that who ever wears it can make it the length that feels good on them. 

Peggy

Angel of Joy

I started working on some Christmas projects this week.  I was starting to feel the pressure since Christmas creeps up on us so fast.  I finished the Angel of Joy today.  The pattern is from Patch Abilities .  It was in the monthly mini's group but with new patterns coming all the time it is under Christmas.  This is the third one I have made from this pattern.  I was able to use fabric from my stash and I am really pleased with the way it turned out.  It is for my daughter-in-laws mother.  I sure hope she will like it, I think she will.  I used blanket stitch for the applique with gold and silver thread and the fabric is gold and silver. Too bad the dress isn't showing up in the photo as it is silver swirls on the white background.

Peggy

The last 6 squares

I finished the last 6 squares so I thought I would post them side by side.  Now the 'fun' part is arranging them so that I can put the sashing between them and then the borders.  I think they turned out pretty nice.  My young sister says I should call it a Kakabeka Falls quilt because the colour remind her of clean stones you would find near a waterfall.  Kakabeka Falls is a very large waterfall we have near here.  It is almost as high as Niagara Falls. I wish I had that kind of imagination.

Peggy

Squares for my Class

I have been working on my squares for my quilting class.  I have 7 done but I took a picture of 6 of them.  Just because it was easier to lay them out and arrange them.  There seems to be a lot of burgundy in these 6 but I am sure the other 6 will complement them with the browns.  Each square is different, and there are only 2 actual squares and a centre square, it depends on how you lay out the pieces when you finish them.  I have tried to use all the 8 fabrics equally so that there is a good mix of colours when I am finished.  I would like to get the last 5 done before next weeks class but I think that I might be a bit optimistic.  We will see.  I also have to go and buy more fabric this week for the sashing as I don't have enough.  I haven't decided my borders yet either as I want to see the final result before choosing more colours or some of the same for the borders.

Peggy

Another set of Placemats

I finished the 4 placemats with the poinsettia and the Christmas balls on them and the tablerunner.  The tablerunner is a new pattern.  It is a little different but I think real cute.  I think if I make the same tablerunner again I would make it longer.

I sit at night and sew the binding on by hand so it always takes me a while to finish things up.

Peggy

My sister's birthday.

The place mats were finished a while ago but I just completed the tablerunner and sent it to my sister Carole for her birthday.  The placemats were a kit so I had to purchase more fabric for the table runner.  She wanted something with flowers and I think this really did the trick.

Peggy

Taking a Quilting Class

I started a new Quilting Class today put on by two ladies who are prominent in the local Quilt Guild.  We were to choose any pattern that we wanted to make for this course.  I thought it was odd that we weren't all working on the same thing but it worked out really well.  The instructors came around to see what we were doing and helped out with selection of fabric and cutting.  Some of the ladies are new to quilting, they have only made one other quilt so they needed a lot of help.


I bought a book by Atkinson Design called "Confetti in the Corner".  I am finding it quite challenging as they give you the general idea and then you have to decide how to lay out the blocks.  The main block is made up of three blocks:  Chip and Dip, Confetti and a centre square.  Because I am make a sampler block lap quilt it was suggested that you purchase 8 fat quarters and then have a background colour and make the squares out of these colours.  It is up to you how you set the blocks up once they are made. 

I sat down tonight and did some colouring and decided how I would use my 8 different fabrics along with my background to come up with some sort of design. 

Here are the fabrics I have chosen.

 The background fabric above looks yellow but it is really a motled beige.  I wanted a masculine quilt when I was finished.  Hopefully I will post some squares as they are done.

Peggy

I was wondering if anyone reads my blog.

I can't keep it a secret any longer.  I have been busy quilting even though I have not posted anything here.  I am busy making placemats and tablerunners for Christmas.  If any of my followers, friends or relatives who read my blog would like a set for Christmas just let me know.   I have 3 complete sets made, one half made, and 2 still to be cut and sewn.  Each set has 4 placemats and a tablerunner to match. So lets see who actually reads my blog.  Leave me a comment.  I am anxious to see which ones people like.

This one is red cardinals.

These are cute little blue birds.  If you click on the picture it will enlarge for you to see it in full view.

Aren't they cute polar bears?

Each set has 4 placemats and a tablerunner.

This next set is almost finished.  As you can see I just need to sew the binding on around each one.  The table runner is half done and I will post a picture later.



I also have really pretty fabric with poinsettias on it and some playful snowmen.  I guess most of the fabric is wintry rather than real Christmas fabric.

Don't forget to leave a comment.

Peggy

At home

I finally arrived home on Saturday night at 11pm, that meant that I had been up for 22 hours.  After a nice cup of tea it was into bed without emptying the suitcase.  Things are back to "normal" whatever that is but I am still suffering from jet lag.  I am awake in the middle of the night and can't seem to get enough sleep.  By 8pm I am so tired that I fall asleep watching TV.  I am hoping that this only lasts a few more days.


It is very cool here at home, a lot cooler than it was in Ireland.  In fact it is cold here.  Mike has picked his garden and I processed dozens of tomatoes today.


I have to get some quilting done soon.  I tidied up my sewing room yesterday and then spent about an hour trying to decide what to make next.  I am making some small things for Christmas and I have a few things to make for birthdays.  I will post some pictures when they are finished.


Yoga starts tomorrow for the fall session and I am looking forward to see all the 'girls' again.  We are like a small family unit and it is nice to get back into the swing of things.  I have to get back to walking also.  I have been too tired since I first got home and today it was raining very hard.  Not a day to go out walking.

I am so glad that I took this bag with me to Ireland.  I carried it everyday with my umbrella, camera, water bottle and scarf.  It was small enough to carry and big enough to hold all the things I wanted to take with me for the day.  It was quite windy some day so I was glad to have my scarf to wrap around me.  Ireland weather is very unpredicable.

I hope to get some sewing done in the next few days and will post pictures when I finish something.

Peggy

Today we are in Malahide

On Thursday we took the local bus to Blarney and kissed the blarney stone.  After climbing more than over 120 stairs on a stone spiral staircase with only a rope handrail to hold onto we couldn't chicken out.

On Wednesday we took the train to Cobh which is the main emigration port following the great Famine of 1846-48.  Maritime history at the Queenstown Story - the major heritage centre in the town.  It is also the last port of call for the Titanic before it set sail for America and hit the iceberg.

The spire of St. Colman's cathedral dominates the sky.  The spire is 100 m high and it's tower houses a carillon of 47 bells- the largest in Ireland.  It is a huge magestic church on a hillside overlooking the town.  Again we had to climb up the hill to get to it, but it was worth it. 

We travelled by train to Malahide.  It was an all day trip but a nice train ride.  Today we are in Malahide and staying at the Grand Hotel.  It is a massive hotel with lots of corridors but a nice pub where we had dinner last night.  Our room wasn't ready when we arrived so she booked us in another and it has air conditioning.  The temperature today is 22 C.  The Irish keep saying that they can't believe the beautiful weather they are having.  We had rain one day out of the 2 weeks that we have been here and one shower.  It lasted long enough for us get our umbrellas up and it stopped. 

We toured Malahide castle today.  It is over 800 years old and has been inhabited by the Talbot family for the entire 800 years.  Rose Talbot moved out in 1975 and gave the castle to the town when she left.

We head for home and Canada tomorrow morning.  By the time I get home I will have been up for 24 hours because of the time change.  The worst jetlag is going back to Canada so I may not blog for a few days.

Peggy.

Cork City

We took the bus to Cork city today and have been walking around the city.  The bus ride was only 2 hours long through beautiful countryside dotted with sheep and cattle grazing.  Some of the roads were very narrow, hardly enough room for the bus and car to pass each other.  Then we drove on an super highway, so you never know what kind of a road you will be travelling on. There are areas here in Cork where there is a pedestrian walkway where no cars go so you can stroll the street without a care.

Tomorrow we hope to go to Blarney Castle, we are only here for one and a half days so we have to get in all we can.  We walked through an open market on our way here to the Internet.  Very interesting, as they sold meats, vegetables, baked goods, and fish and there was even a small cafe.

 Me at Ross Castle in Killarney and my feet in the Atlantic Ocean in Ireland.

Peggy

The Cliffs of Moher

When we were in Galway we took a tour of the Cliffs of Moher. Des our driver kept us entertained with his jokes and commentary as he drove the bus. We stopped at the Poulnabrone Dolman and ancient burial place on the Burren. The Burren is a vast waterless plateau of limestone hills and countless colourful flowers.

We stopped at a sheep dog demonstration where the border collie herded the sheep. We had lunch at Doolin with a lady named Peggy who is from St John, NL and lives on the same street as Joanne. She also knows Doris.

The cliffs were gorgeous and very windy. There is an area where people walk along the top of the cliffs which is very treacherous and they are trespassing on private property. Nine people have fallen to their death this year from this area, and yet there are still people walking up there.

Yesterday we went to the Ring of Kerry. Our bus driver was not as talkative as Des was but the trip was great.

In Killarney you see regular cars, jaunting cars (horse driven carriages) and tour buses.

One spot we stopped at - The Valley of the hidden treasure- was so windy it was like we were in a hurricane, but we were high up in the mountain and looked down on the valley.

I will shorten this as my session is almost up. The day was intermitten rain and sun with low lying clouds over the mtns. We finished the day walking around the town centre looking at stores and pubs. We had dinner at a pub and returned to the B&B around 8:30.

All is well here. Nice sunny day today. I should have left my coat at the B&B but the weather is very unpredicable so it is hard to say what the day will be like.


Peggy

Cliffs of Moher and The Burren, at the library and pages are blocked, will hopefully blog later or tomorrow