Sunday, July 31, 2011

Walkman bag!

Walkman bag! by Pinkbrain and Mr.Chicken
Walkman bag!, a photo by Pinkbrain and Mr.Chicken on Flickr.

I've been going to the park every morning, then sewing and doing housework in the afternoons while Alex naps. Rinse, repeat.
I finally got the Walkman bag finished and mailed off. It's the exact model my partner had in the 80's. I'm hoping she likes it.

I'm working on the doll quilt but not much to show yet. Soon.

I'm working on other posts too. I know it's been a while. *blowing dust off my poor neglected blog* It's summer. You know, right?

Monday, July 11, 2011

I've been called up to the majors!

So, I've done a couple of fun little sewing swaps on Flickr. Then I saw that they were starting a new round of the Doll Quilt Swap. This to me, is like the Olympics of quilting. Some people have been quilting for decades (while many have been quilting for less time than that). So I submitted my name to the lottery. I gave them a reference (for real!). I crossed my fingers and hoped.

The day that everyone was supposed to get their partners was a very long day for me on friday. Alex had ripped my spacebar off the keyboard of my laptop and it's really slow to type without one. By 9pm when I still hadn't received a response either way, I assumed I didn't get in. Then I found out that people got rejection letters if they didn't get in. Wait. I didn't get that either! After a couple of frantic tweets and emails using the nub of a space bar on my computer I was told to check my spam. Nope not there. Finally at 10pm I got an answer. I got in! There was some sort of mixup. I was accepted, but I wasn't assigned a partner to swap with.

It got all sorted out and now I have a partner to stalk for their favourites (it's like a secret santa swap, my partner doesn't know who is making a quilt for her, nor do I know who is making mine).

The size of the quilt that I'm making has to be between 9" x 9" and 18" x 18". Some people are making some teeny tiny pieces for their teeny tiny quilts. I'm trying to keep it simple. Better to have something simple and well made than something elaborate that's a hot mess.

It's a start

Idea #1 by Pinkbrain and Mr.Chicken
Idea #1, a photo by Pinkbrain and Mr.Chicken on Flickr.

This is what I came up with so far. My partner likes modern looking quilts. Most of the people posting their ideas have been showing quilts with one pattern repeated throughout the quilt. I like the idea of mixing up different elements. The largest blocks in this drawing are 3 inches across. TINY!

DQS 11 inspiration

DQS 11 inspiration by Pinkbrain and Mr.Chicken
DQS 11 inspiration, a photo by Pinkbrain and Mr.Chicken on Flickr.

This is the mosaic that I made for my partner of quilts that I like. There's so many amazing ones to choose from.

Monday, July 4, 2011

A bit of summer fun!

The second long weekend in a row and this past weekend was enjoyable. It was nice out and we got to enjoy it as a family. It's been a while. We went up to Mount-Royal which is a huge park in the middle of the city (we locals call it a mountain even though it's only 800 ft tall).
We did the gentle walk up and the steep down the stairs straight into downtown path.
Best way to see the mountain.

View from the top. (Could I be any more freckled?)


A little soccer after our picnic lunch.


Oh the climbing!


We even had time to discover a new element. Alexonium.


 The playground on the mountain was fun for everyone!
Best. Photo. Ever.


Remember the box kite we were building? It finally had its first flight. It really flew!




Finally, I got another project finished. A summer quilt for a friend. This quilt came together quickly which made it fun.


If a Quilt were a Tree Drawing Quilt