Saturday, December 26, 2015

Merry Christmas from Cascade Quilts

I hope everybody had a wonderful Christmas!  I know I did!  I finally got the thing I have been asking Santa for (for about 10 years)...... an 'aqua sky' Kitchenaid!  WEEEE!
Sorry about the poor quality pic, it is gloomy weather here in western WA and I have some kitchen bulbs burned out in my vaulted ceiling and haven't gotten around to replacing them :)
My hubby and sons went together and got me this - I never expected I would get this, I am just blown away.  I might have even cried a little opening it :)  And then cried again when I opened the box and realized it wasn't white like the one on the box :)

I wanted to let you know also that I HAVE been doing some quilting, just nothing I can share right yet :)  I am going to be basting tomorrow and hopefully I can share within a couple weeks :)
I will share the stack of fabric I have been working with though :)  Moda happy mail!



karinsiggy

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

a non-quilty project

I wish I had a before pic.....  but I just didn't think of it.  When we went on our vacation to our family cabin in BC this summer - on the way home we stopped off at the dump to get rid of the trash from the trip.  Hubby spied an old set of moose antlers (there was a set of deer antlers too, but he didn't get those - and now I wish he had!).  He took home a set of grayed/weathered/slightly mossy moose antlers.  I wasn't too thrilled with them, especially since they sat at the base of my front steps for a few months.

THEN, I had the idea....  to paint and frame them!  YES, they would be fantastic.  And, I wasn't wrong!

First, (after approval from hubby), I let the antlers dry in the shop for a couple days, then brushed them off with a stiff brush.  Then, paint.  Aqua, of course.

This was kind of a pain!  I think it took at least 8 coats of paint - the antlers just kept soaking up the paint!

 The frame took almost a whole can itself - it is a vintage frame I have had for more than 20 years, but it was stripped to bare wood (it was gold when I got it 20 plus years ago, ewww).
The wood is cedar fence boards - I dry brushed them with white and aqua paint, then stained over them with a driftwood stain.
Hubby thought the frame needed a white accent, so he talked me into adding that (which I do like, although it definitely have a 50's vibe to it now, LOL).  The fence boards are attached with a strip of luan stapled at the top and bottom to the fence boards and the frame.

Then, I bolted the skull onto the wood backers! (The skull already had holes in it from the previous owner, so I used those holes).  I ended up having to do a BUNCH of grinding/cutting on the back of the skull to get it to lay flat-ish on the boards.  Not a fun job, but it was necessary as the cut the PO did wasn't very flat.

I hung it in my bedroom on the wall across from the doorway so it can be seen from the living room :)


Isn't it fabulous?!!!  I adore it SO much!


The thing you can see just to the left of the antlers is a shelf above the bed I made 18 years ago (I have sheers hanging from it that are my 'headboard') - I think it's time it come down and get painted (and maybe new sheers).......  It is displaying my hubby's snowboards.....  I am debating about what color to paint it though.  Walls are white.  I don't think I want white, but I think maybe white sheers.  My favorite color scheme is aqua/red/navy/gray/white (basically Bonnie and Camille minus the pink hehe).  Possibly a pale gray, lighter than the driftwood stain.....


karinsiggy

Sunday, November 15, 2015

Tiles quilt - take 2

I finally buckled down and finished my quilt top that I started for the Tiles Quilt-along.....


I love the way the alternating solids in the 25-patch blocks make the 100-patch blocks stand out.  They look like pixels :)  Now, to decided HOW to quilt this one!


karinsiggy

Thursday, October 15, 2015

Moda Bake Shop - Sunny Trips

I am finished with my latest Moda Bake Shop project!  This one I call ''Sunny Trips''



For the quilting, I followed the diagonals of each block going both directions creating a curvy X in each square. The quilting just adds so much to it I think! :)





When subcutting the strip sets, there was approx 5-6'' of strip set left at the end, so I cut them into equal lengths, opened them up and sewed them end-to-end to make a pieced backing :)  I love using bits of the leftovers from the front in the backing :)

The backing really shows the texture of the quilting!!! :D

karinsiggy

Monday, September 28, 2015

Etsy shop sale

I have put everything in my Etsy shop on a huge sale :)  As much as 50% off!
I have several quilts on sale:







karinsiggy

Thursday, September 17, 2015

Why I love Moda Bella solids

I love Moda Bella solids!  I have tried other solids, but the fact that Moda Bella is *the same width* as quilting cottons is huge.  I have used other brands and been disappointed when they were quite a bit narrower (shorter when cut into strips to use with jelly rolls). 

Having fun today with some jelly rolls and Moda Bella 'Horizon Blue'.  Isn't it such a bright cheery color?!

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Piecing a quilt backing

My mom and I did a ladies day out for my birthday on Wednesday - we were actually picking up my car (it had some engine work done on it), so we made a couple stops on the way home.  One was a quilt shop we had never been to before.  I finished my civil war quilt top recently, so I was looking for a backing suitable for it.  I found a brown/cream print in the clearance section of the quilt shop - it was marked $5/yard.  Then, they had a coupon for an extra $2 off - so it was $3/yard!  THEN, when I was having it cut (I got 5.5 yards), my mom mentioned giving me my birthday money - and the clerk mentioned they give 20% off  for birthdays.  So, 20% off the $5 was $4 - then $2 more off - making the material $2/yard!!!  So, even with tax, the backing was only $12-something!!!  What a deal!

Anyhow, I realized quickly when I got home that I should have gotten another 3 yards - my quilt top is 90.5''x90.5''.  Usually, I will piece in material from the front to make up in width, but I really didn't want to do that on this quilt.  So, I used this calculator/technique and found I had JUST enough to make the quilt backing JUST BARELY big enough.

I did it a tiny bit different - instead of moving the triangles until it was the width I needed, I estimated how much offset it would need and cut 7.5'' off of the tips of the triangles before sewing the diagonal back together.  If I do it again, I think I will do only 7'' because it is barely long enough, but plenty wide now (it is 91''x94'').  This is the most common size quilt that I make, so I am sure I will be repeating this.

This is how the seam looked on the back:


And, on the front, you can barely tell it is pieced!

Success I would say!!!



Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Bright Sun, Moda happy mail

Yesterday was Moda Happy Mail day!  I got this lovely bunch of fabric to start a new project for Moda Bake Shop :)  Fun, bright colors!  Fabric is ''Bright Sun'' by Sherri and Chelsi



Saturday, August 29, 2015

Back in the saddle

I got my sewing machine back from the shop (she had her annual cleaning/checkup), and finally sewing again!  I am almost finished with this civil war reproduction quilt top :)  just a few more rows!

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

back from vacation

My family has 2 small rustic cabins on a lake in west/central BC - beautiful country and a wonderful quiet place to be.  Completely off-grid (no power or even running water).  Our cabins do have propane stoves and refrigerators though luckily.  Anyhow, I thought I'd share a few pics from our trip :)



Storm on the last night of our vacation


The beach in front of our cabins.  Our dog Lucy and my son's dog Tikka playing in the water.


Most of the trout we catch in the lake average 12-15'', but there are some big ones too.  The 3 on the left were mine, and hubby only got one that day :)


The meat is amazing on these trout - red like sockeye!



Me and hubby - we had just gone swimming on a beach across the lake.  Refreshing 60F water! LOL.



Motoring to another fishing spot.  The lake is HUGE.

I just got home and I want to go back.


Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Dinner tonight

Quail Scotch eggs (eggs laid by my quail that I hatched from eggs), fried oysters (that we harvested on our trip to Hood Canal 4th of July weekend), and blackberry jello salad (blackberries from our yard).  Delicious!

Thursday, July 23, 2015

Foot pedal riser

I tried to share this before, but the mobile blogger app didn't work.  Trying again!

I built this quick riser for my Pfaff foot pedal.  It is amazing the difference in made!  It is so much more comfortable to use this way.  I am going to make a better, more attractive one now that I know it works!

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Tiles quilt along progress

Well, I have steadily been working on my 100 patch blocks - and have them all finished!  Yay!  


Now, onto my 25 patch blocks!  That will take half the time even though there is twice as many!



Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Lattice and Chains - Moda Bake Shop quilt

Well, I can finally share my latest Moda Bake Shop project!  Introducing ''Lattice and Chains''










I chose mainly the red/white/blue prints from the line ''Varsity'' - but there is plenty of gray and even a bit of black in there too (with hints of green and yellow).  It reads mainly red/white/blue though, which I love!

I cannot keep them all - as much as I'd like to - so this one is available for sale in my Etsy Shop.


karinsiggy