Freckled Fox Quiltery

So much Coffee, so little time

April 23, 2024

Good Things
FYI, I did a quick check on the web and I now know there are at least twelve gazillion types of coffee drinks that I need to try, or try again, this year if possible. I am not just talking about the lattes, cappuccinos, americano and espresso coffees available at my local coffee shop. I have a craving to try doppio, cortado, red eye, galao, lungo, macchiato, mocha, ristretto, flat white, affogato, or cafe au lait; and don’t even get me started on the iced coffee choices out there calling my name. HOLY HECK HERMIONIE, I MAY NEVER SLEEP AGAIN.

But…. lets be serious, every cuppa coffee (or tea) requires a cup or mug. Are you like me and have your favourite coffee mug that makes everything taste just a little more delicious? Naturally that got me to thinking…

I want a coffee/tea cup quilt. Yes I do. And you my friends, are going to help me out. Since I am the May 2024 Queen Bee for the Canadian Modern Quilting Bee, I decided I would ask you to make me a cup or two to sip my favourite brew out of.

There are tons of coffee cup quilt blocks out there on the world wide web. But I love Kate Spain, so I was pretty dang excited when I found this link.

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/54884f29e4b0963c92fa97ed/t/5727b2cac6fc087e5d14315c/1462219470712/fp_in-from-the-cold.pdf.

The block size is 10.5″ x 14.5″ unfinished, so are a bit outside of our usual 12.5″ unfinished size; but after checking with you guys informally, you gave me the go ahead to go ahead! So lets get going.
1. Use the link to download the block(s) you want to make. You can make both the same, or two different ones, its totally up to you. I did consider assigning blocks to people, but am certain that even if you all choose the same block, your unique fabric choices will give me an awesome collection of cups. To change things up, consider attaching the handle to the left side rather than the right side, or do one tea cup and one coffee cup. And, who wouldn’t love some espresso cups. Modify the cups to suit what you like as long as they measure 10.5″ x 14.5″ unfinished.
2. Fussy cuts on the cups would be amazing!
3. Please do NOT make the Christmas Wreath or Christmas Tree block….I am not looking for a seasonal quilt.
4. for the block BG choose any very light grey, white or neutral solid. If you don’t work with solids, then any light print or tone on tone fabric is perfect. Once again, this is up to you and what you have available in your stash.
I made a test block (Cup 3) this morning and it took about 45 minutes to choose fabrics and sew together.
Cross Purposes….a Queen Bee Block

March 29, 2024

Fabulous Links included, Good Things, PEIMQG, QALs, Quilt Blocks, Sew Alongs etc
Hey PEIMQG quilters. Its time to make another Bee Block. I call this one Cross Purposes. Its very similar to lots of others out there in Internet World but mine has its own unique charm. My block stitches together at 12.5″ square–unfinished and allows you to try your hand at partial seams…..DO NOT PANIC….Partial seams are easy peasy to do. Seriously.

Here are the fabric requirements needed to make one 12.5″ (unfinished) block.
- four 4.5″ x 4.5″ squares of “cross” fabrics of bright modern fabrics
- four 3.5″ x 2.0 ” rectangles of “cross” fabrics same colours as above
- four 4.5 x 4.5″ squares of busy background fabric
- one 2.0″ square of same busy background fabric
The block center is the only pieced unit so we will make it first.

Are you a newbie to partial seams or feel like a little technique refresher would be a good idea? No problem…follow the link below to watch a great tutorial by Andi at “A Bright Corner” http://www.abrightcorner.com/2022/09/how-to-sew-partial-seam.html

Again, DO NOT PANIC. I guarantee this will be one of the easiest techniques you will ever decide to learn.

Let’s do this!

Start by placing the strips around the center square as in the above tutorial, and shown below.

Select Strip 1 and begin stitching it to the 2″ BG square. Remember, sew with a 1/4″ seam allowance and stop sewing about 1″ from where you start. Finger press the seam that you just sewed, but try not to press the unsewn section, because its easy to distort the seam.

Next, with the partial seam in place on the top of the center block, select and line up Strip 2 to the left side and stitch it to the BG square.

Naturally Strip 3 gets stitched on next. No need for photos of this part,

Strip 4 gets sewn on next ….

And Holy Heck! Just like that you have four strips attached around the sides of the center block and the only thing left to do is finish sewing the Strip 1 seam to the unit…it should fit perfectly! Next you can trim the block to measure 4.5″ square. (I deliberately made the block a bit oversized so there would be wiggle room at the end to trim the sides to size).

It REALLY is as easy as that.

The rest of the block goes together easy. It’s just a nine patch after all. Just make sure to place the coloured crosses in the correct position…like this.

Here is another example I made

And another one

Now you can add partial seams to your technique toolbox. I can hardly wait for April Guild meeting to collect the blocks you make.
April Showers bring May Flowers

March 22, 2024

Good Things
Yes indeed, its almost April. I don’t know what its like where you live, but here on PEI, in Eastern Canada, Spring is finally starting to show her pretty face. We have a few crocus(es?) under the front window; and the tulips are starting to peek out of the ground in the flowerbed in the back yard. Its enough to make me smile…and think about all the pretty colours that mother nature will let loose in my garden in just a few short weeks.

What is your favourite spring flower? Do you have one? or like me, are you just happy to see the earth waking up again? I thought I would celebrate my Queen Bee month, by honoring those brave and beautifully delicate flowers that mark the first days of spring.

Here are some ahhhsome examples of flowers (taken from Pinterest…) I absolutely did not make any of these and cannot take any credit from their fabulous makers.

My wish list for April flowers is
1. Use lots of bright contrasting solid fabrics for the blooms
2. You can make flowers and stems, or just flowers….or just stems. Entirely up to you.
3. Please use light BG fabrics in soft white, light cream, pale pink, or blue, or any other light shade that makes you think SPRING.
4. Make two 12.5″ blocks, or eight 6″ blocks, or three 8″ blocks or whatever size you choose to bring your blooms to life.
5. Trim if you like, but its not necessary.
And last but not least, here is a beautiful example of improv spring flowers.

If you have any questions, please feel free to give me a shout on our Facebook page, or PM me. Don’t overthink this!
I feel like a Queen

November 30, 2022

Good Things, QALs, Serendipitous Things, Sew Alongs etc, Sheltering at Home

Hey guys, its me, Velda at the Freckled Fox Quiltery. Can you believe its one day away from December already….Holy OMGoodness, how did that happen? I blinked once and 2022 went whoosh…..or possibly it was swoosh, in my ear as it blew by me.

Anyhoo, for those of you who don’t know, I am one of the charter members of an online improv-styled quilting bee. We call ourselves Bee Improv Canada because we are all proudly Canadian. It’s been so much fun getting to know each other over the past twelve months.

And now that December is here, it’s finally my turn to wait eagerly for the mailman to arrive to see what my bee mates have imagined up for me.

I’m all about new opportunities and looking forwards not backwards. And, at this time of year, I spend a lot of my time looking forwards by looking out the window. The other morning I found myself standing in my kitchen with a cuppa coffee thinking about how much I love my windows. Naturally that made me think “ Why not make a quilt all about windows” …. Serendipitously, December is my Queen Bee month, so our December prompt is WINDOWS.

I am looking for graphic interpretations, in black and white, or white and black with a pop of colour somewhere if you feel it. Below are some window photos/shapes to get you started. Please please please allow your imagination to lead you. Add shutters or not. make a whole wall of windows, or build a skyscraper full of windows. Your windows might turn out wonky or seriously straight. Its all good.

I do want the quilt to be read black and white but am absolutely fine with really dark charcoal gray, or any really really dark colour paired with white. I’m thinking that the ‘colour pop’ will be warm such as firey oranges, chartreusey greens, hot hot hot reds or fuscia/pinks. Of course I understand that your process is completely different than mine and if your window wants to have a clear blue pop of colour, then I’m fine with that.

I’ve been test sewing blocks and am happy to share what I’m making. I really love the wonkyish skyscraper….I hope this helps you to see my vision.

This is absolutely one of those quilts that I can already see completely finished in my mind. I am so excited to get it started.

Did you do something g creative today?
Say hello to “Try Angles”, a Community Outreach Quilt for 2022.

August 31, 2021

Good Things

Here at the PEIMQG we are sew proud to give back to our community. One of our favourite ways to do this is by taking part in the Annual QuiltCon Community Outreach Quilt Challenge. Its definitely a win/win for us. We get to hang out together as a group to sew on Saturdays in the fall…and then we get to donate a finished “one of a kind” quilt to a local organization.

We have risen to this challenge for several years now; and each time we have showcased an original idea brought forward by one of our members. This year we are piecing a quilt based on an idea from our own Cathy Lumsden-Victor. (You may know her as an accomplished quilt designer and contributor to Make Modern Magazine….yes, we are very lucky to have someone with her quilt savvy in our group).

But before I go to much further, I’ll let you know a thing or two about this challenge. Here is an excerpt from the QuiltCon website.

Theme: Angles

Angles come in all shapes and sizes, with varying degrees. While some are more pointed you can also find others that almost seem to flatten out.

You’ll find right angles in most quilts, so the challenge this year is to feature angles that are not 90º in your quilt. Acute or obtuse, let the angles be the focus of the quilt, instead of simply the place where blocks meet.

Get inspired by a few examples from previous QuiltCon shows, and start planning with your group!

Color Palette

Use at least two of the colors in this fun citrus-inspired palette and let your imaginations run wild! We’ve included coordinating solids from some of our sponsors to get you started. Feel free to add prints and other solids, as long as they match the color palette.

Holy Heck Hermione! how ahhhsome are these colours? Its gonna be a delightful display at QuiltCon for sure….maybe you and I should go? Lets talk more about that later, okay?

Any way, back to the topic at hand.

As soon as the Community Outreach Challenge guidelines were posted, we all put our thinking caps on to come up with a design that would highlight angles in a modern setting and would allow a whole group of people to take part. Several designs were pitched on our Facebook Page, then a vote was held and Ms. Cathy’s design was chosen.

I am not going to give it all away in this post, but for sure, the name we chose gives a very good clue “Try Angles”….hmmm… yessiree, we are making Improv Triangles. This pattern is perfect for PEIMQG, because its sew flexible, There’s room for everyone in this quilt and we hope our members will make one or two for this cause.

I’m IN! But, because I was a bit late to the party (I missed the first sew day) I got this little packet of fabric last week to use to make a couple Improv triangles.

Our triangles are improv inspired, but we hope our members stretch their imaginations and possibly try new skills to make angles. Paper piecing is definitely an option. After we piece our angles we are going to trim them to the same angle as on this Nifty Notions bias triangle ruler.

We are not going to square up the angles, we are planning to piece them in a top to tail fashion, using white as a background colour. Check out the photo below to see a little glimpse of the triangles made so far…

Here’s a pic of Cathy updating the group on Try Angles progress at our last Guild meeting. As you can see our members are jumping right in to embrace the “Try Angles” theme.

I’m definitely not gonna miss the next sew day. Just Saying…

I’d love it if you came back occasionally to see how this quilt comes together over the next couple months. We will have it finished by the end of the first week in December so we can ship it off to QuiltCon in late December or early January.

For more information about QuiltCon and the Community Outreach Quilt Challenge, please click on this link. https://www.quiltcon.com/community-outreach-quilt-challenge-2022/

Did you do something creative today?