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Marci Girl Designs

Meet a Finish-A-Long Host - Dizzy Quilts

7/15/2017

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Once a month (and two months, twice) I will be featuring one of my co-hosts for the Finish Along so you can get to know them better.   This month is Izzy from Dizzy Quilts and I'll wrap up here so you can read about her life directly from her!  Enjoy!


Hi - I'm Izzy from Dizzy Quilts and it's my turn to tell you a little about myself!



I'm a mother, step-mother and foster mother to six children, grand-mother to one gorgeous little girl and wife to my soul mate. During the day, I manage a team of e-Learning designers/developers at a global financial company.

All of this keeps me pretty busy, but I've always made time to be crafty - when I was a little girl, my mom taught me how to knit and I made all my teddy bears knitted sweaters!

During my teenage years, I was a little too busy with school (and with boys!) to craft, but a few years later, when I had my first child, I started sewing.  I made some baby clothes and I made curtains mostly. I even took a sewing class to learn how to make garments for myself, but I never got the hang of that - nothing ever really fit right.

About 9 years ago, I walked into JoAnn's to get fabric for new curtains and spotted the cutest little quilt kits. I bought one, put it together and haven't looked back since! I was completely and totally hooked.

The first few quilts I made were very traditional - lots of small pieces, small florals, etc. I really had no clue what I was doing, but learned so much with the making of these quilts.

A lap size log cabin quilt made for my step-mom

I started making these quilts for pretty much everyone in my family.  And pretty soon, every bed in the house had a quilt on it.

Quilt I made for my sister-in-law - this is Bronx testing it.

I even made quilts as curtains!!
Around 2010, I discovered quilt blogs and the online quilting community.  That literally changed my quilting life!!  I started my own blog, met some amazing people and a couple of years later, found the Montreal Modern Quilt Guild.

Through the members of this guild, I learned about modern quilting and I fell in love with quilting all over again.

I started making modern quilts and building a stash of really colourful fabrics and solid neutrals.



When I first started quilting, my least favourite part of the whole thing was the actual quilting. My sewing machine was pretty small and wrestling with a big quilt in that tiny little space was painful and I very often ended up with puckers on the back of my quilts.  And then I changed two things: my sewing machine and my basting method.


I purchased my Juki TL-2010Q. It is literally a dream to quilt with. Lots of room to the right of the needle and super consistent, fast stitching.

I also learned how to board baste my quilts - which has saved my knees, my back and to a certain extent, my sanity!  :-)

And now quilting is actually my favourite part. I look forward to finishing a top just so I can get to the quilting. My dream is to some day own a long-arm machine, but I would need to get a much bigger house before that could happen!



Last year, I became the Vice-President of the Montreal MQG and that has been a lot of fun. The group is growing and we have such amazing people and quilters.  Each meeting is a great source of inspiration and I'm learning so much.



When I was approached to become a FAL host last year, I was so flattered and so happy. I love hosting these link-ups - so much inspiration and so much talent every quarter.

Thanks for reading and if you have questions, please leave a comment!  :-)

Izzy

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My Quarter 3 2017 Finish-A-Long List

7/7/2017

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I have decided that the slightly longer list is working for me, so I'll do that again this quarter.  I think having more options makes me want to work on a variety of things.  I'm also going down the path of "finish up a lot of smaller projects."  So I have two quilts on my list this quarter, both I want to work on, and the rest smaller projects, all garments to be exact.  Here it goes...
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1.  Triangle Bee Sewcial Quilt - The only project to carry over from last quarter.  I really want to work on this one, so it made it on the Q3 list.
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2.  Take the Plunge Swimsuit - This is my current project I am working on.  As you can see I have some scary stuff going on here, but trust me, this is supposed to look like this.  I hope to have this one finished by next week.  I can honestly say this is the most fun project I have worked on in quite a while.  I'm loving it.
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3.  Take the Plunge Swimsuit Version 2 - If the first one fits, I'm going to make another one right away.  I need some good fitting swimsuits!
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4.  Little Girl Simplicity Pattern - Before my little one totally outgrows this pattern I want to make her a top with the little matching bloomers.  All my supplies have been gathered.
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5.  Women's Waterfall Raglan - I have had this PDF pattern printed and put together for at least 3 months, I really want to wear this style while it is still in style, so I'm thinking this will be a quick knit sew.
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6.  Little Girl's Waterfall Raglan - While I'm sewing a version for myself, might as well make one for my little girl.  I have the pattern ready to go!
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7.  Little Girl Leggings - While I'm sewing knits I might as well make my little one some leggings or skirts.  Though this will be several pairs, I'm counting it as one project.
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8.  Bee Sewcial Floral Mini Quilt - I have all my blocks from my Bee Sewcial Gals and I would love to get this one together, aren't they just glowing!  I can't wait.
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9.  Christmas Pajamas - This is my bonus project.  I'm adding it to the list now otherwise it will never get done before Christmas.  I was given these two flannels and want to make matching pajamas for my kiddos while they are still willing to wear them.  I'll be using the sweetheart pajamas from the book, Sewing for Boys.  I may use the flannels for the bottoms and make knit tops, not sure, we shall see.

There we go!  Nine items, I better get busy!  You still have time (not much though) to link up for the third quarter, so make your list either on your blog, Instagram or Flickr and link up, you can find the link up a few posts down, right here on my blog.

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2017 Finish-A-Long - Quarter 2 My Finishes

7/5/2017

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At the beginning of the second quarter of the year I decided to make a longer list than my first quarter, so I chose seven projects.  You can see from the mosaic below I finished four of the seven, so not bad by my books.  Now the three that didn't get finished, didn't even get touched.  Insert frowny face.  But honestly I had a crazy second quarter of the year and I'm not surprised at all that these didn't get touched or even thought about.  So I thought I would do this little mosaic to wrap up the second quarter and get my head in the game for quarter three.
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Statistics:
4 Complete
0 Progress Made
3 Untouched

I'm happy with the results this quarter, especially since I didn't get the opportunity to even sew for a solid month.  So now I get to work on my new (quarter 3) list and figure out whether or not to make it short or long.

You still have time to make your list for the third quarter, the link up can be found HERE.
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2017 Finish-A-Long - Quarter 3 Link Up Now Open

7/2/2017

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The third quarter of the year is here!  Are you ready to link up a new list of WIPs?  I know I am, and I'm ready to get some things finished before the end of the year.  All of the details can be found below, along with the link up.  If you have any questions or need help, don't hesitate to ask, I'm happy to help.


It's time to link up your list of unfinished projects that you propose to finish in Q3 of the FAL. I am looking forward to seeing what you are planning to be working on over the next quarter.

The FAL is hosted by a community of bloggers across the world. Our hosts are:
  • Rhonda - Rhonda's [Quilt] Ramblings - USA
  • Nicky - Mrs Sew & Sow - Great Britain
  • Abigail - Cut & Alter - Great Britain
  • Izzy - Dizzy Quilts - Canada
  • Ella - Throw a Wench in the Works - USA
  • Lucy - Charm about You - Great Britain
  • Sarah - Sew me - Northern Ireland
  • Judith - Just Jude - Northern Ireland
  • Felicity - Felicity Quilts - Canada
  • Marci - Marci Girl Designs - USA
  • Karen - Capitola Quilter - USA
  • Leanne - She Can Quilt - Canada
Social Media Director
  • Sandra, Sew of Course - Ireland
For those of you who are new to the FAL, it is a place to find motivation and encouragement to complete those unfinished projects that are hanging about becoming UFOs. Every quarter you post a list of projects you hope to finish in the next three months, and then at the end of the quarter, you post a link from your blog, Flickr or Instagram of each successful finish from your original list.

Each finish is an entry for wonderful prizes from our sponsors. There is no penalty for not finishing a listed project, so feel free to make your list long or short, as you wish. The 2017 Schedule and Rules for the FAL are on my permanent FAL page, let me know if you have any questions.

Here are the fantastic and generous sponsors for Q3 of the FAL - you can see each of their prizes listed under their logo (think about visiting them and saying thank you):  


Just Jude Designs - 2 PDF Patterns
Sew Sisters Quilt Shop, $25 gift certificate
Charm About You - 2 PDF Patterns
Fat Quarter Shop, $50 gift certificate
Elven Garden Quilts - 3 PDF Patterns
Tartankiwi - $25 gift certificate
Blossom Heart Quilts - 3 PDF Patterns
Mad About Patchwork - $50 gift certificate
During Quiet Time - 3 PDF Patterns
Happy Quilting - choice of 3 patterns
Cooking Up Quilts - 2 PDF Patterns
Sew Sweetness - 3 PDF Patterns
Knotted Thread, $30 gift certificate
The Littlest Thistle - Camp Bag Pattern Pack
Green Fairy Quilts - $15 gift certificate
Quilting Jet Girl - 2 PDF patterns
Sunny Day Supply - $30 gift certificate
Make Modern Magazine - 3 six month subscriptions
Clover & Violet - $30 gift certificate
Sew me a Song, $20 gift certificate
Imagine Gnats - $40 gift certificate
Studio 39 Fabrics - $25 Gift Certificate
Laurel Bee Designs, 2 pin bowls for 1 winner
InLinkz.com

As you may recall from last year, there was a return of tutorial week at the end of each quarter, between the opening of the link for finishes and the day that link closes. Are you enjoying this? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below! This will take place each quarter. Each host works hard to put these together so I hope you are visiting their blogs to encourage them. If you have a tutorial that you would like to share, please let me or another host know.

It's time to round up those projects you want to finish over the next three months, take a photo of each one and make your list. Please ensure that you have at least started your projects - pulled fabric with a pattern is now considered a UFO, and remember it is only finished projects that will get you an entry toward the above listed prizes. So while we love to see your bee blocks, the "finish" is when they are a completed, usable project.

It is very helpful if you tag your list as #2017FALQ3yourname when posting on social media: Flickr, Facebook & Instagram. Using the same hashtag over the quarter when sharing progress or finishes before the link, helps the hosts find your original list quickly - especially when this is done over a 3 month period. IMPORTANT: Don't forget to link your finishes up when the quarter closes.

The 2017 Q23link for your list of proposed finishes is now open below on my blog and on each of the hosting blogs. You need only link your list once, on one blog - and that link will show up on all of the blogs. If you are using Facebook, Flickr or Instagram, link a mosaic and put your list in the description. Katy of The Littlest Thistle has a great tutorial on how to link-up if you need it.

We also ask that you become part of the FAL community. Please check out the links of others - visit and comment on their lists. We all need encouragement to get those finishes done, so please share some of your own too. When creating your list there is one thing to remember....No deductions for not completing something so ..... Aim High! Nothing to lose!!! Well Now..... Get those lists together and get linked up. 

The Q3 proposed finish linky party will stay open until 11 pm EST, July 8, 2017- as we are global, you might want to check your time zone to determine your last possible time to link. Remember: you only need to link up on ONE hosting blog and it will automatically show up on all hosting blogs.




An InLinkz Link-up
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    Marci Girl

    A feisty mom designing, sewing and blogging her way through everyday life!

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