Happy Canada Day!

June 30, 20161 Comment

Happy Birthday Canada!! I hope that all you Canadians out

there will get out for the day and enjoy the weather and

celebrations.

Here are the last of the photos from Quilt Canada. A fitting

end to the Show, especially on Canada Day week.

This is one of the miniature quilts in the show. Even

though these quilts were small, they were still

beautiful.

This landscape quilt was really spectualar. Lots of

thread sketching on it as well.

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A pieced quilt.

I can not imagine all the time it took to piece this quilt.

It was well worth the effort though.

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Miniature quilt

I am amazed at how different the miniature quilts

were. They were all spectacular.

This quilt really caught my eye, maybe it was the bright

orange color that caught my eye.

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Fiddleheads

An interesting quilt.

More modern quilts. There were alot of them in

the Show this year.

An interesting quilt.

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The owl.

The sunflower are so cheerful. Who can

resist them?

This wallhanging had a ribbon attached to it as well.

I really love this bumblebee quilt. Lots of interesting

techniques used on it and so different from all the rest.

A close up of the bee and its honeycomb.

I really love the seagull and the ocean, as well as the blocks

and the piecing.

Another modern wallhanging.

The Canadian Quilters Association had this

arrangement in its booth. It is made up of different

colored circles. Hearts seem to gaining in

popularity this year.

Have a great week.

Quilt Canada-Part 2

June 22, 2016Leave a comment

Here are some more photos, as promised, from last week’s

Quilt Canada, in Toronto.

There seemed to be alot of modern quilts at the Show this

year. Depending on what your taste is, this could be a good

thing or not. I really like the colors in this

quilt and the piecing seems like alot of fun as well.

Orange is a color that is growing on me. It will be fun to

see if I actually make an orange quilt.

This was an interesting quilt. It is very modern looking

and its size draws you in.

Upon closer inspection, you can see that the stitching is all

done by hand, unless the maker has a Sasiko sewing machine.

Yes, there is such a thing.

Another modern quilt. It was interesting how the designer

chose the colors that she/he did. There is alot of tight

straight line stitching on this one as well.

Krista Withers quilted this quilt while another lady

made it. Krista is a longarmer that I follow and am

beginning to really like her quilting.

Again, another orange pieced quilt. An interesting layout and

designs for quilting.

As usual, it is the quilting that draws me in. I love the texture

that the quilting gives to a quilt. It brings it to life.

An interesting take on a modern circular quilt.

I love the colors in this wallhanging.

This wallhanging seemed to grab alot of attention. The

bright yellow circle stands out alot.

More machine stitching.

Here is an example of the tight, dense, straight line

quilting that seemed to be so popular in the Quilt

Show this year. I wonder what next year will bring?

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Modern wallhanging

I do love the colors in this piece and the stitching is

fascinating as well. Again, where does someone start

on a piece like this?

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Wholecloth wallhanging

I love wholecloth quilts. The stitching and texture is

what makes the whole quilt. This must be why

longarming appeals to me so much.

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Another wholecloth wallhanging

Forget the piecing and go straight to the quilting and

texture.

This is Ruth Kennedy’s quilt. It is quite large and colorful.

Once again,she won a ribbon too. A very talented lady

indeed.

This was an interesting quilt. When I first saw it, I

wondered “how did this person ever piece all those

small pieces?”

Getting closer to the quilt, I noticed that the background

was all white/cream and all the black marks were drawn

onto the quilt top using a black marker or sharpie.

Wow!! That must have taken a long time to create. The stitching

is pretty cool as well. This quilt certainly stirred up alot of

commotion.

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Best of Show

Helen Fujiko won the “Best of Show” with this

wallhanging. It is extremely colorful, which I love.

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Helen’ Quilt

A close up of her quilt.

The whole quilt judging process intrigues me.

There are still more photos to come. I will try to

wrap it up next week. Enjoy the sunshine in

Southern Ontario.

Quilt Canada-Part 1

June 16, 2016June 16, 20165 Comments

Quilt Canada is currently happening at the International

Center, In Toronto, this week. I was there yesterday,

volunteering for several hours. My buddy in crime, as we

manned the door, was Patti Carey. What fun we had

checking tickets. Because I took so many pictures of quilts,

I will be posting them within the next several weeks so

bear with me. Enjoy.

This modern quilt intrigued me. At first glance, you see a

guy wearing sunglasses but as you get up close to the quilt,

all the black colors are really circles. Each one is a different

size though. I thought it was pretty creative.

The Toronto Modern Quilt Guild was displaying some of

their modern quilts. This is a taste of what they have created.

Chains. The blue color is what caught my eye.

I like the layout of this quilt. Again, who comes

up with these ideas? I am learning that you have to be

brave and just create what you like, irregardless of what

others think.

I like the colors of this quilt too.

Again, the colors caught my eye. On closer inspection,

you will see that the fabrics are all raw edge applique.

Tracey Lawko created these hay bales. She is quite talented

in that she creates pictures by using only thread. It is

quite impressive to see up close and personal.

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Modern quilt

This quilt intrigued me. At first glance, you think that the

fabric is printed this way but it fact, all the shapes on this

quilt was cut and pasted there. All the stitching holds those

pieces in place. Again, how do people come up with these

ideas? It would take me a million years to even think

of such a thing.

I really love this quilt. The horse is comprised of different

colors of chessecloth that has been added to the tan background,

Even the tan rectangle, behind the horse, is one sheer piece of

fabric. There is alot of stitching on the horse but it is beautiful.

I liked the stitching on this traditional piece so I had to have

a picture of it.

This quilt is so full of color. I really do like the color and

the size draws me to it as well.

How could I pass up this cute little bear?

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Puffins

And puffins, I have a soft spot for them, especially

since I am from Nfld.

They are so cute.

More modern quilts. The quilting adds alot of

dimension to them as well.

Again, the color draws me in. And the piecing is pretty

cool as well.

I am beginning to like the color orange more and more.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures. There are more to come.

Also,note that if you click on each picture, the

picture will pop up larger. Good to know if you want to see

each quilt a little closer.

Before I forget, Kerry Burke’s quilt “Friends of Baltimore”

won “Excellence in Hand Applique.” Wow! It it truly a

work of art and love. I worked on it for her last summer,

so I am pretty happy about that as well.

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Kerry’s “Friends of Baltimore.”

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The winning quilt

Have a good week.

Summer is just around the corner…

June 9, 20162 Comments

Summer is just around the corner and I am beginning to panic a

little. This is a good problem, if there is such a thing.

Irregardless, here are some recent quilts that I have completed.

Dara has been a busy girl. She saw a panto titled “Flipflops”

and had the perfect quilt for it.

The colors are very vibrant and great for flip flops to be

walking all over it. I used a purple polyester thread for the

top and the backing.

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The backing

Again, vibrant gorgeous colors.

Can you see the flip flops? There are shells stitched into

the top too but they may resemble hands a little.

Isabel created this beauty. She wanted all overall design so

she chose stars. Very fitting indeed.

I used a cream polyester thread by Omni.

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The backing,

The backing was made up of a thick fabric print. I used

a grey polyester thread here.

You can really see the stars here. It is really difficult to

stitch stars. It may sound wierd but the lines are hard

to keep perfectly straight.

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Janis’ quilt

The colors of this quilt are really stunning. Fall is one of

the favorite times of the year for me and this quilt

reminds me of Fall.

In the center of the quilt, there are 9 different blocks

surrounded by a double border.

The flying geese on the outside of the quilt adds even more

interest to the top. I used a golden brown polyester thread

by Omni for the top and the backing.

I really love pieced backings. What a great idea to use up all the

leftover fabric from the top. A great recycling idea!

The panto Janis chose was leaves. It is a really big design

because the quilt is so big. Scale always has to be taken into

consideration when choosing a design.

This is an interesting quilt. Jeanette made this quilt

using fabric she had originally bought for a dress.

The fabric is really thin but it seems to hold up well with

the rest of the fabrics. Jeanette will have to be really

careful when she washes it though.

The backing is made up of flannel. It is very warm

and cuddly. Jeanette chose an overall panto titled

“Celtic Braid.” I used a beige polyester thread for the

top and the backing.

I was away last week. Water is so relaxing and inviting,

although it wasn’t too inviting last week.

While I was in Nfld, I had to have some of these. I made

sure that it was lobster season before I left. The fishermen

had caught these the day that I bought them. How can they

not taste good?

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My supper

Have a great week.