An Ice Storm…

April 16, 20182 Comments

Here is Southern Ontario, we had an ice storm that barrelled through this

weekend. It was a great time to stay inside and quilt. I hope that you had

better luck with that than I did.

Lynn created this beauty using Kaffe Fassett fabrics. It is very whimsical and the

fabrics are very stimulating. She has been waiting a while to get it back but it is

all done now.

A Water Fountain

Pebbles was the filler for all the background areas. I thought that they would quilt up

quickly but they didn’t. The borders alone took 3-4 hours each. If you are quilting in

pebbles, take your time. You will get there, one pebble at a time. I must admit that I do

love the look and texture that pebbles or circles make.

Tulip Block

All the blocks and applique on this quilt are quite large so I quilted in some of the

large areas so that they wouldn’t puff up too much. I used a monofilament thread for

all the SID work and a Bottom Line in the bobbin.

In the sashing area, I outlined the blocks. They are not very large so that is all that this

area needed.

More Floral Blocks

Sorry about the brightness of this photo. Again, you can see the pebbles and the

texture it creates.

The backing fabric is bright and bold; goes well with the whimsical theme of the quilt. I tried to

use a pink thread on the back but you really can’t see what I used due to the print on the fabric.

Prints are great for the backings, especially if you are new to quilting and struggling with tension

issues.

A close up of the backing fabric.

Once again, I thought that you would like to see the whole quilt in all its glory.

I am glad that is is done and that Lynn is happy with the quilting.

Linking up to The Needle and Thread Network.

Have a great week.

Details, details…

December 7, 2017Leave a comment

The days and weeks leading up to Christmas Day is always a busy time. Are you

discovering this phenomena? By the time that Christmas Day finally rolls

around, it is a huge relief to have all the details taken care of. Here are some

details that I have been trying to take care of lately.

Carol’s Quilt

Carol is a very generous person and has taken lots of trips to Jamaica, if I remember

correctly, to help out the locals there. In doing so, she raises money by making charity

quilts. This particular quilt is made from scraps that were left over from a previous quilt

that she had made before. Did I mention that she is pretty clever as well?

I used a monfilament thread to stitch around all the blocks. Carol didn’t know what she

wanted in the background section so I decided to stitch in straight lines. As I was stitching,

I noticed that the pattern was really a 2″ wide square. How cool was that? By the time I was

finished, it almost looked like a plaid fabric.

The backing

The backing fabric was really interesting; lots of words on it.

I used a cream polyester thread on the back of the quilt. Carol was pleased with

the result and so was I.

Dorothy’s quilt

Dorothy made this cute little baby quilt. I love it when my customer’s

decide to be creative and make their own designs and quilts.

I tried to mimic all the designs on the quilt itself so I added some waves for the

water and some more grass on the quilt top. I also added another daisy and outlined

the petals.

Here is the backing. You can really see the pattern on the back of the quilt.

Jeanette made this panel quilt. She added some 9 patch blocks on the top and

the bottom of this panel. She chose an oak and leaf pattern for the stitching.

Here is what the 9 patch looks like. You can really see the stitching in this

block. I used a brown polyester thread for the quilt top and the backing.

The backing

I love the green flannel on the back of the quilt.

Here is a close up of the back of the quilt.

A floral quilt

I can’t remember who made this quilt but it is definitely for a little girl.

I used a light pink polyester thread for the top and the backing.

The overall design used on the quilt top was called “Rose Vine.”

The border section of the quilt top.

The backing

The green fabric is really nice and suits the quilt nicely.

Once again, it is nice to see a close up of the backing fabric and the

stitching. Hope you are taking some time to enjoy this Christmas Season.

I am linking up to The Needle and Thread Network.

A Local Quilt Show…

September 28, 20161 Comment

Our annual local Quilt Show happened several weekends ago now.

Here are some of the gorgeous quilts that were hanging in the Show.

There are alot of talented quilters and people in this area. I am

sure that you will agree after you have seen these pictures.

Star Quilt

I am unsure of many of the people who made these quilts. And

be forewarned, there are alot of pictures in this post.

16 Patch Quilt

The additions on the corners add some more interest to the

quilt.

These are some of the wallhangings in the Show. Yes, my camera

didn’t do a very good job here. I apologize but I am sure you get

the overall idea of the design.

Cute little birdies.

More wallhangings.

Mary made the lower wallhanging.

More wallhangings

Quite the selection at the Show this year.

A modern Quilt

There were alot of modern quilts at the Show this year.

A very colorful modern quilt.

Very subdued colors in this quilt but still effective.

A Chevron Quilt.

Joan made this quilt that I finished for her last year. It

received lots of comments.

I still love the bubbles, or pebbles, and the matchsticks; it adds

so much texture. And I love texture, although I don’t want to

quilt another one like this for a while.

I think this was considered a large wallhanging.

A Strip Quilt

I love the pinks in this quilt.

As I mentioned before, a nice selection this year.

Another Modern Quilt.

I do like the blocks in this quilt.

This looks like Northcott’s Stonehenge fabrics to me.

A Floral Quilt

How can you not like this one? Love the flowers and the colors.

Wow!! Look at all that piecing!

Love the modern fabrics in this one.

Doesn’t color affect the way you react to a quilt?

I love how the colored blocks go around the

quilt.

CArls’ Quilt

This quilt is rather interesting. Not sure of the name or

the designer.

BArb’s Quilt

I love Batik fabrics.

Not quite sure of the block’s name that was used in this quilt.

More piecing. And curved at that.

A bright quilt

Again, I am unsure of the name but I can’t imagine

all that piecing.

Anther dark photo. I am sure you get the idea though.

Tans and browns.

I do like this color scheme together.

A very traditional quilt. I think it has 1/2 log cabins

strips in it.

A Sampler Quilt.

A Modern Garden Quilt.

This one intrigues me. What a great idea to use up some

of your blocks that are floating around.

Lynn’s Sock Monkey Quilt

Susan created this fun quilt from Lori Holt’s pattern

called “Cake Walk.” I keep telling Susan that she should

be designing because she uses a pattern but changes it

up to make it her own.

The border area was alot of fun, although it would have been

scary to watch me as I zoomed around each of the mice in the

border.

An example of one of her cakes. Notice the trim that was used

as icing. I couldn’t help but to keep smiling and laughing as I

quilted this quilt.

I am unsure if the designs on this quilt was totally embroidered.

Mary’s Quilt

The lady who created this quilt used alof of bias strips.

She mentioned that it took her quite a few years to

complete but it is stunning.

An Applique Quilt.

These are works of art to me.

A close up of the blocks in the quilt.

Hope you enjoyed all the pictures. I have

a few more for next week. Have a great week.

All finished…

February 17, 2016February 17, 20168 Comments

I am very happy to say that the “Friends of Baltimore” applique quilt

is all finished. And it is on its way home to South Carolina. When

it arrives, I will breathe a sigh of relief; I am sure that Darlene will too.

This is what it looked like on the floor of my studio. I have

included lots of photos for you to enjoy.

The braided handle looks like it is 3D. The two

layers of batting(wool on top and 80/20 Hobbs underneath) really

makes all the applique puff up, almost like a trapunto effect.

I really like the borders in each block. And did I mention that

the applique is phenomenal. I couldn’t even find the threads

that Darlene used to applique the pieces onto the quilt top.

Do you see the masking tape in the upper right hand corner?

I put this on so Darlene can see where there is an area that

needs a little repair.

It is funny how each quilt takes on a life of its own. On this

particular quilt, all the background fills wanted to be

in miniature.

Feathers and swirls are the background fills here. I saw this

sample on one of Sharon Schamber’s quilt, so I had to try it.

The border area. I decided to use 5 background fills that I

had used on 4 of the 16 blocks. These consisted of swirls,

pumpkin seeds, McTavishing, a circular design, and

some gridwork. Whenever I get bored with one, I switched

over to another fill. Yes, I am a little OCD.

One of the 6 different vases in the border area. I love feathers

so I had to put some of them onto the quilt top. It seemed like

they wanted to be miniature too.

In this block, I used an oval design that is echoed several times. It

does look stunning with the very posh bird.

Darlene’s “Friends of Baltimore”

The fruit in this basket is quite stunning. The pineapple

needed a little extra stitching but all the other fruit was

stitched around. I used a monofilament thread to stitch

around all the fruit. It saves alot of time not having to

switch out thread color constantly and the monofilament

thread seems to camouflauge itself with quilt blocks.

In this block, I used 2 different background fills. It does add

interest to the block.

Onto the back of the quilt. This looks so cool. It reminds

me of a wholecloth quilt.

You can actually guess what block is which when you look at

the backing. I packed the quilt in such a particular way so that

Darlene can see the back of the quilt first when she opens the box.

Hopefully, it will give her goosebumps.

Here is the posh bird but now he is colorless.

One of the baskets and the feathers that support it.

You can see the sashing received straight lines. It add more

texture to the quilt.

Another vase; this one is holding a book in it.

More shots of the background.

Love, love, love the texture of the backing.

The mighty eagles finally found his feathers. My son

actually drew in the lines for me. He is quite artistic

and helps me out whenever I need it.

The border area once more. I hope you enjoyed the photos.

I feel like I am coming back down to earth today. Working on a

quilt like this kind of pumps you up for the duration of the

quilting. One’s mind almost becomes obsessed with the

quilt; how much is done and what is left to be done.

It is all good and fun though.

Have a great week.

Filling it up…

February 3, 2016February 3, 20165 Comments

This is what I have been working on for the past several weeks.

It seems that whenever a quilt needs to be done by a certain time,

that obstacles keep popping up and taking me away from working

on a quilt.

On the frame

This quilt is no exception. Lots of appointments, a funeral

to attend, kids finishing up exams and life in general seems to be

telling me that this quilt is not going to get completed. I have

other thoughts about this though.

In each block, I decided to stitch in 3 lines around the

perimeter. In the center section, I stitched in pebbles.

If you ask me, I think it makes the blocks and quilt,

in general, look more “classy.” This fits beautifully

with the quilt, as it is a more traditional applique

quilt.

Stitching the pebbles in the border sections. Sorry for the

terrible lighting. Once this is completed, I will begin

filling up the blocks with background fills. That is always

my favorite part of working on a quilt.

To change up this post, I have added some pictures of

completed quilts I did for customers, before Christmas.

A customer’s quilt.

I can’t remember who made this quilt but it was big!!

The borders were really cool. Leaves were stitched all

over the quilt and I used a cream polyester thread for

the top and the backing.

The cream backing really shows up the pattern nicely.

Modern cars and trucks.

This proud grandma wanted to keep the feel of this

quilt modern. So I stitched in cars, trucks and trains

for her grandson. It was pretty funny because all

of the templates I used for the vehicles, were bought

at Dollarama. They were made of fun foam too.

It is pretty interesting that you can find alot of quilting

supplies at the Dollar Store. What quilting supplies

have you found at Dollarama?

In the borders, she wanted her grandson’s name and

date of birth. What a great idea!! So I used my Scan & Cut

machine, which my darling husband bought me last summer.

I cut all the letters and laid them out on the border.

Then I traced around them and stitched

them out. What a time saver that was!!

Back of the quilt.

The backing shows up the stitching nicely. I used a white

polyester thread for the top and the backing.

A close up of the trains, cars and trucks.

Remember last week and my encouragement to join the

365 Challenge. Well, the first few blocks only took 5 minutes

or so but the one I made last night took me over an hour!

And it is only 3 1/2″ square. I am realizing that it takes

alot of accuracy to make these blocks. And it doesn’t help

that the pieces are so small and sometimes move when

you stitch them together.

That is ok though, because I am stubborn and will find some

way to make it work. Any tips for working with small

pieces?

Have a great week!!

Are you kidding me?

January 29, 2016January 29, 20164 Comments

At the beginning of the year, I decided that I wanted to follow my own

ideas and create my own quilts, or at least finish projects hanging around

from last year. I did start off the year well but it seems that I am adding

more projects onto my ever increasing list.

At Guild, this past week, Mary,my friend, mentioned a free online

challenge called “The 365 Challenge.” When I checked

out the site, this is what I saw.

“Are you kidding me?” was my response.

But Mary’s enthusiasm and encouragement prevailed. She mentioned

that it only took 5- 10 minutes to complete each 3″ block. How could

I resist? Do you ever find yourself in this boat?

Well, I started the challenge and to be quite honest, it is fun. And

it really does only take 5-10 minutes to complete each block. The

hardest part about the whole thing is picking out the fabric for each

block.

Here are my 29 blocks completed for this month. I am hoping to

have gradated colors going around the whole quilt. For the month

of January, I have picked dark blues. There are lots of color

combinations on their website, so you can pick what colors you

like. You should check it out.

This is a glimpse of just how small these blocks really are. It seems

that each day, the difficulty increases.

Again, the total number of blocks, at the end of the year will be

365. And the completed quilt will measure 90″ x 90″.

Darlene’s ” Friends Of Baltimore”

Darlene saw Kerry’s, “Friends of Baltimore” Quilt and decided that

she would like me to quilt hers as well. It arrived at my house a

few weeks ago, so I have been diligently working on the SID work

ever since.

Today, I finished the ditch work and am moving onto filling

in all the background areas. This is always an exciting part for me

as the fun can now begin. I love working on the background fills.

Darlene is quite the appliquer. I can’t even find the stitches that

are holding the applique pieces down. These quilts really are an honor

and privilege for me to work on. I am amazed that people actually

have that much patience to create one of these masterpieces.

Personally, I think that these quilts are not quilts but actually

works of art.

What do you think?

Switching gears, before Christmas, I was asked to create this cut

baby quilt. The print has monkeys all over it.

A swirl panto was chosen for the quilting design and this

shows up beautifully on the backing.

The backing

The backing is comprised of grey minky fabric.

I worked on a purple quilt before with purple minky on the

backing and the purple minky migrated to the front of the

quilt. It actually came up through the stitches. So, be careful

when you use this on the backing of your quilts.

A close up of the stitching. Also, be careful with how you load minky

onto your quilting frame. In one direction, the minky is really

stretchy. And in the other direction, it isn’t. Ask me how I know?

I made a baby quilt and the minky on the backing stretched horribly.

When I took it off the frame, it had bunched up in some areas. Needless

to say, I was not happy at all. And I ditched the quilt. Some lucky person

will now have the job of picking out all those stitches.

And lastly, this one of the last blocks that I completed

from the Oceans BOM from last year. I am trying hard

to keep on track but some days, I think to myself “Are

you kidding me?” Maybe,just maybe I have bit off more

than I can chew. At least, I am not bored.

Have a great week!

Barrie Fair Week

August 27, 2014September 3, 20142 Comments

It was Barrie Fair Week, last week. I call it a “week” because I volunteered there

just about every day, for the whole week. There is alot to do, to organize, set up

and tear down in the HomeCraft Division. As promised, I did take some pictures

for you. I hope you enjoy the eye candy.

Here is “Lily of Rosenberry.” I thought that I would put it in the Fair, to see how

it would show. It won. However, it is easy to win when there are only 3 quilts in

the whole show. I was disappointed that there were not more quilts but we are

hoping to generate more interest for next year. There are alot of amazing

quilters in Simcoe County and I am hoping to get them involved in

exhibiting in the Fair next year.

Phyllis made this cute bunny wallhanging. You have got to love the bunnies.

Phyllis also made this cute wallhanging. She was able to draft the pattern

by looking at a photo. Pretty creative, if you ask me.

This is my “Trillums” wallhanging I made several years ago. Elizabeth

Alexander held classes and I took one with her. I am so glad that I did

because she moved back to Scotland this year. She is a very, very talented

fiber art and quilting lady.

This gorgeous wallhanging was made by Phyllis. I love how the beads look

like frost on the leaves. It is so cool. Phyllis won 1st in the Art Quilt category.

I think she mentioned taking a class for this art quilt but I don’t remember with

whom.

Don’t you just love this little mouse? I think he is so cute!

Again, Phyllis made this little guy. She not only quilts but knits and

crochets too. Where does she find all the time to do all 3?

I love this doll! Her shoes were laced up and even the corset

on the back. Another adorable creation by Phyllis.

I am unsure who knit this hat but it got lots of attention at the Fair.

If you are unsure of who he is, he is a character in a recent kid’s movie:

“Frozen.” He is the adorable snowman, Olfa.

I thought that this was a cute centerpiece. The Class said

“decorate an old shoe.”

And who can resist the horses? I had to watch a few horse shows while

being there.

Isn’t this drawing just amazing? There is one very talented young lady out

there. Pencil is the medium and the shading is incredible! This will

definitely go on to the next level.

This drawing, of an mommy and baby dragon is cute too. I thought

that the artist is very talented as well.

And who can resist this cute scarecrow? The kids seem to love the

scarecrow division in the Fair.

I am working on some more fabric postcards and hoping to have

more for you next week.

IPM Quilt Show-Part 2

May 21, 2014May 22, 20141 Comment

As promised, here are some more pictures of the IPM Quilt Show from

several weeks ago. There are alot of pictures so sit back, relax and enjoy the show.

This is a great spring applique quilt.

Don’t you just love the colors and the binding between the blocks?

Hexies are all the rage right now, so this quilt is very hip.

There was an auction too for quilt blocks painted on wood. These

can be used on the outside of barns, large buildings or wherever you

want to mount them.

A nice variety of blocks.

And different sizes as well.

This one looks like a baby block.

Wow! All the piecing and borders on this quilt, make it quite

phenomenal.

Can you believe that all the colorful strips on this quilt are made up

of the salvages from the edges of fabric? What a great recycling idea.

I would name this quilt “Truly Canadian.”

I love the owl in the middle of this quilt.

Celtic blocks anyone?

Not quite sure of the name of this quilt. The funky

flowers are alot of fun.

Close up of the applique quilt. Carl Schueller quilted this one.

A rag flannel quilt. I am sure that it is really warm.

I have never seen a rag flannel quilt like this before.

Modern quilt, anyone? Modern quilts are really beginning to

grow on me.

Another beautiful hand appliqued quilt. There are alot of hand

applique quilters in this area. Each one does beautiful work too.

Neat colors in this quilt.

The small blocks that are being echoed in this quilt is

interesting.

I love fall colors and a neat idea to place the motif in the middle of

the star block.

I love this Christmas wallhanging. Next time, I will have to take pictures

of the label so that I will know who the designer of the quilt is.

Don’t you just love the detail in this block? And the list of names is cute too.

More detail. The embroidery on the circle is cute too.

The candy cane border is very eye catching and effective.

Who can resist cats?

This is a Buggy Barn pattern. I love the whiskers on the cat. I think

that they are made from wool.

Another nice pieced wallhanging.

More applique.

Don’t you just love the feathers around the block?

Another Canadian themed quilt.

This is another one of the 5 IPM Quilts that are being raffled off. Rose Bell quilted this

one. She is a great longarmer in the area here.

Hope you liked all the pictures. There are more to come.

I am linking up to Needle and Thread Network, Freshly PIeced and Amy’s Quilt

Blogger’s Festival. You can see lots of quilts and vote on your favorite as well.

Have a great week and I will see you next week.

IPM Quilt Show -part 1

May 14, 2014May 14, 20145 Comments

Rose Bell’s winning quilt-Elegance.

“Elegance” won Judges Best of Show. Rose Bell, of Elite Quilting,

was the longarmer who quilted it. She did a fantastic job.

Close up of Rose’s quilting.

This close up shows Rose’s talent and ability. What a

great job she did.

Patti Carey, of Northcott, is the designer of this pattern. I am unsure of

the piecer but it was a nice addition to the Show.

This quilt reminds me of Sue GArman-all the intricate

piecingin the blocks and the borders.

You have to love all the colors in this quilt.

Speaking of colors, what do you think about the colors in this one?

Great!!

A close up of the previous quilt. I really love the border in this quilt.

Anyone recognize this quilt? Yes, it is my Lily. And no, it did not

win any prizes or awards. Yes, I was disappointed but I will try to

learn something positive from this whole experience.

What a fun quilt! This one won 2nd in the small category for

wallhangings, I do believe. This is an original design by the piecer too.

What fun and imagination by the designer.

All the pieces in the Orange Peels were hand appliqued onto the

quilt top. And it is even hand quilted too! It won 3rd place in the

small wallhanging category.

Hexies are popular right now so this one fits in beautifully. Wow!

Someone has alot of patience.

This is Kerry Burke’s Baltimore Album quilt-it won 1st in the small

wallhanging category. All hand appliqued and machine quilted by

Rose Bell once again. I wanted to get the whole quilt but someone

was talking in front of it and I didn’t want to tell them to move.

Here are some of the smaller wallhangings in the Show.

This one is very impressionistic, I think.

Love the green fabric and the ladybugs too.

The leaves really do look 3D when you are close to the quilt.

Looking very Canadian, eh?

1st place wallhanging

The Cabin wallhanging won 1st in the Wallhanging category. The

designer pieced the quilt from one of her photos.

The bottom wallhanging won 2nd in the small wallhanging category.

Very abstract and modern indeed.

Hope you liked the eye candy so far. Next week, I will show you the remainder

fo the quilts. I thought that 60 pictures of quilts might be a bit much.

Linking up with Freshly Pieced and the Canadian Needle and Thread Network.

Afraid of feathers?

April 9, 2013April 9, 20139 Comments

For two years now, I have been practicing feathers on paper but I never had the courage to quilt them on customers’ quilts.

Well… that changed this past week.

The local Guild has a charity quilt that needs to be done by mid April. There are approximately 50 blocks in this quilt-it is massive!

Charity Quilt made by Local Guild

I decided that I would try feathers and if I messed it up, I could always pick out the stitches later on. Here goes….

Applique block with feathers

The feathers turned out ok, I think. What about you?

Another feathered applique block

Once I got started, I couldn’t stop. Is there such a thing as “feather overboard?” Maybe it could be a new quilting term.

Feathers once again

more feathers

The lighting wasn’t the greatest in these last 2 photos-I do apologize for that.

On a different note, I did finish two small panel quilts for the local school fundraiser in June.

I couldn’t quilt one for a baby boy and not one for a baby girl. These are what I bought and quilted up.

Panel boy quilt

This panel is so cute..who could pass it up and not quilt it?

Panel girl’s quilt

Once again, who can pass up this panel? I love the colors and the motifs on it.

My words of encouragement to you is “Try something you are afraid of”- you may be pleasantly surprised at what the results may be.

Ruth

Stitching Impressions

All aspects of longarm quilting

Tag: applique quilts

An Ice Storm…

Details, details…

A Local Quilt Show…

All finished…

Filling it up…

Are you kidding me?

Barrie Fair Week

IPM Quilt Show-Part 2

IPM Quilt Show -part 1

Afraid of feathers?