Trains and Halloween

I have been dealing with trains and Halloween this past week.

It certainly adds some interest to the hot weather we are having.

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Joan made this cute quilt for an upcoming new baby. She

bought the train border fabric at Lens Mills. Then, she designed

the center pattern by herself. I think she did a great job.

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I love the train border print. Isn’t it  cute?

Trying to keep the quilting design simple isn’t so

easy after all. I stitched in a railroad track, some

cows and several houses, all in keeping with the

border print.

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The back of the quilt also tells its own story. I love the

texture on the backing.

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Quilt #2 by Joan

Joan had to cover all her bases by making a quilt for

a baby boy or  baby girl. The owls remind me of a

modern quilt, so that is the route I chose for

deciding what motifs to use on the top.

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A wavy rounded blocks were stitched in the outside

border. In the white blocks, I stitched in wavy lines

and I ditch stitched around the owls.

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I used an aqua polyester thread on the top and for

the backing. Again, you can see the texture on the back

of the quilt. Both quilts will be a great gift to receive.

Next up is Laura’s Halloween quilt. She is already

prepared and ahead of the game for this upcoming Fall

season.

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Laura’s Halloween quilt.

The panel was discovered at Lens Mills. It is a great

place to find distinct fabrics.

Laura sewed together half square triangles to make the

quilt bigger and to add to the Halloween theme. She did

a great job finding matching fabrics for the whole quilt.

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The panel section was easy to quilt, just stitch around each

character in a monfilament thread.

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I really love the mummy owl.

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The half square triangles. I love the spider webs. Laura

didn’t know what design to place on the top so I

suggested spider webs. It seemed to fit the Halloween

theme so, why not?

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Again, the back tells its own story. Even though it

is a print, you can still see the spider webs. I used a

black polyester thread for the top and the backing.

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The spider webs

The spider webs look great on the back of

the quilt.  Laura really loves the spider webs so that is all

that matters.

I really like them too.

Have a great week.

Happy Easter

This morning, we had another blast from old man winter. My

favorite saying is” if the weather is rotten outside, it is a perfect

day for quilting inside.”  Don’t you agree?

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Baby girl quilt

My son is heading to Thailand, this summer, with our local

Church. Fundraising is always a big part of raising money for the

kids to go, so how can I not make a quilt?

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I saw this panel at Lens Mills or Fabricland and I couldn’t resist

buying it. It is so cute. I think it is based on a book called”How

Much Do I Love You?”

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I added borders because the panel wasn’t big enough by itself. I knew

that feathers would help dress it up a little and make it a bit more

classy. I hope the receipent thinks so too.

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The backing

I has some light pink fabric that I thought would match the front

of the quilt.  Again, I think it fits and works well with the front.

I used a white polyester thread on the front and the backing of

the quilt.

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Kathy’s Quilt

Kathy made this quilt for her grand daughter who is leaving

for University in the fall. Can you guess what university she

will be attending in the fall?  What a great idea!!

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A close up of the blocks used for the quilt top itself.

I really am beginning to like words on a quilt. Maybe I am

transitioning into the Modern Quilt Movement without

realizing it.

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The back of Kathy’s quilt

Kathy pieced her backing. This is one of my favorite

techniques as well. It helps use up the left over fabric and

adds lots of interest on the back of the quilt.

I used an Omni polyester cream thread for the top and the

back of the quilt. And “Raindrops” was the name of the

overall design quilted onto the top.

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This is the picture of what I discovered in my washing

machine this week. I am attempting to teach my teenage

boys how to do their own laundry. Great idea  but sometimes

it fails miserably.

While the washing machine was spinning, the laundry soap

container fell off the machine and landed on the floor, laundry

soap flying everywhere.  The cap just happened to be left OFF

of the container. A huge puddle  was lying on the floor so

my daughter cleaned up the mess.

As a result, the towels were smothered in laundry soap and

when I washed them, this is the result of it. I had to laugh

or I would have yelled. No one was home anyways to hear

my rant.

It was funny because I cleaned the washing machine out with

a scoop. So much for teaching the kids self sufficiency.

What are your funny kid stories? I am sure that you

must have at least one to tell.

Have a great Easter.

Strip by strip…

Here is what I have been working on lately. Linda created

this quilt for her grand daughter. I think that she’ll love it!

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This is such a quick quilt to piece together. It is created by

sewing strips to strips and then a border is added, if you

so desire it.  And it looks  like a million bucks.

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What a great selection of prints in this quilt. Her grand daughter

will certainly love and have fun looking at all the prints in

this quilt.

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“Flirtatious” is the name of the panto chosen. And a light

yellow polyester thread was used for the top and the backing.

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The back of the quilt.

Orange is the color of the backing and what a great color it is.

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You can really see the stitching on the backing.

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Guild Charity Quilt

This is a Charity Quilt that one of the members, in my local

Quilt Guild made. Brenda is a very generous person with her

time and always pieces together quilts for the Guild, which

are then given to the local Hospital.

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This is an adorable panel. I wanted to stitch something

out rather quickly so I chose “Swirls” by Norma Sharp.

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The backing

I used a light purple thread on the top-So Fine. And a dark

purple polyester thread on the backing.

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Hope you are enjoying the warmer weather. Don’t forget

the time change this weekend. Spring ahead and not back.

TinkerBell and pets..

What does TinkerBell and pets have in common?

Not much but in this post, they are two quilts that I have recently

finished for customers.

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Nicole  finished this quilt for someone she knows who

loves pets and is also getting married. Isn’t this just the greatest

quilt for the newlyweds?

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Nicole wanted a panto or all over design for the quilt but didn’t

want any stitching on the lettering.  So, I placed tape on the back

of my table so that I wouldn’t quilt over the lettering. Then, I proceeded

to quilt along as usual.   When I had quilted up to the tape, I moved

to the front of the machine and filled in the area as best as I could.

Then I proceeded to the other side of the lettering and kept going.

I matched thread color to the color of the quilt top. There are only

3 color so it didn’t take that much time to change threads.

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The backing

The backing was made up of a brown color.  You can see some of the

lettering from the front showing up on the back.

Next up is TinkerBell. How can you not love this quilt too?

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This darling was made for a special little lady too, by Bernice.

It is interesting to note that the panel is made up of cotton and

the borders are flannel.  I thought that it might stretch like crazy

but it was fine.

Flirtatous was the panto that we used and we used a light blue thread on the top.

I thought that it would detract from the top but it blended in well.

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TinkerBell’s borders

These borders really add a blast of fun to the whole quilt top.

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The backing was a hot pink and I used a hot pink polyester thread

for the backing as well.

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The backing

The stitching shows up well on the back too.

Have a great week.

Dirty floors, dishes and house. Oh my!

Well, my quilt marathon has ended and now I am faced with having to catch up on all the cleaning that I missed in the past 3 weeks.

Between the floor in the kitchen ,the fridge  and the windows that need to be cleaned, life is pretty good.  I am always amazed at how

spring cleaning only seems to infect women at this time of the year.

Wouldn’t it be great if everyone in the family came down with this sickness?  The whole house would sparkle and shine!

I know, I have a problem.  I shouldn’t let a messy  house bother me so much but it does!

On a more pleasant note:  here are the last 3 quilts that I completed for Northcott this past week. They are being shipped out tomorrow.

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Here is the last of the panel quilts.  A swirling star design was stitched in the large outer border.

The inside border received stars and loops as well;  the small red border received a swirl design as well.

Each individual block received a different design.  I promise to take more close up shots with the next quilts that I do.

The large blue background was stitched with 2 different fills:  one was a small swirl and the other with McTavishing.

It was alot of work and I know that you can’t see it very well with the dark background color -it is very subtle.

Blue pieced quilt.

The pieced quilt received a panto, an all over design. Spring Garland is the name and it seemed

appropriate due to its coloring and the time of the year.  This panto contains butterflies, flowers, ribbons and swirls all in one.

Butterfly panel quilt.

Butterfly panel quilt.

This quilt has a butterfly panel for its centre.  It was pieced in a very interesting manner which I used as inspiration for the

quilting.  I stitched butterflies and loops in the outside border and in the lattice, I stitched pebbles in the white section and straight

wiggly lines in the dark brown section.  It looked kind of neat indeed and lots of texture as well.

I tried to imitate grasses in the inner border section, in an attempt to tie the whole quilt together.

NOw, I have to complete 3 more quilt tops that are waiting for me.  Until next time, keep stitching up a storm.

If you are in Penitiction , BC this weekend, Quilt Canada has their big show on as well. Check it out.

Ruth

A Quilt Marathon-Part 2

As promised, here are the photos from last week’s Quilt Marathon.

This is the first quilt that I put on the frame. I thought that I would start with the “easiest one.”

I SID around all the shapes, it is boring but it does bring the piecing to life.

The outside border has 2 different sizes of stars on it.  The panel inside is outlined as well. Pretty basic but effective.

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The second quilt is similar to the first, in that the same panel was used .

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Again, I outlined all the piecing and the inside panel.For the outside border, I did a stars with a swirl.

The red striped  border was just outlined.  The stars were given a more regal treatment by stitching 2 different designs ( pebbling and lines) so that it would add texture and some

interest to that area of the quilt.

To be quite honest, I like both of these quilts.

Which one do you like the best?

When I took the quilts to Northcott, I was complaining how we Canadians have no emblem that shouts “Canada!”

And I think that we need another color on our flag beside red and white.

I hope that I don’t lose my citizenship over this.  If you have any ideas, let me know.

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This is a quilt made from Stonehenge fabrics.  Because I have been quilting them lately, the fabric is beginning to grow on me.

I divided the quilting up into 2 blocks.  The brown blocks are a 16 patch so I did a continuous curve in that area.

The white blocks were given straight lines to add texture once again.  The small inside cream border was given a swirl design and the outside brown

border was given a triangular stitch that kind of mimmics that cream block stitching.

I hope that this all makes sense to you- the real quilt does look better.

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I then moved onto the 2 space quilts.  The fabric actually glows in the dark. It is cool after you realize that the fabric is glowing.

I outlined everything and then stitched  stars, moons and a sun in the small starry blocks.  I went for a black hole motif

in the purple border but I didn’t like it when it was all done.  It stayed in though-too much stitching to unstitch.

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This is the second space quilt.  I outlined  everything first and then stitched a crescent moon shape in the yellow border.

It was cool but took over an hour to do that alone.  No, I am not complaining!

I just want people to know that even though longarming is faster than hand stitching, it still does take time.  Alot of it sometimes too.

For the outside border, I stitched  a swirl with stars design again.  That theme seemed to fit the quilt as I went along.

I am realizing that I love designing the quilt before I even start stitcing but sometimes I also hate trying to

figure out what I will stitch.  I think that I am beginning to sound a little mad-it is a love-hate relationship.

This is what happens when you become involved in a quilt marathon.

Which space quilt do you like the best?

Thanks for your  patience and I hope that the waiting was well worth it.

Ruth

Afraid of feathers?

 

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

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

Applique block with feathers

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

Another feathered applique block

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

Feathers once again

more feathers

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

Panel boy quilt

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

Panel girl's quilt

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