Monthly Archives: April 2012

Reached my goal…with time to spare!

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My goal was to have Amy’s quilt top stitched together by the end of April….and here it is!  Now on with the quilting….by hand…by September 1….2012!!!!

Amy and Bruce’s Quilt

I usually work on a couple  of quilts at once so that I don’t get bored, but I have worked on Amy’s quilt non-stop for the past 4 months.  I knew when I started this quilt that I wanted to hand- quilt it, which should be interesting because the last time I hand-quilted anything was about 7 years ago.  I was working on an Irish Chain quilt for my Mom and I just assumed I would have it machine quilted.  Much to my surprise,  she assumed I was going to hand-quilt it.  She won!!

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Well worn quilts….

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As I get ready to start hand-quilting Amy’s wedding quilt, I have been thinking about all the quilts that I have tucked away.  I quilted non- stop for many years and have a stack of quilts to prove it!  I hand-quilted everything I made back then and enjoyed the process as much as the finished product.  Here are a few quilts from the past that were stitched with love for my kids!

This is a quilt I made for my daughter, Kelly for her 10th birthday.   The circles on the border are hand-appliqued.  I hand-quilted random sized circles on it.  It is still one of my favourites!  It is very well used so I have put it away for safe keeping!

Kelly’s Bee Free

Every boy should have a sailboat quilt…or two!! These two quilts belong to my son, Chad.

Dolphin Bay

Chad’s sailboat quilt

Of course when you quilt for a hobby, you end up with lots of scraps!  I was able to use up a few of those scraps when I made this Sunbonnet Sue quilt for my daughter, Courtney.

Courtney’s sunbonnet sue

When Kelly was 7 or 8 she went through a “purple phase” AND a “unicorn phase”!  I made her this wallhanging to celebrate both phases in her young life!

Kelly’s unicorn quilt

Amy’s Wedding Quilt

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Time is marching on!  I started this quilt for Amy and Bruce the moment they announced their engagement.  A beautiful border surrounds 9 appliqued blocks.  My goal is to have the quilt top finished by the end of April so that I can start hand-quilting it.  The wedding is on September 1, 2012(!) so I still have a fair bit of work ahead on me.  My dog, Jenny, love to keep me company in my sewing room and grabs any chance she can to lay on any part of a quilt!!  The part she is laying on is one of the borders!!  The pattern is by Lori Smith of “From My Heart to Your Hands”.

JUST THE BLOCKS

Sunday Afternoon Applique Group

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I am very  fortunate to belong to a talented group of hand-appliquers who are as obsessed as I am.  We get together the third Sunday of every month and enjoy stitching together and eating together.  Usually, we stitch for a couple of hours, then we stop for lunch, then we stitch some more.  We choose a pretty ambitious project and everyone makes their own version of the quilt.  Each quilt takes a year (or two!) to complete.  Last year, we chose  Aunt Millie’s Garden by Piece o’ Cake.

This picture shows the quilt in progress.  2 of the borders are attached and really, at this stage, it is just a glorified cat bed!

The quilt is finally finished (except for a binding and label).  Rose Bell of Elite Quilting did an “over-the top outstanding” job of machine quilting Aunt Millie’s Garden. Here is a close up of the quilting.

4 BLOCKS OF AUNT MILLIE’S GARDEN

..a few more quilts on the go….

Posted in Feathered Star Quilt, Quilts on the go....., Uncategorized by

Four years ago, my friend Kathy (with a K!) and I started a yearly Quilt Challenge.  We buy a piece of  “inspiration”  fabric and split it in half.  We both take a piece of the fabric and design and stitch a quilt in complete secrecy…no hints allowed!!  We set a deadline (which we never meet!!) and then get together for the Big Reveal!!  This year we chose Lark by Amy Butler  .I have a few ideas percolating…I have chosen some solids to co-ordinate.  I am auditioning backgrounds…I think I will go for a white tone-on-tone.

This is the Challenge fabric from 2 years ago.  I have made 16 Feathered Star blocks.  I haven’t put the blocks together yet.  I am still trying to decide on a setting.  I would also like to add an appliqued border.  We will see!!

A few quilts I am working on…..

Posted in Quilts on the go....., Uncategorized by

Like most quilters, I have more than one quilt on the go. Some of my quilts are waiting for binding and a label. Some of my quilts are still in the block stage and just need to be stitched together. Borders are waiting to be added. Some of my “quilts-to-be” are still in the planning stage and just haven’t materialized yet! (yes…pun was intended!)

Quilting is a creative process and does not have to be justified to anyone. Not even to yourself. I love to quilt! I love fabric! I know that I have more fabric than I can possibly use in my lifetime. That doesn’t stop me from buying more!!

Here are some of my quilts I have on the go:

Bouquet for a New Day is a block- of- the- month designed by Sue Garman  I have finished 6 blocks and have 6 more to go.  Slow and steady….

four blocks finsihed so far

Friends of Baltimore is a quilt that I started when I took a class with Georgeann Wrinkle at the 2010 Elly Sienkiewicz Applique Academy.

Obsessed with quilting….

As time ticks on, I realize how much quilting (and quilts) have been a part of my life.  In 1967, my Grandmother bought a cottage on one of the 1000 Islands.  The cottage came furnished  and included a collection of  hand-stitched quilts that graced each of the 6 beds. I was always fascinated by the quilts and I was  happy to return to the cottage every summer and see that the quilts were still on the beds.  No one knew the history of the quilts and I always thought was sad.  Every quilt tells a story and I would have loved to know the story of each of those quilts.  I didn’t have grandmothers or aunts or a mother who quilted so I don’t know why I caught the quilting bug so early in life.  When I saw the quilts at my Grandmothers cottage for the first time, I vowed that “One day I am going to make a quilt.”  I was just 6 years old and I have been obsessed with quilts and quilting ever since!!