September Wedding Quilts

Its been awhile since I popped into my blog.  Not a lot of longarm quilting going on yet this month as the first week I was away at my nephews wedding in Edmonton and them Tim has scheduled surgery in Thunder Bay the following week. He is still recovering with a few minor issue that have been taking up our time while getting it all figured out.  Extra trip to Thunder Bay (4 hours drive) to see his surgeon this past week and we have to travel back again next week and possibly one more the week after.  All is good though, just haven't been able to focus on longarming at the moment.  

So I have to share the story about the above photo and the quilt I gifted my nephew Keith and his new bride Danae.  I gave them a Pedal to the Metal quilt in Simply Neutral fabrics.  I posted photos of this quilt on a blog post, link here.   They were told they were receiving a few handmade gifts and Danae told me she was hoping one would be a quilt.  I told them about the 'quilts in the wild' photos I like to take and they loved that idea.   They were heading back to Vancouver Island to hike to the Cheewhat Giant Red Cedar ( largest known tree in Canada), this is where Keith proposed.  They said they would take the quilt with them to get 'quilts in the wild' photos.  Well they got some fabulous photos and I was so glad to see them enjoying their gift!

I also made this above quilt for my son's friends who is getting married next month. They loves the outdoors and this 'Northern Peaks' panel by Northcott suits them so well.  This is actually my first time making a quilt with a panel and was happy how straight the image was printed onto the grain of the fabric.  I bought this as a kit from Lori's Country Cottage in Sherwood Park, AB.  The pattern is called Parallel Forest by Bound to be Quilting.   I added a navy Fireside to the back and used Quilters Dream 80/20 for batting.  The pantograph is London Fog and I used a light green So Fine thread.

I was able to do the hand binding while Tim was in the hospital so that helped pass the time while I was hanging out at the hotel. Its a very cozy quilt to be under.

I have been still making waxed canvas bags for sale.  I have been updating my Bags for Sale page on this blog but they seem to sell on IG or Facebook before I get a chance to put them on my blog page.  Just sold this one last night a few hours after posting it online. Its a beautiful Teal Waxed Canvas with Rifle Paper Co. print cotton. 

Bag Making

 

The only sewing projects I have been work on this summer are my waxed canvas bags that I have been selling at local markets.   I did one market in the spring and 2 this summer, with plans to do a few in the Fall and Winter.  I have been making the Redwood Tote, pattern by Noodlehead Designs.  Its a great everyday bag cross body bag as it holds quite a bit, has a zipper on top, lots of pockets inside and out and the extra handles are very handy! I am using one that is similar to the one pictured below and am very pleased with the design.  The purple one above and the green one below are all I have available right now but I have a teal one cut out and ready to sew.

These next two sold right away so made them again and those sold too. 

Sold 9 of the 10 Cambridge bags, pattern by Hammerstitch, so that was a great seller. This is the one I have left and will probably make a few more for the Fall market.

Also started making the Haralson Bag which is another Noodlehead pattern.  Its a modern version of a fanny pack that you can wear cross body, slung on your back, or around your waist.  I have these two left and will be making more!

These next ones sold quickly.

Peek at the inside fabric. It has a zipper pocket inside and on the back.

I also started making the Devon Pouch which is a Sotak Handmade pattern.  My friend Lori suggested I add a cross body strap to them to make it hands free so added the leather straps to a few and as left the wristlet so they can be used both ways.

Still making a lot of the Norfolk Wristlet Pouches, another pattern by Sotak Handmade, those are a great seller and fun to make!

And the Essential Pouch, pattern by Sotak Handmade, are quick to make and my Star Wars themed pouches are always the first to sell!

So its been a fun adventure making and sell bags these past 6 months.  Its a nice change from making quilts.   I'll see how the Fall and Xmas markets go and when I get tired of making and selling bags I'm sure I'll find something new to focus on.  But for now there are still quite a few new bag patterns I want to try as I enjoy the challenge of learning a new pattern.

Summer Photos

 

Its been a month since I checked in on the blog.  Not a lot of quilting going on just spending time outside with my camera.  My main focus has been birds and the challenge of capturing their motion. That part still needs a lot of work and practice but I have mastered the sitting bird!  LOL!

I discovered a large patch of Milkweed near my home so now understand why I have been spotting more Monarch Butterflies this year.  Didn't catch any on the Milkweed just one blurry shot of it flying away!  Lots of bees and butterflies and I even spotted a hummingbird in the patch. 

Did get this nice shot of the Monarch in my flowers so made up for the failed attempts in the Milkweed patch!

We have been kayaking every week since the beginning of June.  Retired life is great as we can just head out when the weather is good.

Spent some time at a relatives cottage and enjoyed some stargazing while photographing the Milky Way.  Was thrilled to see I caught a Perseids meteor breaking up in my selfie shot!  

And of coarse my hummingbirds are still my main focus. We now have about 6 regular visitors to our feeders on the front deck.  Can get chaotic at times as they fight and speed around but very entertaining.

Love the tail fan!

I did manage to get one to come to me to feed out of my hand feeder, now he sits on the table and guards it, too cute. 

I also am trying a window feeder so I can watch them closer from inside the house. ( Yes I'm aware how obsessed I am with them). ;)  It took a few weeks for the hummers to start using it and now it is being used often. Its fun to watch them checking out their reflection. I can also sit quite close to the window and as long as I don't move suddenly they will stay. 

 One of my favorite shots this month, a hummingbird in the spruce tree.

So that has been my summer so far and I have been doing some sewing but I'll save that for another post.  

Cupola View Quilt

Last year I purchased a fat quarter bundle from Periwinkle Quilting called Earth Views, a collection by Karen Nyberg who is a NASA Astronaut. I just love this fabric as they represent different ecosystems on Earth seem from the Space Station.  Karen also co-wrote a pattern with Sarah Ruiz called Cupola Views and I knew right away that I wanted to make it!

   

The fat quarter bundle had 30 fabrics and the pattern only required 24 but I wanted to use all the fabrics, couldn't leave any out!  So I added 3 extra triangle units to each row to make it larger. I also left the side edges pointy as I didn't want to cut the side straight. I made bias binding to finish the quilt.

I hand appliqued the circles onto the quilt top using the freezer paper method and made my own templates for cutting out the circles that had the extra 1/4" around for turning the edge.

I wanted the quilting to be simple so I chose Ebb and Flow for the pantograph design, used dark purple So Fine thread and Quilters Dream Blend batting.

I used a blue wide backing from Wilmington Textiles.

My youngest son has laid claim to this quilt, he said his other quilt was boring compared to this one! :)

 

As you can see by the photos it is a bit hazy here with a mix of cloud and light smoke.

 It was a rare calm day on the river so had to take the quilt down to the dock for pictures.

 

Summer Break

 

July and August are the months I close the doors to my longarming business and enjoy the warm summer days.  We have been heading out in our kayaks and taking along my camera to capture any wildlife encounters.  We have been checking in on a loon family on Clearwater lake along with the otters, turtles and a muskrat.

Snapping turtle sunning on a rock.

Muskrat heading into an abandoned beaver hut.

I have been stopping by the rookery to see the Herons every Sunday and watching the chicks grow.  They are still in there nests but ready to fly any day now.

June 4th - returning to the nest with sticks to fix the nests.

June 18 - chicks are starting to show their heads.

Adults busy flying back and forth with food.

June 25 - Chicks are growing and very hungry.

The chicks in these two nests are a few weeks older than the ones pictures above.

July 2- Nest are getting pretty crowded with 3 and 4 chicks. They are getting aggressive with the other chicks as well.

This is where I take my photos from, along Highway 71.  We have had a few cars stop to see what I was taking pictures of, most have no idea this rookery is right there. 

My view from the road.

July 9 - Chicks are almost the size of the adults.

 Photos are a bit blurry as they are taken through a lot of dead trees ( see photo above)  to get a view of this particular nest. 

She is making her getaway as there is no room in the nest for her.

I can't believe there is still 4 chicks in this nest.

I didn't go check on the herons today as it was raining but noticed them in the nests yesterday when we drove by.  Hope to get one more day of photos to complete my photo journal of their development. 

And as always I love photographing my hummingbirds!

 

Today Tim noticed that when it was raining one of the male hummingbirds was hiding in the sunflower by the garage.

He was preening his feathers and  keeping dry under the large leaves.

Oh and I had a cute porcupine visit the yard last week.

I have been getting ready for another craft sale and busy making more bags.  I'm also working on finishing one of my own quilt which I will share when that is done!  

Hope you have having a lovely July!