Greenery

This is Marg’s Mahjongg quilt and it is a popular pattern with our guild members as it make up quite quickly and works well with large print fabrics.  I used another one of my new pantos, Marg had asked for a leaf design so I chose Greenery, by Lorien Quilting, for her quilt.  It stitched out really nicely and I like the size of the design so would recommend this one to someone that has started longarming and collecting pantos.

I used a light gold So Fine thread and Quilters Dream Blend batting.

Hopscotch Quilts

I’m sharing two more  of Julie’s quilts and these are both made with the Hopscotch pattern.  The first one is a collection of fun fabrics with prints of bacon, steak and eggs!   Never seen this fabric before and it made me smile while working on it.  I decided to use Square Spiral for the panto designs and a medium grey So Fine thread. The batting is Quilters Dream Blend and the backing is a grey Minkie so the quilting shows up nicely.

The second quilt is a winter themed baby quilt made of all flannel fabrics.  I chose Snazzy Snowflake for the panto and even though you can’t really see it on the top it shows up nicely on the Minkie backing.  I used a medium teal So Fine thread on top and grey Bottom Line on the back.    I used Quilters Dream Blend batting again.

Lunar Eclipse!

There was a wonderful sight in the sky tonight that won’t happen again until 2033.  It was a twin event of a total Lunar Eclipse and a Super Moon (which is when the moon is closest to the earth when full).   I have been trying to learn all I can about taking pictures of the moon and northern lights and I think I have the basics covered…but sometimes it is a lot of guessing still!     I was really happy with this picture which was taken just before it became a total eclipse.

I thought I might not get to see it as we had a thunder/wind storm blow through and knock out power for 2  1/2 hours tonight. But the sky cleared and I was able to run out with my camera and get a few shots.  Here is one that I took when it began and I wanted to capture the reflection of the light on the lake.

Always Ivy

This is Julie’s Popsicle Sticks quilt and the pattern is by Atkinson’s Designs.    I had purchased a few new pantos this summer and was happy to see that Always Ivy looked perfect on this quilt top.  It has an even quilting density which I look for in a pattern and has a nice flow to the movement when quilting it out. Might not be a beginner panto though as you can easily quilt past the three leaves and go from swirl to swirl…ask me now I know!  I have a few pantos like that and I just have to focus more when I quilting them and check over each row before I advance them.  I can really ‘zone out’ when I quilt a panto and not realize I have missed part of a design or that my bobbin thread has ran out when I get to the end of the row.

The backing is a navy polka dot Minkie and batting Quilters Dream Blend.

Sketchy

This is Ann’s quilt and the pattern is called Sketchy by Kati Cupcakes, here is a link where to purchase the pattern.  She wanted a puffier batting so we used Dream Puff and after browsing my panto selection she couldn’t decide on a design  so left it up to me.    I suggested a simple free hand wavy line design and that seemed to fit the quilt best and keep with the modern feel of the pattern.

The backing was a grey FIreside.

I enjoyed taking pictures of this quilt outside, even though it was very cloudy, as the fall colours have taken over my yard and go so well with the yellow/grey quilt.

Second Annual Swan River Retreat

I had a fabulous weekend at a Quilt Retreat and it was great getting together with so many wonderful quilters.   Lori and I organized the event and invited members from our guilds in Dauphin and Flin Flon to join us so the groups can interact more.  It was hosted by the Fabriculous Quilt Shop in Swan River, Manitoba.   Owners Wendy and George were awesome hosts and the caterers they hired were amazing.    We had 22 ladies join in on the fun and I think a few new friendships were formed!   We worked on our own projects, ate delicious meals, drank a bit of wine and the ‘Die Hards” where there until 2:30am,  hence my exhaustion today.   I’m not use to staying up so late and not getting to sleep until 4am but it was all worth it.  It was also so great to just hang out with Lori for the weekend, we only get that chance about twice a year so those times are special to me.

I have a lot, and I mean a lot, of pictures to share so lets start with the shop.  Fabriculous is a must stop for any quilter traveling through this area and worth making a detour for if it is not on your direct route. It is a shop full of inspiration!  Wendy is also an incredible supporter of our Highway 10 Design pattern business and has made up samples and kits of our patterns in the shop.   

Here is her Lug Nuts sample in Cotton and Steel fabrics.

And here is her Quarter Sections sample and has kits available.

Now all the sewing action was happening in the workroom in the basement.  Everyone got right down to business Friday afternoon.

We had everyone seated so they were beside someone for the other guild and when you have quilting in common it is easy to make conversation and have a good time. 

  Now don’t let the sweet smiles of these next two fool you…they were pure trouble and it was great! 

Lots of “Die Hard” quilters and you would never guess which one was sewing until the wee hours of the morning while listening to the ridiculous conversations going on around her.  Wendy said she usually only buys 2 boxes of wine for her retreats….we are a 4 box group!

Let’s see some of the finished projects!

We just spread ourselves all over the shop once it was closed.

Love this picture of Sheri laying out her Lug Nuts quilt in the shop, she wouldn’t stop talking about that quilt!

So what was I working on at the retreat?  Well I did get to start my Metro Rings quilt but then Lori and I offered to help Wendy piece new sample tops of our patterns so she can kit them for her booth at the Creative Stitches show in Calgary next weekend. So here is what we made, a Pedal to the Metal quilt in modern fabrics.  We also made a second quilt top but that one is still secret as we don’t have the pattern printed (or named) yet.

Wendy did a Tuffet Demonstration for us on Saturday and I thought it was one of the coolest projects I’ve seen in a quilt shop.  If your curious about the project you can contact Wendy through their website here.

We had a Show and Tell Saturday night after supper and here are just a few pictures.

There is a great story behind Sandra’s “Oh My” quilt and it had to do with our last retreat.   Lets just say the “Mischief Fairies” switched out the fabric on her hand embroidery hoop late one night at the first retreat and this is what she found embroidered the next morning.   Love that she turned it into a cute wall hanging and didn’t go with our suggested applique design that we the Mischief Fairies left. 

I think I’ll end this post with a picture of us having breakfast in the shop on Sunday.  We had all be talking about the fabulous quiches we had last year for brunch and we were so happy to be served them again.  Thanks again to Wendy and George for all the laughs and all your hard work to make it a great weekend.