Looking Back at 2021

At the end of every year I like to look back and review what I made for myself over the year.  Not a lot of quilting of personal projects this year as I spent more time with a camera in my hand. No trips or quilt retreats so I had to find joy in my own backyard, and surrounding area, and the wildlife and birds were a great distraction during this phase of the pandemic.  The hummingbirds provided a lot of entertainment, so did the swans, eagles, herons, loons, turtles, otters, insects, butterflies, deer, foxes, horses and of course the porcupine pictured above.  

I did make a few projects for myself this year so here they are.

The Ruby Waxed Canvas Tote using Kismet fabric.  Pattern is by Fabriculous. 

I love Moda's Cider collection and made a Quarter Sections using a Fat Quarter Bundle.

I had purchased a Moda Stiletto Jelly Roll and added a light Grunge to make this Washboard Road quilt.  This quilt now has a permanent spot on our couch.

I have been sitting on a Fat Quarter Bundle of Kate & Birdies True North and make a Home Quarter  quilt with it.  Added some red Grunge fat quarters and used it for the border as well.

And the last quilt finished was a Lug Nuts quilt for my friend Wendy.  Seems I was just making our own Highway 10 Design patterns a lot this year. LOL! Didn't get to many quilt shops this year for inspiration so hope to be able to do that again in the new year! 

Now that winter is here I try to find more creative ways to take pictures at night since it is dark by 4:30!  I have been watching videos on Light Painting and had some fun trying it.  I used three mini puck lights, added magnets and attached to a metal bar. Set the lights on multi colours and started swinging the bar around and taking 5 sec exposures. Here are the results.

My attempt at drawing a xmas tree...

...and a heart.

I then put one of the mini lights into a white grocery bag and got this effect.

And I totally planned for that to look like a bird! ;)

This one looks like a created a Portal into another dimension... 

...looks like it did! ;)

Thanks for visiting my blog over the years.  My blog has always been a photographic journal of my longarm business, my quilts and my nature photos.  Its a fun place for me to share and connect with other quilters, thank you for visiting!

Took this photo yesterday of the Sundogs and iridescent cloud when it was -25'c out!

Happy New Year!

A Swap and A Round Robin

 Last day of the year and I'm trying to catch up on my blog posts.  Back in July I shared a post about the Queen Bee block swap I as in and showed the blocks I received.  I have the top together and put the butterfly blocks on an angle to give them more motion.  Its a small wall hanging as the blocks are only 5" square but not sure how I'm going to quilt it.

This year I was more involved in Swaps, Quilt Alongs and Round Robins than working on my own quilts!  They are a great way to stay connected with other quilters during this pandemic!

In September I started another Round Robin with Lori and our 

two friends in Australia (Desley and Monique).

Here were our first blocks from Round One. 

I started mine with the Mini Focus Freeway block, pattern by Sassafras Lane Designs.

Lori made this fun Geometric Sewing Machine block, pattern by Quiet Play.

Desley made this Star block with a twist to it!

And Monique made this great Lone Star block which she offset and chopped!!!

And here is our results from Round Two.

I received Lori block and the instructions for this round were to add 'Lines' with a very open interpretation.  So I added lines of flying geese to her block. 

Lori had my block and added the film strip effect to it!

Desley had Monique's block and added the chopped off pieces back on plus some diamonds and lines!

Monique had Desley's block and added inner borders and a star to one corner with wispy lines!

We are currently working on the 3rd round where the instruction is to add 'Curves'.  I'll share those results in February!

Deco Quilt

I was able to finished a quilt top over the holidays that I started this month.  The pattern is called Deco and it is by Lo & Behold Stitchery.  I picked up the fabrics at Fabriculous when I was there in November. They are from a variety of fabric lines and I find that makes the best quilt.

I made the throw size and plan to hang it in my quilting studio.  I used the Rifle Paper floral fabric (that I used on my ironing table) as my inspiration for the colours in this quilt.

I might be sending this quilt top to someone special that can give it the finishing touch it needs!

Ironing Table Repainted!

 

I have been pretty quiet on my blog lately as I take the month of December off from quilting for clients.  Haven't been doing much personal quilting but did have some fun repainting and recovering my ironing table that my husband made me back in 2017. You can see the original paint and fabric here. 

I recovered it with a beautiful Rifle Paper Linen called English Garden that Lori gave me for my birthday this year.

I used Homestead Blue Fusion Mineral paint that I picked up at Fabriculous when I was there in November.  It was amazing to work with and only took one coat to cover the old bright blue paint.

I have some fabrics picked out to make a Deco Quilt that I want to hang in my quilt studio. I used the colour from the Rifle Paper fabrics as inspiration.

I also picked up a new cabinet from IKEA so I can display my fabric stash.

I put my Featherweight up on top to finish off the display!  Now I just need to find a new white open cabinet to replace my brown bookshelf to the left that I like to store my quilts on.

Yes, that is pretty much my stash! The drawers have some pre-cuts as well as backing and backing remnants and larger cuts of neutrals. I do have one bin of fat quarters and one bin of hand dyed fabrics but that's about it.  I'm pretty good at turning my fabric purchases into quilts fairly quickly, you can easily see that by the stash of quilts I have around the house!  I would guess I have around 80 quilts scattered around the house in cabinets, on quilt ladders, in closets, in bins, on beds, on the couches... so I am more a hoarder of quilts than fabrics :)

Candlelight Quilt

Amanda made this fresh modern Candlelight quilt which is a pattern by Prairie Grass Patterns.  It is made with shades of off white, grey and black fabrics and the backing is a black Minkie. She purchased this as a kit from Road 17N. 

I quilted it with the Soho pantograph, used off white So Fine thread and Quilters Dream Blend batting.

City Slicker in Warm Batiks

 

Gail pieced this warm toned batik City Slicker which is one of our Highway 10 Design patterns.  She used a light batik background which created a lovely contrast with the autumn coloured 2 1/2" batik strips of fabric. This is a great pattern for using your Jelly Rolls in any colourway.

I quilted it with the Mimosa pantograph, used off white So Fine thread and Quilters Dream Blend batting.

Took it to the 'Tiny Church' right near our house as the colour of the steeple really compliments the quilt.  It was windy as usually but managed to get a few pictures before giving up on getting 'a better shot'.  My family is so patient with me! :)

Boo Quilt 2

Cindy brought two quilts for me to do this month.  The first is the sweet Boo Quilt, the pattern is by The Pattern Basket.  Cindy used fabric she inherited from her mom's fabric stash to make all the ghosts.  One fabric even had little spiders so perfect for this project.  It is nice to hear she is continuing on with her moms quilting hobby and that looking through the fabrics bring back great memories of shopping for fabrics together.

I quilted the Boo Quilt with the Gossamer pantograph, used white So Fine thread and white Quilters Dream 80/20 batting.

The backing is made from the Black Cat Capers line of fabrics. 

Then Cindy also brought this pretty batik Tulip quilt which she also made from her moms fabrics. I quilted it with the Fanciful Flyers Pantograph, white So Fine thread and Quilters Dream Blend batting.