Around the World Quilt

 
Woke up to –29’c this morning (-36’ wind-chill) and out I went to shovel off  the ice to take some pictures of Marg’s quilt!  This one is called Around the World and is a variation on the traditional Trip Around the World quilt.  She used flannel fabrics and we decided on Whilygig for the panto design.
So this will be my ice patch for this year, I shoveled it right at the end of our dock as I don’t want to venture to far out.  It is pretty rough and you can see where the holes in the ice were by those high spots.  I might try to chip away at those spots as they make it hard to shovel. ( There nothing like getting the handle of a snow shovel  jammed into your stomach when you get stuck on a bump! )  I noticed more holes in the ice out in the middle of our bay so I have no plans on going for a walk out there anytime soon.  Marg’s quilt is 80” x80” so this pictures gives you an idea of the size of rink I cleared which is much smaller than I normally start with as they tend to shrink with each snowfall.  We had 62cm of snowfall in November, wonder what December will bring!

Curve It Up Quilt

This is Marg's Curve It Up quilt that she made from a Quilt Along over at Sew Kind Of Wonderful using the Quick Curve Ruler.  Marg chose shades of green, beige and red for her quilt. She sashed and bordered her blocks with a light green fabric which really allowed the blocks to shine.  I really like the small border of her print fabric too.  Marg asked for custom quilting and I played with a variety of feather and curl motifs and a bit of stippling.  All the blocks are SID and I mainly added quilting details in the background fabrics.   Dream Blend batting and off white So Fine thread.

I used a free hand feather plume design in the outer border that I learned from Desley a few years ago and added curls in the sashing.

I really like my “feather wings’ motif in the Flying Geese Block!

Perfect Ten Quilt

 

This is Sheri’s Perfect Ten quilt and she used a fabric collection called Season’s Elegance.    Sheri changed the pattern a bit and used the same fabric in all the framed blocks as she did in the border.   I think that was a great idea as it shows off the poinsettia fabric so nicely.  I used the Hollyberries panto to match the theme of the fabric designs and Dream Blend batting. 

This is one of my favourite patterns for using fat quarter bundles and I have one cut out ready to piece for our guilds next UFO day using an Australian theme bundle of fabrics Desley sent me this summer.

Hugs and Kisses Quilt

This is Sheri’s Hugs and Kisses quilt and she used the Hello Luscious fabric collection by Basic Grey.   She asked if I could quilt it similar to the one I made this spring, you can see that one here.  I changed the design slightly and I’m much happier with Sheri’s, good thing I practiced on mine first!   I evenly spaced the diagonally lines on Sheri’s quilt and added more petals on the flower motif which filled in the diamond shape nicer.

The snow has been falling and falling,  it looks like it’s January here!    I had taken this picture of a bench in my yard on Nov 4 and then today….the snow is now up to the seat!    I also cleared of a patch of ice on the lake today and there might be hope for the ice yet.  It is rough but I hope by getting snow off it will have a chance to thicken up now that it is exposed to the cold air.   It still only about 5” thick and you should have heard it cracking as I was shovelling it!  :)

Flurry Quilt

 
This is another one of Lynn’s quilts and she used a free online pattern called Flurry which you can find here.    I used a panto also called Flurry by Threadsongs and the fabric collection Lynn used is Holly Jolly by Moda.  I quilted this same quilt pattern last year for another client who used a different fabric collection and you can see it here.   This is a great pattern as you could use any xmas collection with it and I love the candy cane backing fabric she used!

Alternate Routes #3

This is Lynn’s Alternate Routes quilt and she chose one of the layouts in our pattern.  She liked this layout as it had a Aztec feel and that is what her two batiks fabrics reminded her of.  I quilted it with the Dazzle panto and used Dream Blend batting.   It is nice to see that this pattern is still selling well on our Etsy and Craftsy sites, you can find the pattern here.

With all the snow that has fallen in the last week on top of a thin 4 inch layer of ice, throw in one warm day and we have a big slushy mess in our bay.  Holes in the ice were forming, you can see one in the second photos to the right, so the water was just percolating up onto the ice.  I took the quilt pictures on Sunday and the ice pictures Monday, amazing what a difference a day can make!    Don’t think I’m going to get my pretty ice rink this year but I’m not giving up hope yet.

Blogathon Giveaway Winner

I know some of you are anxiously awaiting the results of this giveaway so I won’t keep you hanging.  I used the True Random Number Generator and the winner is…..

Number #64 is twodraftmom who said  “Yes, I'd walk on that ice!”     I have send you an email so I can get your mailing address!

Thanks again to Sew Sister for organizing this event. I have discovered so many wonderful blogs that I have added to my Bloglovin reader and I hope you have too.

Cats with Collars

This is another one of Jackie’s quilt that she made for her grandkids.    She made cats blocks with 3D collar and ties, or bow ties.    Her fabrics are bold and bright making this a very fun kids quilt.  I stippled the background, SID around the cats and CC’d the sashing squares but the biggest challenge with this quilt was all the thread changes.  I think there were about 15 in all.
*edit Dec 7 - I just found out the name of this pattern, it's Ties and Tails designed by Judydidit.  That should help with a google search if your looking for it.

     

I’ll be announcing winner of the Blogathon giveaway soon!

Lone Star Quilt

This is Evelyn’s Lone Star quilt that she made at a class at our local quilt shop about 18 years ago!  I love quilting UFO’s this old as it is so satisfying to finished a project for a client and have them finally able to use it!  She asked for light custom so I did CC’s in the diamond shapes and free flowing feathers in the background.

I dyed the backing for her and it turned out pretty close to the blue on the top but my recipe for the sample I was trying to recreate was a bit vague as I wrote “ a pinch of yellow”….glad I write better notes now! :)

I took these pictures on Monday as it started to snow and it snowed and snowed!  By Tuesday night was had about 25 cm of snow!  I’m a bit worried about the condition of the ice this year as it had only just froze over and with all this snow on thin ice it will make it slushy.  Yesterday I went down to re-shovel this little ice path near the shore and it had 2 inches of slush on it under the snow!  Hope that as just from the water seeping in from the shoreline.   The last two morning we have had –30’ temperatures so maybe that will help keep the slush away!

I’ve have really enjoyed reading all the comments on my Blogathon post about your reaction to walking on lake ice. It seems to be a 50/50 split on whether I could get you out there or not.    I was surprised to hear a few of you have fallen through so completely understand your aversion to going out on the ice again.   We do ice fish but more in Feb and March when the ice is really thick and the temperatures are warmer.  He is a few pictures of use out on the ice drilling holes for fishing, notice the depth of the hockey stick my husband is using to test the thickness of the ice!  If the ice was any thicker the auger would not have made it all the way through.

  We make a hockey rink every year for the boys and put up lights as it is dark by 5pm in the winter.  I love being out on the ice at night, the wind is usually calm and all you hear is the the sound of the boys skating and the ice cracking amongst all the silence.

I have been busy quilting this week so have lots of pictures to share soon!

Blogathon Canada – Welcome to Friendly Manitoba!

Here we go, Day 4 of Blogathon Canada and I have the pleasure of introducing you to a group of  talented Manitoba quilt bloggers and have a fabric Giveaway too!!   But first I’ll begin by introducing myself to all the new visitors arriving at my blog for the first time.
Welcome to Tamarack Shack!   My name is Kathy and I live on shores of Schist Lake which is about 20 km east of Flin Flon.  It’s a beautiful remote area in the northern boreal forest in the Canadian Shield.  When I’m not quilting my favourite summer activity is kayaking along the rock shores of our lake and in winter walking snow covered bush trails in our neighbourhood.   It’s a good thing I grew up in Winnipeg or this frigid lifestyle would have been a really shocker when we moved here 18 years ago!  But I love living in the north and the cottage lifestyle, it’s a wonderful place to raise a family.

I’ve been quilting for 18 years and longarm quilting for almost 5 years now.  I started blogging when I opened my longarm business in 2009 and through my blog I have meet some amazing and inspirational quilters from around the world.    I love making all types of quilts, whether traditional or modern and love the challenge of trying something new.   I have recently started a new pattern designing venture with my friend Lori and we just published our third pattern this week on our Etsy and Craftsy shops. We call our pattern company Highway 10 Designs.

Here are our three patterns.

Here are some of the more traditional quilts that I have made over the last few years.

And here are the Modern quilts I have made.  You can find the blog posts to most these quilts on my sidebar under My Quilts.

I also love to dye fabric and since I have an abundance of snow around from 6 months of the year I enjoy Snow Dyeing!  I have a tutorial on my sidebar if your curious about the process.  I have two methods I like to use, one is pouring liquid dye on the snow over the fabric and the other is mixing the dry dye powder in the snow and then putting that on the fabric.  The dry method created these pieces below, they are my favourite!

In the winter I have a lot of fun taking picture of my clients quilt out on the lake ice as I like to keep a patch clear of snow and by mid winter it becomes crystal clear. 

You can see the cracks go down through the ice which can get as thick as 4 feet by.  It becomes almost a winter obsession of mine keeping that ice patch clear but all the shovelling and sweeping is good exercise. :)

Now it is time to introduce you to the other Manitoba quilt bloggers. I hope you enjoy visiting their sites and have time to leave comments so they know you were there!

• Thread Head
• Night Owl Quilting and Dye Works
• Church Avenue Quilts
• Will Cook for Shoes
• Tammy Craft Emporium
• Scraps and Strings
• Obsessive Crafting Disorder
• Marj Moore's Blog
• Quilter Sandy
• CW Quilts

Don’t forget to check out Flo’s blog Butterfly Quilting as she is hosting the Saskatchewan bloggers today.

Now to the Giveaway!  If your a regular reader of my blog you won’t be surprised by my fabric choice.   It’s a ten fat quarter bundle of Tonga Celebrate Batiks by Timeless Treasures! 

To enter the Giveaway just leave a comment on this post and if you want you could telling me if you would love to experience standing on clear ice in the middle of a frozen lake or if there was no way I could even bribe you with fabric to walk out there!  :)

International entries welcomed and I’ve turned on the Anonymous option for commenting so anyone can enter, just please leave you email address so I can contact you if you win.   I’ll make the draw November 24.
I would like to thank Sew Sisters Quilt Shop for creating this great event and for donating the giveaway prize.  Don’t forget to pop over to Sew Sister blog to enter their giveaway which is sponsored by Aurifil today!
Thanks for stopping by and I hope you come back to visit as I’m always sharing pictures of my clients quilts as well as my own projects.