Star Fling Using Kansas Troubles

 
Here is another Star Fling quilt, pattern by Atkinson Designs, that was made by our guild and this time they used Kansas Troubles fabrics.  The other Star Fling quilt they made was pieced using bright coloured fabrics and had a totally different look.   You can see that one here.  This quilt is going to be donated to the Respite Room at the Personal Care Home in Flin Flon. 

The panto used on this one is called Wildflower and looks nice with all the tiny floral prints in the fabrics.  I used a light brown So Fine thread and Quilters Dream Blend batting.
 
Woke up to more snow this morning but the temperature got up to +3’c today so I enjoyed watching it melt!!!  Looks like spring might finally be making its way up north!

Fabric Shopping

Just got home from a week down in Winnipeg for the boys Spring Break.  I made it to the Quilt Show on the Sunday and saw some beautiful quilts but I forgot to bring my camera!    But what I can show you is all my fabric shopping as the vendors were great!  I was in desperate need of some fabric shopping therapy as I spent most of my week at the dentist office, had three appointments to get a crown put on and a cleaning.  My cheek is pretty sore and bruised inside so I’ve enjoyed looking at my fabric and dreaming about what I can make with them.

Hamel’s had a booth at the show and that is where I got most of my batiks.  They had a sale $4.99 for half a meter so I stocked up there and they also had batik bundles at a great price too.  My main focus was on collecting purples and pinks as I don’t have many in my stash and then I found these gorgeous greens and rust prints too!

We also took a trip down to Morden and Winkler this week and I got a great deal on these two batiks at Quilters Den….they were in the clearance section at 50% off but I bought what was left on the bolt ( about 4m each) and got 60% off!!   

Then we hit Road 17 N in Winkler and I had a great visit with the owner Shari!   She has a lovely shop with modern fabrics.  This is where our Lug Nuts quilt is hanging as we bought the Little Black Dress II fabrics from her and she has kits made up if your interested.

I splurged on two fat quarter collections at her shop, Sphere and Wishes!

Our guilds Quilt Show is getting near and I have 4 guild quilt to work on this week so I’ll be posting something quilty soon!

Swoon Quilt

 

This is Lynn’s Swoon quilt and she is going to use this as a large wall hanging so asked for custom quilting!  I’ve had this quilt on my machine all week and it was so nice to take it off my machine and see all the quilting texture in the sunlight!  Lynn suggested a few modern and traditional quilting design so I incorporated a mix of both to give it an eclectic feel!  I had search Swoon quilts online  for inspiration and most of them are quilted edge to edge but there where two custom quilts that stood out to me.  You can see Kay’s here and Linda’s here!  I have been following both these ladies blogs for many years, they are great inspiration to me.  Sometimes just one little design element can spark a series of ideas and you end up finishing a quilt in a way you never imagined when you started.  That is what happened here, I had only a few simple ideas planned when I loaded this quilt on Monday then the ideas just grew from there.

  

It is still cold here, –20’ with a –25’ windchill when I was taking these pictures!

I started the quilting by stitching in the ditch then added continuous curves to the print fabric in the Swoon blocks.   I then added the back and forth lines around the star…which I had never done before….if you look closely at the 45 degree corner one you’ll see just how new I am to that design!  :)  

Then I quilted the two over lapping squares and added a feather motif inside. After that the big open space in the background….what to do there?  I knew I wanted a small feather motif in a diamond shape and have more line radiating out of the center.  Did a lot of stitching and ripping to get to the final design with the pebbles and curls.

The batting is Quilters Dream Blend and the thread is So Fine.  I also used Invisifil for the pebbles.

New Gift!

 
I have been eagerly awaiting my next order from 4imprints.  They are the company that I order my Tamarack Shack bags from and this time I ordered a pen/stylus for a thank you gift for my clients.  I had been sent a sample of this pen and have been using the stylus all the time when I’m on my tablet so I knew it was a winner.   Then I realized I should be using one with my business name on it.   It is silly how excited I am about seeing my little business name on a pen. 

This weekend I’ll be attending the Manitoba Prairie Quilters Quilt Show in Winnipeg.   I have never been to this show and excited to finally be able to go.  Our Lug Nuts quilt will be on display in the vendor area so I’ll be excited to hear how it is being received.   If your going to the show and see me make sure to say hi….I’ll be the crazy lady handing out pens to anyone that looks my way!  :)

Pedal to the Metal in Modern Fabrics

This is a guild quilt and it will be donated to the Ronald McDonald House in Saskatoon.    A guild member informed the group that the Ronald McDonald House was adding more rooms and they wanted quilts to place on the ends of the beds so each room had an extra quilt.  The rooms are decorated in a contemporary style with white duvets so we picked these fabrics as they are gender neutral and will add a nice pop of colour.  It has a very calm feel to it.   Lori and I donated our Pedal to the Metal pattern to the guild to use for this project.

I used Quilters Dream Blend batting, So Fine green thread and Curlz panto.

Opposites Attract Quilt Plus Some Snow Dyeing

This is Robins Opposites Attract quilt and it’s from the book Sizzlin’ Sixties by Anka’s Treasures.    Robin said “quilt whatever your heart desires” like she always does so I did.    I quilted free hand 3’s and E’s in the center, a scroll design I found in Angela Walters book on the two side borders, and bead board in the outer border.

I was really excited to see Lori post one of our Lug Nuts quilt on her blog yesterday.  When we got together last month in Swan River to shop at Fabriculous her friend Reneta bought fabric for our Lug Nuts pattern.   Lori finished quilting it and it’s so great to see it done on another color way.  I stole this pictures off her blog but you can see the rest of them here.

I have been asked if I have been snow dyeing with all the snow we still have and the answer is yes but not a lot.  This one is my favourite pieces from this winter.

Yes that is the top of my Adirondack lawn chair peeking though the snow!

Scrappy Stars Table Runner

This is Sheri’s Scrappy Stars table runner and the pattern is from Little Charmers II by Heather Mulder Peterson.  This is one of my personal favourites for making a table runner with charm packs and I’ve posted mine here and here.  Sheri actually made two the same and I quilted the stars differently.  The fabric collection is Hello Luscious.

For one I used my ruler and did all straight lines to create a star in the center and for the second one I used a stencil and CC’d the points. I stippled the printed fabrics on both.

I have also been quilting up a few Feathered Fleece blankets this week.  I have a tutorial on how I feather fleece here.  I had purchased some fleece from Joanns and it is okay in quality, though the blue one has a flaw in the fabric so I don’t feel right sell it!   That’s one of the big down sides of shopping online.    I’ve sold the yellow one already but the pink one is still available.

I noticed the colors of the fleece go really well with this fabric line!

Jewel Box Wall Hanging

This is Sheri’s Jewel Box wall hanging made in batik fabrics.   She used the same pattern that my guild used for my presidents blocks that were gifted to me  when my term as guild president was over.   I had a few design ideas sketched out when I quilted my quilt and was very excited to try some of my other ideas on Sheri’s quilt!  I think I even like what I did on Sheri’s quilt more than mine!

 

For Sheri’s quilt I stitched two double lines around the quarter squares to frame the block and added a curl in the center.  Then I added loops in the background of the sashing.  I quilted the batik fabrics with CC’s and a large loop design, the same that I did on my Presidents quilt.

Here is a picture of my Jewel Box quilt which I’ve had on my bed for over 1 1/2 years.  I just love it!  You can see my blog post on it here.

We had a lot of snow fall this week and I had to dig out the dock and ice rink yet again!  I don’t think I have ever seen so much snow as I have to dig down to my dock and it now as snow banks along it.   Never had that before!

I’ve also been using my broom to measure the snow fall this year and it finally covers the whole handle!  I feel as frazzled about our winter as that broom looks!

  Okay one more pretty picture of the snow and quilt!   Got to keep looking to the positive side to all this snow….or I might go crazy!   Good thing Spring starts tomorrow.    :)