City Slicker #4

This is Eileen’s City Slicker quilt and she used a 2 1/2” batik strip set from Desert Stitching called Agave.   We decided on Whirlygig for the pantograph, Dream Blend batting and a yellow So Fine thread.  The background fabric is a very light green but it was hard to photograph the true colour.

Just Call Me Modern Quilt

This is Kerri’s Just Call Me Modern quilt and it is a pattern by Judi Madsen.    We discussed a few quilting options for this quilt and I was very honest about the costs of custom as I think is important to be upfront about the difference before getting a client excited about an idea.    The range can go from $150 for a panto design to $1000 for custom, and even higher if you want the style of quilting Judi did on her sample as that involved a lot of planning, marking and many hours of quilting.  The majority of my clients just want to use or gift their quilts, they are not for show, so really like the panto designs and I enjoy quilting them.  I also find custom takes a toll on my back and shoulders so have been limiting this type of work to one or two a month.  But I do enjoy the challenge of custom once in awhile and just need to learn to pace myself so I don’t end up with knots in my shoulders!

I gave Kerri some panto options and she picked Starlight for the panto.  This was a fantastic choice as it really added a lovely texture but lets the pieced shine!

I used Quilter’s Dream Blend batting and White So Fine thread.

Tifton Tiles Quilt

This is Juliana’s Tifton Tiles quilt and you can find the free tutorial on how to make it here.   The fabric collection is called Meadow Bloom.

I used Hearts In Bloom for the pantograph as the quilt is a gift for a nine year old girl.  The batting is Quilters Dream Blend, the thread is White So Fine and White Bottom Line on the back.  The backing is s fun polka dot pink Minkie!

Exciting News!

I did a bit of piecing this weekend and made a new City Slicker quilt out of a Cantik Batiks strip set called Cassiopeia.  I wanted a summer version of this quilt to quilt over my summer break.  But that’s not the exciting news!   Lori and I were approached by Checker Distributors this spring asking if we would be interested in having them carry our Highway 10 Designs patterns!   There was a lot to learn about adding  bar codes, find a new printing company, etc but we did it and are now listed on the Checker web site. 


This means quilt shops across Canada, the US and Internationally can now carry our patterns!   So if you like our patterns, I hope you will help us spread the word and tell your local quilt shops about us!   We have a 5 star rating on our Etsy shop and the dozen shops in our area that carry our patterns said our instructions are excellent and the patterns kit up well!

Here are a few quilt shops samples have made with our patterns.   These ones are from Fabriculous.

This one was is from Road 17 N.

Too Many Distractions!

I had some great luck today and noticed an otter on my neighbors dock so ran and got my camera!   I watched him rolling around on the dock like a puppy and I took some pictures and video this time!  The sounds you hear in the video are my camera trying to focus, I need to figure out how to turn that off

I also had some fun using my new underwater camera and was playing with the perch under our dock.  I usually see 5 to 10 swimming around the dock but once I put the camera in the water it is very surprising to see how many are really under there!  All these perch are 6" to 8" long.   I thought I did a good job filming them as I was just holding the camera underwater and couldn't see what I was filming until I downloaded the video to my computer.

  After having my hand in the water for less than a minute the fish started to converge around the bright yellow camera!  This guy wanted a selfie and then nibbled on my hand!

Cottage Quilt

This is Debbie’s Turning Twenty quilt and it is made from all plaid flannel fabrics.  She made if for her husband and was intended to be  birthday gift two years ago, well we all know how that goes!  So she is hoping to give it to him as surprise for his birthday next month or give it to him sooner as they just purchases a cottage. I think this would make a great cuddle quilt for their new cottage!


I used Dream Puff batting and brown So Fine thread on top and golden Bottom Line on the back.  The panto is called Bushberries and I think it really looks great on the flannels!

Debbie also send me a sweet wall hanging and the pattern is called Fairhaven by Villa Rosa Designs.  I used Northwinds for the design on this one.

Floating Squares Quilt

This is Adell’s Floating Squares quilt.  The pattern is from MSQC and you can watch the tutorial on YouTube here.    I love the bright colours Adell chose for this quilt as they pop against the white background.   I picked Deja Vu for the pantograph and used white So Fine thread on top and white Bottom Line on the back.

Life at the Lake

I try not to quilt in the evenings and weekends on the Spring/Summer months and spent that time enjoying the outdoors.  But on Wednesday I played hooky and spent the day on the water. How could I not,  look how calm the lake was!  I love our rocky shores and watching the fish swimming under my kayak.

I noticed an otter swimming along the shoreline so got out my camera. He climbed up the rocks and started rolling around in the moss.  My view of him was hidden by a tree so I quietly drifted up to where I could see him and got a picture. He quickly noticed me and didn’t want to stick around for more pictures.

I also saw eagles, pelicans, loons and a family of ducks.  I counted 10 ducklings with this mama!  Then last night we had our first bear visitor of the season in our yard.  Just a young bear that was probably just kicked out by his mom.

Write on White Quilt

This is Rae’s Write on White quilt and the pattern and fabric line, called Reel Time, is by Zen Chic.  We thought it needed simple quilting to keep the modern feel and decided on free hand wavy lines.   The batting is Quilters Dream Blend and the thread is off white So Fine. 

The backing is so fun, it is one of the fabrics from the Reel Time line.