The Canadian Sampler

This is Eileen’s Canadian Sampler Quilt, it was a BOM project by Sew Sisters in 2017 to celebrate Canada’s 150th Birthday.  Each block was designed by a Canadian designer and Lori and I were pleased to be asked to participate in this project.  We designed block #8 which was the Snowflake block you see above.  We chose a snowflake for our block as it is a reflection of our love for winter in Canada.

I quilted it with the Bora Bora pantograph, giving it the feel of wind or clouds across the blocks.  I used white So Fine thread and Quilters Dream Blend batting.  The fabrics are Northcott Colourworks Premium Solids ( Cardinal and Snow).

There are a lot of unique and fun blocks in this quilt!

Canadian Sesquicentennial Celebration Quilt

This is Jenny’s Canadian Sesquicentennial Celebration quilt, say that ten times fast! :)  Northcott Fabrics released this great collection to celebrate Canada’s 150th anniversary last year.  Jenny asked for straight line quilting and it really suited the quilt highlighting the Hudson Bay Blanket lines that she pieced into the quilt.

I used beige So Fine thread and Quilters Dream Blend batting.

I have been having fun taking pictures of lightening this summer as I love a good thunderstorm. This storm was just to the south of use last night, I had stars overhead so it was neat to watch the tops of the clouds light up.

Then last week we were right in the storm and I was trying to catch a bolt of lightening. Hope to get one that touches the ground, maybe next time!

Northwoods Memories Quilt

This is Ellen’s Northwoods Memories quilt and the pattern is by Beth Ritter. You can find the pattern at Beth’s Etsy shop.   Ellen beautifully hand embroidered each block using green floss on a batik background. She used a very light stabilizer on the back of each block keeping them nice and flat, great idea!  She pieced a lovely variety of batiks in greens and browns for the sashing and borders.

I cross hatched the embroidery blocks and stitched in the ditch in the rectangles using MicroQuilter 100wt beige thread. Then I switched to green So Fine thread for the loops in the sashing and leaves in the outer border.  Batting is Quilters Dream Blend.

The embroidery blocks on this quilt are so beautifully designs so here are more close up pictures.

We went kayaking on Lake Despair last weekend which is only a 30 minute drive from our house.  It was pretty windy so we stuck to the east side on the downwind side of the islands.  Saw two otters, a fox, and four turtles sunning themselves on a rock.

Only one turtle left when I got close enough for a picture!

Falling In Love Quilt

My friend Wendy and her husband George, the owners of Fabriculous Quilt Shop, designed this fun quilt.   I knew I had to stretch out of my batik comfort zone and make it in bright modern fabrics.  The pattern is called Falling in Love and you can find the pattern for sale at their shop or on their website here.  I really enjoyed working with the modern fabrics and can see myself collecting more! I had shared this picture in a May blog post of the fabrics I had purchased and they worked perfect for this quilt.  The fabric are a blend of Tula Pink, Kaffe Fassett, Blueberry Park, and Grunge Dots. I like to mix collections rather than just use one!    The background is a white on white print.

I quilted it with straight lines and then changed the quilting in the white heart to cross hatching and CC’s.  I called it ‘Hugs and Kisses” quilting as it looks like X’s and O’s.

I used white So Fine thread on top and white Bottom Line on the back. Quilters Dream Blend batting.

Now its time for me to get back to quilting for my clients, it’s always fun to take a little break and squeeze in one of my own projects!

Hello Sunshine! (Part 1)

Ready to see a super cute quilt... and its not even finished!  This is Phyl’s Hello Sunshine quilt and it is a machine embroidery pattern by Kimberbell.   Phyl purchased the embroidery pattern from Road17N in Winkler, MB.  I saw their shop sample of this quilt at the MPQ’s Quilt Show in April so used that for inspiration for this quilt ( thanks Shari!). I dug into my repertoire of folksy quilting designs I had a blast quilting this summery quilt.  You might still be able to find the embroidery CD pattern at Road17N on their website here or just contact the shop.

Now I said that it wasn’t finished as Phyl still has some 3D-embroidered embellishments to add.  In the photo below you can see the mason jars (made out of clear vinyl)  with what looks like straws in them…they are not straws but sticks that hold pinwheels!   Also some more flowers will be added as well as balloons coming from the bicycle blocks and tails for the kites.

Here is the whole quilt.  I cross hatched in the outer border and did tiny loops in the inner border.  Stitched in the ditch around all the embroidery and used fills like stippling, swirls and loops in the background.

I used MicroQuilter 100wt white thread on top and white Bottom Line on the back. Quilters Dream Blend batting.

Had to get a picture of it with my new cruising bike! :)

Love how the pineapple blocks are made and the bicycle block is my favorite.

When Phyl finishes the rest of the embellishments she will send me photos that I will share on the blog!

Now usually at the end of June I announce I’m take July and August off. Since I am still re-establishing my longarm business after the move I decided to take a few quilts in July and just take August off this year.  But since I am done my June quilts I am going to have fun and work on a few of my own projects for the next 5 day!