Japanese Taupe

Lee brought this amazing quilt.  The blocks are from the book Japanese Taupe Quilts by Susan Briscoe.    The blocks are very unique, and Lee shared that putting some them together created some challening moments/hours....  I think it was worth the stress.

When Lee initially contacted me he thought he might be interested in some geometric quilting.  When we auditoned some different options Lee, his wife Lilliane and I all loved the Allium pantograph which adds some nice movement and a softness to the quilt.

Lee found a great wide back which seemed like the perfect fit.

I'm including lots of pictures so you can enjoy all interesting blocks.

Sew Bright and Cheerful

Eileen made this fun scrappy sampler that she is calling "Sew Bright and Cheerful."  It started out as a Sew Along/Swap with the North Star Quilt Guild in Flin Flon in August of 2020 and was to last 8 months.

The only requirement was to use a light background for your blocks.  Instructions were quite open -make two 10.5" x 10.5" star themed blocks, make one 5.5" x 10.5" strip etc.

Blocks were to be swapped with other members at the monthly meetings, but with Covid and Eileen relocating from Flin Flon to Selkirk things did not go to plan.  After her blocks sat for a time, she decided to get them into a top.  She added a few extra blocks and a border to increase the size of the quilt.

Eileen enjoyed using up odds and ends of fabric from past projects, and this top is full of happy quilting memories.

Eileen suggested the Fluffy Clouds pantograph and it made for a lovely finish.  Eileen found this wide backing fabric in her stash.  It seemed so familiar to me, and it took me a minute to figure out why. I believe we both bought these batik wide backs at the Fabricland in Prince Albert on a trip from Flin Flin to Saskatoon for a quilt show 15+ years ago!  I used mine on the back of a bed quilt I used for years.

 

Fading Charms x 3

These three charming quilts were made by Reneta.  She is on a mission to tame her 2" squares and has challenged herself to make 10 of these in 2026.  The pattern is called Fading Charms and is a free tutorial from Wedding Dress Blue.

Reneta left the quilting choices in my hands.  I added the Cinnamon Swirl pantograph to the one with the navy background.

This sunny yellow one received the Plush pantogrpah.

And the peachy pink one got the Pretty Posies pantograph.

A white background looks nice on a scrap quilt, but I do love these more unique backgrounds.  They give the quilts their own personality.

 

Farmer's Wife

This amazing quilt was made by Kristine.  The pattern is the Farmer's Wife Sampler quilt. It contains 111 different 6" blocks! 

Kristine and I attend a retreat togethers a couple of times a year, so I saw her steady progress on this over 3 or 4 retreats. She started with a pretty fat quarter bundle and picked fabrics for each block one by one.  With patience and determination this masterpiece was born!

I asked Kristine how she felt about custom quilting on this labor of love and she said that she trusted me to make the design choices and go for it. 

I knew I wanted to add feathers to the outer border and setting triangles.  I stitched in the ditch by the sashing and cornerstones and added a simple petal motif over the blocks.

Kristine provided a taupe Fireside backing that shows off the quilting really well.

I was a pleasure to have this one in my studio.  One I won't forget anytime soon!

Pretty Peonies

Wanda made this lovely queen sized quilt for herself.  She said she was going for pretty and I say mission accomplished. The quilt is a generous size and covers my bed really well.

The focal fabric is a lovely peony print from Northcott's Blush collection.   It has a really interesting texture, you could feel lines along the mint and white stripes of the print.

Wanda requested a green thread (she felt she had enough pink already) and the leafy Novaya Zhihn pantograph.  She has acres of light grey Fireside for the backing,

Split Personality

 

Elaine made this striking quilt for her grandson.  It is made with the colours of his favorite sports teams in mind. The pattern is called Split Personality and is from the book by Sarah J. Maxwell - Fresh Quilts from Traditional Blocks.

Elaine added a row of blocks to the back to really jazz it up, and it really could be quilt of its own.  Elaine selected the Arrowful pantograph to add some movement and interest to the blender fabrics and a bold black Magnifico thread. 

Chilly Wind Chimes

Sherry brought this wonderful batik quilt.  The pattern is called Chilly Wind Chimes from 4th and Main Designs.

Many of the batik prints had a floral motif, so the Lilac pantograph ended up being a really perfect fit.

And some minkee dot fabric to make it warm (and heavy)!