95 Blocks Completed!!!

I found a little time today to complete the latest seven blocks in the Just Takes 2 series. There is only one more set of instructions due out December 1st and I am happy to be up to date. The pink block is meant to be a signature block, but I need to decide how I want to handle that.

I also completed the third block in the "Curve It Up" Quilt Along- the rail fence. I have seen Kathy's rail fence, but I haven't seen any Just Takes 2 blocks for awhile ....... ;) (Nudge nudge!)

12 Days of Christmas

This is Dawn's quilt made from the "12 Days of Christmas" fabric collection.  The pattern is the "5" Charm Packet Quilt" from Suzanne's Art House.  Dawn enlarged it a bit from the original   The fabric is just so cheerful that I couldn't resist taking it outside on the crispy white snow for a few photos. 

 Dawn recently attended the Quilt Festival in Houston (as an exhibitor I might add!) and brought back this panto for me and her quilt.  It is called "Swinging on a Star".  I love how it looks on the quilt, but I must admit that it was a bit like quilting through a maze.  I added quite a few directional arrows to the panto so I could keep from getting lost.  It was well worth it as it adds just the right amount of whimsy to an already cute quilt.

 Dawn knew she didn't want red thread on the quilt, but left the decision up to me.  This icy blue So Fine! ended up being the perfect choice as it could be seen gently on all the fabrics and added a little "sparkle" to the quilt.  The back is a solid red flannel and it got a matching red Bottom Line thread.

 And a couple more photos to put you in the Christmas spirit (cause I just couldn't decide what to leave out!)

A Little More Snow Dyeing

Welcome to everyone who has arrived here as part of Blogathon Canada sponsored by Sew Sisters Quilt Shop.  It has been so interesting to connect with so many creative Canadians!

I'm Lori and I been blogging for about 6 months now. I took my first quilting class 17 years ago, but for many years I only sewed clothes for my children.  Quilting has now become my main focus.  In June I took the big leap into longarm quilting when my Innova arrived, and September marked the official opening of Night Owl Quilting & Dye Works. I use this blog as a place to share my own projects and the work I do for my clients.  I hope you have a little time to look around and see what I've been up to.

You should also know that I have a little bit of an addiction to fabric dyeing!  Here is a little more of the snow dyeing I did with the season's first snowfall.  The colours turned out lighter than I was anticipating, but I still love the results.

And a few closeups to show the really cool texture that results from the snow dyeing process.

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of the Blogathon!

Fleece Lizards

 My weekend project was finishing up two baby blankets for a double baby shower that was held Sunday afternoon.  Both moms are expecting boys so I thought it would be the perfect chance to try out a quilted fleece blanket.  I used black fleece on the back of both, Lounge Lizard Panto, So Fine thread and no batting.  I love how defined the quilting looks on the two layers of fleece.

Cutting the fringe can be somewhat time consuming, but here is a tip to make the process fast and accurate.  I like a 1/2" wide and 4" long fringe on my blankets.  

Lay out the area to be fringed on a large cutting mat.

Place a second cutting mat on top of the body of your blanket right along your stitching line. 

Fold the fabric back over the second cutting mat. 

I am lucky enough to have one of these cool Shape Cut Rulers with slots for your rotary cutter spaced in 1/2" intervals.  If you don't have one of these a regular ruler will work just fine.

 

Using a sharp rotary cutter can cut your fringe.  The second cutting mat protects the body of the blanket.

 Ta Da!  You will never cut through your stitching line again!

Today is the first day of "Blogathon Canada" so check it out for lots of crafting and quilting inspiration!

Popcorn

This sweet baby quilt was made by Bev.  It is wonderfully soft with flannelette front and back and Dream Puff Batting.

 Bev chose my new Popcorn Panto and I think it suits the quilt perfectly.  I have updated my panto page to show all the new pantos I have acquired in the last little while.  I can't wait to try them all!

Crown Jewels

This stunning quilt belongs to Deanna.  She came to pick it up this afternoon so I can share it with you now.  It is made from mostly batiks (my favorite) in jewel tones using the Crown Jewels X-Block pattern.  I think it looks great in my bedroom - even my Kleenex box matches!

A friend of Deanna's did the embroidery to personalize the quilt for Deanna's daughter.  Deanna chose the Raindrops Panto and a rich purple Omni Thread with Quilter's Dream batting. The back is also batik. The light lofty Quilter's Dream batting was a great choice to give definition to the quilting and a nice feel to the quilt.

 

I didn't get a great shot of the border, but you can kind of see it here.  This pattern utilizes the scraps from the center blocks to form the border blocks.  No waste!

So did any of you participate in the Quiltmaker Block Tour last week?  Any lucky winners?  My luck continued - I was notified that I won a copy of the magazine! 

There is another exciting blog tour taking placing next week.  Sew Sisters Quilt Shop is hosting Blogathon Canada and it will be a great opportunity to meet Canadian Quilt bloggers and win many great prizes from Sew Sisters.  All the fun begins on Monday the 19th.

Winter is Here

What a difference a day makes.  Here is my Batik Diamonds Quilt on Friday afternoon.

   Here is it in the same spot today.

Winter really came overnight.  We have received at least a foot of snow and it hasn't quite stopped yet.

A picture of the front of my house.

There is a lot of this going on around town.

Thank goodness for a good snow blower.  My husband and a neighbor blew out six driveways and most of our cul-de-sac as we are not top priority on the city snow cleaning list!

But on the bright side fresh snow is the perfect opportunity to do some snow dyeing.  I decided to try to make a backing for a quilt I currently have under construction.   Here is a peek into my process.

 The snow had not finished melting before I went to bed so I had to wait until this morning to wash it out.

 It turned out more purple than blue, but I think it will still be usable.
 

Here are a few more pictures of the Batik Diamonds quilt.  It was made from an Island Batik roll and about another 20 strips from my stash. Why is it cornerless you may ask?  Well I just didn't have enough length in the strips to cut enough triangles.  I think it worked quite well this way. The sashing, binding and backing were one of my regular hand dyes (not snow dyed).  I used the Tickle Panto and I am very pleased with the resulting texture from the Quilter's Dream Puff Batting.