Ina's Scrap Quilt

The is the first in a series of quilts Ina is making for the beds in her local care home.  She provided me with a light weight poly batting that will be perfect for its intended use.  Ina is trying to work he way through her fabric stash and this simple pattern is a great way to tie lots of different fabrics together.

 I used the "plush" panto for a not too dense, nice even texture over the whole quilt, in a blue So Fine! thread that matched the thin lattice strips.

Double Wedding Ring - No Feathers

This lovely Double Wedding Ring Quilt belongs to Gale.  Gale and I have never met, but we did chat on the phone about her ideas for this quilt.  She really didn't have any strong preferences, she just wanted me to know that she didn't really care for feathers.  It seems I have quite a few clients who feel the same way!

This is the first DWR quilt that I have had the opportunity to work on, so I went looking online to get some inspiration.  The vast majority of DWR quilts are loaded right up with feathers!  It was a fun challenge to do something different.

 Gale's quilt is made by appliqueing the ring to the background fabric, and she chose a blanket stitch.  I decided that I didn't want to quilt on the rings, so I stitched in the ditch around them, and added the curls in the melons and a large flower motif in the center.

I wanted to keep the border simple, so piano keys seemed like the perfect option.

Gale provided a light beige backing allowing the quilting designs to come shining through.  Lots of pictures of this one because I am just so pleased with how it turned out!

Retreats are Awesome!

If you ever have the chance to get away for a quilting retreat weekend I highly recommend that you do so.  I attended a retreat this weekend sponsored by the Dauphin Crocus Quilter's Guild of which I am currently a member and the Flin Flon North Star Quilt Guild, which I used to belong to.  The retreat was hosted by Wendy and George at Fabriculous.  I plugged my camera in to make sure it was charged so I could take a lot of pictures, but forgot it at home so I will have to send you over to Kathy's blog for all the details.

I was able to get the borders on my latest quilt with the help of a friend - thanks Kathy!  I had purchased a different fabric for the border. (I actually picked the border fabric first and picked all the others to go with it.)  

When it came time to measure the borders, Kathy gently encouraged me to consider other options. (My original choice was doing nothing to enhance the quilt.)  I had to get my head wrapped around changing my plan but I am glad I did!  Now to come up with a quilting plan, and time to get it done.  Could this be a new pattern for Highway 10 Designs - time will tell...

Iron Caddies

I am very excited to say that it is quilting retreat weekend for me!  I decided to treat myself and my girls to a couple of new iron caddies.

This is my new travel iron tote/mat made from the "Caddy Pad" pattern.  It came with the instructions and the heat resistant fabric.  I found a couple of batiks that I loved and now I have an ironing surface and a way to pack up my hot iron for the ride home.

I had an old ironing mat that I knew I would no longer be using so I decided to repurpose it into a couple of flat iron totes for Kyla and Kendra.  I used this tutorial from the "Crap I've made blog".  

I made a small change from the tutorial and used my old ironing mat in place of the batting and fabric on one side. They turned out really well.   They provide a protective surface when then iron is heating up.

After you are done, you can pop the hot iron into the pocket, pop the cord under the flap and you are safe to throw it in your suitcase or wherever.

The girls didn't know what I was up to with these, but were very happy with the surprise.  I might just have to borrow one to take with me on the retreat!

A Pair of Table Runners

Sheri sent me a pair of table runners.  They come from the pattern "Little Charmers 5" by Anika's Treasures.  It is amazing how different they look in different fabrics.

Sheri requested the "Snow Winds" panto on this Christmas themed runner.  I resized it to 75% of its standard size, so that the scale would be more appropriate for a small project.  I used Magnifico thread in the top and bobbin as Sheri wanted the pattern to show up well on her solid backing fabric to make the runner reversible.

And now her version made with a cool modern collection of fabrics.

 I custom quilted this one with a mix of straight lines, "U-turns" and pebbles.  I love how it turned out!

Love the backing on this one.  I didn't want any pokes of purple thread on the bright white fabric on the front so I used white in the bobbin for the pebbles and love the effect it gave on the back.

Round Robins!!!!

Our round robin blocks are complete and have been returned (or will be shortly) to their original owners.  I am over the moon with the end results!  You usually save the best for last, but I'm starting with mine, which I think is the best ;)!

Kathy added this great piano key border of our hand dyed fabric, which just adds another special element to the whole thing.  It is about 36" in size and I can't wait to get it quilted so I can hang it in my studio.  Below you can see the progression. My original block, Desley's addition and Bronwyn's applique.

This time around I got to add the final border to Kathy's.  I was sure it needed a dark border, and I wanted to leave some open space for Kathy to do some fabulous quilting.  My friends at the "Nimble Thimbles" in Gilbert Plains gave me lots of great suggestions.

I may have broken the rules slightly, as I added a green triangle to the corners of Desley's section, to help tie things all together.  Kathy's quilt ended up being 54".

Here you can see the progress, Kathy's original, then with Bronwyn's flying geese, and Desley's on-point additions.

Browyn added these awesome borders to finish Desley's. I wish I could have seen this in person, but distances will just not allow so pictures will have to do.  Desley's finished top is 50".

And the progress, Desley's block, Kathy's border and then my addition of the quarter dresden plates.

This is Bronwyn's completed top.  I was having trouble figuring out the final size, but I am told it is 53", for some reason I was thinking it was much larger.  Desley added a nice mix of printed fabric and piecing. 

Here is the progress.  Bronwyn's block, the first border that I added, and Kathy's celtic applique.

I have to say that I think they all turned out really well and suit the block that everyone started with.  We all must think so, as we have decided to do it again!  This time the instructions will be coming from Australia.  Looking forward to it!

Thanks so much, Desley, Brownwyn and Kathy - I love this!!!

Sheri's Scrappy Squares

Sheri's Scrappy Squares started out as a guild exchange of 3" squares.  There are many of these that were completed at the North Star Quilt Guild in Flin Flon, but everyone's choice of background and border fabric really changes the look.

Sheri's instructions to me were "anything goes" and P.S. " I hate feathers."  The first thing I noticed when taking a closer look at the top, was the subtle white on white flower print on the background fabric (it did not come out in the photos), so I had my inspiration.

I decided on continuous curves in the colored squares and triangles in a brown thread. 

The white areas got a flower motif, a scrolling meander, and a border treatment that combined the two.

Sherri sent a beige flannel backing so you can really see the quilting on the back.  Sometimes simple is best.

Black, White & Red - Perfect Ten

This is Sheri's "Perfect Ten" Quilt.  Sheri's black and white collection of fabrics had some great pops of red and adding the red"frames" really brought that out.  Sheri asked for a feminine panto and "Dainty" echoed the motifs in her fabric really well.

 I decided on red thread top and bottom. I like how the thread blends in nicely on the solid red frames and it very subtle on the black and white prints.  I usually match my bobbin thread to the back of the quilt, but this one was calling out to be just a little different. The Bottom Line thread that I used is very thin, so it isn't really dramatic but it does add some interest to the back of the quilt.

Thanks Sheri, this is a fun one!