Quarter Sections

This version of "Quarter Sections" was made by Reneta.  I was hoping to get some shots in the sunshine, but that was not meant to be, so these pictures will have to do.

Reneta did not use a collection of fabric for this quilt she used her collection.  She almost had a little trouble cutting into them as she had gathered them over many years and many stores.  I recognize some Holly Taylor and some Thimbleberries from years gone by.

We decided on the "Autumn Oaks" panto and the very blendy  So Fine #489 - Lewis & Clark thread.  Reneta chose one of my new Stonehenge backings in a nice dark brown and we used Quilter's Dream Blend Batting.

It is always special for me to be able to quilt a quilt made from one of our Highway 10 Designs patterns.   Reneta really understood how the name of this pattern came to be.  She definitely saw the quarter sections of land in the prairie landscape from above,  Reneta's family recently sold a farm that was very special to many people.  She asked me to personalize this quilt by adding in the land description of the farm.  I always love adding a personal touch to quilts, and this was just so fitting.

. We saw about 20 cm (about 7 1/2") of snow fall yesterday, so  I am definitely going to be enjoying a white Christmas

Photo credit: Jean-Louis Guillas.

 From my house to yours I hope you have a very Merry Christmas!

French Braid

This is Donna's French Braid quilt.

I used the "Come Dance With Me" panto in the body of the quilt as colorful background fabric was going to pretty much hide whatever I did.

But I did do custom borders as the solid green border was the prefect place for some special quilting. All of Donna's prints had a circular motif so I added loops in the thinner off white borders, and large swirls in the outer border.

The solid green flannel really shows off the quilting on the back!

 

Figgy Pudding

This lovely quilt belongs to Eleanor and the pattern is called Figgy Pudding.  It is free pattern from Moda that came out came out with the fabric line of the same name a couple of years ago.  You can find it here.  A word of caution,  the pattern uses more fabric than you would expect for a quilt of this size as the trees are pieced in quite a unique way, resulting in the loose edges as you can see in the photo below.

 When searching for ideas on how to quilt this one, I noticed some people stitched the edges down and some left them free. Eleanor and I discussed it and she preferred them left a little 3d, so that helped decide on the quilting plan.

This quilt was really a lot of fun to quilt.  The background fabric got the ribbon meander, and the trees got a tree motif that didn't go right to the folded edge.

I use some rulers to make a design in the blocks. I played around until I came up with this design as I didn't want all the points coming together in the center causing a lot of thread build up.  I was able to spread the load over four spots instead.

 

I know Eleanor is giving this away as a Christmas gift, but if the recipient isn't happy I know where it could come to live.... I even have the cushions to match!

December is Flying By!

I can't believe it has been a week since I have found the time to write another post.  Lots of wonderful things happening around here - Christmas preparations, concerts, quilting and some great mail!

First I received this great little thank you gift from Sew-Sisters for hosting the recent Blogathon.  It was a really nice surprise.

Next, I am excited to report that I now have wide backings on hand for my customers.  I have always liked the look and quality of the Northcott Stonehenge wide backing fabric, and after a number of requests from customers for backings,  I decided to look into the possibility.  Here is a look at the eight colors I have on hand.  If you are local and want some backing for your own project, or need something for a quilt I will be quilting for you I hope to have something you will like.

Last, but certainly not least, I have also seen the results of Round One of the new Aussie/Canadian Round Robin I am participating in with Kathy, Desley and Brownwyn.  We participated in a traditional Round Robin over the last year (results here) and had so much fun, and were so happy with the results that we decided to go for it again.  This time the rules are very different.  We are not adding borders to a central block, instead we are making piles of blocks that will be assembled into a quilt top before being returned to its owner.  It should be very interesting!

These are my blocks.  Blocks were to be non directional, and 6", 9" or 12" in size and there is a bit of a formula to tell you how many to make based on the sizes chosen.

We also had to choose 1 m of fabric to send along with our blocks.  This would be the "consistent" fabric that each participant would use in some of the blocks they make.  I loved this brown batik, the picture really doesn't do it justice.  I didn't realize until I was sewing that it is directional!  Since the girls are experienced piecers they are willing to work with it, but it can be a bit of a pain I know.

My blocks and fabric.

This set belongs to Kathy.

This set belongs to Brownwyn.

This set belongs to Desley.

Can't wait to see what everyone does next!

Hello Luscious!

This pretty quilt belongs to Sandra.  The fabric is "Hello Luscious" by Basic Grey for Moda.   The pattern came from the book "Precut Quilts" by Janie Lou. It is very fresh feeling.

We decided on the "Tickle" panto and a very soft green So Fine thread.  Sandra provided a Hobbs Tuscany Silk batting.  I had never tried that particular batting before.  It felt kind of rough when I took it out of the package, but it quilted up very nicely. I expect it will drape very well after a little bit of use.  I will be curious to see how it wears compared to a more traditional cotton batt. The only down side is that it is not recommended to put the silk batting in the dryer.

I absolutely loved the border fabric Sandra chose - Tweetly Tweet by Cloud9 Fabrics.

Cindy's - Not Your Mother's Rail Fence

This is Cindy's version of our Highway 10 Designs "Not Your Mother's Rail Fence" pattern.  It was very exciting to be able to quilt such a fun rendition of our pattern, and in batiks to boot!

When I saw the backing fabric that Cindy sent I thought she might be up for having a little fun with the choice of panto and thread for this one.  We both loved the "Fossil" panto.  I choose a fairly bold purple Magnifico thread which has a really nice sheen.  I always love how it looks on bold batiks.

And one more because I just love it so much!

Chevron

This fun chevron quilt belongs to Donna.  She wanted the quilting the soften the hard lines of the quilt design.  We decided on the "Peacock" pantograph.  Some of the red and orange fabrics almost look like flames and the Peacock panto is a little flamey too, but with a bit a femininity mixed in.  I used Quilter's Dream Puff batting and a caramel colored So Fine thread that didn't fight with any of the fabrics.

The leopard backing is a fun surprise that just adds to the charm of this quilt.  I think the recipient will be very happy on Christmas morning.

Two Sweet Quilts

These two darling quilts were made by Cheri for two special little girls.  As always Cheri's work is beautiful and I had a lot of fun working on them.

 The charm square quilt with applique was from the pattern on the Moda Bakeshop website called "Just Growing".  Cheri has chosen a very different color pallette and added a little to the original pattern and has given it a really nice proportion.

I did a freehand floral design on the majority of the quilt and stitched around the appliqued flowers.  We used Quilter's Dream puff batting so it is extra cuddly.

The second quilt is from a pattern called Field Greens by Madison Cottage Designs.  (You can tell that I took these pictures a little while ago as there is virtually no snow on the ground.)

We used the "Daisy Bounce" Pantograph which is the perfect scale for a little girl's quilt.