Penguin Party

I recently finished this sweet baby quilt for Eileen.  The pattern is Penguin Party by Elizabeth Hartman.

It is always a little bit scary to stitch over eyes on a quilt.  Eileen and I talked about me doing something freehand to avoid doing so, but ended up chossing a nice open pantograph called Fluffy Clouds.

Eileen had envisioned using one of my grey backs, but when we tried this green/blue Stonehenge fabric it felt perfect.

International Exchange #3

  

It has been a couple of years since Kathy, Desley, Bronwyn and I finished our last Round Robin  exchange.  The concept has been different each time.  The first time was the most traditional where we each started with a center block and took turns working on each others.  You can see those results here.  Our second exchange involved all of us selecting our own focus fabric, then making blocks for each other and another group member putting your top together.  Kathy shares the results here.

This time is more of a block exchange than a round robin.  Everyone has been given yardage of the print you see above.  Every two months we will be given a block style to make.  You can use any fabrics you like as long as you include a piece of the floral print in the block somewhere.  The print has lots of colors to highlight, so we expect lots of interesting blocks.

Our November theme was Log Cabin or a Log Cabin Variation.  I chose to put four offset log cabin blocks together, and added the print in a "10 Minute Block" style center.   Every month we are making 4 identical blocks, one for each participant that we will exchange at the end 5 themes.

This is Bronwyn's take on the log cabin.  I love how the majority of her block is the print.

Desley made this one that is totally different again.

And finally Kathy's block which is the most similar to mine, but still unique.

Looking forward to seeing everyone's versions of a Dresden at the end of February/

Snow Bears

I recently finished this darling flannel quilt for Cindy.  Cindy made this for her 1 year old grandson.

The fabric is a fun line from Northcott called "Snow Bears" and the pattern is Winter fun by Wanda's Designs.  Cindy had done a similar quilt called "Let it Snow" for her granddaughter a couple of years back and we decided to quilt this the same using the Bora Bora pantograph and Quilter's Dream Puff batting.

 

Gimli Quilt Retreat

I spent this last weekend in at the Lakeview Resort in Gimli, MB for a quilt retreat.  My friend and business partner Kathy had been encouraging me to join for the last couple of years, and this year it worked out.  Kathy and I took this opportunity to work new samples of our latest patterns for our Canadian pattern distributor QuiltSource Canada.  QuiltSource Canada supplies quilt stores with all kinds of wonderful quilty goodness including fabrics from Lewis & Irene.  The fabrics used in the Simply Dashing sample above, were from the Bumbleberries line and they were rich in colour and very nice to work with.  Thanks to our friend Renee for the assist in holding up the quilt top while Kathy found just the right light!

I always bring my little Singer Featherweight to retreats and it brings me much joy every time I use it.

We also made some samples of out Roundabout place mats and runner using the Bear Hug line from Lewis and Irene.  We had a lot of fun putting different combinations together before we settled on our favorite.

On Friday evening Kathy and I held a trunk show of quilts made from our Highway 10 Designs patterns.  The majority of the quilts are twin size or larger, so when you put about 50 of them together, the piles get large quite quickly.

We held the trunk show in the dining room right after dinner.

Our friends Janie and Renee folded our quilts as we talked so there was a nice display for everyone to see once we were done.

On Saturday afternoon, Kathy & I taught a class on our Roundabout pattern.  It was a fun group that ranged in experience and age.  Our youngest participant was only 12 and she had her project completely finished later in the day!  Her grandma and great aunt also took the class, and it was so nice to see family members passing on their love of quilting to another generation!  Here you can see the wonderful variety of fabric choices some of our students made for their projects.

I am never sure how many projects to bring for a weekend of sewing. Highway 10 Designs accomplished a lot (and had a lot of fun), but I only had a little bit of time left to start my personal project of an Atomic Starburst quilt.

Scottie Dogs

Reneta made this sweet quilt out of her 1930s reproduction scraps.  The antique feeling of the quilt guided my selection of quilting designs.

The squares in the border and sashing received a simple crosshatch, and a classic stipple in the background.  I was originally planning to add some continuous curves to the dogs, but decided to stitch in the ditch instead to ensure they would pop up.

There was no sunshine when I originally finished this quilt, so I got my hands on it after Reneta added the awesome scrappy binding for its photo shoot.  Reneta used her favorite grey flannel on the back.