City Blooms and more for Sandra

Sandra brought this City Blooms quilt that is a pattern designed by Flaurie and Finch.  The top was started by a friend who passed away and Sandra saw it to the finish line.

When deciding on a quilting design and what thread to use across the lights and darks, I came up with a fun idea.  Sandra liked the idea of freehand wavy lines and I suggested using three shades of blue thread that would blend better across the light, medium and dark sections of the quilt.   The threads are all Innovatech -Azure, Largo and Blue.

You really have to look to see where I changed threads, and I like that the thread blends in well across the entire quilt.

Next up is Hyde Park from Cotton Street Commons featuring some Tim Holtz Fabrics.

Sandra chose the Come Dance with Me Pantograph which looked great on the rich golden brown backing.

Last up is this English Breakfast mini quilt from Robin Pickens Inc.  Sandra choses the Time Warp panto for this one and it adds some great steamy texture.  She had the prettiest backing fabric on this one.

Scrappy and Applique

Marlene brought this beautiful quilt that came entirely from her stash.  She saw a snippets of a quilt in progress on Instagram and knew she wanted to make it too. At the time there was no pattern, and no time frame when one would be released.  She did some figuring, guessing and came up with something close to what she had seen.

Marlene requested an edge to edge design,  I know some people may think it is a crime to stitch over hand applique, but I have to agree with Marlene's request on this one.   There is always more than one way to approach quilting a quilt. This was a economical choice for a quilt that was made for fun without a final home in mind.  

Marlene added a cozy Fireside backing that shows off the Come Dance with pantograph so well.

 

Irish Chain

Kathy brought this pretty Irish Chain quilt.  There is something about a blue and white quilt that is just extra appealing to me.  This quilt was a very generous Queen size.

Kathy selected the Come Dance with Me pantograph and a light blue thread.  I think it adds some nice movement to the top.

After searching for a backing that she loved, Kathy opted for a simple blue/grey grunge this is pretty and compliments the top nicely.

Global Migration

I am happy to share one of my own quilts today! The Global Migration pattern was originally written by Anne Reimer for Make Modern Magazine.  Anne passed away from cancer in 2020.  Her niece Janice revised the pattern to use some different techniques and has it available through her shop Prairie and Ocean as a "Pay what you want" item with 100% of the proceeds being donated to the CancerCare Manitoba Foundation.  The pattern is for a 60" x 60" throw size that I made into a Queen size with extra borders to allow the design to float.

I made this quilt for my daughter and son-in-law.  They were married in the summer of 2021 when gathering size restrictions were a large source of stress for many couples.  They decided to scale the size of their wedding way back to 35 guests in order to ensure they could proceed on their chosen date.  The background fabric in the quilt is repurposed from the Essex linen table runners that I made as part of their wedding decorations.

Kyla snd I went shopping for the additional fabrics at her new local quilt shop in Yorkton, Saskatchewan -Modern Stitch Co. We didn’t stick to one line but selected random prints from Cotton and Steel and Ruby Star. 

yla selected the Come Dance With Me pantograph for her quilt and I think it covered all the big open areas very nicely. 

I had the opportunity to quilt Christne's version of the Global Migration pattern back in 2020.  I love her version and the totally different quilting plan we went with.  Check it out here.  

It felt great to give the fabric a new life, but using that much linen in a queen size quilt sure makes it hefty!

Turning Twenty

Dorothy made this lovely cozy brushed cotton Turning Twenty quilt.  The warm and inviting fabrics are from Holly Taylor's Trails End line for Moda.

Dorothy selected the Come Dance with Me pantograph and a lovely green thread for the quilting that picked up on the color of the backing fabric perfectly.

Log Cabin

Marlene decided it was time to make a cozy quilt for herself and try to work through some scraps at the same time.  She went with a classic Log Cabin pattern with a lovely little cream and red nine patch in the centre of each square.

Marlen selected the Come Dance with Me pantograph and a blending brown thread for the quilting.

 

Weaver Fever

Ann made this warm and cozy Weaver Fever quilt for her daughter.  This was a new to me pattern and if you are wondering it is designed by Animas Quilts. 

Ann selected the Come Dance with Me pantograph and supplied a flannel backing and warm and natural batting.

 

Beautiful Batiks, Hawaiian Applique and a great trade!

This lovely Hawaiian applique pillow is actually mine!  There is a good story behind it coming to be.  My dear friend Kathy brought back the kit for me on her Hawaiian holiday last fall.  The fabrics were beautiful batiks in colours I love so I was very excited.  Upon closer inspection of the kit, I came to realize it was laser cut for needle turn applique.  Those of you who know me, know that I am highly allergic to hand applique.  When I mentioned this last point to Kathy, her response was, "You are creative, you will figure something out!"

The best way for this kit to get completed was for someone with hand applique skills to tackle it.  My new quilting group "In Stitches" has quite a number of ladies who enjoy hand work and are skilled to say the least.  I took this kit with me to a sewing night and asked Marion if she would be interested in a trade.  I offered longarm quilting services in exchange for applique services and Marion enthusiastically took me up on my offer.  I told her I was in no rush, but to keep track of her time so that we could make sure it was a fair trade.  What seemed like just a few short weeks later Marion had the applique finished.  She said she enjoyed having a new project and does a little handwork every evening.  Her skill set is amazing.  These little tiny silk stitches wowed me to say the least!

I decided to SID around the applique and do one large spaced echo and pebble the remainder of the background.  I love adding binding to my pillows for a crisp finish and I found the perfect batik in my stash to match.

The kit suggested adding velcro or buttons for the back closure.

Now check out the beautiful top I got to quilt for Marion!!

This rich beauty was a Block of the Month for from a number of years back.  I know Marion changed out some of the colours to make it her own.

Marion selected Quilter Dream blend batting,  the "Come Dance with Me" pantograph and a goldy/green thread that blended nicely with the variety of fabrics.

Marion decided to use up some of the matching batiks on the back.

Marion and I were both happy to share our skills on each other's projects, but I think I got the better end of this deal!