Crayon Quilt

This is the fabric art project that I recently completed for the Manitoba Parents for Ukrainian Education as part of their Taras Shevchenko 200 Celebrations.  I had the pleasure of working with approximately 90 students from grades K-8. They used crayons on stabilized cotton fabric to create this lovely art.  The older students did all of the heat setting as well. My task was then to piece, quilt and bind it.  It will be on display at a variety of venues across the province over the next year along with 5 other pieces created by other artists in other school divisions.

Students in K-2 focused their art on where Taras Shevchenko was born.

The grade 3 to 5/6 students focused on his writings - poetry and songs.

And the students in Grades 6-8 focused on what Taras Shevchenko stood for.

I enjoyed custom quilting every block and highlighting the details that the students put into their work.

 And the magic binding technique came in handy once again.  I really suggest you try it at least once!
 

Lover's Knot

This charming quilt was made by Eunice.  It is an Eleanor Burns pattern from the Lover's Know Quilt Book.

Eunice chose the Yo-Yo panto, and Quilter's Dream Puff batting which helps to show off the quilting really nicely.  I used a turquoise thread that blended well in to the border. I just love the blue and brown color combination.

And I can't forget to show the back.  A cheerful surprise!

Round Robins!

The end of May meant that the next installment of the Aussie/Canadian Round Robin that I am participating in was due.   I always go into a round robin prepared to not be thrilled with the results, but these are turning out amazing.  Our instructions were to put the block on point and add a wow factor.

I had Desley's block and you can see how it has progressed here.

I was feeling the block could use some breathing room to let the center block shine, so I opted to add the 1/4 Dresden plates to the corners. I used a small zig-zag stitch and invisible thread to stitch them down.  This will leave Desley space for some fabulous quilting.  I also like that it feels very unfinished, so that Bronwyn who gets it next has somewhere to go with it.

The is Bronwyn's block that I had last time.

Kathy added this fabulous Celtic applique. 

This is Kathy's block that Browyn worked on last time.

Desley added stars and interwoven borders to carry on the ideas in the center block. She said she had fun with all the math involved!  I am getting this one for the last round.

And finally my block that Desley had previously worked on.

 Browyn did this amazing hand applique!! (I am allergic to hand applique so I will truly treasure the work put into it.)  Kathy has this one right now, and I can't wait to see it in person!!!

Arcadia

This lovely quilt was brought to me by Vanda.    The pattern is called Arcadia by Mountainpeek Creations and she used lovely, rich Asian fabrics.

We decided on the "Ginseng" pantograph and my favorite gold Magnifico thread.  Vanda provided a light cotton/silk blend batting.

A little surprise for the backing when you want a change of pace - two quilts in one!

 

Quilted Piano Bench Cover

 This is a project that I completed a little while ago for a challenge at my local quilt guild.  We were given three  black and white fat quarters and a crayola marker.  We could add as many black and white fabrics to the ones we were given, but only one fabric the color of the marker.  My marker was black, which I learned was wild so I could add any color I liked.  I chose red.

When I saw the black and white I immediately knew that I wanted to do something music themed.  I had a lot of help along the way.  I had an idea of what I wanted this to look like and my wonderful husband drew the keyboard and swoop out to scale for me.  My friend Eileen picked up music themed fabric for me during her travels.

The white keys are just pieced strips, but for the black keys I knew I didn't want raw edges as this piece would be sat on.   I used my 3/8" bias tape maker to create turned under edges and zig-zagged them down with invisible thread.  The treble clef is fused down raw edge applique.  I did a dense satin stitch to protect the edges.

My girls wanted the notes to be an actual song, not just random notes the looked visually appealing.  They also wanted it to be a "Daddy" song - one that would be blasted through the house when doing dishes or on a long road trip.  I was fine with this as long as I didn't have to decide.  Kyla drew out the melody and I thread painted the notes in at the end of the quilting.  (Any music readers able to figure it out?)

I used two layers of batting to give it extra loft - one Quilter's Dream Blend and one Quilter's Dream Puff.  I am really pleased with the end result, but I was thankful I left it extra big before quilting as it shrunk up more than I was expecting!

I added three sets of ties to attach it to the piano bench.

I didn't win the challenge, but I am very pleased with the end product.  If you are interested in checking out what my other guild members did, check it out on the Crocus Quilter's Guild Blog.

Bears & Blocks

This cute baby quilt was made by Eileen.  It is generous size and will last into toddler-hood and beyond.  The pattern is called Tumbling Blocks by It's Sew Emma.  Eileen requested the "Gummy Bears" panto and I think it was the perfect choice to go along with the bear printed fabric in the blocks.

We decided on a white Magnifico thread and Dream puff batting which shows off the quilting really nicely.

And check out the adorable backing fabric - more bears - super cute!

Eileen does not yet know if the recipient is a boy or a girl, but will add either a blue or pink binding to finish it off when she hears the news.  I think this is a great gender neutral quilt, which isn't always easy to do.  Great job Eileen!

New Normal

It is hard to believe that is been about a month since I have found the time to post something on this blog.  I have been busy, but not with a lot of blog-worthy happenings. The quilt you see below is one I am making for my oldest daughter Kyla and it has been on the longarm since before Easter! Everything else seems to have taken priority, but I am hoping to get it finished this weekend.

 One big change in my world is that I have taken on a part time job outside of my quilting studio.  I am working in the office at our local funeral home two days per week. I have been at that for a little over a month, and I think it will be a great fit, but I am searching to find my "new normal".  Two days outside the studio should leave me plenty of time with three days plus weekends and evenings at home, but it just hasn't felt that way lately.   

The one project that I have been busy working on is the Taras Shevchenko 200 Celebration piece with the Ukrainian Immersion students in Dauphin.  All 91 blocks have been coloured, heat set and pieced together.  Ready to hit the longarm!

The students did some really neat things and I have been enjoying seeing this one some together.  The deadline is looming so I have to keep up the forward momentum...