A Breath of Fresh Air

Welcome to my blog if you are visiting for the first time from Madame Samm’s Stash Manicure, I hope you will visit often and we become great quilting friends.

Let me tell you how thrilled I was to have this very special quilt be chosen as part of the April banner. (insert happy dance and the biggest grin).

I made this in the depth of a cold and snowy January, when we all could use some warm sunshine (well it is now April and we still have lots of snow in Alberta!!). It was made for a very special lady that has played an important role in my adult life. Mat, the recipient of this quilt, lived 2 doors down from us in our old neighbourhood.  She and her husband, both retired, moved in about a year after we did.  Well we couldn’t have asked for better neighbours.  They were our surrogate parents as all our family lives 3000km away.  Mat showed me so many domestic tricks and tips. We would can tomatoes together, make pies,  share garden plants, recipes, tea, advice, sewing tips. (although not a quilter a great seamstress).  I could always run to her for help or to borrow something. (my very own Martha Stewart). As our children came along they were there for them too.  Mat always had crafts for the kids or dolls and tea parties. Her garden was to die for too.  There was an open back door to their house for our family.  We moved away from them in 2000, but have kept in constant contact with them. At Christmas time she told me she was having surgery in January, (luckily nothing serious).  Right away I knew I had to make her a quilt to brighten her recovery days.  I surprised her with it on her 78th birthday!  She was shocked. 

I am pleased to say she loved her quilt, but said it was too beautiful to use. She also recovered well from her surgery!

I used April Cornell’s Spring Magic fabric.  I used my new Accuquilt Go Cutter I got for Christmas.  An all over loopy flower free motion pattern was quilted on it.  I enjoyed making this quilt for such a beautiful, loving and caring women.

Thanks for stopping by and reading about my quilt.  

p.s. If you are a Canadian quilter and would like to help the people of Japan that have been devastated by the tsunami and earthquake, then follow this link: http://www.quiltsforjapan.ca/home
Bev Rogan of Calgary has arranged for a container to be shipped over to Japan.  Her wish is to fill it with quilts lovingly made by us.  I donated one, I know you can too!!

http://www.quiltsforjapan.ca/

Totally scrappy!

 

totally scrappy

totally fun to make

used scrap thread too!

Brown Bag Quilt Contest Finished!

 

Quilts for Japan

Hello  my friends,
If you are Canadian and are looking for a way to help the Japanese crisis by donating quilts there is a solution:

Bev Rogan in Calgary is organzing a way to send quilts to Japan. Go to her face book page for more information. QuiltsforJapan. 
there is now a new website to support this effort
http://www.quiltsforjapan.ca/home

Quilts received will be distributed in Japan by "Grace Christian Fellowship" on behalf of "Christian Relief, Assistance, Support and Hope "(CRASH) Ome-shi, Japan.http://www.crashjapan.com/

Personally I will be donating this quilt.  It is just sitting on my shelf and I am sure it will keep someone warm.

Sorry

Sorry I can't come to the computer right now.

I am busy quilting.

Should have a finish soon!

What are you working on?

My apprentice

If you, my trusty followers or new friends, have a minute head over to my DD#2's new blog:

kreations by katie.

She has been very creative lately and getting very friendly with the sewing machine (my old one not the new one).  I told her not everyone starts out with a Rolls Royce you have to learn on a good ole machine first.

She is busily making clothes for Barbie in her own unique style.  She loves to sketch fashions and proclaims she will be a fashion designer when she is older. 

Leave her a comment please. (remember when you first started and how thrilled you were to have a comment)

happy :) and sad :(

I am happy I have completed all the stars for this top, (actually I made 8 more after the picture was taken) Hopefully I can find time this weekend to get the rows together. 

I am making this quilt as part of the Brown Bag/Ugly quilt contest.  Partners exchanged "ugly" to them fabrics and our task was to use them in a quilt, adding from our stash if needed.

CAN YOU FIGURE OUT WHICH ONES ARE THE  "UGLIES" (hint there are only two!)

I am sad as we have to attend two funerals today:( I am glad to see the sun shining to help brighten the families for their lost(s)

If you are passing thru Claresholm, AB

and you are a quilter then you might want to check out this great LQS:    3B Quilting and Fabric (click to get directions)

Bonnie is such a delight to visit with and has a great selection of fabrics to choose from. Her store is located at the back of her beautiful home. She offers classes too.  If you love minky/snuggle fabrics she is the place to go! 

Until the end of March she is having a

Customer Appreciation sale.

Everything in the store!!!!!

Buy 2 get 1 FREE

(Free item must be of equal or lesser value)

Doesn’t matter if its fabric, notions, or patterns!

Since this is her home based business, you should call ahead to be sure she is in 403-625-4821 she might be busy playing with her grand kids!

Tell her I sent you!!!

I will be back...

Nothing really new to post about today. 

I did mange some sewing over the weekend, but nothing new. 

Today I will be doing chores and maybe a bit of sewing.

What is on your sewing table?

Hope you have a great start to the week!

Dilemma

I started quilting this quilt today, finally.

I decided to stitch in the ditch around each block and the inner border

Then I wanted to free motion quilt on all the white blocks.  I am using a white thread on top and a pinkish one on the back. (oops forgot to show the back, but it is pink and red). Trouble is the pinkish thread is shows through on the white. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Do I leave it like this?

Do I change to white thread on the back, which has no white in the fabric?

Do I  not FM the blocks?

What to do?  Help me out please! I would love to hear your comments and advice on this dilemma.

Thanks

The weeks are flying by….

It is getting busier and busier in our household. After our return from Florida I have been going none stop:

I finished this quilt, this was my first made to order quilt. :

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is what the little girl’s mom had to say about it:

“I just wanted to say again, a huge thank you. The quilt is absolutely beautiful. I showed Megyn when I got home and she took off with it right away and just wanted to be wrapped up in it.  It looks really great in her room too. I am glad you did it a bit bigger as well, because the size works wonderfully.”

 

My DD#2 celebrated her confirmation

 

 

 

 

 

We had a lovely dinner using Great Grandma’s dishes for the special occasion.

Then we were off to Edmonton (3 hr drive north) for the weekend for a soccer tournament.   The girls placed 3rd in their group’s division.  It was a great weekend, but tiresome too. 

I did manage to squeeze in visits to two quilting stores while there; Earthly Goods Quilting and Lori’s Country Cottage both are great stores with their own personalities.  I also got two hexies completed too.  If you want to see more hexies pop over to the One Flower Wednesday group to see more.This week I hope to play a bit of catch up.  I finally sandwiched my Valentine’s quilt last night. I have also been working on these scrappy stars.  

What have you been doing?

A little shopping

Of course before I left for FL I had to research for the LQS.  Wouldn’t you know there was on just 5 minutes from the marina, yahoo.

Off we went to visit the Jam Patch, Stuart, FL. What a great shop, the ladies were so friendly and happy to help.

I couldn’t resist these brights! 

 

DD picked out this collection. The store doesn’t keep collections together so we had to hunt through the bolts to put these together.  Kind of like a scavenger hunt

 

 

A few reproductions for my GFG

 

 

I had to pick up Tonya’s book while in the her neighbourhood. Can’t wait to read through it and start creating. I wanted to meet up with her, but she recently had double knee surgery so wasn’t getting out too much.

I just love Lazy Girl  patterns, they are so easy. I have already made one of the mini wallets for all those extra loyalty cards that cram one’s wallets!

What have you purchased lately?