Canada 150

I've been working on this quilt for longer than I'd like to remember.  It started as a bee block but I wanted it much bigger than the number of blocks I had.  It languished for almost a year while I was sidetracked with other projects. It was partially quilted until I decided I hated the quilting and unpicked it all! Finally, a dear friend's daughter announced her wedding plans and I knew that this quilt was the ideal gift for her.

So, since July 1 isn't far away and red and white are iconic colours, I'm calling this Canada 150, my personal homage to my home and country.  It isn't perfect, it isn't glamorous, much like Canada itself, but I love it and hope that Kayla will too.

It's a full double bed size quilt so I went for simple quilting.  It wasn't easy to wrestle it through the sewing machine, but if done in small doses, it went well.

I like the back too and think it looks very flag like hanging from the clothes line.

I used a thin batting so it is soft, drapes well, and isn't too heavy.

It's not always easy to get a good shot with all the wind we're getting these days!

Happy Canada Day!

Black and White Animal Quilt

After a long, wet, cold spring we are finally into full summer, and with summer there is always so much to do outside that indoor work gets shoved aside!

But, I did manage to finish a sweet little baby quilt that a friend asked me to make.  The recipient is unknown so I just went with whatever I could find in my sewing world.  At some point I bought a panel of black and white stylized animal fabric so I decided to start with that and see what happened.

It turned out fine!

(Glad I got that pedicure last week!)

Luckily I also had a lovely polka dot piece that was just big enough for the backing. Don't you love it when the stars align like that.

I also tried something new for me, wavy lined quilting, which was very easy and satisfying.  I couldn't believe how fast it was and it definitely conceals many small imperfections.  I'll do that again.

I always like pictures of rolled up quilts and couldn't resist having that owl take centre stage.

It's another beautiful day, so I'll quickly link this up with Sew Fresh Quilts  and get out there for my morning walk.

Paper Piecing Makes Me Cry

Soooo, I joined a new bee this year called the Stash Bee--it sounded low stress with no particular fabrics required--theoretically using scraps.  January went well with the block made and sent within the first week, but then February came along and the poor sweet girl wanted a block with paper piecing.  My heart started to race and my innate procrastination ability leapt to the fore.  I moved into, "if I don't think about it, it doesn't exist".  I know, I am pathetic.

Anyway, today I dutifully went to work and three hours later I have a sad little wonky paper pieced pink hat. I really wanted to do a super job with this block, but it didn't start well with the first efforts being thrown out.  First, I create chaos as shown below.

Have you noticed the pretty pussycat hat on the screen? (instructions at pattymurphyhandmade.com )

And here's mine.  I am usually a meticulous sewer with matching points but this was the best I could do.  I will send it along to the recipient and hope she can use it.  It's always good to be humbled I guess!

I did make a couple of  pouches for friends this month.  One had  Valentine's on one side with an homage to Canada's 150th anniversary on the other.

A friend was heading off the New Zealand so I made a pouch to hold all her electronics cables. Each side is different, using two orphan blocks where I played around with strips.  I decided there wasn't enough contrast so I abandoned that idea but they are great to use up for pouches.

It's been a snowy winter here in Quebec, with the snow almost too deep for snowshoeing.  On my last foray to the woods I sank in up to my knees with each step and got very tired very quickly.  But it sure is beautiful.

I'm linking up with Sew Fresh Quilts today.  

January Bits and Pieces

No large finishes this week but a couple of small pleasures for me.  I always like to make zippy pouches for any occasion.  Last week a dear friend was celebrating a milestone birthday so I whipped up a little something using a charm pack that was on hand.  So satisfying to take little pieces and make them into another thing altogether.

Neil had a finish too! A few months ago he found a tree with a large burl on it. (a rounded knotty growth on a tree, giving an attractive figure when polished and used especially for handcrafted objects and veneers-dictionary, no me)

He polished it up and mounted it on a piece of black cherry that was lying around and I really like it.  When you turn it in different directions you can see completely different creatures.  Sometimes it looks like an elephant, sometimes an owl, and sometimes an octopus.  I guess I have a vivid imagination! Right now it appears to be a surly alien.

Another little finish was a block for a scrappy  bee.  The call was for low volume and any colour you want--easy and satisfying.

Yesterday the snow was sliding off the back roof but I liked the frozen lines transferred from the tin and the extended icicles.

Hello 2017

Well, here I am again. Creativity has definitely taken second place in my life the last six months.  My mother went into palliative care in August and most of my energy was taken with accompanying her in her last months.  She died the end of November, brave to the end and she will be greatly missed.  She will always be remembered for her smile and her enormous love of life and everyone around her.  She had a gift for friendship, and a true kindness of spirit.

She and my daughter were kindred spirits and it has hit Emma hard.  But how lucky they both were to be able to spend time together.  I love this photo that Emma took last year--mum dearly loved rings!

I have made a few things in the last two months and decided to start a quilt for each of my children at the beginning of December.  Yes, not a smart thing to do, but it kept me busy and I was happy to be back in sewing world.  So, with no pattern in mind and using fabric that I had on hand, I made them each a Christmas gift.

There's no point even trying to remember what fabric lines were used, but I decided on neutral for both quilts.

My husband was particularly enamoured with this fishing fabric!

And I know that I decided to stop hoarding this stuff and just use it for a backing.  (Wasn't easy though!)

For the second, I had bits and pieces left over and decided to tie it all together with grey and lime green.  It was well received but I forgot to take a picture with my son draped in it.  I made it extra long for him and it was a beast to wrestle through my machine.  I went with simple straight line quilting for both due to time constraints.

 
Again, a simple back using up the last of the leftovers!

I know this one is getting a lot of use!

Living on a farm we are always well aware of weather and wildlife, so here's a little look at my outside life.

This was the morning after a windy and wild night.  I love the light on the wood pile with the dark storm clouds behind.

This is the smallest stone sculpture that Neil has made.  I think it looks like one of those Japanese snow monkeys.

Again, beautiful light in the morning.

And the squirrels are still with us! (looking very overweight too!)

Pink in the Summer

The most recent baby quilt was finished on one of the few rainy days we've had in the last few weeks.  I love making baby quilts--they take very little time and investment in fabric but give so much pleasure.  I know that most new mums are very well equipped for their little ones, but not too many people make something themselves.  Anyway, knowing that a little girl is on the way, I went with a pink festival in simple blocks that show the fabric.

I love the eye of the tiger peeking out of the darker blocks.  I considered fussy cutting to get the whole face, but liked the randomness of the half face. A simple dark blue polka dot binding set off the lovely Tula Pink prints.

As usual, I did straight line quilting, but was pleased with how the lines converged in the centre of each block. Yes, they are straight lines, but the fabric is bunched a bit!

I used a Peter Rabbit print for backing ( a stash find!). The new mum had a pet rabbit as a child that she called "buny", so I thought it fitting.

In my last post I mentioned that the porch squirrels were getting too tame, and here's the latest glamour shot as proof. No fear there!

They like to snooze under the bird feeder in case treasures rain down from above.

I can't believe myself, but I'm ready for the next project--a quilt for my son.  Recently I went to Ontario to visit a friend and made a little detour to visit Mad About Patchwork, a bricks and mortar quilt shop that also sells on line.  (I had bought from them in the past) A lovely shop with very helpful staff and I ended up with this masculine assortment of fabric.

Have a great week.  I'm linking up with The Needle and Thread Network and Sew Fresh Quilts.

This and That

It's been a beautiful summer so far, which isn't really conducive to spending a lot of time sewing, but I have managed a few things in sewing world.  I was on hold for a while as my machine needed a tune up.  The repair guy actually took a before picture to prove how much lint and crud was blocking up the innards.  Oh shame on me, but it shows how much I use it.

First up, a Tula Pink fabric quilt for an imminent baby girl. (I do so love making baby quilts!) I pinned and sandwiched it yesterday, so the next rainy day, it will be good to go.

Next, a red/white quilt of delectable mountain blocks that was started last year, but never finished.  I found it languishing in a cupboard in one of my cleaning and purging sessions--the annual big garbage pickup is soon--always a stimulus.

I hated this quilt for a number of reasons, all of which were my fault.  First, I bought an new batting, thinking it would be nice and warm for winter.  When I got it home I realized that it was way too heavy and thick, but did I stop there? No, I basted and kept right on going.  Stupid, stupid! Then I wrestled that beast through my machine and found that my quilting scheme was also unworkable.  Ack! That's why it was bundled and hurled into a cupboard.

Anyway, I found it and decided to spend the afternoon on the porch, in the shade, unpicking the quilting. Four hours of snipping and listening to Radiolab podcasts later, it was done. So now I'm hesitating between making more blocks and continuing in the same plan or unpicking all the blocks too and making a different design altogether.  I think it needs to percolate in the back of my brain for a while.

My marathon porch session allowed me time to enjoy watching all the young birds being fed by their parents and laughing at my two baby squirrels that bicker and chase each other.  I think they were orphaned very young as they were tiny when they first appeared.  They're very tame, which isn't good, but we don't have cats and dogs any more, so why should they worry.

It's been a time of great joy here. Our daughter graduated from medical school and is now in Vancouver doing her residency.  The convocation was wonderful--McGill knows how to put on a show and E. was radiant all day.

After the ceremony we went to the Lachine Canal for a picnic and all obsessed with the newest member of the family.  Good thing we had enough quilts!

Our son also finished his degree and is now an engineer.  He didn't want to go to convocation, so I figure we celebrated them on the same day.  I'm so proud and happy for them both.