Wedding quilt

Our nephew and his new bride are delighted with their wedding quilt. It was great fun to make, using the ideas presented in Judy Sisneros' creative book, "9-Patch Pizzazz: Fast, Fun & Finished in a Day". It was fast (relatively speaking), and it was fun, but it was definitely NOT finished in a day.

 I have fabrics selected to make a second one, as soon as two more quilts in progress are completed. The heart feather border quilting was enjoyable to stitch, and I would definitely use that motif again.

The groom's cousin was so inspired when she saw this quilt top, that she set out to make her own version. I haven't seen it yet, but look forward to her photos.

Fish Quilt ready to present

Easter Sunday came and went. Dad's quilt was completed, but we were not able to present it, as he was ill, and so was Mom. My extended family enjoyed seeing it, and commented about the cuddly flannel backing. Mom was planning to take the quilt to Dad this week when she was feeling better. Hopefully he has it by now and is able to enjoy it on his bed.

Our Oliver kitty tried to claim the fish quilt many times during the making. It is a toss-up whether he was more interested in the quilt or the fish, but it is a wonder he didn't end up with a needle through his paw several times. He is very inquisitive and seemingly fearless.

A bit of knitting

The fish quilt is all finished and ready to present to Dad on Sunday. Hopefully I'll remember to take a photo and post it.

The 9 Patch Pizzazz wedding quilt will be presented to our nephew and his new bride. It needs a photo too.

Last night I started to knit a baby touque, using a tweedy blue yarn, but so far it is looking pretty big. Maybe he will have to grow into it. I can always make another one with fewer stitches. I had forgotten how soothing it is to knit. I think I can finish a couple more rows before my tea is all gone and I have to go to bed.

The fish have eyes now

Today I solved the dilemma of the leafy panels. There are now waterlilies and lily pads quilted in them, surrounded by echo quilting.

I raided the button jars to find little black buttons for the fish eyes and they are now stitched in place.

The bullrushes are much happier with the little tops added on.

Now the quilt will take a dip in the washing machine to develop its texture while I make a label for the back.

Dad's Fish Quilt

I showed the quilt to Dad this morning after finishing the scrappy binding. He really likes it and it will look great on his bed. It still needs two more panels to be quilted, eyes on the fish, tips on the bullrushes, and a label on the back. Then it can be washed and blocked and we can present it on Easter Sunday.

I have included dragonfly quilting and turned a corner  back to show the plaid flannel backing. I hope it will be very cozy.

Our Joeydog

Our Joey dog was a very beautiful and loving family member. In our eyes he deserved to be featured in this magazine cover layout. A scrapbook is being planned to preserve and share some of our favourite photos and memories.

Sew Along Weekend

Well, it's day 2 of the Pat Sloan Sew Along, and I have been making great progress. I hope to complete the machine quilting on the fish quilt and add a scrappy binding before the day is over. Ideas for the label are percolating through my mind at the moment.... maybe a latte and a warm cinnamon roll would help the creative process along?

Guild Night

The fish quilt is over half quilted now. The outside border and the cornerstones have dragonflies quilted into them. They were fun to do. I took the "quilt in progress" for show and tell at guild tonight, as it will be gone by the next meeting if all goes well. Tomorrow is Hole in the Closet Club at our local quilt shop, so I should be able to get most of the quilting completed.

One of the quilters showed her wholecloth garden quilt tonight. It is so beautiful! That reminded me that I have the same quilt in the closet, only partly hand quilted. I think I started it in 2002.

I brought home a charity quilt kit for children's aid, to be stitched on during the Pat Sloan Sew Along retreat this weekend. I chose one that was not precut because the colours called out to me.

My friend Joan completed a wonderful tapestry tote bag for me, and it was delivered by our friend Christine at guild. It is huge and roomy, with 2 zippered pockets in the interior and two big outside pockets. It is stiff enough to stand up, but soft enough to be comfortable to carry.
I carried the fish quilt and some library books home in it from tonight's meeting. There are enough scraps left to make some accessories to hold my sewing tools.

Dad's Fish Quilt

I am getting ready to sandwich and pin-baste Dad's quilt today. When he first moved into long term care, one of the few things he asked for was a quilt from me to hang on the wall. Most of my own quilts were away at a quilt show at that time, so I took him one that has wool applique flowers on it, in front of a big old house on a hill, just like the one I grew up in, and a caption that says Home is Where the Heart Is. It is a place holder for his own quilt.

Then I decided that since the aides at the facility always use his log cabin heart lap quilt to cover his bed, he really needed a bed quilt that fits, so his lap quilt can stay in his recliner for day use. Thus began the fish quilt.... I spotted a wonderful fish pillow at my local quilt shop, and purchased the pattern which included a wall hanging that would be perfect for Dad's room. My mind kept playing with the fish theme, and I ended up designing a quilt in EQ6 based on the same pattern. Back to the quilt shop I went and found most of the fabrics I had liked so well in the original pillow that had caught my eye, and added a few from my stash as well. I found a wonderful flannel plaid for a cozy back and it was even on sale.

There were a few problems with machine buttonhole applique as I created the blocks but that quest for help led to other tips that greatly improved my stitching skills. The next problem was a math one, as the borders in my plan didn't seem to match the size of the blocks. Finally I gave in and just sewed. The original bullrush appliques I had prepped now seemed out of scale so I made new ones in a larger scale and set the first ones aside for the wall hanging. Finally the top was completed and pressed.

Now I will pin-baste and start the machine quilting. Soon it will be ready to keep Dad warm at night. I can hardly wait to show it to him! The dryer buzzer just went, so the batting is relaxed and ready to use.

At Grandma's Knee

A wonderful surprise arrived in today's mail. I think have written earlier that I did not learn to quilt at the knees of either of my quilting grandmas, although my Aunt Stella and my mother certainly had an influence over my needle art and creative interests. The surprise is a slim vintage paperback volume titled "At Grandma's Knee: A Collection of Doll Quilts" by Joan Vibert & Joyce Whittier, 1985. There is a pink photo of a loving grandma with a smiling toddler on the cover (Joan and her Grandma), pink photos of designers Kathleen Brassfield, Linda Brannock, Joyce Whittier and Jane Braverman as small children on the back cover, first person biographies and stories about each of their grandmothers, and a delightful doll quilt design by each designer. As I had already made projects designed by Linda Brannock and Terry Thompson, it is particularly appealing to me to read their quilting Grandma stories, and also to discover that Linda's grandma's name was Stella!

Another interesting tidbit in this publication is a collection of quotations from kindergarten aged children relating the best thing about their grandmas. There are even pages for me to write the best thing about my own grandma and the things I want to remember, or for a grandchild to write the best things about me!

It would be lovely to see photos of these sweet little quilts, but the diagrams, templates, instructions, and quilting motifs are excellent, and I look forward to making my own special doll quilts from this gem of a book.

March Break Stitching

It has been a while since I have posted, as I have been busy being a grandma and quilting! We are very fortunate to have our daughter and our grandson staying with us for a couple of days. I have been working on a fish quilt for my Dad's bed, and my daughter has been hand quilting motifs on the Winnie the Pooh quilt. Our grandson is quite attracted to it, so she thinks she will have to hurry up and finish it, so he can use it.

I hope to do many quilty things on my week off school, and finish up by participating in Pat Sloan's Sew Along Retreat next weekend. We will be making a tote bag designed by Cindy Taylor Oates, with an applique designed by Pat, a needlebook designed by Pat, and some charity quilts. It sounds like lots of fun. I will have a great recipe to share! I am looking forward to next weekend, but planning to enjoy every minute of the days between now and then. If you want to see what we are up to, or join us at the Sew Along Retreat, please visit Pat's blog: http://patsloan.typepad.com/ The plans for the retreat were posted on March 8th.