Wishing you all a spooktacular Hallowe’en!!

Wishing everyone a happy and safe Hallowe’en!!

A Client’s Appliqued Quilt with Scallop Border

Freda has been a quilter for many years and at age 84, continues to piece any number of tops. She enters shows, is a member of the Chocolate River Guild in our area and always has a quilt for sale.

This is a quilt I recently quilted for her and it is now being bound in a lovely scallop edging by another quilting friend, Patty. 

I decided to take Freda's applique design and use it as a guide for creating my quilting designs. I stitched a flower in each of the scallops and then, quilting leaves in combination with the flowers, created some vines around the centre block, in the four triangle spaces surrounding this border and in the outer corners. I also stitched 4 partial false blocks to break up the white space and quilted half flowers in each. 

I choose to outline the appliques only and stitch in the ditch around each block and sashing.

A Log Cabin for a Graduation

I am very grateful to the members of my local quilt guilds who trust me to quilt their tops and help finish their projects. Almost every client tells me to quilt as I see fit, use the thread colors I think best and have fun! And although I realize full well the responsibility that comes with that, well, what a lot of fun that is for me! 

Sharon has trusted me with a number of quilts and this log cabin made of Moda prints is a recent project of hers. She provided me with an 80/20 cotton batting and I used my favorite Glide thread for both top and bobbin. I quilted a free style scallop shell in the center, added some loops in the middle border and the quilted bead board on the outer border. I think the quilt turned out very nice and I bet the lucky recipient is very happy with her new quilt, a graduation present.

Today I am linking to The Needle and Thread Network. 

Walking the Trails in Moncton, NB

Rejean and I have tramped or biked pretty much every trail in the Moncton and immediate area. We always try to find something appealing or attractive about each one we go on, though to be honest, some of these trails are more utilitarian than beautiful. It really does depend on the time of year you visit them, I find. Some just don’t shine in the heat of summer and some do. Some are more attractive in fall when the leaves and grasses change color and the contrast of the blue sky enhances the golds, oranges and reds.

Such is the Humphrey Brook Trail, a 5 km walking, biking path that crosses a small section of the east end of Moncton. We have travelled it several times and yesterday, we walked to the end and back, an approximate 10 km trip. We actually didn’t see many people out on it, which surprised us since it was such a beautiful 19 degree day. The trail crosses behind several sub-divisions, and the city has added benches placed in several strategic spots as well as a much welcomed bathroom facility since we were last there. It does follow a lovely little brook and the area is in Phase Two of an environmental enhancement program as the city commits to providing green space and negotiable trails within city limits.

The wind blew just as I took this photo with my iPhone, but I like it even with the blurs

More Monday Marvels Quilts

This summer I was able to quilt a few quilts for the Monday Marvels, a local quilting bee. These quilters donate their time to create quilts for several Moncton organizations and are often called upon to provide a comfort quilt when a need arises. They had a number of tops needing completion so since I purchased my longarm, I have tried to help them out by quilting some of these.

I received two very similar tops and quilted them in the same motif, in case they found a home when matching tops would be fitting.

The before shot

I had a lot of fun working on these because they are quilted in my own overall motifs. I really enjoy being on the needle side of the machine and hand guiding it to create my designs.

The after shot of the second quilt

I am hoping these two quilts find loving homes, and the new owners enjoy the softness and cuddly feel the extra loft poly batting helps create.

A Client’s T-Shirt Quilt

My friend, Maureen is great at creating quilt tops for clients. She is often asked to piece memory quilts, including t-shirt quilts. She takes on any project with a huge smile and a winning attitude and often times I have seen her take partially finished projects and turn them into beautiful quilts for people who might not yet have the skills required for the project they have started.

This quilt is one she has pieced for a client using t-shirts saved for years from travels all over the globe. The wonderful thing about this quilt is that the shirts have been worn, and worn well. There are streaks of mud and dabs of paint and you can tell the shirts, like the person they came from, have lived a life well lived.

We decided a large meandering stitch would best hi-light the shirts so using a poly batt and a co-ordinating grey thread, I quilted a large stipple over the top.

Another Client Quilt

There have been quilts coming and going, sometimes so quickly, it barely registers that another one is finished. I realize my presence on my blog has been infrequent at best, but that is only because of a busy schedule. 

But, without further ado, here is a quilt I longarmed for Marilyn, a fellow Greater Moncton Quilt Guild member and a new member of SAQA.

So many quilters are extremely generous souls and Marilyn is no exception. This is a quilt she has made to be donated and I know it is being well loved and appreciated.

I have always been terrible at remembering the names of quilt patterns and fabric lines and this habit of mine continues apparently, but if you ever want to know what they might be in a particular quilt I include in a post, just leave me a comment, or email me and I will find out for you. 

I quilted this in a free form feather style ala Angela Walters with lots of echoing and used my favorite Glide threads, top and bobbin. I can’t say enough good things about this thread. The service at Fil-Tec is great, the thread is so wonderful to work with and the colors are simply perfect. They have just released a small selection of new colors and I am itching to order a few more to add to my rather extensive stash..