I have been keeping busy, mainly with things I wanted kept secret. Now that I know my sister opened this gift yesterday, I can share. 

This quilt is a top I pieced ages ago that Jo liked and took home with her to finish. Life got busy so when I purchased my longarm, I brought it back home with me to quilt. No doubt Jo knew it was being finished but she was too kind to enquire. Anyway, now it is done and I believe it will have a home on her brass bed, a suitable place for it.

Even though the day was sunny and I didn’t use my flash, the quilt still looks washed out in this photo.....

I quilted very simple lines and shapes in the trees and houses and also quilted some swirling wind motifs in the sky area.

Quilting this ribbon design made for quick work on the centre.

I used Wilton Easy Image T-Shirt Transfers to transfer the photos of my Mom.

I also made my sister a large bag. She and Mom used to run their errands together and I know going it alone without Mom is tough. This way, she can still take Mom along with her.

Mom’s loves were many, but she especially loved gardens. She always had a vegie garden, even if it was only tomatoes as it was this summer. She loved plants and flowers and I remember thinking when I bought it that I would use this whimsical fabric to make something for her. This wasn’t exactly what I had in mind, but I think both pieces are perfect backgrounds for the great photos Joanne took of Mom holding tulips she had bought for her.

Same bag, other side.

I used the simple photo editing on my Mac and Wilton easy image transfer sheets to transfer the photos. The sheets are available at Michaels and Wal-mart used to carry them though I am not sure if they still do. The directions are easy to follow and although you can use any iron with the steam turned off, I feel I have gotten the best results using my “vintage” heavy iron without any steam holes for the transferring. I have several of these old irons which are perfect for use when using transfer sheets, transfer paints and heat setting fabric dyes and paints. 

Cabbage Roses

I really planned on trying out a pantograph pattern with this quilt. But, somehow by the time I got it all loaded and ready to quilt, I was seeing my big cabbage roses scattered all over. Without even thinking about it, I started lightly sketching my designs in with chalk. And it appears I found a place to use those cotton candy bobbins!

This is a card trick top that I pieced eons ago. For many years there was a very successful Quilt Fair each year in Moncton that was organized by the local YWCA. It was billed as the biggest Quilt Fair east of Montreal and attracted many, both quilters and non-quilters. Numerous dignitaries came to buy quilts for gifts of state, to find quilts for their tourist shops, to decorate their clients homes. As well as displaying finished quilts, there was also a venue for craft items and tops. When my children were small, I used to piece tops for sale and this is one I kept. And now it is proving to be a useful part of my longarm training.

Snowless and liking it!

Sleep doesn’t come easy to me of late so I try to be productive if and when I am wandering round the house in the wee hours. Binding this quilt was one of those middle of the night projects.

The borders are balanced yet different because I cut up one screen printed panel for all four sides. I made the binding by cutting strips of 3 different fabrics (all of which are in the top), cutting each strip end with a 45 degree angle and then sewing the strips together randomly. I think it adds just a little more than a solid binding would have and ties it all together nicely.

Today I had the presence of mind to take a photo of it outdoors while the sun was shining. I would like to note the complete lack of snow on my deck and the green grass peeking through below! Each year I convince myself this will be the year snow will bypass us completely and each year I am so completely disappointed when it does snow. Once I have my annual hissy fit because I do not live under palm trees - and we all know that is where I should live! - I do embrace winter and snow shoe with the best of them. But, I could live without the snow and the snow shoes. 

Backing made with one screen printed panel bordered with a solid black.

Play and learn

This is my latest piece just off the longarm. I am learning as I go and this was no exception. I had a lot of fun with it because it is in essence an edge to edge freeform design with a bunch of circles and pebbles and echoing added to keep me practicing. By the time I got to the last of it, I had figured a number of things out - all good in my books.

Once again I used Glide marigold thread in the top and bobbin - a choice made easy by having extra bobbins wound from the last quilt. I assume I will eventually be able to better gauge the number I need for a project, but I guess that would also require me knowing what I was going to do before I started. Anyway, my way of solving the problem is to order more bobbins tomorrow. And maybe find a small table runner that would could be quilted with those 3 leftover bobbins of cotton candy pink....lol 

This photo looks a little wonky because the quilt is still on the frame and draped over the rollers. 

I happen to have a fair stock of fabric choices at hand and still, I went for these pigs.....hard to explain but most of my choices are intuitive. I get into trouble when I start ignoring that inner voice so I have learned to stick with what feels right to me. 

Hmmmm....now what next?

Anything Goes

This past weekend saw us on the road to Halifax, NS where we attended the 33rd annual "For The Health Of It", a fundraiser of the 8 Health Science facilities of Dalhousie University. My daughter is presently completing her Masters in Physiotherapy and her PT class was one of the schools participating. The show was hilarious and it felt good to laugh and be entertained. Each school had 15 minutes to preform a play and it had to include a dance number. At the 13 minute mark, a woman with a very large gong appeared on stage and if your play went to 15 minutes, she was to make that gong ring! A few of the groups eventually shared the stage with the gong lady though all managed to finish their performances before she could make some noise. We were all kind of disappointed....in sad little way....haha

Each school submitted the name of a cause and they voted to see who, or what charity or non-profit organization would receive this years funds. Then the schools competed to raise the most funds for the chosen cause. The PT class was very, very excited to have their cause chosen, especially since it was a program very near and dear to the heart of one of their own PT faculty! When we learned this woman was also the founder of the fundraiser when she was a student of the same PT program, it seemed serendipitous that her group finally received the monies raised.

Although the plays were all fun and well rehearsed, and all the dance numbers were excellent, we were of course thrilled for the PT class when they won Crowd Favorite as well as the coveted trophy! Add to that glory that they raised over 9000.00 of the almost 30,000.00 for Halifax’s Community Living program and it was an exciting night for the students involved!

Simone is no stranger to the stage, but it had been quite a few years since she had last stood under the spotlights in costume. So, it was indeed fun to see her in her Drama glory again and know how much she was enjoying it! We have a lot of stage history and I reminded of it when I spotted these photos from her high school drama days in some of my Mom’s things. 

These are from a production of “Anything Goes” and I can’t even remember how many costume pieces I built for that musical though I know it was well over 30. There was a vision for this production (as there was for them all) and I think I just ran out of steam and time because I know those 4 suits were supposed to have fur collars on the jackets. 

I especially liked the polka dot middy tops and twirly shorts! I think they were for a tap number.....

To be honest, I don’t think I made these halter tops, but I do remember something to do with those pants....slinky, stretchy and generally difficult fabric stays with you. And most stage costumes are made to shine and move and flow. So there was usually a lot of glitter and feathers and sequins and such involved. Every once in a while I spot yet another bit of colored boa that has been trapped under one of our heating vents for quite a few years, remnants of a life past....lol 

I miss the excitement of behind the stage. I met some great people, had lots of laughs, learned a lot!, and really enjoyed the time spent with my daughter and assorted family members who travelled from far and wide to help out. Our family is like that; not only did they come to see the finished show, they came to help build the sets and costumes. Good times. Good memories.

Will it go round in circles....

So, right now this is making me happy. It is not what I had “loosely" planned for the quilting design when I first loaded the quilt, but this appears to be where I am. I am really enjoying practising those little circles - which require me to be very patient. At this point, making them is very slow going.

I did take a break to get out of my jammies and go see Life of Pi in 3D and if you are considering seeing it, I recommend going. We really enjoyed it. As well as having a very compelling storyline, it is a visual feast! If you are still in the theatre when the credits start rolling, you will see just how many people were involved in creating the movie in the 3 locations of India, Taiwan and Montreal. Simply amazing. 

Barbados sunshine

This quilt has almost felt like cheating, but I have to admit, this speedy quilting design is effective and I like it! I have loved this quilt top since I pieced it - quite a while ago - and I have wanted to quilt it for just as long. I made several tops in this design, a simple rail fence block with lots of opportunity for play and layout possibilities. I used to keep a basket of these blocks near my sewing and my children would spend hours laying them on the floor in different patterns. 

The majority of the fabric used in this top is from Barbados. My parents had a  second home there for approximately 30 years and when they were there, it was guaranteed that Mom would check out the many fabric stores for beautiful screen printed panels to bring back home. Mom was always excited to find sea island cotton to sew with and for good reason! This beautiful, luxurious fabric drapes amazingly and just feels so darn good. It has a sheen to it that most polished cottons nowadays cannot even come close to. And sewing with it is a dream! I remember Mom making me blouses and dresses from sea island cotton that I loved to wear because they felt so comfy yet were so crisp and fresh all the time. Some of these panels I used in this top were printed on this wonderful fabric and I even integrated a full panel as part of the backing. 

I didn’t want to quilt anything too dense so this ribbon design seemed a good choice. It was such a quick and fun design to quilt, I am thinking I may just have to use it again soon....as in on the next quilt to go on the machine! Quilt tops seem to be showing up in unexpected corners and this simple yet effective quilting pattern could work for a couple of them. I used this gorgeous marigold Glide thread by Fil-Tec and am loving how it works so well with the fabric!

I also find I am starting to relax a bit more too as I quilt - yesterday I caught myself driving one handed! Which is good except I had a snack firmly gripped in the other hand.....hmmm.....maybe I should follow the rules of the road and maintain the recommended 10 and 2 and keep the kitchen in the kitchen. Wish me luck!

Today I am connecting with The Needle and Thread Network.