Happy Easter.....

even though I haven't been posting here so often, my work blog is always kept up-to-date, Whispering Hills Fabrics!  I have been working on a couple of Spring projects - easy applique that were sooooo fun to make....

Mod Tweet - A fun, crisp, modern applique baby quilt...

Another fun, modern quilt by Metropolitan Quilt Company..... quick applique

Some Sewing....

I did some sewing during the weekend and put together my ornament blocks from the ornament swap that was hosted by Betsy. This actually turned out a bit larger than I thought, but I did add a few of my own blocks. I found just the best border fabric at Craft Connection AND I got it about a week after I ordered it - which is really great considering the time of year. Thanks to all the ladies who participated.





I also have one more block finished in my wool applique rendition of the quilt, Chestermere. This is the third block. I find that I enjoy having a hand project to work on at guild or at night when I am watching TV, so it might not take too long to get a good sized quilt made. The background fabrics are homespun.. so this quilt will be very very prim.

Wool Applique

Happy November - Christmas just keeps getting closer and closer - LOL. I am working on another few blocks (don't know how many I am actually going to do) from the Chestermere Block of the Month Quilt, that was designed by my friend Laurel Francis, of Shaggy Dog Designs. I made this quilt a couple of years ago in homespun fabrics - it is the quilt that is in my profile picture. You can also see a picture of it here. This was my first attempt at a hand applique quilt - and needless to say, without the encouragement of Laurel, I doubt if I would have finished it. I have decided to do some more blocks in wool applique - and wool applique is a whole lot easier than hand applique!

Thought for the Day

Those who wish to sing, always find a song.

Swedish Proverb

Happy Thanksgiving.....

This is the frost I woke up to yesterday morning.... it was cooolllld.... but today it has warmed up to above freezing, so Magpie and I can have our daily walk. We did walk yesterday in the afternoon, but the wind was biting. This view is out my front door..... As it is Thanksgiving weekend end Canada, I want to wish all my friends a happy "turkey" day... I am thankful for my wonderful family and friends, and the new life I have found.


I made another pumpkin wallhanging when I taught this class earlier in the week. I like to "quilt" along with my students.... sometimes I end up with a few of the same things! I like this darker colorway... and I added a crow on the pumpkin...



While I was working away on this little wallhanging... I decided I needed a little "Autumn" jacket of some kind... so I used my applique pieces and made a jacket out a sweatshirt. I really enjoyed making this... took an afternoon....

Thought for The Day
As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Autumn Wallhanging....

I have finished instructions for this wall hanging that I am going to teach at the Local Quilt Store.... it's a quick project and should be able to be completed within 2 hours or so.... I used some felted wool in the taller pumpkim and I think it turned out pretty good.

Thought for the Day

You can teach a student a lesson for a day; but if you can teach him to learn by creating curiosity, he will continue the learning process as long as he lives.

Clay P. Bedford

Sew Excited.......

I was wandering around blogland a couple of weeks ago and came across an absolutely delightful Australian Site - The Quilted Crow. I really, really liked all of their patterns, but I came across a quilt... and knew I had to have this pattern. I emailed them and after a couple of days they got back to me and said, yes, they shipped to Canada... AND would I like to purchase a kit for this pattern... as they had one left. I purchased it (of course, I need another UFO - LOL) and believe it or not... the package arrived about 10 days later!! I might just add some wool to this pattern, as the pattern seems to lend itself to wool. The ladies at the Quilted Crow are so great.... if you get a chance to stop by their website or blog please do. I know I will be wandering back there often.

Thought for the Day
Life becomes precious and more special to us when we look for the little everyday miracles and get excited about the privileges of simply being human.
Tim Hansel

5 MONTHS TILL CHRISTMAS!!!.....

once again, that got someone's attention! I was thinking that this a.m. and in the course of the afternoon decided to start one of my UFO's - Reindeer Frolic. I have decided NOT to do needleturn applique - mainly because I would never get it done :) ... but have decided to make the appliques white wool and to machine button hole stitch around the them. I have completed two blocks.... the middle block, and one of ten of the other blocks.... a good project to work at slowly, but surely....

Dresden blocks finished.....

I finished two quilts from some vintage Dresden Plate blocks that I received from my mother-in-law. These blocks were purchased by her at a garage sale at the retirement centre in Penticton, B.C. The actual "dresdens" were pieced together - some by hand and some by machine... and only about three were hand appliqued to backgrounds. I finished hand appliquing these to the backgrounds. I didn't have enough of the original purple so I had to purchase some and these turned into the second quilt..... The fabrics for the dresdens are late 40's or early 50's and really are quite amazing.

I have a few orphan blocks from this set that I received - two large white blocks, two purple blocks - each different purple backgrounds - and 4 dresdens that need to be appliqued to a background. If there is anyone out there that would like these - please email me and I would be glad to send them to you. I cannot make ANYMORE of these - LOL..... and I hate to waste them. They might make great pillows or bags....

Thought for the Day
There is nothing so easy to learn as experience and nothing so hard to apply.
Josh Billings

More Quilt Retreat......

I also finished my 12 blocks the Baltimore Bunnies quilt that I am making. They were originally designed for hand applique but I couldn't face that! - LOL.... so I will machine applique them. They have been fused and now have to be satin stitched. THEN.... the borders have to be appliqued..... it is a beautiful pattern... and I hope to have a grand daughter that I can give it to one day.

This pattern is from Bunny Hill Designs, and I purchased it as a Block of the Month. You may remember that I also taught the All Things Christmas pattern as a Block of the Month - so this will be the second of her patterns that I have completed. I LOVE her designs ..... and if time permitted I would do them all!

This is my good friend Shirley - at our retreat. She is doing some hand work - she does the most amazing crazy patch quilting. You can see some of her work here.... She made the wonderful crazy patch wall hanging that was raffled off for Boston Terrier Rescue - she's always a great supporter and a really good friend. Shirley also teaches and has an online fibre arts group - Learning Fiber Arts. This is a great group that offers FREE classes.

Thought for the Day
Don't prepare the path for the child, prepare the child for the path.
Anonymous

Time Flies....

Gosh... time sure flies when the weather gets nice!! We finally have spring weather and I have spent the last few days planting a few flowers and cleaning up the yard... Of course, I managed a bit of sewing also....I made two blocks for a guild charity quilt - these will be the last blocks for the year - and I managed to finish my All Things Christmas Quilt. This is a block of the month class that I am teaching at Traditional Pastimes in Calgary. It is an adorable quilt and I can't wait to quilt it.

Quilting Weekend....

Returned yesterday from a wonderful retreat weekend - I got lots of sewing done - all in the peace and quiet beside the Bow River at North Bow Lodge. I finished my son's high school graduation quilt - it is a simple machine applique done in oriental red and black. The quilting is simple in the center, but in the borders I quilted Chinese words - Peace, Harmoney, Happiness. I am quite happy with the quilting and think that I will put the Chinese words on the back with an explanation as to what they are. He is the last one in the entire family to graduate!

I also completed the blocks in my "All Things Christmas" machine applique quilt - I am quite pleased with them - and now I have to button hole stitch the blocks. The border also has an appliqued scalloped edge . The class I am teaching at Traditional Pastimes is coming along very well. Most students have completed the blocks and are learning to applique.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Rudeness is a weak person's attempt at strength.
Casey

WOOL APPLIQUE...

I have four more blocks done on my Greenbrier quilt - the wool for these are hand dyed by me, with the exception of a couple of pieces that I purchased. This past few days I dyed a few more pieces as I didn't have enough background blocks. The pattern called for mostly red but I decided to go with some purple and light purple blocks also. The quilt will definately be bright. The instructions also call for mixing some cotton fabric in with the wool and this is a really nice touch for the quilt.

PLEASE don't forget to make a donation to Boston Terrier Club of Canada Rescue - you might win that gorgeous wall hanging!!

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

It is more blessed to give than to receive

Act 20:35

TEACHING A CLASS...

I am currently teaching a Block of the Month Class at Traditional Pastimes in Calgary, Alberta. The pattern is All Things Christmas by Bunny Hill Designs. The quilt is a mixture of pieced blocks and applique - our class is going to machine applique the blocks rather than hand applique them; but, the pattern has such big shapes that the blocks would be easy to hand applique. Most of the fabric being used is from a line from Moda called Roman Holiday... it is a really cute line of fabric that does not have traditional Christmas Colors and has a real folk art look. I generally like to pick my own fabrics for quilts - but I just LOVED the way this quilt turned out with Moda Fabrics! The class is running for four sessions and I have decided to make the quilt along with my students because I really love the little quilt so much. What really made it easy is that the shop has kitted the entire quilt - so each block has the fabric all ready to go PLUS Traditional Pastimes also includes a list of what fabric goes with what block or applique.
I finished Block One, Block Two,and Block Three but haven't done any of the embellishing yet on the blocks.
That is done easier after it is machine quilted so that the quilter (who will be me) won't catch any of the embellishments. Stay tuned over the months to see how this little gem is progressing.

QUILTING HEAVEN.....

I am in quilting heaven right now..... This quilt is my oldest UFO (unfinished object). It is a hand appliqued quilt that I started around 2000 and is called The Country Bride Quilt. At the time I decided to learn to hand applique - didn't know anything about it, but read several books, took a class and magically thought this quilt could be done up in a flash. HA!! Well, after all these years and several stabs at different types of hand applique - freezer paper up and down, glue, needleturn, etc (who knew there were so many types) - this little baby is done!! BUT..... what's the best part of this quilt - NO, not the applique - it's all the blank spaces, blank spaces for wonderful feathers. I cannot wait to get this quilt on the frame to quilt it. I see wonderful feather wreaths in the plain blocks and perhaps more feathers outlining the applique blocks. Many of the fabrics used in this quilt were hand dyed - I bought the hand dyes - at the time i wasn't dying my own fabric like I am now. I have no idea who this quilt will be for. I always thought it would be a wonderful wedding quilt - but, no one in the family is scheduled for a big event, so perhaps it will have to stay in my quilt stash AND another project crossed off the list, but alas, moved to the quilting list! LOL

Thought for The Day

Enjoy!

YEAH.... IT'S FRIDAY!!

Another week comes and goes!! This week has been busy with lots of stuff - but I managed to get a bit of sewing in. I am in an internet blockswap and I made these two blocks for my partner - the specifications were autumn fabric and the block design was left to me. I didn't realize until I uploaded this picture that the background fabric is exactly the same color as the floor!! LOL

A very good friend of mine is really struggling right now and I decided to make her something to cheer her up. This little wall hanging is called "Quilter's Angel, The protector of all things Unfinished"! It is by a Canadian and Calgarian designer, Applepatch Designs. Terry's patterns are quick and easy and great stash busters!!

My Thought for the Day quote today is especially meaningful to me, because in this day and age I think very often we don't treat each other very nice. This quote is by Rabbi Smuley who has a program on Oprah.com radio. I think that we have lost the art of politeness, and integrity, and caring for each other. We sometimes do not respect differences and we do not respect each other. I love the relevancy of this quote - because it makes you think about how you treat others.

Thought for The Day

"Morality is determined by how you treat the people you don't need" Rabbi Shmuley

WOOL APPLIQUE

I am just in love with wool applique and have started a project called Greenbrier, pattern by Sue Spargo. Here is a picture of the centre block :







I have hand dyed all the wool using an acid dye bath. My friend Anna Hergert provided me with dyes and directions on how to do this. I really enjoyed the dye process, although it is a little long to watch boiling dye and wool on the stove! The end result is going to be a lovely quilt - I have a few more blocks to put around the outside. I decided not to use a traditional blanket stitch on all the blocks as i really like the primitive look that a whip stitch gives. This is a really good winter project - fingers are crossed that it will be done by the time this winter is over!