Quilters Meet and Greet

First of all I'd like to welcome any new quilters to my blog who found me via Quilters Online Meet and Greet.   A huge thank you to Benita for arranging this.

Be sure to visit all the featured quilters ... there are prizes to be won !

Wife, mom, stepmom, sister, grandma (aka beppe), kitchen nerd, quilting addict... that about sums me up right now.

 In my 20's I dreamed of making quilts, but work, family and life in general kept me pretty busy until the end of 2011 when my quilting journey began.

 

I was still working full time, recently turned 50, widowed and remarried to a wonderful man. An empty nester with a husband who loves to do all the yard work...this girl nedded a new hobby!

In December of 2011 my sister-in-law, Betty, passed away.  Betty had a passion for quilting and while I was in BC for the funeral I think I read most of her more basic how-to quilting books and thought I really wanted to give it a go. 

This picture is from 2015, just before we closed up the cafe where I'd worked for over 30 years.   Yes, of course there were quilts on the walls :)

 My husband's late wife, Gloria, was also an avid quilter, the appliqued quilt in the background was made by Gloria. 

My husband still had all the supplies and a good stash to get me started, so off  surfing I went.  Books, magazines and the internet were my teachers.

Amanda Jean's Crazy Mom Quilts was such an inspiration for me as I began to learn this addictively relaxing art.  I love her use of scraps and her blog is always one that I still refer back to.  This is one of my favourite quilts, it's from Amanda Jean's book, Sunday Morning Quilts.

Bonnie Hunter's blog is another one I'm always checking out. I haven't made any of her patterns yet but I've learned many little tips from her...who would have thought you could flip seams?!!

Seven years later, still quilting, still learning.  Now semi-retired, with more grandbabies joining the family, life is great.  

My 2 sewing spaces are an unfinished basement room with 2 walls covered in flannel sheets for design boards and an unused living room where I usually finish off the quilts since the basement room is generally a creative mess!

My Janome Memory Craft 9000 is my only sewing machine.  I've finished all my own quilts, either hand quilting or on the Janome.  I started off just quilting straight lines, then tried freemotion, and hand quilting.  Free motion is usually my choice if in a hurry, but hand quilting is definitely my favourite look.

This year my goal is to join a local quilt guild. I'm really looking forward to it, but a bit anxious as well as I'm pretty  much self taught.

Thanks for stopping by!

"MEMORIES"

(Log Cabin and Churn Dash)

This quilt started with the 9" log cabin squares

.

Then while surfing online I came across these fun scrappy churn dash blocks at Crazy Mom Quilts





Amanda Jeans tutorial was for an 8 1/2" block, but I made mine 9" so I could use them with my scrappy log cabins. I was getting a bit bored with the log cabin blocks...I figured I'd end up with a finished quilt much quicker if I combined the 2.

But, how to arrange them?

or:

ending up with this layout:

Backed with a "repurposed" duvet cover 

and bound with a tea green gingham.

..just ignore those stray threads, they'll be gone eventually!
I did the label a bit different, and applique shape to fit in the quilting motif which was basically a large orange peel motif.

54" x 54"

freemotion quilting

timeline: March - August 2018

Linking up with:

Confessions of a Fabric Addict - Can I Get a Whoop Whoop?

"SWEET DREAMS"

(July Shop-Hop / 2018)

  

This was my first year shop-hopping, for sure I'll be participating each July now that I've started. 

I was quite out of my comfort zone with all the beige, creamy tones.

I had some blue in my stash that worked well with all that beige.  At Kaleidescope of  Quilts in Exeter I picked up a bargain bag of beige, brownish scraps that could work for cornerstones and borders.

Freemotion quilting, I've been hooked on large stitch quilting with perle cotton lately, but I wanted to get this one done, and I needed to practice my fmq skills since I hadn't done any for a good half year.

My first attempt at spray bastng.  I liked the result, no pins to deal with and so much easier on the knees!  I still haven't washed the quilt, so I'm curious to see how it is after washing and drying.

Early morning photo shoot... best time of the day for quilting, not sure if it's the best for photography.

The backing is a "repurposed (?) "  duvet cover.   100 % cotton and soooo soft.

46" x 50"
freemotion quilting

timeline: July- Aug 6/18

Linking up with:
Main Crush Monday
Monday Making
Design Wall Monday

Linen and Lattice

" 

A cute little quilt made with a charm pack of  "Linen and Lawn".  

Showing off our new little tree and our blooming clematis.

Here it looks much larger than it really is.

Hand quilted with pearl cotton.   My first time using this lovely thread, and I am in love with it.  I love the vintage look of the thicker, larger stitches.... 

I've already started quilting my next one with pearl cotton!

Fabric: Linen and Lawn (Sue Dailey) and various scraps/stash

Inspiration:  missourri star quilt co video

Quilting: Hand quilted with pearl cotton

Size: 37.5 x 32.5

Timeline: ???? May - June 2018

Linking up with: 

- Lorna of "Sew Fresh Quilts" at "Let's Bee Social" HERE

-"Can I Get  a Whoop Whoop" HERE

"MY SISTER'S HOUSE"

(updated from 2015)
I had been searching for cute house blocks to inspire me with a quilt I wanted to make for my sister.

She had done a long overdue facelift to her kitchen.   Dark cabinets were painted, wallpaper was peeled, walls were painted, red bricks were painted ....  This lovely, fresh country kitchen was the perfect spot for a little quilt!

 When I first saw Lori Holt's "Farm Girl Vintage" book, I knew I'd found the inspiration I needed! 

It did take me a while to figure out exactly which blocks to use, so many choices.

Finally, figured out a group I liked

And the final quilt:

... In it's new home at "My Sister's House".... one of my favourite places !!!

"Great Little Grand"

As you may have guessed from the title, this one's for my great-grandchild, the first of the greats... and yes, it's a boy, due the beginning of  September.

I blogged more about this quilt  a while ago .

Backed with a fun Minky print.

My little helper,

warming up to the job.

Hand quilted.

Backed with Minky.

48 x 60

2016 BOM FINISH

Finally, quilted and bound ....  and gifted.

Another one for my sister, I'm sure her sweet grandkids will put it to good use.

It took 2 years, this is the 2106 Block of the Month from Stitcherdickorydock, but it's done!  Figuring out what to do with the 12 original blocks was the most time consuming part of the whole process.  Most of this one is stash and scraps.  The backing is a lovely paisley flannel sheet rescued from a thrift store.

I did all the quilting by hand, it kept my restless foot syndrome somewhat at bay during the long evenings of this past winter....  the joys of aging:)