More From Quilt Walk

I've got more inspiration for you from Mad About Patchwork's Quilt Walk that Jane and I enjoyed last weekend and I'll start with this beauty. It's Echinacea by Anna Maria Horner and it was one of Jane's faves. I have a tendency to make lighter coloured quilts but I would make an exception for this one; it is machine appliquéd. I believe that there is also a fabric line that echoes this floral design but with slightly different colouring.

When a quilt pattern/kit was available through the shop they placed a pink star near the quilt label, a great idea. We looked for the pattern in the shop but came up empty handed however, it looks like there might be a kit in their online shop.

This Super Mario themed quilt was at a completely different scale - thousands of 1" blocks. I believe I counted 289 tiny squares in just one of the border blocks! I know I tend to seek out small pieces to work with but holy moly!

And while we were admiring the teenie tiny aspects of the show we came across this beautiful quilt, which I believe is a Jen Kingwell pattern.

Jane was enthralled by the size of those little Churn Dash blocks which I'm thinking were about 4".

There were a few pumpkin-themed quilts in one area but the corner that we both were drawn to housed the Christmas quilts, complete with a 10-foot sparkling pink metallic tree! Somehow it seemed to fit right in.

This fun little quilt was made from small panels with little creatures in each of the houses. Jane really took a liking to it as well but unfortunately the panel/pattern were not available.

These reindeer reminded me of a pillow that I made for Christmas a few years ago for my great niece. It's very sweet as a full quilt.

And, despite my square quilt aversion, I liked this one too - it would be a fun seasonal wall hanging.

We think that this might have been a Sue Spargo design but I don't think we ever confirmed that.

Wouldn't this one be absolutely darling for a little boy's room? Love both the colours and the pattern. The pattern is Grisly Grove but the maker calls it Beary Cozy.

And there was a large collection of minis, which I believe were all original designs; guests were encouraged to vote for their favourite. I didn't actually cast a ballot but this one made me smile. It's called On Grain.

With over 200 quilts on offer this is just a small sample of what we saw, but it gives you a good sense of the creativity we enjoyed under a beautiful treed canopy. 

This sign near the exit nicely captures the sentiment of quilting that I think we can all relate to....M

An Inspiring Quilt Walk

We just enjoyed a picture perfect autumn weekend - crisp temperatures, lots of sunshine, and blue, blue skies - the kind of weekend that's ideal for a stroll in the woods. So why not enjoy ogling lots of beautiful quilts hung from said trees at the same time?

On Saturday, Jane and I drove to Stittsville to check out Mad About Patchwork's Outdoor Quilt Show, and it did not disappoint. Set along a beautiful wooded .6 km loop trail that is adjacent to their shop, we got to admire over 200 quilts. Apparently this is the largest outdoor show of its kind in Canada.

Where to begin? There's lots of eye candy to share so this may well roll over into a few posts. We arrived at 10:15 am thinking that we'd be early but the lot was already full and cars were being parked across the road. A collection of quilts were hung in front of the shop which I believe had been made in classes offered by the shop, all very fun.

Ali, the bubbly shop's owner, greeted all of her guests at the trail entrance. Admission was free but they welcomed donations for Quilts for Survivors, Quilts of Valour, and Victoria's Quilts, a great idea.

This past summer the shop hosted its inaugural online Summer Sew-Along. For 7 weeks, 1,500 makers around the globe stitched hexies, admired each others work, debated basting styles and cheered each other on.

All of the participants were invited to send in a flower (it was amazing to see how much of the globe they covered!), all of which will be stitched together into a commemorative quilt.

So, how about I share a few quilts that caught our eye? Postcards From Sweden, the bright HST quilt on the right side of this pic, is a lovely pattern and one that really appeals to me - it did not disappoint in person. And that horizontal banner? There were several of them throughout the show, all different and all made by the shop, and they added even more interest.

As I was explaining to Jane just how much Roberta loves this Sparrows pattern and her hopes to make it one day, she leaned in to look at the tag with the quilt details. It was quilted by none other than Roberta! Turns out she had quilted several of the works on display.

It took me a minute to register what I was looking at with this one. It's Miss Penelope, made up in a much darker palette than mine but equally impactful. The maker did an excellent job of selecting her fabrics.

These bunnies really caught my eye. I think that it's an Elizabeth Hartman pattern and it's just adorable. Can you imagine sleeping under this as a child? How special.

I am not a paper piecer but it was difficult not to admire the work in this mermaid.  

The piecing was incredibly complex, to say nothing of the quilting. I can't imagine how long it took to make. Thinking that if it had been made at my hand Jack the Ripper would have been a busy guy.

The shop caters to more to a modern vibe so most of the quilts were very contemporary, but there were a few more traditional ones tucked in for good measure.

And being able to easily see both the front and back of each quilt meant discovering additional tidbits and details, like this strip of tiny bright squares running through that gorgeous green up the back of a quilt. I was so enthralled with this idea that I didn't think to check and see what was on the front!

That's it for now but I will have lots more to share in my next post. Inspiring, isn't it?....M

Lovin' My Bordered Nine-Patch

Incredibly, my Bordered Nine-Patch is all together! I started this hand stitching project thinking that it would take me well into the fall/winter but I've been able to surprise myself with an early finish, and I just love it.

After a fairly uninspiring start I was questioning if I just hadn't figured out the secret to making this pattern sing but eventually, as more and more variety in colour and print came into play it came into its own. 

A huge shout out to Linda at KokaQuilts for her inspiration. Her blocks and finished quilt were just a tad larger than mine but so lovely.

I have to say that the idea of that three-inch-block border is brilliant - it takes the humble Nine-Patch and adds just that little bit of interest to take everything to the next level.

My August post about this flimsy showed a map of how I laid out the blocks in strips to sew them together. That was all done by hand but then I moved to the machine to sew all of the strips together, which saved me a lot of time.

This quilt was an attempt to make a bit of a dent in my 2.5" squares and strips, and it's done that. But fear not, there's plenty more where these came from so I anticipate making more of these in the future. And I suspect that each will take on it's own colour story given that the scraps on hand will vary each time it's made, which will be fun to see. This one is delightfully autumnal....M

Maggie Makes a Quilt, Part 2

Today I've got more show and tell as to what we accomplished at Maggie Makes a Quilt.

It turns out that Maggie did have a little sewing experience, having made a jumper years ago in Home Ec, so she easily sewed all of the strips for her quilt together before lunch. Matthew (our rector) was our second rookie, using a machine for the first time and he too proved to be an excellent study. 

Because it's easy to either flip a row or sew them out of order, especially in a room full of chatter and distractions, I numbered each row using a piece of painter's tape, which really helped keep our novices on track. No point ripping when you don't have to!

Between the two of them, and with a little help from me, they had a completed quilt top to their credit by day's end. Love this colour combo.

We completed five quilt tops, four in the Bricks pattern, and each was a pretty as the next. The strips for a sixth Bricks are all together and have been taken home by one of our worker bees for final assembly.

Jean's fabrics were very sophisticated, several of which were brought back from South Africa by her daughter a few years ago. This one would have been nice using a coffee coloured solid as well.

Here is one of the two Crossroads quilts that was cut. The richness of the prints isn't coming through very well on this photo, but the flimsy is lovely.

There were several times as I was cutting these squares and inserting those strips that I questioned the combination of prints that I had, but it turned out beautifully.

The blocks for the second Crossroads flimsy was also farmed out to be completed by someone at home, which will bring our total to eight. YAY! And all without having to break into Maggie’s band aid supply!

There were suggestions that we do this again and I believe that Maggie Makes a Quilt Day 2.0 will happen some time next spring, which we'll look forward to. There was also a suggestion that our next workshop include wine; not sure what that would do for productivity….M