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

Maggie Makes a Quilt

Most Wednesday mornings find me around the quilt frame at the church but last week our small circle did something just a little different. 

Maggie, our brave and fearless ACW President, frequently drops by to check our progress and cheer us on. When encouraged to pull up a chair she has always maintained that she could never do what we do. Fair enough. But lots happens before a flimsy gets put up on the frame so we convinced her to join us in a day of sewing to help create a few more quilt tops to include with this year’s Quilts for Survivors (QFS) shipment. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to invite other quilters, past and present, to join in the fun, including our rectors. And, just like that, Maggie Makes a Quilt Day was born.

I was hoping for some great progress on our sew day so I drafted a pattern for a simple Bricks quilt in advance and circulated it, so several people came with quilts precut and ready to go.

These are the fabrics for the first one that I cut and which Maggie set to work on.

And I also cut this combo for a second one - very similar, but a little lighter.

These gorgeous pinks and golds were cut by another quilter - so soft and delicate.

I also cut 6.5" squares for two Crossroads quilts using burgundies mostly from Jean's stash and randomly inserted the 1" strips before our workshop so that it would be quicker to assemble. 

Jean had donated most of the fabrics. Intent on using all of it up, I cut out two tops but not before I did several deep dives into my stash to squeak out enough fabrics that would work. I don't tend to buy burgundy so I really had to dig deep.

This print has been around for ages and I still love it; it makes a terrific binding too.

About a dozen of us arrived at the hall bright and early, sewing machines and irons in hand (Maggie, for some reason, brought a healthy supply of band aids; not quite sure what she thought that we were going to put her through!). The room was humming in no time.

We were also very fortunate to have a couple of folks volunteer to press seams for us, which moved things along beautifully.

It turned out to be a very fun and productive day; next time I'll show you our progress....M