More from the Show

I've got a few more pics from last weekend's quilt show to share with you. Blue and white quilts have long been a fave so it's no surprise that I was drawn to this one. It looks like an antique but it's not - it's just the fabric and the pattern that come together to make it so. I believe it was called Julia's Quilt; so timeless.

And then there was this one. While not totally blue and white it leaves the impression of a two colour quilt. It too had a very traditional feel to it. Look at how densely those blocks are quilted!

So soft.

This little snowman making snow angels couldn't help but put a smile on my face.

And then there were these two small quilts made using the same pattern by the same woman, but in two different colour ways.

If memory serves me correctly both were for her grandchildren. Interesting how the different background colours changes the feel of the quilt even though the little woodland character colours are the same in both.

I took this pic just to prove that there is someone out there more anal than I. See that little Dresden cornerstone? It is in a 2-inch square, which means that those teenie tiny Dresden blades are REALLY teenie tiny!

The show was a lovely way to spend a few hours with friends and a chance to bump into, and catch up with, others. Given that it was hosted by the Log Cabin Quilters it was festooned with lovely garlands of large Log Cabin blocks, a nice touch that also reflected the individuality of the guild members....M

Night & Day

Quilts of Valour Canada had a booth at the quilt show so a few of us each bought packets that included the fabric and instructions to make a block for their Hug Blocks Project. What a brilliant idea! I picked the Night & Day Star block and the fabrics are very patriotic red and white/cream prints.

I decided that it would be more prudent to get mine together right away rather than add it to a TO DO list where it might just languish. It's just one block but when it disappears into a list of mine there is no telling when it might emerge.

There was just enough fabric so I was doubly careful when following the cutting instructions.

It is a 9" block and was a quick bit of quilty satisfaction (it's always great when the final product looks like the instructions, isn't it?) and is now ready to be shipped. I'll see if the  others have their blocks ready so that I can include them all in the same packet. Want to gt in on the fun? All the info you need can be found on their website...M

p.s. A reminder to Red Shoes to email me your name and mailing address so that I can get your Lemoyne Star ruler off to you. Thanks!

Double the Fun

Today's the day for announcing the winner of the Lemoyne Star rule giveaway and I thought I'd send congratulations out to the winners with a pretty little bouquet of pansies. They always seem to be at their best just before I replace them with the summer annuals so I'm going to try and stretch them out so that I can enjoy them just a little bit longer.

And, I have a nice little surprise to share with you about the draw. Jane decided that she was going to add her ruler to the pot so there are actually two winners. How nice is that? Double the fun!

Thanks to everyone for playing along with the giveaway. I loved reading all of your comments about what you would like to make with the ruler and hope that the winners enjoy their new tool. Without further ado, the lucky winners as chosen by The Official Cookie Tester are Sue SA and Red Shoes.

Congratulations gals! Please email me your name and mailing address (cheesman @ nrtco.net without the spaces) so that I can get your rulers off to you and you can start creating.

On a slightly different note, a small crew of us got together for brunch and then enjoyed the quilt show in nearby Petawawa hosted by the Log Cabin Quilters guild. I always love seeing what inspires other quilters to pick up a needle and thread and create their masterpieces.

A surprise to me is that there is now a local Modern Quilt Guild in the area. It sounds like a small but mighty crew. This little 'Sister Mary Merlot' quilt made by one of their members made me smile. It was only about 14" square and was created based on a cocktail napkin of the same design. LOVE it, though I think that mine would be called 'Sister Mary Malbec'. 😇

There was lots of variety to hold our interest and several great vendors too. This scrappy tulip would be wonderful for a charity quilt - so bright and cheery. I'll have more eye candy next time....M

Fun With Jane

My last post reminded me of pics that I took the day that Jane came to town for a visit. When we were in my sewing room I caught a glimpse of a quilt top that I'd received after mom passed away. I know that she didn't make the blocks but she may have assembled all or some of the top.

It is made with Square in a Square blocks and has a very vintage vibe.

And some fantastic fabrics in it...

...some a little on the wild side. Love those cheddar cornerstones.

It's been languishing untouched for years so I felt it was time to move it along and get it used.

Jane was working on a quilt that she had started last year but was having challenges getting the next border to fit, so we figured that out and she had it attached before she left. She also showed me this lovely little table topper that she made. Isn't it pretty?

That gorgeous blue teapot print reminds me of her sister Linda, who is a tea fanatic.

She used this lovely coordinating fabric to back it with; it's all ready to quilt. Isn't it fun to get caught up on each others projects?...M

p.s. Just a reminder that the giveaway for the Lemoyne Star ruler is still open - the Official Cookie Tester will make the draw is this Saturday.

A Happy Spring Giveaway

The Official Cookie Tester cut the lawn today for the first time this season and that glorious freshly mowed grass fragrance is everywhere. What a wonderful sign of spring and a terrific way to begin our May long weekend. It seemed to set the stage perfectly for a bit of a giveaway.

Some time ago Jane and I dropped in on Roberta with a few quilts for her to quilt and had a great visit. We got a peek behind the curtain to see how she works her quilting magic. We also got to see some of the projects she's working on and she sent both of us home with a little gift - the Rapid Fire Lemoyne Star ruler. Apparently she had to buy six at a time (!) but she was so keen to try it out that this didn't prove to be an obstacle so she shared the wealth. Long story short, I came home with two - one for me and one to use as a giveaway, so Cocoa and Quilts is our giveaway sponsor 😊.

There are instructions included with the ruler and I was really impressed with how well things went together.

Not one Y seam to be had!

The directions were very well written and, being a leftie, I was happy to see cutting instructions for both right and lefthanders. It took me about an hour from start to finish to make a block, including cutting, but now that I've done it once I know that it would get quicker the more you do.

You can make blocks from 3" to 12" in size. Roberta made about 12 of them at once for mug rugs and is down to about five or six as they make great little gifts. She's thinking that it is probably time to dig the ruler out again and make more, maybe with her Fig Tree stash. They would be gorgeous.

Mine is an 8" block (I didn't want to start out too small before I knew what I was doing) but I'm thinking that I might make a couple of 7" blocks for potholders for the Holly Bazaar.

I've seen this scrappy version on Pinterest which I just adore and would like to see if I could create something similar...

and this one that I saw on Craftsy. Drool.

So, if you are keen on the Lemoyne Star block and would like to make this ruler your own, just leave me a comment with what you'd like to make with it; the Official Cookie Tester will draw the winner on May 26. Good luck!....M

p.s. Just to give you a further idea of Roberta's very generous spirit, she recently quilted 20 - yes 20! - quilts for the folks in Humboldt struggling to deal with the aftermath of that fatal bus crash that killed so many of their hockey team. She is part of a small army of quilters worldwide who made and quilted quilts for this effort. They had  hoped to get 200 donated and I believe will have about 1,000 all told. How wonderful.

Puss in the Corner

I finished the Puss in the Corner quilt top today in time to get a few pics in the setting sun. It's sweet and will make a nice charity quilt.

We're still none the wiser as to where those orphan green blocks came from that started the whole thing - Jane says they didn't come from her. Regardless, they now have a home and are one step closer to being a quilt.

It's not huge - about 44 x 60" - but the width should make it easy to find a backing that doesn't need to be pieced. YAY!

Half way through assembling it I thought that maybe I should have reversed the use of the polka dot and yellow prints which would have made the yellows stronger but I realized that the example I was working from had the centres in the light print, so that's what I went with. Either way would work.

A few corners still need to be trimmed.

There's enough of the blue left to bind it and I'm thinking that the backing needs to be a little red number, so it's time to dig through the stash.....M

Sandy's Smitten, Too

It appears that Sandy has now also fallen under the spell of the hexie, more specifically, paper-pieced hexies. I believe her exact words were 'a little addicted'... She's been following along on my Minnie project and decided it was time to jump in with both feet.

Here's a group shot of her beautiful work to date. I'm loving all of the cream hexies that run through the middle of her diamonds from top to bottom - it's like strings of beads. She just picked up the tan fabric that's in the bottom right corner to pull more of that colour out of the florals. The final design is still a mystery but she's having a ball stitching those diamonds.

And, she recently went to a beautiful quilt show where she saw this vintage stunner during a seminar on antique quilts.

Made in 1878-79, it is stitched from 2,147 hexies and you can see that it was quilted in a very tiny diamond pattern. It's incredible how timeless this pattern is.....M

Mom and Dad's Quilt

Baylea is proud to reveal Betty's latest finish today - a gorgeous Bowtie quilt made from wool flannel shirts that belonged to mom and dad. She's calling it Mom and Dad's quilt.

It's a beautiful combination of strong plaids and soft pastel solids, and a lovely memento of the two of them.

It is all hand stitched and the quilting is done in a variety of soft coloured pearl cottons (a gift from Jane), picking up on the soft yellow and pink fabrics.

The tiny squares are made from a rich floral that softens things nicely - a fabric she bought at Marshall’s on Bank Street in Ottawa when she was still single (she's been married since 1984!). Apparently she was "saving it for good". 😉

Betty's earliest quilt memory is standing in the bathroom in my paternal grandmother's home where she had a linen closet - she must have stored her quilting therein. Grandma and Mom were looking at quilt blocks and one of them was the Bowtie. She was mesmerized at how the pieces came together to form the simple bow shape.

And, just for fun, there's a little 'klepto' quilting in it too - the woollen backing was kindly donated by Linda and will make it a nice and cozy throw to snuggle under.

Says Betty, "I love the randomness in my quilt, which uses the same geometry throughout. And, as for the colours, it truly is a winter quilt." I couldn't agree more....M