Truth and Reconciliation

Yesterday marked the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada, honouring the Indigenous children who never returned home from residential schools, as well as survivors, their families and communities. Knowing that we would be recognizing them in church today, it seemed appropriate to have all of the Quilts for Survivors items that we have been working on ready to share with the congregation and receive a blessing.

For the past several months I have posted a beautiful parade of quilts, flimsies and quilt blocks with you, made by my quilting posse. There are still more to come, but I want to show you how incredible they all looked together. 

The first row of pews was laid out with 10 completed quilts and 26 quilt tops. Seeing them all together was so moving and such a testament to the love and energy that our quilters and quilting friends put into this project.

I was overwhelmed seeing everything in one place, especially given that when we started, I had hoped for possibly half a dozen quilt tops.

The variety was just amazing and I know that Vanessa and her team will happily receive our bundle. The shipment will be delivered in a couple of weeks and also include a selection of bindings and backings along with monies raised at Coffee Hour to help offset their shipping costs.

And there's a very special box in the bundle as well. Besides being a quilter, Sandy is also a card maker and she created a dozen incredibly beautiful cards to be tucked in with the quilts when they are sent to individual survivors. So, so special.

An additional 20 quilt blocks will also be sent. I will share more about them in another post.

By my count, 15 quilters worked on this initiative, mostly from Holy Trinity and throughout the Ottawa Valley, but also from as far away as Ottawa and London: piecing, hand quilting, machine quilting. In true quilter fashion, they chose to help comfort those who need it the most and I know from following the QFS Facebook page that each and every recipient will be thrilled to receive a quilt, deeply touched that someone who doesn't know them would go to the effort of making one just for them.

My heart is full....M

Moving Mountains

One of the things that I'd read about assembling the blocks for Scrappy Mountain Majesties was to not press the seams until you have your final layout so that it's easier to nest them when you sew your rows together. Just about killed me initially, but once I got onto it I was happy for the speed that it provided. And, it worked like a charm when things had to come together.

At Linda's a few weeks ago, Jane and I quickly assembled two slightly different layouts before heading home.

Not wanting to mix up the rows, I grabbed a marker and some painter's tape from Linda and quickly made some labels. There are prettier markers, but they weren't going to be in use that long so no big deal. The challenge was that the tape had lost much of it's stickiness and was prone to falling off.

Since I was pinning them in place anyway, I took an old envelope, cut some scalloped circles and quickly cut two sets. Worked like a charm. Aren't they sweet? 

And they stayed on much better, which was a huge help because even though the quilts are scrappy there was a certain flow that I wanted to maintain.

With all of those seams to join in each row I had expected that putting the tops together would be a long, drawn out process but 

The layout shown above is totally scrappy. Our options were more limited the second time around because there are decidedly left and right facing blocks, so this one we paired as many as we could and then where we didn't have a match we inserted a similar colour. They are very similar but I think I prefer this one.

They need a good press but both are now finished, so I can happily add them to the pile....M

Mountaintops

Every now and then it becomes glaringly apparent that I have OCD tendencies, and this quilt is just another example. I am so keen on ensuring that our shipment to Quilts for Survivors is as full as it can be that in early August I decided that a Scrappy Mountain Majesties needed to be added to the pile. With Bonnie Hunter's tutorial in hand, I did a really quick pull of lots of brights and a handful of neutrals and I was off!

It was a good excuse to work in some fabrics that I've had hanging around and I don't think that I have ever used, like this green.

Love this combo too. I've got tons of both of those fabrics so maybe another quilt down the road, but I digress.

I started out making both sides of my mountains carbon copies of each other but quickly realized that mixing things up could be lots of fun. I also realized that I had cut enough for about one and half quilts, so I just kept going so that there would be a pair. Story of my life lately.

There was the requisite trimming, but it went fairly quickly.

And soon the pile grew....M

Passionate Handcrafters

There's a masterpiece in the making at Upper Canada Village near Morrisburg, and it's been in the works since 2019. Their talented interpreters have been working tirelessly, stitching a quilt that captures the essence of the site to celebrate their 60th anniversary. 

Founded in 1961, Upper Canada Village is one of the largest living history sites in Canada. They endeavor to depict life in a rural English Canadian setting during the year 1866. Over 40 historical buildings, many moved there prior to flooding of The Lost Villages during the building of the St. Lawrence Seaway, include homes, functioning mills and trades workshops.

This stunning quilt showcases the wonderful heritage homes and buildings throughout the Village, along with some familiar faces and beloved animals. 

Amazingly intricate details, vibrant colours, and heartwarming stories are stitched into every block. (The woman in blue has a crinoline!) Currently they are focused on quilting a scallop border and intricate cross hatching.

It is a testament to the passion, creativity and dedication of their interpreters who are taking it slow and steady to ensure that every stitch is perfect. 

Apparently this block depicts the woman who designed the quilt. How clever to include her too!

And take a closer look at the quilting frame. Holes are drilled at intervals and the frames kept in place with a large wooden stake as the quilt is rolled. Both beautiful and brilliant, and much easier than fiddling with clamps. Not sure what purpose the two sets of three stakes on either end of the quilt serve but I suspect that they are helping keep it stretched.

The Village is celebrating their fall fair this weekend; it would be the perfect time to see this incredible work of art up close and personal at the Ross Farm....M

Photos: Upper Canada Village

The More They Sew, The Behinder I Get

With everyone around me busy chipping in for Quilts for Survivors these days it's been tough to keep up with sharing their work, so today we'll do a bit more of that.

First up, this beautiful flimsy made by Linda. The colours are just perfect for autumn and she is hoping that with it's muted tones and checks that it will be gifted to one of the male survivors who submit a request.

We had a bit of a sewing bee a couple of weeks ago so I was able to help her with it. All of the blocks were ready to press, we just had to get organized and assemble the rows. By the end of the day it was a fait accompli. So cozy.

The blocks finish up at just a little over 6" square so it's a winner when you want to highlight beautiful fabrics like she has used. 

I recognized several from Thimbleberries but she pulled in lots of variety.

This is also a terrific pattern for a charity quilt because it comes together so quickly. Linda enjoyed hand stitching the corners over the summer and then we pieced the rest of it by machine. I love how those corners so easily translate into a diagonal pattern. 

And then Jane pulled out this beauty that she had made several years ago and wondered aloud if we could make it into two smaller quilts. Not the best pic because I was shooting into the windows, but it does give you a sense of the flimsy as a whole. It's a large quilt, larger than she needs, so she was prepared to give it a new life. Such a wonderful idea!

Many of the prints in it are from Mary Engelbreight - lots of red and black and yellow - and she added in several funky additions.

You can spend a lot of time getting lost just exploring all of the different colour combinations. Those tiny cherries are so Mary.

A simple block where the colour combos make it interesting.

The piano key borders are equally funky.

So we ripped it in two, removed some of the borders and she went home to rework it in time for our deadline later this month. 

These quilts will be welcome additions to the pile and I know that all of those bright colours will cheer a couple of folks up when they show up in their mail....M

The Struggle Was Real

I like to think of myself as someone who works well under pressure, but that didn't seem to be working much for me this past weekend. 

On deadline to produce a 12" block for the Carp Fair's Community Quilt Block Challenge, it was time to get started. I'd been looking at the fabrics every day for a few months but just not getting any inspiration. All of my choices relied on more background fabric than I have and it was proving tough to switch gears. The struggle was real.

But, it was time to make something - anything! - so I landed on a modified Bear Paw. I checked the math to ensure that I could make eight HSTs at a time and made a test just to confirm that my dimensions were correct. Good thing, as I was half an inch too large, so I scaled things back. With the fabric restrictions I just was so leery of making a wrong cut.

I laid everything out very carefully so that my seams would nest nicely all around the block (do I sound paranoid?) and in no time it was ready... 

though I have to say that there was a fair bit of lunch bag letdown when it was.

Despite a little voice in my head (one of several 😉) I used the bees for the large centre squares because I wanted to see the bees, but the dark batik that I used for the claws would have been better there. Should have following my gut. 

Or, I could have switched the placement of the gold dot and the darker of the two creams used in the coordinating HSTs. Not surprisingly, I spent all night dreaming of patterns that would have been better suited.

By the next morning it wasn't looking quite as bad as I had imagined, but still nothing to write home about. Ah well, hopefully it plays well with others. Ironically, I realized that last year I also made a Bear Paw block, but it was much scrappier. I much prefer a four patch in place of those large squares.

Betty's block is very different to mine and very charming: a beautiful little schoolhouse set in the centre of radiating strips, and it's hand pieced. It has a scrappiness that I just love and will be a wonderful addition to the quilt. 

This was her inspiration. You can see how she mapped out the making of her schoolhouse and ultimately, the block. I much prefer the small pieces in her block to the sizes that I used. Apparently her block was not without it's challenges either - she ripped things out a few times and pressed her seams as she went, something she never does when she hand pieces.

It's a real charmer, reminiscent of a farmhouse and the rural community that hosts and attends the fair. Jean was tickled with both of them so that's all that matters....M