Starry, Starry Night

It seems everyone in my quilting circle is working with brights these days; case in point, these wonderful Wonky Stars that Anne has spent a little time with.

She recently reconnected with a friend from years ago who is also a quilter. Claire is now finding it difficult to sew so Anne offered to complete a small quilt that she had started.

I haven't met Claire, but she sounds like a talent, not only creating exceptional quilts but dying some of her own fabrics too, like these blues.

A stack of bright yellow stars came home with Anne after her visit and the challenge was to finish them up,...

...determine the final layout and then get it quilted and bound; it is to be a gift for a mutual friend. It turned out beautifully.

The scrappiness extended into the border where she incorporated several of the yellows used in the stars. The blue with the white dotted swirls was Anne's contribution and it really works nicely. Very Van Gogh.

It was quilted with a sun pattern that Anne says couldn't be more perfect for it's recipient, so she's pretty pumped about that.

Here's another shot of the quilting.

Sew lovely. What a great friend...M

And Just Like That, It's Finished

This hot and sultry summer has proven to be ideal for Jane's stitching productivity. Her beautiful hand-stitched colourwash quilt is now a flimsy, and in seemingly record time.

It's rich and vibrant; the colours are spectacular.

I love spending time exploring a quilt like this - it's almost like an I Spy quilt where you find bits of fabric that you have always loved and some that you may have contributed. Quilts have a memory all their own.

And this one is already spoken for. When it's all quilted this beauty will find its forever home with a friend of Jane's who lives in the Maritimes.

Parting with it wasn't easy but she's already thinking ahead, planning to make a Temperature Quilt using a similar block. I think that block will lend itself to a Temperature Quilt perfectly.

Isn't this the face of a happy quilter?....M

Quilting Betty's Hexies

There will be no shortage of colour in Betty's hexie quilt (I think it needs a better name that that, don't you?), and that includes her quilting threads. She's using this gorgeous collection of crochet cottons.

The quilting weaves through the quilt in a random diagonal wave pattern which is a nice offset to the geometry of the pattern.

It's almost easier to see it from the back.

Speaking of the back, she has pieced it using this collection of fabrics. That dark teal along the bottom used to be a favourite dress of mine; shot linen - absolutely loved it. I remember buying it at The Linen Shop (or was it The Irish Shop?) in Toronto, one of my first splurges after I started working. Still love the colour.

Here's a close-up of the fabric that was the jumping off point for the entire quilt, the navy with turquoise and lime; she thinks that it might be a Liberty print. It's a coarse weave, which may explain why she chose to work with small diamonds, but she definitely decided to offset it with the bold and bright prints used throughout....M

Saturated and Sensational

Saturated colour seems to be the order of the day in my quilting circle lately. Last week Betty put this beauty up on frames to start hand quilting it. Stunning!

The jumping off point was a deep navy blue fabric that our friend Nancy gave her many years ago (I'll get her to clarify exactly which fabric that is as there are several scattered throughout which could match that description).

Nancy's family and ours have been cherished life-long friends. She recently turned 90 but it doesn't seem to be slowing her down much and she still has a great eye for colour and an adventurous improv spirit when it comes to her quilting. Like many of us, she is keen to whittle down her stash.

Betty's quilt is made from the Tumbling Blocks pattern but she refers to it as her hexie quilt, and she's not wrong. Hexie lover that I am, I cannot believe that I didn't see it. All hand stitched, the tiny diamonds are cut from 1.5" strips. 

Believe it or not, this is the second time that she has stitched it together! The first time there was much more of a star pattern throughout with the oranges and yellows being the focus but she didn't care for it, deciding to go a little more organic. Doesn't it go beautifully with the posey from her garden?....M

And So It Grows

There's lots more fun being had by the lake on these hot, steamy days. Jane's little improv is growing into a full-fledged quilt.

The mix of colours is just fantastic (I would expect nothing less from The Colour Queen) and it looks like her needle is working overtime. It is going to be fabulous. Doesn't it make you want to run for the scrap basket and find all your brights?

Things are much more subdued on my cutting table....M

Jane Joins Me In The Land of Teenie Tiny

Several weeks ago as I was preparing to head out to Jane's cottage for the day she texted asking if I could bring 1.5" strips of brights along. I thought it was a typo because she usually doesn't work that small, but after checking, it was indeed 1.5" strips that she was after. I was happy to oblige.

She had started hand stitching little 3" blocks like this, using a wide variety of prints that read like solids.

And by the time I got there she had already made great progress. Ah, the joy of scrappy.

She's been sewing away and enjoying all of those brights.

It reminds me of those gorgeous hexies that Sandy made earlier this year.

Well, she's now got 289 blocks prepped and has started putting them together with one colour block running into the next - improv and rather like a colour wash. 

It sounds like it's going to be about 45" x 57" - not a full quilt but one to hang on her bedroom wall. It's going to be gorgeous! I love having company in the land of teenie tiny....M

Happy Canada Day!

We're celebrating Canada today, and while I don't have any red and white quilting to share with you, I thought I would re-share a post I did a few years ago of a Maple Leaf quilt block. I see it every time I sit down at my machine perched on the small design wall just in behind my chair, and I enjoy it each and every time.

Vibrant batiks turned out to be a great choice for this block because the gradations in colour really evoke the way so many maples change colours in the fall. I put together a short tutorial together, if you are interested. It requires making a bit of a pattern for the longest point but it's very straight forward and really doesn't take that much time at all. I appliquéd my stem by hand but you could also attach it by machine.

One of the fabrics that I used is one that I've been using for the large Ohio Stars that I shared with you the last time. Of the three that I have left to make, two use this print; I made this one today. If I'm going to make more leaves from it I'd better hang on to what's left because there isn't that much. A few of them would make a nice autumn table runner. Then again, maybe my block is destined to be a party of one and greet me every time I enter my sewing room. Who knows?

If you are celebrating today, have fun. A nasty storm rolled through this afternoon and there is the potential for more tonight so our fireworks have been cancelled, which is a little disappointing. But we are still very grateful to live where we do. Happy Canada Day!....M