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