My Crazy Quilt

After nearly 53 (no, make that many) years since the loss of my ancestor’s quilt, I now have my replacement and I am very happy with my crazy quilt.

Gwen at http://scrappyangelquilts.blogspot.com/ had a great idea about writing the story of the loss of my ancestor’s quilt and putting it on the label …. And that is exactly what I’ve done. Thanks Gwen for the idea.

It is hand quilted and I seem to be on a recent kick for circles.



Had a bit of fun making the backing. This is not my usual way and it is just a tad crazy, but I sure do like the effect. Matches the quilt, don’t you think? :o) I still have a lot of this stripe material and will be using it for another crazy backing.

So enjoy and have a great day!

Another bag

Well, there I go again …. another bag.












These are my two bucket bags that I’ve made so far. The one on the left, the squares were cut at 3-1/4” and the one on the right, the squares were cut at 4”. There is sure a big difference in sizes. With my new bag, the batting used was sturdier and I find that it sure makes the bag stand up better and I am more pleased with the look of it.

So, I’m just bagging along and having a blast making these.

Thanks Andrea, www.welshquilter.blogspot.com/
(June posts) for giving us the great tutorial.

Have a great day!

Bag, encore

Oh my, how I have been enjoying seeing all the wonderful bags out there in blogland!

Now to add to the mix, here is a bag that I made for my niece to hold her gym clothes. Originally, she wanted to buy some stencils and paint but when she saw these fabrics, well, this is the result.

Have a great day

Wall of Rulers

Here is my collection of rulers. I have a few more rulers tucked away that are not used as often. These rulers are quickly on hand for whenever they are needed. I just have to remind myself to put them back for next time otherwise they will get lost amongst the piles of fabric that is always on my cutting table. Where do you store your rulers?

This concludes the tour of my studio.

Have a great day!

My Design Wall

At one end of my studio, there are sliding doors and this is where my design wall is. This is a piece of batting that is just clipped to the metal strip that houses the mechanism for the sliding doors. When I need to get into the closet, or if I need to take my design someplace, I can just unclip the batting and do whatever is needed.

The clips are various office varieties that are sturdy enough to hold a bit of weight. I simply used whatever we had on hand.

All those blocks hanging up are my orphan blocks. I’m starting to see a flow or theme with what is there. Maybe they will be made up, after all.






This is my cutting and sewing area.
Have a great day!

An Autumn Sky

There is something about leaves that just holds my fascination for them!

My inspiration for this quilt was a huge maple tree that was on our front lawn. Sad to say it was removed this summer as it was considered a hazardous tree (there was a 5ft. split right down the middle and you could see a bit of daylight through to the other side).

When we first moved into our home 25+ years ago this past September, we eagerly waited for fall to turn the leaves into a blazing colour. After all, this was a maple tree we were talking about here. To our dismay, it was not a sugar maple but a Norway maple and the leaves dropped with barely any colour on them. Any colour was a faint yellow, but mostly they were green leaves.

So, a number of years ago, I decided to design a branch of my wished for maple tree and it would have every colour of fall in that tree. Since I’m very fond of the maple block, I decided that my tree would use these blocks. I could have appliquéd on leaves to look more natural, but chose the block instead.

Spaced throughout the quilt, are quilted leaves. I think of them as ghost leaves to represent all the past leaves that have fallen over the years. Yes, there is quite a lot of hand quilting in this piece and well worth it, I think. :o)

Have a great day!

Autumn Jacket

I’ve been working lately on finishing my flannel jacket. I just love the colours and fabric in this jacket. The flannel is so luxurious and soft.

During this process, I have ventured into making curves with my walking foot. Very brave of me! :o)

I’m out of town right now and will finish this when I am back again in Toronto in about 3 weeks time. My DH will still post for me but not as often.

Have a great day!

Rest of my Stash

)
These two shelves house the rest of my stash.

Since I do a lot of scrappy and appliqué, I don’t have a lot of yardage pieces; except for backing fabric. Most of my stash is based around FQs.

On the top shelves are my bins for cut squares and strips. These are a great idea for just pulling out a bin and pulling squares for whatever size I need.

So there, now you know what makes the world go around for me. I just won’t show you all the bins for my knitting and beading and painting, etc. That is s whole other story and could be a new blog in itself! :o)

This past week, well, I got mail. Corry at http://dutch-blue.blogspot.com/2007/09/lets-quilt.html sent me some moo cards (little ones) and what a sweet moo card she made up to go along with them. Corry posted about these cards and I and a few others had never heard of them. I was curious, so Corry sent me these. They are like little business cards and she has her blog address printed on the back of them.

Then my niece and her husband sent me a thank you card for helping out with the wedding and for their quilt. It’s quite a neat card and even shows embossed quilting on it. Would this not make a great wall hanging?

Have a great day!

Not for drying clothes

I use a wooden drying rack for holding my strips of material when they are being worked on. This way, my strips remain wrinkle free and my bin sits on top of the rack, close at hand to hold the pattern, completed blocks, etc.

I tried really hard to get the rack that my Mom used when we were growing up, but my sister would not part with it. Oh darn! :o) I bought this rack this summer, but it is not as sturdy as the old ones; but it will do just fine for my needs.

When this rack is not needed, it folds down very nicely for storing away.

Have a great day!

My storage system

This past summer, my studio was reorganized and two new shelving units were purchased. That left me with these two shelves to rethink their role.

The shelf on the left has all of my UFO’s on them. The one on the right is for all new projects. It is so tempting to play with something new, but my goal is to finish one UFO then play.

What do you think of my cardboard bins? They were recycled from a grocery store. They are very sturdy, stack well, fit into the shelves very easily and hold all the stuff for a project that I’m working on. Best of all, they were FREE! :o)


These bins are great for pulling out, working on the project a bit and then putting back on the shelf for another rainy day. No struggling to gain access to my bins, that is what I like.

Overhead is my stash of blue fabrics, star fabrics, Xmas and plaids and stripes.

Have a great day!

Handquilting, make that 2

The one thing about hand quilting is that it takes soooooooo long to finish and I do tend to get a little bored (OK a lot sometimes).

So, since my Snow Blossoms is being worked on and over in the corner there sat my crazy quilt all basted and ready to go and I’m just itching to work on it and I’m bored …why can’t I work on both, instead of just the one quilt all the time?

And, that is what I’m doing this past month. I just keep alternating working on these two quilts.

It sure helps to relieve the boredom.
Have a great day!