Bloggers' Quilt Festival - voting is now open ***Update

It's time for the Bloggers' Quilt Festival.



Nominate your favourite quilt for a Viewer’s Choice award. My quilt is in the baby quilt category.

NOTE: To vote, just click on the heart!! I was terribly confused with the way things were set up this morning on how the voting button looked on my computer and therefore accidentally voted for the wrong quilt. I emailed Amy and now that it has been fixed, I am hoping everyone can vote successfully for the one that they actually want.

I decided that I would enter little Patric's quilt in the baby quilt category. For my second grandson, I wanted to use a pattern that was in Quilter's Newsletter magazine, issues 223 and 224 (June and July/August of 1990) called Fun Time Bears by Theresa Eisinger.

Here it is all finished. 

This was the first little bear that was made. He was given some books and glasses.

 Little Sailor Bear was a cute idea.

There are little girl bears too in this world.

 I just had to make a little bear that wore sunglasses.

 Sleepy Time Bear has his own little bear to keep him company.

 

 This little bear loves to play ball.

The owner of the quilt, little Patric, loves to look at all the bright colours.

I hope he enjoys it for years and years.

The quilt was a joy to make. It was hand appliqued and hand quilted.

November 1 – 7 – Vote for favourites in each of the categories and there are a lot of different categories.

You can vote for your favourites here NOW.

Have fun checking out all the other categories of quilts too, at Amy's blog.

A work in progress and birthdays

Since my quilt buddy Judy and I have birthdays just one month apart, we exchange gifts when we see each other - and sometimes it's close to Christmas. The last time I saw Judy, before this past weekend, was at the quilt show that her guild put on in the spring (I still have to post those photos.)

At the quilt show, Judy admired this panel and figured she could do away with her Christmas tree if she had this. During the summer, Sew Sisters had this panel and the lights as a kit. I gave it to Judy early last month and, as you can see, she finished it. We saw many variations of this panel at the Creative Show this past weekend. Judy liked the idea of this panel so much that she was on the lookout for an autumn panel at the show but didn't find one.

This is what Judy got me for my birthday: fat quarters in colours I don't normally use (it's a good thing to stretch oneself), marking pencils for my quilting, along with some sticky quilting templates that I will be trying out, a novel and some note cards of Kim Diehl's quilts. All things that I could use.
And now...

This is the quilt that's on the frame - finally.

You can tell that there have been a couple of turns taken already on the right side. I normally roll from the bottom and top but changed it this time. It's a true pieced quilt.

Can you see the second strip from the top? The turquoise strip?

It's pieced. It was a fat quarter and I don't think I have any left at all.

 Here's another pieced strip.

And yet, another. Can you tell that I used two browns? I only had fat quarters and when my daughter wanted the quilt to be one foot longer, I had to find more fabric. This was the closest I could find. Looking at the whole quilt, it's not that noticeable unless it is pointed out. Not a perfect quilt but that's quilting for you.

In case anyone is wondering, the original pattern is an Atkinson Design called Fire Escape.

I'm linking up with The Needle and Thread Network and with Esther's blog.
Now I'm going back to quilt.

New stuff

The Creative Festival was on this weekend and my quilting buddy Judy and I went to see what was new. We hadn't attended for a couple of years and with the little discount from the Needle Pulling Thread magazine, on purchasing online tickets, and the lift from my husband to and from the venue, we were able to do the whole convention centre without getting too tired. Judy lives an hour and a half away so we were back in plenty of time for her to drive in daylight.
Just in case anyone out there wants to know what's new, there was nothing really, especially if you've been quilting as long as we have. Judy noticed that the folded star is back. Been there, done that, won't do it again. Years ago, when the festival first started, cross stitch was all the rage. There was always fabric and quilting but there was also a time when there were many stalls featuring scrapbooking. This year it was yarn and beads. There were still many quilting-type vendors; fabric, patterns, gadgets, notions, and machines - both sewing and quilting. It was nice to see many young 'newbies' with their books, rulers and cutting mats. Neither Judy nor I understood the selling and purchasing of those smaller-than-charm squares - those 2.5 inch squares. Roughly $5.00 each per package. If they were cut with a machine that pinks the edges, the size starts from the tip of the little pinked edge to the other tip. Same goes for all pre-cuts. Not something Judy nor I would ever consider buying. We were, however, looking for layer cakes. Not many were available and once we noticed the price, we altered our plans. You see, every once in a while Judy and I make a quilt whereby we challenge each other (we both made a quilt using black and white charm squares) but this time we were both going to make the same thing.

 I borrowed this book from the library just to see what was in it. See the words "Fresh Quilts from Classic Blocks." Well, like I said, nothing is new in the quilt world. Pick an old pattern, bump up the size, use a lot of white and bright, bold prints, cut the quilt size to a lap quilt and voila, a modern quilt is born. Just how many lap quilts can one use?

Well, apparently, one more anyway. I liked this quilt and thought it would be nice to bring Judy into the world of modern quilts. She thinks it's unfinished because it has no border. It's an easy pattern and so we were on the look-out for layer cakes. Since we couldn't find anything suitable, Judy happened to mention that she has a suitcase full of batiks. She put them in there so that they were out of the way and would stay clean. She hadn't come up with a plan to use them but when I mentioned that I had a stash of batiks too, we had hit upon a solution to our dilemma. I suggested that the batiks should be bright - with white (as opposed to off-white or gray.) Judy doesn't work with white and so she will have to purchase some. I have some that would work for this project.

To enhance our stash, we each purchased 3 fat quarters of bright batiks. I cut them in half once we got back to my place and now we have something to start with. For the rest of the 19 squares (the quilt calls for 25 squares), we will use our own batiks.

The pencils in the photo are chalk pencils (one white and one gray) that I bought to use for marking my quilting lines. I am always on the lookout for new pencils - I don't want chemicals on my quilts and I don't wash them until they get dirty. I'm really not a fan of the crinkled 'used' look of a new quilt washed and dried.

My other fabric purchase was black with white fat quarters. They will be used in a future project for a big bed quilt for one of my grandsons. I couldn't pass them up because they were just $2.00 each.

I couldn't pass these up either. I haven't bought quilt stencils in ages so when I noticed another lady looking through the small pile, I did too. Once I was done, another quilter came up and was excited to see the stencils too. I guess they are harder to come by these days since not many people hand quilt. These are so versatile because you can use just part of the design and the blue stencils are a heavier weight than the clear ones I saw at a different stall.

Well, that's about it for now. I have 17 completed little socks with two more on needles. I did buy some yarn (no, I didn't need it but it was a good price) and I will be making a cowl or two for gifts. Once they are done and gifted, I will show you.

Getting there...

A few posts ago I showed you the little socks that I was knitting. They are only for decoration and I am making 25 altogether so that they can be used as an advent calendar this year for my little grandsons.

Here's my progress so far. There are 14 completed. All are made with different coloured worsted weight yarns.

Here's numbers 15 and 16 on needles right now. 

On the quilt front, I have the first border put on.

The outer borders have been cut and once they are sewn on, I will be sewing the backing together and putting the quilt on the frame.

It's Wednesday and so I am linking up with The Needle and Thread Network and also with Esther's blog. There's lots to see at both sites so if you are in the mood for some inspiration, pop on over.

This weekend, the leaves were once again in their glory.

I love this contrast of green and red leaves. I'm glad that the grass is still green too.

I take photos from the car so sometimes things get a bit blurry.

Have a great rest of the week.

Tuesday Treat

Earlier this year, I made a baby quilt with different teddy bears for my newest grandson, Patric.

Apparently, he likes it and looks at the different colours and shapes. Perhaps I should make a tactile one with different fabrics - fuzzy, thick, rough, smooth, slippery, etc. It's an idea.

A little Champagne update

After several weeks away from group quilting, we are back at it. We took August off, got together for a couple of weeks in September and then Marg went to visit friends in California. While she was there, she had an accident and banged up her knee and got bruised. She was assisting her friend when his walker got caught in an escalator. The walker got loose and banged into Marg and apparently she went flying. She's fine now but once she got home, she had a brace for her knee and wasn't very mobile. For an 85 year old she heals fast.

So, we had gotten all the rows sewn before Marg left for her vacation and last night we started sewing the rows together.

We had to cut a few more sashing strips. The quilt will be framed with the blue and then there will be a navy border.

It doesn't look like much got done but it takes time to pin, sew and iron. We have to make sure that every second piece of vertical sashing lines up with the row below it. There are seven rows in all. The quilting will just outline the block and the star and I think we may quilt an "X" in the middle of each star. The blue is just gorgeous and we love the look of it so far. The one we did years ago had thinner sashing. We like every quilt we work on but the blue is just so nice that this quilt may be our most favourite.

A little bit of this and a little bit of that

I am still knitting up those little socks.

 There are now 8 complete ones. The brown just has to be sewn up and the light blue will then make ten completed. See the difference in the length of needles? I really do love those shorter ones.

These are just a couple of things I am playing around with. The tutorial is here. I don't know yet if I will make a block or just keep sewing. My ironing board is upstairs and so it's giving me some exercise to sew and iron these.

I just couldn't resist this little guy. As you can see, it's paper piecing. A freebie design from Regina Grewe. She has fun with her freebies. She gives you a bit of the design free (for a short while) and if you do it, send her a photo or a scan and she will then send you the rest of the pattern. As you can see, I did follow her instructions. It now has to be finished. 

I'm linking up with The Needle and Thread Network and also with Esther's blog this week. There are, as always, lots to look at.

Craft

While everybody was around for Thanksgiving dinner, some of the family sat around and played games while others... 

 

 made prayer flags. These are roughly 6" X 8".

Christmas Quilt Along - October

First off, my apologies for the lateness of this post. We are switching internet carriers and it is taking a couple of hours today to change over. I was totally without the internet for awhile there.

Anyway, this will be a quick post because of that and the fact that it is our Thanksgiving weekend and since the family dinner is tomorrow, I am trying to prepare as much as I can today - along with last minute shopping for items we forgot to get last night.

  This is the beginning of a sock, knitted flat. It’s not a useable sock, it’s for decoration purposes. I saw this pattern on Red Heart yarns newsletter and it sparked an idea. My eldest daughter wants a quilted advent calendar – the one with 25 small, three inch, paper pieced squares. I know it will take me a long time to make those but in the meantime, I thought I could knit 25 socks and little Luc could have fun hanging them up (I bought mini clothespins) on a crocheted clothesline in December. A sock advent calendar.

 Here’s how many I have so far. They are my evening work sitting in front of the TV. 

I have two separate sets of needles on the go so that I could switch it up. They don’t take all that long to make but I am hoping to get all 25 done in a different worsted weight colour. I don’t know if I have that many different coloured yarns. I keep looking in the bags in the closet. I do have a Value Village down the street from me so I guess I could check to see what they have to offer once I see how far I’ve gotten.

And now I'm off to get those errands done and then I shall have to work my Christmas Quilt Along project. If I have time, I shall write another post so you can see my progress, but if not, you'll know why I am busy. Family time.

I'm linking up with Joanna who is this month's  Christmas QAL hostess. Pop on over to see what the others are up to.

Quilt Show Time - part 2

I'm hoping to get all of the photos in this post.

Love this next one.

The Canadian flag and Olympics all in one. My apologies for the long grass in the foreground but it was a display that was really too close to get a good photo without it being in the way.

A few really little quilts.

These next quilts were all done by one quilter, Judy Makinson. She is quite prolific and these quilts are based on road grates.

I found this quilt to be much nicer up close than from a distance. Lots and lots of embroidery.

I took this photo for my friend Ulla. She uses men's shirts quite often.

If you don't know what to make a quilt about, then go for a walk.

Just click on the photo for a bigger picture.

I think it would be interesting if we as quilters did something like this world wide. Just think of the 'things' that one could come across during a walk around the block or neighbourhood.

 Here's a few close-ups of what the quilter put under some netting.

These next three were all hung together.

The pattern of the block is called Arrowhead and if you want to make your own, here's the pattern done in a very unusual, quick way.

And that's it for now. Here's a few shots of the old structures on the property. I love old buildings and we sort of stopped traffic for a bit while I took these photos.

I love my little Canon Elph with it's zoom.

And on the other side of the road, behind me was...

a cornfield. 

Now, I'm going to go wash the floors and vacuum to get ready for our Thanksgiving weekend. Family supper is on Sunday to accommodate everyone's schedule.

Have a safe, happy weekend.