Timberline Complete!!!

Now this quilt defines the meaning, labor of love!! It was so worth it...the quilt is absolutely stunning in person. At first I thought who in their right mind would want to make this one into a queen...it would take ages! Well, this is why, it's gorgeous!! I made the wall hanging which measures 48"x48". Now how about that border...told you it was a show stopper.

The pattern was very well written and it is meant to test and challenge your perfect scant 1/4" seam. I was super surprised when I only had to trim wee slivers off of my blocks and even when I got all my blocks sewn together and layed out my borders...they fit like a glove!!! Even with all those seams!

Now not every seam lined up to perfection, but after the amount of time I spent unsewing sections of this quilt it was time to let a few slip by. Now I know, tisk..tisk, I still have lots of room for improvement! :)

Did I mention seams!!!!! Look at them all!!! I can't believe I'm actually showing you the backside of my quilt top...I feel like there should be horror music playing in the background!!! hahahaha!!! Well, I hope you enjoyed this journey with me, and if your thinking about trying one of Judy Martin's patterns...just do it, you'll love the results!! My biggest tip would be to make a practice block before you begin, you will learn how to perfect your scant 1/4" seam before you begin and you will be glad you did!

Workshop Bag...

I started this bag last spring and have finally got around to finishing it or at least almost finishing it! I still have to put the handles on but couldn't wait to post it. This bag is the perfect size for taking all of your supplies including your 17x23" cutting matt, all your rulers and fixins that you need for your workshop. Just throw it over your shoulder and go...

Timberline update...

As promised, here is a bit of an update on the Timberline Log Cabin wall hanging that I have been working on. All 36 center blocks are complete and trimmed. I quickly set them up on the table but I can see now from the picture that I need to do a bit of a switch a roo to get them looking right. Won't be too long now until she is complete and I can get the border on...and what a stunning border it is!!! Just you wait and see...

I shopped...

and shopped...

and shopped...

and then I shopped some more...

I took a few days this past week and flew down to Arizona to visit my parents who have been snowbirds in Yuma for the past 3 years. Just as winter is starting to settle in around here it was nice to get away and enjoy the 80 degree weather. And as luck would have it, it was so nice in Alberta while I was gone that all our snow was nearly gone when I got back... :) I did a lot of relaxing and a little bit of touring around and a whole bunch of fabric shopping! About 25 yards to be exact....eeeks! Oh, but I have plans to use each and every bit of it....I do, I really do! :) See the top picture is some border fabric that I picked up to use with some of my Kansas Troubles charm squares and jelly rolls. The second pick, is a bunch of Williams Inn by Nancy Halvorsen to go with some of the line I already have in my stash for a king size quilt for myself. The third pick is some Moda border fabric for those pesky shangri-la charms and jelly rolls I have hanging around. And the last picture was such a nice find...I was extremely late to jump on the bandwaggan for Moda's Simplicity line and only having one piece in my stash I was so lucky to find these pinks and greens which I have planned to make the most darling quilt for my dearest friends daughter, who happens to LOVE pink!!! See, it all has a purpose and I was completely justified in purchasing every last yard of it! And to top it all off, it was 25% off!!! Going through Canadian Customs was kinda funny though....Ma'm what kind of goods are you bringing back with you? Ahh, just shoes and fabric! Yup, that's all! Oh ya, I caught a massive shoe sale and ended up squeezing 5 pairs in my luggage. Now justifying the shoes is another story all together...

Organized...

The book for the class suggested to store all the cut pieces in a cutlery tray. Not finding one that I felt suited the job I went digging through my boxes for my threads. I had been using this thin tackle box for my smaller metallic thread spools and with the removeable slats it made a perfect storage solution to keep me organized. Not to mention the lid with snap closures was great for transporting to and from class.

Advanced Class...

Even though my studio isn't finished yet and we are behind schedule I've managed to get on with my life and GET OUT of the house!! I joined an advanced class at the local quilt shop and Monday night was the first class. The quilt is called Timberline Log Cabin from Judy Martin's Log Cabin Quilt Book. I am going to make a wall quilt with the above fabrics that I picked up at the local shop...of course I didn't want to use anything I had...I wanted something new! :) The wall quilt consists of 36 log cabin's with a set in seam and a gorgeous pieced border, there is also a queen option but honestly I'm not ready to take on 196 blocks and as it stands for the wall I'm already cutting 17 fat qtrs into 1070 pieces. :O Right now I'm half way through the cutting and about to start on the inside 7 pieces of the log cabin, I need to be done all 36 centers by Monday's class. eeeks, I better get movin. It feels GREAT to be quilting again!!!

Diamond in the Rough

Here is another stunning customer quilt that I custom quilted
before I moved. I ditched all the star sections and did a loose stipple

throughout the light blue background, I also did a feather motif
in the corner sections and did a

freehand starswirl in the outside

borders. This was my frist time

with stitch in the ditch on the

longarm and I'm not so proud of

the way it turned out, I will

definately think twice before

accepting another stitch in
the ditch again. Not until I can

get some good practice on my

own quilts first that is. Overall

I think it turned out quite nice,

it's a beautiful quilt.

Winner!

Just before I moved I was the lucky winner of this wool kit from Crazy for Primitive Quilts and Gardens . Isn't it gorgeous!!! I'm so excited to start on it, I have never worked with wool before and the colors that were chosen for the kit are my favorite! Check out the little quilted card, isn't it darling! :) Thank you so much for drawing my name and sending it all the way to me, I will be sure to post a pic of it when completed. Actually the day I took this photo, I had planned to start it right away and the very next day we received word of our move. So back in the bag it went and it's packed away with my other kits awaiting the new studio. Oh, by the way, construction begins this weekend!!!!

Moved!!

Hello Hello!! Okay, for those who have thought I dropped off the face of the earth and don't care about quilting anymore...not to worry...I just moved! A move that wasn't planned very far in advance, it actually all happened within a few weeks, and a move that transported us a couple of provinces over. Another move for the man in my life, yup DH and his work. So, I'm an Albertan again! I had to leave my lovely studio, my quilt guild ladies, my new customers and friends... :( My studio now remains in boxes and Miss Millie is in pieces...a lot of pieces! Construction begins in a couple of weeks to build me my space and I should be up and running and quilting up a storm by November...(crossing fingers). It's been hard not to sew at all lately and I've even thought about setting up shop in my walk in closet....umm, ya, it's that big. So, if I can find enough supplies without disturbing the mound of boxes too much I may get my sewing table set up, and at least get working on some ufo's, like I don't have enough calling my name. After sizing up the boxes marked "kits", I'm feeling as though I should have followed my dear friends advice and marked those boxes "linen closet, upper shelf". The longer they stay unpacked the more likely they are to be found by DH...hmmm. Well, I'll sign off for today but I do have a few pics that I will post soon of some quilts that I finished in an absolute panic before I left and unfortunately not all booked in were completed :(

Custom...

Pictured above is my second try at custom quilting for a client. Yup, I fretted over this one too. I wasn't as stressed over this one but I sure learned a valuable lesson on which way to load a quilt. PLAN FIRST, then load! As you can see this is a prime example for loading lengthwise...how much time I would have saved. Oh well, lesson learned. This fun quilt was first seen by my customer in a magazine and after hunting down the fabric all the way down in the states, she made it for her daughter as a gift. For the quilting I chose a ribbon motif for the orange circles, reverse loop meander in the white background and white border, a wave type pattern for the pink borders/sashings, a ribbon vine for the rectangles and a ribbon and loop design for the outside border. I used white, orange and pink cucurini thread for the top and pink cucurini for the backing. I used Pam Clarke's ribbon motif for the circles with the laser and the rest of the quilting I did freehand with just a visual beside me. So there you have it, second custom done!

Flames...

My first official custom quilt! Now go easy on me okay. My new favorite saying is ... I can only get better! At first my client wanted all the star sections ditched and a flame pattern in the background and other blocks in a blue thread, oh and seperate borders. No problem ... right? Right before I got it out to quilt she popped in to say she wanted the flames to go right over the yellow border and out onto the outer border as well, okay no problem. Once I got it out and ready to quilt, the blue thread just didn't really do much for the quilt and would have looked terrible streaking across the yellow border. After a quick dive through my tickle trunk of thread I found a Rainbow called Salsa, bright red, orange and yellow ... where did that come from? Must have been in my little free pack of thread from APQS. Hmmm ... could it be more perfect? After a quick call to my client to make sure it was okay to plaster her quilt with a Rainbow, I jumped right in. Wow, custom quilting for a customer is scary! I had such anxiety over this one and made so many mistakes ... what was that again ... OH ... I can only get better! Right. Anyway, once it was done I called her right away and she came right down, which was good cause I wouldn't have lasted another day not knowing if she liked it or not. And she did, she loved it! Phew!!!

Hazel...

Customer baby quilt from Nancy Halvorsen's Winsome Baby book. Love the pattern. After searching everywhere for the Winsome fabric line I finally found it last Christmas in Yuma Arizona while on vacation. I brought a whole bunch back and made a quilt for my great-nephew Aron in January. Made it up and delivered it so fast that I didn't have time to take a picture. It was in the smokey blues and celery greens, lovely. Above is a customer quilt made for Hazel that I quilted up with a reverse loop meander with the odd daisy, heart and star thrown in. Love the colors she chose, such a cute quilt!

Winner!

The bargello quilt below that I quilted for a customer, won the Peoples Choice Ribbon at our local quilt show this past weekend. As it should, it's beautiful! It must have taken her forever to piece that quilt, and she even chose all the fabrics herself! CONGRATS! You deserve it!

Bargello Beauty!!

Pretty in Pink! This ever so pretty Bargello is a customer quilt that I quilted using the Cassaundra's Rose pattern with Pink Cuc thread top and bottom. No wonder I ran out of pink thread! :0) This was my first attempt at quilting a bargello and my very first time using super puffy poly batting. The batting stressed me out a bit, I was so worried about sewing puckers into the quilt...I have no idea how this turned out so beautifully. I let my customer know that if her daughter doesn't like it, I will personnally purchase it from her. How do we keep ourselves from getting so attached to these quilts that are in our lives for such a brief time. I love them all!

Here is a pic of the back of the quilt, it was a pretty pink batik.

I actually have a king size bargello kit at home made up in, you guessed it, earth tones. Hmmm, I will have to get at that sometime this year!

Kansas Troubles...

I've always been drawn to the Kansas Troubles line of fabric, there's something so cozy about it. For obvious reasons I ordered in Jelly Rolls and Charm Packs of the Autumn Journey line on my first fabric order. I've since brought in the new Cranberry Wishes line in Jelly Rolls and Layer Cakes...that line is so deep and rich, I can't wait to make something for myself out of it!

Above is a customer quilt, she used a new pattern from Kansas Troubles using the Autumn Journey line of fabric. I quilted it using the pattern Ground Cover by Golden Threads and as this was my first time using it, I didn't quite anticipate it to be the workout that it was. :0) So well worth the trouble though, this quilt came alive after I took it off the frame. The copper thread we chose looks fantastic and just pulls all the fabrics together. Love this quilt! I just might make one for myself! Ha ha, famous last words!

Cracked Pots

This gorgeous quilt was made by a new customer of mine. She did such a beautiful job on all the piecing, it was a treat to quilt!

I used the pattern Paisley Playtime by Lorien with a King Tut Variegated thread.

One down, about a bazillion to go...lol

Bears...

I made this flannel quilt for a friend to give as a gift. I cut up the bear panel and made nine patches to go along with the bear blocks to make a quick quilt. I quilted it using the pattern Popcorn small and King Tut thread. I love flannel baby quilts!

Turning Twenty

It's definitely that time of year! Above is another customer quilt, made for a graduation gift. I wish I received a quilt for graduation...all I got was luggage...think they were trying to tell me something??? Ha Ha!!! I quilted this one using the pattern Fascination by Lorien, which is such a nice pattern and I used lime Cucurini thread and it looks FAB!

Jupiter's Burning

A dear friend of mine made this massive quilt as a graduation gift and I had the pleasure of quilting it for her. The pattern is called Jupiters Burning from the July/August issue of Quiltmaker magazine. I love her choice of color, it looks so striking in person. What a beautiful gift!

Sleeps Six...

I am a huge fan of Pine Needles quilts and have finally started my In Full Bloom kit that I purchased last summer. With the help of my niece, we started on the sleeps six block, thought we'd start small. My niece does beautiful drawings and wants to learn to quilt during her week long visit with me, so we looked through my projects in waiting and picked an art quilt. I put her to work straight away with tracing and in no time flat she had all the images traced out. I put them to fabric and a few short hours later we had our first block. I will stash it away for now in wait for thread painting and a little embellishment.

Trees Up...

This flannel quilt is a customer quilt that I had the pleasure of quilting for her. It's one of those stack and slash patterns I think it's called Trees Up. I used King Tut Thread on the top with So Fine on the bottom. Pattern is Bright and Breezy by Lorien.

I'm a busy bee at the studio lately, I now have 16 quilts needing my attention. There aren't enough hours in the day!

Snapshots

Over the long weekend I finished up this lap quilt, a birthday gift for my dearest friend. Now I just have to find the time to quilt it! Still not sure what pattern or thread I'm going to use...hmm. I was a bit scared of all the bright fabrics while putting together the blocks, but now that it's all put together and I think the chocolate border really finishes it off...I LOVE IT! Not to mention every color in this quilt is an accent color in her front room...it couldn't be more perfect!

Okay so now, if you've read my previous posts...this obviously means that I slipped up and made another quilt before I finished the last one. I know, I know! I'm still working on the applique border, so it hasn't really been put away so to speak and I couldn't help it...these bright colors were calling me, and besides it's for a birthday, that's got to count for something!!! :0)

Progress Report....

I'M DONE!! Well, the center section anyway....now on to the borders and the applique. I'm getting excited to be able to start something new, being grounded to one project has been quite challenging but the results speak volumes, it's actually working. UFOs beware!

And the winner is......

Congratulations to Rose Marie from over at Applique 'n Patch Quilting, winner of my very first draw for CHARM SQUARES! Thank you to all who entered. I have enjoyed visiting all the new blogs, well new to me that is. Keep stopping by and don't forget to leave a little note once in awhile.

What I'm working On...

I purchased this quilt kit last year at this time to make for my in-laws. It has since taken up refuge on my cutting table and instead of putting it away yet again, I'm refusing to do anything else until this quilt is DONE! Of course this quilt is a big queen size! The middle of the quilt consists of 14 rows of 12 blocks in each row, with a few small borders and a large applique border. I have 9 rows completed so far and man, was that a lot of work, only 5 more to go...rows that is!

Free Draw!!!

I haven't posted in 10 days...it's been a busy 10 days let me tell you! So, I'm back with something fun! My first draw! Comment on this post to be entered to win FREE CHARM SQUARES!!!

Any Ideas???

I'm looking for ideas to turn these 28 fat 1/4's into a quilt for my niece. I thought I'd send out the call to my new blogger friends and see what pattern ideas come back...I'm thinking maybe a turning 20?? HELP!

Hugs & Kisses

Here is an older pic of a quilt that I made for my dear friend's first born, Katie. Made entirely from Nancy Halvorsen's Charms Flannel. I loved it so much that I made another one for a colleague and have cut out yet another one and have all the hearts and stars appliqued. I am just waiting for the right baby to give it to. There's nothing better than giving a baby quilt!

A little more snow...

Heritage Quilt

My local quilt guild, The Minnedosa Valley Piecemakers, made this Heritage Quilt for the yearly fundraising raffle. The quilt will be displayed in town until the winner is drawn at the Homecoming Celebrations this coming July.

I quilted it using the Rosie pattern, and now am thinking I should have taken a picture of the back of it as the pattern is just gorgeous!

Jelly Rolls!!!!

NEW DELIVERY! Today I received the Dandelion Girl Jelly Rolls by Fig Tree Quilts for Moda. This line of fabric is so pretty, I think I might keep one for myself, oh, my stash of Jelly Rolls is growing quickly!

Big Block Quilt

A customer quilt, made for her daughter. Made with super soft bright cottons, what little girl wouldn't want to curl up in this.

I quilted it using Wandering Daisies pattern with King Tut thread.

Great Find!!!

During my recent quilting trip to the most beautiful valley in BC, I picked up these two cotton twigs...REAL COTTON...I had to have them for my studio. My new American friends in super warm climates may be thinking, "yeah, so what", but this is pretty spectacular for a small town Canadian!!!! I must thank my dear friend Linda for packing them ever so gingerly for me to carry them on the plane home. Oh, and thanks goes out to Val for insisting we stop at the greenhouse. Who knew I'd find such a treasure.