Wordless Wednesday: Quilts on the Line

Les Iles de la Madeleine, Quebec

Sewings

I had to buy this neat little old box when I saw it at a local yard sale for 50 cents. I like the contents. The measuring tape is paper.

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I am definitely thankful for my modern sewing tools.

Fun or Fabulous Fabric Friday #4

Ever notice a theme developing in your fabrics? Seems I like cool little squares.

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The red is Michael Miller "Mod Boxes"

Then "Geo Series" by Kate Ward Thacker for Henry Glass

Lastly, "Designer Bags" by Beverlyann Stillwell for Lyndhurst Studio

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I used the first two in the Vitali-T Quilt. They worked so well together.

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Have a great weekend!

Quilting my own Souvenir Part 2

I have made some progress on my Les-Iles-de-la-Madeleine-Inspired Quilt. I finally settled on using the very simple design of the squares above. As mentioned in the previous post, the colours of each square represent actual combinations of main paint colour and trim of houses we saw on the islands. I think that by looking at the squares you can tell it was a beautiful colourful place!

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The white squares with the red in the middle represent something else we saw. Any guesses? They are a very simple representation of .... lighthouses. Each one had a red top and a white body. The squares aren't arranged yet, but the lighthouse squares will definitely stay in the outside rows, just like they are always on the outside edges of land.

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As you can see in the photo I still have to trim the squares. I don't use pins when I'm quilting, so I cut pieces a bit longer than needed then trim to make sure ends are straight. It generates quite a few little scraps, but they don't go to waste. My scraps that are too small to use myself either go to a friend who appliques and can use tiny bits, or to my son's preschool for the kids to make crafts.

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I still have more squares to make, then the grass, sand, cliff and ocean borders! I am enjoying it and I think the quilt will be a nice remembrance of our trip.

I thought I'd just show this fox for fun -- one of four we saw during our vacation! Doesn't he/she look so soft and sweet? Foxes are such curious things they are more photogenic than other animals I've tried to take pictures of. In the time they are wondering and figuring out what I'm doing, I am inching closer and closer clicking the camera.

Quilting my own Souvenir

I am fortunate to have just returned from a vacation to the Iles de la Madeleine (Magdalen Islands, a part of Quebec, Canada). I must say I have never been to a more consistently scenic place. Around every corner there was a wonderful view. There were long stretches of red cliffs in various formations, huge sandy beaches, sand dunes, lush green hills, the ocean, boats, birds ... It quickly became a family joke to say "Gasp" every few miles as we drove along exploring -- as in gasping at the amazing natural beauty. My five-year-old son said "Gasp" for every beach, with good reason.

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But in addition to all this natural beauty, was a contribution by the people of the islands. House after house was painted in cheerful bright colours. Lime green and pink and red and purple and turquoise and orange ... Yes, this is where the quilting of my own souvenir comes in. Some of my inspiration is in the collage below.

I knew I had to make a quilt about five seconds after our arrival. I decided I would make very simple squares representing actual combinations of house main colours and trims. I started photographing houses so I would have enough accurate colour pairings.

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Then of course the borders would be grass, sand, cliffs and water.

On the (five hour!) ferry ride back to PEI, I sketched out a little design as a starting point. I have since modified it some, but the plan is still to keep it basic and let the colours show off.

I have an obliging husband who drove us a bit out of our way so I could go to a fabric shop on PEI before crossing the bridge and heading back to New Brunswick. It was a nice big store called Bargain Fabric Outlet in North Bedeque, PEI. I was very pleased to find it. I was also very pleased to see a good selection of Northcott Papillion solids. I bought the colours shown above. These are the first solids I have ever purchased.

These giant scissors were hanging above the cutting area in the store. They were really big. Just look at them compared to the florescent lights. My kids got a kick out of them so I told them I'd take a picture for my blog. Voila!
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So, until next time ... when I should have a start on my Iles de la Madeleine inspired quilt ...

Fun or Fabulous Fabric Friday #3

Things are already pretty bright and colourful around here, but a little dash of these fabulous fabrics added in can't hurt!

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Love them.

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Left to right: Celebracion created by Kathy Hall, Museum of New Mexico, Museum of International Folk Art, Andover Fabrics (Awesome potential binding!); Michael Miller Bon Chic; Botanical Pop from Moe 3 by Jackie Shapiro Style, Windham Fabrics.

Nice and Simple: Front and Back

The front all sewn together. I see two squares I would like to change the places of, but so be it.
And the back.
A close-up of the back. Love those fabrics!
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My search for glow-in-the-dark thread for quilting continues ... although I will say I am tempted to use a really bright orange instead. I can't decide ... but I guess I still have a few months ...

Oh Yes, All the Circus Clowns are Jealous ...

... of these lively capri shorts I made for my daughter. But hey, she is three and full of energy so I think she can pull off this look!

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These were super easy to make. I started with an old pair of my son's jeans that were worn out in the knees. Snip. Snip. I don't know the proper way to put cuffs on, so I just pretended I was making a wide circular quilt binding and went with that approach. The belt is just a plain ol' strip belt.

When I asked my daughter what fabric she wanted, she said purple. Then the neon green was a scrap I had and I couldn't resist the opportunity to mix and match.

Fun or Fabulous Fabric Friday #2

In the previous post I mentioned how much I like fabric with words. So I was really pleased when I found this fabric online. I was just randomly browsing Etsy and came upon it. It is a Michael Miller fabric called Affirmations. I LOVE the inspirational words on it and I thought it would be perfect to use in some quilts for the kids.

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BUT ... notice that arrow I put on the picture above ... see anything spelled wrong?! I am sure others have noticed it before, as I believe this fabric has been out a while, but it is new to me. I was looking the fabric over after I received it in the mail and I couldn't believe Possibilities was spelled as Possbilities. I just laughed, as I certainly make my share of spelling mistakes too, but isn't that what spell check is for? Anyway, it is still great fabric, but I'll have to cut around that part!

The Fabric Told Me To. Really.

I had some of this beautiful fabric by Sweetwater for Moda called Make Life ... some of the printed words say Make Life Creative, Make Life Colorful, Make Life Fun, Make Life Beautiful and, best of all, Make Life Simple. So you see, it was really a message telling me to make something, right?

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Okay. Now ...

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Creative: Check. No pattern.

Colorful: Check. Red, Yellow, Blue. The gorgeous primary colours.

Fun: Check. I like sewing stuff. A LOT I have realised.

Beautiful: Check. It all looks great together.

Simple: Check. This is my first charm pack purchase and project and yes, I now totally understand why so many people enjoy charm packs. Although I love the challenge of picking my own mix and match fabrics, this was a nice change, and I was really drawn to this collection.

This is a table runner for our dining table. The colours are great with the room. I love fabric with words anyway, but this has an especially great message to read each morning ... an inspiring reminder.

This didn't use the whole charm pack either. I believe it was just over half, 22 squares. I also had the "words" fabric in yardage, because it is my favourite. I used the brightest charm squares as I really like colour. As you can see, I went for a very simple layout and I am pleased with it. I think I will likely make another one (or two) when it comes time to make Christmas gifts. (No, not for you, Mom, don't worry I'm not ruining any surprises.)

I also discovered a new binding go-to fabric. The scale of the words are PERFECT for binding. I love how a little tiny message goes around the whole outside! I am buying more yardage of this to keep for future bindings. It is such a cool little surprise for the edging on any project.

Okay, now one final blooper reel/out take. Look at this picture. I mean look at those avocados. I was trying out different things on the runner for the photos, but these had to be the worst thing I tried. They remind me of giant animal droppings. There I said it. Oh well, please come back and visit the blog again anyway. And in the meantime, how about Make Life Quilty? If there is ever a reprint of this fabric, that should go in the suggestion box. ;-)

Giveaway Winner!

Firstly, that was fun! We had a great time reading the comments and learning about even more new places ... ahhhhh, to have endless cash and time and travel everywhere mentioned ... but I digress. So, without further ado, the winner was Commenter # 3. Val Miller! Congratulations! And thanks so much to everyone who stopped by and left a comment!

Giveaway! Flea Market Fancy Encore!

It was so great to join in the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day back in May, that I thought I'd have another giveaway on my own just because it's fun. I have the same fabric offered again ... two different pieces of Flea Market Fancy by Denyse Schmidt, which are shown above. The giveaway is for a half yard of each fabric.

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What made the giveaway fun last time were the comments telling me where everyone was from. My five-year-old son (a geography and map lover) was thrilled! He and my husband recorded all the locations and my son looked them up on various maps. We had 28 different countries represented, 8 of 10 Canadian provinces and 46 of 50 United States (plus DC).
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I am certainly not expecting the same response this time, but it will still be fun. To enter just leave a comment on this post. This time, please let me know where you are looking forward to visiting this summer -- from a local favourite park to a vacation destination far away.

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International entries are welcome. One comment per person please. Please be sure your email address is either in your blog profile or that you leave it in the comment. Comments are open until Wednesday June 9 at 7:00 pm Atlantic Standard Time. I will do a random draw and the winner will be announced here on the blog by the next day.

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Good luck!

COMMENTS ARE NOW CLOSED

Fun or Fabulous Fabric Friday #1

I love getting fabric made by two different manufacturers, from two completely different sources, at two different times ... and then later realising they are a wonderful match! Although the colours in the photo above may not accurately tell the tale, that is what happened with these fabrics. I bought the Michael Miller Groovy Guitar online thinking I could work it into a quilt for my nephews because my brother is a great guitar player. I bought the dots which are Funky Flowers by Linda Lum DeBono for Henry Glass a month or two later at a store, just because they were great looking dots. Then, fast forward to a scene of me rearranging things in my fabric storage drawers and ... ta,da! I am still not sure exactly what quilt these will end up in, but I think they should probably be permanently stitched together.

Guess Who Owns This Quilt?

I am pleased to present: Eli's Log Castle Quilt. Eli is my son and quilting assistant (currently sitting on my lap as I type). As to why I called it Log Castle ... well if a little square made out of fabric logs is a log cabin, then a whole big quilt made with them must be a log castle!
So, that is the method I used, log cabin style. I added border after border, some plain, some made of patchwork. I alternated colours with a perky dotted fabric on black. This quilt was fast, easy and fun. I was fortunate as E,L and I have to be about the easiest letters to neatly free-piece ... I mean they are just rectangles put together. After I figured out that the length and width of the upright center ELI rectangle were correct to give me a twin size quilt after I added all the logs, I was off!

I was lucky that my son's name just has three letters, but if you wanted to try it yourself, initials are a great 3 letter possibility ... or even 4 or 5 letters would probably work, as long as your proportions are okay.

The binding is scrappy, made of several of the fabrics in the quilt. Each piece is a random length. The back is shown in the inset photo. The red fabric in the middle on the back is the "I Love You" fabric I use instead of a signature tag on my kids' quilts.
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It was long-arm quilted with turquoise thread at my LQS.

Just for fun, this is a photo done in negative on my editing program. Aren't the colours cool? I love how the red turned to a gorgeous turquoise -- my favourite colour. I think this negative shot could give me a whole new theme of colours for another quilt!

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Thanks for stopping by!