Mom's Quilt

My Mom is not really considered a traditional quilter, but she has made many wool-filled comforters (washing and carding her own wool) over the years. I think one reason I fell in love with quilting is a quilt she made some 50 years ago, and I remember snuggling under it when we used to go camping. It was a string-type quilt made on a foundation, with a blue flannel backing and I can still see it in my head. I got so mad at her several years back, when she told me she donated it to a thrift store! Imagine that, the quilt that started me on this path in life, ...gone! Oh well, I'm over it now, and some day I hope to make a quilt just like it. I'd better put it on paper, so I don't forget what it looked like!

Mom continues to dabble in abit of sewing, and works with a local group of ladies who create charity quilts and pillows. Mom's job is usually cutting up bits of otherwise-useless fabrics and clothing to stuff into pillows. It is easy enough work for her and she enjoys the company of the other ladies.

Anyways, Mom made another quilt top last year, and I finally quilted it up for her. It will eventually make it's way to one of her grandkids, but for now, will be spare bedding for when they come to visit. For someone who hasn't taken a quilt class of any sort, she does a pretty good job! I did help her abit with some of the rotary cutting.

The photograph is showing Mom on her 75th Birthday a couple of years ago, with my sister Liz on the left and me on the right. Now you know where I got my profile picture from!

Tess again

Tess also dropped off this quilt top this past summer, she was giving it as a wedding present.

The blue fabric had breaking waves all over it, so I stitched an all-over pantograph on it called Waterworld. It was very fitting!

I love the simplicity of 2-colour quilts, yet they don't have to be simple at all! This one is very pleasing to the eye and feels relaxing!

Twins

Tess brought me these two quilt tops this past spring, to quilt up for her newborn twin grand-daughter's. I even got to meet them!

They were so adorable!

The quilts were of a pinwheel-type pattern, with a slight variation in colour from one another.

I quilted them simulataneously with a "stars and loops" panto and variegated thread.

UPDATE: Tess and her daughter dropped in today (Dec 1) so I caught another photo of the twins, at least 5 months later....

No Means No

Quilting is "my thing", and I want to be able to use it to express things I believe in, messages that need to be heard, not just for pretty things to decorate my home. Don't get me wrong, decorating is what 95% of my quilting is all about! I am not a great speaker, or poet, or songwriter, but I can quilt, and if it can touch one heart, one life, for the better, then it is worth pursuing!

I see inspiration for quilts all over the place. I have plans to quilt things I get in my email inbox, signs I might see, songs I might hear, fabric that begs to be part of a story. I came across the "No Means No" message while browsing college websites for my kids. It is put out there by the Canadian Federation of Students. It really hit a nerve for me, and I was so proud of the young people of this generation who were fortunate to have the support and education of this message. It just begged to be made into a quilt. Don't ask me why!

I stayed up till 3:00 a.m. or so, the night before our Quilt Show back in Sept, to finish up this quilt that I needed to make. It was very simple in construction and was not going to win any awards, but it had a message that I wanted to share with anyone who might not have heard it.

And it enabled me to practice printing out text with my inkjet printer, and I also got to play with my shiva paintsticks and rubbing plates. In fact, I didn't have a black paintstick, so I used a clear blender with a black oil pastel, and it worked out just fine! Makes me feel like a real artist !

Oh, and the reason I am posting today about is because I found a home for it! It is not the sort of quilt that I want to hang up at my house! I knew the colleges and high schools already have lots of posters proclaiming the message, so I checked out the local youth center, and sure enough they were happy to have it. That is me on the left, and Christine from the youth centre on the right, receiving the quilt.

Hopefully, you will be able to read the message from the photos, don't forget to left-click on the images so they zoom in closer. Or, you can check out the website: http://www.cfs-fcee.ca/nomeansno/index_e.html for more information.

FYI- I did not receive permission to use this message in my quilt (I did email them for permission, but no one replied), so hopefully, I won't get into trouble!

Left-click on Photos

I don't know if I had ever mentioned it before (and I'm too lazy to check) , but if you want to see a close-up of any photo in a post, you just have to left-click on it!

Amazing!

It's like I just learned this trick, or else I forgot all about it and just discovered it again! Ha!

Rebecca again!!!

Rebecca made this gorgeous Dresden Plate quilt, sort of for her husband, who said that he used to have one as a child. She did a lovely job appliquing the plates.

I outlined each plate by 1/4 inch, and stitched down the center with a circle. Then I did swirlies in the negative spaces and the border. Thanks for the inspiration, Debra!

A dresden plate is another quilt that is on my list of quilt to do!

Inukshuk

Miyo brought me this cute Inukshuk wallhanging. She wanted it done for the quilt show, so I used Lisa Thiessen's "Flurry" pantograph on most of it in a sweet variegated thread, then free-handed some snow drifts. Pretty quick and easy.

It's a really cute quilt! In time for the Olympics, too.

Denise, Again!

Denise started this Jinny Beyer Sampler Quilt over 20 years ago. She says it was her first quilt, that she made at a class taught by Muriel Neale (of Grand Forks) Can you believe it? Jinny Beyer and her fabrics are still going strong and don't go out of style! In my opinion, these are the most gorgeous of sampler quilts made!

I also took this class about 15 years ago, from Karen Holden (of Castlegar). This method was not rotary cut! You made cardboard templates, traced around them, cut approximately 1/4 inch around them, and carefully pinned the pieces together, matching the points long the drawn lines. It is slow, but very accurate. The best part was that by fussy cutting the border fabrics you came up with beautifully unique designs within your block!

Seeing Denise's quilt makes me wish I had used Jinny Beyer prints, too.

Ideally, I would love to have quilted each block separately and accordingly, but time was a factor (it had to ready for the quilt show), so I chose the same medallion to put into each block. Also, the design had an open center, so I was not fighting the junction in the center of most of the blocks where many pieces came together. It worked out really well! The sashing had it's own design, so rather than fight it I just followed the cable-like lines.

The border was pretty much solid, and I wanted something to replicate the onion-dome shapes of many of Jinny Beyer's border prints. I used the panto 'Arabesque' to help me out.

Delectable Mountains

Denise was back, with another fantastic quilt for me to stitch together for her. I tell you, that women is prolific! And she knits up socks by the dozen, as well!!! I want to be like her when I grow up!

This is a version of Delectable Mountains that she whipped up. It called for some feathers and straight-line quilting. I am thankful for Denise allowing me to chose what to do on her quilts, and she hasn't complained once, at least, not to me! Thanks, Denise!

Roberta

Here is a cozy flannel quilt that Roberta made for her grand-daughter. She purchased the kit on-line, and so all the fabrics match and probably come from the same fabric line, all co-ordinated. Sure takes the stress out of chosing fabrics yourself!

Roberta chose the Papillon (butterfilies) panto again, it happens to be a favorite! Lucky grand-daughter!

McBride Quilters

Through my friend Mona, I got to meet one of her best friends who was visiting from McBride, BC.

Joette is a very active member in her guild. By the sounds of it, they are always making some project or another, and holding workshops all the time. She also attended a Ricky Tims/Alex Anderson workshop this summer. This gal is not afraid to travel!

She brought along with her 2 quilt tops, one of her own, and another belonging to a friend.

Joette's was a BQEasy pattern. From what I know of her so far, she has a thing for african animal prints, and this quilt brought out the wild thing in her!

We chose to gently outline the cat faces, a fern-like meander in the other spaces, and some cat paw prints around the border.

Joette's friends quilt was a "card tricks" pattern, a very modern version with a coffee/latte theme going on. I chose to do a simple feather in the card trick blocks, with another treatment in the sashing. (Is there a name for that design?) I can't remember what I did in the setting triangles, probably a simple feather as well. Too bad I didn't take a better photo of it! I do remember doing piano keys in the border, just by following the stripe in the border fabric.

Scottish Thistle

My sister-in-law Janet made this quilt for her Mom, who is of Scottish descent. I would not describe her Mom as prickly at all! But she is as lovely as the bloom!

The two of them took a memorable trip to Scotland a couple of years ago, and walked the same paths that their ancestors did!

I am very proud of Janet, she took this block and designed a nice layout for this lovely quilt. I really like this particular block and especially the colours!

It took me ages to decide what and how to quilt those blank spaces. I finally decided on a thistle-looking motif, and carried it into the border treatment, if you can see it.