My first quilt from a MAN

I know there are many men out there who quilt, it's just that I don't know any personally!  At least, until Ron came along. 

He is an adventurous sort of fellow, and when his daughter suggested he make a quilt, he took her up on the challenge.  It took him a couple of years, but since she was getting married this summer, he just had to have it finished!

What I can't believe though,  is that the quilt consists of hundreds, if not thousands, of pieces, of all white and white-on-white fabrics!  How grueling that must that have been!  Even an accomplished quilter would find that difficult to do!  It was a big one, too, 98"x113"!

Not only that, but he hand-embroidered the label on the back, too!  (Sorry, I forgot to get a photo of it!)

 Ron just wanted it simply quilted, with Polydown batting inside.  Turned out very cozy-looking!

He did an amazing job!

Creston Quilt Show 2011

Earlier this spring, I attended the Quilt Show in Creston BC.  See the slideshow in the sidebar to the right. (Forgive me of any errors or omissions!)

My husband and I were in town for other reasons, but I convinced him to drop me off for an hour, so I was busy running through the show, snapping photos and chatting with a few people, while I carefully watched the time.  I was quite impressed with the variety of the quilts on display, the guild certainly is a talented bunch!

I was impressed with the challenges that were evident.  In one, each participant pulled a colour chip at random, and had to create a black and white quilt with some of their chosen colour inserted.

Another grouping showed a number of quilts made with the same iris pattern, and it was interesting how each person made the pattern up in their own way.

I think the shows theme was an Oriental one, so there was also an Oriental grouping, not sure if it was a challenge or not.

There were displays of quilts that were a result of workshops put on by Susan Purney-Mark, and Pippa Moore, both from Vancouver Island.

Eileen Gidman is a local artist who paints onto fabric, and there were a few items on display from a workshop that some quilters took with her.

There were several other art quilts that were also a result of classes some had taken.

All in all, I was very inspired and it was the highlight of my day!  (Next to spending time with my hubby, of course!)

Oriental Carpet Bargello Quilt called Arabian Nights

Mary just picked up the quilt she left for me to do.  It was one of the most beautiful quilts I've ever had in my studio!

I think she called it Oriental Carpet, it was designed by a woman in Edmonton Alberta, who had a quilt shop at one time. Mary had purchased a kit and taken a workshop.

The quilt reminded Mary of Turkish carpets.  She had spent some time travelling in Turkey and had brought home some rugs as souvenirs.

If you look closely at the border fabric, there is a fantastic print that reminds her of the Whirling Dervishs'  in Turkey, who perform a trance-like, spinning dance as a form of worship.

So, she chose a panto called "Plush" by Lorien Quilting, which also conveys spinning.

She used a beautiful Northcott Stonehenge flannel for the backing.

Mary was so pleased with her quilt, she even shed a few tears, which was a wonderful compliment to me.  

Log Cabin Star

Another lady named Audrey brought me this quilt top that she and her mother pieced together to be given as a wedding gift.  They did a great job, considering they live hundred of miles apart!

We chose Drifting Leaves pantograph, and a nice variegated thread. 

The ladies were thrilled with the way it turned out. 

Storm At Sea

Audrey is one of the most senior members in our guild.  I think she and her husband recently celebrated their 65th Wedding Anniversary!  She continues to amaze us with her fabulous quilts!

This Storm at Sea is a recent example of what she creates.   I just love this pattern, so much movement and not a curve in place!

She made this one for her son.  He is an outdoorsy guy who grew up here near the lake, and there is a scrap of fabric depicting a sailboat, somewhere among all those pieces. 
























So, for the body of the quilt I used Jodi Beamish's Waterworld pantograph.

 In the outer border I put some mariner's compass' in the corners (not pictured unfortunately) .

From Anne Bright's book called "Simply Continuous Boys to Men"  I got the North, South, East and West symbols and in between I placed a row of sailboats that I came up with myself!.

 It's such a joy to work on a lovely quilt!

Dinosaurs, Trucks, Fishing, things little boys are made of

A few months ago Donna brought me these 3 cute quilts, made for some special boys in her life, probably grandsons, but I can't say for sure. 

The first is a cute truck
panel quilt.  It had a nice pieced backing, so we just chose a simple meander overall.













The second is made with a Dinosaur Panel.  The closest panto I had to match is a Gecko one, so that is what we went with. 

 

 

 The 3rd quilt was made with a fisherman panel, so realistic!  Donna inserted a couple of photographs of her own little fisherman.

A variety of quilting was used, some meander with fishing lures (by Anne Bright) , and some basic freehand meandering, clouds, etc. 

 What a lucky bunch of kids!