Summer Fun with Grandmother's Flower Garden

Well, like many of the other bloggers out there, I'm having a hard time finding time to write, with the wonderful summer weather we are having. 
For the past month or so, my routine has been:
Wednesday and Thursday- go to work, Thursday night guild meeting if I have time
Friday- pick any  veggies or berries off the garden,  water flowers, pack for the weekend at the lake.
Saturday, Sunday, Monday- enjoy the weekend at the cottage.
Tuesday- come home and do laundry, pick stuff off the garden, water flowers, do any housework.
Then start all over again with going to work for 2 days. 

I haven't been quilting much at all for customers, although there are a couple of them I should think of starting soon!

I have started another quilt project of my own, a Grandmother's Flower Garden.  It has been a great take-along project and I'm enjoying it so much.

This is the fabric that inspired me.



I found the hexagons patterns on a website with free graph paper.  www.PrintablePaper.net  is a really cool site, I will be using it alot!

Then I printed some sheets of hexagons onto 8"x11" sticky label paper.

After I cut out the hexagons, I peeled and stuck them to my fabric, 6 petals and one center of a different colour.



Then I cut around them about 3/8".

Next I basted down the corners, taking an extra little stitch in the corner itself and then a traveling stitch to get to the next corner.  Note:  I did NOT go through the sticky label paper to the other side.

Then, I proceeded to stitch each petal to the flower center.  I don't know if it was necessary, but I always placed a straight grain against a bias edge, just to give it extra stability.  It doesn't work out for the sections in between the petals. 

Once all the petals were secured to the center, then I stitched in between the petals one at a time.

Here is how the flowers look in relation to the focus fabric. 

I may make some flowers out of the floral fabric as well, and see how that looks. 

I also plan to make some white daisies.

 I will use the multi-green fabric and join the flowers in the variety of greens, resembling leaves.

I don't know how big this quilt will be, all I know is that I still have alot more flowers to make!  I hope summer lasts a long time!

Hope you're all having a good one!

50th Wedding Anniversary Quilts

Valerie brought me two quilt tops she made for her parents.

They recently celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary and she wanted to give them something special to mark the occasion.

The Father's one has more blue in it while Mom's is more brown.  They both had cozy flannel backings which Valerie machine-embroidered labels on.  A great idea!

Valerie said the patterns were a type of  "Storms at Sea".

On mom's quilt she chose "Oriental Clouds" pantograph.

And on Dad's she chose "Waterworld".

Her parents are sure lucky!

Hearts Galore!

Here is another great quilt from Rebecca. 

She works as a nurse and often works the evening shift, so has some time to do some hand applique.

Look at all those hearts!

I like them since they aren't your typical symmetrical ones.

Rebecca wanted some swirls and i added them to the hearts themselves as well, to secure the applique.

We were both pleased with how it turned out!

Quilts, Quilts, Quilts!

Over the course of a few months, Brenda had given me 5 quilt tops she'd made for each of her sisters.

Their Mother had passed away last fall, and Brenda wanted to make each of them a quilt containing some bits of their mother's clothing.

 I can just imagine the joy her sisters will feel when they get their quilts this month!

 Brenda gave me the freedom to choose the threads and pattern for each quilt, and she was happy with each one.  What a relief!

As you can see, I chose an appropriate pantograph for each one.

Tote Bags

Some time ago, my Tuesday night gals and I made some tote bags.  I got the pattern from Marcus Fabrics website, it is called the Love and Hope Designer tote.  It was alittle tricky to put together, and I think I may modify it abit for future use, but I really like the design and size of it.

It was the perfect project for the remaining fabrics from one of the latest quilt tops I made.

This is one of the totes Diane made up from gorgeous Laurel Burch fabrics, makes me want to go out and buy some right now!

Mona had a favorite tote pattern she wanted to use instead, and she made this lovely bag for a Korean girl who is staying in her home for awhile.  May adores Mona's cat, so Mona appliqued a kitty silhouette on either side of the bag, adding a few embellishments and some paw prints for quilting. 

Magic Tiles Grad Quilt

It is that time of year, when some people celebrate a school or college Graduation with the gift of a quilt, and this proud Mom is no exception!

Patti did a wonderful job choosing fabrics and colours  for this special quilt for her son.  Each fabric is different from one another yet still has a luminous quality, so it really looks like stained glass!

It is a Magic Tiles pattern, and has reminded me that I must make one for myself!

 

Patti chose an all-over design called Oriental Clouds (and many of the prints happened to be oriental).  She had me stitch the name of her son and his degree, as well as her name and date. 

Beginner Class

I am teaching a beginner class.  I have a hard time saying "teaching", because I have never considered myself a teacher, but I guess I am sharing what I know, so I suppose it does make me a teacher of some sort.  Regardless, I am learning how to teach while they are learning to quilt!

So, here are a few photos of our progress.

Attending are 2 young girls in their early 20's, and it is so refreshing to have them on board!   I get a kick out of how organized they both are, here is a shot of  Heather with her piles or fabrics all organized into the blocks they will be sewn into!

And here's a shot of Julie trimming after sewing on a strip.


 They are so enthusiastic and alot of fun!

Judy here is squaring off a block.  She is making a photo quilt for her grand-daughter, with an absolutely wonderful assortment of teal fabrics you ever did see!

For first-time quilters, they are doing a wonderful job!

Here they are after Day 1.

And here the quilt tops are ready to be quilted.

I'm so proud of them!