Saturday, March 29, 2014

I joined a postcard exchange recently and this is the wonderful postcard I received from Jo.  The detail on this beetle is amazing and Jo's workmanship is too!  Check out Jo's blog at http://explorationsinstitch.blogspot.ca/
 

This is a quilt I started working on when I took some time off work.  Everything except my little earth child and the wisteria vine is made of 3/4" and 1/2" hexies.  That is a LOT of hexies.  I am very happy with how it has turned out.  I have never made such a purple quilt before, but must admit I think the colour scheme is outstanding on this project.


Here are some pictures of my quilt studio which is my favourite room in my house.  Don't you love the spool holder my handy husband made me?  Almost looks like a work of art (at least to someone who really likes thread).

Here are the February and January mini quilts from Bertie's Year BOM.  They are a fun mix of flannels, piecing, applique and embroidery.  I am doing mine with button hole stitch applique.

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Just as a point of interest, the Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt is 76 inches by 66 inches, so not exactly teeny!

Here is a baby quilt I made last year.  I started it about 2:00 a.m. one night when I had a bit of a panic attack when I realized that I didn't have a "girl" quilt for Tara's baby, just a "boy" quilt....what if my assumption the baby would be a boy was wrong!!!???  I had it completely finished by noon except for the binding when I received a call - she had a boy!  Well, in that case I got to keep it for myself.  It hangs on the wall in a cosy corner of my quilt studio behind a glider rocking chair and armoire that were my mother in law's.


Here are pictures of Carol's Vintage Grandmother's Flower Garden Quilt.  Carol is my sister-in-law's sister who we stayed with when we were in Ludlow England in 2008.  At that time she brought out a partially done quilt that she had started when she was about 12 (if I remember correctly) and asked if I would like to take it home, which I did, and then it sat in my closet until 2013 when I brought it out to show my quilting buddies, in particular Bonnie who is one of those amazing people that enjoys finishing up other people's half done projects.  Well, with Bonnie's help we got it all put together and added the cream border.....and again it waited until last month (Feb 2014) when I took it to Kismet Quilts (a lovely quilt shop in Port Alberni, BC that does amazing machine quilting) and they quilted it for me.  I put the binding on the day I got it back and now it is just waiting for Bonnie to get back from holiday to see it before I return it to Carol.  Won't she be surprised to see the finished project after about 45 years in the making!
I just got an e-mail from Jo, the recipient of my first ever fabric postcard, that it had arrived in perfect shape today!  I just had to send it "naked" as it seemed such good fun to think about people getting a peek at it along it's journey from west coast to east coast.  I must say that I can see these becoming another addiction for me.  Fun and fast and oh so sweet! 

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Well, after 2 months on stress leave I'm back to work at the Welfare office next Tuesday.....don't know if I'm looking forward to that or not.  Hopefully they'll take it easy on me.

Meanwhile I have been quilting up a storm.  I have signed up for Bertie's Year BOM (my Christmas present from my sweetie) and have January and February completed....pictures to follow.  I have also been hexie crazy lately.  I'm in the middle of doing a wall hanging on which pansies, lupine and wisteria are all made with hexies....phew - that's a lot of hand work!  And not quite ready to post.

I have also made my very first fabric postcard - such fun....it went off in the mail this morning - hope it makes it to the recipient without any problems.  I have to wait until she gets it  before posting on blog.  The theme is Spring and the saying I put on it is by Robin Williams "Spring is Nature's way of saying "Let's Party!".

Cheers, Lynda