A very old UFO Finished - Hearts and Hands block exchange

I just put the last stitches on the label of a very old UFO!  In 2003 (yes, you read that correctly!!), we did a block exchange with our Hearts and Hands small quilting group.  We all got a piece of the sewing themed blue fabric featured in the quilt.  We made 12 blocks and then exchanged one with each participant.  We all signed a 4" signature block with the name of the block and our name.  We were one block short so someone drew out a heart and hands block with a needle in it.  I had half the block embroidered and of course couldn't find the exact colour of yellow to finish it!  Hence the quilting right through the center block LOL...covers it up :-). 

Recently the discussion about those blocks came up at one of our meetings and I confessed that I hadn't put them together yet. When I got home, I got them out, put them up on the wall and made myself finish it before it could go back in the drawer! Interesting how my tastes have totally changed since then!!   I just did a small lap quilt with a simple sashing and cornerstones of the blue fabric.  I had enough fabric to use that for the back as well.  My friend, Chris, just got a long arm this summer and has been diligently practising.  She quilted it for me with a heart motif which is perfect.  

I can't believe it's actually finished!  Sorry for the colours on the photos...lots of sun today which is a good thing when it's -19C outside!  The very bottom photo shows the colours accurately.

Edit (March 2021):  A year ago one of the seniors in our Church lost her husband and I asked her if she'd like this quilt.  She loved it and is enjoying it very much :-).

the finished quilt

We were one block short to make a 3 by 4 block layout so someone drew up a hearts and hand block and I embroidered it

lovely heart quilting by my friend Chris who got a long arm machine this summer

I put the signature labels around the center block

this is what the colours really look like :-)

Jolly Little Christmas

In January 2017, Lorna, of Sew Fresh quilts started up a sew along featuring Christmas blocks. Every two weeks a block was released. I have posted several times about my progress on sewing these blocks and I got a little carried away :-).  In early December, I got caught up on the blocks and then put some up on the design wall to make myself a lap quilt for Christmas.  I ended up sewing a few more blocks to make the colours work.  The Sinterklaas I had made earlier, was too dark for these blocks and I also had to make another ornament block so I could put them all along the top.  It just didn't look right putting another block in the middle.  Here is a photo of the lap quilt.  It is not quilted yet, but I hope to pin baste it very soon and get it quilted so it's ready for next year's Christmas.

lap quilt for myself

I had lots of blocks left!  I had made two more Sinterklaas blocks but one was too busy.  So, with these two squares I made pillows for two of my kids that still do the Dutch tradition with their kids :-).  

Ben's Sinterklaas pillow

Amanda's Sinterklaas pillow

 I then laid out 16 more blocks on the wall and got another lap quilt out of it for my daughter in law, Becky:

I made two more blocks, Santa and Sinterklaas to reflect Eric's Dutch heritage and Becky's Canadian heritage :-).

Here are a few close ups of the quilt.  I quilted it with wavy lines as Lorna quilts the vast majority of her quilts...quick, effective and doesn't take away from the lovely blocks.

The back of Becky's quilt

I still had a lot of blocks left so I made some pillows.  The first two pillows were for Becky and Eric:

I used two stocking blocks and added a couple of white strips around to make them large enough to fit the 16" x 26" pillow forms from IKEA.

Mittens

I finally found a great use for the Charlie Brown Christmas fabric I bought a few years ago. It was perfect for the back of Becky and Eric's pillows :-)

I then made two pillows for myself to change around the fall covers for my livingroom pillows.

my pillows

back of my pillows

I still have four poinsettia blocks left to make a table runner, but I ran out of time...they will be for next Christmas :-).  This was such an enjoyable quilt along. Thanks so much Lorna for a very fun year preparing for Christmas!

I'm going to attempt to link up at Sew Fresh Quilts'  Let's Be Social :-).  

Aiden's JK quilt

This summer, I had another grandchild over for an afternoon to choose I spy squares for his JK quilt.  Aiden started JK in September.  He had a lot of fun putting the squares up on the wall and he knew exactly which backing and sashing colour to go with it...this kid has an eye for colour and confidence to go with it :-).  A fun afternoon.

Getting the blocks up on the design wall

Filling in the gaps once we got the colours organized

The finished quilt

I tried out my new Westalee ruler foot and straight edged ruler for quilting the random boxes - worked slick!

Aiden's awesome choice of backing.

John and Allison's wedding quilt

We had two weddings on the same weekend in September.  John and Allison were married on a Friday night and I also missed the shower for her wedding which was held in August.  So, I made a pillow to match the wedding quilt for her and gifted it with the quilt.   I found some quilt blocks in a drawer which I had started a few years ago and never had occasion to finish.  So another UFO was completed :-).  It's so long ago I started this quilt I have no idea where I found the pattern....I think in a magazine.  So I cannot credit the pattern.  But, I used this tutorial once again for putting the zipper into the back of the pillow.

Back of pillow

Front of pillow quilted with wavy lines and stuffed with the 16" x 26" IKEA pillow form.

Finished quilt

I quilted it all over with a King Tut variegated thread and large funky flowers.

Becky and Wyatt's Quilt

A number of years ago, Pan Denesyk of Mad About Patchwork, came to the London Friendship Guild and did a work shop on a variation of a bento box block.  I had started mine with Kona solids and never had an occasion to finish the quilt.  A niece was getting married and I rooted around in my drawers for inspiration and found this project.  After consulting with my sister in law to see if Becky would like the colours, I went ahead and finished the quilt in time for the wedding at the end of September.  I was not able to go to the shower in August, so made a matching pillow to go with the quilt for a belated shower gift.  It was fun working with solid colours and planning out the different blocks.

(click on the photo to enlarge the photos)

Finished quilt

Swirly quilting done on my trusty vintage Bernina 830

Block closeup

I just happened to have this backing fabric in my stash and the colours matched perfectly.

matching pillow

back of pillow

Jelly Roll Race Christmas Friends Quilt

A few weeks ago, three of us decided to make a Christmas jelly roll race quilt.  We got together one morning with all three of our stashes of Christmas fabrics and cut off three strips; one for each of us.  We ended up with 54 different strips.  One of us left out the black prints strips and added a couple of blues but we basically used the same strips.  Interesting how they all turn out differently :-).  This was a really fun project to do with some friends.   Great memories of fun times spent together and amazing how our stashes blend LOL.  The 54 strips resulted in a quilt top that is approximately 62" x 74" which will make a great Christmas lap quilt.

This is my quilt top

Sandra's quilt top

Sharon's quilt top

Sharon, Jacqui and Sandra with out matching quilts

Canada 150 Blocks FINISHED!!!

I can't believe it was the end of September when I last posted on my blog!  I had a friend over from Holland for two weeks, we celebrated Thanksgiving, went on a quilt retreat and a retreat with my Bible study group so it has been a busy couple of months.  I've been steadily working away at my Canada 150 blocks and only got a few weeks behind a couple of times.  Last week the final blocks were posted!  Wow, I can't believe I've actually kept up with this project til the end.  Here are the blocks I've finished since my last blog post:

Blocks 136 - 138

Blocks 139 - 141

Blocks 142 - 144

Blocks 145 - 147

 Block # 150 had a very interesting twist...it was dedicated to Moms all over the world!  So, I made that block using fabric I had used in the Elgin Piecemaker's Challenge to celebrate Canada's 150th birthday.  You can read about the pillows we made here.  I had used a fabric with tiny tulips and bicycles on the back of my pillow which was dedicated to the memory of my Mom immigrating from Holland in the mid 1950's and who taught me to sew.  This was the back of the pillow:

I used a scrap of that fabric to make my heart block for the 150th block and used a background print which says "stitch" all over it.  This block is my tribute to my Mom's memory.

Blocks 148 - 150!!

The stack of 150 FINISHED blocks :-)

Now to lay out all the blocks and figure out a layout!  That will be a challenge on its own.  Thanks so much Kat Tucker of Next Step Quilt Designs for this wonderful project and for all your hard work posting the blocks and the stories about Canadian women for a whole year!

All caught up til tomorrow morning :-)

Just finished the Canada 150 blocks before the next three patterns are posted tomorrow morning.  Only a few more weeks to go! 

Blocks 127 - 129

Blocks 130 - 132

Blocks 133 - 135

Row by Row

September and October are supposed to be for sewing the row patterns accumulated during the summer.  I have been picking up patterns for several years, but have not made that many of them.  I am hoping to spend some time this winter working on my favourites.  The first pattern I picked up was in 2014 from Greenwood Quiltery in Guelph, which is no longer in business unfortunately.  This is the row that I finally made two years later.  I figured out a way to hang them up by putting four command strip hooks on the wall and sewing plastic curtain rings to the back of the row.  I can easily switch them out at different times of the year. 

(click on the photo to enlarge)

First row I made from 2014

I also picked up a hanger for vertical rows from the year of the Water theme.

This one was from Creative Sisters in Kitchener from 2015 which had the theme of water.  This hung in my husband's chemistry classroom and the students had fun figuring out why the letters H to O were on the quilt :-).

This row was from E & E's Cloth and Creations in Newton ON for 2015's theme, Water.  I made this one for my friend in the Netherlands, but do have another kit so I can make myself one someday.

This is 2016's theme, Home Sweet Home and is also from E & E's in Newton.  I've picked up this year's winter themed one and am working on it already :-).

This is the spot where my horizontal rows hang above my spool cabinet.  It sure provides many warm feelings of the shops that I've visited.