Finally. The cute little dresses will be hung out to dry. First, they need a clothes line. I picked something I thought appropriate and appliqued the poles on – but once it was done, the colour seemed wrong. It needs to look rustic. Paint helped. Then I even applied some varnish to keep the colour from bleeding on to the quilt. Chain stitching with crochet cotton completes the line. Each flimsy little dress is fused with a lightweight knit tricot, and then receives some personalized touches… a belt, buttons, maybe a little embroidery. I could have taken this further, but my patience with the p ..read more

It’s time to add finishing touches. Backing: I have decided people don’t need to see my stitches, so I fuse multi coloured prints to the back with Wonder Under* or MistyFuse*. Besides a cleaner look, it adds extra weight and stability. I find it is easier to work with, and will hang better in the end. Piping & Binding: This piece seemed to need something to frame the picture, and balance the dresses. In the end, I decided on piping that was thicker than normal, and binding that was wider than normal. For the piping, I used shoelaces left over from mask-making days. The binding is a full 2 ..read more

The dresses will be the star of the show. We will get back to them in the end, but now the real work of quilting begins. The background needs to compliment – not compete – with the dresses. For that reason, I decided to use one piece of fabric and one colour of thread for the quilting. I choose a piece of fabric that had a light line of gradation in the middle. That was the wrong spot. It would be better used to define the skyline, so I cut some fabric off the top and added it to the bottom. If in the end you can’t see the seam, I did a decent job of distraction. My quilting sandwich consists ..read more

I had the dresses. I had the clothesline idea. But how should they be displayed? It could stay simple, but I felt it needed to say more. Hankies are history. So are clotheslines. Maybe the background should also reflect something historical? A trip through my MIL’s photos helped me identify some elements I could use. Their first car: a 1951 Pontiac SilverStreak. Their ‘new’ house: a typical farmhouse. The family pet: a dog. A typical tree line in Northern Manitoba. Many ideas considered. Many ideas discarded. The ones left were put to paper. Why? It lets you know if the ideas will work ov ..read more

“Before Kleenex” the note said. It was in my Mother-in-Law’s handwriting and placed inside a bag of hankies. We were cleaning out her trunk, which included the hankies along with other Circa 1950 embroidered linens. For the quilting squeamish – skip over the next sentence. I cut (ouch. Yes, I did!) the linens and shared them with others. My intention was to make only one vintage quilt in her honour. It still has not been made. Instead… Someone posted a picture of hankies folded like dresses, hanging from a clothesline. It was perfect! So very appropriate for my MIL. Finding instructions* for f ..read more

I spent time in Vancouver last week for Canada’s National Juried Show. What an inspiration! It was a privilege to have two quilts (plus a challenge quilt) hanging in the show. You read all about The Circle Game – now “Game Over” as I made it. It placed third in the category for published patterns (by Jen Kingwell). If you were not on my blog at the time, enter Circle Game into the SEARCH box, and you will find a number of posts about it. It took 18 months to complete and was hand cut, hand pieced, hand embroidered, and hand quilted. Game Over But it is the Crooked Bridge that this post is all ..read more

When buying bedding, most people coordinate all the pieces. That’s what I had in mind for this quilt. Option 1 It started with a fat quarter bundle (Geometry by Janet Clare), a contrasting colour (gold) and lots of neutral yardage – mostly navy and beige. The top was first. The pattern: “Bird’s Hill” by The Blanket Statement. She is a local pattern designer, and I like to support local. How about that, I actually followed a pattern. The quilt is reversible. I have always liked the ‘bed runner’ look – this one is built in. I usually use up extra fabric in the backing. You can see that the pillo ..read more

Why prayer flags? Flags contain symbols. They represent association and relationship such as love and loyalty. To put one on display ensures they will be thought of every time you look at it. I have considered making them for the special people in my life for a number of years, but they were never a priority until now. Inspired by the work of others, I made a payer flag for Ukraine. It is very simple but a number of people asked for the pattern, so it is being provided here. Cutting: Variety of yellow strips 1 1/2″ by 7″ Variety of 1 1/2″ blue strips One 6 1/2″ white square Three 3″ white sq ..read more

So… I may have missed posting on this blog for over a year, but we won’t get into that now. Instead of talking about the never ending Covid saga, or reviewing my quilting expeditions of the last 2 years, lets move on. After all, you just might see some of the same quilts from 2 years ago make another appearance! February is Heritage Month in our guild. In previous years, there was little I could relate to. My ancestors did not piece quilts with beautiful designs or make quilts that I could proudly display as 100 year old vintage quilts. It was ALL about function. They had to be warm. Super war ..read more

How did June end up so busy? Maybe it was the luxury of NO commitments through the period of social isolation that suddenly made one appointment or one activity in a day feel busy. The next question is – how many masks or PPE did you make? It would be interesting to know what the collective count of all of our efforts would be. My contribution, moderate compared to many, was 56 masks and 6 scrub hats. Besides masks, June found me finishing a challenge, testing a pattern, and starting 2 quilts for the grandsons. One at a time… The Challenge I finished was the ‘Diana’ Challenge being hosted by C ..read more