Month: August 2016

Grandma’s Fabric

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This spring, I was in Ontario visiting my aunt and she asked me if I’d like to have my grandma’s fabric.  Well, that was a question that was easily answered.  My grandma was a sewer and a quilter. Several years ago, I finished one of her quilts and gave it to my Uncle Harvey.  After he passed away, his sister gave me the quilt back.  It is a treasure in our home and we call the quilt “Uncle Harvey.”

uncle-harvey

Once I got home, I spent several days cutting up her fabric into 3 1/2″, 2 1/2″ and 2″ strips and squares.  The 3 1/2″ strips are made up into a few tops and I’m currently working on a disappearing 9 patch.  I’m having a blast!!!  Some of the fabric was obviously from dress making and some of it has some polyester in it.  I’m using it all!  A picture of a top, without the borders can be seen here.

Here’s my progress on the disappearing 4 patches … the squares are 3 1/2″ (so the 4 patch is 6 1/2″)  …  the slices are at 1 1/4″ from the centre … the outside middle pieces are rotated and then the pieces are all sewn back together.  I need 100 for the quilt.

This blog post is linking to Judy’s Patchwork Times, go check out what’s on other people’s design walls.

Happy Quilting!

Gail

Awesome Retreat

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It’s always a great time when one gets together with quilting friends.  I spent a week on Lummi Island at the home of a friend along with 3 other quilting buddies.  All I can do is smile when I think back on the retreat.  Here is a picture of our set-up at the dining room table.

the-set-up

Here are some of pictures of what the gals did:

Linda started off doing a one block wonder.  It’s amazing how the cutting/sewing changed the fabric into something beautiful!

Then she had this super cute jelly roll and made up the pattern as she went along.  It turned out to be very sweet!

Debi also worked on a jelly roll quilt – with lots of small pieces.  All of her points are perfect.  Pretty, pretty, pretty!!

debi

Diane worked on this quilt – fabric with words and reproduction fabric.  A wonderful blend of modern and antique.

diane-1

Then Diane finished her Smith Mountain Morning that she started at a Bonnie Hunter retreat in October.   Isn’t it absolutely beautiful?

diane-2

 

I worked on making a top using my Grandma’s fabric.  It’s done, except for the borders!

mine

Unfortunately, I don’t have pictures of the wonderful sites of Lummi Island.  We went on a couple of short hikes, watched a sunset on the west side of the Island, visited the local market and an organic farm and we all practiced walking with poles!  All-in-all, it was a great time and many many thanks go to Linda for being the HOSTESS with the MOSTESS!! (Seriously, she spoilt us rotten!)

Happy Quilting,

Gail

 

still quilting

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I’m still quilting the green elephant baby quilt … I somehow doubt if it will be done before I leave for a week’s retreat at a friend’s on Lummi Island.  I still need to pack.

green-elephant-quilting

Packing for a retreat.  It’s always a struggle and I usually end up taking much, too much stuff to work on.   We won’t have a lot of space, so I won’t be taking my big machine that I quilt on.  However, I will be taking my new featherweight and my featherweight table.  I still need to decide which projects I will be working on.  Although, I do have a few ideas …

  • Grandma’s fabrics (4 lap-sized quilts in total)  That should be enough, right?  I’ll tell you about Grandma’s fabrics in a later post.
  • Smith Mountain Morning (a quilt I started last fall in a class with Bonnie Hunter)
  • a retreat bag … or at least the supplies for it.   You can find the pattern and order the supplies for it here: http://emmalinebags.com

That should be enough.  We don’t sew 24/7, but we should get a lot of quilting done.

What do you pack for retreats?  I’d like to know what your essentials are!

Happy Quilting everyone!

Gail

Super Fun Baby Quilts

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This spring, I visited a cousin and she had made a very cute baby quilt for her soon-to-be-born granddaughter.  I couldn’t remember exactly what it looked like and I didn’t take a picture. 😔.  So I designed something similar.  This was the second one I made and the third is in the “almost finished quilting” stage.  It was easy to quilt with organic lines that outlined the elephants.
Pink Elephant - Bryar (Tina's)

A quilt for dog lovers

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We have awesome neighbours.  When our beagle “Bailey” was alive, they would come and take her for a walk with their dogs, or put her in the jeep for a trip to the dog park.  She loved them.    Bailey crossed into dog heaven this fall and I made this quilt for the neighbours.  I had been collecting “dog” fabric for a few years.  I love the bone quilting I did … so easy!

To see what other quilters are working on, check out Judy’s Patchwork Times

Happy Sewing Everyone!

Gail

My First Blog Post

/ quiltinggail

Hi!    Welcome to my blog!

This blog will show my quilting journey and perhaps a little of whatever else may be happening in my life.

In the future, I hope to have some sew-a-longs, mystery quilts and tutorials.  All which will enhance your own quilting journey.

Please feel free to comment and I’ll try to get back to you as soon as I can!

Happy Quilting,

Gail