What's new and a Giveaway

Anita of Bed of Roses blog has a wonderful giveaway of a book by Bonnie Hunter. Do you know her website? If not you do want to check it out here:
Bonnie is a generous quilter who has a number of free patterns on her website. As well she has recently written her 3rd book and Anita is giving it away to a blogger with an active blog. She asks the question- When did you begin quilting? So when did you begin quilting?
I began steadily quilting in 1996 though I had made quillows and one queen sized log cabin quilt in a day in the mid eighties. Quilting sure has changed since then with all sorts of gadgets( rotary cutters, mats etc ) that make quilting so much easier. The array of fabrics and books is amazing these days. Each day you can find somewhere on line or locally with great fabric choices and new designs to tempt one.

I was not familar with Anita's blog but I know that I will return to visit it when I get the opportunity. You can find a link on my blog list for her.

I did get my OWOH winners bracelets in the mail over the weekend. I also went to buy curtain material for the basement this past weekend. One curtain is hanging up and I need to get two more made in the next few days.

Life is a little busy for us just now. Our son and his girlfriend and their two furry friends " Freddy and Buddy" (they are boy cats) are moving into our basement this weekend. The boy and the girl have been busy this past month clearing out stuff, rearranging other stuff and generally making the space a functional living space for them for awhile. A new wall, some paint, lots of garbage bags and sweat have been involved- mostly theirs.. We welcome them and appreciate all they have done to help neaten us up!

We are not sure how our furry pets are going to like having some new friends in their house so it could be interesting.
I will leave you with a photo of Mars helping me eat my ice cream bar. She loves vanilla ice cream - what a funny old girl she is...


And if you have noticed that fabric costs have been going up, you may find this post by Sue of Alderwood Quilts interesting. She is a quilt shop owner from Oregon and shares some really interesting insight to the rising costs of fabric.

Until next time,
Happy quilting,
Anna

Finally 100 Posts- Can you guess what that means?

Did you notice my header change- The beautiful star came to me from a giveaway that I won recently from Michelle of the Raspberry Rabbits blog. I have written to Shell for a couple of years now and I was very inspired by the quote on the Star. It seems like a fitting header for a Brand New Year!
I have been writing this rambling blog for over two years. Finally, I have reached that magic number 100 - It has been a wonderful journey. This last year I have written more sporadically - perhaps in 2011 I will make a more frequent appearance here. It is not that I don't think of you often and wonder how my blog friends are doing, but more that my daily life seems to get in my way.

For example, I had hoped to post yesterday but I seemed to have caught a flu bug and spent the day alternating between the couch and my bed, when I wasn't gracing the bathroom throne. However, whatever it was seems to have passed, and I am starting to feel like my regular self.

Today is the begin of a New Year and a fresh start... It is snowing outside and we are off to some very good friends for New Year's Dinner later this afternoon. I have some photos of the holiday to share with you and then something for my dear friends too..

This lovely collection of fabrics I posted about last time. They came from Elaine of a Faithful Quilter. The fabrics are so beautiful that I hoped that a photo in more natural light would show you how beautiful they truly are. Thank you so much, Elaine, for the gorgeous fabrics. I was one lucky girl in the month of December as I won a few giveaway prizes and this was the first one.
Bruce and I went shopping on our way back from the airport where we left our son and his girlfriend who have spent an enjoyable two weeks with her family and friends in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.
One place we stopped was a little antique mall that has all sorts of bits and bobs of things. I loved this Christmas plate and these two brooches so they came home with me as a Christmas present to me. My grandmother, I am sure had one similar to the flower one and it reminded me of a sunflower. ( In an upcoming post I will sharewith you some more sunflowers, as we received a beautiful sunflower girl painting for Christmas and glasses with sunflowers from a dear family friend)
The same day I found the plate, a very nice parcel came in the mail from Carrieof Schnibbles fame- It was a beautiful parcel wrapped in Red tissue with a roll of fabric to make her Christmas pattern from the Henry Glass blog hop . As well, she included a lovely set of her patterns, a Christmas cup and a Santa Claus for my tree. It was such a wonderful prize, Carrie- Thank you so very much! I can see that I have a few of my Christmas patterns to make for next year.

On the quilting front- Perhaps you remember me debating about adding the yellow to these placemats - I thought you might like to see the finished version. Our family friend loved them. I know that I loved her sunflower painting and glasses. The glasses were given to Bruce and I to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary.
On the day of our wedding anniversary, my family had a lovely turkey dinner for us followed by a Happy Anniversary Carrot Cake. A couple of days later, we had a special dinner to celebrate Christmas with some very good friends. This picture of Bruce and I, is taken with a very special gift from them to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. The painting done by Jane Lee Ling, is made using a Hayter viscosity rejection technique on an acid etched zinc plate. It is a gorgeous piece that we will cherish always. We are currently looking at how we can move some pictures around so that we can show this beautiful piece off in our home.



And now to something I have been planning to celebrate my 100th post. A giveaway of my own- I hope that you will find something in this group of things that you might enjoy if you happen to be one of my winners. All you need to do is leave a comment and tell me what is your favorite color. If you have a New Year's resolution you can add that too. I will close off the comments next Sunday January 9,2011. The first name drawn will have choice of the three prizes, the second one next and the last one will get third prize.
These are the three choices
The first one has a book called Nine by Nine as well as some fat quarters.

The second one has some patterns and something else - I haven't quite decided whether it will be a bit of fabric or something else.
The third one is a book called Twin Peaks and some fat quarters.


This giveaway is open to all of my readers where ever you live on this globe. I have been a lucky girl recently and I want to celebrate a New Year and 100 posts

Later in January I will be participating in the last OWOH event (See the icon link) in the top right corner of my blog. I will be making a couple of bracelets for that giveaway. That post will happen on January 31- through February 17th.

Here are a few other giveaways going on in Blogland-

You might want to check this one out. Vicki of the Pickledish Patch is hosting a nice giveaway on her blog. She is lovely Australian blogger who is going to open an etsy shop.

There is a fabulous giveaway going on at Stray Stitches Linda has a gorgeous quilt and fabric that she is giving away to celebrate 2011 and her followers.
Go and have a look- it really is a fabulous giveaway prize- Someone is going to be very lucky indeed!

My blogging friend Thimbleanna is celebrating four years of blogging. She is one of the blogs that I read before I blogged. Anna used to tease me about being "Anna NO Blog". She has a great blog- shares some wonderful recipes and loves to share her quilty stories. She has some lovely gifties for her winners too.

Thanks for dropping by and sharing in my journey - in some patches of time, it is more quilty than others. I have been inspired by you all and enjoyed reading about your life's journey. I have enjoyed getting to know many wonderful people from around the globe that share a passion for creating things- not just quilting.

My New Year's wish for you is that you can find time to feed your creative spirit. May the New Year bring good health, prosperity and wonderful times spent with your loved ones.
A very happy New Year to one and all.

Warmest regards,
Anna

From these hands - One World One Heart

Today I used these two hands to create some gifts for friends and family. I play in the beads when I can.



I have been reading the blogs on One World One Heart Blogging Festival for a couple of years and thinking I really would like to enter it. Lisa Swifka is the coordinator of this amazing event, whose original purpose was to provide a forum for bloggers to connect with other bloggers.

Jump aboard fellow bloggers and ride with me on this magic carpet ride. If I was a better planner, I might have made something that was quilty related for my giveaway. However, the deadline looms and I wanted to do something that was handmade so I have made these bracelets. I will have two winners who will be able to choose from these four bracelets. ( I will give a third away if there are more than 100 names)


Here are the rules- Anyone with a blog may enter (that is Lisa's preference so I want to honor it). It is an international event so I will mail the bracelets to anyone world wide. All you need to do, is leave a comment with a contact email address so that I can let you know that you have won a bracelet.

I will draw two names on February 15th at noon MST and post them as soon as possible. You may have noticed that there is wire in the photos- that is because I want to be able to size it to fit my winners. As a blogger, I have been fortunate to win some great giveaway prizes along my blogging journey. I hope you will come along and join in on the Magic carpet ride.


Other News from my Neck of the Woods:
This past week I received this beautiful thread flower brooch from Deb
of Cold Feet Quilt blog. It is such a beautiful flower, don't you think?

I love the gorgeous detail. What is really cool about this flower is that its made with a UV thread that will change color in the light. The technology can do the most interesting things with thread and fabric these days. Deb does the most fabulous art quilts. She lives in Alaska- Do go and check out her blog if you get a chance.

Thank you for all your interesting comments about last week's post about art. I enjoyed reading all your comments and insights.

Have a great week. I am off to visit more bloggers on my magic carpet.

Regards,

Anna

Seeing Stars...A Couple of August Finishes

Starlight Star bright, first star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might. have the wish I wish tonight.
Last night Bruce and I went to see if we could see the Perseid Meteor Shower-unfortunately we were pretty well clouded out - we did see a couple of bright ones but mostly all we viewed was a moon that kept being wrapped in fluffy clouds and a llama who watched us from a nearby fenced in area. The night was warm and the skies not very cooperative but the conversation and time together made it a worth while adventure-

Bruce's Starlight Starbright quilt was made using a pattern called "Autumn Evening" from a book called Creative Scraps- Quilting with Bits and Pieces. The wonky stars set on point seem to float across the night sky- at least that was my intent. It was fun to collect star fabrics though..

Starlight, Starbright is a queen sized quilt that has 32 liberated stars that are set on point. I made this quilt for my husband, Bruce who is a man of the stars- his passion is astronomy and this year is the "International Year of Astronomy". He is headed today to Cyprus Hills,Saskatchewan with a friend to attend the Astronomical Society's Annual general meeting and star party.
Cyprus Hills is a really interesting part of the prairies. In my home province, Alberta, we have an area called Drumheller. It is the land of the Hoo Doos- You drive along and suddenly you will find yourself overlooking a crest of these strange grooved formations. They look like tall chef's hats with strata. The interesting topography is a tourist draw but I read recently where they are beginning to barricade a few parts and limit traffic because of damage and erosion created by the large number of visitors. Cyprus Hills is farther east and south in Saskatchewan but it reminds me of Drumheller. Drumheller was the land of the dinosaurs and there were many great finds of dinosaur bones there. There is a world renowned dinosaur museum there called "The Tyrell Museum".
The second piece
is a small piece for me- about 30 inches square or so. It is a wallhanging made from some leftover blocks of a star quilt that I made for a friend of Bruce's. I love how the center red blocks form a new star. The quilts are both labelled and will be shown as part of a display at the meeting and star party.

So I have two finishes for August so far. On my sewing table, I have completed another 40 some blocks to add to the Wonky tiles quilt. I need to turn it into a king sized quilt for its intended owners.

Do you know how big a king sized quilt actually measures???? My blog friend Pam's reply was BIG and she sure has got that right- ( Do check out her blog she is in the midst of some major renovations that are making her house gorgeous)

When I posed the king sized bed measurement question I received a number of different suggestions for the actual measurement- the largest size is 130 x 130 inches or 120 X ???. I am told it depends on the width of the mattress and how much length you want and whether you want a pillow tuck... There seems to be a number of different variables to consider..
However this girl is determined that it shall be finished so quilt on I must LOL..

This week I received a lovely package from Ryan. I wish you could smell the wonderful fragrance that comes from the sunflower candle- it is a beautiful scent. He enclosed some terrific 30's fat quarters that I am collecting to make a 30's quilt. I still haven't decided on a pattern but the collection is growing.VBS
Thank you Ryan for your generosity- your pretty package with fat quarters, pink buttons, thread and sunflower candle are very much appreciated.

A lovely lady named Toni from the land down under wrote me to say that I won a pattern from a giveaway on her blog. Thank you Toni - perhaps I should buy a lottery ticket :O) I have been very fortunate to win some very nice giveaways. Thank you


Here is what I fondly refer to as the garish quilt- I may have found a solution by using a leaf fabric - I am still debating whether to cut the quilt a part to add sections of the leaf fabric and incorporate it into the body of it. For sure I am going to use the leaf print on the outside of the quilt. Currently, I find the center too strong for most of the fabrics that I auditioned. I have no idea what I thought I was doing when I put these colors together. If the leaves don't work then perhaps I will have to think of it as my fugly quilt -

Everyone needs one of those don't they?

Originally, I had planned to make the optical illusion quilt using red and black. I started by cutting the red fabric only to find that I did not have quite enough of it. I was a little nonplussed because I don't usually run out of a specific fabric. I was not too hopeful of finding it as it is an older fabric but when my friend L. and I went out for a quilt store day, I was successful. So I can now finish another Illusion Quilt and perhaps it will work out...

After I finish the wonky tiles quilt the next projects on my list will be to add the borders of the Winding Ways Quilt and to the mate of the Trip around the world quilt.
Kim has posted some of the other people's projects and giveaways on her blog for the August Challenge. You can find Kim here. Finishing projects is indeed very satisfying...

How are your projects coming along?

Thank you for all your comments about last week's post. It is always nice to hear from other bloggers and to look at new and old blogs. I have tried to comment back on most of your blogs. I do hope that you will come and visit again.

The summer vacation is disappearing and so am I for now..

Happy quilting,

Warmest Regards,
Anna

The Ides of March ....

It is snowing outside yet again- perhaps it will be the last of the snow- one can only hope that is so -
Today is March 15 and I am feeling introspective - thinking about a young man who was gone too soon- a young man that was the same age as our son,K.is now. On this day in 1975 my husband's brother David lost his life in an automobile accident. An accident that in one small moment took away a son and a brother. One is left to wonder what might have been all these years later. He is remembered for his zest for life, his gifted ability on the piano and his passion about music, mathematics and sports. He was gone before I was part of my husband's day to day life but his presence is still missed.
When I made the family photo quilt for Bruce's parents, I thought long and hard about how to include David. In the end, I chose to put him at the top in the middle. I wanted David to be remembered as a loved family member.. to acknowledge his presence and importance as a family member. The center of the quilt has my in- laws wedding picture surrounded by the families of their four adult children. I know that this quilt was well loved by Bruce's parents. It currently hangs in my mother-in law's room. When we lose our loved ones, it is the memories that help us and keep that person alive in our hearts. You remain forever in our hearts,David!

This lovely diamond log cabin quilt is not my work - well that is not completely true- I did quilt it but a good friend and quilt teacher L., made this top and gave it to me when I was searching for a quilt for a fundraising project. I quilted it up and stil have this beauty in my collection of quilts because the fundraiser project never came to pass. It is a real beauty and another variation of log cabin. The pink and black color combinations are wonderful together. I really love how she created movement with the diamonds by using various black fabrics of the same color value. It shows how you don't need to have a big background piece of fabric- you can use a combination of background fabrics equally effectively.
Here is Mars in a familiar spot- sitting on a pile of quilts- this log cabin was one that I practised meandering on when I first was learning how to meander quilts. I did not make this top either( another example of L.'s terrific work) - I just practised my quilting. Doesn't Mars look serene on it? The colors were a lovely earth combination- with some pretty batiks too!!
The log cabin pattern really is versatile and can be used to make beautiful patterns. The technique is not complicated though there are some that are more intricate than others. I do love this traditional pattern.

A big Thank you goes out to Kim http://kimsbigquiltingadventure.blogspot.com/. She sent me a lovely note with her giveaway prize- two patterns "Yellow Brick Road" and her own pattern "Spring". Kim has just opened her own etsy shop with kits for her great bunnies "Bette" and "Buckey". Do go and check out her blog - it is one of my favorite places to visit.

Time to go and make a bracelet with beads for a friend. It is her birthday soon and I would like to give her a small gift. I can bead faster than I can quilt. Do you do other hobbies besides quilting? Quilting is my first love but sometimes I need to do other things that are not as time consuming. I enjoy the process of both hobbies- Whatever your passion I hope that it feeds your creative soul.

I am wishing for spring here in Alberta and looking forward to seeing some green grass poking its head up. It was beautiful yesterday - the snow had melted under the trees in our backyard but alas it was Mother Nature pulling a trick- there is a fresh snow pile there today,

Have a great week - May you spend some happy times together with family and friends..
Regards,
Anna

Log Cabin Quilts and their variations

Do you love traditional patterns or do you like more avant garde patterns? Do you make small quilts or big quilts? Do you use bright colors or more pastel hues? What do you do to make your quilts be a signature that reflects your personal style? Do you alter the pattern or do you make it the way the quilt designer has made it?
I have been thinking about how my quilting has evolved over the ten plus years that I have been a " serious quilter". My colors have got brighter and bolder over time. This quilt is a quilt pattern called Chimney and Corner Stones. I made it one summer about 1999(perhaps slightly earlier) I love the rich colors in this quilt - the burgundy stones and the rich deep green fabrics work together so beautifully. The floral border is just yummy and I still love it all these years later. The quilt belongs to a dear friend of my parents named Sherry. Sherry is as beautiful as the colors in this quilt. She is a gorgeous painter and paints flowers, birds and most other things found in nature. She paints on most every surface imaginable- canvas, skates, boxes, candles - you name it and she has probably painted her creations on that surface. When she was ill a few years ago, I gave her this quilt to wrap a garden around her - she lost her vision for a period of time. As someone who enjoys color and creating things, I could only imagine how frightening it must be not to be able to see and to paint the luscious colors that are part of our world. Today her vision has improved and she is back painting her beautiful pieces of art (I feel very fortunate to be the recipient of some her lovely work. Sherry knows that I love sunflowers so she has made me some beautiful sunflower pieces that adorn our home.
She and her husband Brian,are celebrating their wedding anniversary today(I believe that it is their 42) so I want to send them my best wishes for a wonderful day and dinner.
I do like log cabin patterns and there are so many variations. I have made diamond log cabins and set the log cabin pattern to form spinning pinwheels. There are so many different variations of this traditional pattern. Do you have a favorite pattern?

Log cabin was my first quilt. In 1986, I made a quilt in a day log cabin using Eleanor Burns "Quilt in a Day". I didn't have a rotary cutter at that time nor did I make the quilt in a day - more like a year. I used a double polyester batt because I wanted it to be puffy. :O) I wrestled that quilt through the arm bed of my old Kenmore machine without a walking foot. I have so many more tools now and have learned much on my quilting journey. I still have my first bed quilt - it is in sad shape - the victim of our pets and a child. That log cabin quilt taught me many valuable lessons - perhaps that was your experience too. Do you still have your first quilt?

The handsome dude on the quilt is my son,Kevin at age two months.He is still just as handsome but somewhat larger at age 21). I loved his knitted booties!! The furry critter beside him was our beloved dog Tigger. The log cabin was set as Sunshine and Shadows design. It was a well loved quilt and was on our bed for many years before I made a new one to replace it.

This week I was a winner of a quilt giveaway pattern from Kim http://kimsbigquiltingadventure.blogspot.com/ I have been enjoying Kim's blog for a long time. She is a marvellous quilter with a generous heart and I thank her for the lovely pattern. Do check out her blog - she is currently making a very cool little shamrock topper and providing a tutorial for it.

If you are looking for heart patterns for quilts do check out Michele's blog http://with-heart-and-hands.blogspot.com/ She has a wonderful list of free heart patterns as well as a new list in today's blog for baby quilts. Michele also has a wonderful blog that shares her life's experiences and her love of quilting.
There are so many wonderful quilters who are sharing their ideas and knowledge. The internet has provided a great way to connect quilters around this globe. If you have time, do explore the blog list on the side. There are many wonderful writers sharing their ideas and experiences - I visit these blogs regularly to be inspired and to light my creative fires.

School is a little busy right now and I am looking forward to attending our annual teacher's convention. There will be some good speakers and the opportunity to reconnect with some teaching colleagues.

Be well and have a great week.
Regards,
Anna

A Traditional Quilt

Tomorrow is the first day of December and the Christmas season will soon be in full swing. Here in Alberta, the snow has not yet arrived, but the spruce, fir and pine trees to be decorated are out in the tree lots. The weather has been mild and pleasant. Without the snow, it does not feel quite right that I should be thinking about Christmas. However, I am beginning to think about decorating my house for Christmas. ,Perhaps today I will ask my son to bring up the Christmas village and the Christmas stain glass for the dining room window. At school, we are busy preparing for the school Christmas concert and making decorations for this event. All these things tell me that Christmas is coming all too quickly- I need to start getting some more family Christmas shopping done.

This quilt was made around 2000 and is a double Irish chain. It is owned by inlaws who would have celebrated their wedding anniversary on the
8th of December. They would have been married 65 years this year. For some reason,this quilt does not photograph well- the colors are not quite right- The base is a beautiful burgandy color and the Irish Chain has bird fabric with gold and a lovely leaf green. I learned some interesting lessons trying to make the outside border continuous. It took a little finagling to get the corners ending up joined properly.


My parents have a ,design mate to this quilt. It is black and red, with a big rose print, and has a very different feel(more artsy somehow) even though it is the same traditional design as this quilt. My inlaws quilt looks more traditional than my parents. I am still working on a way to get my print photos into digital format-so it may be awhile before you see their quilt. I often have made more than one quilt of the same design- It appears, that I have a hard time creating only color palette so I often end up with two or three quilts of the same pattern.:D)

This week in the mail I was fortunate to receive a giveaway prize from Michelle at Tales from the Raspberry Rabbits. In the box, there were two lovely quilted tree decorations- a stocking, and tree, as well as a beautiful Christmas stocking. There was a nice cup of raspberry tea and piece of Ghiaradelli chocolate to eat. Thank you Michelle for your lovely gift. Do check out Michelle's blog-
http://theraspberryrabbits.blogspot.com/ She is one talented lady.

My husband and some friends have gone looking for some meteorites- Last week, a large fireball was seen here on the prairies and some of the meteorites have been located. We think quilting takes us on interesting adventures.... but I can see that having a hobby may take one to many different places and introduces you to many wonderful people..
I hope you are having some good weather and fun times as you prepare for the Holiday season..

Happy Quilting,
Anna