Where to begin.....

Gran of Knotty Embroidery lady sent me this fantastic giveaway prize in the mail that arrived last Friday. In it, was this beautiful Sunflower fall panel( and as you all know by now, I am crazy about Sunflowers)
Gran also posted some pictures of her lovely giveaway prize on a recent blog post. You can check it out by clicking on her name. Thank you Gran for choosing me- How lucky can a lady be...

For all you fans of GoTO the squirrel, friend Rosa sent me this very funny post of another squirrel. It is very funny-- and the squirrel is amazingly adorable!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8108297.stm

My mailbox has continued to have other lovely things that included this pattern from Kellie of " Don't Look Now" is the brilliant designer of these patterns from Australia. I also received this lovely pattern from of Toni of the Red Boot Co. Isn't it a great children's quilt pattern. She also is a pattern designer from the land down under. A very big Thank You goes out to both of these talented ladies. If you click on their names you will be able to visit their wonderful blogs too.

Last weekend, my friend Lou and I got a chance to go out together. We often go east of our city but this time we decided to head west to one of our surrounding communities called Stony Plain. They have two quilt stores in their little town- I bought a few bits and pieces to add to the stash. As always, I enjoyed a pleasant afternoon with a very dear friend.

At one of the shops,though, there was a set of tables like a flea market. I came home with some great thrift finds- some beautiful floral tiles, some dishes like ones my gran had that are carnival glass, a ruler box, a set of 5 fabric sunflowers in a reproduction can, a gorgeous primitive doll in her chair an and a great green club chair...
I love floral tiles and these ones have a space so that one can hang them as a set of four on the wall.
Isn't the doll beautiful? Don't you love her hankerchief dress? I love her primitive face!

I remember having the reproduction tins in our kitchen at home - they were the blue version of this particular can which she also had, but had just sold it before I chose the sunflowers container that I wanted. The ladies' prices were very reasonable and I came home with things that brought back a flood of memories of my childhood. As for the chair, it looks great in our living room.

On the quilty front, I have a baby wrap waiting to be quilted..
I have made many many of these baby wraps - this one is for a friend of my son's who has just had a baby... Hopefully this weekend, I will get to it- When I first made this design I tied them, but now I machine quilt them and use minkee or fleece on the inside. They work great inside car seats or when babies are first playing on the floor.

Some of you were wondering about some of the patterns that I mentioned in my previous blog. Here are the two patterns that other people chose to make in this fall's class.

However here is my project: I will continue to make more flags and form half hexagons
to form the diamonds. VBS Hopefully, I will figure out how this design works.

Pat at Silver Thimble Talk is having a giveaway- go quickly and check it out..
She posed the question of "When did you begin quilting?"

I thought I had a clear answer to her question but when I thought about it, I have been quilting for a lot longer than I realized. My quilting experiences first began when I was about 18 and I met a friend whose grandmother taught her to quilt. We made "Dresden Plate" pieces with cardboard templates and used scissors to cut them out. After that, I made baby wraps, panel vests and bags with quilted fabrics. I took a few classes to learn how to seminole piece and make "Cathedral Windows" Christmas ornaments. In 1987, I made my first big quilt - a" Log Cabin Quilt in a Day"Pattern by Eleanor Burns. It took me about a year to complete- I used a double layer of polyester batting and wrestled its queen sized bulkiness in my regular domestic machine. That quilt still exists though it is quite tattered now.
I recently bought a new book " Not your grandmother's Log Cabin" by Sara Nephew and Marci Baker. It is a lovely book with lots of gorgeous stars by making a diamond log cabin block.



My current passion for quilting began in 1996 when I started to quilted regularly. I have made over 50 bed sized quilts since that time- I continue to enjoy exploring different techniques and designs. What about your quilting journey? When did you begin to quilt?

Fall has been warm here in Alberta and the leaves are starting to turn.. My little ones continue to keep me busy and life is a bit hectic these days.

Hope all is well with you and yours.

Be well,
Warmest 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