Quilting for love- summer 2013

This summer I decided it was important for me  to make some dedicated time for quilting. I wanted to know what I love about quilting . I got to thinking about why I quilt, when I was reading on a quilt forum that I read regularly, someone posted the question:" Why do you quilt"? What keeps you quilting? How did you become a quilter? What inspires you to keep you quilting?

In some ways they are very separate questions and in other ways they are very much related. I have always loved quilts but did not have any relatives who were quilters. I am told that my father's mother made quilts but unfortunately none of her work remains. As an aside, I made a Double Wedding Ring quilt a number of years ago in tribute to my grandmother.( By the way, there is a Double Wedding Ring challenge going on right now. If you check Bumblebeans blog on my sidebar - Victoria  Finlay Wolfe's blog, you will find some information about it) but I digress..

My answer to the quilting question is reflected in the following photos.
Quilts provide ways to support causes that need support.
 Recently, I bought this lovely little quilt from the Alzheimer Art Quilt Initiative project that was created by Amie Simms in 2006. This piece was made by a lovely lady by the name of Michele Bilyeu who has contributed 75 quilts (9X 12 in) to aid and support the fund for Alzheimer's research. Do check out this post Alzheimer 15,000 quiltfor more information about this important research.

Another reason that I enjoy quilting, is that I love fabric. I have been collecting fabric for the better part of 20 years and have some gorgeous pieces just waiting to be used in the many in my head quilts that are waiting to be made. These fabrics are ones that I pulled from the stash(mostly)for a recent project- a wedding signature quilt. Since this photograph I have completed the signature blocks for the wedding and am waiting for some of the blocks to be returned to me so that I can put them together in a top. The layout is a free pattern called the Fourth of July and can be found on Bonnie Hunter's quiltville website. If you are not familiar with her website, you may want to check it out. Bonnie is a prolific teacher, designer and quilter,  who does amazing things with scraps. She has a number of books out and is generous with her ideas. Her blog is one of the first blogs that I ever followed.

In June,2013 there was some horrific storms in a city named Calgary that lays 200 miles to the south of the place where I call home. In the surrounding areas of High River, Canmore, Bragg Creek, Kananaskis and Siksika Indian Nation areas, the heavy rains created significant heavy flooding. Some areas like the downtown area of Calgary had flooding that filled their hockey/ entertainment arena well up into the seating areas.

 One sometimes wonders what can a person do, besides donate money to help support others in their time of need. For some of us, it means that we can create quilts to wrap around and provide comfort and warmth, to those who may have lost much. That is one of the reasons why a group called Quilts for Calgary was born.

 Here in Edmonton , a long arm quilting studio called Sparrow Studioz, provided a place for some Edmonton quilters for 5 Sundays in July, to donate their time, talents and materials to create quilts for Calgary.
A big thank you go out to Matt ( manquilter) and Bradie Sparrow for their generosity. This quilt top was made
  by my mentor teacher and friend, Linda and quilted by Bradie on the long arm.
 It is a one of the many beautiful quilts that are on  their way to Calgary.
 I loved this purple and black one that has a medallion design.

Here Ms. D., is putting together some beautiful batiks that were donated from a local quilter's stash, to create a disappearing 9 patch. It is going to be a stunning quilt.

This one is a top that I have recently finished up- the blocks came from a quilting friend who lives in the area around my hometown of  Red Deer. I will take it tomorrow to the ladies who use the long arm quilting machines and then I will bind it and add it to the ever growing pile of quilts
 Below are two more of the quilts that will head to the Calgary area.
I have to say it has been a wonderful opportunity to contribute to my community in whatever small way I could. Quilters made bindings, pieced batting  and backing together, or, sent in fabrics for backing and blocks, and even whole tops to be quilted and shared. There were companies that donated batting, fabric while other places helped to defray the costs of shipping and getting them to Calgary area. We were only one of many individual/ groups of quilters across the province who were busy making quilts for down south.

Back to the original question of why I quilt- In some ways its simple- 

Quilting feeds my creative spirit and allows me to play. Being a kindergarten teacher, I know about the importance of play in life. We all need to play whether we are 2 or 92. Play helps us to have balance, solve problems or provide us with opportunities to socialize with others. Quilting has introduced me to some wonderful friends that I would never known without the sharing of our passion for quilting.

Quilts give me a way to express my love to friends and family- Like most other quilters I know, my quilts are gifts from my heart, whether they are for a loved one or a stranger. The quilts form a big hug around its owner , when they wrap the quilt around themselves. 

This little poster hangs in the washroom of the Sparrow's studio. The mat says" Keep off the grass and buy a standard sewing machine." I like the playfulness of  this poster. That playfulness is joyful- something that I feel when I am quilting. 

So why do you quilt? 

Wishing you time to play and create with whatever brings you joy..

Warmest regards,
Anna

A Potpourri of News - now just where I have I been lately?

 I don't even know where to begin, as the past 6 weeks have flown by. These last weeks have been filled with many things - some which were tied to the end of the school year.
 Here are the current flowers on our dining room table -some pretty pink and white carnations.
This lovely lady is my friend Brenda, who started her official retirement from our school district after over 35 years of teaching yesterday. Our friendship goes back to when I was a relatively new teacher ( my second school) We have maintained a friendship for over 30 years and I was delighted to be invited to her retirement. I am sure she is going to enjoy some great times with family and friends as well as exploring her passion for cooking, gardening and scrapbooking. Happy Retirement, my friend!
Here is a photograph of the lovely wallhanging that I received from Sharon (Vrooman's quilts) in the post awhile back. The photos do not do this beautiful wall hanging justice. There is some fabulous bead work on the crossstitched feathers. It is a really beautiful gift that I am honored to be its caretaker.

In the early part of June ( right in the middle of report card writing LOL) my local guild held their biannual quilt show. It was held in a seniors center that has some spectacular glass works hanging from the ceiling. I have included a smattering of the quilts that we saw-( we only had a couple of hours at the show so we missed some of the quilts, but what we did see was a wonderful collection of local talent) I loved this collection of musical notes - I think that they must play some beautiful melody - they sure look pretty together don't you think. Music of the heart  could be their title..




This Judy Niemeyer pattern is stunning and the young woman that made the quilt did a spectacular job of it. I believe that it was long arm quilted by one of our local long arm quilters named Matt Sparrow.

 He and his wife Bradie have a long arm quilting studio here in Edmonton, and do fantastic work. Perhaps one day I might try out long arm quilting but for now I am content to quilt on my Babylock quilting machine.
The Sparrow family are also very generous people- Tomorrow, they have invited quilters to come and use the long arm machines at the studio to make quilts for our friends who have been wiped out by the floods  in Southern Alberta.

 Recently our sister city of Calgary  and the surrounding areas ( High River, Canmore, Bragg Creek and Siksika Indian Nation) experienced some horrendous flooding.The central core of the city of Calgary was immersed in water in the as well as many housing districts along the Bow river. They evacuated many areas  of the city. The big hockey arena ( the Saddledome) and home to the Calgary Stampede grounds were saturated with flooding. There is also a wonderful Zoo there, that faced many challenges trying to keep all the animals safe. At one point, there was some concerns that the hippos might end up swimming down the river. Back to the quilt show...

I found this very fun quilting lady wall hanging utterly charming. I loved the details the quilter added to her quilt. I especially loved her red boa and the cat lying at her feet. She also has a fabulous earring in her ear.  
 Here are some very special men in my life- One of the things I did for Father's Day, was make a small collection of family photos in an album on my facebook page. The one on the left is our son, Kevin, when he was about 3 months old. The other one was taken this spring when he was home visiting. The photos were taken 25 years apart. I have always loved this baby photo- it always brings me joy looking at the two of them together.
.
June has been a particularly rainy month here in Edmonton. We recently had lunch with some friends in a wonderful restaurant, Le Ronde, that rotates and gives some spectacular views of our fair city. You can see that the North Saskatchewan River is pretty high as well. It recently crested and the levels have now dropped. You can see on the right hand side that there are four pyramids that are a local plant conservatory.
In case you are wondering whether I  have abandoned quilting , I did finish these two sideline quilts.( I also got 9 baby wraps bound so they are ready for the next babies.
 This Pueblo pots quilt was given to this wonderful couple Ian and Charlotte to celebrate their relatively recently acquired home. ( it is only about a year late - LOL)
 I hope that they enjoy many happy years together in their lovely home.

 One of the fun things we brought to our school grounds was this bouncing castle, as part of our year end fun day . My school kids loved bouncing and crawling through the obstacle course.
We had a couple of heavy rains and a severe thunderstorm the night before my school kids were finished. One thunderstorm knocked out a transformer and left us without power for part of the last day of school.

I also finished the other Sideliner quilt that I called Floral Retreat. It was made for my friend, Deloris, who also retired. I know that she is going to enjoy lots of time travelling to visit her family in Louisana, Michigan and California. She is passionate about books and I will miss her friendship and our conversations about children's literature.

So there you have it - Life has indeed been full- I am looking forward to summer vacation- it is such a change of pace after the busyness of school. I plan to get some things done around the house ( I began cleaning the stove today-) As well I have some quilts to create. I will begin working on the signature block quilt tomorrow.
 We had intended to go to Banff later in the summer but with the flooding in that area of the Rockies, it may make road travel a little complicated. We think instead we will head to Jasper for a few days, which is another beautiful part of the Canadian Rockies but is farther north. I love the mountains- there is something very restful about going to stay there...

 Today was a lovely day- a visit to a couple of my favorite quilt shops and a wonderful second hand shop.(Needless to say, my fabric stash didn't get any smaller LOL... One of the things I love about summer, is the opportunity to connect and reconnect with my friends and family.
 My dear friend, Lou, came in from her lake cottage for the day. We had such a nice time together exploring our favorite haunts as well as having lunch together. I also spend some time on the phone with my dear friend, Val just catching up with one another. I even had some time with my spouse watching some of the tennis at Wimbledon.
Bruce began his summertime shifts as a public interpreter at the local observatory today.
 This evening I managed to finally put all the spring bunnies away and will take out some summer decor for the sideboard..
And so the summer begins- Hopefully I will return sooner and more regularly to any of you who are my blog friends. I have been quite neglectful of my blog this year. Thanks to you all, who continue to visit.  I have added a bloglovin link should you wish to follow my ramblings :O)
 Until next time, be well,
 Warmest regards,
 Anna

The Busyness of May and a question about wedding signature quilts..

I keep thinking that I will get myself back on track and writing more consistently but for one reason or another this poor blog gets the short shift or the long delay.. The last few weeks have been full and it is bound to get busier before the end of the school term. Let's start with some flowers to brighten your day. These roses are still hanging in- they were a glorious red - almost magenta and have lasted a long time. Outside the tulips along the south side of our house are blooming and the grass has begun to green up.

This morning I spent some time outside cleaning out the flower barrels and raking up some of the debris, sticks and such so that the grass can be mowed. One of the bonuses of cleaning up the debris, was finding a bracelet that I had made long ago and thought was long gone. I lost it in January and looked all over the place for it ,before giving it up for lost. Imagine my surprise when I found it this morning, while I was raking up. The backyard has some dandelions blooming that will need to be tended to- we do get rabbits in our neighbourhood, so I am reluctant to treat them with anything but the mower.

Recently I picked up this new book by Jennifer Chiaverini from our local library. I am hoping to get it read before it is due, because it is sure to need to returned at the 3 week deadline. Has anyone read this one? Do you like it as well as her other books? I have enjoyed reading her other books and have read all the Elm Creek stories.

 Last weekend was Mother's Day throughout North America. The chocolates were part of my Mother's Day gift, along with this stunning stone bracelet from my beloved. I am a girl who loves rocks/stones and I had wished that I could afford to buy it, after I saw it in a local rock shop. What a lovely surprise when Bruce handed it to me on Mother's Day.
 The stones are a gorgeous red/purple/pink color and it is lovely to wear. I am one lucky lady.

In February, I attended a long service awards evening that recognized school board staff. I was given a catalogue of items to choose from - my choice was this clock with a globe that spins at the top of it. My clock arrived this week. I love how it looks with the constellation and earth globes.
A quilting friend sent me this fun photo of a super quilter. I definitely need to be one of those this summer, as I have a number of quilts to get made. I have been trying to get on track with some of the projects but am a little short on energy... This little old lady makes me smile!

One of my summer projects is a wedding signature quilt. Has any of you readers made one? Got any advice about fabric choices? fabric pens? all advice greatly appreciated. I think I may have found a pattern(but I am still open to ideas) I am also looking to find a light colored fabric. Do I use white? other colors? I know that I need to back it with freezer paper so that it makes it easier to write on- I am only going to prepare the blocks rather than putting the whole quilt together before the wedding.

Recently I finished quilting these baby wraps- they just need some binding. I have been trying to get them completed so that I can concentrate on other projects. The binding is sewn together but not pressed.

I bought myself a new 6 and a half inch ruler not long ago- I thought I had at least one of them, with all my pile of rulers- but I could not find it (Does that ever happen to you? LOL) Now I have no more excuses to get these blocks squared so they can be pieced together. It will be a lovely little quilt once I get the tedious but necessary cutting completed. I recently was reading the blogs in blogland during a blog hop and won a very lovely prize from Sharon of Vrooman's quilts. It is a stunning wall hanging that she made a few years ago with beautiful cross stitched swans. Thank you so much Sharon- I will treasure it always..
 Do check out her beautiful blog- she has lots of great ideas that she shares with her readers.  http://vroomansquilts.blogspot.ca/search?updated-max=2013-05-12T21:25:00-07:00&max-results=4
This weekend is an extra long weekend - It is Victoria Day here in Canada. It has been a full weekend already- Our god daughter graduated from high school on Thursday. We attended the opening of Body World's at the Telus World of Science. We also had dinner out with dear friends last evening and I went to a wedding ceremony for a friend's daughter this afternoon. I hope to drop in on a friend tomorrow and then go off to see my family.. Sometimes it is hard to fit in quilting time... Life is indeed full - Until next time be well..
I would love to hear any ideas that you might have about making wedding signature quilts.  All suggestions gratefully appreciated..
Warmest regards,
Anna

Spring - just remembering.....

While Spring is only beginning to make an appearance here in Alberta- our dining room table has had a few bundles of spring flowers...We have enjoyed tulips, daffodils and iris over the last few weeks.
Somehow I have not been very productive in a quilty way.. Its not that I haven't been looking at fabric. I recently received an order from Hancocks as I did not have any grey or cream batiks in the stash.  I have a specific project in mind that required that I  using those colors..I am trying to order less from the US ( rising postal rates combined with a huge stash that is waiting to be used LOL) However Hancocks had a deal on shipping and they do have good prices in their clearance section of batiks, so I succumbed to the sale and ended up with some lovely neutrals as well as more kids fabrics for baby wraps.. I am very happy with the fabrics that arrived- now if I could only get on with the projects..
Recently my school participated in a district fundraiser for kids so I made some jewelery and coordinating scarves to be used in a silent auction.   
They raised a little money for kids and I got to play with some beads and yarn - a winning combination - don't you think?
 I have been reading a book about the importance of Play by Dr. Stuart Brown. One of the most striking points that come from the book is the importance of continuing to play all of our lives. Sometimes  I find it quite a challenge  to balance work and play- even though I know I feel better when I play- I admire those of you who can carve out play time on a daily basis... even if it is only a half hour a day. I am just not very organized about playing versus working, and I get distracted by things I find on the computer- email, pinterest and facebook not to mention my favorite blogs...
I recognize that reading blogs and checking out things on the computer is  a different form of playing - but then I don't quilt or knit or bead...It is quite the conundrum... How to do you balance your time?  Do you set a timer and say that is all the time you can use to do one thing or another? Perhaps you have another way to fit in time to create and play?
  
This evening I started out trimming these blocks- it is a bit tedious and so I have squared some of the blocks (if I put my head down and just trimmed it would go a lot faster).
 Over the past week I have cut bias binding for the 10 baby wraps that I want to get made over the next few weeks. I plan to get the wraps spray basted soon so that I can get some baby wraps quilted up..
However none of these steps, which are valuable parts of the quilt processes, make for a very interesting blog writing.
Recently we have had some family events - our grand niece, Miss A turned two. Here she is with her beloved flopsy earred bunny.

We also remembered the birthday of my husband's brother, David by having a lovely brunch at a local hotel. He would have turned 60 at the beginning of April. David left us far too early - He died suddenly in a car accident in 1975- a  young man not quite 22.

 

I pulled out this coat that hangs in a closet in our house- a treasured piece of clothing that belonged to Dave. It holds a host of memories for my spouse. Dave was a talented pianist who had eclectic taste in music. Here is a collection of some of his favorite bands from the early 70's ( the Band, Genesis, Led Zeppelin and Chopin's Piano Concerto) David took my husband to his first concert- Procol Harem playing with ESO ( Edmonton Symphony Orchestra). Inside the vinyl record cover is a ticket stub and program from that concert - more treasured memories. David was a gifted mathematican and a writer. He worked for Canadian University Press at the time of his passing.

 I did not know Dave except for my husband's stories and memories. When I created this quilt for Bruce's parents, it was important to meto include David in the family wall hanging.

 You can see David's photo in the top in the middle. This quilt recently returned to our home after Bruce's mother passed away last fall. For a long time it had hung over Bruce's mother's bed. Mars is laying on our family picture. Do you think she recognizes her family?

April is a month of birthdays-both of my parent's celebrated their birthdays recently so I will leave you with the spinning flower quilts from earlier in my quilting journey.

This quilt belongs to my father. It is called Dad's garden and is made of rich batiks. The exact pattern name escapes me at present, but is a template quilt.

 I created 4 quilts of this pattern - two that had vivid bright batik flowers( the batik quilts were quite similar) but the other two were more subtle and different from one another. It is so interesting to see how different a quilt can look when one uses different fabric combinations.

Quite the contrast isn't it? This one was very soft looking with a mint background and pale sashing between the blocks.

And the final variation with no sashing between the blocks and a beautiful print backing and border- The spinning flowers were all different fat quarter prints.

Life does seem to get full and maintaining my blog is sometimes a challenge. Thanks for joining me for a bit of reminiscing and helping me honor David's memory. 

My quilts contain my stories and my life's journey - yours do too.. I believe that the stories behind the quilts are often as interesting as the beautiful works created from the fabrics.

 One day soon I will have some new pieces to show you I hope.

In the meantime, I hope to find my followers list - it appears to have disappeared from my sidebar. I am still not sure if I need to change something so that I continue to have a list of my valued followers. I know that some of the google reader is disappearing soon . Some of the technical parts of blogging remain a mystery to me. The more I read the more confused I get... LOL

Wishing you lots of time to play so that you can feed your creative spirit.

 

Warmest regards,

 Anna

 

A Spring Break and a visit

It is spring time here in Alberta and we still have snow on the ground. The last few days of March have finally brought some melting to the big piles of white snow that fell over the last few months. This beautiful array of alstromeria has decorated our table for the last couple of weeks.
 I love the rainbow colors after all that white outside.
I have had the past 10 days off- a lovely break from the busy days at school. However, it is not that I have not been busy- au contraire- we had a very hectic beginning, with the arrival of our son and his fiancee from the east coast( about 4000 miles from where we live). We met them at my parent's home which is about 100 miles south of us.

This is a photo that was taken by either my mother or his girl- I like it very much- I miss his beautiful smile and this one fills my heart with joy when I look at the two of us together. Here is the four of us in my parent's kitchen- My folks renovated it a few years ago and it was one full space when the kids were home. My mother ( chef extraordinaire) cooked up a full turkey dinner( actually two turkeys) to feed the 20 of us that got together. The house was bulging with activity - there was one toddler, one five year old, two babies not to mention all the adults in the house. It was great to see so many of my family and to have time together, however compressed that it was.  One of the other highlights of their whirlwind visit was a lovely evening with some family that lives her in Edmonton. They also tried to fit in some time with some friends of our son. My husband went with the boys (Kev's best friend) to see the Star Wars exhibit at our local science center. It was a grand show that had lots of artifacts and props from the movies. The Star War exhibit finished up this weekend so he was lucky to get a chance to see it.
I love seeing my folks with our son and his fiancee. He loves my parents very much and I know that the feeling is mutual.The boy and his girl had come to start their wedding plans for next summer. The wedding will be held in Banff- a spectacular place to visit with the gorgeous mountain views. It is only the beginning of some exciting days ahead. Lest you think that I did not get any quilting things done well that would not be true... Kev and Rose were here  in the beginning part of the week. After they went, I found lots to keep me busy. I finished a couple of novels- one by Lisa Jackson (Wicked Lies) and the other by Kristin Hannah ( Winter Garden).
I got the mystery quilt ( the quilt has already been revealed on Quilt with us Connecting Threads forum) parts cut out and sewed the first part together. I still need to cut the strips into sections so that I can make the four patch blocks. I have barely got this quilt started but I think it will work out pretty well.

I pieced the next part of my blocks together for the Rock Candy purple quilt. My next job is square up the 120 sections so that I can piece the 30 blocks together. It is a pretty quilt but I am not sure that I am going to make it into a large quilt. I also tried to fit in a little beading as I have offered to make a bracelet or two for a fundraiser auction that is being held in mid April. Time goes all to fast so I need to get them finished for the auction.

Yesterday I had a new assistant( Dusty the dog) as I began to cut out 10 baby wraps. I tend to make them in bunches as babies seem to be coming in bunches. A friend at work commissioned me to make a couple and I know of three babies that are to born in the summer that will need a wrap.    Dusty all but disappeared in the pile of minkee... LOL
She does look somewhat pathetic doesn't she? All she wanted to do was sleep in her bed on the floor and the minkee fabric kept getting in the way..

So here is the pile of wraps waiting for me to quilt them together.. The scraps on the right will be turned into bias binding before I put the rest of the fabrics in the scrap box for other projects. Somehow the scrap pile keeps growing..

 I was a lucky lady recently ( actually I am lucky lady all the time) but this good fortune had to do with winning this lovely bracelet and earring set. Isn't it pretty? Do go and check out Elaine's lovely blog- she has recently returned from a trip to Florida- lots of great photos of a fun journey. .http://elaineakers.blogspot.ca/2013/02/time-to-beadbracelets-and-earrings.html
I also won some bunny buttons from Button Mad from an earlier blog hop giveaway.. They are really sweet buttons and will look great on children's clothing or some other fun project.
I return to school on Tuesday so I have one more day to get some more work done on projects. I will have some last bits of paperwork to finish. This school year has flown by - I can't believe we are soon in the last quarter of the school year. There is lots of learning to do but I can see lots of growth in my little ones at school.
 Happy Easter and Happy Spring....

Thanks for dropping by for a visit... Until next time be well..
 I am looking forward to sunshine and green grass..
My other assistant will be watching for it..
Warmest regards,
Anna