Part of where August went....

This last weekend while I reading my facebook page I came across a  blog  rainbows within reach by Debbie Clement. It is a wonderful touching post about creativity and she posted this fabulous poster.

Flowers have the ability to say so many wonderful things- Wouldn't this poster make a fabulous quilt. Thank you  Debbie for sharing your story and this beautiful poster. 

 

I know that I have been away for awhile. August was a creative time for me. I went to a workshop/ retreat at the beginning of August, where we were busy quilting away on some quilts. I used a pattern called Sidelines by Maple Island Quilts. They are the creator of BQ patterns and have a number of lovely patterns that use bigger blocks. I think that their designs would appeal to both modern quilters and more traditional quilters like myself.

See my new sewing machine.... It is a gem that I had the good fortune to acquire from a dear friend, earlier in the summer. Once she was cleaned and got a new belt she sews like a dream. It was perfect for taking to a class or retreat. The machine has a lovely stitch and I was able to get a quarter inch foot for it.  This Vintage Singer Featherweight was born in 1947. If you look carefully behind it, you can see the small plastic bags that hold 6 different Sideline tops.. Did I say I was busy.. Did I say that I put a large number of miles on this little featherweight?

It was the first time that I had ever kitted a quilt for myself- I made the 6 quilts in a series of steps. First I cut the 6 quilts out, and then I sewed the strips together. After that, I  cut the strip sets into the appropriate sizes. Each night for a week I put together the tops of the quilts.. It wasn't long before I had a rainbow of quilts that looked quite different because of the fabric choices. Then I went away to my folks for a few days for a visit.. When I returned it was time to go back to the classroom. I took three of  quilt tops  to school and spray basted the quilts so that I could get them quilted. On the Labor Day Weekend I quilted the three quilts and this past weekend I got them bound.. Now they just need labels on them... I know that you probably want to see them, but right now, I can't show you them until I give them away at the end of the month.. I promise you will see them soon..

In the meantime, I will show you a couple of other things. 

First, Bruce and I went off to visit the mountains in late July. This photograph was taken with Lake Minnewanka in the background. It is close to Banff  Alberta where we were staying.  We had a fabulous time enjoying the pool and the mountain scenery. We stopped in a number of quilt stores where I had the opportunity to add to my stash. I found some lovely pieces in a store in Rocky Mountain House (that journey will be for another post)

On Sunday September 9 we had a new baby arrive in our clan. This beautiful boy is James ( to me, he is sweet baby James, like the James Taylor's song).. He is our first grand nephew- We have four beautiful grand nieces but he is the first boy.. Welcome to the world James.. We are looking forward to meeting you too..

When we were travelling in Central Alberta and visiting some of the quilt shops, Bruce noticed this wall quilt and had to take a picture of it. Doesn't it just make you smile..( It says There is no such thing as too much fabric!!

You may be aware of the company Connecting Threads from Vancouver Washington. They are a lovely company with very affordable prices ( both fabric wise and shipping costs). It is a great place to buy fabric, notions and books if you live in Canada or the USA.( Unfortunately they do not ship overseas)  This gorgeous package came to me as a prize from Penny from Sew take a hike who had created a terrific quilt with solids. She offered up a second  quilt kit to make up yourself ,and I was really fortunate to be the winner of such a lovely solids quilt kit.  I have not used solids much in my quilting so this will be a new challenge.

Here is a closer look at some of the lovely fabrics in the box. Thanks Penny for this wonderful gift. I love the sea foam colors in the group.

This lovely collection of red white and blue things came from a lovely lady named Wendy. You can find her blog here: Wendy  really made a lovely pincushion. She was participating in the red white and blue blog hop. Thanks so much Wendy for these lovely gifts.   Recently I spent some time reading the back to school blog hop- A blog hop is a great way to discover a new to you blog. Sometimes you might even win a giveaway prize.
 Still, I have not fiqured out how to read blogs, write a blog, quilt and work... Sometimes it seems so complicated to manage to do it all- Anyone got some good tips as to  how you manage to read write and create- Somehow I struggle with one or another of these aspects.
I do have fun reading and commenting on all blogs-. You meet so many great people out in blog land. There are so many quilts to be inspired by and lots of interesting dialogue going on with the quilt forums.
Well I think I will sign off for now- Next time I will have some new quilts to show you, and perhaps an old one from the vault too.
Wishing everyone a happy fall / spring to my southern hemisphere friends.
Warmest regards,
Anna