January jelly roll and Convergence quilts.

It is a nice January day outside but I am enjoying a lazy Sunday afternoon with my favorite Chai tea from Second Cup in my favorite snowman mug. The sun was shining earlier and there were people out walking their dogs. We watched some Sunday sports (curling, hockey and NFL football) and I finished up some school work.

Yesterday I cleaned out most of the vestiges of Christmas- there are a few things left - The Winter village and this lovely poinsettia plant will be around for awhile yet. I dusted shelves off, vacuumed the floor and generally got rid of the debris that had been collecting in our living space. It looks a lot nicer and now I can concentrate on the things that I need to for this week.

Bruce brought home some fresh flowers to decorate our table.I especially like fresh flowers on the table in the winter. It just brightens up the living space.We have been enjoying the music of Frazey Ford, who is the lead singer of a band called The Be Good Tanyas. I just got a collection of their music from 2000 - 2012.  Frazey Ford has a new album called Indian Ocean that has some terrific pieces on it.

I have been getting some quilty things accomplished. Last Sunday I quilted, squared and bound this jelly roll quilt. It has turned out quite lovely. Today's goal is to add the label so that I can give it to a friend who is soon leaving our school staff. I hope that she will enjoy cuddling under it on a winter's night. I really have enjoyed making the jelly roll quilts. They are faster than most quilts and this one is about the size of a small twin bed sized quilt.

Athena the cat definitely has given the cat seal of  approval.   She looks lovely on this particular color combo. Athena is becoming a much more sociable cat with us- Her latest friendly ??? move is to come at night, and sleep behind my husband's head. She is quite taken with his head and will lick his hair- Pets really do such funny things to express their feelings and friendship.

This lovely piece of art was a gift from dear friends for our 34th wedding anniversary which we celebrated on Boxing Day. It is the work of a Newfoundland artist named Cara from the Grumpy Goat Gallery. I love the bright colors and the funky way she creates movement in her designs.

I want to find a frame for this card that came with the canvas picture- Don't you love the quilt and the tops turvy  curves . I especially like the clothes on the clotheslines. They both make me smile when I look at them. You can find the Grumpy Goat Gallery  blog on my blog list and if you are on Facebook,  she also has a facebook page.

I am making progress on the wedding quilt. It is not speedy but here is a box full of over 300 half square triangles made, for the next 80 quilt blocks. These ones are all pressed and now I am trimming so that they are all 2 and 1/2 inch square so that they will fit together more accurately. I don't have a firm date of completion, but I am making progress, and the quilt has risen to the top of the pile.

I am really excited about an upcoming event that is happening here in Edmonton. Ricky Tims is coming to Edmonton and I am going to get the opportunity to see him in person. These are some of the quilts that I have made using his techniques and designs. I know I am going to be inspired and enjoy listening to him talk about his process. He came to Calgary a couple of years ago but we were away on holiday so I was not able to take in his session. The photo above is my version of his kaleidoscope pattern.

One of my favorite techniques is his Harmonic Convergence quilts. This one I called Black, white and red all over. I gave it to a friend who was celebrating her 50th birthday.

This flower is called Chantelle Chanson- It was my first sort of improvisational quilting- we use it for a table top cover in our living room. It intentionally has wobbly curvy borders and the points cut off.

And here is another variation of the Convergence quilts... I did a series of them. The original pattern was a wall hanging size but all of mine ended up bed sized quilts.  I have done 7 other posts about the convergence quilts but am not sure how to link it here. I know that they are labelled as such, so perhaps if you are interested check the labels for convergence quilts.

My friend Michele recently posted this piece on her blog about the Harmonic convergence quilts. Michele is an amazing lady who creates really beautiful pieces for others.(if you click on the highlighted words above it will take you to her post). She was very involved in the Alzheimers Art Quilt Initiative that raised money for Alzheimers. Amie Simms spearheaded this project which has now reached its completion. Do go and check out Michele's blog - you will find lots of patterns and links on it .

Bruce and I are going to a concert with Basia Bulat and Harry Manx later this month.  We may go out and see some winter fireworks at the University that is part of Winter festival.  As always there is lots going on at work to keep me busy.  We have been lucky so far here in Alberta - the weather has been relatively mild for January with only a few indoor recess days. The days are getting lighter which always lifts my spirits.
I hope this post finds you all well and that you are  having some time to create beautiful quilts.
Perhaps in the next post I will have some more wedding blocks put together..
Stay warm if you are in the Northern Hemisphere and cool if you live down South.
Warmest regards,
Anna

The Tooth , Magazine Therapy, A Package, and some quilt process..

Part one a Tooth Saga..
Recently, Bruce and I stopped to buy some groceries and a few things for the prize box for my little ones at school. While we were there, I saw on the shelf, one of my favorite candies " Edinburgh Toffee". It had been quite awhile since I had sampled its sticky goodness so I bought a bag as a treat. Mint,chocolate, licorice and vanilla flavors are some of my favorite toffees. Someone ought to have reminded me that middle aged teeth do not always like chewy candies, and while enjoying one, I suddenly found myself with a large chunk out of a wisdom tooth.. Yikes.... Fortunately, it did not hurt, but unfortunately, it was rather a large hole where there once was a tooth. Yesterday, I phoned the dentist's office and, today after class, I was able to arrange a visit my dentist... To say, that it made me anxious would be an understatement, but I was more fearful of how much of a pain the holey took could become if I didn't take care of it. It didn't take long after my arrival at the dentist- fifteen minutes later with a frozen mouth, I found myself chomping down on a piece of gauze and minus a wisdom tooth. My dentist also sent me home with some instructions to prevent a dry socket(not a fun condition that my husband experienced) and a prescription for antibiotic and Tylenol 3.. It is now a few hours later and other than the residual freezing, it is feeling not too bad- even without the Tylenol, perhaps I may need one before bed but so far, so good)

Part Two.. A visit to Chapters
One of my vices( besides sticky chewy candies LOL) is a love of quilt magazines and books. The book store is literally on the next corner from the dentist's office. I figured I had earned a little diversion after my dental experience, so I checked out the current quilt magazines. I picked up a collection of ten or twelve magazines, and after some perusal, I narrowed it down to these three that came home with me..
Over the summer, I discovered Quilt Life magazine. I really enjoyed reading the inaugural issue and was very pleased to see a copy of it on the Canadian newsstand. Chapters carries a pretty large selection of magazines- that include a number of US and International magazines. There is now a Canadian magazine too - so many choices- which ones would you pick? What makes you choose to buy a magazine or book? For a number of years, I subscribed to Quilters Newsletter (still do), and the Australian Patchwork and Quilting ( still like it a lot but no longer subscribe to it). Currently, I usually buy Fons and Porter..."For the Love of Quilting" and, once in awhile, still buy the Australian Patchwork magazine. I pick and choose more than I used to - each one runs about 7 or 8 Canadian dollars. It quickly adds up not to mention that the piles of magazines get taller and taller.. This time I chose based on what patterns were in the magazines that really might be added to my bucket list of quilts to make.

Part Three_ A Package in the Mail
Armed with some new reading material, some fresh bread and medication we returned home to find a lovely package of fabrics and rotary cutting blades that I ordered from a company called Sew Sisters in Toronto.. I was so pleased to see it had safely arrived and everything that I ordered came too Woo Hoo....
The first one is a backing for a nature quilt that I am thinking about making for a special someone. Usually I work from my stash but this project has involved collecting panels and other fabrics... The design is still in my head... but it is coming along. I also ordered the large rotary cutting blades- they are the best price I can find here in Canada so I was thrilled to get them for even less on this one day sale.( about 20 dollars Canada for 5 blades)
Sew Sisters also had some of Kaffe Fassett fabrics on sale - I was a bit surprised how large one of the designs was ( the orange petal shaped piece is very big) but they are all lovely. I am so looking forward to seeing Kaffe speak here at a local museum in early October. I wonder which quilts and needlework he will bring to show us?

This collection includes a very cute Raggedy Ann and Andy fabric for a baby wrap- and a piece of Valori Wells Sole fabric line.

Recently some bloggers have begun to write about their process while quilting. Here is the beginning squares to my latest convergence. They are wrinkly here but I did press them, before they were cut up into the strips.VBG
And Voila... Here is the newest completed quilt of this year. It is amazing what a difference quilting, binding, not to mention pressing, make to the look of the quilt. I got it bound last week and it is ready for some special people- It just needs a label on it..


I also completed the body of another of the wonky rail ties (8X9)rows so it will be a queen sized version of the blue/green rail ties. There is still 20 more blocks that I can use to make a small couch quilt... I did get rather carried away when I was making those blocks!

Recently I was visiting a fellow blogger,Elaine wrote about a very cool technique that uses square in a square blocks by Jody Barrows. Elaine is having a little trouble with blogger just now, but do check it out( I just clicked the 2nd link), if you are curious about ways to cut up a Square in a Square design. It reminds me of the techniques used to make the disappearing 4 and 9 patch blocks. Quilters do create such amazing designs... I checked on Amazon for Jody's book, but so far, I have not had any luck finding it..

We are beginning to get healthier in our house ( wisdom tooth not withstanding) and getting settled into the fall routines. The trees are turning, the moon is full and Fall has definitely arrived here in Alberta...

Hope this finds you healthy and having fun creating, in whatever medium feeds your creative soul..

Warmest regards,
Anna

Do you wonder where August has gone?

Medicine Lake,Alberta

I know its been awhile- Perhaps you were beginning to think that I was giving up blogging? or that I was lost somewhere and couldn't find my way home?LOL Went on a long journey? Well it is true that my husband Bruce and I went away on a short little trip. We visited the mountains around Jasper Alberta in the heart of the Canadian Rockies. It is very beautiful there don't you think?

Summer vacation is soon over for me-classes begin again next week. Perhaps a sign of the seasons changing, is the changing weather- this morning it was quite cool and I put on a pair of slacks and shirt rather than my usual summer sun dress. I have even been thinking about putting on my slippers....

My aunt ( my mother`s sister) came to visit me today- we had a lovely time together- looking at some genealogy books, talking about our projects and having some lunch that I prepared for us to share together ( turkey spread, buns, tomato bean salad, greek salad, salsa and fresh fruit). While she was here, she showed how to do a bow knit knitting stitch so that I could make a baby blanket or scarf( that is a whole other post). My aunt asked to look at some of summer projects.

Here is a little tour of some of the projects that I have been working on these days..

This convergence quilt is done -Waa hooo..... I must have been more wonky than usual whenI was cutting this quilt because I had lots of difficulty getting this quilt straight- I am pleased with it now - we seem to have recouped it from its original bad haircut!

You may remember me making the large wonky tiles quilt last summer for our dear friends to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary. I thought maybe they would enjoy having matching pillowcases so with a couple of spare blocks( I have another 100 to turn into another quilt or two VBG) I had some scraps from the borders of their quilt and used them to make two pillowcases for them. Happy anniversary dear friends!
I do love Convergence designs and here is a second one. This one still needs to be quilted and bound(I even have the binding made- Now if I could just get it spray basted so that I could quilt it) It is fun to see how the design converge - I really loved how the red stop border sets this quilt off..
Perhaps you remember when I was trying to decide whether I wanted to use this fabric for a border for this quilt? I really like how it sets off the blocks- Sometimes I find it helpful to see a few quilts that have been made using a particular pattern. This is a BQ pattern from Maple Island quilt patterns- I have now bound this quilt- It is waiting for its label and then I can give it to some special people in my life.. Fabric variations really do change how patterns look. This is the same pattern as the previous quilt, but with a little more variety in the big blocks. I am sure it would look different again with all scrappy fabrics. Mars the cat, came to be our assistant when we were setting out the quilts to be photographed. I am very pleased to have 3 quilts finished except for labels. I have some more blocks to join of the tessellation quilt. As well, I have more wonky rail tie blocks that need to be sewn together LOL. I hope to get some of these blocks together so that I have two more quilts made into quilt tops.

August is soon over but it is nice to have finished some projects this summer. The sands of time stop for no one...I wonder if I can put my pedal to the medal so that I can go a little faster?

These past few weeks I have visited some friends and family as well as enjoyed a few books. I recently finished reading " The Forgotten Garden" by Kate Morton ( good story) as well as some more of Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swenson cooking mysteries.

Last week I attended a workshop to help me improve my teaching of reading. I will go and spend some time in my classroom this week. I want to get a few things set up before class begins next week. Our school was renovated this past year and they are working fast and furious for us to be ready for school opening. There are lists to be made and some materials prepared and new lessons to develop _ I can feel the pace of life starting to rev up.

My friend Lou and I went on another local shop hop. Bruce and I stopped in some quilt stores on the way to Jasper. More about that next time...

Some Thank you's

I want to acknowledge two very fine ladies who sent me giveaway gifts in the mail..
Nancy from Blogging near Philadelphia sent me a lovely cupcake pincushion pattern with some sweet buttons.Thanks so much for your thoughtful and generous gift Nancy. Do visit her blog - I enjoy reading her postings - I am sure you will too!

Elizabeth sent me the coolest Abby pincushion and thread bag. If you go to her August 23 posting you will see one that is the same pattern that she made for me. I will try and take a photo of it to show you her brilliant work. Thanks so much ladies- I am such a fortunate person..

There are some wonderful giveaways going on around blogland.

If you are wishing for the Accuquilt Go you can enter to win one here: Paulette has a great tutorial going on for the the GO or here: Jackie has some lovely quilts on her blog. You might enjoy visiting her shop too..some really yummy fabrics including Kaffe Fassett.
( Kaffe is coming here to Edmonton to speak- I must go and get my ticket soon.. Waa hooo)

Aunt Spicy's friend Erica has a very cute pair of earrings that she is giving away. I remember having some of those carved earrings some years ago. I love the updated look of those earrings.

Pat is celebrating a writing opportunity by having a giveaway. I enjoy reading her quilting and stories - She has such a great sense of fun...

Enjoy your last days of summer if you live in the Northern Hemisphere (I am sure my friends in the southern hemisphere are looking forward to warmer days and the flowers of spring just as we are looking forward to all the colors of autumn. Such an interesting concept to be thinking about fall and spring at the same time!

Warmest regards,
Anna

May is here.....

Dusty the dog was in serious need of a hair cut so after a visit to the vets to get her rabies shots updated we took her to the groomers. She gets rather motley looking (as seen in the first photo)not to mention grumpy. Dusty is also not the best problem solver.Here she has managed to tie herself around the bottom of the back step because she only knows how to turn in one direction. I am not sure how one teaches a dog to go in both directions at age 8!
This is the after photo from her visit to the groomers. She is so sleek now - Dusty was not keen on the bows- neither was our son. A girl needs to get dressed up now and again VBG
Over the weekend, Bruce and I visited a local rock and gem shop. Naturally while I was there I bought a few beads to play with- I am currently making some bracelets with a black and silver theme so I added these beauties to the collection. There is a strand of abalone and some black agate. The owner had a sale so everything was 10 percent off. It was fun to see all the beautiful polished stones.

Aren't these beautiful little pots/bowls? Twice a year, a group of local potters have a craft sale. My good friend Val and I went to check out their wares and came away with a few pieces for very reasonable prices. I bought these pieces as gifts for friends and family.
Once upon a time I played in the clay before I took up quilting. Occasionally, I think about playing with the clay but somehow there is not enough time for me to create my quilts, bead and do pottery too. Have you always quilted or do you do other things to express your creativity?
Linda of Flourishing Palms sent me this beautiful handmade bag as a giveaway prize on her blog. I love the beautiful detailed quilting and the turquoise color. Unfortunately, my limited photography skills do not do it justice. Thank you so much Linda for your lovely gift. It is a beauty!

These are my two current quilt projects- I had some trouble with the border of the convergence because I gave it a bad Haircut- it was quite badly askew and I was beginning to think it might need to be a liberated version of the quilt. With the help of my quilting friend and mentor Linda, we managed to straighten it enough for me to add the outside borders. The fabric on top is going to be the back of the quilt. Do you like your front and back to be coordinated? Do you make pieced backs or use one large piece of fabric?

I recently began making this quilt as a gift. It is a fairly muted quilt for me but I think it will work for the its designated home. I am still debating about adding the printed border to it. I think it will work out nicely but I am still playing with it.

In other news, we are managing quite nicely in the gym at school. This week we are working on Mother's Day projects for our moms. We are going on a field trip on Friday and having a special tea for our Mothers in the afternoon. Friday will be a busy day indeed.

Today I bought the April/ May issue of Quilter's Home. It has a list of 55 Rad blogs to check out. There are so many great blogs out there - I am sure that I am going to discover a few more from this list.
A friend went to Quilt Canada in Calgary last week. Mark Lipinski was one the guest speakers. He is a wonderful comedic storyteller and kept everyone in stitches. I attended some of the shows that were associated with Quilt Canada when it was here in Edmonton a few years ago. It is always fun to see the newest trends, fabrics and meet with other quilters. It feeds our creative spirits and infuses us with energy to continue on one's quilting journey.

A dear blogging friend Eileen lost her beloved Geo yesterday. She is a special lady, a wonderful quilter and one of the kindest people I have come in contact with in blogland. I wish her comfort and the support and caring of friends and family at this difficult time.

Mother's Day is coming up and my blog friend Michele has written a powerful piece about her mother and her experiences with Alzheimer's. Michele is involved with Ami Simms Alzheimer's Initiative project. Please stop by and read her poignant piece.

Life continues to be full - May has arrived and there are many things on the horizon- a special Chopin concert, another trip to the Art Gallery, moving back into our renovated classroom, assessment and report cards... and a new Haircut for me..
Like Dusty, I am in serious need of a new hairdo... that is on next weekend's agenda

Until next time,
Be well,
Warmest regards,
Anna

The Winds of Change

March winds have blown through and have brought in some April changes.
I don't even know where to begin- the past three weeks have been so jam packed busy. It has been windy here and they say the wind brings change well- there are lots of changes happening just now. We had our spring break holiday the week before last- For part of it I worked at school packing up my classroom- No, its not early summer vacation- Its Renovation time. My school is having a beautiful face lift and it is our turn to be renovated. They are gutting each of the classrooms down to the wall boards and replacing everything.There will be smart boards in each of the classrooms with new mill work,flooring, wiring and lighting. It will be lovely when completed but in the meantime, my teaching partner and I are moving to the gym with our two kindergarten classes. For the next 8 weeks, it is going to be a busy place with 47 kindergarten students, 2 teachers and 4 support staff sharing a large gymnasium. Our boxes are packed ... Ready set go....

This is a photo of my classroom taken last fall when my husband came to read to my students during a special reading event. I will take a picture of our updated look before summer vacation or when we have all the boxes put away in our new room.

On the home front, our son Kevin is moving into his first apartment not far down the road. It is an exciting but a big change for us all. Moving and change seem to be part of our lives just now..

Some spring break outings:
My husband and I went to see a play called the" Science of Disconnection" written by a Canadian playwright named David Belke. It was a fascinating one woman play about Lise Meitner. She was a physicist who worked on a team that discovered Nuclear Fission. Meitner was overlooked when the Nobel Prize was given in 1944, for splitting the atom - Otto Hahn(her professional partner) was awarded it. It was a fascinating story about a brilliant woman who was passionate about physics.

We visited the magnificent new Art Gallery of Alberta and saw La Petite Danser. She is still beautiful with her face radiating her pure joy of dance. The exhibit had a number of interesting Degas sculptures- many were studies of body movements. Degas heirs had many of the pieces cast in bronze. Most were not meant to be shown and were originally made of wax.
The new Art gallery building is truly glorious- so filled with light. We will go back and visit the Dancer before she leaves us. This summer the new exhibit will be MC Escher and Bugs Bunny.

Our family visited my parents and siblings over the Easter weekend. It was terrific to see my sister and brother and their families. There were delicious meals and some together time. My father's birthday was on April 8th. My mother gave me this photo of my dad and their miniature collie, Tammy.
My father has always loved animals and has a wonderful way with them. I love this photo of him with his current beloved dog. Belated Happy Birthday Dad- May the year be rich with wonderful things for you.

Bruce lost a dear friend Ed at the end of March. He had been ill for quite a long time. He was very interested in astronomy, mountain climbing, the outdoors and the Opera. When Ed was first diagnosed with cancer, I made this astronomy quilt for him. Rest easy, dear man, may you find peace now.




Now if you are still with me, I do have a few quilting things to show you. I began a convergence quilt during spring break. I thought I remembered what to do but I sewed four seams together and promptly needed to rip them all out. However after some rethinking- I managed to get the quilt top together - personally it may be questionable at this time whether I am all together LOL)

I have chosen a robin egg blue border to act as a stop border for the convergence quilt. After that, I will extend the four corners out of each of widest outer fabrics for the outside border. I have a second convergence ready to cut into the strip sections. I love this Ricky Tims pattern- I am always excited to see how the grouping works together.

One of the things I book ended my break with, was time with two of my dearest friends. My quilting friend Lou came to the city and we went on our own shop hop. We stopped at 6 different quilting stores and I managed to not to break the bank doing it. I actually only bought fabric in the first store and in my favorite second hand place. Lou and I had a delicious lunch together. One of the reasons I showed some restraint is because I had been coveting some Kaffe Fassett fabrics. They are quite expensive here ( about 18 dollars a meter).I had found some KF fabrics on line for 10 dollars a meter plus free shipping. Here is what arrived in my mailbox last Friday...
I do love all the beautiful colors and was very pleased to be able to touch them. The four fabrics group are not Kaffe fabrics- I just liked them.
On the last day of spring break, my friend Val and I had the opportunity to catch up and have lunch before we returned to the classroom. Was that really only last Monday we had lunch...


These beautiful things came to me from a couple of giveaways that I was lucky enough to win. I love Angela's little bag and hand dyed fabrics.Angela also sent me this gorgeous bracelet and it fits perfectly. Do go and visit her blog called Fenland Textiles.
The batik piece came from one of my Australian blogging friends, Jane. You can find her blog here.Jane I love the leafy batik.
Thank you both so much for your lovely gifts.

Bruce and I are beginning to get the idea of what it might mean to be empty nesters. We went off to a concert of East Indian music featuring a sitar artist last evening.The three musicians sat on a beautiful quilt that I spent some time trying to figure out the pattern. It was made with brocades and silks and the pattern was a simple hour glass block combined with squares. We enjoyed a delicious Vietnamese meal prior to the concert. The restaurant was called "The Golden Bird" and was a new one to me. Our usual favorite was going to be an hour wait... New places are good too you know...

This week will be busy with the move. I hope to fit in a bit of beading and quilting if I am still awake in the evening.LOL

Spring has sprung - the grass has rise... It has been quite windy outside - the weather seems quite fitting for the way life is just now...

I will return when I get the chance,
Warmest regards,
Anna

Catching up ....

Sometimes it is hard to know where to begin, especially when it has been awhile since I have posted. I haven't forgotten about my blog friends- Its just life has been a little more than busy these days. A very nice thing happened - my blogging friend Rosa sent me this gorgeous yellow sunflower center piece a couple of weeks ago as a giveaway gift. It arrived just before Canadian Thanksgiving and has adorned our dining room table since its arrival.( Do check out Rosa's post about making my sunflower) My husband brought home some gorgeous Star gazer lilies the other day to add to the dining room decor. The flowers are very fragrant - I sure notice them when I return home from work each day.

My husband Bruce was away last week in British Columbia visiting his mother and sister& family. Someone left me a comment on an earlier post, asking to see the texture quilt that I had made for her so here is two views of Mum's quilt. I found this pattern in an earlier post by Laura of adventures of a quilting diva. (I'm sorry that I don't remember exactly when she posted the tutorial) Laura has a lovely blog that she shares lots of interesting quilting ideas in each of her posts.
My mother in law Betty has Alzheimer's and recently celebrated her 87th birthday. She is pictured with Bruce's sister, - It is a beautiful photo of both of them. Don't they look like they are having a lovely time together!!! Betty was a gifted knitter and enjoyed painting, sewing and quilting. She loved knubbly textures and I hope that the quilt gives her pleasure. I used various fabrics (silk, velvets, lace, velour wool, satin, tapestry, cordoroy, brocade) that were fused to a foundation to stablize the 6 1/2 inch squares. There is a teddy bear fleece back on it and no batting as it is not meant to be used as a blanket.


Bruce brought back a couple of things from the family storage unit. This quilt was one that I had made for his parents 63th wedding anniversary. It is a harmonic convergence quilt that is made from Ricky Timms book "Convergence Quilts". It has chickadees and cardinals in the fabric and is quite a soft looking quilt. His mother has 3 quilts in her room and this quilt is too large for her single bed.

I am always happy enough to giveaway my quilts to my loved ones- it is harder to have them returned to our house. I have a quilt that I made my gran, that my mother gave back to me after my grandmother passed away. For along time, I did not want to look at it, it made me miss my grandmother more! My gran has been gone 6 years now and when I wrap myself in it- I remember how much she loved it and I feel this tenuous connection with her. There is a bittersweetness that does not go away, but it doesn't hurt like it once did. Time has helped to soften the loss and replace the sadness with joyful loving memories.

What happens to your quilts when your loved one passes away? Does someone else in your family get them? Do they get given away? Are they placed with your loved one when you lay them to rest?
Something else that Bruce brought home in his suitcase, was this lovely hooked Cheticamp rug, that comes from Nova Scotia. It belonged to my inlaws, and was given to them as 40th wedding anniversary gift, from some of their friends. We went with my in laws to Cape Breton, and stopped in Cheticamp. It shows the beautiful Nova Scotia shoreline. I have always loved the rug and plan to hang it in our living room.

There are some great giveaways going on right now- here are a couple of very nice ones but there are more you may want to check out on my blog list.
Brenda at Pumpkin Patch Primitive Quilt shoppe is having a fantastic fat quarter giveaway. I would love to win this giveaway as my friend Gran. sent me the panel earlier in the fall as a giveaway prize. Just think what I might be able to make with all these fat quarters. It is a wonderful gift for someone - do go and check it out- Brenda will close the giveaway on Halloween night.

Sue has a lovely jelly roll that she is giving away- she needs your opinion on fabric- How fun is that? Go quickly as Sue will draw on October 25th.

Life has been very busy at work - The first 6 weeks of school are busy with assessment and the setting of routines. Our days are full of interesting things -especially as they are beginning to do a major renovation in our school.

We had school pictures this week and are having a storyteller doing a presentation tomorrow. The next couple of weeks will be particularly busy at school with a field trip and a Halloween party. Halloween day at school will be exciting. It is always fun to see the kids in their costumes. I wonder how many superheroes and princesses/ fairies I will have this year? They are pretty excited already!

Last night Bruce and I had a lovely date- we went out for dinner ( Vietnamese food) and then saw a Harry Manx concert. He is a blues artist from the west coast of Canada (Salt Spring Island). Harry Manx is playing a piece in Montreal. If you are interested he has other pieces on you tube- just google his name.

Did you love the Virtual Blogging Festival? Amy's button is still at the top of my blog in case you would like to see more of the quilts. I have been working my way through the list but there were over 600 beautiful quilts to see and learn their stories. I feel like I have neglected some of my other blogging friends, as I got caught up in reading the Virtual quilt show posts.

At home this weekend, we are having a large bin come to take away some of the overgrowth and clutter in and out of the house. So far, it looks like the snow will stay away- We hope to make some more room in the basement. Space is a neverending challenge in our little house.

As you can see, life is particularly full just now. There are report cards looming on the horizon, Christmas concert to prepare for... I have been doing a bit of quilting but it is in small spurts of time... I continue to strive for more balance in life but it is a bit of a challenge just now...

Soon it will be November... Where has this fall gone...

Be well,

Warmest regards,
Anna

When the lines converge

( Pictured here are my beloved inlaws enjoying a morning under the covers reading- December, 2006)
A few summers ago I discovered Ricky Tims and his book "Convergence Quilts." The book has some wonderful examples to spur ones creative juices. There are some more complicated designs that use curves and registration marks to join them together.If you get a chance, check out his website at rickytims.com and you can see the many wonderful Harmonic Convergences as well as his Caveman Quilts. His quilts are heavily quilted with beautiful detailing.

Now, I am a practical sort of girl and while I admire other people's wall hangings and art quilts, I usually don't make them( there are a couple of exceptions-one that I have played a little bit with is the Snippets Sensations by Cindy Walters). I wondered if it was possible to use the technique to make a large enough quilt for a couch. The first one I made is a wall size and remains unfinished. Perhaps one day I will use it to explore adding some embellishments and such..

Since that time I have made a half a dozen larger ones- It has been fun to explore how to put the colors together so that you don't get mush- I have an unfinished one that is mush - there was not enough contrast in the fabrics and just didn't work. It was destined for a special someone that deserved better than an ugly quilt so it sits in pile to remind me to get the values and contrast right..
I loved making these quilts- it was a little bit of a puzzle to see how it might come out.

This middle quilt was made for a dear quilt friend - How often do we make quilts for loved ones but not for our quilt friends because we know that we can make beautiful quilts themselves? My friend loves purple and green and I was really happy how the fabrics worked together- (My profile has another view of this quilt).

This last one was made for my friend K's 50th birthday - I called it Black and White and Red all over- I am the person on the right... It was a surprise for her and I know she is quite fond of her cuddle quilt.

I have also made the same quilt for my sister, and two friends as wedding presents. I often find the most challenging thing to do is to figure out how to border it. Often I have extended the square so that it has a small stop border and then used the same fabric from the body of quilt and used in each of the four quandrants. It can be a challenge to find a good border fabric.

Ricky Tims has so many wonderful designs ( Kaleidoscope, Chantelle Flower, and Rhapsody come to mind)- I was given his Rhapsody Quilts book and I would like to make that pattern too. I have a Kaleidoscope quilt made that just needs to be quilted- Hopefully during Christmas vacation....

Life sometimes gets in the way of quilting time- not just because of the demands from other parts of my life but I don't always have any energy left when I do have time to quilt. There are so many quilts that I would like to make... I have the technology and the materials but sometimes find it hard to find the time and the motivation for creating.. perhaps you do too..

Time to go and do a little work for school next week and then have the rest of the weekend for family and quilting... Have a great week...
Regards,
Anna