This is June isn't it?

June is for weddings and this quilt was made for our niece Nicole and her husband last year. This quilt was the first quilt I posted when I began blogging last fall. The quilt pattern is from a book called " Strip Easy" by Christiane Meunier. The pattern is called "One World Over". I tried very hard to get the spiral to work out in the middle, but my colors were not exactly right. It is a queen sized quilt and I chose fabrics that were jungle like as Nicole really liked those fabrics.

On Saturday evening, Bruce and I were invited to a barbecue. The food was delicious and the company very pleasant, but, man was it chilly!! Everyone had a jacket and some people had brought gloves. It snowed down south of us and in the mountain areas.. Did I say that this was June?
We keep hopeing that spring/summer will arrive here in Alberta but so far Mother Nature has been playing some cool tricks on us.

I have spent the day working on report cards- I have another week before they are due and I am about half done. It takes me awhile to organize the assessments and write individual comments.

This second quilt belongs to my niece Sarah and her husband. It was a wedding gift that I made for them, when they were married in 2005. It is a variation of a spiderweb quilt. It is interesting to see the difference that it makes when you use the same background versus making it scrappy. I will show another spider web next time, that is a scrappy variation.


On a sad note, our friends lost their beautiful daughter Vanessa,to breast cancer. She was loved dearly by all who knew her, and our hearts go out to our friends at this difficult time.

This week our son,K took a friend to British Columbia on a road trip. I am sure that they are having a grand time. It is his first long driving trip ( 12 hours driving one way). We are learning to adjust to having an adult son - we will still be happy when he returns safe and sound on Tuesday.

Dusty, the dog, got herself groomed this week. She has gone from mottley, to sleek and soft. Dusty will be gorgeous until she finds something to roll in wants to stick her beak into something she wants to have for a snack. Pets do keep life interesting don't they?

I got a chance yesterday to go off with my friend Lou. We went and explored some of our favorite quilt shops and bought a bit of fabric. I was looking for a quilt backing for the Trip around the world quilt. The best part always is that I got to enjoy some time with my dear friend.
Besides fabric, I picked up the newest Quilt Sampler magazine.
Do you have a favorite magazine or source for quilt patterns What about a favorite website? favorite quilt pattern book?

I was noticing on Connecting Threads website some of their new books that are on sale are actually some older books that are classics. If you are looking for books- I have found Connecting Threads to be a good source.

Now I need to go visit another dear friend- my pillow. June always brings interesting busy days..

Be well,
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

Stars of Blue ...

The Feathered Star pattern has lots of half square triangles- I am not a fan of making half square triangles (I know that there are some good tools out there that make it easier to be precise but somehow the triangles always seemed so fiddley to me.)Still why would I choose to make this challenging quilt when there were so many titchy half triangles? At one point in 2000 I almost decided that I must have been crazy but my problem was that I love feathered star quilts- so I stubbornly persisted.
I believe that the original feathered quilt pattern was taken from a book by Nancy Szeboro-Johnson called Rotary Magic, The pattern had 12 large blocks that were 20 inches square. Each block had 150 pieces in it. When I started to build the blocks I wasn't sure whether they had enough contrast in them- I am not that confident now when I working with a limited palette. Six months later, I had 5 blocks finished and I was frustrated with my limited progress(I thought it was taking me forever LOL) We then devised an alternative- the alternative was different not faster, I can tell you!
My quilt sure does not look like the original quilt pattern. My friend,L. knew that I loved medallion style quilts so she suggested that I create one using Courthouse Steps. Courthouse steps is a log cabin variation and it forms a large star around the feathered stars. The quilt needed to be bigger if it was going to fit our queen sized bed so I needed to find additional borders.
After looking for some time, I found the chain linked border in a magazine called Quilter's Today. I am pleased with the result and it has been on our bed for many years- It is almost time for a new quilt- perhaps The Winding Ways Quilt, should I ever get it finished.. It is taking me awhile too...
I don't have very many UFO quilts - I find it difficult to have lots of quilts on the go at the same time. Having said that, I do have a tumbling block quilt that resembles flags rather than blocks that I haven't quite figured out and so it sits... Perhaps one day - the tumbling block fabrics are lovely batiks it seems such a waste to me that I haven't figured out how it goes together...

And now some things that I have been pondering in my spare moments ..

When you are making a quilt does your plan ever take a left turn and do you end up with a totally different quilt than you envisioned?
Do you plan out every part ahead of time and have the borders all chosen too or do you find the borders after you have created the central body of the quilt?
Do you ever start a quilt and put some it together and find you hate it and nothing will likely solve it?
Do you like block quilts or quilts that have an overall design?
Personally I prefer patterns that create an overall design rather that a block by block look. I have made a sampler but it was not my favorite quilt- It was a great learning tool where I got to try out a number of techniques but it does not have an overall flow to it like medallion or quilts that have patterns within a pattern.

And so the choices continue on my quilting journey I am sure it is the same for you..

Hope all is well with you in your part of the world -

Life's struggles sometimes seem heavy these days with the economic down turn -
As I visit other blogs, I read of the many challenges, troubles and concerns people are facing on a daily basis.
May you all find ways to sustain a hopeful way of being during the dark moments...
Regards,
Anna