Spring quilting!!!!

As much as I love gardening, quilting is still my passion and luckily it is shared my many other quilters.  Babies are born and they need quilts to be bundled in, there are wedding quilts to do and milestone birthdays that deserve our very best gifts - quilts!  There are those dreaded deadlines and so we continue to quilt.....

First I will bring you up to date as to where I am on that gorgeous Amish With A Twist....I have started doing the outside of the blocks....

Block 2

Block 3

I should have more done but as many of you know by reading my blog - www.creationsbyjoann.blogspot.com, I have been obsessed with The Farmer's Wife of late.  I'm hoping to get more done in the next few days.

I will also share with you some fabulous customer quilts I've been lucky enough to be inspired by....

First Kay and her friend made this fabulous quilt at Laurissa's Bloomin' 9 Patch class....

Cathie has been working on this quilt for about 10 years but that actually includes selecting the fabrics.  It's that fabulous pattern, Yellow Brick Road and it is stunning.....

This pic shows the blocks - she came by one Friday night to "babysit" me (I think it was May 10th) and marked her rows and blocks.

Yesterday we had our monthly Sunday Stitch & Bitch and check it out!  They held it up sideways but - still effective......

Chris never ceases to amaze me with the quilts that she produces and this month (May) at our Stashbusters (Scrapaholics) Club night she didn't disappoint.....

Here are two quilts she did, changing them up but using the same strips....using different backgrounds they look completely different.....

She is also working diligently on one of Bonnie Hunter's patterns and each month it grows.....

Liz came by last week and showed off this gorgeous quilt which I believe is a wedding present and she was getting it off to the long arm... (wish I could take a decent picture - ugh!)

The last quilt and really an inspiration belongs to ????  Okay, I know it is very unlike me but as many of you know I am within my rights to use "chemo-brain" as an excuse here,  I cannot remember who brought this quilt in, so someone has to "own up" and help me out here.....

I would like to introduce you to the new "boss" at Cock A Doodle, in case you haven't met her yet -----  This is Missy!  She belongs to Gillian and when Gillian is in the store, Missy is there to look after us all!

She's very photogenic and loves having her picture taken.....

She also has her own "throne" - our very own Queen of Quilts!!!!  Her favourite spot is on top of the quilt!

Gillian is away for the next few weeks so the "boss" is off for a while.  I have to say, I really do miss her.

Happy Quilting!

Jo-Ann

What a great week......

First of all, you had to be there.  Have you ever seen 7 women awe struck?!!!  I mean sitting with mouths wide open in awe!!!!  We sat and watched while Anne filled the design wall with her Dear Jane -  she has 3 blocks left to do....it is absolutely stunning, and it took her 4 years to complete - there are some pretty tough applique blocks in this quilt.  There were many she did over because she just didn't like the way they turned out....pretty awesome quilt!!!!

Needless to say, this inspired me to get back to my Farmer's Wife - two blocks done tonight....check www.creationsbyjoann.blogspot.com. 

Then I watched as Gillian started on her Stashbusters Quilt, she was determined to get the blocks done and has, as of today, only 10 more to do, to have an 80 block quilt.

Check this out......done with strips......

For the record, I have not been idle myself.  I managed to continue on with my Amish With A Twist....

Block 7 - Snow Ball Block plus Square In A Square cornerstones for the inside border.

Sometimes I take scraps a little too far and I just couldn't resist using the left over triangles for something, so here are my leftovers from Block 7.....

Block 8 - Flying Geese Block

....and of course there were leftovers here too.....

I am now also halfway through the Radical Rail quilt which is coming along nicely - I have 15 blocks done....

FYI - the fabric has arrived and I am already cutting Instalment 1 so those of you who are doing the BOM - Amish With A Twist - you will very soon be hearing the news that the kits are ready to go.....It's so exciting!

Tomorrow I will be (hopefully) finalizing class dates for the new newsletter so that will soon be appearing in your inboxes.....

Happy Quilting!

Jo-Ann

Come join us......

Stashbuster's Club

Thursday April 11, 2013

6:30 - 10:00 P.M.

$15.00 (includes dinner)

(2nd Thursday of every month)

 

I'm going to start work on a pineapple quilt.  Chris is working on something, not sure what.  Gill has a bunch of strips to work with and Linda, I'm not sure which project is being worked on - but we are all determined to get those scraps into quilts.......

 

 

If your looking for some great ideas  to use up scraps and make some quick quilts - this is definitely the place to be......there are spots available so come join us!

 

Happy Quilting!

 

Jo-Ann   



Happening at the "Doodle".....

You know how I love sharing customer quilts and this week at the Thursday Sit & Sew I was in luck (actually it was last Thursday for the first one)!

Linda saw that I had the Charm Squares of Fairy Frost from Michael Miller in stock so she brought in the quilt she made from the Charm Pack she bought a few years ago.  She teamed it up with some light grey/white Fossil Fern and a great black sky fabric.  Used the disappearing 9 patch pattern and Voila, an absolutely gorgeous quilt which reads like a color wheel.  It's absolutely stunning and we discussed how she is going to quilt it.  I can't wait to see it finished.

 Disappearing 9 Patch with Fairy Frost

Chris is working on this Lantern Quilt which is for the Momiji Bazaar on Saturday March 23, 2013 at the Momiji Health Care Society, 3555 Kingston Road in Scarborough from 12:00 noon - 3:30 P.M..  She's just finishing the quilting which is absolutely gorgeous.  She's doing a free hand Mctavish which really gives a lovely texture to the quilt.  She hasn't got too much left to do, which is a good thing since the bazaar is only a week away....

Chris's Lantern Quilt

 Closer look at the quilting (click on the photo to get a closer look)

We moved on to Stashbusters Club and Chris pulled out two projects she's working on.  One is from Bonnie Hunter's Adventures with Leaders and Enders and the other is a strip quilt.  The fabric she's using as a background against the strips is striking!  Can't wait to see this one sewn up.....

 Chris's scrap projects

Linda was layering a charity quilt while I was working on the quilt from @#$% which I finally finished at Friday night Sit & Sew.  I had plans to start my scrappy pineapple, I even had printed off the foundation sheets in readiness but like Linda, I was determined to finish what I had started so I guess it will be next month when I finally start using up all those scraps I painstakingly organized.

I was more than relieved when I completed the quilting last night on the baby quilt I am finishing for a customer.  This is the quilt I complained about recently because a sheet was used for backing.  Unfortunately, not only was it a nightmare to quilt because the sheet kept shifting but in the end it was not large enough for the quilt and after squaring it up, Mary helped me by adding on a small strip of muslin and putting on the binding.  I decided to give this new mother a break and hand sew the binding on but a lesson to be learned - NEVER USE A SHEET AS A BACKING!!!!  Got quite a bit done tonight while watching the hockey game - another heartbreaker but at least the Leafs got a point!!!

Now I can move on to my next priority - 9 patch blocks!  I also have to get to the new newsletter (what - again!!! how time flies!)  Tomorrow is my day off and I'm hoping it will be a productive one quilting wise!

Happy quilting!

Jo-Ann

I'm thrilled!

First, because we've made a few changes at the store!  We have moved the patterns off those "unmanageable" turning racks (I think that's what Barb called them today - or maybe she used a "stronger" adjective!  ...and yes she has been urging me to do this for a few years now!) and put them on THE WALL!

 The second thing that is thrilling me, is that I have been working on revamping my Beginner Machine Piecing and Quilting class and I have developed 3 quilt tops for my students to make.  By the time they finish this class they will be advanced!!! It's designed to give them a thorough overall look at traditional quilting, so my first project for the class is a Rail Fence Table Topper.  I dipped into my stash and came up with this.

This second one is my absolute favourite quilt!  This version is called Amish Shadow and is done in solids.  I can't wait to quilt it - I'm already planning the designs.....

 Neither of these two quilts take long as one is a Table Topper and the other finishes at 42.5" square.  The third quilt is a Sampler and also a wall hanging but it'll be awhile before I can show the prototype as it's still in the works.  I finished the other two tops this week so I have to get back to some other stuff real soon.

STASHBUSTERS CLUB

Gillian's quilt (lower left) is definitely a "stashbuster" and is loosely based on the book Liberated Quiltmaking II by Gwen Marston -

 On the upper right is Linda V.'s blocks for O Tannenbaum, her Christmas Club quilt - she's got them all done!!!!  Lots of hard work here....for a Christmas Club update on the blocks already done check out Elaine's blog - www.crazyquilteronabike.blogspot.com (or click on blogs we follow at the side of this page) - she's pretty current!

 This is what Karen was doing - along with knitting a lace shawl!  I guess you can "stashbust" your yarn stash too!

 ....and I was really working hard, lying down on the job again!!!!!

Missy joined us Thursday night (Gillian's dog) and she thought lying down on the job was a great idea.  Needless to say we had a great time!

You should join us - it's the second Thursday of the month - 6:30 P.M. - 10:00 P.M. - bring your dinner (we've got snacks) and your scraps, strips, fat quarters, etc. and we'll get busy making some great scrap quilts.....we've got some great ideas and some great free patterns.....It's alot of fun!

Just give us a call to book your spot...in the meantime!

Happy Quilting!

Jo-Ann