God's Blessing

Date:  2009 - Jan 2014

Reason:  The Missouri Star Quilt Company tutorial

Fabric:  RJR's Count Your Blessings charm pack - My grandma gave it to me for Christmas.

Lessons:  Don't tighten you fabric in a hoop so tightly that flannel seams fray out.  Yeah.

Thoughts:    This was started in 2007 when I first saw the tutorial.  Naturally a charm pack was perfect for trying the new technique.

I was a hand-quilter at this time - I think I must have tightened the quilt too much because some of the fabric frayed apart from the seam.  This annoyed me and into the closet it went.

This is the year of finishing stuff so out it came - I finished quilting it by machine and appliqued hearts over the frayed pieces.  A UFO bites the dust.

Fall For Autumn

Pattern Location:  Australian Patchwork and Quilting Annual 2004 and Vol 12 No 6

Size:  70 x 70

Date:  November 2007 - December 2013

Inspiration:   As a new quilter, I saw this pattern and fell in love.

Special Fabrics:  Grandma gave me a box of scraps.  Many of these made it into this quilt.  I collected fall colours for a long time.  Aunt Sandie found the perfect backing.

Lessons Learned:  

*  Buy quality fabric.  Loose weave is the pits

*  Cut carefully

*  Use heat 'in bond for applique

*  Cut away extra layers when sewing triangles into corners.  The extra layers are really hard to quilt through.

*  Watch beginnings and ends of seams - I have a tendencey to flare out.

Thoughts:  

This turned into a Christmas gift for my parents-in-law.

The original medallion was out by over half an inch - I unsewed it and made it into a wall hanging.

This quilt was machine quilted.  Some was with a walking foot, the rest was using Leah Day's techniques.

Day Lilies

Started in 2009, finished in 2010.

Reason:  This was a gift for my sister and brother-in-law as a Christmas / Housewarming present.  My sister is a lily grower so it seemed appropriate.

Pattern:  It is all paper pieced.  Every time I do a big paper pieced project I say never again.  Clearly it doesn't stick because I have another one in the works.

If I can find the author of this pattern, I'll post it.

Fabrics:  Most of the fabrics were from my stash.  It was really fun and a little scary picking all the colours by shade values.

12/12

Date:  October 2013

Reason:  Part of my goal to make 12 quilts for missions this year.

Thoughts:  I made my goal two months early!  Whoo hoo!  I'm so excited!

I couldn't have done this without a lot of help and donations:

Fabric:  Grandma and Linda - they started this with 4 boxes of fabric.  Lori, Ben (denim), Jane (and MB people - fleece), Melody (fleece), Kath, Mum (flannel)

Thread:  Melody and Shelly? Sherri?  (A friend of Ed & Marie's)

Fill:  Kath

Encouragement:  EVERYONE!!

I also received flannel and fabric from MCC.  The quilts I made with them went back to MCC.

11/12

Date:  October 2013

Reason:  Part of my goal to make 12 quilts for missions this year.

Thoughts:  All the fabric Mum bought me in Mexico is down to scraps :)

10/12

Date:  October 2013

Reason:  Part of my goal to make 12 quilts for missions this year.

Thoughts:  I loved this technique and the unexpected patterns on the back the thread made.

Most of the denim was from my friend Ben.  The flannel was from Jane and Melody.

This quilt will likely go to Streets Alive.

9/12

Date:  September 2013

Reason:  Part of my mission to make 12 mission quilts in 2013.

Thoughts:  The top was made from apple box fabrics.  The back is fabric that Mum bought me in Mexico.  If they go back to Mexico next year, I'd like them to bring it down there to give away.

I used this quilt to practice free motion patterns and methods.