That's a first . . . well, actually second ;)

Well, who knew . . . I finally got up the courage to enter a quilt for judging - the Calgary Stampede Arts and Crafts competition  .  .  . and it got a second place ribbon in its category!  I'm flattered!!!

This particular quilt was my second attempt at the Taos pattern by Chris Hoover of Whirligig Designs.  The first time I made it was more a "dry run" as I knew this was going to be a challenging piece and I wanted to get it just right.  To see the first version, click here - that was back in 2012!!

When I decided to make it again, it was for my daughter's wedding gift - that wedding was in 2014 - so you see, I am always a bit behind!!  Anyway, I did my best to make sure all the points matched -

and then took a long time to decide on the quilting .... lots of pictures to follow!

Autumn Celebration - back

Autumn Celebration - back

Autumn Celebration - back

I didn't get a picture of it hanging at the Stampede - but here was the result -

The judges comments were to "watch my starts and stops" (I know, I'm lazy about that) and that maybe if the border was bigger ....(not sure about that one) - all in all a worthwhile challenge and I really, really am flattered!

The lazy hazy days of summer are upon us - but I have found time to tackle a few of my own quilt tops that have been hanging around for a long time now . . . until next time - Happy Quilting from the Little House.

WOW! Urban Owl wool applique quilt

I was on a roll with applique quilts this spring - this one was just stunning - the piecing, again, just perfection.  I have such great customers!

Urban Owl - a Wendy Williams design.  Glenna pieced this amazing, fun, colorful quilt!

There are so many great fabrics and colours here - the flowers, cats and owls are wool applique.  I outlined all the applique pieces, and did quite a bit of SID in the other blocks and then used different fills to finish it off . . .  have a look. (I know there's a lot of pictures, but I just couldn't help myself!)  Hobbs 80/20 batting; Glide thread.

Urban Owls - before quilting

Urban Owls - starting on the top edge

Urban Owls

Urban Owls - "under the needle"

Urban Owls - Flying Geese

Urban Owls - starburst

Urban Owls

Urban Owls - bottom border

Urban Owls - centre wool applique flowers

Urban Owls

Urban Owls - hanging with Freeda

Urban Owls - complete

Urban Owls

Such a fun quilt - thanks, Glenna, for trusting me to quilt it for you!

The Calgary Stampede is over for another year . . . but look what I have to remember it by . . . next post "Autumn Celebration"!

Until next time - "YAHOO" from the Little House.

Jo Morton applique quilt

This spring, I had the privilege of quilting Linda's applique quilt - it's a pattern my Jo Morton called Prairie Flowers.  Linda did such a precise job of both the hand applique (hand applique - yes) and the machine piecing - all those tiny half square triangles were perfect.

She wanted to keep the primitive feel of the pattern design, so we chose Quilter's Dream 70/30 for the batting.  It's quilts up wonderfully, but doesn't have a lot of extra loft.  Thread was Superior So Fine - a nice thin thread to keep the quilting "quieter".  Each of the applique elements was outlined and then echoed.  I stitched in the ditch between each of the blocks for just some added definition.  Continuous curves in the HST sashing, and freehand primitive feathers in the border.  Those plain blocks were quilted with feather wreathes, tho you can't see much on the front but the design pops out on the back.  Hope you enjoy the pictures . . .

We've been dealing with terrible wild fires in British Columbia (our provincial neighbor to the west) for the past couple of weeks.  I hope the head and winds settle down soon - praying for rain for BC. (now how often do you hear that??)

Enjoy your summer - Happy Quilting until next time from the Little House

Well, hello again!

Hi again - my blog kind of got sidetracked over the past year.  I have still been quilting, and working, and travelling . . . but the blog sure didn't get updated.  But, I'm back, and hope to keep up with my quilting journey from now on.

Swoon  - if you look back to   here    , I started my Swoon Quilt - a Thimble Blossoms pattern by Camille Roskelly in 2013.  Here's how it looked before quilting . . .

.... I drew a few designs on it, but as always happened, once I actually started quilting, I changed my mind . . .


and then I finally got it on Freeda to get it quilted.  I used two layers of batting to give the quilting some extra definition - Hobbs 80/20 with Hobbs Tuscany Wool on top.  It made it pretty thick, but wow, did it show off the quilting! Superior So Fine Thread

Top Border

Working my way down - feathers, lines and continuous curves

Curved Cross Hatching between the Swoon Blocks

Finally at the bottom border

...... and done

I ended up donating this quilt to a Silent Auction Fundraiser - and it came in at $1300!!!  WOW!!! 

My goal is to update this blog every day until I'm caught up - I've got lots of customer quilts to show you - and lots of custom quilting!

I moved from the farm this spring to the small town of Carstairs - not really very far away.  I've got an awesome studio space that I'll share with you one of these days . . . It's very hot here in Southern Alberta this week - the Stampede starts tomorrow so that means summer is in full swing.

Until next time - "Yahoo" from the Little House.