Slave Lake - remember the fires?

Remember way back in June when I posted about the Quilts for Slave Lake?  Well, it's not over yet!  Although Patchwork Fabrics in Slave Lake has given out over 1000 - yes ONE THOUSAND - quilts,  there is still a need for more.


If any of you local quilters out there have finished quilts you would like to donate - contact Linda at Patchwork Quilts  in Slave Lake - here's a link to her blog:

http://patchworktalks.blogspot.com/

Also, if there are finished quilt tops in your pile of UFOs (we all have them!), contact me and I will quilt them, bind them and get them up to Slave Lake.  You need to provide the quilt top, backing, and binding.  I have a supply of Hobbs 80/20 batting that I'm willing to donate, but if you do have batting as well that would really be appreciated.

So look through your closets and cubbys where you might even find a quilt top you forgot all about - then contact me.  little.house@live.ca

Linda says:  "I hadn't done a count for sometime and have a few inquiries lately as to how many quilts have been gifted now. Well As of today 545 households now have their quilts . Add the total children from these households that have received their quilts(479) and a total of 1024 quilts have been gifted. Many new names have been registered in the last few weeks but there are still more that haven't been regis...tered. Please help make sure no one is missed. I also have names registered that need people to gift their quilts so if you have the time please stop by the store and look the list over to see if you might know someone on it. Thank you to all the wonderful quilters that continue to send quilts to our Slave Lake fire 'SURVIVORS'. You continue to BLANKET SLAVE LAKE WITH LOVE!

Hi Bev, household quilts as well as ones for older teenage boys and single men are what I keep running short of. Thank you for all you have already contributed to Blanketing Slave Lake With Love."

Let's not forget about the people in Slave Lake - winter is here!

Bev

What's a Christmas tree without a skirt???

Naked - it just isn't right!!

I took a class at a local quilt shop, Addies - Cochrane, Alberta , to learn how to make a Christmas Tree Skirt.  Now, you would think that would be a fairly simple effort - and actually it was, but the results were far from simple looking! 

The pattern actually makes two tree skirts from the same group of fabric strips - each is the exact opposite of the other.  My friend Carol and I went together on this project, so she got one and I got one.  We went with very non-traditional colours for Christmas, but they turned out to be fabulous.  The other class members each had two - and they were all stunning - and soooo different.

What started out as this . . . .

became this . . . .

and this . . .

and eventually this . . .



My Tree Skirt



Carol's Tree Skirt - same colors, just opposite placement

 Everyone in the class chose different fabrics . . . all very unique!  Have a look . . .

Another one . . . Beautiful soft colours



,,,, and its opposite layout . . . how different!!



Very traditional Christmas colours - stunning!!



Still traditional, still stunning . . . just opposite!



Another non-traditional - can't you imagine this under an all-white light tree with purple/blue/silver ornaments?  WOW!



Lots and lots of cutting and sewing, but well worth the effort!


I put mine on Lenni the Longarm and did swirls up each strip - (click on the picture for a better view of the stitching).

Even Charlie Brown's Tree deserves a skirt! 

These snowmen will warm your heart!

We have snow on the ground in Water Valley, and it looks like it will likely be staying until we get one of our wonderful Chinooks. 

The Christmas and winter themed quilts are arriving . . . like this cute little snow man table topper!  I quilted a snowman in the red background - can you see them?  Glide Thread (blue, red and gold) top and Superior Bottom Line; Hobbs 80/20 batting. 

Snowman Table Topper

Snowman Table Topper

.... and speaking of Table Toppers . . .



Christmas Table Topper

 




Christmas Table Topper - Close Up



 

These three were each quilted using the same backing and batting - one right after the other.  Only one loading . . . makes it much faster than loading each one individually.  (Glide Thread; Hobbs 80/20 batting).

Next up . . . Christmas Tree Skirt . . .







Two birds with one stone . . .

The idiom "Kill two birds with one stone" means to accomplish two tasks with only one effort.

 In the Greek Mythology tale of Daedalus and Icarus, Daedalus is held captive by King Minos on Crete in a high tower. All he is able to see are high walls around him and large birds overhead awaiting his and his son, Icarus' demise. Daedalus devises a plan to throw stones at the birds in the hope of fashioning artificial wings to enable the pair to fly home. He finds, with his stone through a clever throwing motion, that he is able to strike one bird with the ricochet hitting a second bird, thus killing two birds with one stone. The rest is history.

This post isn't at all about birds, or stones, but it does fit nicely with my dreaded scrap heap. (see  Scrap-a-holic  post).  I'm making some progress with the scraps.  They are mostly (not all, but mostly) sorted according to colour - browns, blacks, yellows, beige/tan, golds, blue, green, brights, pastels, multi-prints .. . . it goes on and on!  But, the good thing is that I now have a purpose for the scraps.  Bonnie Hunter, of Quiltville.com is hosting a Mystery Quilt project.   When quilters sign up for a mystery quilt, they are sent the instructions a piece at a time. They have no idea what the end project will look like - all you know is pretty much how much fabric you will need.  Each week, a new set of instructions will be posted, but final design is hidden until almost the very end.  This particular Mystery Quilt is called Orca Bay - and, it's going to use up a lot of my scraps.

According to the initial instructions, I will need to choose scraps in four color groups.  I have chosen  Greens, Reds, Neutrals, Browns . . .

So, the sorting begins . . .



Greens



Reds

Neutrals

 

Browns . . .

Lets's see where this goes - anyone out there want to join in??  Just go to Quiltville.com for more information.

I have no idea where this will lead, but I do know I'll have a fantastic quilt top out of basically nothing AND I will be depleting the Scrap Heap!

I really like the Greek Mythology tale - but further research revealed that to escape, Daedalus used his inventive skills to create wings held together with wax for he and his son. The two were able to get airborne and fly out of their maze prison. Daedalus warned Icarus not to fly too high or to low by the sea. Icarus soared so near the sun that the wings melted. The boy plunged to his death into the sea south of Samos. The sea was then called the Icarian Sea.  -

I certainly hope that I have more success with the Mystery Quilt and my Scrap Heap!


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