Lenni's final three (finally)

I've had these quilts done for a while, but just a little behind on sharing with you.  Little House Creations is closed until March, but I'm still can be reached via e-mail, so if you have quilts that will be ready for quilting in the spring, send me a note.

Lenni's final stitches . . .

Before leaving, I finished these three customer quilts - the last ones with my Lenni before she went to her new home in Edmonton, Alberta.  I have purchased a new APQS Freedom, that will be delivered when I get home - I can hardly wait!! 

Back to the quilts . . . .


Heather's block of the month quilt - quilted using Autumn Leaves panto, glide thread 

 

 

Heather's mom's star quilt - black and white with a splash of red!  Wrought Iron panto, glide thread

and last on Lenni - Heather's Christmas quilt - quilted with free hand designs, glide thread

I really had three more quilts but, they are Christmas presents for three special little boys . . . so no pictures until after the big day . . .  well, maybe just a peek!

When Little House Creations opens again in March . . . this will be one of the first quilts in line for the new Freedom . . . . my Judy Neimeyer Prairie Star . . .  not quite finished yet, but it will be . . . .

Three's company . . .

 

Wind chill factor - minus freezing cold something or other celsius!

 

 

 

 

Try as I might, I just couldn't get these three quilts to behave nicely for photos . . . the wind was just a bit too strong at first, but luckily, I was able to get a few shots before they blew off the line!



The first quilt was pieced by Judy - I've done quite a few quilts for Judy - she is a wonderful piecer, and it's a pleasure to quilt for her.   Glide thread, Effervescence Panto

I had to get a "helper" to try to hold it down in the wind!

Judy's Star Quilt

Judy's Star Quilt - centre

Judy's Star Quilt border - close up . . . and the beautiful blue sky!

The other two competing for "hang time" are shop samples for Addies Creative Fabrics - an awesome little quilt shop in Cochrane, Alberta. I chose the Wrought Iron panto from Willow Leaf Studios - it just seemed a good fit with the designs in the fabric . . . what do you think? Superior So-fine thread top gives it an even more classic look.

Addie's baby quilt

Addies - close up



Addies - closer up . . . see where the inspiration came from?

This quilt- Country Gatherings -  has been hanging in Addies for months - it was originally done as a class (I think), and Addies is still selling kits . . . but it was begging to be quilted!!!  So . . . I quilted it - using Wisteria Panto by Patricia Ritter of Urban Elementz - again, I got the inspiration from the designs in the fabric.  Thread choice this time was "Military Gold" Glide thread - it just added that special bit of dazzle!

Country Gatherings - hang time

Country Gatherings - close up

Country Gatherings - closer up - Wisteria Panto

. . . . and while we are on the topic of Addies, did you hear that Sparrow Studioz will be moving into the space in Addies previously occupied by Saffron.  Matt and Bradie Sparrow will be setting up the space for their Sparrow Studioz South - APQS long arm rental program and sales centre.  What a great opportunity for quilters who would like to try their hand at finishing off their own quilts - or test driving the APQS machines . . . all the fun starts January 1st, 2013!

It was a beautiful sunny day in Water Valley today, but COLD!  Tomorrow should be more of the same, and I have 6 (yes 6) quilts to get on the line . . . brrrrr - the things I do so you can share my joy of quilting!! 

Sunrise in Water Valley - November 10, 2012

Catching up!

It may seem like I've been doing nothing . . . or at least, very little . . . but in reality, I've been busy, busy, busy!  I'm going to catch up now on some of the quilts I've done in the last little while.  I don't post pictures until the quilts are in their owners loving arms, so while I have had some finished for a while, they just have been delivered.  Also, we are well into the winter season already - so some of these quilts have not had their "hang time" outside for photos . . . near blizzard conditions don't make for particularly good photo shoots!

First up is one of two quilts I did for a new customer, Rose.  It is a scrappy star quilt - very, very comfy looking.    Glide Thread, Taro Panto from Urban Elementz, Quilter's Dream Batting

Rose's Scrappy Stars

Scrappy Stars - close up 

Scrappy Stars - close up of border

Rose's second quilt shows off beautiful greens with pinwheels - or shamrocks to some  ;)  We chose another one of my favorite "go to" pantos - Surf's Up by David Hudson - simple, but really effective on this quilt.  Glide Thread, Quilter's Dream Batting

 

Rose's Greens and Pinwheels





Close up





More pics to follow . . .

Sey . . .what??

Have you ever heard of Seychelles?  Well, I sure hadn't until I got an inquiry from Sara about making a quilt of the Seychelles flag as a gift for her husband.- I "googled" Seychelles -  OMG - it just earned a place on my bucket list!   (click here to see why!)

 

"The Republic of Seychelles comprises 115 islands occupying a land area of 455 km² and an Exclusive Economic Zone of 1.4 km² in the western Indian Ocean. It represents an archipelago of legendary beauty that extends from between 4 and 10 degrees south of the equator and which lies between 480km and 1,600km from the east coast of Africa.  Of these 115 islands, 41 constitute the oldest mid-oceanic granite islands on earth while a further 74 form the low-lying coral atolls and reef islands of the Outer Islands."

So . . .I'm up for a challenge - and agreed to make a quilt of the Seychelles flag . . . starting with this photo 

and then this outline . . .

I found that the official Seychelles flag is 2 times wider than it is long . . . so I drew this out on graph paper - then . . . transferred that to 8 1/2" x 8 1/2" paper squares . . . and so a pattern was made.

Sara decided that the quilt should be about 85" x 60" - so after the flag size was determined, I surrounded it with three borders - black/off-white/black.

Now comes the easy part - the quilting!

Each colour in the flag was quilted with a different fill design.





The inner off-white border a ribbon design.   The outer black border was measured off in 3" invisible squares and quilted like a continuous curve design.

This is the back of the quilt - cool, eh??

My friend, Kim, has an embroidery machine - and was so generous to make this quilt complete by embroidering the word "Seychelles" in the colours of the flag.

What an absolutely unique gift that Sara will give her husband - this was really a "custom quilt" all around!

There you go - you learn something new every day!

Kim's donation to the LLS . . .

Kim is one of my customers who does a lot of charity work.  I first met her when I quilted some tops for her that were being donated to a charity for orphaned children in Guatemala.   This time, Kim made a quilt for a Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) fund raiser - Team in Training.  Kim's niece is raising money for the LLS by auctioning off the quilt.  I quilted if for them with a freehand posies in the borders, and feathers and continuous curves in the interior of the top.  (Glide thread)



LLS Auction Quilt - one of my charities of choice

  

LLS Auction Quilt - close up


Kim's quilt didn't get any hang time, as again, we got hit with more winter-like weather over the past couple of days . . . today, we had a snow-fall warning -what's up with that!!!  I'm leaving for the sunny south in one month - I'm wondering if I should have made that sooner!!



October 23, 2012

 This afternoon I saw a  robin trying to eat the frozen little apples in this tree - and then I looked up and saw a beautiful formation of white swans flying over head - and you guessed it, they were headed straight SOUTH!!  I hope the poor little robin gets the idea soon!

Lots more coming from the Little House this month . . .

.... and here's one more wedding quilt - this time for the guests!

Weddings are each so different - kind of like quilts!  This quilt is going to be used in place of the guest book for Emma's wedding.  Emma will sew pockets on the front of the quilt, and each guest will leave a little "note" in one of the pockets . . .with advice, good wishes, blessings or whatever they like.  What a novel idea!

Emma pieced the top and wanted it quilted with roses, leaves and swirls.  I think I captured that . . . .

Emma's wedding quilt
 

Emma's Wedding Quilt - Roses, leaves and swirls

Emma's Wedding Quilt - "hang time|"

Today the Chinooks winds came, bringing warmer temperatures, but also blowing the leaves from the trees.  Soon, all the trees will be bare - and it will be time for the snow to cover the ground.  One of these years I may just have to trade in my sandals for ski boots . . . hahahaha  - I crack myself up!   That will never happen!