Quilts that came in two by two . . .

Two customers - each with two quilts. 

The first one is a repeat customer, Gail.  She made this awesome quilt using a pattern and fabric from a local designer - Patternworkz Design Studio in Olds, Alberta.  The quilting is very simple - and just perfect for this quilt.  I stitched in the ditch around all the blocks, then quilted random diagonal lines in the interior of the blocks - following the lines in the fabric design.  The borders were quilted using diagonal lines - again, following the design in the fabric.  Very simple - but VERY effective!



Close up flannel backing
 

Gail's second quilt was made with an oriental fabric - with just the right amount of gold accents.  Again, simple quilting with a great effect. 

my favorite block!



flannel backing close up

The next two quilts are from a new customer, Betty.  This rust/orange quilt was a Block of the Month from a local quilt shop, Along Came Quilting - this is the third one I've quilted over the past few years!  Falling Leaves panto, Glide thread.

 

close up muslin backing

Betty's beautiful Gold and Black quilt - with just a splash or red!  I love it!  Pretty Paisley panto, Glide thread.

 

backing close up

 

 

 

 I have all my customer quilts completed - and will be posting pictures once I've delivered them all to their rightful owners.....then it's time to head south . . . this is what today looked like in Water Valley.  The deep freeze is on its way - supposed to be -27C by Tuesday . . . !!!

 

 

 Until next time, stay warm from the Little House!

November . . . the countdown is on!

If you know me, or have been following my blog, you may know that I'm NOT a winter person . . . and, I live in Alberta where it can be winter ... oh, 8 months of the year (on a bad year).  So, I escape winter whenever I can - this year, I am going to spend the next 5 months in my truck camper - with my husband, and my border collie.... who, by the way, loves life on a farm AND life at the ocean ( that's goes for both the husband AND the dog!) 

We should be back in March, but, you never know - if the space is too tight, I might be back in January!  The plan is to enjoy the winter months in Mexico - we just love Mexico - so, the countdown is definitely on.  Little House Creations will be closed from Nov 15th to April 1st, 2015.  I have 10 customer quilts to complete BEFORE November 15th . . better get at it!  You know, I don't seem to have time to quilt my own quilts . . . what's up with that!

Today I delivered (yes, I deliver) three quilts.

The first one is Rose's Dragonfly quilt - it is soooo cute!  Rose is an excellent applique/piecer!  I made a template from her appliqued dragonflies - quilted that in the white blocks, echoed all the dragonflies and filled in the blocks with 3s and Es.    Hobbs 80/20 batting; Glide Thread

  Because of the white on white, the quilting really doesn't show in the pictures.  I need to have them taken when the sun was shining tangentially on them . . . but it was snowing today - so hope you can get the idea of how this looks . . .

Barb's quilts are just so great to work with.  This first one is a simple quilt made with srtips of Zoo like juvenile fabric.  Glide Thread - Buttercup; Animal Crackers panto...  again, the quilting really doesn't show in these pictures, but the quilts are just so great!

Backing
 

Barb's other quilt is just so up my alley!  It was a Block-of-the-Month that Barb had hanging around for quite a long time!  I just love these colors and star block combinations!  Pansies pantograph; glide thread . . .

Backing - close up

Backing - Pansies panto

When I was quilting this, I thought what a wonderful challenge it would be to custom quilt it  . . . but you know, Barb is just so happy with the quilting choice.  It's all about what the customer wants . . . and I think this quilt turned out fabulous!

I'll be posting more as I get them back to their owners . . . deadlines, deadlines - from the Little House!

The purple streak continues . . .

Last post I was mentioning the abundance of purple . . . and it continues.  A few weeks ago we had the most stunning sun rise . . . pinks and purples!

Marlene has been a quilting maniac over the summer!  I think she's on a mission to diminish her fabric stash (haha - we all know that that never happens!) - here are three of her projects from over the summer.

Colourful Stars Quilt - Hearts in Bloom panto; Glide thread; Hobbs Heirloom Wool batting

 

 

Vintage Roses Quilt - Ribbons and Roses panto; Glide thread; Hobbs Heirloom Wool Batting

 

Embroidered Butterfly Quilt - Freehand Butterfly Wings; Glide Thread; Hobbs Heirloom Wool Batting

I am excited about making "string quilts" from my bins of leftovers!  Here's a photo of my first one - it has a very autumn feel about it, doesn't it. 

Yikes - heres' where I started!

String quilt in progress . . .

hmmm . . . similar colours!  This photo is from Los Alamos in Sonora, Mexico.

These last two pictures are an example of how beautiful the tamarack(larch) trees are when the needles are turning colour in the fall . . . taken at Kimberley, BC in October, 2014.

Happy Halloween from the Little House!

a bit of this and that . . .

Whew - September was a whirlwind month!  We had a wedding in the family, a freak September snowstorm - just before the OUTSIDE wedding, and just a lot of activity at the Little House.

Before I show you some quilting - have a look at some of the pictures I took in September -  now these pictures are in chronological order - so you can see what we've been putting up with!

..... enough said about that!

on to quilting stuff . . .

Purples and pinks must be in this month - Alice and Jean both made quilts with these colours. 
Alice's quilt is a Chevron style for her granddaughter.  Hobbs 80/20 batting; Glide thread; Fluffy Clouds panto

Alice's Chevron Quilt

Alice's quilt - flannel backing

Pillow Sham

Alice also quilted up a couple of Christmas table runners.  Alice gave me enough backing for all these projects so I could load the backing and do all these quilts with just one loading - Thanks, Alice!

Alice's friend, Jean, is fairly new to quilting.  Here's her quilt - she chose the same Fluffy Clouds panto, Glide Thread; Quilter's Dream Cotton batting.



 

Jean's quilt

Jean's quilt - flannel backing

I also put together a quilt for my son that I'd had on my list for a while.  This pattern is "Power of  Four" by Tony Jacobson.  It was featured in Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting magazine (June 2013).  In my ongoing effort to reduce my stash of fabrics (right!!) I used some of the leftover pieces to make some blocks to piece into the backing.  Hobbs 80/20 batting, Glide thread, Bauhaus panto from Urban Elementz.

It was a perfect choice for this quilt - what do you think?

Power of Four

Power of Four - Bauhaus panto

Power of Four - backing close up Bauhaus panto



Power of Four - pieced backing

I've had this panel hanging around the Little House for a while - and I wanted to try the Animal Crackers panto on it . . . very cute!  Hobbs 80/20 batting; Glide Thread; Animal Crackers panto

Zoo time panel

Backing - Animal Crackers panto

One more picture to show you how I'm doing on my Metro Rings by Sew Kind of Wonderful . . . I have stalled, as you can see, but need to get back at it.  What I do know is the more of these blocks I do, the better they get. 

Metro Rings - half way there

 Like most quilters I know, I've got more than one project on the go . . . I've discovered "String Quilts" . . .  that's for next time!

 I think that's enough for one post - until next time - enjoy the fall weather from the Little House.