Baby Quilt for Janine

This is a baby quilt that I made for our niece Janine and her husband Peter.  They are expecting August 22, 2010.  I was so excited to hear the good news that I just had to make them a quilt.  I made it a while ago but couldn't post it until they had received it.  I wanted it to be a surprise and I didn't know who would be viewing this blog.  It is called Buggy Days from Fons and Porter Baby Quilts magazine dated Winter 2008.  I changed the layout of the buggys and pinwheels but kept the basic pattern the same as in the magazine.  I love the bright colours and since they won't know the sex of their baby until it is born I used a selection of colours that would be suitable for a girl or a boy.  Good luck Janine and Peter.

Peggy

Tote bag and purse

I made these 2 bags yesterday, the Dandy bag is for my sister-in-law's birthday.  We are going to London, ON to help her celebrate her 60th birthday on June 26.  I also made her a tablerunner that matches the bag. 

The Sew Sweet Satchel is a new purse for me for travelling.  I like the colours in the paisley pattern.  I think it will go with a lot of different things because of the multi-colours in it.  The fabric was left over from the backing for the Bear River Quilt.  I always make my straps adjustable on shoulder purses or over the body purses so that they can be used by anyone.

Peggy

The table runner and 8 placemats are finished.  The deck makes a good backdrop for them.  It looks like it should be for valentines day but really they are nice small red and white flowers.  I guess it could be a duel purpose set.

Peggy

I finished the binding on the Bear River quilt.  I think it turned out pretty nice.  It is 73 x 85 just a nice size for a double bed quilt.  The colours of the borders don't show up very good in the picture.  The brown is not a solid brown but almost a batik or shaded colour of brown. It took me over a year to get it together, and I am glad I finally got around to it. 

Peggy

Newly shingled roof

I haven't been able to do much quilting lately as we have been re-shingling the roof on our cabin (our getaway).  My son and his best friend came to help out.  It took a lot longer than they expected as they had to do a repair job on the front and back as the boards under the shingles were rotten.  It was a big job and they worked tirelessly on it.  When they finished that, they shingled the new shed that we are building.  We were so grateful for their help.  I was the chief cook and tried to feed them well as they were using a lot of energy those past 4 days. 

Peggy

Sew on Binding

I have the Bear River quilt back from the quilter and am busy sewing on the binding.  I hope to have it posted in a few days with a picture.

Peggy

What I have been working on

These are what I have been working on lately.  The larger green bag with the flowers is a bag to house my netbook.  I got a netbook for Christmas and wanted to protect it when travelling as it is really handy to take along on a trip.  I padded it with quilt batting but didn't quilt it.  The small green pouch is called "A Zippered Pouch"  I found it on http://projectsbyjane.blogspot.com/ and it is handy to store small things in.  The flowered pouch is called "Makeup Bag" and it is from http://flossieteacakes.blogspot.com/ .  I thought it would be a nice size for makeup in your purse or for travelling.

The long black bag is one of my creations.  It is a bag for my walking stick.  I have a walking stick that comes apart in 3 sections and telescopes together to use.  The stick has a spring loaded anti-shock mechanism and a thermometer and compass on the wrist strap.  It is very helpful in going down slopes, saving stress on the knees.  I wish I had it when we were in Italy in 2008 because of the hills in the town of Assisi.  It was very helpful in Spain last year. 

The small blue pouch is a water bottle holder.  I have made at least 6 of these for family and friends.  Notice the buckle on the strap.  That is not in the pattern but I like to make my straps adjustable so the the person wearing it can adjust it for their liking.  This pattern is from http://www.pinkchalkstudio.com/ .  I am so glad I found this pattern as it also is handy for travelling and keeping you hydrated without having to carry a bottle of water.  You just slip it in the pouch and away you go.

Peggy

I love Tablerunners

This tablerunner is a pattern called "Little Charmers III".  There are 3 patterns in the pamphlet.  I used Moda Charm Squares "Objects of Desire" and the fabrics from the same line for the background and backing.  It is very bright and summery.  I tried to do some free motion quilting but I am not very good at it.  I really think that I have to practice some more.  I usually use some of my fancy patterns on my Babylock Quilters Choice sewing machine instead of free motion quilting but this time I thought I would try something different.

Peggy

This new bag is called a dandy bag from Dandelion Quilts.  Her site is http://dandelionquilts.blogspot.com/  It is made a lot like the other tote bags that I make except that it has a nice band to separate the top band from the bottom of the bag.  I also put a few stitches in the bottom of the bag to hold the lining down so that it does not pull out of the bag.  It is a little tricky but it can be done with care.

Peggy 

Amanda's Purse

I made another purse the other day.  It is a This & That pattern called Amanda's Purse.  I made it from Moda Frolic charm squares with matching fabric for the handles and the lining.  If I made it again I would make it longer but not as wide.  I also added inside pockets.  A purse had to have pockets, don't you agree.

Peggy

Getting Ready for Hallowe'en and Christmas

I needed some hand sewing to do while we were waiting for the propane frig to be fixed at our cabin, so I quickly sewed up these 2 kits that I had.  The are from Patchabilities; Scary Buddies and Perkie Poinsettia, and the local quilt shop here makes up kits.  I added googly eyes to the ghosts.  I think it makes them a little more animated.  It is very easy to put them together and you have nice things to put on your door for the different seasons.

Peggy

I just realized that I have not posted this quilt.  It was for Emma who turned 10 in January.  It is the "Apple Blossom Fairy" by Cicely Mary Barker.  I picked the fabric up at Hannah Johnson Fabrics in a nice quilt shop in Duluth, MN.  The centre is a panel and then 3 borders are attached. The last border is appliqued with the flowers.

Peggy

Brett's Quilt

This is the small lap size quilt that I made for my grandson Brett.  He turned 15 yesterday.  Where have the years gone?  The idea for the pattern came from Morning Glory Designs.  Her blog is http://katlovesquilts.blogspot.com/ .
She had a block of the month called "Midnight Posies" using black background and pieced 10 1/2 inch squares.  I used some of her blocks and some of my own ideas.  She also has an appliqued flower border, but since this was for a 15 year old boy I decided to make a piano key border and used all the fabrics that were in the quilt for the border.

Peggy

I have the centre panel of "Bear River" quilt up on the design wall.  I finished all 6 bearpaw blocks so I decided to put it together and see how it turned out.  So now I have to add the borders and make it grow to double bed size.

Peggy

My Latest Afghan

I finished my afghan today.  I had three very large balls of wool that needed to be used.  They were 16 oz. each.  I decided on the ripple pattern so that it would be more interesting than just straight knitting.  The finished measurements are 60 x 50.  I hate joining sections together so it is knit in one piece with no seams.  I used a circular needle with over 300 stitches per row.  It kept me warm while I knitted.

Peggy

Reusable shopping Bag

More and more shops here are charging for bags when you purchase something in their stores, so I decided to make myself a new bag for spring.  I have made many more in the past but nothing as colourful as this one.  It is lined and has iron-on interfacing on the front and back of the lining.  I also put a few stitches in the bottom of the bag so that the lining will not pull away from the bag when items are removed.  Now I am all set for spring, which seems to be here early this year.

Peggy

Flurry Fun

This is the quilt I referred to before as the snowman quilt.  It is called "Flurry Fun".  It was a block of the month from the local quilt shop "Quilter's Stash".  I started it February 09 and finished it this month.  It was suppose to be twin size but I wanted it to grow to be double bed size so I added extra blocks on the sides.  The snowmen are all appliqued onto pieced squares, most of them are doing winter olympic sports.  The surrounding squares were done using the strip-piecing method.  The finished size is 76 x 85.  I had it longarm quilted with a snowflake pattern.  The binding was a challenge since the quilt was very large, but I managed.  It seemed I was "under the quilt" not under the weather.

This is the pattern that was used for the quilting.  I think that it was very fitting for a winter scene quilt.

Peggy

My first bear paw block for the Bear River Quilt.  The square is 11 inches.  The quilt is suppose to be 48 x 58 but I am going to make it grow so that it fits on a double bed.  I hope to make it at least 74 x 85.  I have to make 5 more blocks so it is going to be a work in progress.

There are so many other small projects I want to do so I will try to fit them in while I make the bear paw blocks.

Peggy.

Wilmington Prints

Wilmington Prints: "Bear River by Kevin Daniels"

I started a new quilt today. It is called Bear River. I picked up the kit in a small quilt shop in Beaver Bay Minnesota about a year ago and finally started it today.

This is the panel. It is cut apart and there are bearpaw squares placed between these squares.

I will post pictures as I complete some of the squares.

Peggy

It's Hip to be Square

This is a table topper I made from a pattern on http://www.youcanmakethis.com/ .  The finished measurements are 24" x 24".  The inner square is made from charm squares.  They were calling out to me from their place in my cupboard.  I then co-ordinated the borders from some fat quarters that I had and other pieces that were leftover from other projects.  I guess you could say that it was made from leftovers.  I think it turned out quite nice.  An ideal centre piece for spring.

Peggy