Kayla's Quilt

I finally finished my niece's quilt. It's about time her birthday is...was only two weeks ago. Opps!



Have you ever seen the show, Canada's Worst Handyman or Canada's Worst Driver? I think there is a future in Canada's Worst Quilter. I'd give the other contestants a run for their money. I have never taken a class. I am always making mistakes and never has a quilt turned out as nicely as I pictured it in my head. If it wasn't for the beauty in the fabric I doubt any one would want to own one.

My stitches are never straight. My measurements are always off. I AM Canada's Worst Quilter... but I love to quilt. So what are ya gonna do? Keep practicing, I guess.

I'm in Fabric-Land

I bought some new fabric at a 50 per cent off sale the other day. I am just in love with this cotton I bought for future quilting projects. These will go in my stash for later.



This week I am completing the quilt for my niece for her 5th birthday coming up in July. She loves red and pink so these were promptly pulled from my stash and I set to it. Here's a sneak peak...



I will post pictures of the finished quilt in a week or so.

Book: Plain & Simple, A Woman's Journey to the Amish

This book, Plain and Simple by Sue Bender, has two elements that make it one of my favourites. First: it advocates Simplicity as an enriching lifestyle of choice. Second: it has quilts. 'nough said!

It's a auto-biographical journey of a woman, living and working in California who is suddenly called toward the Amish through their simple patchwork quilts. At first she wants to touch and feel the art, then she wants to learn how to make them before finally she decides she must learn who the artists are behind them.

My life was like a crazy quilt, a pattern I hated. Hundreds of scattered, unrelated, stimulating fragments, each going off in its own direction, creating a lot of frantic energy. There was no overall structure to hold the pieces together. The crazy quilt was a perfect metaphor for my life.

-Sue Bender

This is not a new book. It was released in 1989. It is still very relative. Of course the 80s were a harried time for feminism which out and out scorned homemaking and servitude of any form. Now there seems to be a renaissance of homemaking, and keepers of the home. Sue Bender seemed to be a product of her generation. Pushy and driven to work yet drawn to the home and not understanding why.

I found this book wonderfully written, hugely entertaining and very easy to get lost in. It's a short book, a very quick and simple read. Just what I was looking for.

Rail Fence Quilt Sneak Peak

I am working delegently on a new quilt that I intend to give my nephew for Christmas. He is 18 months old and I hardly get to see him but I think of him often while I am working on my quilt... er...I mean his quilt. I picked out the fabric months ago and have been just giddy looking at them.

I am not quite done the quilt but I wanted to share a sneak peak of what it will look like in the end.



First each colour was cut in to 1 1/2 inch strips. And sewn together lengthwise, using a 1/4 inch seam. After pressing, I cut 7 1/2 inch squares from the strips.





When side by side, one block is horizontal while the other is vertical.



Placed in a pattern like this you create the Rail Fence Quilt Pattern. I am finding this pattern very easy for a newbie quilter like me.

Using 7 1/2 inch blocks, I need 9 sewn together (side by side) to make a row (width of the quilt). I will need 10 or 11 of these rows and in the end I will sew them together to finish the quilt top.

Quilted Table Runner

I tried a new block pattern, the Pinwheel pattern. It is pretty easy to assemble. Each triangle is cut from a square and then those triangles are mismatched with a contrasting colour and sewed together.



I have a few more pieces to put together to make another runner but I have a feeling I won't get to it before the end of this harvest season. As it is I have two twin sized quilts and two wall hangings I wish to get done before Christmas. And I also have my son's Halloween costume to complete but my sewing machine decided to keel over while I was doing the hem of my daughter's costume. Of all the times for my sewing machine to die it had to be when I am most busy and gearing up for the holidays.

I have a vision for my quilts. Eventually I would like a quilt done up for all seasons (harvest, Christmas, Spring, Winter etc) so that my quilt rack will always have something current and decorative. We are always snuggling up on the couch with my quilts but when we are not using them they are on display. Quilts are wonderful. They provide a use while being viewed as a piece of art as well.