16 in 2016

As 2016 winds down- which many people are happy about- I wanted to complete my annual wrap up of the quilts I completed. In 2016, marked mostly for me by me starting an awesome new job in September which resulted in less sewing time- I completed 16 quilts. Of those 16 I kept two.

Starting at top left and rotating clockwise, finishing in centre: Sweet Pepper Jelly, Quilt of Belonging, Thank You Stephanie, Little Eye, Tumbi, Canadian Wilderness, Welcome to Canada, AeroPlus

Starting in top left and rotating clockwise, finishing in centre: Midnight at the Museum, Force Field, Bearss, Diamond in the Sky, Bunnies, Glisten, In the Garden, Fishy Friends

I've definitely upped by paper piecing game this year and had lots of fun mixing and matching from my stash. I went on a six month fast from buying fabric (along with my friend C) and really didn't suffer too badly from it. I made enough flying geese between In the Garden and Force Field to last me at least until 2018. And I now have Sweet Pepper Jelly as my go-to quilt for the car and my youngest daughter has her Little Eye quilt to drag around and have picnics on almost daily. Definitely a successful year!

I think Little Eye ended up being my overall favourite from this year because I drooled over the inspiration quilt for so long and then finally made one! I love how it turned out.

I made other things, too, in 2016. Pillows and pillowcases and Halloween bags and Sew Together bags. But the quilts are where my heart truly lies.

What was your favourite finish of 2016?

Quilt of Belonging: A Finished Quilt

It is finished! After collaborating with a lovely group of grade 2 students (mostly 7-year-olds), we have a finished Quilt of Belonging. Each block was created by an individual student to represent who he or she is. Then I added the colourful frames and black sashing to mimic the original quilt.

Finished!

 The kids were beyond thrilled to see it, wanting to touch their blocks and oooo and awwww over others' blocks. One kid said to me "My favourite colour is green and you put mine in green!" with a grin from ear to ear.

The teaching assistant used her embroidery machine to do this block.

 The back shows how I did each block with a different free motion quilting style. Some were more successful than others but the overall effect is pretty cool.

This is half navy and half black with that rainbow stripe made of scraps from the front. Then I had to piece in that other navy print because I wanted to use what I had and not spend any more money. The rainbow idea came from quilty friend C- thanks!

The quilt will hand permanently in the school. I am just working on the QR code that will accompany it, taking people on a journey through our journey!

I'm happy I finished it...and on time for the school opening!

Linking up to Finish It Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts.

WIP Wednesday: Closer to Finishes

Having some extra free time over March Break meant that all of the current WIPs I'm working on are moving toward finishes.

The Quilt of Belonging blocks made by the second graders all got their colourful borders. There will also be thin strips of black between each block to mimic the real Quilt of Belonging. Currently the bottom row is missing two blocks- one with the name of the school, class and date, embroidered by the teaching assistant from the class, and one made by a member of the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nations, a local person from the First Nations community where the school was built (on their traditional territory). Then a black sashing strip all the way around and between each row, and I get on to piecing a grey and black backing with a stack of rainbow rectangles.

Rainbow.

I also made a pillow out of the paper pieced butterfly I made for my goddaughter. Now I'm avoiding the hand sewing that is required. I really suck at hand sewing.

Did I overdo it with the clips?

I also managed to baste and quilt AeroPlus. It needs the binding made so I can get this one finished and off to the new, one-month-old owner who lives in Ottawa!

Straight line quilting to match the Greek crosses.

I did have this frustrating glitch. Booo. I was almost finished when I noticed. Fortunately it was near a corner, and with some stitch ripping, some pressing and more 505 Spray,  I was able to smooth this right out with no ill effects.

I am hoping that my next finish will be AeroPlus, followed by Little Eyes, my daughter's I-Spy quilt which is basted and waiting for quilting.

If only every week was March Break!

Shop Hop & Some New Acquisitions

A couple of weeks ago, over March Break, I was fortunate enough to have a day to go on a mini shop hop with quilty friends A and C. I wanted to go the Quilter's Nine Patch because I have no idea how to even get there on my own (A always leads the way!) and it is a bit far to be considered "local."

It is on this corner in what seems like the middle of nowhere, attached to a gift store and a little restaurant.

The store is really interesting because they have catered to both modern and traditional quilters. The thing is, looking at the traditional area with the sample quilts and muted, flowery fabrics had me reflecting on my own quilting obsession.

I think it is safe to say that most people picture this sort of thing when you mention quilting.

Looking at this dark, muted area of the store I know that I would not be such an enthusiastic quilter if these were my only options.

Part of the appeal of quilting for me are the modern fabrics and colours that I associate with the modern quilting movement. I have always admired quilts and quilting, but my own enthusiasm came from finding beautiful fabric that I felt was modern and clean and crisp, not the browns and maroons and flowers that used to dominate the quilting world.

You would think that this was a different store from the change in aesthetic, right?

So I am so glad that I came to quilting when I did, when the modern quilting world is huge and present on Instagram, Facebook, blogs and, most importantly, visible through the fabric lines being produced by people like Carolyn Friedlander, Lizzy House, Tula Pink, Violet Craft and more.

We also went to another quilt store, Greenwood Quiltery, and to Triangle Sewing for some notions.

Here is my very reasonable haul:

Kona Black (for the Quilt of Belonging) and some new fine, glasshead pins were things I actually needed. Some Tula navy, Elizabeth Olwen and Elizabeth Hartman Rhoda Ruth also followed me home.

Also, A was making a trip into the north end of Toronto a few days before our shop hop and planned to stop at Sew Sisters. She kindly asked if there was anything I needed or wanted her to pick up. I quickly got in touch with Judy, who runs (and owns?) Sew Sisters and arranged for there to be a bolt of Kona White for A to pick up for me! I'm so glad since my last bolt was finished a few weeks ago and it was going to get hard to keep going soon!

Only 16 yards? I'll need more next week!

Not a huge stack of pretty purchased, and I didn't get any batting which I need desperately, but it was an awesome day with friends who are easy to spend time with, and I got things I did need like the Black and the pins. Worthwhile for sure!

Now I wait for my two must-have orders to arrive in the mail/coming home to me from Florida with my mother-in-law. A very low Canadian dollar and obscene shipping rates sure help from splurging on fabric too much lately!

#QuiltofBelonging

There is an amazing Canadian quilting project that truly captures the Canadian spirit called The Quilt of Belonging.

The project began with the idea of having a quilt block representing each culture or country that make up the Canadian mosaic, a project that ended up taking years, having 263 blocks and being 36 metres (120 feet) long and 10 metres high. The first row of the quilt is made up of blocks created by the First Nations, Inuit and Metis people of Canada, the country's first people. 

Here are some pictures of the stunning quilt:

I can't begin to express the detail in each individual block, made up of the most diverse materials. It is true "textile art." Here are a few favourite blocks:

Libya

The Central African Republic- made up of butterfly wings

Iran

Dakota (First Peoples of Canada)

There are so many, and they are attached using black fabric and then have this woven cord between each block with the colours slowly changing and interweaving as you go. The top of the quilt is a rainbow slowly melding into each colour, just as everyone becomes part of the Canadian fabric when they arrive. How cool is that??
Some local First Nations communities put together a kit for students about the Quilt of Belonging to spread the word that we all belong and we are all part of one big community, unique as individuals but beautiful together. I worked on this kit with an amazing Grade 2 teacher, her teaching assistant, and the First Nations Metis Inuit Resource Teacher for my school board.

The kids learning about diversity and belonging, touched sample blocks and taught others about their blocks and then got to make their own blocks, which I will now sew into a big #QuiltofBelonging which will go on display in the school's front lobby.

Here are the blocks that these little sewists constructed:

Aren't they AWESOME!?!? Some kids brought fabric or materials or beads from home. Others used what we donated. They each are currently 7.5" x 7.5"

This is one of my favourite blocks, meticulously traced, cut out and "sewn" on (note the black embroidery thread on the one side) to represent the khanda, a Sikh symbol of faith. He was SO proud!

So sweet!

There was lots of "quilt block surgery" that I had to do to get them even close to being able to add sashing, and I certainly didn't need another project right now, but I am so inspired by this project!

What do you think? Isn't this so super cool?