Birthday Bonus Club

Thanks to the initiative of one of my favourite bloggers, Jenn from A Quarter Inch from the Edge, I was invited to participate in a Facebook group called the Birthday Bonus Club which has people from across Canada shipping each other 50 2.5" squares based on a request during their birthday month.

My birthday isn't until August, so I will have a long time to wait for my many packages of fabric loveliness from across the country, but I've been having so much fun selecting fabrics to send to the birthday queens each month.

In January we had one birthday queen and she requested solids of any colour. Now that is an easy request! I dove into my scraps (one of the best parts of the Birthday Bonus Club!) and put together this playful, bright combination of solids:

This was for the January Birthday Queen, who requested solids of any colour. I dug into my scraps and put together this lovely warm stack. (All Kona, of course).

There were two February birthday queens, one of whom is the organizer herself, Jenn. She requested low volume, a risky ask because there are different interpretations of this and there is lots of room for disappointment. I wanted to pull out true low volume prints so some of these came from stash instead of scraps to make sure they were what I would consider low volume.

February Birthday Queen Jenn requested low volume. I had fun digging around for these. I tried to go with ones that had crisp white backgrounds and read very white.

The other birthday queen wanted 3/4 bright and 1/4 white. I dug into my scraps to pull out a rainbow of beautiful prints that I thought met her request.

The other February birthday Queen asked for 1/4 white and 3/4 brights in prints or solids. Wow, with those loose guidelines you can go wild! I tried to put together a really pretty rainbow for her, plus so Kona white of course!

The club has been so much fun, and being within Canada means that postage is not going to kill me every month. Plus I'm already drooling in anticipation of my birthday month when I get, I think, 28 packages or some such number? Ridiculous. And awesome!

Eagerly anticipating March 1st to find out what the next birthday queen wants!

Lynn

Canadian Wilderness: A Finished Quilt

My husband's cousin and her husband are expecting their first child in March. They have opted not to find out the baby's sex, and thinking of the interests of this outdoorsy (and patriotic) couple, this line I've had floating around seemed like the perfect fit to whip up a baby quilt.

I went with a tumbler pattern because it is visually interesting yet simple (especially with my tumbler template for 5" squares from the Missouri Quilt Company) and I thought it would look nice with this line.

This is a Birch Fabrics Jay-Cyn line (maybe early Elk Grove?) that I think I ordered from Fabricworm about three years ago.

Here is Canadian Wilderness!

This quilt holder is a little shorter than my usual 6'1" hubby, but she complained a lot less about standing in the woods holding up a quilt for ages than he would have. The binding is a tone on tone Pearl Bracelet in gold that has this slight shimmer. I totally love how it frames the quilt.

I straight line quilted on either side of each seam which is practical and I think suits this pattern. It does involve a lot of starting and stopping, though, to turn the quilt in line with the tumbler blocks. I also added a Kona solid (I think this might be Teal Blue? My Kona card is still missing) that I think breaks it up visually.

I've had this backing in my stash since I first began sewing. I've looked at it many times and was starting to give up hopes I would ever use it. It was perfect for this quilt!

You can see the echo of the quilting on the reverse, and this more clearly shows the pretty trees that appear in these fabrics.

Since it is called Canadian Wilderness, I thought a shot of it "in the wild" was called for. Note that this "wilderness" is actually a tiny patch of forest right next to my house. I won't tell if you won't!

This quilt should be shipped this week, and though the recipients have been seeing it on Instagram they have no idea it is for them. I hope it is a welcome surprise!

Off to my next quilt adventure!

Welcome to Canada: A Finished Quilt

Check out the hashtag #quiltsforrefugees on Instagram and you will see the efforts of some local quilters who pooled their resources and had a sew in, as well as collecting quilts from around the Toronto area, to give to newcomers. With the Syrian refugee crisis looming in the media I wanted to do something to contribute and when @happysewlucky posted a call for quilts I got to work putting together something beautiful and scrappy.

Here is Welcome to Canada, a twin-sized quilt heading off to a new Canadian in the near future!

I've had this "design" in my head for ages now. I've often looked at my pile of scraps and wanted to make something just like this. #quiltsforrefugees made it a reality!

There are a lot of gems in there: Lotta Jansdotter, Honeymoon from C+S, Heather Bailey True Colours, Carolyn Friedlander Architextures, Alison Glass Bike Paths, Tim and Beck and on and on. I also used up some of my "not sure what I would ever do with these" scraps because it a scrappy quilt like this they look like they belong. This was especially true for the white-on-white scraps I had remaining from my Candy Cane quilt.

The backing is a Kona red, not sure which one, generously donated by quilty friend A. You can see the grid quilting I did in white Aurafil. Red and white- very Canadian, eh? (Plus you can really see how badly it needs a lint roller before I gift it-thanks, cats). My friend A also donated the batting, a twin-sized pack that was a really good quality.

 Berne, the woman who organized this drive, also printed Spoonflower labels for each quilt, and they're beautiful.

I was hoping for more snow in my picture but it is warm here today and all the snow from yesterday melted!

The binding is a very scrappy rainbow collection of leftover bindings from other quilts. It worked perfectly for this colourful quilt, and makes the back a bit more interesting because the binding pops against the red.

I feel good that I could take something I love to do and use it to help someone who is new to Canada adjust to their new home. I hope there is lots of snuggling underneath it, knowing they are welcome here!

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

#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?

When Someone Says "I Quilt Too!"

I have been doing a project at work (I'm an Instructional Coach who supports teachers) that involves quilting. It is super awesome and I will do a big post on it but for now I want to address what happens when someone tells me she quilts too.

The teaching assistant(TA) in the class I'm working with eagerly told me that she, too, is a quilter. She is about 10 years old than I am (not surprising since I am always the youngest quilter) and she volunteered to bring in some fabrics to share for the project.

When the teacher was packing up the remaining fabric, she put all the fabrics together (the ones I brought and the ones the TA brought). I sorted the scraps when I got home and immediately discovered the error. Here are the bits that belong to this lovely woman:

Oh my. Do I see batiks? And muted, mottled fabrics in cream and pink and green?

I'm terrible, I know, to judge. I'm hoping she loves these fabrics and loves quilting. But they are DEFINITELY not my taste, nor what I would count as modern quilting. To be honest if THIS is what fabrics all looked like and were all I had available or saw on Instagram and on blogs I would not have started quilting. Period. 

Really what matters is that people buy and sew with what they love, and not feel drawn to any one designer or trend because it is big. Check out my latest addition, courtesy of my hubby:

Delicious, delicious Carkai.

A little different, no?

So, again, when someone tells me "I quilt too!" my first thought is a skeptical one- "But I bet you're not a modern quilter!"

How do you feel? Do you find yourself judging others' fabric tastes even when it is not fair? (And I know it is not). Do you ask more questions when someone tells you they are also a quilter?

WIP Wednesday: Jumping Between Projects But Not Starting New Ones

This Wednesday I can say that I am making progress on tackling my "must finish" quilts for January/February. I have been very, very tempted to start new projects, mostly I think because picking fabrics is probably my favourite parts of making a quilt.

My Welcome to Canada Quilt is just waiting for me to hand sew the binding down on the back, and for me to add the label sent by the organizer.

I also sewed one of two missing borders on my daughter's modern I-Spy quilt and prepped the other border but still have not sewn it on. I have the fabric for the backing but prepping backing is sort of boring sewing, you know what I mean?

I managed to sew together the quilt top for my husband's cousin's baby, due in late February. This baby gets a gender neutral quilt because mom and dad opted not to find out the sex. They are outdoors sort of people. I think I'm going to name it Canadian Wilderness.

You can see the backing peeking through- a mustard with trees, accented with a white with mustard trees. 

The whites in this baby quilt are very cream, and it is quite busy (which is why I added those delicious solid teal blocks) but I hope the parents like it. I need to get on this so I can mail it to Ottawa on time!

I also prepped a whole bunch of paper piecing templates for a quilt for my new nephew coming in March. It is going to be epic!

I am proud that I have not

a) bought any new fabric (not that I'm on a fast, per say, but more that I'm buying only things I truly LOVE)

b) started any new sewing projects.

Perhaps I can get these done in time!

Linking up with WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.

Backing Woes and Basting Foes

It is interesting how things happen sometimes.

Take for instance, my backing woes this week. My aunt, who is actually my mom's longtime best friend, makes quilts. When my older daughter was born she made her a quilt- entirely hand pieced- based on a pattern and fabrics I picked. It was (and is) gorgeous. But when my second daughter was born, I had been quilting for a couple of years so she assumed I didn't want her to make my little one a quilt. Wrong!

Of course I wanted both my girls to have a hand pieced quilt from their great aunt. She happily agreed, so I picked the fabric and pattern, and even prepped the fabric for her. Knowing she hates the binding step, I told her I would do the binding.

That is where the problem started. She assumed that I wanted the binding made out of the backing fabric and made all the binding. Then she didn't have enough backing fabric for her long arm quilter to quilt the quilt. Oh no! And when I told her I had the separate binding fabric it was too late!

So she came up with a solution. Take the backing fabric, seen here:

This is a Leah Day print that I LOVE. All the fabrics on the front are pulled from this gorgeous colour combo!

And get me, with my machine, to insert a big white plus sign into the fabric. The timelines were very tight because she is taking it to the long armer when she leaves for Florida in less than a week- and then she's gone for three months!

So I went along with the plan and now I think it was a happy accident because I really like the visual break that the white provides:

Nothing a little Kona White can't fix!

With that unexpected sewing in the middle, I also had to tackle my least favourite part of quilting: basting. Welcome to Canada has been sitting there, front and back pressed and prepped, batting at the ready (thanks to a generous donation from my friend A). Hubby was going out for the evening so I threw on some Netflix and tackled the least-fun task.

Some painter's tape and 505 Spray and you can't go wrong.

I got the quilt all basted and now it is ready for quilting. I think I'm going to stitch about 1/2" out from each seam to make a big grid. The backing is a solid red, also donated by A, which is not my favourite (the solid) because it shows all errors in quilting. But red is very Canadian and it is high quality fabric in a nice colour, so I couldn't not do it!

It is a twin-sized quilt that I hope will make one new Canadian feel welcomed.

I see much straight-line quilting in my future!