There is a “promise” of some sunshine later today! It seems so long ago that our sky was blue….yes I know it’s blue above the clouds!! I am more than ready for some sunshine, less wind and oh some green grass, leaves and flowers.
Spring will come!!!
In the meantime, life has been so full and busy with both quilting and with life!
I am so blessed in both departments, I am so fortunate to be entrusted to quilt so many quilts for others which is a true passion for me!
Every once in a while though… it’s time to quilt one of my own! If you have been following my blog for a while you will know about my Longtime Gone Quilt (pattern by Jen Kingwell) and the fun journey it has been!
Well I finally slipped it into my Que and it’s quilted and trimmed. It will hanging in our upcoming quilt show if you are interested in a close up and personal look. I hope that it inspires other quilters to challenge themselves with a scrappy sampler!
I am waiting for brighter days for more pictures and will share more about this quilt soon.
I love quilting! If you know me you know this about me however I love being a Grandma and this month this little sweetheart celebrated her first Birthday!
Romee is pure delight, I love spending time with her and watching her explore her world.
I woke to rain this morning! We have woken to snow several mornings this month and I think that I speak for almost everyone I know in Thunder Bay…enough with the snow already!!
It may be our stage of life, but on the life side of things several friends have either passed away or had serious diagnosis this year. It does cause one to take stock and in my case rethink a few things.
Life can get so busy or so routine that it can be easy to overlook taking the best care of our most valuable possession…ourselves, our health and wellness. I have always for the most part been mindful of self care and as I age the value of diet and exercise becomes even more invaluable!
I love meal prepping and all of the amazing information and ideas that are at our fingertips!!!
Long gone is the mindset of exercise equals fitting in those blue jeans haha now it’s so much more about muscle tone, balance, flexibility and of course health!
I am sharing the link below only because I enjoy doing many of her work outs, maybe you might as well.
Long ago when I first started Longarm quilting for others, I was working in an office where I learnt the importance of ergonomics and applied what I learnt to my quilting life as well!
My Dad who is an amazing wood carver, pointed out years ago the importance of breaks, exercise and diet in order to keep quilting…crafting long term! Such excellent advice! Thanks Dad!! By the way my Dad will be 86 this summer, while he is still busy carving…he is active walking daily, exercising mind and body and enjoying life!
I can easily become so engrossed in a quilting project that hours can go by without taking breaks, I am however very mindful of the need to move and stretch! I encourage you to consider it as well.
It’s been a very full month, with quilts coming and going as usual. April means taxes of course…nice to have that one checked off the list!
First of all, how exciting that the Superior Quilt Show returns next Month. This is the Thunder Bay Quilters Guild Quilt Show that is normally held every second year! Of course the last few years haven’t been business as usual so it is even more exciting to have the show return!
The response of the membership has been fantastic and while normally there has been a call for extra quilts over and above the limit of three quilts per member this year the number has been capped. So I will have 3 quilts in the show along with any of my customers who have chosen to enter their quilts.
If you are in the area I hope that you will not only come and check out some of the incredible quilts and quilting that are done locally!
I believe that most people who live in North Western Ontario are longing for spring as we do every April! However our reality it seems is that winter isn’t over until it’s over and spring storms dumping fresh large amounts of snow in April is not uncommon… but still!
I am ready to put our winter gear away, but I know better so will wait!
My morning view
I will be back to showing quilts regularly again, life has been busy and as usual so have I and my APQS Millenium Longarm.
Just before Easter and our trip to Cuba, I quilted this sweet little quilt with Minkie fabric for the backing. These digital panels are amazing and this one with the giraffes appears 3D.
When choosing a quilting design, I wanted something that would look like it was in the jungle but also would have enough stitching to hold this fun quilt together for the long run. This design was the perfect fit!
It was a little challenging as we really wanted to use this piece of backing and it was a little small…I had a half inch on both sides of extra backing fabric. Yes I do require 2” as that does seem to work best but I can and do make exceptions and in my 18 years of quilting professionally I have learnt a trick or two.
The best part of this particular quilting job is this!
A few weeks ago we made a last minute decision to take a week off and treat ourselves to a trip to Cuba!
We booked a Sunwing tour, a direct flight from Thunder Bay to Varadero.
April 4th leaving Thunder Bay…Flying past Florida, I tried to capture the full Moon
We chose a pool view bungalow and were greeted with this upon opening the door!
We arrived late at night and hungry! Gone are the once upon a day meals on flights! Thankfully the snack bar had super yummy burgers freshly made…not our usual bedtime snack but when on vacation…
After a really good sleep, we were treated to this view from our balcony!
And a little later
We spent an afternoon in the town of Varadero taking the double decker hop on hop off bus. We checked out the markets and shops and explored.
Cuba is known for its rum…I can’t imagine spending $3450 USD on that!
This was my first stay at an all inclusive resort. For the most part of my Adult life I have been fully responsible for the planning, shopping, preparing and clean up of all meals and it’s not that I mind but wow what a treat to have a full week off!
We stayed at the Iberostar Tainos , some of the reviews on the food in Cuba and at resorts is not the most favourable. Due to the embargo’s in place they are somewhat limited in what can be supplied.
Personally I really enjoyed the food and best part was that it was very easy to eat healthy and well. The service was top notch oh and the coffee!!!
We enjoyed a Cuban “Japanese” dinner, it was really fun and entertaining too!
We also enjoyed a full day excursion tour of Havana…
We made a stop along the way!
So much history and incredible buildings!
Not a lot of wasted space!The tour guide showed us this wall which is a mirrored image with added people from the building across from it. The pictures she said are made with sand that came from Canada.
Our tour guide Louisa was so informative and fun to listen too…here she jumped behind the counter and explained how to properly prepare sniff and light and yes then to smoke a Cuban cigar!
Back at the resort we enjoyed a few relaxing days walking along the shoreline and enjoying the beach, Ocean and Pool!
The Instagram Quiltfest 2023 is nearing the end. It’s been a fun adventure and I hope to play again. Thank you to Amy at https://www.amyscreativeside.com
The prompt favourite finish had me reminisce a little and I chose my Flower Power wallhanging.
Now this is a project from over ten years ago…it taught me faux trapunto and raw edge appliqué on my Longarm. I used fabrics from a Kaffe Fassett charm pack and for the most part just allowed myself to play! the back ground fabrics had just enough dye lot difference to make the circle truly pop off of the first background.
At the time talk was that only quilt shop quality fabric should be used for backings and definitely not sheets…I never liked to be limited to “creative rules” and chose to use a vintage bed sheet from the 70’s for my backing. The bedsheets from my child hood were so much fun!!
I absolutely love this quilt! Yes I have made many others and for many reasons they are also favourite finishes however this one might just be the most fun!
In this case Cathy brought me her Nebula Quilt designed by Julie Herman of Jaybird Quilts and fabric by Tula Pink. Cathy made some changes to make it hers.
I really do love quilting for others! It’s so much fun to help other quilters bring their projects to completion.
Cathy chose the pantograph Nemesh Feather Grande which is such a pretty design and perfectly suited to this gorgeous quilt!
The backing really showcases the beautiful feathers, curls and swirls of this gorgeous pantograph!
Cathy also supplied the prepared binding, so not only was her quilt trimmed but the binding was attached and pressed and ready to be hand stitched when she picked it up.
Cathy will be entering her quilt in the Thunder Bay Quilters Guild Quilt Show May 26, 2023- May 28, 2023 if you would like to view this and many more beautiful quilts in person.
Are you a fan of binding? What is your favourite step in quilting?
I really don’t have a favourite step though I really do enjoy hand stitching bindings, I like to take my time to keep my stitches close and hidden as best as I can. I love the look of a really well stitched corner on both front and back. Somethings take time but to me some things are well worth the time it takes to do it right.
Part of my Longarm Quilting Services does include binding. I am often asked to prepare the binding, attach the binding and occasionally to hand stitch the binding so when the quilt is returned it is completely finished.
This is the back and binding on my granddaughter Romee’s quilt, yes it takes more time to hand stitch but why race through such a special project 😊
Of course machine stitching a binding both front and back does make for a more durable quilt especially if it will be laundered often so it’s a valuable skill to have. I do use the technique from time to time but still prefer hand stitching.
Oh and of course how do you choose the binding? I rarely make that final decision until the quilt is almost finished. I love how the binding adds that final touch… it took some time to finally choose the binding colour for my Sunny Quilt and I am so happy with my choice of orange!
Applying binding to my Sunny Quilt
Todays project is to attach a customer binding. One thing that I always do and highly recommend is to take a little time and lay the binding around the quilt so that you can adjust it and avoid having binding seams in the corners.
Wendy’s Quilting and Life 