Tag: Life

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Travel and Quilting (part 2)

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Spring in Thunder Bay has arrived and I always enjoy watching the greens evolve in our yard. We arrived home just in time.

We/ mostly Erik have been busy in the yard and I have been busy in my studio.

Jen brought me her first quilt, we chose the pantograph Forest Floor adding to its outdoorsy cabin look. (It is a gift meant to be used in her friend’s camp…( in Thunder Bay cottages and cabins are referred to as Camps)

Jen’s quilt was trimmed and ready for binding at pick up!

Now a little more about our recent adventure

St Augustine is known for being the oldest City in the US. We both drank from the fountain of youth!

We chose to stay in KOA campgrounds for the most part as it made planning the trip a little easier and also because for the most part you know what to expect.

Our next stop was in Bradenton Florida for a night. This KOA was on a farm and was so interesting to walk and cycle around.

Many of the campgrounds had cabins and covered wagons to rent for those without an RV.

The next morning we were headed to Bonita Springs where we had booked a one week stay at Bonita Terra. We have friends who spend the winter there and it was so nice to visit with them and to check out a 55plus resort.

We had the use of a golf cart!! I loved driving that around though I especially loved being able to walk my 10,000 steps in the morning on the shady sides of the canal roads.

The pool area and club house we are lot of fun!

We spent time exploring Fort Myers and Marco Island as well as Bonita Springs.

This Banyan Tree was amazing! I can picture children having a lot of fun playing around and climbing a tree like this.

I was sad to leave this area of Florida but also excited to experience and see our upcoming destinations.

On our way to our next Campground (Larry and Penny Thompson Memorial Park and Campground in south Miami) we drove through the Florida Everglades.

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Travel and Quilting

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I have been hinting at the trip that we set out on March 20th of this year. (When we arrived home May 3rd we had put almost 10,000 km on the Motorhome!)

After a lot of planning and preparation and trying to finish as many customer quilts as I could, we had the Motorhome loaded and ready to go!

Just after crossing the border, the view of Lake Superior is breathtaking especially on a sunny day!

Our first night was spent in a hotel in Wisconsin Dells after a long day of driving…and a stop or two in Duluth. (it was still too cold to sleep in the motorhome)

We booked a three night stay at the first campground in Paducah Kentucky.

It was warm enough to change into warmer weather clothes and if you are a quilter you probably know where I was planning to go while in Paducah.

If you guessed Hancocks of Paducah you were right! Wow what an amazing amount of beautiful quilting fabric!!

I behaved for the most part 😊 I did indulge in some fun of course

We also visited The National Quilt Museum which really deserves its own post!

After Paducah the Weather was perfect and the Motorhome had been fully set up for use. Unfortunately for those at home they were dealing with a snow storm.

Montgomery Alabama was our next stay!

https://www.exploresouthernhistory.com/hankwilliams.html

The drive from Montgomery to Perry Florida was so interesting and fun. We did go for a walk around the Farmers Market in Nashville.

We slept so well in the Motorhome maybe because we were exhausted. The quilt that I made for the MH bed still needed the binding stitched down and it is almost finished! I had thought there would be time to stitch however as the navigator Erik preferred that I kept my eye on the road for the most part.

This quilt will soon have its own post. It is perfect for the Motorhome and will be all finished before the next trip!

We left Perry Florida headed to St Augustine, this sign was near our campsite.

More to come!

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Last Day… Morning View

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Our morning view is in Hinckley MN today. We arrived settled in, had supper and went to bed early with a full day planned ending with being home!

It’s been a little over six weeks that we have been on our adventure… it is so nice waking up to sunshine this morning after a full day of driving in the rain. I am not complaining as we had almost perfect weather on this trip.

I brought my travel machine and some little projects just in case however our days were full and the only sewing I did was to stitch the binding on our camper quilt…even that isn’t finished but it’s close and I will share more about this quilt soon.

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Marylyn’s Scrappy Quilt (and an update)

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This is the third scrappy quilt of Marilyn’s that I quilted before our big adventure!

It’s so much fun to see how she utilizes her stash and makes wonderful scrappy quilts…also so inspiring!

I used the pantograph Tickle Two to bring the three layers of her quilt together.

I especially love the way the design shows on the backing that reads as a solid along with the beautiful stitches.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post we have been on a bit of an adventure!

We left home in our Motorhome on March 20th and have put on 9140 kilometres so far…we are in Clear Lake Iowa this morning, after visiting the Surf Ballroom yesterday.

Today we head to Hinckley MN and then home on Friday. It’s been an amazing trip, which I will start blogging about once we are settled in again.

I will also be back to full time Longarm Quilting for all of my wonderful, encouraging and patient customers!

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Do you have a longtime stash?

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As a long time quilter and lover of quilting fabric I have acquired over the years a wonderful collection…one that continues to grow I might add…actually I have grown it a little this last month and will probably add a little more next week.

Watch for my upcoming posts as I share what I have been up to for the last month or so!!

Anyways, I noticed this morning that Tara Faughnan has released her Sunny pattern! This was such a fun month of the Color Collective that I took part in and the pattern has so many possibilities of fun with your stash and a great way to learn a different technique of paper piecing that doesn’t involve removing or wasting paper.

The collective was so much fun for someone like me…. Each month receiving a colour palette of Tara’s choosing and a pattern to play with…it felt a little like being a child back in my childhood and getting fresh new crayons with blank paper to create with!

Onto sharing some scrappy fun!

Marilyn has been inspiring me for many years with her use of her stash…I have two customers named Marilyn who are on a mission of playing with and using stash!! Which means so much fun to someone like me!

Some times simplicity of piecing is a great way to play and use scraps with a beautiful quilt as a result!

Adding some easy piecing that allows for some colour pops into the border really added more fun!

Marilyn told me that she ordered the backing online and that it was a sheet! It was perfect and so easy to work with and the result really made for a two sided quilt!

Using the design A Little Bit of This was another layer of fun adding a layer of soft density and visual pleasure to her quilt.

Of course it left trimmed and ready for binding then gifting.

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

On Point

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February has been such a busy month!

I have been quilting for Marilyn for many years, her use of colour always amazes me.

This quilt using the basic nine patch makes it very easily a beginners quilt, however setting it on point gives a much more interesting look.

I find working on my customers quilts who are utilizing their stashes to make amazing scrap quilts so inspiring…and lessons the guilt that I sometimes feel about my stash!

Not really, I love my fabric stash! It brings me joy!

The black border with the pops of colour, is such an interesting contrast to the centre of her quilt.

Have you heard of bobbin chicken? It’s when you realize you have finished a seam or project and had barely any bobbin thread left! Well I won at backing chicken on this one!

I chose the pantograph Star Swirl for this quilt…notice the tiny stars in the background fabric and then there were also stars on the backing! This is such a softly flowing design with a perfect density for a quilt with a lot of piecing.

Trimmed and ready for binding!

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Colour Confidence…Quilting

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This week I have been busy quilting a few quilts made by a long time customer of mine.

I have always admired her use of colour and how she plays with different layouts. Her quilts are often what are referred to as scrap quilts. When someone has been quilting for many years those scraps accumulate and seem to grow when stored away.

Some of her quilts such as this one is just a bounty of colour and prints, they are so much fun to look at and explore the variety of prints.

Making simple blocks and utilizing same colour families in individual blocks is another technique that plays with colour.

The variety of colour and prints against a solid or solid reading print in this next quilt would really use up some scraps and sure makes a fun quilt to look at. Many of the most fun scrap quilts have easily pieced blocks such as half square triangles.

Allowing yourself the freedom of playing with your scraps over time, will help to grow your colour confidence.

One of the most freeing decisions that I have made in my personal scrap quilts is that I let go of stressing over the placement of blocks.

When discussing some of my scrap quilts with this customer and long time quilter, we both agree that a simple rule of no two same fabrics should touch but it’s alright if they are close by.

Allowing yourself to play and make scrap quilts just for the pure enjoyment of sewing and creating will I believe help to grow colour confidence,

This quilt, made by my Mom was made in an attempt to use up stash and is a wonderful example of years of acquiring scraps from projects and putting them together into a quilt that will be enjoyed for years to come! Happy Birthday in Heaven today Mom!

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Jessica’s Quilt

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I love to hear the story behind a quilts creation. When I met Jessica she told me that she would spend summers with her Grandma as a child and that is where she learnt to sew and how to quilt.

Together they began a sampler quilt…time moved on and life took over, school friends teen activities etc.

During her final years of University she inherited her Grandma’s sewing machine and decided to complete the sampler quilt and gave me the privilege of quilting it for her.

There are so many beautiful blocks in this quilt and the colours are amazing.

Finding a backing for this large queen size quilt that she liked for her quilt was difficult and so she chose solid black yardage which I pieced for her. She chose the pantograph Here and There for its heart like design linking the love between her and her Grandmother.

She also chose white bobbin thread which would create more interest to the solid black backing.

Her quilt is trimmed and ready for binding and will be completed just as she graduates from University.

I love the beauty of the stitches on both the front and back of her quilt!

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Elegance in Quilting

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So often when I think of scrappy quilts I think of many colours and prints…but what happens when you choose a colour palette or stick to just one theme such as black and white?

Stunning elegance!

Joan’s Grandson claimed this quilt after seeing her piece it. We chose the pantograph Jitterbug adding a layer of fun!

The backing fabric reads busy and could have just been pieced however there is a design to it and taking a little extra time to match the pattern was well worth doing.

Can you see the seam?

Here it is…

I know how much time goes into making a quilt, so it’s important to me to take the time when quilting for not only myself but for others to do it right. Seaming backs is a complimentary service, including matching the pattern.

This beautiful quilt is trimmed and ready for binding.

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

A Pretty Variation of The Seed Packet Quilt

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February is off to a great start!

I love this bright beautiful quilt made with Kaffe Fassett fabrics, it’s a variation of The Seed Packet quilt.

After piecing and loading this quilt I chose the pantograph Rhododendron which plays on the lovely large blooms in the quilt. I am often requested to decide on the quilting designs for the quilts that I work on.

More often than not, I have a quilting plan within minutes of seeing a top and if not an idea will usually come to me not long after seeing the top.

The backing fabric adds another layer of bright with its pretty pink, but has a soft easy to look at design which beautifully shows off the quilting stitches and design.

Trimmed and ready for binding, this quilt will soon be completed and ready for snuggling under.