Monday was such a fun filled busy day! Late in the afternoon I received a call confirming my address because he had a delivery from a local florist. Having no idea who would be sending me flowers I felt a bit confused maybe that’s the word definitely curious!
My Aunt and Uncle sent them! When I called to say thank you and that I was shocked and so surprised! My Aunt told me that she and my Uncle like to surprise someone each Christmas with flowers and that I was chosen this year. She later told me that Uncle Gary was just thrilled that I was shocked!
This memory popped up, Liam has always enjoyed quilts and quickly crawled into the middle of this customer quilt just as she arrived to pick it up! Thankfully she was delighted to see how much he liked it. (Liam is now 12yrs old)
I am currently quilting another half square amazing quilt by Marilyn… I have lost count however this may be the 5th or 6th this was taken on the weekend I did get a few more rows quilted after this picture…however….
Yesterday we had a fun filled day with our grandson 3 yr old Jaxson!
His Mom sent us this picture she took on the way home. He is big into dinosaurs and the puppet in his hands was a gift we bought last summer but when he first saw it, it was scary…yesterday he told us it’s not scary anymore.
After supper, I attended our local Quilt Guild meeting, we had 3 in person meetings and have now resumed Zoom meeting for the winter…I was thankful for that after such a full day.
She did a wonderful and informative talk about her Collage Quilting…she was very inspiring.
The day also held a big surprise which I will share a little later when we have some daylight. Our hours of daylight are noticeably shorter each day right now, making me look forward to the Solstice.
This Christmas tree quilt was made using a pattern and fabrics by Edita Sitar of Laundry Basket Quilts. It was such a pleasure to quilt and enjoy having in my studio!
We chose the pantograph Rhapsody which played on the theme in many of the fabrics.
I like to choose a design that compliments the quilt not necessarily one that echoes the design. Thread colour and weight of thread also make a big difference in the outcome of the quilting.
I personally find it very difficult not to be inspired by the quilts that I work on! Edita’s quilts often have the small piecing that I love to do and the appliqué ❤️
I love the way the quilting shows on the back of the quilt!
Trimmed and ready for binding!
Let me help you to complete your quilting projects!
I usually only post about my quilting on my blog, this post is not about quilting. I will say though that my quilting certainly helped enable me in raising my family.
When I first became a single parent of 4 young children, I needed to get my education and an income to support them. The court ordered child support very rarely transpired.
We had to move weeks before our first Christmas on our own and I was also busy at the time attending College. One of my budget stretching techniques was to stock up on staples the weeks before Christmas during sales, knowing that in January prices would be higher.
I had always made it a point to teach my children to be kind and generous…well that December their school had a food drive all month with the incentive that the class that gave the most would be treated to a pizza lunch.
My heart sank when I realized that my carefully stocked pantry was almost empty! How could I explain to my girls that they had given away what we really needed? Well the lesson was on me as we received hampers that year that more than filled my pantry.
I remember while in one of my college classes being asked to write life goals, one of mine was that I would raise daughters who would make a positive difference in this world. My girls are all grown now and I am so proud of them all as they do make a positive difference.
This link will take you to one of my daughters who is helping others not only to learn how to save money on their food shopping but also with budgeting their money.
I am not entirely sure how December has arrived when I was just getting used to it being November!
The very best part of November in my books is that it’s Liam’s Birthday…he turned 12 last week.
My Dad hosted a family dinner in Liam’s honour, he smoked a turkey that Liam’s Mom provided and the rest of the dinner was made by my daughter Katie and I. Family dinners are so much easier when everyone helps!
I wish that I had taken a picture of his gift and reaction to opening it. You see he had requested money for an upcoming trip in February…this request was made in the summer. So to make it fun, I put 4 $1. USD bills in a peanut butter jar as a liner to look like the label…then filled a third of it with coins and wrapped more bills into the centre of the coins and topped the jar up with our remaining Halloween treats. The gift was a total success.
As his Grandma I have enjoyed his childhood so much, we have spent so much time together and he has truly brought so much joy in my life. These last months I have noticed how much he has grown and is definitely less of a little boy. I am sure by his next birthday he will be taller than I am, his life is busy with soccer and school and friends as it should be…though he has told me he still plans to be here in the summer and our annual trip to the Dells.
When my 3 year old granddaughter Minka let me know that she wanted an all pink quilt, I happily got on that…I am also making one for her sister. Pink is Minka’s favourite colour right now. The quilt is similar to Olivia’s baby quilt that I made last summer.
A night time shot of my design wall.
I have been collecting pink fabric for awhile now, I took advantage of Road17N’s Black Friday sale and ordered backing fabric and a couple more metres of pinks…what a great surprise to find more pink fabrics inside the parcel a few days later!
I really try to allow for an hour of piecing every evening after I finish working on the Longarm. I may have to add an extra hour in the morning in order to finish both quilts.
My presentation of my quilting journey went well at the November Quilt Guild meeting.
Monday…was my presentation of my Quilting Journey at the Thunder Bay Quilters Guild meeting. It is the last in person meeting until the spring.
It was really important to me, to show my quilts in person as I also like people to see and yes feel free to touch my quilts!
One of the quilts that I was asked about after my presentation was my Hourglass quilt. My friend Alva and I challenged each other to make them.
I made mine with Kaffe Fasset fabrics with a solid white background.
Alva’s in Batiks
Hers was quilted shortly after she made hers (using the pantograph Starswirl) this was the last quilt that Alva made, she had attached her binding herself, and it was the only quilt of hers that I hand stitched the binding for her as she was no longer able to.
I had to tuck mine away for a while.…
When I was ready, I quilted mine with the pantograph Rhododendron. it also began my run on Kaffe quilts that I made…which I did show some of on Monday.
We used the tutorial by Jenny Doan of Missouri Star Quilt to make our quilts. It’s a fun, easy quilt to make and one that really showcases beautiful fabrics.
Preparing for my presentation, was a journey for me personally as I decided which quilts to show. I hope that new quilters noticed my progress from beginner to where I am now in my journey and it encouraged them in their own journey.
It’s so much fun quilting for and seeing what other quilters are making or have made.
We chose a edge to edge design that would be subtle and not too dense with both top and back being flannel, this kept a nice soft drape.
The backing is a coordinated fabric and so Beary fun!
Trimmed and ready for binding this quilt will be ready for the holidays.
Do you like to make seasonal quilts?
Let me know if you are working on or have a project you might like to have quilted before the holidays. I always try to make a little extra time in my schedule to accommodate a few extra quilts this time of year.
Sunday night I prepared my studio for Monday…the life of a Longarm Quilter…
The quilt on the right was ready for trimming and the one on the left for loading.
On Monday I spent most of my Day loading and quilting the customer quilt on the left in the above picture after trimming the quilt on the right.
After an early supper I packed up and joined the girls at the Rec centre for some relaxation, visiting and personal piecing… my postage stamp quilt project is perfect for these evenings.
On Tuesday after spending my morning quilting the customer quilt on the left in the above picture I gave myself the afternoon “off” to help Erik outside.
In November when the temperatures are in the double digit range on the positive side it’s a real treat! (Just a note that I am Canadian and I am talking Celsius) it reached 13 degrees on the 14th!
We loaded three truck loads of firewood to bring home along with a couple of other things. We also unloaded one truck load of firewood…let me tell you, our supper was well earned.
After a short rest after supper, Erik headed back outside and I to my studio to finish quilting the quilt on my Longarm… as a treat and to wind down from the day I spent a little time in my sewing room working on my postage stamp quilt.
Wednesday began with preparing the next quilt, I always like to press each quilts backing and top which gives me the opportunity to look everything over before loading.
This quilt will come off the frame today.
I was asked a question at quilting the other day… it was how I can sew all day and not have upper back pain?
I make it a habit to change activities through out the day, I take breaks to stretch and move around, sometimes hopping on the glider in my studio for a bit between rows of longarming.
In my sewing room, my ironing station requires getting out of my chair and standing to press what I am working on. When all else fails my back massager is a very good friend!!
I have been blessed with friends who were well ahead of me in this journey of life!
Having friends who had raised their children and were cheerleading me on as I raised my daughters on my own. Having also worked and raised her family on her own she knew full well what my life was like, my friend Jeanne.
Jeanne was also a quilter and had me quilt for her. Two quilts that I have pictures of hold especially special memories.
Her Alpine Wonder Quilt was an early custom quilt job for me, I remember her delight in seeing it quilted and ready for embellishment! It was quilted before one could find many other similar quilts online for ideas. It still remains after all these years a popular Pinterest image that leads others to this blog.
Many years later after attending a wedding one of my daughters asked if I knew Jeanne. The wedding was at Jeanne’s home and my daughter recognized my quilting.
This next quilt, also an early custom… Jeanne’s Star Quilt.
Jeanne’s Star Quilt
Jeanne’s reaction to this quilt was pure joy and excitement! I wish that I had thought to take a picture of her with this quilt…however this was before I always had a camera (aka smart phone) in my purse. You see I delivered this quilt to Jeanne and visited her at her beautiful home on Lake Superior.
I loved visiting with Jeanne at her house, she had a wonderful sewing room beside her husbands room that was dedicated to his model train hobby.
Jeanne also loved to meet for lunch at Applebees for Asian Salad…she always insisted on it being her treat. She knew that at that time with 4 young daughters to raise, a lunch out was a huge treat!
The back of Jeanne’s Star Quilt
The last time I saw Jeanne was at the Quilt Show before Covid. She came up to me and said that she couldn’t remember names anymore but she was very sure that she knew me. I told her that yes indeed she did and that I quilted her quilts…and then she knew.
I learnt yesterday that Jeanne has passed away at the age of 91 on November 6th.
I am so thankful for my time with this special friend 💗
We know it’s coming and this may not stay, but then again it might. It’s truly a sign of what’s to come.
Thankfully my quilting keeps me busy and warm, and to be honest for the most part I don’t mind the snow.
This quilt is now ready for winter! I won’t be trimming this one as it’s not finished. After piecing the super soft flannel backing, it was loaded onto the Longarm with butter soft wool batting. It was stitched in the ditch around all of the blocks, and borders in preparation for hours of hand quilting by its maker.
As a Professional Longarm Quilter I happily offer all kinds of quilting services and love to help others learn this wonderful art of quilting.
As a longtime quilter, I still love the fun of making quilts big and small and learning new techniques and trying new ideas.
A sweet little wallhanging. There’s just something about houses and quilting.
What projects do you have in mind to work on this winter?
I will be doing a presentation of my quilting Journey at the Thunder Bay Quilter‘s Guild this Month, November 20th if you are interested in checking out the Guild it might be a meeting to attend.
Wendy’s Quilting and Life 