Boxcar Buz

While I just managed to get my February blog in under the wire, March has just zipped by with no blog, and here it is, April already. Not that I wasn't busy quilting in March. In fact I was so busy that I didn't have time, (or perhaps, take the time) to update my blog. Two projects occupied my time and space. One is not completed yet, but I'm making progress. The other is finished and you can see it above. Like all quilts it has its own story.

Last fall, a friend showed me the pattern for "Boxcar Buz" as it is called and asked if I could make the wall-hanging for her. Knowing we were going away for several months, I agreed to do it in the new year, if she wasn't in a hurry for it. She smiled at that and said a few more months wouldn't matter as she'd had the pattern for years. Her husband, Gerry, had been a model train enthusiast and one day had come home with the pattern and handing it to his wife said, hopefully, "You can make this, can't you?" Her response was along the lines of "You must be joking." She was not a quilter and realized that this project was not for her. So the pattern got packed away and almost forgotten, until she came upon it years later after her husband had passed away. Gerry had been a good friend of ours, so I was happy to take on the challenge. As I worked, many memories of the fine man he was and the good times we had shared came to mind. When I struggled with a difficult part, or accepted that my work wasn't going to be perfect, I thought if Gerry could see it, his keen eye would see its deficiencies, but, gentleman that he was, he probably wouldn't say anything about it.

Reading the information that came with the pattern from Crystal Clear Designs, I learned that the pattern was created in memory of another railroad buff by his daughter.

With its many small pieces, it was a challenge, but I'm glad to have done it and also glad that it's done.

Quilting Encounters Downunder

Auckland, New Zealand

After spending two months in the balmy summer weather of Australia and New Zealand, where the temperatures were around 30 deg. C, it was a bit of a shock to come back to Edmonton's biting winter cold and temperatures closer to minus 30 deg. C. But from a quilter's viewpoint, having less incentive to go out and more time at home is a plus. Having been away from my quilting "studio" for so long, I was eager to get back (especially since my carry-on bag was full of fabric which wouldn't fit into my already bulging suitcase). So less than 24 hours after I arrived home, the fabric was all washed and I was starting work on a new project. (More about that in a later blog.)

However, my two months "Downunder" were not without some quilting related experiences. As you would imagine, I visited quilt shops wherever I saw them, and found that in spite of the high cost of quilting cottons, most of which are imported, there are many very enthusiastic and accomplished quilters in both Australia and New Zealand.

In Port Stephens, about a 3-hour drive north of Sydney, a group of quilters were meeting at the Community Arts Centre the day we visited there. When I met them and explained that I was a quilter from Canada, they immediately asked me to join them. Some of them had visited Canada and another was excited about her plans to visit the Houston Quilt Show. I spent a very happy time comparing notes, looking at their projects, and generally enjoying myself, until my patient husband looked in the door and I knew it was time to move on.

In Whitianga, on the Coromandel peninsula in New Zealand, at an outdoor market, a stall full of brightly coloured quilts caught my eye and I stopped to talk to the owner. Her eye-catching quilts were priced at a very reasonable figures and when I remarked on this, she explained that she kept her prices low so she would sell her quilts more quickly, as there were so many more patterns she wanted to try. In fact that was the only reason she had the stall at all!

In the tiny town of Bungendore, NSW, where we'd stopped for a tea-break and a walk round, we found "Bungendore Country Patchwork". In Devonport, Auckland I was delighted to see fabrics with New Zealand motifs in "Cushla's Village Fabrics."

In Taupo, NZ, it was

"Clever Hands, The Patchwork Quilt Store"

which enticed me in.

'"Nancy's" in Wellington had a great selection of quilting and embroidery supplies. In all of these delightful shops, it was a pleasure to chat with the friendly staff (who were sometimes the owners) and I couldn't leave any of them without at least a token purchase to add to my stash.

So, here I am with happy memories of a wonderful trip, more fabrics to enjoy and plenty of ideas for future quilts. What more could a quilter want? Well, a little warmer temperatures would be nice!

Christmas Quilt

About nine years ago, we were in Australia and in the course of our trip I was asked to give a talk to a ladies' group which included some quilters and also some new to the craft and to provide them with a small handwork project which they could work on and, if necessary, finish at home. I decided to show them three ways to make the bow tie block and several ways to set it, and then allow them to make the block of their choice by hand. I chose Christmas fabrics for my demo, thinking I would later put the finished blocks into a Christmas quilt. It was many years before I completed the quilt above, which I called "Bows in Boxes", but I was thinking of that quilt lately as we are off to Australia for Christmas and an extended visit which will include three weeks in New Zealand. I've not planned any quilt related activities, but, I'm sure there'll be some quilt shops along the way for me to visit and chat with quilters there. If this blog is not up-dated for quite a while, you'll know that I'm still travelling.

To all my quilting friends, those I've met and those I've yet to meet, my best wishes for a happy Christmas and many good quilting experiences in the new year.

Successful Sale

After months of planning, organizing and sewing, our Mission Possible Sale is over and I'm happy to say it was a great financial success, raising approximately five thousand dollars for projects in developing nations. Attached are a few photos, taken rather hurriedly near the end of the set-up day, hence the rather poor quality.

On a personal note, I was pleased to see that three of my larger quilts plus several wall-hangings and lots of smaller items were purchased, one intended as a gift for a family member in eastern Canada. And my reversible quilt will be going to a new home, some time in the future.

So after an intensive two months of quilting and sewing, I've been taking it pretty easy, with only one little project started, but several others waiting in line. One of which is a quilt, or quilts, based on the mosaic designs I saw on our trip to Italy last April. They are only in the design stages so far, but I know the type of fabrics I want and will be on the look-out for them as we travel to the US and "down-under" in December and January.

Happy quilting.

The Last of the Stashbusters

This past month has been a time of finishing projects that were started earlier in the year. They were all "stashbuster" quilts and I have now finished five with a little more quilting to be done on the sixth and last (for now) quilt. These are all going to the "Mission Possible" Arts, Crafts and Bake Sale on November 6th in support of Salvation Army World Missions. The money raised will go to such projects as providing clean drinking water, medical and school supplies, and micro-credit to create a source of income for poverty stricken families, often women and children.

Two of the quiltswere especially interesting to me. The green/brown reversible "quilt-as-you-go" was the first time I'd tried this technique and it proved quite easy to finish, if you enjoy hand sewing. My quilt is 51"square, but I could see doing a larger one and using a different pattern for the blocks sometime in the future. Another plus for this pattern is using up lots of left-over strips and pieces of batting too small for most other projects. I used cotton batting, which is very stable.

The other quilt is made of left-overs from a queen-size quilt I made last year. I altered the original design and had a lot of half-octagons and four-point stars left over. Originally I was going to use them as the backing for a quilt, but my "quilting consultant" (aka Gordon) persuaded me that they should be made into another quilt top, so I did.

I hope someone else likes them enough to buy them at the sale. We have lots of items coming in. Sewing, (especially quilts), crochet, knitting, woodwork, greeting cards, books and original photos are some of the crafts being sold. By this time next month it will all be over and (we hope!) a great success.

QESP (Quilter's Extra-Sensory Perceptions)

I've just returned from a three-week visit to Newfoundland, the focus of which was to be family and friends and, unlike my last trip there, I had no plans for any quilt-related experiences.

But I'm convinced there must be the quilting equivalent of ESP, which, subconsciously, draws quilters together. For somehow or other, quilting seems to make itself a part of every trip I take.

And this trip was no exception.

A highlight of the visit was a reunion of graduates of my alma mater, Memorial University. This was an exciting event, as I reconnected with classmates whom I hadn't seen for years. At the start of the final banquet, I knew only two other couples (long-time friends) seated at our table, but before the evening was over, I had found two new quilting friends who just happened to fill the empty seats at our table - Phyllis, from Conception Bay South (CBS) and Iris from Ottawa.

Naturally we talked quilting, exchanged names and email addresses and promised to keep in touch.

Later on, Gordon and I visited Piecemakers Quilt Shop in CBS and who should walk in but Phyllis! While we chatted, another quilter joined us, and Phyllis introduced her. She was Bonnie, whom I had email correspondence with, but had never met in person.

By this time, Gordon had gone outside and was deep in conversation with Phyllis' husband. No doubt comparing notes on being a quilter's husband!

There was another quilting connection as well. The day before I left home, the autumn issue of Canadian Quilter arrived. I only had time to glance through it, but as I did, I saw the photo and article on The Pigeon Inlet Quilt, recently completed by quilters in Bay Roberts, NL and now displayed in the tourist information centre in that town. I determined to see it, if at all possible.

QESP was operating as I mingled with other alumni prior to the banquet. Before long, I found out I was talking to Eileen Newman, the quilter who had made the central block of the Pigeon Inlet Quilt. Later on, as I viewed the quilt, itself, I marvelled at the workmanship of Eileen and the other quilters who imagined, designed, and constructed such a remarkable quilt.

Non-quilters might call these connections the long-arm of coincidence. But as a quilter, I know it's more than that. It's definitely QESP!

August Activities

In spite of what I predicted last month, I have managed to do some quilt related sewing. The impetus has been the fact that my friend Linda and I (together with the Women's Ministries group in our church) are organizing an arts, crafts and bake sale, scheduled for November, to help raise money for Salvation Army projects in developing countries.

In order to have well-stocked sales tables, we have asked everyone we know who does some form of craft work, whether it's with fabric, wool, paper, paint or wood to make a contribution. The response has been great. But naturally, Linda and I want to make as big a contribution as possible. Although neither of us have openly admitted it, this is just another excuse to keep on quilting. Linda calls it "quilting with a purpose."

So over the last month I've made a few tote bags (see photo above) and some Christmas coasters. I've also made a start on a strippy quilt-as-you-go quilt and so far have finished 28 of the 36 blocks planned. I've wanted to try this pattern for a while and another plus is that it's another great stash-buster project. I'm hoping the final sewing together will go smoothly, as I've never finished a quilt in this fashion before. Time will tell.

That's all for now.

Happy Quilting!