There and Here

It's been nearly six months since my last post, and you may be wondering if I'm still around. The answer is, happily, Yes, and I'm still quilting. The summer passed quickly, as we spent a lot of it in Newfoundland and then were fortunate enough to have a trip to Ireland at the end of August, which included a stop-over for a week in London, England. Difficult as it may be to believe, I didn't do any quilting during that time, but have been making up for it ever since.
In two weeks time, we will be having our bi-annual Mission Possible Sale at the Salvation Army and I've been very busy finishing some quilts and making other items for sale.  After finishing a double-size Ohio Star quilt on my basic home machine, I turned to smaller items for a change. Here are some of the items I've stock-piled for the sale. The tree ornaments were lots of fun as they make up fairly quickly and gave me a rest from the sewing machine. The next blog will be after the sale and I should have more pictures and I hope to be able to tell you that it was a great success!

 

Ohio Star Quilt 

 



 

Table Runners and Coasters
 

 

Christmas Tree Ornaments

Christmas Aprons

 

More Quilts, What Else?

"And thick and fast they came at last
And more and more and more."
(from The Walrus and the Carpenter by
Lewis Carroll )

Well not quite, if you're thinking about quilts, but in spite of (or maybe because of) the delay in blogging, I have been finishing up some quilts. Here they are.
    
The first two are made from two identical panels I bought intending to use them for quilts for our two little grandsons. By the time I got around to using them, the boys had outgrown the designs and so they will go to some other children. I did use  different coloured fabric in the inside border, so if they go to twins, they can easily tell which quilt is theirs.



Twin Quilt One

Twin Quilt Two

The next quilt was the result of my buying a jelly roll in a variety of blues. I had no definite plan in mind, but was thinking it might work for something simple like a strip quilt. It didn't and the quilt went through a few designs and quite a bit of "reverse sewing" before I finally decided on a pattern I could live with. It is about 52 inches square. I call it Sky and Sea.

The final quilt is made from fabric given to me by my quilter friend Linda. It took a couple of years before I got around to using it, but I finally made it up into a crib-sized quilt and called it Linda's Stars

 



 

Mug Mats

     Mug Mats have me hooked. These little quilts are easy to make and can be addictive, as I've learned. I started with the idea of making a couple or three and had so much fun choosing fabrics and deciding how to use them that I ended up with 17 so far and while I'm taking a break from them at the moment, I expect I'll go back to them before long.
"What is she going to do with them all?" you may be wondering. Of course, they make ideal little gifts for any occasion and for anybody who likes a cup of tea or coffee and a snack during the day. Which is a lot of the people I know. They're just the right size to hold a mug and a cookie or muffin. .
     However, I have another purpose in mind. In November of this year, the Ladies Ministries group at our church will be holding another "Mission Possible" Arts, Crafts and Bake sale in aid of  work in developing countries. This is the third such sale and as the other two have been very successful we have decided to "have another go".  So I'm hoping these little mug mats will be a "hot" item at the sale.
     Mug Mats can be made in a variety of shapes and sizes. As a novice mug mat maker I decided to make mine all the same size ( 8" x 10" finished).  Like all quilters, I had lots of left over small pieces of fabric and batting which were perfect for the mats. You can also use left-over odd blocks or try out a new quilt block pattern to make your mats. Or if you like, you can just buy some of mine! Contact me for details at www.mom

     Here are photos of some of my favourites.

Black, White and Red

       After the painstaking designing and intricate sewing of my Newfoundland quilt. I was ready for something much simpler. This black, white and red "square-in-a-square" quilt was the answer. The blocks, as you can see are simple and the sewing was straightforward. In fact this would be an ideal pattern for a beginner quilter or someone who just wants to make a quilt in a hurry. The blocks (five across and seven down)  are 9 inches square when finished and the red centres are 3 inches. I used strips 9" x 3" (finished) for the borders and the four corner blocks are made of four 3" (finished)squares.  I didn't have a pattern but  just figured out my own measurements. The finished quilt is 60" x 80". This design and colours would probably appeal to a man in your family. It did to mine.

 

 

 

On the wall.

The blocks of my Newfoundland quilt are put together and the finished product is hanging on the wall. As is customary,  I used the Newfoundland tartan for sashing, borders and binding. I think that perhaps it needs a little more quilting, and like many of my projects I've learned from this one, and would make some changes in technique if I were to do it again. But knowing myself, I probably won't make another one. So here is MY Newfoundland quilt, wall-hanging version.

 

 

 And as we are now in December and this will be my last blog post before the new year, I wish each of you all the blessings of  Christmas and love, joy and peace to continue with you in the new year.    

 

Final blocks for NL quilt

All twelve blocks are now completed for my Newfoundland Quilt/Wall-hanging.  Some worked out better than others, but I am generally happy with the lot. Having to make my own patterns  for a lot of them, or downsize patterns I had been given was a challenge. Next to be added are the sashing and borders of Newfoundland tartan. You can see the tartan in the map of NL block.  Here are the last five blocks.

This block shows two cod fish. In NL if you talk about "fish" you are talking about the cod. These cod somehow seem to have strayed into tropical waters. Or is it global warming?

 

 

Next is a typical dory tied up to a stage -  a shed where fish are cleaned and salted or packaged and where fishermen gather to mend nets and have a chat.

 

 

 

 Icebergs are very common around the shores of NL in the early spring and summer months. They can be small or huge, towering over boats and houses on the shore.

 

 

 

 The map of Newfoundland in the NL tartan. (Sorry, Labradorians about leaving out your  part of the province!)

 

 

 The pitcher plant is the floral emblem of NL.

 

 

And that`s all for this time. With any luck and time to sew, the next blog will show the finished quilt.

My Newfoundland Quilt

Here are a few more of the blocks I've been working on for My Newfoundland Quilt. I use a combination of fusing and applique to make the blocks. They still need some embellishing and quilting but so far so good. I'm halfway to my goal of twelve blocks which will make a good-sized wall-hanging.
The colours in the photos aren't exactly as the fabrics, but close. The first block shows the lighthouse at Cape Spear, the most easterly point in North America.

Next is an old-fashioned stove with fire showing in the firebox, a warming oven on top, where you put your bread to rise, a wood box and rubber boots warming by the side of the stove. There was a cat there at one time, but it disappeared!

Every Newfoundlander (and others too, I hope) will recognize a moose. There are so many moose in NL that everyone's farewell as you leave for the highway is "Watch out for moose!"

 

 

The block below shows a boy with a Newfoundland dog standing on a beach looking out to sea. Small boy but big dog.

 

A seagull on a rock is a common sight in Newfoundland, although you don't see as many these days, since the cod fishery collapsed.

 

That's it for this month. Keep watching. You may see some puffins or an iceberg floating by, if it hasn't all melted before I get it finished.