Donna's Quilt For This Christmas

I just finished quilting one of Donna Madden's quilt tops as a belated Christmas gift.

Table Mats

These table mats were made by my sister, Linda Huntrods for Christmas gifts.
I need more time to sew, I've got a quilt just about done that's going to be a gift for somebody. It's hard to find the time to get at it, time is running out. I usually get lots accomplished when there's a deadline, so I'll tie myself to the sewing machine for the next few days.

Turkey Tracks

This queen size Turkey Tracks quilt was made by my sister, Linda Huntrods. It was the first full size quilt top she ever made. It was just a top for many years, but this past year she quilted it. At the time, she didn't have many neutral fabrics in her stash. How things have changed since then!

Dresser Mats

My sister, Linda Huntrods made these mats to put on her bedroom furniture.

Drunkard's Path

This Drunkard's Path variation was made by my sister, Linda Huntrods.

Table Runner

My sister, Linda Huntrods made this table runner.

Gift

My sister, Linda Huntrods made this quilt for a friend for Christmas a few years ago.

Snowman

Since we're getting snow here, I'll send a picture of a little snowman wallhanging that my sister, Linda Huntrods made. I think we both made these at the same time because I remember making a few. It was a pattern by Debbie Mumm.

Lindsay's Quilt

My daughter, Lindsay designed this quilt when she was 5 years old. I taped squares of fabric down to the table, then she used fabric pens to draw on them. She picked out every colour in the sashing, setting squares and middle block. She drew the heart that's in the centre, I made an applique of her drawing.
I wrote down what she wanted to say on each picture, but the last block is her signature and date.
It has an environmental theme- we shouldn't be littering, we need to save the planet from garbage.

Mystery Quilt

This was made with one of the Judy Hopkins mystery quilt patterns. It's not quilted yet, if I need it for a gift sometime, then I can get busy and finish it.
I seem to make a lot of quilts with purple and black in them, not everybody likes purple in their house because it doesn't go with their decor. Too bad, they just won't get a quilt then, lol!

Birthday Block Exchange

I was in a birthday block exchange with the Quilters Funtalk internet group in 1998.
I made this quilt with all the signature blocks that I received.
A few of the people in the group have passed away since then, this quilt is a very special keepsake.

Baby Quilt

My friend, Cathy made this quilt for my daughter, Lindsay when whe was born in 1987.
Original design- great idea!

Quilts For Cats

My sister, Linda Huntrods makes some quilts for cats at the SPCA every Christmas and also drops off a big bag of cat food at the same time.

Donation Quilt

This is a seven year old UFO that I finally finished last night. I found it a little while ago in a pile of boxes when I was sorting out my stash, it only needed the binding stitched down. At the time, I went on to another project and forgot about this one- yikes! Oh well, it's done now, it'll be given it to our guild to put in the stockpile. We give quilts to sick kids in the community. Luckily, we haven't had to give many away over the past several years, we would rather have people be in good health! After I saw the picture on the computer, I realized the bug jar block wasn't facing the right way when I got somebody to hold the quilt up for me.

Table Runner

I made this table runner last year, it isn't quilted yet. It might end up being used for a gift this Christmas, so I better get busy and finish it. A big thank you to Quiltbug.com for the free pattern!

Guild Challenge

Our guild had a challenge one time where a quilt had to be made based on a saying. My sister, Linda Huntrods made this pillow as her entry. The title is "Madder Than a Setting Hen". It is made with the crazy quilt method, using fancy fabrics like velvet.

Chickens

These chickens are made with hand applique and hand embroidery. I experimented with swirly, rich looking prints on top of plaids and checks to see how they looked together. I can't remember where I got the pattern, I would like to give credit to the person who designed it.

Yellow Brick Road

This is a Yellow Brick Roas quilt that I made using all neutrals. There is a closeup of the freeform leaves that I quilted all over it in varigated rayon thread.

Pumpkin Man's Transformation

After the Pumpkin Man's head rotted, it was thrown away. He became Freddie Kruger and hung out on the deck.

More Halloween 2010

Here are some more pictures of the Pumpkin Man.

Halloween 2010

I haven't carved a pumpkin for quite a few years. I think I'm going to start doing one every year, I forgot how much fun it is. I bought the clothes for this man at the thrift shop. He is stuffed with rolled up sheets, towels, quilt batting and polyester stuffing. There is a wooden stick shoved into the neck to hold the pumpkin on. He takes up quite a bit of room, so I put him under a table. I'll be able to use the body in future years, just put a new head on each time. Maybe he should have a girlfriend for next year.....

Baby Quilt

This is one of the first quilts I ever made, it's made in the "quilt as you go" method. I didn't know about using 100% cotton at the time, this one is made from polycotton. Just about 24 years ago, I started getting interested in quilts. I went to a quilt show put on by our local guild. They had a baby quilt raffle at the show, I wanted to win that quilt really bad because I was pregnant. I bought many tickets, but didn't win the quilt. I wasn't going to do without a baby quilt for my daughter, Lindsay, so I made the one that's in the picture. The rest is history, I don't know how many quilts I've made since then, I've never counted them.

Table Mat

My sister, Linda Huntrods made this table mat for me quite a few years ago. I stopped using it because I moved to a different place and the sun blasts into the kitchen. I didn't want the mat to get bleached out from the strong sunlight. I should find a different location for it. I learned my lesson about sunlight on quilts. I had a quilt on the wall one time and the sun faded it terribly and ruined it. Too much work goes into a quilt to let that happen to it!

Jacket

My sister, Linda Huntrods designed and this jacket for me. It has an Asian theme, I love Oriental type fabrics!

Halloween Wedding

My sister, Linda Huntrods made this fabric card as a gift for a family friend who got married on Halloween a few years ago. I think this is the coolest card ever!

I Don't Know What it's Called

This is a WIP (work in progress), I was experimenting with the stack and slash method, it's not big enough to be a quilt. I think i'll finish it the size it is and hang it up on the wall in my bedroom, it'll coordinate with the bright quilt on the bed. Sometimes I just like to try different blocks and colour arrangements to see what they would look like. That's why I have so many UFO's.

Table Runner

It's time to start making those Christmas gifts! I've made countless table runners over the years, this one's the only one I ever kept for myself. This is a good pattern for using up odds and ends of Christmas prints. I made a smaller version of it and donated it for a door prize when I had a memebership at Curves. They let me have a free month because of the donation, I thought that was nice.

Future Baby Quilt

This is a baby quilt top that I made a few years ago. It's made from 1930's reproduction fabrics. My quilt tops sit there and "ripen" for awhile before I get around to quilting them. I don't know of anybody who is going to have a baby, so there is no rush. It said on the news that in Canada, more people are not having children than are having them these days.
Maybe this baby quilt will end up being a lap quilt for a little old lady. That could work because I don't use baby type fabrics.

Mask

When I was up north this summer, I saw some cool masks made by First Nations people.
I thought it would be fun to try to make one, but I don't have any woodworking tools. I bought some packages of Sculpey and made this one just to try it. The Sculpey cracked in one spot when I was trying to get the crumpled foil out that I was using for a base while it was baking. I was just experimenting until I can get some tools for wood.

Quilt Made with "Tri Recs" Rulers

This quilt doesn't have a name, I made it with the Tri Recs set of rulers. They work great for making those long points on the stars. I call them the "Tri- Rectal
Tools", just to be silly. :D The fabrics in this quilt are all chicken themed, eggs and tone on tone chickens on the red and green. I made it to sell but nobody bought it, there it sits in my closet. I have given up trying to sell quilts, I'm just going to make them because I feel like it. They can pile up to the ceiling for all I care. The important thing is that I'm exercising my creativity. I feel like I'm wasting my life if I'm not being creative. The clock is ticking, I have to remain healthy in mind and body so I can continue making quilts until I'm 120 years old.
I've got too much fabric and too many ideas in my head to quit.

Hanging up a Quilt

This is a way to hang a quilt on the wall if there isn't much space. I was given this wooden hanger for a gift. Later on when I had my store, I got a carpenter to make some for me to sell. I think only one or two of them sold, then I had to give the rest of them away. I guess it was one of those "seemed like a good idea at the time" moments, which there were too many of. That's why the store went by the way of the dodo bird. I'll never go into the retail business again. If that ever crosses my path again, I'll set my hair on fire and run out the door! :D

Challenge Quilt

There was a challenge at a local quilt shop several years ago. We had to make a quilt using the fabrics supplied and could only use a small percentage of another fabric of our own. This was a really touch challenge because all the fabrics were of a medium tone, there was no contrast. It also had to have a theme "A Journey Through Time". The name of mine is "Waves of Coffee Through Time" I've included a picture of the label on the back.

Coming Along...

You know that old saying, "Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it".
Well, that's happened to me now. I was wishing I would have more time to sew. I switched over to a mobile internet stick at home because all I could get there was a horrible dial up connection. It turned out that the internet stick is too expensive to use, I exceeded my month's worth of usage in one day. Now I have to wait another month before I can go on it again. That means I'll have to do my blogging when I'm away working, using somebody else's computer. Now I have more time to sew at home because I can't use my computer! Funny how things work.
This is a picture of the quilt I've been working on, I showed one block a few posts ago. I don't think I'll put a border on it, just a few more rows of blocks to go.
This will make a good utility quilt, maybe for camping.

Nine Patch

I tried to post this yesterday, but the computer was in a snit and wouldn't put the picture on.
I don't think I've shown this quilt before, but if I have, please ignore.
When I had my store, the suppliers often sent three inch square samples. I kept all of them and made several quilts, also adding fabrics of my own. This quilt was a gift I made for somebody last Christmas.
I have umpteen bolts of fabric left from my store, but I keep choosing to make things with free sample squares, hehe! Waste not, want not, I suppose.

Another Quilt by Linda

This is another quilt made by my sister, Linda Huntrods, I don't know the name of the pattern.
I don't have too many more quilt pictures in my photo albums, but I've got lots of projects that I haven't taken pics of yet, I'll have to get my camera out.
It would be nice to have a longarm machine to finish up my 29+ UFO's and WIPs.
I wouldn't want to do quilts for customers, I have enough of my own to do :)
let's see, I could chuck everything out of the spare room to fit the machine in......

Maple Leaf

My sister, Linda Huntrods made this Maple Leaf quilt. At first, she was going to give this as a gift to ....., I won't mention any names. The quilt was a tremendous amount of work and she'd grown quite attached to it and wanted to keep it, so another quilt was made instead which was equally as nice. The quilt was given away to this person, there was no thank you, not one word was ever mentioned about it. It was like the quilt disappeared into the great abyss. I guess some people just don't appreciate the months of work, the big cost of fabric and supplies and the good thoughts that go into making a quilt. It would have been better if the woman gave the quilt back to Linda, saying "sorry, quilts aren't my thing, I don't want it"
At least in that case, it wouldn't end up in the landfill or be put in a garage sale or whatever possibly happened with it. That's my rant for the day :)

Oxymoron

We had a challenge in our guild one time to make a quilt that was based on an oxymoron. That was a fun challenge, I'd like to do it again sometime. There are endless oxymorons to use as subject matter.
This is the one my sister, Linda Huntrods made, it's called "Genuine Imitation".
It's made entirely of polyester fabrics.
I need to have a time stretcher so I can make projects of all the ideas I have in mind. Work seriously cuts into my creative time! Now I'm thinking of more oxymorons, hmmmm......

Finally!

I waited for more than a month for the mobile internet stick to arrive from Virgin Mobile. It never did show up, so I got fed up and bought one from Telus instead.
Why would a large company like Virgin be so slack with their orders? They won't remain successful if that's how they treat their customers! I was so tired of the extremely slow dial up connection that I didn't want to fight with it anymore, that's why I didn't post for so long. I'm happy with the stick from Telus, but it's going to be very expensive to use, I used my limit of MB for a month in only the first day. I'll have to try to do most of my blogging when I'm working away from home. It's a pain in the butt no matter how you look at it.
Anyway, here is what I've been working on- a quilt made entirely of 2 1/2" squares, it's just about half done. I'll send pics of its progress. It's very scrappy, I started using a bagful of squares that were already cut, then I just keep cutting more to add to them.

Quilt I'm Working on Right Now

Going to try to put these photos on today, I hope it'll work this time.
I ordered an internet stick from Virgin Mobile today, I hope it doesn't take too long to arrive. Then i'll be able to say goodbye to this horrible dial up connection- YAY!
Grrr! It won't work again today. Telus should be paying me to use their dial up connection, I shouldn't have to pay for such terrible service!

I'm back!

I tried to post this five times yesterday, but my computer was in a snit. Dial up sucks! I'm back from my month long vacation. I get tons of vacation time because I've worked for the same employer for THIRTY years, they add an extra day every year. It's hard to believe that I've worked at the same place for so long!
I felt like doing some "mindless sewing" today. I was inspired by the newest American Patchwork and Quilting magazine, they had an awesome quilt on the front cover. I looked at the directions and didn't feel like going to all that work because I feel lazy, so I made my own easier version. I have a huge bag of 2 1/2" squares that were leftover from other projects, so I've been using them and will probably cut more as I need them. This could end up being a quilt for camping. Or it could end up being a UFO....
After I got two blocks made, I thought of doing alternate blocks with an opposite light/dark, we'll see what happens. The last couple of days, pictures won't work on here, I'll have to send them another time.

Scrap Quilt

I made this quilt for a retirement gift for somebody at work. It was a pot luck supper, that's why there's a table full of food. All that food and I couldn't eat any of it, my stomach was upset that day.
There's no limit to the different designs that can be made using half square triangle units. I feel like sewing something right now, but I'm just about ready to go out the door for my vacation. I'll try to get quite a few applique blocks made, then I'll send a pic when I get back.

Nine Patch

I made this for a Christmas gift for somebody in 2009. When I had my fabric store, the suppliers often sent packages of three inch square samples. I saved them all and made several quilts. I would also add my own fabrics along with them. I had a zillion bolts of fabric to work with, but I chose to use the small sample pieces.
Waste not, want not, as the old saying goes, but all those bolts are still sitting there, they will have to get used one of these days.
I'm getting ready to go on vacation on Wednesday. Where I'm going, (to a cabin out in the sticks) there's no computer, no electricity and even my cell phone wouldn't get reception last time I was there. I'm sure other cell phones work out in the middle of nowhere, but mine was being in a snit. The only time I'll be able to get internet access is by using a library computer or the coin operated one I discovered in a laundromat. I'll finally have time to sew, but it'll have to be a hand applique project. I'm not going to drag my treadle sewing machine all the way up there, lol!

Donna's quilt

Donna Madden made the quilt top and I quilted it as a Christmas gift in 2009.
I've been non a non-spending spree since last year, so I've been trying to either make things for gifts with fabric that's from my stash, or else I'm finishing people's quilts for them. I've been working on a queen size quilt that belongs to my sister, but haven't had time to sew for months. Every time I get days off, something comes up and I can't sew. After I finish my vacation, I'm going to make time and finish the quilt.