Christmas Tablecloth

I made this Christmas tablecloth in 1996 for some dear friends. Since then, they have both passed away and I ended up getting the tablecloth back. I don't think they ever used it because it still looked brand new. Now I put it on my table every year and wash it if it gets slopped on. If it wears out, I'll make another one, I've got so much Christmas fabric, it needs to get used up somehow. It has no batting and has flannel on the back. I used the pillowcase method for finishing the edges.

Nativity Scene by Linda H

Linda made this little paper pieced nativity scene. She has a lot more patience than I have, I'm allergic to paper piecing!

14 Completed Items for 2014

I have now completed 14 items for the year 2014. I made 5 of these gift bags, each one take quite a bit of work. Sure, they may not be large projects, but they are finished items. I've been so busy for the past several months, there hasn't been much time to sew. Hopefully, 2015 will be a more productive year! I'm not going to make a goal of finishing 15 items in 2015, I'll just try to finish as many things possible. :)

"Carol's Quilt" by Linda H.

Linda H. made this quilt for her friend, Carol. I really like the feature print in the blocks, Linda said she used every bit of it. Nice to use up a chunk of fabric from the stash- gives a good excuse to go shopping for more fabric!

"Vintage Log Cabin" by Linda H

Linda H just finished this quilt she named "Vintage Log Cabin". She made the quilt top several years ago, but now it's all done. I think it turned out great, the corner blocks are a nice touch!

Finished Project #9, Christmas Tree Skirt

I just finished this Christmas tree skirt for somebody at work. I looked for ages on Pinterest and pattern sites and couldn't find a tree skirt pattern that I wanted to make. Finally, I dug out a 9 degree wedge ruler, produced by Marilyn Doheney. I had that ruler for 25 years and had never used it! A circle required 40 wedges, which I cut from randomly pieced strip sets. I used all cream, white or gold fabrics, many of them had metallic gold designs on them. I quilted it with rayon thread in a light gold colour. It seemed to take forever to hand stitch the bias binding around the edge. This is number 9 of (trying to finish)

14 items in 2014. Maybe the other 5 things could be 4 coasters and a potholder. :)

Finished Project #8 for 2014

I haven't finished anything for months! Working two jobs sucks the life out of me, the days speed by and I can't get anything done. This is a humble pair of pyjama pants that I just finished, so I'm going to include it in my 2014 goal of finishing 14 things. At this point, it doesn't look like I'm going to meet my goal, so I'm going to include everything and anything I may finish between now and the end of the year! When I had my fabric store, there were many bolts of nice cotton plaid homespun fabric. It wasn't very popular and didn't sell, when the store closed, most of the homespun was left. It's really nice quality fabric, so I've been making pyjama pants out of it for myself and others. Nice to be able to make gifts like that, all the supplies are here and I don't have to go out to shop.

House Potholders by Linda H.

My daughter, Lindsay liked some house potholders that Linda H made on one of my blog posts quite awhile ago. I passed the message along, so Linda made a pair for Lindsay's birthday recently. They have different fabrics than the original pair. Lindsay said they are too nice to use! I have a paper pieced chicken potholder that Linda made for me several years ago, it hangs on a hook on the side of the fridge, nobody is allowed to use it. :)

Rainbow Stars, by Linda H.

Linda H. recently made "Rainbow Stars" for her son and daughter in law. I really like the colour combination!

Table Runner by Linda H.

Linda H made this table runner awhile ago but I hadn't posted a picture of it before.

Baby Quilt from 2010

I made this baby quilt in 2010 for some people who live in the Yukon. They live across the road from my summer cabin.

Retirement Gift

I just dug up this picture from 2009, it's a retirement gift I made for a friend from work. I thought I had posted it before, but I looked through the old posts and didn't see it anywhere.

"Speedy Recovery", Finished Project #7 for 2014

I made this quilt that I call "Speedy Recovery" for somebody at work. It is quilted with Superior polyester thread in their Rainbows line, the colour "Zebra". This was the first time I had used this thread, I quite like it. I used Invisifil thread on the back. At first, there was a problem winding it on the bobbin- it stretched while winding and expanded the metal bobbin, which no longer fit in the case. After ruining that bobbin, I wound the thread on by hand, that worked really well.

I was saving the Laurel Burch fabric until the right project came along, so it ended up in this border.

"A Quilt for Geo's Grandma"

I made this quilt for Geo's Grandma for her 90th birthday, that was six years ago. I never got a picture of it back then because she was coming to visit and I had to hurry to finish it and give it to her. Geo went to see her this past week and took some pictures. This is what she looks like at 96 years old and still living in her own house. She still does all her own cooking, housework and yard work. What an amazing woman!

Charity Quilt, by Linda H.

Linda H completed this lovely charity quilt last month. It was given to her local quilting group who will find a recipient for it.

"Purple Elegance" by Linda H

Linda Huntrods just finished this quilt called "Purple Elegance", it's for her friend, Christine.

Finished Item #6- 14 year old UFO Completed!

Just about half way through the goal to finish 14 items in 2014! This is a pattern that Eleanor Burns had on one of her shows, "Quilt in a Day" back in 2000. I made the quilt top, then it sat there in a box for 14 years. I dug it out and finished it- yay!. The muslin areas are quilted with cream coloured Aurifil thread, the coloured parts are quilted with a variegated Signature thread. Using two different kinds of thread meant there were lots of thread stops and starts. I'm still working away at the stray threads, getting them tied off and buried. I'm trying to use a different free motion design on every quilt I make lately, it's a good way to learn new things and not get stuck in a rut. I'm going to keep this one for myself after putting all that work into it. :)

"Little House" Potholders by Linda H.

Linda H made a set of cute potholders for her friend who moved into a new place. Too nice to use, I'd say!

Charity Quilt, Finished item #5 for 2014

I just finished this charity quilt which I'm going to hand in to our guild tonight. I made the deadline that I set for myself- yay! I find if I don't have a deadline, then it remains open ended and I have no incentive to finish something. I used to have a fabric store, after it closed, I sold off the excess fabric, but ended up keeping lots for myself. I decided that it's not worth garage sale-ing it off for pennies on the dollar. Instead, I'm going to make a charity quilt whenever I get the chance. It takes several metres of fabric for the back of a quilt, so that will use up the stash eventually. This quilt has a back pieced from three different fabrics. I had a bit of trouble when I was quilting this, I got the straight lines done, then flipped it over to see the back. To my horror, there was a big fold in the backing. I picked out some of the stitches, then folded the pleat up against one of the quilting lines and sewed it down. I was happy that the error

doesn't show at all. When I got to the border, I picked a design from a book and tried to follow it. What a joke! My free motion quilting took on a life of its own and doesn't even resemble the original plan. Oh well. I always like to include something silly in every quilt I make, this one has a square of ant fabric. :)