Monday, May 30, 2016

Pillowcases

I made these pillowcases for my summer cabin last night. After digging around in my fabric stash, I found enough of the same fabric for the main body of the pillowcases. There were a lot of pieces that would be enough for one pillowcase, but I wanted a matching set. I bought the fabric for the wide piece of trim in Whitehorse last summer. Quilting fabric is so expensive these days that I only purchased half a metre of it. Good thing I have a huge stockpile at home, I buy a little smidgen here and there when I'm on vacation.

Thursday, May 26, 2016

Throwback Thursday: Silent Scream

In 2004, our quilting guild held a challenge- "make a quilt based on an oxymoron". I can't remember if we picked our own or randomly drew one from a pile of suggestions. The oxymoron I picked was "silent scream", so I made "Silent Scream, My Journey Through Depression". I haven't posted a picture of this on my blog before, it's difficult to look at it and remember. I had suffered deep depression for many years, most of the time trying to hide it and appear "normal". I tried medication for a few years but it didn't help. I gradually was able to beat the depression by regular meditation and forgiveness, I used to hold grudges against people and organizations. When I let the bitterness go, it felt like a giant weight was lifted from my shoulders. Another thing that helped was when I quit eating meat, my digestion was better and I felt more alive. Now I'm grateful for what I have in my life and I try not to spiral down to that dark place anymore. It wasn't easy sharing this today, I don't usually tell anybody.

Wednesday, May 18, 2016

WIP Wednesday; Quilt Top #13

Today's WIP (work in progress) is a quilt top I made last winter. I saw a pattern in a magazine and decided to make one similar, I don't know if I used the same measurements as they did. Their quilt was made in blue and white, I made mine scrappy. This one will be nice to quilt, the whole thing can be done in diagonal lines. Finding time to quilt isn't easy because I work two jobs, work drastically cuts into my creativity.

Thursday, May 12, 2016

Throwback Thursday; Log Cabin Quilt

I made this hand quilted Log Cabin quilt in 1990. It's been well used over the years and some of the fabric around the edge is getting raggy looking. The other day I reinforced the frayed parts with machine zigzag stitching. The quilt is queen size, I folded it in quarters for the photo. At one time I appliqued a heart over a small tear at the edge. "Keep repairing and keep using" is my motto. When a quilt gets to the point where it can no longer be repaired, then it can be used for a pet bed. :)

Thursday, May 5, 2016

Throwback Thursday; Table Runner

This table runner, which I made in the early nineties, is a good example of what not to do when using quilted items. I gave this runner to some family friends, then it was returned to me after they passed away. They displayed it on the back of a chair in the direct sunlight for several years, badly fading the fabric. I'm trying to think of what I could do to restore the colour, maybe some fabric paints? It would be a shame to throw it out because it's structurally in good shape.

Another One Completed

I don't know what to call this one. I watched a YouTube tutorial on making the triangle units. There were bias edges, so I had to be re...