Green Crumb / Ladybug Flimsy

I spent time working on a super secret project yesterday that I can't say anything about or show any pictures of.  However, last night I decided to put the borders on this top and get it moved off the design wall.  This is a top made from green crumb blocks.  I joined 4 green crumb blocks together to make a 12.5" block and then sashed them with 2.5" yellow strips using red cornerstones.  The yellow plays off the daisies in the border print and the red plays off the ladybugs in the border print.  This top was completely made from stash.

This top currently measures 63" x 77".  Another top finished to the flimsy stage.

Cacti BQ Quilt Flimsy

I have had my BQ Cacti quilt finished to the flimsy stage for some time now--I just forgot to post it here.

I went with a border from the same fabric as the background.  Once quilted, I will be binding with the stripe.

I love this pattern and I can see myself making more of these quilts in the future.

Colour Catcher String Quilt

First, these are some pictures of our backyard.  My plant pots are visible from my kitchen window.

I think of this area as my little sanctuary.

We have been enjoying the feathered visitors to our yard as well.

This weekend was a long weekend for me (I was off from work Friday to Monday).  While North and South played on the laptop, I sewed.  It seamed appropriate that I was watching North and South--a made-for-TV miniseries about the Civil War during the July 4th (American Independence Day) long weekend. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_and_South_(TV_miniseries)

The center of these blocks are colour catcher string blocks.  I pieced my string blocks on used colour catcher foundations.  http://www.shoutitout.com/preserve-colors.aspx 

My friend, started to call this quilt a "conversation quilt".  The strings are from many of the scraps and bits leftover from previous quilt projects.  Since each piece has a story to tell, the name conversation quilt was born.

I used all I had of the two black/white fabrics that I purchased last weekend to make this quilt.  The quilt is plenty long enough, but it should be a little wider to better fit our bed.  A couple of my friends and I were discussing border options on-line.  Since this is a conversation quilt, we decided that the quilt would tell us what it needed for borders.  We listened, and with the assistance of a friend, I have secured more of the two black and white fabrics.  Once the fabrics are received in the mail, I will be making this quilt top two blocks wider.  Even though I almost always add at least one border to my quilts, this quilt definitely was not in need of a border. 

I used quite a few of the colour catcher string blocks that I had on hand and I still have more left.  I will be on the lookout for more quilting ideas to use up the remainder of the blocks so stay tuned for more colour catcher string quilts!

Canada Day

Happy Canada Day!

We live in a very small town in  Canada.  Our Canada Day celebrations are proportionate to our population.  This is the parade that marched on our small town's Main Street.

My husband and I walked uptown on Canada Day to participate in the celebrations.  We enjoyed a piece of this patriotic flag cake that was cut and served by the Mayor and Council members to all who attended the celebrations. 

We are not fans of the heavy traffic that seems to be on the roads on long weekends--everyone seems to be headed out of the valley.  Because of this, we tend to stay close to home on long weekends.  Low key, small town celebrations are just our speed it seems.