Baby Blanket - Precious Moments

Two layers of flannel, quilted out from the centre and even intervals. I wasn't sure how I wanted to finish the edges, so I opted for the rag look.

Baby Blanket - Noah's Ark

Front and Back view

Baby Blanket - Farm fun.

Notice the stippling on the smaller sections. I did this with the fancy foot for my new sewing machine.

My First Rag Quilt

Using leftover pieces of flannel picturing dinosaurs. I wanted to give it away - my son being the lucky recipient.

Baby Blanket... Cherished Teddy on a John Deere

Baby Blanket... Winnie The Pooh

Baby Bibs

A couple more bibs

 Watermelon, Critter...    

Watermelon back, Critter back

Soft Baby

Soft Baby backs, one pink, one blue

Treats anyone?

So my 9 year old daughter is in a choir called Harmony through Harmony. It is generally an adult choir, but they are adding in some kids for the first time. My daughter is one of 10 children in this choir. Each week they meet, someone takes a turn providing snacks. Today is our turn...

Between yesterday and today I have baked gingersnaps, chocolate chip, double chocolate, oatmeal and peanut butter chocolate chunk. The school is nut free, so the peanut butter are just for home.

Treats anyone?

BOM continued

Finally I reached the end of my first ever BOM (Block of the Month) program. I went through a local quilt shop called Traditional Pastimes. Bernadette, the owner, designed the project and put it all together each month. I faithfully dropped in on the 15th of each month so pick up the new block. At the end of the 12 months, I have 12 completed blocks. I chose to feature the pink and blue, added beige and cream to make approximately 150+ hour glass sqaures to frame each of my blocks. Then on the advice of my mom, I continued the hour glass pattern all around the outside as well. My top is complete and I am waiting to place it on a quilt frame to layer, quilt then bind.

BOM #1, BOM #2, BOM #3, BOM #4

BOM

So I'm going to blame my friend Leanne. One day she said to me, "I'm doing the Block of the Month again. You should do it too." I asked, what is the Block of the Month?" Well.... in September I went into the quilt shop, paid my $15 and received my items for block #1. As a mennonite girl, $15 is too good a deal to pass up. Plus it gets better. Each month when I visit the quilt shop on the 15th with my completed block, I receive the next month's block for FREE! Every month! That is definitely too good of a deal to pass up. The rest is history...

As of today, I have just completed block #5. After 12 months, I will have 12 completed 12"x12" blocks.

Of course the BOM program only keeps be busy one day out of a month - two days if its a complex pattern. So that got me searching for more quilt patterns, quilt blocks, and other BOM programs.

I must say, there is something therapeutic about cutting fabric into bits and sewing them back together. I plan to post photos of each project so later I can look back and see which are favourites. Perhaps a few of you will journey together with me.

Beauty...

Generations of stitchers

As far back as I can remember, stitching has been a part of my life. As a woman, only one in a long line of strong and creative women, stitching is a lifestyle. As a kid, I mostly remember my mom sitting at her sewing machine creating everything for the kids to wear. As I became more aware of my environment, I soon realized this talent did not fall far from the tree. In fact, I clearly remember my grandmother's house - a tiny little green and white house in town, often set up end for end with tables, covered in cloth, rotary cutters, scissors, templates and more. My grandmother, my mother and my many aunts would attend the weekly matriarchal family quilting club. I would suspect there is hardly a cousin anywhere in the family line who does not have or has not in the past slept beneath a "scrap" quilt created by the mother's of the family. Using up bits and pieces of cloth, sometimes random but sometimes in the most creative of patterns. Matching was mostly overrated. Regardless, each blanket was produced unique and beautiful. A highlight of those days was definitely heading over to grandma`s house after school - she always gave us store bought cookies as treats.

Fast forward 30 years... we have moved forward from denim and gabardine to beautiful cottons. Our eyes catch sight of beautiful patterns and perfect colour schemes and the dreams begin. For many of us, we have followed in the women`s footsteps and the dreams have become reality. My mother still creates beautiful quilts, as do both of my sisters. I have begun my hand at it as well. No longer do we have weekly quilting clubs as locations have changed. However, we now are able to share ideas and products through technology and so we quilt side by side in our own worlds, sisters by birth as well as sisters by choice. 

In the Beginning...

Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant.