Winnings

A couple days ago, I was delighted to receive a squishy package in the mail.

On Canada Day, The Needle and Thread Network held a giveaway.  First prize was this great Canadian fat quarter pack and panel, from Northcott's O Canada line - donated by Sew Sisters!  It's a lovely fabric, with a rustic red, white and black colourway.

Guess who won?  (Well, I guess that wasn't too hard to figure out.)

It's all washed, ironed and fondled.  I have no idea what I'll do with it yet, but both of my kids love Canadiana, so it will probably be for one of them.

I'm off on a long awaited vacation for the next week or so - to London and Paris!  I'm sure Kate is expecting me, even though I'm not bringing her a baby quilt.  I'll report back upon my return.

Potholder Exchange

Our most recent challenge at the Calgary Modern Quilt Guild was to make a potholder for an exchange.

Being the Type A personality that I am, I couldn't just throw something together.  I spent most of the month looking on the internet for inspiration, coming up with one idea after another, then dismissing them, and panicking as the time ticked by.

Finally I had a brainwave!  I have been saving 2 inch squares as leaders and enders.  AND, I have been interested in making a granny square block (but not interested enough to make a granny square quilt), so why not make a granny square potholder!

So, here's what I came up with:

Turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself!  The square turned out to be 7 inches, which I thought was a bit small, so I added on an extra strip around the outside to make it 8 inches. A layer of thermal plus a layer of regular batting, a quick stitch in the ditch and a machine sewn binding, and it was done in about 3 hours!

We had our guild meeting last week, but we had SO many new members that it was decided to hold the exchange over for one more month, in case the newbies wanted to join in.  So, I haven't received my exchanged potholder yet - I'll report back next month with a photo.

Just Two Slabs

I haven't been able to do a lot of quilting lately.  Work used to slow down a LOT during Stampede.  Not any more!  My theory is that in the past, Calgarians as a whole tended to forget about their troubles and just enjoy the party week that is Stampede. Not so much in the last few years.  At least, they don't leave off the legal disputes.  We even had people coming in during the parade - and it goes right past our building, so they would have had to cut through throngs of happy people in order to come and see us!

Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi

Our numbers of clients were way down during the flood, and for the week after, so the week of Stampede was super busy as everyone got caught up.  It seems to have settled down a bit now, which is good because I'm getting ready to go on a little vacation!!  One more week!

So that's a big, long explanation as to why I haven't been churning out the quilts for flood relief like some of my fellow Calgarians.  Not that I have ever been able to churn out quilts, but that's another issue.

I did, however, complete two 15 1/2 inch slabs for Cheryl Arkison, who will be putting these with the dozens more that she has received to make quilts for those affected by the floods.

I tried to use my most cheerful fabric, and hopefully these, along with all the others, will help some people who have lost their homes know that they have not been forgotten.

Finish A Long Q3 is Here Already

I have been strangely quiet about my Finish A Long (FAL) finishes for Q2.  Well, maybe not so strange.  I did not finish one thing on my list!  For goodness sake, this quilters ADD has got to me!

But, hope springs eternal, so here are my goals for the third quarter:

/Sand and Sea Glass

Yes, this baby is on the list again!  I do have the sashing and borders quilted, but that's the easy part.  I am procrastinating meticulously planning the rest of the quilting.

The little Eye Spy baby quilt has yet to be quilted, trimmed and bound.

These are going to be 4 placemats and a table runner. I've actually got borders sewn on them to make them the right shapes, but no photos of that.  You can use your imagination.

You've seen this one before. I think I did put the border on this quarter, so that's progress. It needs to be quilted too.

And this next one, you haven't seen before.

This is called "Maple Sugar".  It has one more border to go.  I took the picture in really poor light - the colours are much more luminous than they appear here!  It is a pattern by Toadusew, and it has gone together SO nicely!

So, there you go - 5 goals.  In for a penny, in for a pound, right?

Interested in Helping Flood Victims in Southern Alberta?

You have probably all heard about the devastating flooding in southern Alberta.  The 13,000 residents of High River have only started to be allowed back in as of yesterday to see what has happened to their homes and begin cleanup.  Parts of the town are still under water.  Many people in Calgary have lost their homes, or have had to empty them of mud soaked possessions.


If you are wondering what you can do, here are some options:

Finished quilts or quilt tops can be sent to My Sewing Room.  They are also accepting donations of scraps, batting and backing fabric.

Finished quilts or quilt tops can also be sent to Traditional Pastimes.

If you are in BC, you can deliver finished quilts to Quilter's Connection magazine.  Heather will be travelling to Calgary later this summer.

There are a couple of Facebook pages set up - search Quilting for Calgary or Quilts for Calgary.

Cheryl Arkison, author of Sunday Morning Quilts, has asked for "slab" blocks.  She describes how to do them on her blog and you can contact her through her blog for her address.

If you are in the US, you can send any donations to Westfreight Systems in Houston, who have agreed to deliver them to Calgary.  You can contact:
Westfreight Systems
16855 Crosby Freeway
Houston, Texas  77049
Phone 281-456-7332
Attention Kathy or Randy

You can also donate to the Red Cross.

Happy Canada Day

Enjoy and celebrate this wonderful country that we have!