Summer is flying by but this colourful bag reminds us it's still here!

Angela L.P. has created the following lovely bag for her cousin  Following is her commentary on her construction.

"I made this bag for my cousin who loves orange.  

Pictured is the book I got used and various stages of the process. My featherweight was a charmer sewing through osnaburg, 2 layers of batting, muslin and cotton lining. (double that for seams). 

The bag front is put together in sections with partial seams. I used 2 strands of DMC floss to hand stitch the long stitches. I did not stitch into the lining, just the batting and muslin. The little squares, 1”, are machine quilted are about 1/16”. and once that was done, the “woven” effect of the osnaburg was revived. The diamond orange quilting on the base and back show well. I put 2 layers of 1” batting in the handles.
I think my cousin will be pleased with it. "

Lovely work, Angela.  Quite a few steps but the end result is worth it.  I'm sure your cousin will love it.

Summer activities and the heat do slow down our sewing and quilting but if anyone has a completed project to share, please do send your pictures.

Happy sewing,

Gloria P.

Our first July showing & it's really cute

Liz R. has sent us our first piece for July.  

She said "I finished this little wall hanging a few months ago. I got the original pattern from our CMQG yard sale a couple years ago. So thank you to whoever donated it! The wall hanging is 19x21” with each little block 3 inches."

Nice job, Liz.

Hope you all find a cool place to sew so I continue receiving pictures to post this summer.

Happy sewing,

Gloria P.

"Another one bites the dust!" says Joyce N.

As June wraps up so has another project from Joyce.

Joyce said " Finally finished! It was a month with a number of distractions, so it seemed to take a long time, but I am pleased with it. A little smaller than my usual - 43" by 56". Working title is Navajo. The central medallion is a kerchief which I have had for a long time with this quilt in mind. (Glad it is finally off my to do list!!)"

Awesome work, Joyce.  This is a perfect match for the hot weather we've had.

Happy sewing,
Gloria P.

Jennifer has been busy....

Jennifer S. has been a busy bee.  She's been sewing Quilts of Valour blocks and making table toppers, runners and mug rugs.

Nice work, Jennifer.  I'm sure that some of us have handwork pieces from our mothers and grandmothers that would work perfectly into this type of project.

Happy sewing,

Gloria P.

Quilt Shop Info...

Dianne K. advises we have a nice new quilt shop in the province.  Attached is a copy of their business card for your info.

and for those of you who may not know, Andrea Rennick has moved her quilt shop from Keswick Ridge and changed the name from Ridge Quilting to:

The Quilting Shed
1881 Route 640
Hanwell NB E3C 2A7
506-478-2349

thequiltingshed.com

Happy sewing,

Gloria P

Another June completion!

Kathy F. has a project to share today.  

Kathy said " I finished my Block of the Week, 52 blocks from Nova Scotian, Darlene D'eon, yesterday. It is the same block repeated for the year.  I did it “scrappy" as you can tell.  It is amazing how few of my scraps seem to get used when I do scrappy quilts!. Guess I need to make more!  This one, I straight line quilted myself and machine bound it.  I’m happy to have it finished.  Another UFO to cross off during this Covid time!"

So cute - and you are right, it seems to take many scrappy quilts to get that scrap pile to look smaller.

Happy Sewing & Stay Cool,
Gloria P.

And now for something a little different and very, very pretty!

Joan B. is sharing her recent embroidery finish.

Joan said "I finally was able to pick up my embroidery project that I did at the Elm City retreat this year. Left it to be framed the end of February and picked it up last week.  I had bought canvas at an art store downtown Saint John, I remember a very cold day!"

To really appreciate these, blow this picture up to see all the shading that Joan has in these roses.

Beautiful, Joan!  


Happy sewing
Gloria P.

Another finished quilt for this month

I hope everyone is still safe and enjoying the opportunity to see family and friends again under the current allowable circumstances.  It appears the heat is on for the next few days for sure.

I've been reminded this week how hot weather and hand sewing down a binding on a queen size quilt are not a good combination.  The following is my completion using both a pattern and fabric from Bonnie & Camille.  They called the pattern "Modern Vintage".  I used a 50/50 bamboo/cotton batting and kept the quilting simple.

And now on to the next project....

Keep those pictures coming and happy sewing,
Gloria P.

Our first post for June

I hope all were safe and sound through Friday night's storm.  It sure was a doozie.

We have our first quilts for June.  Kathy F. has been busy making these sweet quilts for family.  

Kathy said "I have two nephews are going to be fathers this summer. I have made each baby an I Spy quilt based on the hexagon pattern with triangles. I did the free motion quilting myself in a lazy meandering style, which is comfort pattern and easy for me. When is bordered in blue, and one is bordered in green. I always loved playing the game “I spy with my little eye” with my kids. By the time children are 12 months to  two years, they can identify everything in these quilts depending how much parents play it with them.  They both have alphabet backs. ISpy quilts are great educational and a fun type of literacy quilt."

Wonderful work, Kathy.

I will continue to post pictures received right through the summer and hopefully we can meet again this fall.

Happy sewing

Gloria P.

Colour Wash 

Joyce N. makes colour wash look easy but those of us who have joined in her class know there's a lot of thought required to make those colours flow.   What a great way to use up scraps and look at the quilting!  Joyce's talent is shining through and I love the backing.
Following is her description of her quilt.

"This is about the tenth quilt in my Colourwash String series. I started making these strings without a plan, but before I was done I had three plans! So, this is the first - Spiral. It is about 50" by 70", machine pieced on broadcloth foundations, free motion quilted on my Brother PQ1500. The backing is a cotton sateen that I picked up in the Cayman Islands earlier this year. Nothing on the selvedge, so I can't give you any info, except that it was 60" wide, so I didn't have to piece it (yay!) So now I guess it's on to plan #2."

Happy sewing,

Gloria P.

Birds and leaves celebrated in a spring project completion

Yesterday, Angela L.P. forwarded the following sweet quilt top she has just finished as a gift.  She used a mini quick curve ruler and modified a wall hanging pattern into a quilt.  


Angela said " I got this top done today and got to show it to the intended granddaughter.  
She is in kindergarten and was so sweetly appreciative. I may let it rest awhile, both the granddaughters asked for sun hats. They are in their pool now having fun and sun."

This is so cute!

Happy sewing,
Gloria P.

Just before a trip to the post office...

Kathy F. is sharing her sweet little baby quilt.  Love the penguin.

Kathy said "My great nephew Thomas was born in Halifax last month during this Covid-19 crisis. Needless to say no one but his parents have seen this little tyke.   However, here is his cheery baby quilt to put in the mail ASAP, as we won’t be able to deliver  it across our provincial border for ?? ages.     Thanks to Janet M for the sharing of the penguin pattern. Otherwise I completed the whole quilt on my Featherweight and Pfaff Passport machines. 
I love the animal backing, don’t you? It feels SO good."

Nice work Kathy.  Thomas is sure to enjoy such a sweet gift.


Keep those pictures coming and happy sewing,
Gloria P.

Village Girl

The following quilt is one just completed by Joyce N.  

Joyce said " I'm going to call it Village Girl, with thanks to Ann C. for the centre panel."

Really nice, Joyce.  The surrounding village is really cute and sets her off.

Happy sewing,
Gloria P.

We have more awesome completions!

Just received some bright and vibrant finished projects from Allison H.  So pretty!

First up, four spring coasters in applique

Next is a beautiful kaleidoscope of colour , a runner for under Allison's plants.(paper piecing and curves)

And finally,  a spring blossom wall hanging for Allison's daughter-in-law. (paper piecing)

Beautiful work and a great show of patience.  Thanks for sharing.

Happy sewing,

Gloria P.

I'm seeing stars!  Nope, I didn't hit my head, it's just more tops donated to Quilts of Valour.

 It's great to see more Quilts of Valour.  Keep them coming everyone.

The first one was made by Ann and Don C.  The sashing really makes those stars pop.

This lovely quilt top was made and donated by Flo B.  Way to go, Flo.

And this final top was made by Jennifer S.  Very spring looking with the greens and browns.

Thank you for all the gorgeous work everyone.  Keep those pictures coming.

Happy sewing,
Gloria P.

Hoo Hoo - who is this sweet finish for?

Just received this really cute owl quilt completed by Jennifer G.

Jennifer said:

"A hand-quilted lap quilt for a grandniece in California. The owl is paper-pieced, and there are stars above and trees below. The back is flannelette with space ships. The recipients parents asked for a grey quilt, so I compromised with a  mostly grey quilt and an I spy border! I think the border will keep them better amused during quarantine than an all grey quilt!

The truly fun part is that the grandniece’s name is Charlie Athena. Athena is the Greek goddess of wisdom, her symbol is the owl!"

Lovely quilting. I'm sure that little girl will love her quilt - thanks for sharing.

Happy sewing everyone!
Gloria P.

Here's another finished project!

Sheila B. is sharing today.

She said "I began this quilt at our retreat in Feb. and finished the hand quilting last week.  Our Grandson, Benson-3, and his Hex quilt."

That is a lovely quilt, Sheila, and a cute grandson too.  

Happy Sewing,

Gloria P.

First post for May - and it's a quilt top completion for Quilts of Valour


Jennifer S. just forwarded the following lovely top that she just completed from blocks sent to her by Allison H., Lorraine F., and Judy C.

Keep them coming everyone - both blocks for Jennifer and pics for the blog.

Happy sewing,
Gloria P

Bright and happy to lift our spirits!

Some really cute, bright and happy pillow covers have been completed by Paula M.   The colours and content to celebrate Valentine's and Easter are always so pretty and Paula has done a great job with hers.  

The bunnies in these are just sweet and the blue piping along the edge really sets this off.

Awesome job, Paula, and thank-you for sending.

Hope everyone has a great day and keep those pictures coming.  I'm off to make lemon pie for hubby's birthday.  Hopefully he eats it all because I don't need it on my hips.

Happy sewing,
Gloria P.