Two-Colour Mystery Quilt is finished at last!

At the end of February, Joanne Kerton, Canuck Quilter Designs, hosted the Two-Colour Mystery Quilt-Along. 

Earlier that month, we had found out about Ray's recurring prostate cancer and I thought the mystery would be a good diversion for me. I used fabric from my stash.

Joanne's directions were very clear and easy to follow. She also gave great hints and advice along the way. This was really an easy quilt which went together quickly. I posted about my quilt here, here, here, and here. Staying current with the mystery, I had the top together by mid-April. And now, it is finally quilted and bound.

I made the lap size, 48 1/2" by 60 1/2" and I quilted this with a meander stitch using Glide #17453 Light Gray thread on the top and #10787 Ruby thread on the back. The backing is red fabric from my stash.

This quilt will be donated. I'd like to make a larger quilt with this pattern - one with more contrast between the two colors. I loved the red/white, blue/white, and black/white quilts made by some of my mystery mates. 

The pattern, which is now known as  Half 'N Half, is in Joanne's Etsy shop.

Flannel quilt done

 Lakeside Gatherings is finished!

I bought a fat quarter bundle of Lakeside Gatherings Flannels by Moda while on a little shop hop with friends in August. I planned to make a summer flannel quilt but as I was making this, our weather turned cooler and I added batting. The quilt is very soft, cozy, and warm. We'll definitely use it all winter.

I quilted this 65" by 81" quilt with Glide #38201 Steel Blue thread and a loop-de-loop motif.

I do love the way quilting looks on and gives texture to flannel.

All of the extra fabric was used on the back. I had to add a border to make the back large enough. I was happy to recently find matching fabric for that border and the binding.

The quilt now resides in our family room and has already been used a few times.

Happy Thanksgiving to all our US friends.

Finishes!

I have finishes!!! 

Dignity II is 58" by 62". 

I bought fabric for a quilt in 2019 while we were traveling through Chamberlain, South Dakota, near the Dignity statue. I made a quilt, Dignity, in 2020. I had quite a bit of fabric left and now I have another quilt which will be donated. The back is turquoise. 

I quilted this with a large double bubble motif using Glide #10877 Sterling thread.

I spent a few days at our annual quilt retreat last week and I finished my Santa Table Runner. I bought this as a kit when I was shop hopping with friends in August.

The runner is 18" by 42". Can you see the Santa heads just above the red with the holly?

I quilted straight lines with Aurifil #2315 thread using my Juki with a walking foot.

At the retreat, I also worked on 30's Quilt with some 30's fabric I recently won.

I also pieced Frosted Window Panes, a red and white table runner. I bought this as a kit at The Quiltmakers Shoppe in Manchester, Iowa, while on that shop hop in August. The pattern is theirs.

I did most of the piecing for Bursting in Air at the retreat also. Here is the progress so far;

Top middle and left side middle pieces are

turned the wrong direction in this photo.

My design wall has had some activity in the last few weeks; recently Whirly Jig was there.

Butterflies also spent some time there. I'm not sure about this quilt - it might change.

I have quite a pile of tops to quilt and a couple quilts to bind. All in good time.

Ray and I were recently in Madison, Wisconsin to see his oncologist. He still has energy/endurance issues and feels like he has brain fog. At this most recent checkup, we learned these issues all normal and to expect it for a few more months. I do see positive changes but, of course, they just don't happen fast enough. Of course, it's still too early to know if he is cancer-free.

When cancer happens,

you don’t put life on hold. 

You live each day.

Fall Travels

It was time to get out and about. So, a couple of weeks ago, we spent some time at Anderson Gardens in Rockford, IL. There was some fall color.

On our way home, we stopped at a Wild Life Observatory where we saw many fallow deer.

A few days later, we packed the Jeep and headed north for our first vacation since Ray's recurring cancer diagnosis. We stopped for lunch at Kickapoo Corners in Reedstown, WI. The special was an apple burger - a burger with a slice of apple, Swiss cheese, grilled onions, and barbecue sauce on a toasted bun. It was really good!

We stayed in Eau Claire, WI for three nights with no specific plans other than to enjoy ourselves and get plenty of rest. The first afternoon was spent resting (Ray still tires easily) and then going in search of the northern lights.

On the second day, we went to Augusta, WI to find Dells Mill. It was a mill that was on Ray's list to photograph.

The mill is owned by an Amish family, and they had some baked goods for sale inside the building. Good cookies!

Part of the third day was spent at Falls Creek County Park. At the north entrance, we walked to the river but couldn't get a picture of the larger falls, so we drove to the south entrance and hiked down some trails to get the pictures Ray wanted. I was happy to have my hiking boots and walking sticks.

The 'dirty bubble' of foam just stayed in the same area as the water came over the falls.

We did do a little shopping - after all, we were in a city with nice stores! There are two quilt shops in Eau Claire but one is only open on Thursdays from 10-3 so we missed it this time. The other is quite small but I enjoyed my visit with the lady working and found some yellow fabric I needed. 

From Eau Claire, we headed west to visit my aunt and two cousins and then north to visit my brothers and sister-in-law. It was wonderful to see everyone and share some time together. We had beautiful sunrises.

The trees/leaves were gorgeous.

Our last stop before heading home was La Crosse, WI. We both attended and graduated from the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse many years ago, and love the area. We were there for my birthday and I found a quilt show to attend! Quilt Fest on the Mississippi is put on by the La Crosse Area Quilters. There were a variety of quilts, but I found the same pattern quilts done in different colors/fabrics the most interesting. Here is an example.

They also had an exhibit of Hmong quilts. I was so enthralled with the reverse appliqué of their quilts that I didn't take any photos. I did get a picture of this story quilt showing the life of a Hmong family from Taos to Thailand. Now, I wish I had taken some closeup shots of the detail.

This morning, we headed home with a visit to an apple orchard on the way. We are unpacked; the laundry is done; and a hockey game is on TV. We are very grateful to have been able to take this trip.

May you be strengthened by yesterday’s rain, 

walk straight in tomorrow’s wind 

and cherish each moment of the sun today.

- Ojibwe Saying

Just in time for Pumpkin Season

I bought a kit with this pattern while shop-hopping with friends in August and I thought I'd get it made because it's pumpkin season!

The Villa Rosa patterns are easy to use and if I was one to pay attention, this would have been quick and easy to cut out and put together. But... I got out a large 12 1/2" square ruler and promptly made the first cuts into the fat quarters- 10 1/2" by 12 1/2". Oops! Of course there wasn't enough fabric to cut the right size (10 1/2" by 14") so I re-wrote the pattern.

I decided to make a few other changes along the way so I'll say my runner was inspired by this pattern. Someday, maybe I'll make the original (a day when I'm paying attention!). My pumpkins are all different sizes than the original and the corners are rounded.

I quilted this, using Glide #10430 Battleship Gray thread, on the longarm using stippling in the background and figure eights on the green stems. Each of the pumpkins is quilted differently - spirals, a large continuous flower, ocean waves, paisley, and double loops with an echo. 

I used leftover strips and some orange fabric from my stash on the back of this 42 1/2" by 14" runner.

The design wall has this on it today. It's an experiment, just something I've seen and wanted to try, and I think the quilt will be interesting. I don't have to pay attention to a pattern so that helps!

Hope you enjoy the weekend!

Table Runners Done!

A while back, we decided we needed new table runners for our family room which has a behind the sofa table and four side/end tables. Two of the smaller tables only needed one runner while the others each needed two. That meant I needed to make/replace 8 table runners. 

Ray requested somewhat neutral colors and I went through my stash and shopped for ideas for months.  I finally decided on pale blue and browns batiks with cream colored cottons, mostly from scraps in my stash.

While we were living in Madison this summer, I worked on designing the different mats and also possible ways to quilt them.  

First  is the sofa table mat, quilted with Linen #10WG1 Glide thread in straight lines.

The bottom mat for the sofa table  is shown on the top of the table. It is quilted with meandering using Light Tan #24655 Glide thread. In hindsight, I wish I would have used a lighter colored thread but I wasn't going to rip all the quilting out!

The rest of the mats are quilted with Light Tan #24655 thread. The two mats for the smaller table tops are shown on oak but they'll actually be on darker wood tables. Both are made with HSTs (half square triangles). I used a Plover grid design on the first and an apple core design on the second.

The next four mats are interchangeable among the tops and bottoms of two oak tables. The courthouse steps mat is quilted with straight lines and small circles in the dark brown corner squares.

I found a very old pattern that used a simplified Celtic design and decided to use it with a variety of small squares. This is quilted with a wavy grid design.

The last two mats are made mostly with strips and the leftover HSTs from the HST mats. The second one also has a few small leftover pieces near the left end. These are both quilted with a variety of motifs.

All of the table mats are backed and bound with a light brown cotton.

A very bright quilt appeared on the design wall recently as I finished a quarter square triangle top.

This turquoise triangle quilt top is also finished.

Recently, we went to a local orchard on a gorgeous day. We've been enjoying lots of apples, cider, donuts, and more!

Life is pretty good here. Although not actually normal, it's much better than it has been and we're hoping it keeps getting better!