Heritage Park Festival of Quilts - 2009

Hello everyone - I was looking through my photos the other day and came across a few I had taken at the 2009 Heritage Park Festival of Quilts.  I don't belong to a guild, so I don't get many opportunities to see what other people are working on -well, that was until I discovered blogs - so whenever the annual quilt festival took place, I always took lots of photos to provide a little inspiration when I needed it.  The following comprises half of the photos I took that year, so come back later this week to see the rest.  

Enjoy!
Mary-Frances

Summer garden

Hello everyone!  Thought I would share photos of my garden as it looked in July.  Don't forget to check out all the other fab gardens at http://msgreenthumbjean.blogspot.com/  because it's Bloomin' Tuesday!  Yoohoo!





I love how some flowers are known by different names, like Granny's Bonnet for Columbines.

 

Iris in the back bed.

 

Firewitch Dianthus



Blooming Hen & Chicks, seen from above.



Another shot of the Hen & Chicks.

  

Unamed variety of Clematis.



Snow-in-Summer




Pillow Talk Peony




One of my containers on the back deck, in full shade.




Second container, this one is in full sun.

 

Two more photos of the containers on my back deck - I didn't plant anything fancy this year, just wanted a few familiar favourites, like lobelia which is without a doubt one of my all-time favourites.



Dragon's blood sedum



Looking for some quiltspiration?

Feeling blah about your current project?  Not sure what to do next?  (Boy, does that ever sound like an intro for an infomercial - lol.)Here's a link to a website I love, love, love!  There are always tons of quilts to look at in a variety of styles. 

http://www.rockymountainquilts.com/

Enjoy!
Mary-Frances

Snow update

 This is what it looked like yesterday morning...snow, glorious snow...

And this is what it looked like by 1 o'clock...

 And this is what I start dreaming of when the white stuff starts to fly...

Cheers,
Mary-Frances

Cats, Fabric, Snow!

Good morning everyone, hope you are having a fabulous Friday!  Woke to snow this morning, which means I just have to stay home and quilt...darn!  hahaha  But first, I have a few photos to share...

Here's my hallowe'en cat.  I found her at Winner's a few weeks ago and couldn't resist!

Look at that face!  Too cute.

Here's some fabric I picked up yesterday for my Cool Blues quilt.  I'm hoping to get most of it put together today and these will come in handy for the final four blocks.



Here's Max with a bit of snow on his fur - he thought we were going outside to play and is probably wondering when I will take him for his morning walk. 

 

Here's a shot of the containers outside the back door.  I wanted to show you the snow because yesterday it was sunny and 22 degrees Celsius (72 F).  Today?  I think I'll need to dig out the hat and gloves for my walk with Max!

 Cheers,
Mary-Frances

Show and Tell - Part Deux

Hi all - Just thought I'd show a few more photos of some finished projects.  Unfortunately, most of the photos were taken from a distance and it never occured to me then to take close-up shots of the fabric or of the quilting....oh well, live and learn, right?  I did manage to do a bit of work in the sewing room today, so I hope to have new photos for you tomorrow.

Enjoy!
Mary-Frances


Here's a shot of my very first quilt.  I gave it to my Mother as she loved these colours.



Here's a wall quilt I made using 30 ten-inch square blocks.  I took three blocks at a time, stacked them and then started cutting with a ruler.  I did not measure as I wanted a somewhat haphazard look.

This is without a doubt the largest quilt I've ever made...because I didn't read the pattern!  I saw a photo in a book, thought it looked nice and started cutting fabrics from a set of fat quarters I purchased and it just kept growing and growing and growing.  I named it Prairie Garden.  It's on display at the Heritage Park Festival of Quilts and you are seeing only two-thirds of the quilt.

Here's a little lap quilt I whipped up for my daughter with a set of charm squares.  The fabrics have a funky 1970's vibe to them, so naturally I had to find some avocado green to go with the oranges, golds and brown!

 

Here's a baby quilt I made this spring.  My husband needed a quick gift for a client, so I grabbed the brightest fabric I had and made a very simple quilt for him.



Here's a better shot of the center squares, the fabric is from the Riding the Rails line and has trains in blues & reds. A fun fabric and perfect for a little one.

This one I call my Maui Mistake - because the fabrics were purchased on our holiday in Maui (naturally) and it was a mistake to sew them together - they are just plain awful!!!  It's probably the ugliest quilt ever, but the kids think it is hilarious and they won't let me hide it away.



Here's my favourite quilt made with my 1930's reproduction fabric.  I really love the snowball block, it showcases your fabrics and has a retro look to it.  Another quilt made for my mother.



Show and Tell - Part 1

Hi all - I haven't been in the sewing room much the past few days so I don't have anything new to show you right now.  I thought I would share with you a few photos of finished quilts instead.  Enjoy!


From one of my first quilts -



To one of my latest quilts - completed this spring.  I still haven't named it, can't seem to find anything suitable.  I had a package of 10- inch squares that I put into groups of 5, then stacked them and started cutting.



Here's a closer look at some of the different fabric in the quilt.  There's 30 different fabrics in the main vertical strips and 8 different purple fabrics in the smaller vertical strips.

 

Here's a photo of the backing fabric.



My darling daughter, Victoria, holding up a table runner I made from leftover squares from a quilt a made for my mother.

 

This is from a kit I bought from The Quilt Patch, it's called Hopscotch.  The fabric is from Moda's line called Aviary, which I love - I'm a sucker for florals. :-) The backing fabric is a soft pink Minkee - perfect to snuggle up in.

Here's a closeup of the quilting, I had it longarmed at My Sewing Room, and we decided on a lovely flower and butterfly pattern.

 

Here's a shot of the back, can you see the butterflies and flowers?