At the beginning of the Guild year we purchased a brown bag with a fat quarter of fabric and an idea of what we were to make.

“Timberlane Quilt Challenge 2020/21
During this strange year of Covid 19, the heart shape has become a symbol of thankfulness, hope and compassion for others. 
For our challenge this year, please;
– make a quilted table topper, in any size or shape you like
– use the challenge fabric in your quilt top
– incorporate at least 1 heart shape in your design
– include at least 1 heart shape in your quilting together of your layers
– have fun, stay safe and be kind”

This year I used the fabric for the background and found a pattern online from one of my favourite sites – Temecula Quilt Company. I searched for a heart (or valentine) and came up with the Vintage Valentine pattern. The centre of the heart uses a number of small squares that came from another Temecula pattern – Tiny Trees. So I was set.

I had set aside a number of red fabrics for my log cabin quilt so it wasn’t difficult to find enough reds to use for the patterns. Now that it is finished and I’ve reviewed the criteria I see that I missed one element.

I’ve ended up really liking the pattern, but I’m not sure what I’m going to do with it now that it is done.

I ran this mystery project for the Guild. This was a free quilt-along so all the clues were already online. I got permission from the designer to use her pattern for the Guild program. I’ve been a fan of Meadow Mist Designs for a long time and have purchased and downloaded several of her patterns. 

It was a fair bit of work to remove all the information in each clue that could lead the members to the online page. If they saw the quilts it wouldn’t be as much fun in seeing the quilt come together as each monthly clue was released.

There was no place in the house that I could lay the quilt out for a good photo so the photos were taken bit by bit. It wasn’t until it was bound and on the bed that I saw the entire picture.

Quilting was not easy. I knew it had to be straight-line stitching but even at that there was a lot of turning necessary and by the time it was finished my shoulder and arm were quite sore.

I used two different design stitches on my sewing machine for the centre portion. Then I mimicked the magnolia block and quilted it in purple thread for a bit more contrast although it doesn’t show up much on the finished quilt.

Finally, both edges of the quilt were done in a variety of straight lines. In some cases I had a plan but while I was stitching I found a different way to do the lines that would avoid burying in ends. Some of the designs I like better than others and some were done just “to get it done”.

I’m very happy with the results and I think most of the Guild members were as well.

The designer will have a new book out at the end of the month and I’m on the list for a pre-order.

Thursday, May 13, 2021

I just finished my May miniature. Of course Stacia and Deloise finished hours ago and have both finished or worked on two other projects. Oh well, as Pat keeps telling me, it’s not a race.

This one was an easy sew except for having to put those blocks on point. I always struggle with it but I was a little better today. By blocking out parts of the picture I was working with I was able to get the row laid out properly and, although I made several trips between my layout and my sewing machine just to check, I didn’t have to reverse stitch any of the rows.

Thursday, April 15, 2021

This started out as a calendar block from my Block-A-Day collection. I liked the block so much that I put four similar blocks together for a huge 16″ block.

It was intended to be a donation quilt but it was so much work that very early on Stacia and Deloise convinced me (not a hard sell) to keep it for myself. Pat’s birthday was coming up and I didn’t have a gift (or an idea of a gift) so I made the blocks into a long bed runner. Pat’s feet get cold at night so this might help to keep them warm.

It took a long time to finish and the quilting seemed to go on forever. It is probably the longest thing I have ever made but it is a nice size and hangs over both edges of our king-sized bed.

UPDATE: This went to Kathryn