piano?

It seems I've been missing for awhile! In January I discovered a new passion - piano. While shopping for a keyboard for my nephew I fell in love with the piano. Everything else has come to a grinding halt since then. So my old sewing room is now the music room.

 Now I haven't completely given up quilting. My piano teacher celebrated 40 years of music teaching today and I made her this quilt. The pattern is called Juxtaposition by Blue Underground Studios. The original patterns has the blocks oriented so that the little strips go the length of the quilt. I wanted to make this a signature quilt so changed the orientation.

 After doing a test block I found that the writing just looked messy when it was on the little strips so ended up inserting a 14" horizontal strip of light colored fabric about 1/4 of the way down the flannel back.  I used the serpentine stitch The quilting separated the signature strip into rectangles for easier signing (this was a pleasant surprise, not planned).

17 Quilts Done!

There was a fire in an apartment complex on Dufferin Ave. November 24th. It was on the news that evening. It was so sad to see the residents watching their lives go up in smoke. One of the residents was a young mother of 4 and a full time student at Red River Community College. As she stood there in disbelief, she commented that all she had worked so hard for the last 7 years was gone. It broke my heart. The next morning I got a call from my friend Arlie who was so saddened by the event and the young woman's words that she thought we should make a quilt for each of her kids. I agreed wholeheartedly. Later that evening I found out a total of 17 children were affected by the fire. Well, we couldn't just make quilts for a few could we??!? She agreed (great minds think alike Ha Ha).

We started with a list of the names and ages of the children. Between the two of us we already had 3 finished quilts that were a perfect fit for younger girls and our friend "L" donated a lovely Winnie the Pooh rag quilt. I had a couple of tops just waiting for the right recipients (Arlie appliqued some bright circles on the b&w jelly roll quilt - made it look so cheery!). It was easy to decide what to make for the girls, but what kind of quilt do you make for boys, especially when you don't know their interests? Rag quilts fit the bill perfectly (I know I don't want to make another one anytime soon!). We split up the workload and just started sewing! It actually went quite quickly. I think it was because it became a mini contest to see who could finish their quilt stack first! It wasn't me in case you were wondering.

The quilts were dropped off to the Bear Clan Patrol to be given to the families. I'm told the kids were eagerly anticipating getting their very own quilt. Hopefully we will get to see a picture or two once they have been handed out to the families.

Now it's time to get some quilting of my own done!

Happy Stitching!
Corina

Our Quilt Show

I love this quilt! It was made by members of our guild, Assiniboine Circle Quilters. The proceeds from the sale of the tickets will be going to the free quilting program I started up at the Immigrant Centre of Manitoba!! Over 40 immigrants to Canada have gone through the program and completed a baby quilt (the majority never having used a machine before). There are waiting lists to get into upcoming sessions. 

If you have some free time this Sunday drop by our show! Hope to see you there!!

NEW SEWING ROOM!

Years ago my husband wanted me to make our living room my sewing room. I finally decided to take his advice. Why didn't I do it sooner!!! I love my new space!

A design wall be going up on the wall beside the black recliner.

 

 Later this year he will install fluorescent light fixtures, for now am using a few lamps.

I've hardly left this room the last few days! Guess there are no more excuses for not get any sewing done!!

Happy Stitching,
Corina

Carpenter's Star

Finally finished my Carpenter's Star table topper! It's only taken me 3 years. Seriously, where does the time go? It seems like a just made it a few months ago.

 Hope you are all enjoying summer.

Happy Quilting,
Corina

RIP Sweet Noah

Noah (left) and Tucker

Not happy at having to sit still for a picture!

Noah loved his naps!

Rest in Peace my sweet Noah.............. When he was a year old, he was abandoned along with his brother. They were left on a blanket in a ditch during an awful February ice storm. They waited so patiently on the little blanket for their owner to come back. Luckily a good Samaritan found the two icicle covered dogs and brought them to a shelter. We fell in love with the big orange goof the moment we saw him at the shelter. He was the sweetest boy ever. Although a little short on smarts, he more than made up for it with his huge heart. Allergic to everything under the sun, including grass, mold, dust mites, all protein known to man and veggies, he was still always happy. Today we had to let our poor boy go, the years of steroids had taken their toll on his body. A huge thank you to Dr. Shannon Steuart for being the very best vet and friend anyone, or any furry friend could ask for. Because of her kindness, I was able to say goodbye to my boy today, a Sunday. Noah loved her and it made it much easier for us all that he didn't have to spend his final moments treated by a stranger.