Ciska made this quilt using fabrics by Canadian designer Shania Sunga. (She also designed the Canadian Mystery Quilt and Homecoming, the most beautiful interpretation of the Canadian Flag. If you are not familiar with her work, be sure to check it out.) Ciska lived in Australia for a while and fell in love with the Koala quilt when she saw it. The quilting design is called “Diagonal Plaid Bias Cut”, the backing is cuddly Fireside.
I am back! And I chose the right day to fly back, there was snow here last Friday, and it snowed again yesterday but when I landed in Vancouver on Saturday, the roads (and runways) were clear. We are currently under an Artic Outflow Warning, schools are closed today, and traffic is a mess. It was a bit too warm yesterday before the artic air moved in, and there is a layer of ice underneath the snow which makes driving a nightmare. The highway is in really bad shape, lots of cars in the ditch, and there are still people driving like maniacs. Do they think winter tires alone make them invincible?
With temperatures around -12°C (approx. 11F) the weather is perfect for staying inside, drinking hot tea and sewing. Or writing patterns. I finally uploaded the full Tuxedo Cat pattern, both in English/Imperial and German/Metric and also updated all the direct links in the previous posts. I am not really happy with the picture of the quilt since it isn’t straight at all but there is no way I am going outside to take another one. Finished is better than perfect (says the perfectionist without really believing it… ), I will fix it when the weather cooperates. For those who missed most or all of the blocks and have been waiting to purchase the full pattern, it will be available with a discount until January 20, 2020. Enter the code TC2020 during checkout for 10% off.
Edit: Seven months later, and I finally managed to take a new picture…
I would also like to thank all of you for your comments of comfort and sympathy. I usually try to reply to every comment individually but in this case I just didn’t have the time. The internet can be such an ugly place sometimes, even the quilting community can be quite nasty once in a while, which makes me appreciate the kindness and thoughtfulness of those who left a comment on the passing of my Dad even more.
Für die deutsche Version mit metrischen Maßen bitte dem Kauflink unten für die englische Version folgen und beim Checkout angeben, dass die deutsche Version gewünscht ist. Ich verschicke dann per email die Anleitung in der gewünschten Sprache.
Darlene used up scraps for this quilt, stitching lots and lots of squares together around the centre panel. When I saw the cozy flannel backing she chose, I knew right away that this project needed to be quilted with the “Deer in the Woods” pattern that has trees, deer, moose and bears.
“Sunnyside Up” is the third and last of Elaine’s three Christmas gift quilts for her granddaughters and also the name of the Moda fabric line she used for this project. The cheerful colours and floral fabrics asked for another flower pattern, and “Wandering Daisies” was my choice for this quilt.
This quilt is the second of the three Christmas gifts for Elaine’s granddaughters. The quilting design is called “Ginger Flower”, the floral fabrics called for something flowery. All three quilts have cuddly Fireside on the back.
Elaine got an early start on her Christmas gifts this year. This is the first of three quilts for her granddaughters that she dropped off for quilting back in July. “The Treehouse Club” is the name of the Moda fabric line she used for this project. The quilting design is called “Diagonal Plaid Bias Cut”, I purchased it a while ago, and it is quickly becoming one of my favourites.
Welcome to December and the last block of the Tuxedo Cat BOM. This pattern includes instructions on how to make the sashing and assemble the quilt. If you missed downloading any of the blocks, now is the time to get them. The Black Friday coupon code is still valid for 20% off until tomorrow. (Scroll down to see the Black Friday Sale post for the coupon code.)
In other news, I am not going to start another BOM on January 1. I really, really want to but I have decided to be reasonable and not jump into another big project right away. All year long I have been complaining about how busy I am and how I am always behind. In addition to that I have been having health issues for the second half of the year and I also took over as president of the Chilliwack Piecemakers Quilting Guild. Don’t ask me why… somebody had to step up and do it, and I like doing it but it does add to my workload.
But the main reason is that I just need to take some time to catch up. If you downloaded all my BOM blocks you might have noticed that I changed my layout earlier this year. I had a reason for this, and a big one as well. My patterns were accepted by QuiltWoman.com last December for sale on their website. If you haven’t heard about them, they sell patterns in digital and printed formats, and they sell to everyone – retail, wholesale, distributors and also chains like JoAnn’s. But they have certain format requirements including fonts and page layout. Almost a year has gone by, and I haven’t managed to edit very many of my patterns to match their requirements. So instead of working on new things (which would be much more fun, I admit) I will take the time to edit my patterns for their website before another year comes and goes and I still haven’t made any progress. We will see how long it takes, I am hoping that maybe by April I will be ready to start another BOM project. But if not, I will just work on it for as long as it takes. (And for those who keep telling me I don’t owe any of you an explanation… I know 🙂 This is mostly pep talk for myself. My main business is still longarm quilting but I almost enjoy the pattern part more and have to keep telling myself to focus.)
But enough of my ramblings, here are the links to the last patterns with the finishing instructions.
EDIT: The month of free download is over, and the block has moved to the pattern store where it is now available for purchase.
Für die deutsche(n) Version(en) mit metrischen Maßen bitte dem/den Kauflink(s) unten für die englische(n) Version(en) folgen und beim Checkout angeben, dass die deutsche Version gewünscht ist. Ich verschicke dann per email die Anleitung(en) in der gewünschten Sprache.
Elaine’s mom pieced this quilt as a gift for her granddaughter, and Elaine brought it to me for quilting. The relatively large pieces of the snowball blocks required a little more quilting, and the pantograph “Overlapping Crop Circles” was the perfect size for this quilt. I love the texture it created.
Colette made this quilt as a gift and asked for simple, not too dense quilting. She picked the design “Raindrops”. I prefer to use this one sideways to create a wavy pattern but in this case it doesn’t matter as her quilt is square. In case you are wondering, I didn’t like the pictures I took with the quilts draped over the frame, so I went back to my old method for now until I can come up with a better way.
This fun quilt was made by Mary, and we didn’t have to think about the quilting design at all. “Deer in the Woods” has deer, moose, bears and trees and was just perfect for this project. It shows up nicely on the back of the quilt.
