Welcome blogathon visitors

Welcome Blogathon visitors. I hope you have enjoyed your cross Canada experiences this week. My name is Joanne and I live on the shores of Lake Huron. I am posting this Friday night as we are in a snow squall warning and I am not certain we will have power tomorrow morning. These three quilts were finishes for this week. They will all go to my local Scrapbag Quilters group next Wednesday. They are ready to find new homes. The scrappy one was done as a mystery with the on-line group One Stitch at a Time. I must say I have forgotten just how many years ago. It finally got the binding done and the label on. The bottom two quilts are doll quilts. We donate them to the toy drive. The white with rainbow strips was a variation of a doll quilt pattern I saw on Lyn Brown's web site last year. The other one was made using the bits that were left and stretching them to doll quilt size.
These quilts represent my style. I primarily make scrappy quilts and I am known for using up the last tiny bits of fabric. From time to time I think I would like to be a Modern Quilter but my stash doesn't contain a large number of solids. I suspect that isn't the only reason I can't call myself Modern but I will stick with that. Don't forget to go back to Jackie's (here) to link up with other Ontario Quilters. Piecefully, Joanne

Brown can be beautiful

In February this year I cut up just over 2000 brown and gold bricks for my turn at Scrapbag Quilters. I finally got my project completed from that day. There was a lot of grumbling about the brown but I was trying for guy quilts that were larger. And in that aspect I made my target. My quilt is just a lap size quilt but it should keep someone warm. Our Scrapbag group meets next week and we will be tying a few quilts that day and celebrating the season at lunch time. Piecefully, Joanne

I love a good mystery whether it is a book or a quilt

This is a mystery quilt pattern I tested for The Quilt Pattern Magazine (TQPM) an on-line quilting magazine. the designer is a Canadian, Janet Barker from Calgary. I gave the quilt to my sister this past weekend. Only a little late for a milestone birthday she had this year.
Not certain how this photo is working. The little blue patches on the border are turtles. I have a thing for turtles so thought Linda could think of me when she used the quilt.  Piecefully, Joanne

Now that the Quiltmaker 100 Blocks Blog Hop is Complete

I will show you the quilt I made from the blocks I tested. It is a simple nine patch setting. The fabric line is Feathered Friends from Northcott Fabrics. It had a number of directional prints and that required some thinking when I put the blocks together. I ended up quilting it myself on my 60+ year old Bernina because the person I had asked to machine quilt it could not do it when the time came to get it done. So I worried that my quilting on a domestic machine would not be up to current standards. But I think there are still a few of us out there who use our domestic machines for our own quilting.
I found the testing exercise a tremendous challenge and when asked, said I would love to stay on for volume 9. The testing has in fact started for that volume. All I can say is there are a whole lot of talented designers out there and I for one am happy to see Quiltmaker magazine giving so many of them the opportunity to shine. Piecefully, Joanne

The time of year for doll quilts

Or perhaps I should have said the time of year to finish doll quilts. I am not in any exchanges so the doll quilts that I make go to the local toy drive. The three pictured are the start for this year. The blue and green one has some of Mary from Kincardine's left overs added to some other scraps. I was able to get 8 windmill blocks and then added other pieces to make it a reasonable size. The middle one is made up of my tiny bricks in pastel colours. The one on the right has been languishing forever. It was the waste (or bonus) triangles from a mystery quilt made several years ago. I am trying to get some control back in my sewing room so every bit that gets finished and out of there is a good thing.
I hope everyone has enjoyed the Quiltmaker 100 blocks blog hop this week. The quilt I made of my tested blocks is in the magazine. I will post a picture in a post tomorrow. Piecefully, Joanne

A busy quilty week

It has been a busy quilty week at our house. Tuesday I attended a Take Four quilt workshop with the Kincardine Sunset Quilters guild. When I got home my preview copies of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Volume 8 arrived in the mail. It looks wonderful. I tested about a dozen of the blocks so have had a bit of a sneak preview. Wednesday the Sewcializers took a road trip in the rain to visit a couple of quilt shops. Even though officially I only needed thread I did manage to boost the economy in both Markdale and Maxwell. Thursday I received an invitation to participate in the Quilt Canada Invitational quilt show to be held at Brock University next June and finally the Retired Teachers of Ontario asked me to talk about my experiences establishing a blog. Time to head out to the gym and have a reality check. Piecefully, Joanne

Something cheerful on a gray day

 This is one of the Mystery for Relay quilts. I believe it is number 30. Marge does a terrific job writing these mysteries. It is already to donate. Piecefully, Joanne

Testing Patterns for Designers

I tested this block for Alyce of Blossom Heart Quilts (here). She had hoped to post the pattern today but as often happens, at our house anyway, life got in the way. So watch for it soon. It is an 18" by 24" block and she called it Fairy Tale Castle. I fussy cut pirates for the windows so mine is called Pirate Castle. I am hoping to get mine quilted and bound this weekend.
Kristy at Quiet Play (here) has a tester group also. I recently tested a block for her that she is planning to use  next year. Lots of little pieces but it fit together well. Both of these young designers are very talented and it is a lot of fun testing their patterns for them.
Well I hope to get the last sentence typed before the power flickers again. We have had very high winds since last night. Not much fun for Trick or Treat. In fact for the fifth year in a row no one came to the door even though I was ready and had the lights on. Piecefully, Joanne