On my wall today

QuiltCon Block

A few weeks ago Josée and I got together to start working on our entry for the Quiltcon Block Challenge.  It was a great to be able to bounce ideas off each other and to share the fabrics that we selected for the blocks.  In the three hours that we were together, however, we only managed to work out a basic idea of what we wanted our respective blocks to look like and did minimal sewing.  I guess we spent alot of time chatting.  I went home with these four tiny blocks:

This past weekend, as I was doing my regular blog reading, I saw that Josée had finished her block.  I, on the other hand had not touched mine since our get together!  Well, not be outdone, I promptly ran down to my studio (at 7am Sunday morning) to work on my block. 


I took an improvisational approach to my block, as that is how I normally like to work.  It is composed of 3 small, wonky log cabin blocks. 

 I did alot of unpicking of the original blocks and 'cleaned them up', using only 3 fabrics for each color family.

The orange on the perimeter of this lock was from Josée's stash and is one of my favorites.

I opted to use only three of the color families: yellow, orange and green. I omitted the blue. Somehow I just wasn't feelin' it.  I think i might have used the wrong shades. Besides, I am not a fan of blue.

Then I felt sorry for blue, so i just included a little bit of it in the final block, just to make him feel better!
I like the way the colors stand out against a crisp white background.

And just to stick it to Josee, I made a second block. HA!


I thought that my row of cabins looked like a little neighborhood so I was inspired to make a house block.  A modern house that is.

So how do these blocks reflect what modern quilting means to me? Well, I like the freedom that I have to approach quilting in any way I like.  If I want to make a quilt with blocks that are perfectly square and all the seams match up, I can.  On the other hand, if I want my quilt to be wonky and a little quirky, well that's okay too.  I like that nobody in the modern quilting world seems to a problem with that. I also love that this challenge showcases so many different ways of approaching the same task.  I'm sure that the final quilt that Elizabeth Hartman will piece together will be a wonderful celebration of all the differences that make each quilter unique!  Hurray for modern quilting!


BTW, please head over to Josée's blog to check out her block.  It is absolutely stunning!  She's already gotten such positive reviews on flickr. 

Blog Hop

Beth from Plum and June, recently invited me and other new-ish bloggers to participate in the Let's Get Aquainted Blog Hop.

Every Tuesday and Thursday from now 'till September, two bloggers will be sharing their story and a tutorial on their respective blogs. Be sure to check in here on June 5th when it will be my turn to share.
And check in at Plum and June regularly as Beth will be hosting interviews and giveaways throughout the hop.
Looking forward to getting to know everyone!

Here is the list of scheduled bloggers:

May

May 22
Kelsey from Kelsey Sews

Erin from Billy Button Designs

May 24

Nik from Bold Goods

Alyssa from Pile O Fabric

May 29
Heidi from Fabric Mutt

Amy from Amy's Crafty Shenanigans

May 31
Jodi from Tickle and Hide

Jennie from Porch Swing Quilts

June


June 5
Cinzia from Deux Petites Souris

Kristy from Quiet Play

June 7
Taryn from From Pixels to Patchwork

Em from Sewing by Moonlight

June 12
Kelly from Jeliquilts

Yzo from Chez Roo

June 14

Debbie from A Quilter's Table

Sarah from Silly Banana Sewing

June 19

Jennifer from Sewlandia

Nicole from Mama Love Quilts

June 21

Suzanne from SuzClaas

Mina from Kindaquilty

June 26

Svetlana from Sotak Handmade

Beth from Plum and June

June 28

Julie from Jolie Maxtin

Lori from Adventures in Fabric

July

July 3

Di from Willowbeck Designs

Libby from Miss Beau Jangles
Jennifer from Knotted Thread

July 5

Sarah from Sarah Lou

Catherine from Knotted Cotton

July 10

Jenelle from Echinops and Aster

Julie from Bedsheet in the Kitchen

July 12

Rebecca from Sew Festive Handmade

Marti from 52 Quilts in 52 Weeks

July 17

Katie from Kati's Quilting

Claire from Sewing over Pins
Caroline from Quilting in the Cold

July 19

Jamie from Sweet Baby Jamie

Janine from Rainbow Hare Quilts

July 24

Colby from Sew Quilt Explore

Fiona from Celtic Thistle

July 26

Mary from Spoolhardy Girl

Fiona from Finding Fifth

July 31

Audrey from Hot Pink Quilts

Michelle Renee from Quilt Matters

August

Aug 2

Jennifer from GH Quilting
Danny from MommyFor Reals

Aug 7
Liz from What I Did on My Summer Vacation
Susan from Canadian Abroad

Aug 9
Kirsten from Gemini Stitches
Stephanie from Sewing by Stephanie

Aug 14
Sarah from Sarah Sews Quilting Blog
January from Sew Sew Go

Aug 16
Alison from Little Bunny Quilts
Cathy from Blueberry Patch

Aug 21
Marta from From Marta with Love
Marion from My Quilt Diet

Aug 23
Sunni from Love Affair With My Brother
Ginny from Fish Creek Studio

Aug 28
Lucy from Charm About You
Ella from throw a wench in the works

Aug 30
Elaine from Dashasel Sews

September


Sep 4
Deborah from Simply Miss Luella
Lorelei from Midnight Maker

Sep 6
Tessa from The Sewing Chick
Bethany from Make Me A Quilt

Sep 11
Anne from SpringLeaf Studios
May from Confessions of a Fabraholic

Sep 13
Julie from That's Sew Julie

Sep 18
Lina from Smultronbo's Pieceful Sense and Nonsense
Chase from 1/4" mark

Sep 20
Jen from Closet Quilter
Anna from Pink Padme

Sep 25
Amanda from Material Girl Quilts

The Sunshine Quilt

With four five quilts on the go, I did a little marathon session in the last few days to finish one of them up.  
I'm calling this one The Sunshine Quilt! 

It was started back in March, a time in Montreal when we are tired of cold, gray winter days (previous post here). A peek of grass in the snow promises that hot summer days are on the way.  We just need to hang on a little longer!

And it is serendipitous that I got to put the final stitches on it on the hottest day so far this year. Sitting in the shade of my gazebo, with the song "Summer Paradise" by Montreal band, Simple Plan, playing in the background.

That is my idea of paradise!

I debated for a long time over how to quilt it. I browsed through my portfolio for inspiration and decided on te same 2 inch grid pattern I had done on my Citrus Quilt. I love the texture that it gives the quilt.

I'll be posting a tutorial soon explaining how I mark my quilting lines. 


Here's to many more sunshine-y days ahead!

For Sale in my Etsy Shop:  See listing here.

Simple Pleasures

The boy is away on a camping trip,
The girl is at the mall with friends,
Hubbie is riding his bike,
And I am sitting in the gazebo sewing up my quilt.

Life is good!

Quilt Story Feature

The lovely ladies from Quilt Story are featuring one of my quilts today. Thanks Heather and Megan!

                                                       

A little late, but...

A Happy Mother's day to all!

A Custom Quilt for Zachary

Big boy Zachary is ready to transition
from his crib to a toddler bed!  So his mom asked me to make a quilt designed especially for him.  
She had few requirements in terms of what she wanted the quilt to look like (based on a little questionnaire I gave her):
-mostly solid fabrics
-a light background
-asymmetrical design
-geometric and organic
-and modern vs traditional


She also wanted me to incorporate some of the fabric from the bed-skirt of his crib:

which also dictated the colors and fabrics  

I began by making some wonky squares:

And by looking at the bed-skirt hanging down sideways on my design wall...

I was inspired to add some stripes that would run across the quilt and 'through' the blocks:

Since the design is geometric, I added some organic (or wavy) quilting lines:

I hope that both Zachary and his mom are happy with the finished product!

(back)

Sweet Dreams Zachary!