my favourite mini quilt

Yesterday was my best friend Michele's 40th birthday!  I am sure she loves me sharing that with the world ;)  But hers is extra important to me- she survived a rare SCAD heart attack a few years ago, so after having had to face the possibility of losing her, I am all the more grateful to have such an amazing friend in my life.

For the big 4-0, she put in a request over 6 months ago- admiring the mini quilt I have at the cottage with and Emerson quote, she asked if I could make her something similar with a quote that has been a mantra of sorts for her since her heart attack:

"Do not let yesterday take up too much of today." 

For months I waited for my inspiration to strike.  How to make the quote and the fabric come together into something inspiring and beautiful.  It stumped me.  Then I got to thinking about life, and how we are all made up of these random experiences, some good and some bad, but how they all meld together to form us as a person.  How often it starts out one way and then takes on another path, a diversion.....about all the colours and textures that make up a life.  Kind of magical.

I set out without any end plan.  I just started piecing bits of neutrals together.  Got out some fabric paint and stamps.  Pieced some wonky letters in colours where I wanted impact.   Tried my hand at  some embroidery.  And slowly brought it all together. The more randomness I added, the more cohesive the piece started to look and the more I liked where it was going. And here is the end result!

The quilting included some new frontiers for me, and I went with the same carefree attitude I had with the piecing. I channelled my inner Krista Withers and started filling negative space with swirls, pebbles, lines.  The quilting is dense and the resulting texture is amazing.

Added sections of clamshells and waves and used touches of hand stitching to accent the stamped letters and to outline the pieced ones.

On the back, the London subway map fabric (to represent time she spent living in England). And some hanging sleeves with a birthday message :)  For the binding, I continued with the scrappy theme.

It was gifted yesterday, and Michele declared it was her favourite gift she received (which pretty much brought tears to my eyes).  Then we had a lovely afternoon at the spa....now I am HOPING this is indicative of life in our 40s?!?!

Happiest of birthdays, Michele xoxox

epic bag.

Just a couple days until I return to Loon Lake in B.C. for another fabulous quilt retreat hosted by Krista.  I have a million things to do to get my house in order before then.  But instead, I decided I NEEDED to make a new bag.

Inspiration hit and nothing could be done- the world had to stop until I got it made.  I made some sketches and got to work.  And the longer I worked at it the more excited I became.  I nicknamed it the "Epic Bag" in some of my Instagram progress pictures, and I think the name has stuck.  Because this bag is epic, dudes.  It has all the elements I love- wonky patchwork. Bits and pieces of some favorite fabrics.  Little details. Fussy cutting. Hand stitching.  Great color mixed with fun low volume fabrics. Hardware and zippers.  Function.  And I think after years of frustration, I finally used the perfect amount of interfacing!  I am so pleased with myself (can you tell?).

The front panel was inspired by a flying geese block tutorial by Hyacinth Quilt Designs found here.  On the back, I added some random flying geese as well, and some fun hand stitching with Perle cotton.

A detail shot of the hardware tabs for the cross-body strap and some of the patchwork and random hand stitching for you!

I even used some favorite fabrics for lining.  Heather Ross pin people in the front zippered pocket....

...and some precious Anna Maria Horner Good Folks for my inner lining. The interior has two rows of slip pockets and another zippered one as well. I should have no excuses not to be organized!

The top of the bag has an inset zipper as well to close it securely.

Two sets of straps, so that it may be worn cross body like so, with the top folding over (cute, eh?)....

....or slung over my forearm.

I am thinking that I might draw up a pattern of this is there is any interest??  What do you think?

Bloggers Quilt Festival: Heartstrings

Well, I finished up another quilt and decided to enter it in the hand quilting category in the Blogger's Quilt Festival!  Welcome to any newcomers via Amy's blog, hope you are enjoying the festival!

Unfortunately, this quilt has a sad story.  It was made for a co-worker and her husband who recently suffered a late miscarriage of their first baby.  They had been trying to get pregnant for ages.  They were devastated.  I felt helpless.  I made a quilt.

I called it Heartstrings because, the situation pulls at my heartstrings, and, it is literally a heart made out of strings.  I decided to do a colorful heart, representing hope and love, against a dark, blank background.

For the quilting, I used a rainbow of Perle cotton.  I chain stitched on the words "love lives forever in our hearts" and then did echo quilting around the heart perimeter in a variety of different stitches.  It is simple, but effective (I think!) against the grey.

On the back, a cozy flannel that has been in my stash since before I officially HAD a stash!  The binding is a grey polka dot from the LQS, hand stitched in place.

Simple, but I hope this quilt provides some comfort.  Thanks for visiting!

turkey coma

Thanksgiving in Canada has come and gone yet again, and as usual we have so much to be grateful for.   The kids are back at school today and I am spending my day off boiling bones to make soup and catching up, emerging from my turkey stupor to blog a wee bit!

It was a great long weekend.  The Hubs was actually away for most of in it Vegas with some buddies doing some no doubt unmentionable things to celebrate a 40th birthday.  Apparently it involved a variety of costumes.....he has not disclosed much to me to be honest, but his friend mentioned at one point they had to go buy Sharpies for him to sign autographs as he kept being mistaken for Jon Bon Jovi.  Do I really want to know the details?  Probably not.

But the luck was REALLY rolling back at  home in Winnipeg!  I took the kids to see a movie and afterward was suckered into letting them have toonies to play "The Claw"- you know, that game where you use a joystick to guide a claw and try to have it grab a stuffed toy?  The one where no one ever wins??  Well, history was made right here, people.  Last But Not Least won not one, but FIVE (!!!) toys....and get this, in ONE TURN!!  Insane.  The kids and their friends went absolutely mental, as I am sure you can imagine.  This moment will become the folklore passed from generation to generation in our family, no doubt.  Got a grainy photo of their glee.  Just awesome.

Between the usual hockey/ringette/dance schedule that keeps us running this weekend, I actually found some quiet moments to knit and sew.  I am feeling a surge of creativity lately and am chomping at the bit to MAKE.  First off, made some cute booties for The Plaid Baby.  Pattern here.

Should be a lovely accompaniment to her sweater :)

Next, raided my scrap bin for blues and greens and made this quilt top, entirely inspired by this one by Blue Elephant Stitches.  I just love how it came out!

And a little hand stitching and embroidery on another quilty project as well!

I also spent a good deal of the weekend outside enjoying the beautiful turning of the leaves....fall is my favorite time of year with all the colors and the honking Canada geese flying overhead!

As soon as Thanksgiving dinner was eaten, the girls declared it was time for the next holiday, and dragged out The Ghastlies quilt to snuggle with. I think this is my all time favourite!

Have a wonderful week!
Kristie :)

ode to the sea....

It is mid-April and summer is nowhere to be found in and around these parts.  The snow on either side of my front walk is still tall enough to conceal my Kindergartener, and I am beginning to spend every free moment day dreaming of sun and sand.

I decided to make a little mini quilt, incorporating my favourite summertime quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson:

"Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air."  

That is EXACTLY what I wish to be doing right now :)

I pieced random scraps of blue, using cottons, corduroys, linens, voiles, all adding to the texture, starting with darker tones at the bottom and graduating to lighter shades towards the top.  I added a scrap of precious Mendocino mermaids at the top.  I hand stamped the quote onto natural cotton, using lettered stamps from Stampin' Up and a fabric paint marker.  I cut the rows of blues in curves, to replicate the sea, and then straight cut in the quote pieces.

Free motion quilting was done in a sea colored thread, adding waves, crests and pebbles.

The binding is my favourite part: Joel Dewberry Aviary woodgrain fabric, cross stitched to the front with Pearle 8 thread.  I will be doing this again!

On the back, I added sleeves for a dowel for hanging, stamping my name and date, and what I was doing while I was making it :)

I am so very pleased with how this mini turned out.  As some of you may recall, our family had a summer cottage that was destroyed in a storm a couple years ago.  Finally, the rebuilding phase has begun, and I plan to give this mini a place of honour there when we start again.

I intended to enter this as my Sew Off Home Dec entry for week 2 of the competition.  And I DID make it through the first round- I placed 4th out of 12, with the top 9 progressing!  But, I opted out of the contest.  I am busy with so many other things needing my time in my life, and I realized I don't enjoy being judged for what I make...this is my hobby, my escape, and I want to do it just for ME!  So, thanks for your support and your votes, but this girl plans to stay contest free for the time being!

Wishing you a day filled with sunshine!

Not just any old iPad sleeve....

Sorry guys! Had a blip with this post earlier today, but it is all here now!

Lucky me, my "Santa" got me an iPad for Christmas! I guess that is one way to get me away from reading blogs in the computer room, lol :) Anyways, I love it. So naturally I wanted it to have a nice home to hang out in when not in use. I looked around the internet for some inspiration and then came up with a design all my own. It incorporates so many of my favorite things, it makes me smile.


I started by going to my nicely organized fabric that I have been neglecting for far too long (oh how I have missed you!) and selected a few of my favorites. Some Denyse Schmidt (including some ribbon flowers from Kaelin and seeds from Riel- thanks, ladies!), some Farmdale that will remind me of my shopping (frenzy) at Sewing Summit, some Echo. I made a block....it reminds me of sunbeams, in rainbow colors like after a rain- so cheery! I framed it I denim, which I opted to use as my base to add body to the sleeve. I added a bunch of hand quilted accents for some more fun!



On the back, I included a pocket large enough to put some earbuds or to slip in a credit card or money if I (ever have the life where I can) head to the coffee shop for a little quiet moment. And, yes, the Canadian $5 bill really does has hockey on it :) I used the Farmdale apple fabric there as a nod to Apple!

I added a flap closure, with a long tie that loops across the front and is fastened with a button- nice and secure in there!

The button on the front is from a surprise package I recently received in the mail from the ever so sweet Amy, along with these adorable ribbons and trim!

Can you see a theme here? This sleeve is made up with bits of love from all over blog land! So you see, this is not just any old iPad sleeve.....it is a little bit of sunshine sure to make me smile and think of all my blog family whenever I see it. I love it! And I am going to share the joy by making up a tutorial for it to share with all of you. Coming soon! :)

I'll be linking up to some of my friends I haven't visited in awhile, like Sew Modern Monday and Fabric Tuesday!

good books

Thought I would take a moment to recommend a really good book I just read. I picked up The Flying Troutmans by Miriam Toews. It is a story about a road trip by some (messed up) Canadians into the US, so I thought it a good read for our recent trip. Miriam is actually from Manitoba, and the characters from Winnipeg, like me, which was a nice little bonus. She has written several other books that have won literary awards. Anyways, it was a really great read, her writing style is very quirky and keeps you interested, and despite the dismal topic (an aunt takes her teenage niece and nephew on a road trip to find their long lost father when their mother is admitted into the hospital with mental illness), it had me laughing all the way through and was, in the end, very uplifting.

While away, I also picked up a couple crafty books with which I am completely enamored. First up, this little number:

I am not having another baby (touch wood) nor do I know many people still in baby production mode, but I may have to seek out some new fertile friends strictly for the excuse to knit stuff from this book. Some of the cutest patterns ever, like these:




I just couldn't resist buying this book, even at (gasp!) full price. Love it.

I also managed to score a 40% off coupon at Joann's and bought this book:

This one got my embroidered hoop juices flowing again, people! You see, I was just faking it before, but now this book shows me the actual PROPER way to do hand stitching! Oh, I love it, and some cute little stencils to boot. Check out some of these projects:


Will be having some fun with this book, I am sure. Oh, if I only had more hours in a day!!