Sunny Lanes quilt

Sunny Lanes Quilt from Quilter's Cache is my Mum's most favourite quilt pattern.  She has buckets and tubs of fabrics that she keeps cutting into 2" squares and sewing together.  She has done a number of these quilts and just swaps out the background (large beige) and focus fabrics for a different look.  I'm the lucky one who gets to quilt them for her.

 

 

I had made some scrappy nine-patch quilts for some little guys in our church last year.  I still had lots of these 3" cut squares left over, so I enlarged the blocks and sewed half square triangles instead of connector corners and made my own version.  This quilt went together much faster (because it used bigger blocks).

I added a simple single border to use up some of the remaining fabric and to give the quilt a visual finish.  I find adding borders to many quilts acts as a frame and helps to keep the quilt flatter and protect all those seams from opening.

I'll often take a few minutes and lay out some scraps of fabric to "audition" quilting designs that I want to use.  I can then trim these pieces up and they are great to use as samples in classes.

I stitched a simple swirl in the 4 x 4 patch blocks and then stitched Heavy Metal Quilt Design in the red and blue Half Square Triangle Units.

  

  

I needed to use my Clover White Marking Pen to sketch the direction of the swirls....I did make a few mistakes, but oh, well.  The Clover White Marking Pen is one of my favourite tools.  The marks remove easily with heat.  So a quick press, or time spent in the dryer removes all the markings.  I have yet to see them come back.

I quilted the border of this quilt with a ribbon swirl.  I am finding that I like to repeat the same element throughout a quilt.  I had an all over swirl in the 4 x 4 blocks, Heavy Metal Swirls in the red and blue blocks and the Ribbon Swirl in the border.  All are versions of the swirl shape.

I'm partial to solid quilt backs.  Often a new and interesting pattern is seen on the back of the quilt.  In this case, I didn't have enough backing fabric, so I stitched together some remaining 3" cut units and added some blue strips to the end.  

I used to be quite particular about binding.  I considered myself a "purist" and would only hand stitch the binding to the back of the quilt.  I have become a more "practical" quilter.  I want to get the quilts done!!!!!  So, now I'm machine stitching the binding to the back of the quilt, folding it to the front and machine stitching it to the front of the quilt!  

   

Lately, in my mind, DONE is more important then PERFECT!

Classes at WonderFil Threaducation Centre and Handi Quilter Studio

Here is the latest list of classes I'm teaching in the next few months at the Handi Quilter Studio.  For more information or to register:  call 403-250-8262 or 403-819-8126. 

Free Motion Quilting - Basics. Thursday, June 11; 6:30-9:30pm. $40

This class is for those who haven't tried Free Motion Quilting before, or want a refresher.  In this class, students will learn how to set up their machine for Free Motion Quilting and how to get their quilt layers ready for quilting. Students will learn 5 basic shapes that make up all Free Motion Quilting designs and have lots of opportunity to practice stitching.

Free Motion Quilting - Next Steps.  Thursday, June 25; 6:30-9:30pm. $40

If you know the basics, we'll take the time to learn how to combine these stitch patterns into some creative quilting designs.  We'll look at some quilt samples and make some suggestions for creative custom quilting.

Free Motion Quilting - Tear Drop Feathers. Thursday, July 9; 6:30-9:30pm $40.

This is the simplest method of stitching feathers. Learn how to stitch tear drop feathers using spine variations.  Students will learn how to stitch borders and circles and create an all over fill design.

Thread Lace Scarf (Domestic machines).  Thursday, August 6; 1-4pm. $60 supplies included.

Stitch a beautiful lace scarf using only your sewing machine and thread!

Fabric and Thread Lace Scarf (Longarm and MidArm machines). Thursday, August 20, 1-4pm. $70 supplies included.

Use a longarm or mid arm quilting machine to stitch together scraps of fabric and thread into a lovely wardrobe accessory.

Kids Quilt Camp. Monday-Friday July 13-17 or August 10-14; $195 (fabric kits optional $65)

This is a great class for our younger sewers (grade 2 and older).  Quilters will cut and sew strips of fabric into the quilt top.  They will quilt on the longarm machines and machine stitch the binding.  They will also stitch a messenger bag.