Spring Green

Spring is in the air, NOT here. We got a dump of the white stuff today. You know up to your knees stay inside, shovel every few hours or lose track of the the drive way. 

So I got to stay in and sew all day. 

I got a few strips and squares sewn in to green patchwork. My plan it to make at least a bag, maybe a book cover. I have not really thought about what size I need for sure. 

Also I got a ton of sorting and trimming down some lime green scraps. 2" sq, 2.5", sq 3" sq, then strips that are 1 1/2", 2", 2.5", and 3" strips. There is also the larger chunks and a pile of the dark green that was in the wrong box.  I will be more ready to make my sampler blocks this week and the few others blocks. 

I have added this post to Soscrappy and the Rainbow Scrap Challenge 2018. 

I finished up some of the purple still this week. I had lots of triangles left, so I made pinwheels. I also make a patchwork of purple for a book cover. 

I have been thinking of doing a string quilt for sometime. Well I got a good start on some blocks. I prepared my papers 8" sq phone book pages. I still have 6 or 7 phone books hidden away for paper. I am using then a 1" strip of white kona down the middle. Each side of the the blocks will have a different colour. So far I have 12 purple halves done. I think I will get out graph paper and colour in a plan. Then I will know how many blocks and what colours to do. 

I got this patchwork quilted later today. Just before supper. 

Close up of some quilting. 

I have a quilt going to the National Juried Show! I got happy mail this week. I have keep this little quilt off the blog and I will show you after the show opens near the end of May. I might know a judge or 2 and I do not want them to know what quilt is mine. So it is still off the internet. 

No, you have not seen it. 

I am going to make you wait. 

What next?

 

I am working on my UFO list. I have gotten lots done this year. But I think I might have to really work harder. The Leduc quilt show is coming up. The Black Gold Quilt Patch Quilt show really. I have a goal to have 10 quilted things in the show. Only 2 are done so far. The Quilt show is not judged but I want my best at the show as well as a few quick quilts too. 

KFC Follow Me, so far is just a quilt top. So much work left to do.

I made a list of what I might get done. I have added in a few and taken a few out over the last few months. 

What can I get done in time of Leduc show?

1.       Hawaii quilt – quilt

2.       Misty day – binding label sleeve

3.       Tree skirt – quilt

4.       Bad to the bone - quilt

5.       Slab quilt for me - quilt

6.       KFC follow me - quilt

7.       Cherry table topper – boarder + quilt

8.       Forest Friends – moths + build top + quilt

9.       Eye quilt – all plan a baby quilt

10.   Large Rainbow quilt – build top + quilt

11.   Slab quilt for charity – top building + quilt

I have this slab quilt top done but still needs to be quilted. I also have one more to finish for charity too. Did you see many quilts need the quilting done? So much quilting. 

Well off to the sweat shop! 

Edmonton Guild Quilt Show

On the weekend I spent Sunday at the Edmonton and District Quilter's guild bi annual Quilt Show. I took a few photos and thought I better share some of them with you. 

My Mom Betty, got a few ribbons. This is her with her Gypsy Wife Quilt. I did the machine quilting. 

She got one of these pretty hand embellished Ribbons. 

My log cabin plaid quilt with the hearts. I have not gotten a real good photo of this quilt. I had many comment to me about the long arm quilting I did on this quilt. I did feather hearts and I was very pleased with how this quilting up. I got this quilt done in Oct 2015 a few months after the last Edmonton guild show, so it was eligible to be shown here. 

My Christmas Postage Stamp Quilt. I really like this quilt. 

This quilt is also my mom's. I do all her machine quilting. It got a 3rd place. 

She had 2 other quilts that got ribbons but I did not get photos of them. I must have gotten distracted by all the shopping. 

Also at the quilt show they had a Members Mall. This corner was were my quilts and wall hanging were. Wow they had a good sized room and were able to show off my quilts better then I thought. I was told I would get a table and could bring a quilt rack. I did not know some were going to get up on the wall. 

There is a table with my book ( the Yellow paged book is one of the other members). I worked hard on the book as I thought it would help sell a stack of quilts. There was enough to look at I am not sure many really looked at my book. It is nice to have it done now. 

The framed wall quilts are mine. I thought this was a good place for these framed ones to sell. 

Another view of the my art for sale. 

As the quilt show is were we show off the finished quilts, I have added this post to Crazy Mom Quilts and Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

Cherry Quilt and quilts for sale

I am slowly making some progress on the little cherry quilt. The little blocks get the triangles added in the corner and then I can work on the sashing between the blocks. I plan to use this as a table runner. 

I have added my post to Let's Bee Social #177 at Sew Fresh Quilts.

Urban Encroachment

Size: 19" x 24" tall

completed 2007

Pieced with hand dyed fabric and embellished with buttons.

Price $250.00 Canadian

I have two pages to sell my quilts. Art quilts are here and more traditional quilts are here. You can also get to the pages at the top bar on the page. I update the pages every few months. Today I added Urban Encroachment to the Art quilt page. This quilt has been a part of the Life Lines show. 

I am planning on taking a large number of these quilts to the Edmonton and District Quilter's Quild Show. The will have a member's market mall where I can offer my quilts for sale. The Quilt show is June 3rd and 4th at the Central Lions Seniors Centre at 11113-113 Street NW Edmonton. The times are June 3 Saturday 10 am till 5 pm and June 4th Sunday 10 am till 4 pm.  

Christmas Postage Stamp Finished

Christmas Postage Stamp Quilt - 79" square

This quilt is all done! I started piecing the top back in the first week of December. As I unpacked our Christmas decorations I thought about how nice it would be to have a Christmas Quilt. I also won some Christmas fabrics at the Leduc guild meeting. It was nice to sew with Christmas print over the holidays.

My oldest son helped with holding this quilt today for the photo. 

It is a very scrappy quilt. I used 2" squares to make blocks that are nine - nine patches. Some of the patches were already cut and in my water colour fabrics. I looked for anything that was kind of Christmas like. I used some Green and Red fabrics that might not have been Christmas but fit in just right. I had Nutcracker, Penguins, Labs with Christmas candy, Snowflakes, lights, candy, birds and so many Christmas prints. 

I have quilted it with a ice blue thread and did snow drifts and spirals of snow all over the quilt. 

I have added this post to Crazy Mom Quilts, Confessions of a Fabric Addict, and  Let's Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts.

It is still so wet and muddy at our place, I have to think of dry places to take my photos. We have a hint of blue sky today. I wish it would dry up a bit and for spring to show up. We don't have much green yet. 

The binding is a peppermint candy cane strip print. I got the backing, with winter foxes, on sale in January when the Christmas prints were on sale. I was able to put a few squares of foxes on the front side before the top was done. 

Also on my mind today is getting ready for a Spring quilt show. The Edmonton and District quilter's guild is having a quilt show June 3 and 4th 2017. This weekend they need to have our entries and we are to have a photo of our each quilt with the entry.  

All Aglow

All Aglow

This is the quilt that mom, Betty Manuel, and I worked on together this past year. We worked on the piecing together and spent lots of time picking out the fabric for each block. To start with I drafted about 5 different log cabin pineapple blocks. We then did paper piecing. 

We entered it in the Canada Quilter's Association National Juried show. We were very happy and surprised as our quilt won  Excellence in Workmanship in Piecing.  We won some cash so it meant I could do some shopping at the market mall. 

I did the machine quilting. Some was on my long arm and then I did some stitch in the ditch on the domestic machine. I used red thread on the black for the free motion feathers. I just love how that red thread added to the glow of the quit. 

We also entered the quilt in the Edmonton Quilt Guild Show And it also got a ribbon. 

Machine Quilting Crazy

This is a Civil War Block of the month quilt of my Mom's. I think it is the Marcus Brother's line of fabric and block of the month quilt pattern. The fabric colours are so warm yet some are very bright. 

This photo can be enlarged to see the machine quilting better. 

Here it is done and coming off the frame. I was glad to see this one done. It was on the machine for over a week and took my days and days to do. It measures 104" square. 

I am still machine quilting like crazy this week. I am trying to get the quilts done that are needed for the Leduc Black Gold Quilt Patch Quilt Show. It is Oct 18 and 19th at the Niski Inn. I hope you can come by and see if you are local. 

Here is the back of Betty's quilt. I think I went though more than 3000m of thread for this quilt.

WIP what am I doing?

I have been working on my scraps still for the rainbow scrap challenge. Green spools for the month of April and Blue spools for the month of May. June is Yellow I hope to have some to show you soon. Yes I am a little behind. But I am back. The past two months have been crazy busy with lots of Agility, gardening, long arm quilting, just about everything but sewing for me. 

Last month the Canadian Quilters Association CQA had a conference and the National Juried show. My quilt Wed Design 1.0, was in the National Juried Show. Here is a photo of me in front of my quilt. Mom and I and friend Liz had a great time at the show, bought lots of new fabric. 

I guess I should get some better finished photos someday. I would love to take it outside and do some on location shots but it is raining and is wet again. 

This Saturday the Leduc guild is having a Quilt till you wilt day. Should be good fun. Not sure which quilt I will take to work on. Maybe one of the Bonnie Hunter mystery s I have yet to complete.

I have added this post the linky page over at The Needle and Thread Network WIP.

Design Wall Monday Feb 4th

I have started to take some of the pink blocks down. I thought I would play with my spools. I have been using the spool block as a Leaders and Enders project for 6 months. To see more about this and to get the free pattern go see Bonnie Hunter's Blog Quiltville. I wanted to play and see how I could move from one colour family to the other. You can see how I moved from blue to pink. The movement from orange to pink is much more blended but is the same every other block as the blue to pink. So far I only have some blue, pink, orange and brown on the wall. I have a stack of black blocks made but not on the wall. I was running out of room. This spools quilt is going to be big, I think. I am trying to do it like a charm quilt with no fabric repeated. I found one repeat in blue today.

I got some really good quilt News this weekend. My entry to the Canadian National Juried Show got accepted. I will show if off around May 16th when the National Juried show opens. I am hoping to go to the opening in person that night. Mom and I and a friend are making plans to go.

I have added today's post to Judy's Patchwork Times Design Wall Monday.

Bouncy Ball

Bouncy Ball by Cathy Tomm

This week is Quilt Canada and it is in Halifax N.S.. I got a quilt finished and entered in the Canadian National Juried Show back in February this year. The show opened to the public yesterday (I forgot) so now I can show you my quilt. I named it Bouncy Ball. Only my quilt is going to the show not me. I am home on soccer duty.

Artist statement: My Dog and I have discovered the joy of competitive agility together. Our new found passion, that is as fun and fast as a bouncy ball. His favorite toy to train with is a Hol-ee Rooler, a ball with large holes made in a rainbow of colours. I chose the traditional block, the Greek Square, to convey the round ball shape with its many holes. Pieced with scraps and freehand quilted on my long arm machine. Hol-ee Roller is a resisted trademark of the J.W. Pet Company, Inc.

Width 72" and Height 96"

 I used a wool batt and did lots of different quilting patterns on it. I have not hear if it won any prizes, I have a few friends at Quilt Canada so I think they would have told me if I had gotten any.  That is OK. I have gotten many prizes in the past years. I think this was my 12th year I have quilts at the Canadian National Juried Show. Friday night update: my friend Kathy says she saw a ribbon on it today. Now to wait and see what. Thanks Kathy

Now some of you in blog land maybe thinking 'did I see you start this'. Yes. I did a few blocks in January and February for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge 2012. I was loving it so much I keep sewing and did the quilt very very quickly. I may have to add this to our Saturday Scrap links that we do each week.

Just a sample of some of the quilting I did.

Lex and Cathy getting there Agility Dog of Canada title.

It was only last month that Lex and I got our first title in Agility. This weekend in Medicine Hat many Agility friends are competing in the Regional for Alberta and NWT. I wish them luck and know I am thinking about you, keep on course fast and the rails up.  We are not ready do that level of competition.

Bloggers Festival

I have added a link to  Amy's Blogger Festival. I have chosen my art quilt Crop Circles to the List of quilts. I feel I learned a lot making this quilt. I used mostly my hand dyed fabric and used free form cutting (no ruler) make it. I had to really think about how the parts were going together. I knew I wanted to make fields with the circles on it but also wanted to make it pleasing to look at.  It was what I call a brain buster. It took my months to do. I have left my images very large so you can view the details.

Crop Circles

Original design by Cathy Tomm

                      

Size 50” wide x 62” Tall

Statement: Fields of green and purple are cut by roads and encroached on by urban growth into some of the best farming lands. The myth of aliens leaving crop circles might be easier to explain then all the real troubles farmers have been facing. Urban growth, mad cow disease, chicken flu, fluctuating, commodity prices, rising fuel costs and increased debt plus all the regular weather risks of farming. Hats off to the real farmers from an Ag Grad

Techniques: Custom Machine Quilted on Longarm Machine, Hand and Machine Appliqued, Button Embellishment, Binding is multi pieced to repeat inner part.

Shows that Crop Circles has been juried into:

Canadian Quilter Association 18^th  National Juried Show  Finalist. Ottawa, Ont. 2006

Pacific Northwest Quiltfest Biannual Juried Show Finalist. Seattle, WA. 2006

American Quilter’s Society Paducah Quilt Show Finalist. Paducah, KY. 2007

Good News Day

Blue Days of Summer 2011

I just got some very good news from Kathy Wylie. I have a new quilt accepted into the Canadian Quilter Association's  National Juried Show. This photo is my entry from last years National Juried show.  I can not show you this years quilt yet, you will have to wait till May 29th. The National Juried Show opens May 29 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. You can go check out more about Quilt Canada. I have a good friend who moved to Halifax last year (her husband got transferred) but I do not think I will be going to see her or the National Show.

Now you know, I have been working on something and not showing you. Sorry. I also have started my Edmonton and District Quilter's Guild year end Challenge. I will not be able to show you that till mid June. It is so hard not to show you the bits a pieces as I make it. I have been taking photos as I go and can show you later how or why I did this or that.

So, if it looks like I am not getting much sewing done, maybe it is a competition quilt I am working on. Or I am busy with the dog and horses.

Living Colour Auction for APWQ

Photo by Mark Frey

Evaluation of Colour 

Artist Statement
I had leftover triangles, which led to an idea for making lightning out of them. I thought about lightning bringing life to color, color to life. The triangles didn’t work the way I had in mind, so I decided to go with free-form cut shapes instead and threw out the triangles. I was influenced in part by a class taken with Jane Sassaman.

Techniques & Materials
A curve pieced background and fused lighting and amoebas. The fabrics used are all my own hand dyes.

This quilt was made for the APWQ Auction a few years back. So long ago I kind of forgot about it. I was so pleased to be asked if I would make them something for this show and auction. I have had many quilts in their show over the years and even got a prize one time. The quilt has been travelling around the past few years. 

To see more of the auction check this out. There are a number of Canadian ladies here. If you have ever thought you would like to own a quilt from a great quilter this may be a great chance. The auction is Saturday Aug 27th 2011 at the Gala Dinner. The Quilt show is also great with many many wonderful quilts to see. If your are able to go, Just Do It. 

Photo by Cathy Tomm

Happy Father's Day I am going to a horse show in Calgary with my Dad. Cavalia not your normal horse show.

Guild Challenge Quilt Revealed

This is Button Trees my entry to the Edmonton and District Quilter's Guild Challenge also called the Wild Rose Quilt Show. The little quilt was to be 12 inches square. Way back in March I had been working on the little quilt but made the quilt the wrong size. I almost gave up. Here is the link to the post. Now that the challenge is done and the quilt is home I can finally show you my quilt. A friend said "Who does not like buttons".

This is Brad's plaid quilt - side ways again. (And now I have Bold and can not get rite of it. ) I had this in the quilt show. I had pinned a sleeve on the quilt to hang and the quilt is well used already so it is not hanging very well. I hate it when the quilts look all wavy. When my quilts are new I do not have this trouble but now that it is well used it hangs funny. Maybe it is the sleeve - pinned not sewn by hand. 

Blue Days update from yesterday

I have an update on my Blue Days of Summer quilt. My friend Dawna is in London ON at the National Juried Show and tells me, my quilt got a ribbon. I got third place in the class it was in. Wow, I like this quilt but I really did not think it would get a ribbon.  I will have another ribbon to add to my wall.

OK now to work on next year's quilt. Not sure I have time this month to start something new but maybe this summer.