Twin Baby Quilts and a New Rug hooking Project

I'm starting a new rug hooking project Woohoo!! A friend of mine designed this and let me trace this out onto burlap so that I could hook this. I thought that it would look amazing on the bench right inside the door to my sewing room. The outer boarder is the largest that it can be so I'll have to see if this rug gets a boarder at all after I hook the center LOL! I think some nice bright colours for the tulips and a mottled blue for the sky would look cheerful and welcoming. If I can do a little boarder I might try the bead-stitch using two colours to give it a bit of pizazz. I finished drawing this last night ~ I only had the straight lines of the boarder to do but that is the least fun part of drawing a pattern I find so I think that's why I put it off.

I found this little video on Gene Shepherd's blog and thought that I would share it with you. It is Gayle Burton talking about Rug Hooking on her local news channel. Her work is amazing and the video is definitely worth a watch! She has a beautiful series of stair-kicks that I just love ;)

I've also finished two more baby quilts for twin boys! I just love the light blue and brown colour combination that is popular now. Brown is such a soothing colour ~ but I know that some people find it too drab for baby quilts. I am sure that the parents will like these ones though ;) And, yes I know, I know, I did the 4-patch 1-patch baby quilt again ~ but I just love that pattern! I am even now in the process of making another one of these quilts, as a commission, so you'll be seeing at least one more in this pattern. I may have to find another favorite baby quilt pattern soon. This one is out of my favorite baby quilt book by Ursula Reikes Quilts for Baby: Easy as ABC. It is a great book that I highly recommend as it is full of simple, usable and beautiful patterns.

Do any of you have a baby quilt pattern book that you just love that you might recommend to me?

Asian Beauty ~ Crazy Shortcut Quilt

Hi all!
I spent a chunk of Saturday in my LQS doing a few demos for my Crazy Shortcut Quilt class, which is coming up tomorrow, and, I was so inspired by the method that I went home and dug out a fat quarter bundle of Asian fabrics I had purchased a few years ago and I cut them up to make this quilt! The blocks were completely pieced by the end of the evening and the backing pieces were cut that evening as well. The green, large-scale, print was cut from left-overs from a whole-cloth sweatshirt jacket and so I put that and the gold print on the back. It's great to use up some of my stash and some left-overs and achieve such great results! I have to say that I am so pleased with the way this quilt turned out! The large pieces really show-case the Asian prints and the gold rayon thread makes the quilt so rich ~ which I love!

If you're interested in the class we are running a second class at Sew Inspired in Arnprior and there will be another session in the spring at The Quilting Quarters in Almonte. I am so excited to be teaching this method since it really is a stress-free way to quilt and this method of quilt-as-you-go gives a smooth finish with no hand sewing!!

A Couple Special Baby Quilts

Over the Holidays we found out that one of our close friends' children was diagnosed with leukemia at under 2 years of age. I contacted a friend of mine who works for Victoria's Quilts Canada and our local group had this wonderful baby quilt ready to go so she gave it to me to send. The elephant quilting in the feature squares is absolutely adorable :D I made both of our friends' children soft flannel pillowcases so that I could send something quickly to them to give hem some comfort. It is absolutely amazing how the top pillowcase matches the quilt so beautifully! The reds and blues are an amazing match and none of us could believe it! This quilt and the pillowcases have been sent off to hopefully bring some love and comfort to the children and to the family. Victoria's Quilts is an amazing organization and I thank them from the bottom of my heart for this wonderful quilt!

I was also able to make another special baby quilt for friends who adopted a little boy from Russia just recently. I really wanted this quilt to tell a bit of a story ~ to reflect his journey to his new family. I found the map fabric and thought that it would work well. In the bottom right corner (above the log cabins) you can see a rail fence block that is actually the Russian Flag. I then made flying geese flying away from the Russian Flag and towards the maple leaf block to show his journey. The log cabin blocks have a red center to symbolize fire in the hearth or love in the home. Then in the corners I twisted the log cabins to show that they are a non-traditional family but that the love is still at the heart of the home. A couple more maple leaves in the corners balanced the quilt. I quilted the quilt in a large meander with airplanes to show how he crossed the map. On the back of the quilt is an amazing flannel fabric with maple leaves on it from Northcott fabrics called Winter Sports to celebrate Canada hosting the Olympic Games. There are also little Inukshuks on one of the red and blue fabrics that I just love ~ from the same fabric line. I love how this quilt turned out and I loved putting so much thought and meaning into the layout and block choice. The whole family seemed to really like the quilt and appreciate all of the meaning.