Monday, July 19, 2010

Finally a finish!

Finally, a finished (even delivered to its new owner) project. I don't think I've had one of those in a while. I suppose I could check my past posts to be sure, but I digress. This is what I was working on the last time I posted.  I ran out of time and didn't get a chance to go to the quilt shop to work out my freemotion woes so I planned out a quilting motif of squares, all nice straight lines, and used the quilting foot.  It came out OK, though I don't feel the picture does the runner justice.

I made this runner and placemats set for my good friend Monica.

 She and her hubby invited us to spend a few days with them and their two kids at their family cottage on Lake Manitoba.  We had a marvelous time.  In fact I was so busy having a marvelous time that I forgot to take any pictures of the fun we were having.  My friends who scrapbook would be appalled!  It was wonderful to see her.  I think this visit, at three nights, two days, is the longest we have visited in person in 17 years.  Thanks to regular letter-writing we just picked up where we left off the last time we saw each other 2 years ago.  The husbands even obliged by retiring early one evening so the two of us could catch up till the wee hours (very wee, about 4 am).

Since we were up in Manitoba, we used the opportunity to visit Winnipeg a bit and steep the kids in a little of their Canadian heritage.  This particular area was new to me too.  I've lived in Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and British Columbia, and have family in New Brunswick, but all the middle part of Canada is brand new to me.  On the way up to the cottage we stopped in Morden so my husband could meet Bruce at the Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre:


The hubby loves dinosaurs, and while Bruce the mosasaur is not technically a dinosaur, this prehistoric marine reptile has a head bigger than a T-Rex's.  Bruce was the best I could do without doing way more driving than the kids and I could stomach in our little "purple cramper", as my daughter called our valiant little Neon on day 2 of our drive.

I'm a sucker for living history museums and Parks Canada does a wonderful job with those, so Lower Fort Garry was a must.  We ended up spending most of a day there because we are a curious bunch and ask a lot of questions and look at everything.  The Manitoba Museum was also a big hit, and the kids were fascinated during our tour of the Royal Canadian Mint

There was supposed to be a visit to a quilt shop in there too to see if I could bring back some Canadiana prints, but I left it to the end of the visit.  I had found an address for a shop on our way out of town, drove through some construction to get there, and found it closed.  Sigh.  Oh well, maybe next time.

Now we're home again in mid-Iowa, the laundry is done, the fridge is restocked and I have drawn up a list of projects to move along:

1. Astro quilt - all quilted, just needs binding!
2. Mom's table runner and placemats - add borders and quilt
3. Hearts quilt - still quilting, still quilting...
4. Swap blocks quilt - add borders and prairie points then set aside till my freemotion skills improve
5. Leaf quilt - add prairie points and quilt (machine or hand? haven't decided yet)
6. Whimsy - lots of piecing still

I'm off to work on number one.  It's so close to completion!

*Edit*  I forgot to give credit for the runner pattern.  It was inspired by the pattern "Choc-O-Cherry Turnover Treat" by Monica Solorio-Snow over at Moda Bakeshop, but I pieced it entirely differently than she did to avoid cutting a zillion triangles and dealing with the corresponding nmber of bias edges.  The placemat design is all mine.

8 comments:

  1. The table runner and placemats are beautiful, even if the pictures don't do them justice. I'm sure your friend will think of you every time she sees/uses them.

    And you have a very clever little daughter for her "purple cramper" comment. (It made me almost giggle out loud here at work.) Having been the owner of one of these until just recently, I applaud you for your perserverence in taking it on a family vacation - they're not that roomy in the back!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think the tablerunner and placemats look fabulous. What a wonderful gift for your friend.

    ReplyDelete
  3. The tablerunner and placemats are gorgeous, love the colors you used. Your trip sounds wonderful! All I have visited in Canada is Niagra Falls and some of the surrounding area, Niagra on the Lake was really fun, parts of Ontario-Rondeau Provincial Park and Point Pelee Provincial Park, A bit around Sault Ste. Marie and a little bit around the Thunder Bay area on Lake Superior. It was all beautiful but I'd love to see lots more! The museums you visited sound fantastic!

    Good luck on your list of projects to finish, completing something is always feels so good.

    ReplyDelete
  4. The table runner and place-mats look fantastic - great colours!
    Glad you had a good time in Manitoba. I tried looking for Canadian fabric and couldn't find any!
    It is funny about the construction - there is always lots of construction in the summer here!!! Drives me crazy!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Seems like everyone is taking fun vacations, except me! Thanks for sharing the websites; I'm going to read more later.
    That table runner and place mats are really pretty, and I think your quilting is exactly what it needed! ---"Love"

    ReplyDelete
  6. The table runner and placemats are really pretty. I feel your pain. When it comes to free motion, I get all nervous, my shoulders ache and I grit my teeth. I just need to practice more. Sounds like you had a great vacation. Connie204

    ReplyDelete
  7. I like the way the table runner and placemats came out. It is funny how pictures morph projects, but it still looks great to me. Did you get the placemat pattern from somewhere or did you make it up? I might have to borrow it. I have trouble finding placemat patterns that I like, but those look classy and easy.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for visiting. I truly appreciate your comments and will try to reply to comments by email if your commenting staus is not set to "no-reply".

If you have a question, emailing me directly at joanne@canuckquilter.com will ensure I have your address to respond. I promise I will not share your email address and I will not use it for any purpose other than replying to your message.