Hello Friends. Spring has arrived earlier than usual here in Northern Ontario. The ice is off the river and there have been a few boats going by. River TV has started. I am sure that for a lot of folks, the thought of opening up the summer cottages is now on the forefront of their thoughts. I have been trying to stay on track and get me pattern writing done for the cruise, finish up the last of the customer quilts to long arm and get my quilt for the Spring Quilt Along completed. This however all goes to pot when the sun shines and its warm outside and I hear the flower gardens calling my name. “Carla, the weeds are closing in, Help come take them away”! So I am glad I have been able to schedule my day in a way that I can be outside for a few hours before the black flies arrive and keep us in again.

I will be posting information for my upcoming cruise periodically over the next little while.More details of the workshop on the cruise can be found on my website here and on the Quilt and Cruise website. www.quiltandcruise.com

Feel free to pass along the information to friends, groups and local guilds. With the vaccine rolling out the cruise may very well book up quickly as everyone is looking to get caught up on some much needed vacation time. A special treat to all those attending will be the opportunity to purchase a pre-cut quilt kit in one of the colour ways I have chosen. Your quilt kit will have all of the required squares rectangles and strips pre-cut for you and ready for sewing when you get onboard. A true quilters vacation, and may I add more time for Margaritas. Woot Woot!

The spring quilt along has been going great, and the quilters have been posting pictures of their progress. I can’t express how excited I feel when the quilters add new twists of their own to my creation. Changing colours and using different fabrics like big prints or black backgrounds. You have all done wonderfully. This Wednesday will be our last instruction instalment and we will cover the pieced border application.

Here are a few of the quilt centres that have been posted so far:

The new colour way for Marquise is now complete and scheduled for the long-arm shortly. I will be adding this to the cover to give quilters a different perspective as to what a change of fabric can do for a quilt layout. The Marquise pattern is available from my website, Etsy store or you can ask for it at your local quilt shop.

With the stay at home order we do not get to visit or see other quilters so I get really excited when I receive a photo of one of your finished quilts from a previous workshop or one of my patterns. Thank you to Mallory Slingerland for sending along her completed “River Rocks”. I love it in the browns! It gives it such a warm and cozy feeling.

My buddy Daintry, who loves to quilt with my scraps and leftovers, sent along this completed gem. The outer border and large squares in the quilt are from a few fabrics that I had laying around the studio for years. When we moved I downsized my fabric stash and sent along this lot to my quilting buddy. Well you know what they say, “one quilters scraps and another quilters treasures”. Its beautiful!

That’s all for now, I’m off to the postoffice to mail out an order. Remember, if there is a Studio 180 related product you need or are looking for, I have it all in stock and can meet up or mail out, so just give me a shout.

Thank you for dropping by. Until next time, stay safe, get outside, and clean you sewing machine!