First day of Fall. What? Its 28°C!

Hello Friends.  I love fall!  Cool weather, lots of colour and my favourite sweaters.  Well, today I had to go digging for a summer beach dress.  What's with that?  In a few days, I will be leaving for London England to visit our youngest daughter.  I have been setting out cloths over the past few weeks (trying to be super organized) and when I look at the light weight sweater, new accessory scarf...  Lets just say I hope is cooler in the UK or I may have to go shopping. :)

Back in May, the little one called to ask if I could make some couch quilts for two of her best friends who were getting married this fall.  How can a mother say no, right?  Well, then the calls started.  I shopped for fabric, had a plan in my brain, easy peasy.  So I send along some photos of the fabric I picked and explained my plan.  It turns out, I like "old lady fabric" and my pieces are to little.  After months of back and forth, more trips to the quilt shop and research, I have two lap quilts ready for delivery when we arrive in the Uk.  Talk about being pushed out of your comfort zone.  Next time I think I will just get them to buy a vase!

It just so happens that taking off for two weeks at the start of October puts a real strain on your schedule.  When I get back, I am out and about teaching for the next 4 week. I have been busy getting everything in order for my workshops and checking things off my "to do" list.  One of those things is a commission quilt that I have been working on the last few months.  All done and delivered.  

 This fall, I gave Quilting by the River a facelift.  I have a new logo (Thank you Chantal) and will have the launch of my pattern line when I return. The quilters who will be at the November Workshop will be the first to make "Catch a Falling Star".   May I add a big Thank you to everyone who registered early so that I could fly away stress free.  The workshop is full and I am ready to rock when I get back.  I have also brought in a few new notions that I am hoping you will love as much a I do.  You will just have to wait till I get back to see for yourself. 

The ladies here at the studio are well on their way to quilting up a storm while I am gone.  Some are finishing up projects that were not touched all summer. Others have brought in their finished quilts that were done while it rained.  This is Anne's block sampler.  Over the past few years, I have been teaching the ladies how to "Grid" a block and use the Tucker tools to make their units.  Anne wanted to see if she had absorbed my teachings and put together this sampler. Fantastic!

Its getting on and I have a quilt to long arm before I leave in a few days, so I had better get at it. Thanks for dropping by.  Until next time, stay safe, enjoy the weather and find your favourite sweater. 

Ready or not - Its September

Early morning fog on the lake.

Hello Friends.  It happened – it is September.  If you’re like me, you never quite lose that back to school feeling.  The start of a new season!  I still get the urge to buy new pencils, or perhaps some paper.  I did take a walk-through Business Depot last week and bought some new office supplies.  (I couldn’t help myself) More so for me, it is the start of a new quilting season and for the quilting guilds, a new year.  I tend to slack off in the summer and feel tremendously overwhelmed in August.  I know that once the kids go back to school and everyone is home from camp and outings, they begin to search for their next quilting project.  Excited to contact quilty friends who have been put aside to make time for family and vacation. 

Fall is a great time to revisit being organized both at home (ie washing windows Blahhh) and in our quilting world. I started the new creative year with a new planner. I bought it weeks ago and have been chopping at the bit to make the first pencil marks for the fall of 2017.  I have had quite a few bookings for workshops this fall, so it wasn’t hard to make “to do” lists.  (Check out my calendar here to see where I will be and when.)  I find my planner keeps me accountable and as I get older and busier (thing tend to slip my mind like washing the windows.  LOL) jotting things down is just what I need as a gentle reminder.  A kind hint – just don’t write down the things you would rather not remember, like cleaning the oven.

I have been trying to come up with a few new projects for Christmas.  Things were going great until one morning last week someone posted a cartoon caption of how many weekends there were left before Christmas (16 weekends and only 113 days). People, really! I do not need these stressful reminders in August when I am at camp, blissfully by the lake. One of the projects that has sparked interest is by my dear friend Katrina Thomas of The Hope Chest Quilting. She has just published the cutest Christmas stocking. 

  I will be starting mine in the next week or so.

Fall is also a great time to take stock of essential quilting items for the new quilting season. It is always good to check your blade on your rotary cutter. Give your machine some TLC. A good cleaning saves on problems down the road, and we know dust bunnies make babies!  Change your needle.  A mere price to pay for problem free quilting. 

There are a few new Technique sheets available from Studio 180.  The techniques are not really new but the sheet gives you the “how to” for multiple sizes and in my opinion, is a must have in your tool box. Remember that all Studio 180 (Deb Tucker) tools and products are available here at Quilting by the River. 

Any spare time that I have had in the last few days has been spent stitching the binding onto the very large King size quilt I have been working on. Two more sides to go, so I had better get at it.  Thanks for dropping by.  Until next time, stay safe, enjoy the holiday weekend, and start planning your next project.

Quilting, Quilting, Quilting!

Hello Friends.  I am noticing the leaves changing colour on the trees and slowly making a quilt on the ground below.  I have had a few hours here and there this past month to do some fall decorating.  I purchased some pumpkins, a few mums and a small bail of straw.  So I’m hoping that we have a few weeks to enjoy these beautiful seasonal flowers before all the plants get hit by frost.  With the nights turning colder, the mornings have been great for small outdoor discoveries.  A few weeks ago, the sunlight, dew and temperature all synced so that the spider webs in the trees glistened like veils of silk in the morning light. I couldn’t believe how many there were in the trees.  Mother Nature is decorating for Halloween!

Shortly after the long weekend in September, I embarked on one last summer adventure.  The three of us sisters, along with my nephew and eldest daughter, portaged into Great Mountain Lake in the interior of Killarney Park.  When I was growing up, my family had a cabin on the lake on the point just across from Great Mountain.  With the expansion of the Killarney Park boundary in the early 1990’s, the cabin and the sauna had to be taken down. Although the building are gone, the memories of many summer holidays are still vivid in our hearts and minds. I have not done any extensive portaging in years, so my muscle memory was not so vivid.  I am still feeling the miles of paddling and weight of the pack my back weeks later.  Massage anyone!

I haven’t just been gallivanting.  I was able to finish the top to my “miniature”.  Also, I have the last two table runners done for the November workshop.  The studio has been buzzing with the quilters returning for regular classes.  The Tuffet class has been a big hit.  Just have a look at how cute Deb and Marilyn’s tuffets turned out.  Way to go ladies! If you’d like to make a tuffet of your own you can get in touch with me for the particulars.

For the next two weeks I will be off visiting our youngest in jolly 'ol England (ok so gallivanting again... LOL). But, I have been busy prepping for the Storm at Sea workshop so that when I get back I am all ready to go.  If you are registered, and questions arise, I am available via email. There is still room so if suddenly your plans free up and you would like to attend, please email me and we can make further arrangements. Otherwise, I am back the 29th at which time you can give me a shout on the phone.  This week's Storm at Sea colour inspiration is Highlighted Hearts, see picture below:

I took a break from packing on Saturday to attend the Northshore Pins and Needles Quilters and Stitchery Guild Quilt Show in Espanola.  I love quilt shows!  It is just so inspiring to see how every quilter puts a little of themselves in each of the quilts.  Even though some of the quilts were the same in construction, each quilt appeared different with their individual colour choice and placement of value.  All were beautiful and the hard work and love that went into the show was evident. Here are some random pictures of some of the quilts that were on display.

That’s all for now as I’m going to give the house a quick lick and a splash before I leave for my visit.  Thanks for dropping by, stay safe, rake some leaves and maybe start a new quilt project.