Superior Quilt Show

I'm not sure how many people go to Thunder Bay and say they had an awesome time (unless you are from a town in Northern Ontario and Thunder Bay counts as the big city) but I am officially one of them.

Last weekend I spent three days in Thunder Bay. Three very intense and fun days. I met some wonderful people who were incredibly generous of their time and spirit. I taught such an eager group of students that I was jazzed at the end of each day when they were tuckered out. And they all learned to embrace their scraps. I laughed in front of a crowd of over 100 as I told my stories and shared my quilts. I eagerly walked the show floor (and spent money) to take in the full range of quilts from thread painting to modern and everything in between.

(Made and quilted by Wendy Currie)

I walked on the waterfront of a still iced over Lake Superior (at least by the shore) and took pictures of the most awesome public sculptures ever. I drank beer with an air traffic controller/quilter. And all while keeping company with a carousel horse.

Thank-you very much to the Thunder Bay Quilt Guild for bringing me to your city, your show. it was wonderful.

Gum on Concrete

Gum on Concrete

52'' by 68''

Another quilt from Sunday Morning Quilts, done with my scraps in a totally new colourway. This quilt, quite honestly, reflects the journey I've taken since the book came out a year ago.

... It is me, sewing up a pattern Amanda Jean created. I feel a bit of her, her friendship and enthusiasm, in each stitch.
... It is my never ending obsession with grey. And yes, I only 'made' a few scraps to complete this quilt.
... It is a name that came from someone in the audience at one of my first trunk shows, where I shared the quilt top last summer.
... It is the last quilt I finished before travelling across the country for teaching and another trunk show - something I was never able to do before the book came out.
... It is the quilt I photographed at The Workroom, while there teaching and taking advantage of their perfect for photography light and backyard.

Without Sunday Morning Quilts nothing about this quilt would exist. For that, I am grateful. And although the name has nothing to do with the joy the quilt brings me, I do love it too.

Quilted with a combination of Wonderfil Konfetti and Aurifil 50W thread. Swirls and pebbles and squared off spirals making this quilt heavy and dense. Perfect for a cuddle. Helped out with the use of Quilters' Dream Request batting in 100% cotton.

A scrappy binding in grey, so nothing stands out. Just a growing expanse of concrete.

Constant

Staying on top of scraps is a constant battle. These are about half of the scraps that accumulated in the 3 months I've been sewing in my new studio space. They were sitting all together in my favourite scrap basket, waiting for sorting. So finally I did just that. I love having a system in place, it means this kind of sorting only takes a short time, but it still must be done on a continuous basis.

Did I mention this is only half of them?

Not to mention my existing bins of scraps. I see a massive sort and cull coming soon. Spring cleaning. Starting fresh. Whatever you want to call it, I'll be sharing soon. Unless you want to see another scrap quilting book.

Friday Favourite: fast2clean Mini Microfiber Cleaners

*Giveaway is now closed*

The Missing U is one of my favourite quilts from Sunday Morning Quilts. It came together with Amanda Jean's contribution and really was the start of our collaboration on the book. Right now it is living on our bed, keeping me warm when I fall asleep and soaking up the almost spring sun's warmth during the day.

Because it is a favourite I was thrilled when C&T contacted me about using images of the quilt in a new product. The fast2clean Microfiber Cleaners are pretty cool. At first I thought it was kind of cheesy and pointless. But they arrived right around the time I started using a certain fruit based music device. Between my fingertips and the greasy fingers of my kidlets on the face of it, the thing was a mess. 

Then I pulled out my handy little microfiber cleaner. Through the wonders of static it sticks to the back of the device. Then I can pull it off and clean the face every time the grubby fingerprints get to be too much. It really works well for that. I've even used it for my computer monitor in a pinch!

And once I discovered that I can access Instagram through this device the whole thing gets used a lot more than for hard-core dance fests with the girls. The camera on this thing is only marginally better than my cell phone and I'm still trying to figure out even some of the potential, but feel free to follow me there for some snippets of daily life, and sneak peeks at projects that end up here.

The other quilt featured is by Kim Shaefer.

C&T very generously sent me extras of this product. So, if you can't find them in your LQS or don't want to order them on Amazon, try your hand at this little give-away!

Leave a comment on this post between now and Sunday 11:59 pm MST for your chance to win. Make sure I have a way to reach you by email through your profile or comment, I'm not going to chase down no-reply comments. Tell me your favourite colour to work with or live with. Or point me in the direction of some favourite photographs. Or just say hi.

I will pick 4 winners and and send out a pack of these little treats next week.