Magpie Quilts

Happy summer solstice day! Here in Alberta, we'll see the daylight until late in the evening, but its also the season of late afternoon and evening thunder showers, so we'll enjoy the extra daylight indoors! It's been a few weeks since my last WIP post, so let me show you what we've been up to. We live on an acreage, so that translates into lots of yardwork. Somebody decided to fertilize the lawn, so it's growing great with the rain and sunshine we've been getting and that means at least once a week mowing. The stonework is done in the backyard and the garden is growing (alongside the weeds!) And we've started the training on the 2-year old colt we have. Here he's getting his first taste of a saddle. He'll get lots of ground work done before any of us attempt to get on and ride, so hopefully, he'll get adjusted quickly! Sewing has just about ground to a standstill. It's hard to be inside sewing when there's green growing thing...

The idea for a quilt design can come from a number of different sources, a photo of a quilt, colours in nature, sketches in a notebook or a published pattern to name a few. I rarely follow a published pattern, but am very inspired by traditional patchwork patterns. And although my home is decorated in very country cabin colours (think earthy tones), I love the new colours and fabrics I find at my local quilt shop and online. It's always exciting then, when I get a request for a custom quilt. It allows me a chance to play with colours that I may not normally use and maybe a quilt pattern that I haven't done before.  I have 3 custom quilts to make for a family. One baby quilt for the new baby expected in the fall, and two twin bed quilts for the little boy and girl who will be moving into the same room to make room for the baby. Here's a few of the colours I am working with right now: for the baby's quilt for the little girl's quilt for the little boy...

Grey seems to be the shade of choice when working with some of the hot new colours that are being seen on the home decor scene. Here's some great examples of this hard-working neutral being used in some modern quilts: Owl Eyes Elizabeth Hartman's blog " Oh, Fransson! " has a great example of grey with some pops of golden yellow. This quilt is from her new book "Modern Patchwork". Her blog is filled with gorgeous modern quilts - go check it out now! Green and Grey Pillow Cristin at " Sew This Is My Life " made an adorable pillow with green and grey fabrics - it's bright, cheerful and the green just pops with the grey fabric. Sedimentar y Esch House Quilts has a great quilt with orange and grey. Debbie Grifka made this as a submission for the Modern Quilt Guild Exhibit in Houston this fall. Wouldn't it be awesome to go there in person and see some of these lovelies!  Edited to add Marie-Eve's quilt from Blue Square Qui...

One of the things I like about going to a quilt show or to a quilt class is to see how different quilters interpret a quilt pattern with different colours. Here's a couple examples from the recent Festival of Quilts at Heritage Park in Calgary: Florals with Black Paths  Here in this floral quilt, the multi-coloured flowers blend together and the black paths stand out. Pastel ladders  The clean, clear white background on this pastel version makes the ladders stand out. A modern pattern done in blue, yellow and gray  This great pattern has lots of movement, both from the blocks and the secondary pattern when those blocks are joined together. Traditional colours, modern pattern Again, a totally different look to this quilt with different colour choices! --Ann

The last weekend of May is an important one for quilters in Southern Alberta - Calgary in particular. It's when Heritage Park hosts the Festival of Quilts and Gathering of the Guilds and hangs quilts everywhere in the Park for everyone to enjoy. Quilts are hung outside on clotheslines and fences, inside tents on the grounds, and inside the heritage buildings throughout the park. As a quilter, it is always inspiring to go and see what other quilters are working on and finishing! This year was no exception and I found lots of quilty eye candy! Scrappy Stars  I am continually drawn to scrappy quilts and there were many to see this year at Heritage Park. I think this scrappy star quilt was one of my favourites. Stormy Bow With the Bow River flowing through the center of Calgary, this was an interesting play on a couple traditional patterns. The storm at sea block is a perennial favourite and bow tie centers were a unique twist. Yo yo diamonds  Yo yo quilts are ma...