Stop by Myra's blog and see what she is giving away for her 200th post!
So, if you're like me, and haven't quite spent all your hard earned money on fabric and related items, you might want to check out this website www.craftmags.com and see if they have what you are looking for.
Happy shopping!
'til next time,
M.
Mysty doesn't really think you should be peeking just yet . . . she's trying to cover the camera lens and almost succeeding.
So I had to have a little talk with her that it is now time to share and she seems to have resigned herself to the fact that we are not going to keep these patterns to ourselves any longer.
But she said only two for now . . . she thought we should save two for a little later. She also reminded me that the other two are not really quilts anyway . . .
This design is called Shadow Stars and it goes together really neat. Choosing the perfect colors is half the fun in making this little wallhanging. A fussy cut fabric could be used in the centre of either the star formation or the shadow block for an even different look. The pattern includes both traditional and foundation piecing directions so you can choose which method works best for you.
Fall is such a great time of year for enjoying fresh from the garden veggies. No chemical preservatives or other weird sprays to scrub off - just bug poop!
'til next time,
M.
What a wonderful museum! This is actually one of four development museums in Saskatchewan . . . each one focuses on a different theme. Yorkton's museum is "Story of People", Saskatoon is "1910 Boomtown" and North Battleford is "Heritage Farm & Village".
Moose Jaw's museum is all about transportation and they have packed in every imaginable mode of transportation that was ever used on the Prairies.
Who knew that the first electric powered vehicle in these parts was actually produced almost 30 years ago. The prototype had issues with the cold winters or something.
How could it have taken 30 years to perfect a car that could function in our cold climate? With all of the technology that has been available to us in the last 30 years, it baffles me that there was not some wonderful, forward thinking soul out there that couldn't have found the solution. Are we any closer today? Let's hope so!
The museum in Moose Jaw is the official Canadian Snowbirds gallery and features some of the actual planes, cockpits and other interesting items that goes along with the Snowbird legends. There was also another complete section of the museum that was devoted to airplanes which also included a workshop where a group met to rebuild old airplanes. It was interesting seeing all of the parts of planes in various stages of completion.
Of course the train could not be forgotten . . . these took up a great portion of the museum. Everything from cabooses, engines, passenger cars and model trains were featured.
Thank goodness it was "forbidden" to throw live coals, hot ashes or any burning materials from the train. Imagine if you were in the wrong place at the wrong time and had that thrown on you! Do you think they really needed a sign to tell people that? Common sense was maybe as hard to come by back then as it is today?
How many of you still have the melamine dishes from back in the 50's and 60's? Believe it or not, I have a box full in my basement! They are antiques, aren't they? Sure would like a snazzy toaster like that though.
Ha! I bet you thought there was nothing quilty about this post! There was a transportation quilt that was done in 2003 hanging in the entrance of the museum. Very detailed and wonderfully done . . . look at the Snowbird formation near the top of the quilt.
K . . . that is the final installment of my trip. Next post will have some quilty pictures . . . I promise.
'til next time,
M.
As I continue the tour in Moose Jaw, I have to apologize that there are no pictures of the tunnels.
They do not allow pictures to be taken in the tunnels and let me tell you, I don't think the lighting would have been very good in many of the areas that we were in. But what a couple of very interesting tours! A real eye opener.
This is the interior of the renovated old building where you can purchase your tickets, view historical pictures and buy souvenirs. There are two tours that you can take - one is the "Little Chicago - Al Capone" tour and the other is "The Passage to Fortune" tour. All participants congregate in the small lobby here . . . it gets pretty busy right before a tour departs.
Neither tour actually begins in this building . . . everyone leaves by the front door and walks a half a block down the street and takes a bunch of steps downwards or you head across the street into a coffeehouse and climb a bunch of stairs to stand outside double doors that have this (out-of-focus!) sign attached -
The second tour was a glimpse into the harsh way of life that Chinese immigrants discovered when they were brought over to Canada in the early 1900s. The tunnels where they lived and worked were deplorable and the tour was outstanding in demonstrating the intolerable conditions that these folks endured.
It really is amazing to see all these tunnels and all the little secret doorways, secret rooms and all of the authentic furnishings. Highly recommended!
Now onto quilting . . . . busy sewing binding on a huge gift quilt - seems to be taking forever! My pattern tester has finished the third pattern and all reports are good . . . now I need to finalize the pictures for the pattern fronts and get some printing going on. Quilt #2 of pattern number 4 is 3/4 of the way pieced and then it can be sent on to my tester.
Yesterday was a complete write-off - I got into some dust very early in the morning and the rest of the day was a blur of medication and survival. Even had to pass up a supper out and sent everyone on without me while I suffered under the covers. This morning is looking much brighter and I have high hopes for the day.
Wishing you a happy Sunday . . .
'til next time,
M.
Of course many people on the Prairies (and beyond?) have seen an episode or two of Corner Gas. A television series that focuses on small town life on the Prairies . . . very well done . . . and very funny.
I'm afraid that I don't watch a lot of television, but I do have family members that watch the show quite faithfully. It was really interesting to drive into this little town, in the middle of nowhere almost, and imagine how the town is during filming.
It was also interesting to note that on the Monday morning the actors were on Canada A.M. talking about the final season. They indicated that all of the interior filming was done in a studio in Regina and only the actual outdoor shots were done in Dog River a.k.a. Rouleau, Saskatchewan.
If you've never tried a SmileBox creation, here's your chance . . .
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| Make a Smilebox scrapbook |
'til next time,
M.
Guess where I was over the weekend . . .
Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan!
Everyone from Manitoba is familiar with Moose Jaw . . . but there are probably a few that have never had the pleasure of visiting this little city. For those from other parts of the world, this is one place you should stop in to visit if you're ever out and about on the Canadian Prairies. Not only are there quilt shops, but there are a variety of very interesting tourist stops also. So over the next couple of days I will touch on some of the highlights that we saw on our weekend away.
The first quilt shop I stopped in at was The Quilt Patch. Please stop by their website: http://www.thequiltpatch.ca/ and have a look at the wonderful patterns they have . . . most are designed by staffers. The quilt shown on the wall here is a block of the month quilt (6 months) and starts in November. I have signed up for this - my first block of the month I have ever participated in . . . so if you sign up for it also, please let me know and we can keep tabs on each other! It is part quilting cottons and wool appliques . . . very, very nice . . . I can't wait 'til November though . . . would be fun to get started sooner. I even bought a small little wool pillow kit, just so I could get some practice in - I'll show you next time.
This was a class that they held last year I believe - Flowers Around New York. One of the girls in the Brandon group bought the kit and made it - very, very stunning! I also made one that was quite similar using the Kansas Troubles fabric line - turned out beautiful (still need to quilt it though). This kit is available on their website.
The quilt featured here is also available on their site and is called Hannah Bella - very pretty with the browns and pinks. The fabric selection was wonderful throughout the store . . . lots of fat quarters, jelly rolls and yardage. There was even a classroom and Christmas corner upstairs - well worth the visit if you're ever in Moose Jaw. The Quilt Patch was also featured in a past issue of the Quilt Sampler magazine and the staff were very friendly - my husband had to pull me out of this place!
I have so many things to tell you . . . but I can't do it all in one day . . .
'til next time,
M.
I just don't have a lot to show just yet.
I have quite a number of projects on the go. The parts shown above may look familiar to my regular visitors . . . this is round two with the leftovers . . . I usually try to test my patterns at least twice before I send it out for the final testing. Am I sick and tired of these prints yet - no way! The first quilt I made is actually a gift and this one above will be mine to use for trade shows and trunk shows . . . when it is done it will join the stack of quilts on the spare bed.
I have sent four patterns away to my tester for "testing" . . . that always makes me nervous. So far, so good . . . any questions have been easily dealt with and I haven't had to throw out any patterns yet.
The writing process of patterns is difficult . . . trying to explain everything in such a manner that any level of quilter will be able to understand. It seems you word and re-word everything about a dozen times before you feel it can be sent on to be tested . . . by the time it leaves my doorstep I'm not really sure what is in the pattern anymore - I've looked at it too many times.
And then the process of making friends with new equipment is always interesting. How come the printer that came free with my laptop was superior to the one that I just paid a couple hundred dollars for? I have now learned how the scanning feature works - it needs to be hooked up right! Full steam ahead now . . .
Of course the intro could be taken a couple of different ways.
