"Polaris" Pattern Release!

It's here!  It's finally here!!

In December, I showed you "Polaris" which was featured in a private quilt box- Quilt The North - available only to subscribers. The response was very enthusiastic (thank you) and the stand-alone pattern is now available for purchase.

The design features a beautiful star compass (the North Star) encircled by a flock of flying geese whose colours are pulled from a display of our Northern Lights.

You can make Polaris square to use as a wall-hanging or table topper, or vary it for a 12" x 24" table runner. Instructions are included for both versions.  

Patterns are available in print from my website, or you can download it at this link.

The pattern may also be found at Sunrise Trail Quiltery where you can drop in to see the originals on display and purchase a kit of the same fabrics used in Polaris. Owner Dawn has been busy getting this all set up and ready for you!

As always, thanks for you awesome support!

Aurifil's Il Salotto Advent Calendar

 

It's not too early to be thinking ahead to Christmas!  Aurifil has just announced their 2026 Advent calendar and the deadline to pre-order is not far away! 

Designed as a celebration of creativity, comfort, and the art of making by hand, Il Salotto, Aurifil’s 2026 advent calendar, invites you to slow down and savor the season— one thoughtful stitch at a time. Il Salotto, which means“the living room” in Italian, is the heart of every home this time of year. The place where stitches happen by lamplight, stories get told, and the holiday season slowly unfolds. 24 little doors, 24 surprises, and a palette designed to feel exactly like that warm corner makers keep returning to.

Behind each door awaits a beautifully curated spool of Aurifil’s premium 100% cotton thread, offering a quiet moment of inspiration each day. With 12 small spools of their versatile Cotton 50wt and 12 small spools of their richly textured Cotton 12wt, this collection was created to support piecing, quilting, and embellishing alike, honoring every facet of the maker’s craft.

You will also have access to a secure online portal exclusive to calendar holders, featuring digital content and seasonal extras designed to enrich the experience. As a special bonus, five  calendars worldwide will contain a rare golden spool redeemable for an exclusive Aurifil prize package valued at over $300.

These calendars are a limited production run, and Aurifil has anticipated high demand. They must be pre-ordered to receive one, and no additional units will be produced. The deadline to get your orders to me is June 18^th so that I can let Aurifil know our numbers in time. The calendars are not just fun, they are beautifully presented and make a great gift to yourself or someone special; just email if you would like details. (karen at karenneary dot ca) We are happy to mail to any address in Canada. (Local folks are welcome to pick theirs up, of course!)

June 18^th is not very far away so please act quickly if you are interested.  The calendars will arrive to me in mid-November so you should have yours in time to start opening on December 1.

 

Point Me Home

Driving around the countryside, I am always intrigued by the many barn quilts in our area and wish that I had one to hang...especially since we have a barn.  Sadly, painting just isn't my thing so it is not in my wheelhouse as a quilter to make one...or is it? 

The idea stuck in my head for the better part of a year trying to figure out how a cotton quilt could hang outside and not be destroyed by sun and rain.  I experimented with several different methods before hitting on the very easiest and obvious which should have occurred to me in the first place. ;)  This spray waterproofing is used on canvas tents and things like patio cushions, is inexpensive, and widely available in Canadian hardware stores.  I found it at Home Hardware, Kent, and Canadian Tire.  There is enough in the can to do several projects.

I chose the fabrics and then tested scraps with the spray.  The results were positive and water beaded up on the top.

I chose to make my Mariner's Compass from only three, high contrast colours so that the design would stand out from a distance.  It went together easily as the pieces are quite large.  You can find a tutorial on how to inset the centre circle here.  Instead of batting I chose a fairly rigid foam so that the piece would have good body and not droop when hung.  The quilting was kept very simple, mostly stitch in the ditch.

Once complete it was time to add the spray waterproofing.  I took it outside and taped plastic to protect our picnic table and proceeded to spray the top.

Following the instructions on the can I left it to dry the required time, then flipped it over and did the back.

For the recommended second application I sped things up by hanging it from a tree so I could do both sides.  This worked really well and was all that was required to make this weatherproof.

The compass is a square but I decided to hang it on point on the front door.  

To do this, I added a short hanging sleeve on the back about 4" down from the top point and inserted a short dowel  Then I used zip ties to secure it to the screen door.  The picture below was taken almost 2 months of it being outside through snow, rain, and lots of sun.  I really like that it says "a quilter lives here" and I have gotten lots of comments from folks driving by who have spotted it.   Brainstorming for an appropriate name, my son suggested Point Me Home.

You can order a printed pattern from my website, or email me to use etransfer.  Digital downloads are available at this link.  The pattern is also available at quilt shops (including locally at Sunrise Trail Quiltery) so please ask there first...and if they don't have it, ask them to order it for you, 

Red and White Side By Side

 Each year I design a piece for Valentine's Day, usually the standard red and white with hearts. Sometimes I throw in a cupid, just for good measure.  A couple of weeks ago I started casting my mind around for what I would stitch this year.  On January 10, I saw this post from Charlie Angus on Face Book; it looked very much like a Valentine to me. In case that link doesn't work, here is the entire URL:

 https://www.facebook.com/charlieangus.the.resistance/posts/pfbid02UQpULVag6kLBeHNDhupWy3Ja2aBnRjkoJ7GbRtaXjr1y29pr6Lw6KgQAgoavrvnfl

I wanted the only obvious colours in my Valentine to be red and white so decided the background should be monochromatic.  I knew immediately I had a scrap in my stash that would be perfect for the background...but didn't realize how perfect until I hauled it out;  the selvedge revealed it was made by Stof of Denmark.  

The print was news clips from around the world and the text is in French.

I needed to tie together the elements of red and white and hearts so I made them into heart-shaped balloons:

The balloons are tiny and stitching took care.  The hardest was all those points on the maple leaf, as it measures less than 1-3/4" tall.

The flags are raw edge applique, and they were trapuntoed with an extra layer of batting so they would pop out on the background. 

For the main batting, I used a thin layer of Hobbs Thermore, which is lovely for a wall hanging.  The quilting is nothing fancy, as I didn't want it to show.  

Once the piece was quilted, a white cord was couched using white Aurifil 50 weight thread for the strings.

  I had just enough left of the black/grey used in the silhouette to make the binding.  The backing is a red and white stripe.

I photographed it this morning on a fresh bed of snow, a perfect backdrop for our countries.  I particularly like this photo as even though the white balance is off, it gives a blue cast to the snow in parts, making it look like a cloudy sky.

And that's my Valentine for 2026.

2025: Retrospection and Introspection.

 It may not have been obvious to many, but the past couple of years have been personally very challenging. For me it was a time of head down and get through what needed to be done…which I did by putting aside a lot of projects, and turning down design and teaching opportunities.  2025 looked full of promise to get back into the game, and it started off well. My Thursday afternoons helping out at Mrs Pugsley's Emporium resumed, and as always, I have kept busy with my online store of Aurifil thread. 

I had a design accepted by Island Batik fabrics for their Spring “Look Book” of new fabric collections and that quilt – “Head Over Heels”- was delivered to them in Carlsbad, California in early January…right before all the upset began in Washington...

It has truly been an unsettling time.  Like other professional quilt designers in Canada, I rely on the market and resources south of the border because that’s where they are: the fabric companies are there, all the industry magazines are published there, and the trade-shows and markets for patterns are there.  It isn’t a matter of preferring to work with American quilt companies over Canadian ones, there just simply are no Canadian counterparts. It was really disheartening to think the connections I had made over these many, many years of designing were all changing in a very negative way.  There was no clear and obvious path but as I mulled it over and over in my head, I also quietly decided a big change was necessary. Time to pivot, or stop. During all the insulting rhetoric of Prime Minister Trudeau becoming governor of the 51^st U.S. state, a courier arrived to return my “A High Tide Floats All Boats” quilt from its previous year’s tour of the U.S. with Hoffman of California Fabrics.  I was so relieved to have it back. 

In February, I did a guild presentation on Aurifil thread to the Cumberland Quilt Guild. In March the feelings of patriotism running high in our country inspired me to design “En Garde” which unexpectedly became a huge hit with quilters across our country.  I had made the rather bold decision not to sell the pattern outside of Canada and figured that would kill my sales.  Instead the opposite happened, and quilt shops across Canada who had never been interested in carrying my patterns before, now wanted to.  At the time of writing, the pattern has now gone into it's 5th printing.  You can read more about it here. A big thank you.

I ordered stickers to add to the fronts of all printed patterns to advertise their home-grown nature.  Subsequent pattern jackets now have the maple leaf printed directly on the cover.

And then, just because things weren’t confused enough, we had another blip from Canada Post which disrupted mailing individual patterns once again.  Sigh…

May saw the release of another pattern, "Well Anchored", a down-home design great for days at the cottage.

With June and lots of "Elbows Up" sentiment still abounding, I was asked if I would be interested in being one of the designers for a new CANADIAN quarterly subscription quilt box.  Would I ever!  This brilliant project was developed by Monika of Penny Spool Quilts who has put a tremendous amount of time and energy into making this a spectacular program.   It took a fair amount of time for me to get the design worked out, the pattern tested, and the proper yardage off to Monika so she could order fabric - and goodies - for the box.  My deadline to get the material to her was November so it was a very busy autumn indeed.  I just made the deadline. ;)

In August, I was invited to judge quilts at the Cumberland County Exhibition in Oxford, N.S. in September. I had never done anything like this before but called on my past experiences entering major shows and recalled things the judges were looking for, and the feedback they offered in the comments.  I learned so much from judging the quilts; it turned out to be one of my favourite things of the year. (Thank you for the invite, Margaret.)

In October the Nova Scotia Fibre Arts Festival was a busy week, working extra hours at Mrs Pugsley's quilt shop, and vending at the Cumberland Quilt Guild show. Guild president Debbie Rolfe issued a challenge to the group to make "En Garde"(s)  to display at the show.  It was wonderful and humbling to see the gaggle of geese at the front of the church.  Thank you to Debbie and the guild for the honour.

Immediately following this, I hurried off to teach a workshop on Maritime Beauty with the Maritime Modern Quilt Guild. It was a wonderful class with a very happy group of quilters. I even managed to squeeze in presenting a noon trunk show on New York Beauty quilts. Here are two completed table toppers from the class:  the first one is by Cindy Forbes, and the second by Mary Guildford. Both are beautifully done, and make me feel proud.

While vending at both the Cumberland Quilt Guild and the workshop, I became acutely aware that I had outgrown my pattern racks.  My floor rack was built to display 25 patterns, and to that I had added a smaller one to hold 4 more but I had way more print patterns available than this (and even more available in just digital format!)  I found some lightweight, collapsible, easy-to-pack metal pattern racks online (from a Canadian source called Eddy's Hang up Displays) which have slots for 18 different patterns, so I ordered 2 of them. This means I now have display space for 65 different patterns...but it still isn't enough.  Yikes!  Somebody stop me...!

My solution was, of course, to release yet another pattern:  FROST.  This one was actually sketched out almost 20 years ago and has been waiting patiently to get sewn. So it did.

With December came the release of the quarterly "Quilt The North" box, and I could finally show Polaris.  This pattern is "tied" to the box until July 2026, when I will release it as a single.

So that's the year 2025: 5 new patterns released; ties cut south of the border and new connections made on this side; a foray into quilt judging; a trunk show/workshop; a guild presentation; a couple of outside vending days, in addition to the online thread shop. I am grateful for all of you who have a part in keeping my days filled and interesting. What's next for 2026 is really anyone's guess;  certainly no one saw the upset of 2025 happening.  My hope is to continue to do the work I enjoy, and have sense enough to stop when I don't.  I intend to de-clutter my space, keep what's important and let the rest go, and hopefully spend more time on the road teaching, which I thoroughly enjoy. 

I also need to stitch some lupins;  I can't stop thinking about them.

 

Quilt The North Box 2: Polaris

 

Christmas...delivery delays...house guests (still here)...endless food prep...all of these excuses kept me from posting about the December "Quilt The North" subscription box sooner, but I have been bursting at the seams to do so!  The box is wonderful.

If you aren't familiar with Quilt the North, the description on the website tells us this: "It's a quarterly subscription box for quilters who love bold designs, fresh fabric, and a little northern charm. Every box is thoughtfully curated and 100% Canadian, celebrating the designers, fabrics, and places that make quilting in Canada so special. Each box highlights a different Canadian designer and their unique region, with exclusive patterns, Canadian-sourced fabric, and themed extras that bring their local flavor to life. The only Canadian subscription box inspired by the True North."

The program is the brain-child of Monika of Penny Spool Quilts .  I was delighted when she approached me about doing a box from my area in Nova Scotia. Although we were told our designs did not need to be “Canadian” themed (as in lumberjacks and maple syrup), I wanted something with relevance to us. I began brain-storming about how one would actually go about “quilting the north”. Certainly NORTH was key so I started with a compass. I drew my design in EQ8 and pieced it on a background of blue. It was lacking.  

 So I thought more about the bigger picture of NORTH and decided my compass could serve 2 purposes if it were skinnied down a bit to resemble a star. A North Star which of course acts as a compass for many. I re-drew it and re-pieced it.  Better, but still not there.

 

It still needed something, so I added an element Canadians often see in a northern sky - aurora borealis, a.k.a., The Northern Lights.

 

Originally I had signed up to do a summer box, but clearly this was a winter design so Penny Spool Quilts kindly switched me to the December slot and I got busy. I pieced this one 3 times, simplifying and clarifying as I went so that the pattern would not be too complicated, yet still be interesting.

The green, pink, and purple shards of light encircle the star. The strands of colour do not connect in a perfect line, much as the lights undulate across the sky. I’ve named it “Polaris”, the name of the North Star. The fabrics chosen reflect the subject of the design: night blue for the sky, pure white and soft silver-grey for the sparkle of the star, and green, purple and pink for the northern lights. Fabrics are all Canadian-sourced, from Northcott Fabrics. 

Included in the instructions is a link to a tutorial on how to foundation piece. My instructions were sent to editor Cheryl Coville for testing and when ready, they were submitted to Penny Spool Quilts for publishing.  I also included a bit of information about Amherst, Nova Scotia where I live, as well as about the county Cumberland in which our town is located, and a few things about Nova Scotia in general. That was my part done and the rest of what was included in the box was a total surprise for me.  (And it was a very good one!).

The boxes are beautiful and exquisitely packaged with all sorts of goodies inside. In addition to the fabrics, and the pattern for Polaris, is a pattern for a NS lighthouse (designed by Penny Spool Quilts) which is the perfect symbol of Nova Scotia.

There are “East Coasters” made on an antique letterpress in Halifax which contain actual sea (salt) water, a pair of LDH thread snips (designed in Canada), a chocolate bar from Peace By Chocolate, information about Amherst, and about me. The trading card...well, that may well turn out to be your Honas Wagner, so hold onto that! 

If you turn the trading card over, you will see bonus instructions for a sailboat block.

I feel proud to be part of this program, and am especially pleased with the generous contents of this box. If you would like to be part of quilting the north going forward, you can sign up for future boxes at this link.  It's truly wonderful to be able to open a box of Canada.