Imitation is NOT the sincerest form of flattery; it's illegal. And very disheartening to have happen... :(
She loves it!
I'm sure she is wondering why it took her parents so long to figure out that we needed a tree in our livingroom. It's going to be a fun Christmas...
The backing fabric is one from Dayle's which I have had my eye on for a bit. It's from "The Empire Collection" by Rose Studios for Blue Hill Fabrics and seemed a good companion for the Kaufman oriental prints used for the top.
As always, Polly keeps a watchful eye on proceedings.
We are using a double layer of wool batting, which is one of Polly's favourites.
She tests out the warmth factor and finds it very much to her liking...so much so in fact that she doesn't want to leave the quilt alone.
The final stop for the traveling "O Canada" exhibit was at Quilt Festival in Houston, Texas. Cyber friend Linda Jordan sent a wonderful array of pictures, for which I am very grateful.
Packed securely and documented properly, the package passed through Canadian Customs without issue.
Included inside were show books from Cincinnati, Long Beach and Houston - nice keepsakes for my old age.
Working together, they completed two gorgeous Oriental Beauties. I love the placement of the swirl in the centre of Anne's. The alternating yellow background in Wilma's makes it pulse with warmth. You may remember seeing Wilma and Anne previously when they sent pictures of their Maritime Beauties. I understand they have a couple more up their sleeves, so we will watch and see what comes next. Thanks for sharing. If you'd like to make your own Oriental Beauty, the pattern is available on my website. Please leave a comment below for Wilma and Anne to let them know we appreciate their lovely work.
Darrell plays an important role in our community as he vigilantly and accurately keeps us informed of what's going on. He made sure Victoria's Quilters made the paper today to help spread the word on the good work they do, providing quilts of comfort to cancer patients.
Here are some of the quilters involved with the Tantramar Branch of Victoria's Quilts Canada:
From left to right: Mary Dickinson, Dorothy Fitzgerald, Blanche McEachern, Shirley Young, Gayle Janes, Marilyn Farrow, Shirley Cormier, Darlene Harris,Chris McCarthy,Margo Gould, Anne Hatfield, Marilyn LeBlanc, Judy Milner, Mary Farrow Sinclair.
The number of quilts these ladies made and provided last year is astounding...as is the comfort they have provided to the recipients in a very stressful time. For more information on Victoria's Quilters, you can contact Mary.
Diane's planner is gorgeous and I know how hard she worked to get this in print. Congratulations, Diane! You can find more information on Diane's site. This makes a great gift...especially if you have a home-made apron to tuck in with it.
From the 30 comments left on the pattern contest post, # 27 came up the winner. Congratulations to Wendy from North Bay, Ontario. Wendy has already made the Santa's Trip (you can see it here: http://sewkaren-lycreated.blogspot.com/2011/08/santas-trip-around-world-by-wendy.html) so she has chosen Farrago for her prize (the pattern, not my quilt!). Congrats Wendy, and thanks to all for playing along.
Once we hit December, the focus switches to thoughts of Christmas. Santa will be making his trip in 22 short days - are you ready? I'm not! To offer a little incentive and to help get you in the Christmas mood, here's a chance to win a copy of the pattern shown above, Santa's Trip Around The World. Just leave a comment on this post saying what quilty thing you'd like to find under your tree this year. Anyone can enter; like Santa, the pattern can go around the world, whether it be to Toowoomba, Eekum Seekum or Musquodoboit. Draw will be made on Wednesday, Dec. 7. If you already own this pattern (as many of you do, thanks very much!) I'd be pleased to substitute any other of your choice from my website.
And here's how it goes around the hive.
We got them all done in jig time.
When we got home, I got out the Ashley Book of Knots - a veritable enclyclopedia of knot tying which I've had since my macramé phase long ago. We won't say how long ago, but the $9.98 price tag on the front of this 620 page book is a bit of a clue. 
Next year I plan to surprise hubby by asking if he'd like a Bowline Bend, Bridle, Cringle or one tied on the Bight. Surely that will impress him more than my twisted version of Tolkien: One String to rule them all, One String to find them,One String to bring them all and in the darkness bind them...
She very gingerly put one paw down to test. She was not one bit impressed.
Where did all the leaves go? There's nothing to chase.
Wait, these things weren't here before.
After sliding down the shovel handle, she became a bit indignant about it all.
She went back inside after only a few minutes out, and stayed in all day.
It's going to be a long winter, Polly; you'd better get used to it!
I must be one of the least gadget-y people on the face of this earth. Honestly. I didn't even own a seam ripper until one came with my Bernina two years ago. Quilters are shocked to learn I use the same ruler for everything: 6-1/2" x 24" with 30°, 45° and 60° markings. (What else do you need?! :) There is one thing in my sewing studio which I swear by however, and would not want to be without: a teflon slider sheet for quilting. This sheet is placed on the bed of the machine to help reduce friction in free motion quilting. Being able to move the quilt sandwich freely helps greatly in achieving smooth stitches, and I want my stitching to be the best it can. For several years I have used a Supreme Slider which now is looking pretty ratty; I decided to treat myself to a new one. In the course of Googling the product, I stumbled across something called The Sew Slip II. It is similar to the Supreme Slider in what it does, but it does it oh so much better! For starters, you can see the Sew Slip II sheet is larger, 12" x 18" compared to 8 " x 11" for the Supreme Slider. That allows more of your quilt to easily slide around.
There are larger sizes of the Supreme Slider available...but at a correspondingly larger price (significantly more than the Sew Slip II.) One of the issues I have had with the Supreme Slider is that even though it is supposed to stay in place on its own, it doesn't. I have sewn through the sheet several times as you can see in the picture below. To hold it in place, I have had to tape it securely around all edges.
The Sew Slip II clings to the bed of the machine, no tape required. It isn't glue on the back of the sheet, but it feels tacky. This is the shiny back of the sheet.
The absolutely best thing about this Sew Slip II is the centre opening for the needle. My previous sheet had a small opening which covered the feed dogs but allowed the thread to pass through for stitching. This meant that when I switched back and forth between free motion and guided quilting (i.e. walking foot) - which I do often - I had to take my quilt off the machine, untape the sheet, remove it, pop the feed dogs up for stitching, take the quilt off the machine, and then tape the S. Slider back in place again to continue the free motion. The opening on the Sew Slip II was designed to accommodate the feed dogs, which means you can put this sheet in place and leave it there for all your stitching. BRILLIANT!!
It's a perfect fit. My feed dogs can move up and down as required.
Me being me, I went to the Sew Slip website for more information, and then emailed the company with even more questions. (I ask a lot of questions.) Nancy Hepp, the owner of Sew Slip, responded promptly and over the course of several emails very kindly and enthusiastically answered all my queries. I learned the sheet is extremely durable and may be cut with scissors (not your good ones!) to any size. It rolls up for storage and may be ironed if you like (it is Teflon, afterall). Nancy recommends occasionally rinsing it under running water to clear any loose threads...(or stray cat hairs... Polly!!) She also mentions you can pop it in your dishwasher for a thorough cleaning (now that's the easy kind of cleaning I'm into :)
