Celebrating Canadian Quilt History!

I'll revisit the pricing issue later this week—there's no time this morning. I'm back home, and there is much to do this week. I must not let that wreak havoc with my schedule! 

The last day of the retreat is always bittersweet. I've been away long enough to create chaos in my work schedule and long enough to ignore it, but at the same time, I want to get home, sort things out, put things away, and give my girls a big hug! 

I'll share as much of that story as possible this morning before I go to spin class. I'm sorry, but the sorting story will happen tomorrow. 

But first, I promised to share two things with you, and here is the first one. Several years ago, I ran into Judy Lyons (Quilt Appraiser), who mentioned that she was writing a book about Canadian Centennial Quilts. I had forgotten that, but I spotted this at the desk when we were in the local quilt store at our retreat. 

Bookmark for a NEW Canadian Quilt History Book

OH MY --- Judy finished the book! I took the bookmark, and when I returned to the retreat house, I immediately emailed her! We arranged for me to pick up the book on my way home. 

And here I am with Judy, getting my copy! How exciting is that? It's autographed!!! Thanks, Judy!

Judy and I with her new book!

I'm so excited because we must celebrate our Canadian Quilt Heritage (or just our Canadian heritage—we're way too polite!). I sat down with it for a bit last night, but after the "ordeal" of getting home, unpacking the car, and trying to sort everything out, it erupted into another scenario I will tell you tomorrow. 

Here's the book's cover. It's big—269 pages. There are lots of pictures and lots of history about the 1967 Centennial. Where were you in 1967? 

The cover of Judy's book

And there's the flyer announcing the new book. 

ALERT - NEW BOOK!!!!

So, how do you get your copy? Judy is the only point of sale, so email her - at judy.lyons35@gmail.com.  

We had some interesting discussions about quilting at the retreat. I do not profess to know all the history, but I know what has happened in the quilting world since 1998 and who all the well-known quilters were then. But if you have recently started to quilt, you often do NOT know where some of these techniques came from. New designers frequently release a "new" technique, which has, in fact, been around for years! I think credit should be given to the original, but I bet the new designers don't even know, or maybe they don't care. Anyway - I'll leave it like that. 

But contact Judy. There was a limited production run, and you do not want to find out you can't get a copy. 

If you want to meet Judy and hear her speak about her book, there is an "official" book launch at Kindred Spirits Quilt Shop in St. Catherine's, Ontario, on February 14th. Check out the link for more details. 

Let's join Judy in celebrating Canada's Quilt Heritage. Thanks to Judy for all her hard work in preserving our Canadian history!

Speaking of quilt history, let's move on to one of my retreat projects. Jinny Beyer was one of the quilt gurus in her day. All her work was hand-pieced, and she designed many beautiful fabric collections. She is a legend in the quilt world, and I LOVE her stuff. 

OH - and she was FAMOUS for her border prints. Everything I learned about border p[rints, I learned from Jinny! She came to Canada (Alliston) and taught several classes, which I had the good fortune to attend. 

I even taught the border prints as a class, as I found this in the book. Did anyone attend that workshop?

Class requirements! 

This UFO consisted of one yard of the Christmas-themed border print, and I already had one placemat made. If I were doing this today, I would have cut the border print fabric into strips. I did not initially, but that's how I started yesterday. I aimed to make as many placemats as possible from the one-yard cut. 

After cutting the border print into strips, I used my templates to cut as many pieces as possible without having to piece anything. Jinny's concept was to match the principle design lines and the print within that wider strip. I soon abandoned that idea, as it would waste so much fabric. The placemats would be donated, and who would care? 

Laying out the placemat puzzle

So, it became a puzzle. How do I match up all these pieces to cut triangles? I needed six triangles, and none of my pieces were large enough. 

The puzzle pieces

With a bit of ingenuity in the piecing department, I managed to get all six triangles cut. 

Creative sewing to get a triangle

Some of them had a few seams, but all matched pretty well. 

Plan B - and it worked beautifully!

Here are the five placemats. The one in the back is completely finished, while the four in front are just tops. These have been on the UFO list for many years, and it feels great to have the fabric cut and the placemats together. If you look closely, two are the same, and the other three have different centers. That's how this border print worked to get the maximum from the yardage. 

The border print placemats

I might put this on my UFO list for February, and the job will be to finish them off completely. Then they can be donated, and they are gone! 

Speaking of things gone, well, that's a story for tomorrow. I'm almost ashamed to share it, but you will all be able to relate to it!

This is what greeted me when I opened the door. 

MOM - I got a big booboo on my nose!

I guess she's still trying to bury her bone in the frozen backyard. Sigh. Lexi does not want her bone, but Murphy is not listening! 

But yesterday, when I was on the phone with my parents several times and sitting at the table for snack and dinner, they entertained me! Those silly girls are so like little children. 

Mom's home - Mom's HOME!!!! 

Well, I'm off to spin class, and then it's a super busy day with the first of my online events for February, which is also National Embroidery Month!! 

Speaking of which, here is the FINAL QUILT social post. Check out what you can create with mySewnet Embroidery Software.

Oh, and now that I'm back on my big computer with a much larger screen and keyboard, I know why I have two computers. The laptop is excellent for travel, but I would hate to write on it daily! Yes, I could have external hook-ups, but this works for me!

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!