And another finish! And it's UFO! Yippee!

This quilt is called "Coffee Shop Around the Block" and is a pattern I created to use up my coffee fabric stash.

Here's a little photo-shoot we did today:

I'm just finishing off the publishing of the pattern and then it will be for sale.  Which photo do you think would be best for the pattern cover page??

Until next time,

Mavis

Art Quilter: Laurie Swim

I had the privilege of finding and exploring the Art Quilt Gallery of the Atlantic which features the art quilts of Laurie Swim.  It's in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, on the South Shore of Nova Scotia.

Me in front of one of Laurie's quilts.

The very talented Laurie Swim!  She posed in front of another one of her art quilts in the gallery.  She so inspired me that I'm going to break out of my role as a 'traditional quilter' and explore some art quilts.  I'm thinking of creating a quilt from this photo:

This is the potting shed on our hobby farm.  We jokingly call it our "Martha Stewart Potting Shed".  If I can successfully make a foray into the art quilt world, it would be fun to do a Dayspring Farm B&B series starting with these images.  I would combine the top photo with the side photo of the wagon wheel which looks so great when the flowers in the bed beneath it are in full bloom.

Anyway, wish me luck and inspiration as I fight my way out of the traditional box.  This should be fun!

Until next time,

Mavis

Halifax but not Quilt Canada

We arrived in Halifax on Thursday for a medical  patient conference today.  We decided to fly on Thursday so we could have a rest day on Friday before the big conference day all day Saturday.  A fellow patient from Nanaimo also made the trip and we pre-planned that we would try and scope out some fabric shops on Friday.

We missed Quilt Canada by one weekend but never mind...we are having a great time and managed to go exploring yesterday by city bus and found Atlantic Fabrics.  Here's my friend Pat in front of Atlantic Fabrics.  It took us 3 buses to get there but it was worth it!

Here's an example of their wall of fat quarters...oh my!

and nice for us...20% off for Quilt Canada all week.  Despite this, I resisted temptation and came away with a thread cutter for the plane (a whole other story) and a thimble (because I brought some hand-quilting with me for the plane and relaxation time during the evenings).

We had a very full day at the conference today, so tonight I'm sitting in the hotel room with the family, bathrobe on and handquilting on my lap.  I'm doing free-hand baptist fans on this quilt a la Bonnie Hunter:

 This is a great pattern because there's no marking and no measurements and the quilt police can bite me!  My stitches are not even and my rows are not exact and I'm okay with that! 

So, that's our Halifax trip so far.  Tomorrow we'll be exploring the South Shore area of Halifax. We have to wait for my DH to finish a board meeting tomorrow but after that we'll get the rental car and hit the road for some sightseeing.  Maybe we'll start with Peggy's Cove and then back to Halifax tomorrow night for a lobster dinner.  We can venture out further on Monday when we've got a fuller day.  And in the in between times, I'll put more stitches into this quilt.

Until next time,

Mavis