Blogathon Canada 2013 is Coming!!

I've got some fun news to share with you today! 

I was recently contacted to participated in a super fun event!

Starting on November 18th, Sew Sisters Quilt Shop is hosting a very fun blog hop.

  It is a week long celebration of Canadian Quilting Bloggers.  In its second year, Blogathon Canada celebrates the tremendous craft, talent, and passion of the online quilting community of Canada. 
With this fun event, you discover some fantastic Canadian talent, new blogs to read (like we need more?) and maybe even some more local quilting connections.
Guess what else?  PRIZES!!!  EACH DAY!! 
And I get to giveaway something to you!

If you are from Alberta and would like your blog to be listed on my my blog day (November 20)  for others to discover, please leave a comment or send me a quick email!   

Each day host bloggers will introduce themselves and their work on their blogs. They will include links to more blogs from their province so you can visit those blogs as well. The host bloggers will also host a giveaway of some of their favourite goodies from Sew Sisters so you have a chance to win every day of the week! This year Sew Sisters has teamed up with Aurifil, Northcott and Robert Kaufman to bring you even more fantastic giveaways! Check out their blog for more and see how you can join the party! Go to Sew Sisters Quilt Shop 

Here is a list of the scheduled blog hop hosts: 

Monday, November 18	BC	Holly	Holly's Red Bike
Monday, November 18	BC	Heather	Winding Bobbins
Tuesday, November 19	Maritimes	Adrienne	Chezzetcook Modern Quilts
Tuesday, November 19	Maritimes	Marjorie	Marjorie's Busy Corner
Wednesday, November 20	AB	Katherine	Sew Me Something Good
Wednesday, November 20	AB	Andrea	Urban Quilt Works
Thursday, November 21	SK	Flo	Butterfly Quilting
Thursday, November 21	MB	Kathy	Tamarack Shack
Friday, November 22	QC	Izzy	Dizzy Quilts
Friday, November 22	Territories	Danielle	A Geeky Crafty Life
Saturday, November 23	ON	Jackie	Jackie's Art Quilts
Saturday, November 23	ON	Krista	Krista Quilts

If you are from Alberta and would like your blog to be listed on my my blog day (November 20)  for others to discover, please leave a comment or send me a quick email!   

Blogger's Quilt Festival Fall 2013

Welcome to my submission to this year's Bloggers Quilt Festival   I haven't participated in quite some time, so I'm jumping in this year.  My current project isn't quite finished as I ran into some snags with my machine, so I'm sharing with you today my Marmalade Grey Quilt in a panicked attempt to share something with you...and possibly win some of the great prizes!

                               

This was a fairly simple quilt I designed in a vertical brick style with narrow pale yellow sashing.

I quilted it with my longarm quilting machine.  I really wanted to practice some of my modern stitching designs to showcase on a sample quilt.    Voila, Marmalade Grey came alive with texture.

 The more I learn to quilt on my longarm quilting machine, the more addicted to dense quilting texture I become.

Fabrics by Anthology Fabrics - High Society

Thread - Superior Magnifico 

Batting - Quilters Dream 100% cotton

Backing - Ikea bedsheet!  

Measures: 45" x 45"

Professional Machine Quilting Category

Linking up Amy's Creative Side

Thank you so much to Amy for coordinating this massive project, and to all of the sponsors that donate prizes to make it just that much more fun to participate!  

Aesthetics vs skills

Okay, let me preface this that I have no issue with anyone, anything... the following is just an observation that I've really been noticing lately, and since my husband doesn't know the difference between a needle and a pin...well,  go figure, I need to write about it instead.  I would love to hear your thoughts on it too.

I love blog world.   I love modern quilting.  I love modern style fabrics.  I love traditional quilting.   I like traditional fabrics.   My preference is modern fabrics and clean simple, uncomplicated, minimalistic style.

Lately I've really noticed the oohs and ahhs, fawning over of a super simple quilt made with just the right 'on trend' fabric.    If the quilt is made with a certain trend of the moment designer and white/charcoal, watch out.   It's a standing ovation.  

And then,  a time consuming, technique-based (applique,  hand sewing, variety of difficult piecing) quilt that may not have the on trend fabric of the moment....perhaps a previous year trend -  does not get as much attention or celebration,  oohs and ahhs.    Several times this has happened in the past few months, and each time it is like this loud siren going off in my head.  

I love designing quilts, and really -my sketchbook continues to dictate my simple piecing, graphic designs, etc.  I will never have the patience for the intricate piecing that I so admire, so I'm confused at this thinking I have.   It's this internal conflict -   if a quilt is made with popular fabric, despite the design, it is a more popular quilt?

Am I evolving into another stage of my quilting appreciation?  Have I outgrown something?

Does this happen to be part of my internal struggle trying to identify modern vs traditional?

Does any of this make sense?

What is my problem?  

My first ever Halloween project

aside from a few Halloween costumes, I've actually never made a Halloween quilt...so I opted for a wee project on Saturday night.  

I chose non traditional Halloween fabrics, except for the Halloween batik

and used the disappearing 9 patch pattern

                                 

Practiced making some fun spider webs

                                 

pumpkins, loopies

                                

and to keep it real

 -   not everything always works out in my brain.  This block was unplanned...and usually unplanned things turn out crappy - and I also was doing this at 11pm trying to finish up

 I'll be picking this one out, and quilting something different here.

Play Quilt

 This has been an unquilted top for many years until today.      A mix of vintage bed linens and a few modern ones dotted in between.

 The backing was an embroidered twill I bought years ago with these adorable lady bugs.

I played free hand style on the quilt...and a wee one will have fun playtime sure I'm too.  

If I give it up.