Summer is almost over

School starts next week and we are ready. The girls are anxious to see their friends and I am happy to be getting back some sewing and blogging time! We have had a great summer and this week is nice and hot so we are enjoying our last few days by swimming in my parents pool when we aren't running to gymnastics and violin lessons.

As we are getting ready for back to school, I have finished a few projects I thought I would share.

This is my 7 year old's new pencil case for school. She picked out the fabrics and thread and even picked out the font for the embroidery. I used this tutorial by Crafty Gemini to make the box pouch.

I will definitely be making more of these!

I also made her a gymnastics bag for her grips. She was so excited to get these new gloves and was really happy when I told her I would make her a bag to put them in. Again, she picked the fabric and the thread colours. I used this tutorial. She loves it!

I am really proud of my girls. They have both taken quite a liking to sewing and quilting. We have been spending quite a bit of time at my mom's and they are working on a quilt together!

When we were at my mom's the other day, I managed to quilt this little darling while my mom helped the girls with their quilt.

I am now working on the binding. There is nothing like doing some handstitching while watching tv in the evenings. It's definitely one of my favourite parts of quilting!

Just one more...I almost forgot about this little guy...

Sorry about the bad lighting, it was night time when I took the photo. I finished this top last week and my mom is quilting it as I write this. It is a quilt for our family doctor who is expecting her first baby in October. I will be binding this one soon too and then will share some better photos of the finish.

I am definitely looking forward to getting back to a routine and will definitely be blogging more often in the next few weeks. Looking forward to it... I miss sharing with you guys!

 

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Ricky Tims - Woo-Hoo!!

Yesterday I had a fantastic day! Not only did my wonderful husband take over with the children so that I could have a day to myself, I got to go listen to Ricky Tims talk about quilting all day!

My mom and I

The day started at 9:30 with a lecture about machine appliqué. I learned so much in that first hour and a half, I wanted to head home and practice everything he had talked about!

After lunch he talked to us about design development. Although this lecture was very heavy, it was so informative and I found myself less afraid of trying to design my own quilts. Ricky simplified everything, it was amazing! I am looking forward to reviewing my notes and designing my own quilt. I think I will start with a mini! I just have to remember to "create from the outside in".

The final lecture was about machine quilting. Let me tell you, as someone who is working on her machine quilting skills, this was great! I will be able to apply what we learned when I work on the long arm but I am also thinking maybe I should give it a try on my PFAFF. I can start with a potholder after all!

So then it was dinner time, and we were heading out to the restaurant for supper, with Ricky Tims! My mom's friend Gaëtanne is a friend of the LQS's owner Michele. Michele was taking Ricky out for dinner so we ended up meeting up and having dinner together! It was fun to talk quilting with him and finding out more about his home in Colorado. We even talked about his retreats! I am dreaming of going there one day. It would be fantastic to go spend 5 days quilting and learning from Ricky!

Ricky and I after dinner

After dinner we headed back to the college for a concert. Ricky is also a musician and he played some lovely songs for us on the piano and told us some great stories about his life.

Me, my mom Alice, Linda, Gaëtanne, Michele and Ricky

I had such a great day! If you ever get the chance to go see and listen to Ricky Tims, you should definitely go. It was worth every penny! I am so blessed to have had the chance!

 

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Time for a little update

Summer has been crazy so far. We've done a little bit of this,

A little bit of that,

And even some of this,

And in between all of the fun stuff, I have been sewing, a little bit!

I taught the girls to embroider, so I decided to do a little bit myself.

I think this will become either a pillow or I will frame it in a hoop.

 

Last week I cut these out.

The charm squares will eventually become one baby quilt and the other pile has already been sewn into blocks because I need a baby quilt for our family doctor before the end of the month.

 

I have also been working on some flags in support of the disaster in Lac Mégantic, Québec. You can read more about the project here. It is going to be something similar to the "To Boston With Love" project that you can read about here.

Here is my first flag, all done.

I fused the hearts on then hand appliqued them with a blanket stitch. I machine embroidered my name and city on the back. I have 3 more in the works. I will take pictures to share with you before sending them next month.

And finally, I cleaned out and organized my fabric cupboard. Boy did that feel good! I used this tutorial to arrange my yardage and then I bought plastic bins at Home Depot (at 97 cents each) and sorted the big pieces by colour. My fat quarters are in 2 bins all neatly folded. Now I need to go buy one more BIG bin for my scraps because they don't seem to fit in the small ones anymore. I think 2014 will be the year of the scrap quilts!

Hope you are having a great summer too!

 

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Jeanne Dumont

Last week was a difficult one around these parts. We lost a terrific lady. My 89 year old grandmother Jeanne Dumont passed away on June 27.

As some of you know, I am a fourth generation quilter. I have spent a lot of my 19 quilting years, sharing this passion with both my mom and my wonderful Grandmother, Jeanne. If you don't mind, I would like to share with you some of the quilts my grandmother made. I guess it is a little tribute to the fantastic quilter she was.

Crooked Star, machine pieced by Jeanne Dumont, machine quilted by Alice Chancey

Flying geese quilt, machine pieced and hand quilted by Jeanne Dumont

These first two quilts, I own. She gave them to me a few years ago when she moved into a retirement home near here.

Bricks and Stepping Stones, machine pieced by Jeanne Dumont, machine quilted by Alice Chancey

HSTs in a Barn Raising setting, machine pieced by Jeanne Dumont, machine quilted by Alice Chancey

Half Log Cabin, machine pieced by Jeanne Dumont, machine quilted by Alice Chancey

Double pinwheels machine pieced by Jeanne Dumont, machine quilted by Alice Chancey

Garbage Quilt machine pieced by Jeanne Dumont, machine quilted by Alice Chancey

Dresden plate, machine pieced and machine appliqued by Jeanne Dumont, machine quilted by Alice Chancey

These last 2 quilts were made in 2012. My Grandmother loved sewing and quilting, and she did so until the last few weeks of her life.

These are some cuddle quilts she sewed up this past winter.

I enjoyed sharing my passion for quilting with my sweet grandmother. I am sure I will think of her often as I continue creating with fabric and thread.

Me, my mother and my grandmother at a quilt show in May 2010

Repose en paix ma belle Mémère. Tu vas nous manquer.

Jeanne Dumont March 16, 1924 - June 27, 2013

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School's out for summer!

Another school year has come and gone. My little girls just keep getting bigger and bigger, and are now done with senior kindergarten and 2nd grade. We had a fantastic school year with the best teachers. I think we were all a little sad to see it come to an end.

So I thought I would share with you the gifts I made for these wonderful ladies who spent most of the last 10 months with my girls.

Back in February I ordered some scarf kits from Pink Castle Fabrics. I bought one for me, one for my mom, and the others were for the teachers. I knew they would be the perfect gifts.

In March, I showed you the 2 scarves I made for my mom and I.

I made one with this colour combination for Emilie's 2nd grade teacher:

 

And I made 2 of this colour combination; one for Noémie's SK teacher and one for the EA who worked in Emilie's class.

 

Because I work part-time at the school, I am lucky enough to get to know my kids' teachers and the school staff. These 3 ladies are very special and we are so thankful they have been a part of our girls' lives.

Now let summer vacation begin! I just hope the weather will co-operate!

 

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