This was a project that I did with my Thursday sewing group, starting in March of 2020. We each had different panels to work with but I knew the quilt shop had a Paris panel so I decided that would be what I’d use for my project. As it turned out I needed three panels and was very lucky that they had enough of them. In hindsight I could have made the project smaller but I didn’t know then what I know now. I used straight lines for the quilting but I didn’t get as much of a 3-D effect as I was hoping for.

Because I used three panels I had a few scraps left so I used them to piece the backing. This is as close as I’ll ever come to a reversible quilt and you might be fooled if not for the two Eiffel Towers.

This now hangs on the wall in the spare bedroom. The door is usually shut to that room but on the few times it is open I’ll feel like I’m back in Paris.

Here is the view of the Eiffel Tower from the apartment we stayed in while we were in Paris. A bit more industrial-looking than my interpretation.

I was already behind by the time Stacia, Deloise and I did our first check-in. Deloise had her top finished, Stacia had about four seams left to sew, and I had about four seams done. I keep telling myself that I’m not a slow stitcher but they are exceedingly quick. Works for me!

It was no problem coming up with the squares I needed for the top. My new scrap method works well; I had to decide on the colours I would use and then it was just a matter of opening the right bin and pulling out the fabric and doing the cutting. In many cases I already had the right-sized squares cut.

I used flannel rather than batting in the wall hanging and it worked fine. The quilting stitches don’t bury as deeply as they do in batting and in some designs that might be more of an issue. I also think it would be harder to bury the ends in flannel – not as much middle ground so the thread doesn’t show on either the front or the back.

I used a single fold binding using the fold-over technique I’ve tried before. I heard that it was easier to get a good machine binding done if the background, backing and binding fabric were the same; this piece seemed like the perfect time to try it again. I’m still not all that happy with the corners and I had to go around twice because I missed the fold-over on the first round. Had I done that properly from the get-go it would have been a better finish.

I love these small do-it-in-a-day projects!

At the beginning of the Guild year we purchased a brown bag with a fat quarter of fabric and an idea of what we were to make.

“Timberlane Quilt Challenge 2020/21
During this strange year of Covid 19, the heart shape has become a symbol of thankfulness, hope and compassion for others. 
For our challenge this year, please;
– make a quilted table topper, in any size or shape you like
– use the challenge fabric in your quilt top
– incorporate at least 1 heart shape in your design
– include at least 1 heart shape in your quilting together of your layers
– have fun, stay safe and be kind”

This year I used the fabric for the background and found a pattern online from one of my favourite sites – Temecula Quilt Company. I searched for a heart (or valentine) and came up with the Vintage Valentine pattern. The centre of the heart uses a number of small squares that came from another Temecula pattern – Tiny Trees. So I was set.

I had set aside a number of red fabrics for my log cabin quilt so it wasn’t difficult to find enough reds to use for the patterns. Now that it is finished and I’ve reviewed the criteria I see that I missed one element.

I’ve ended up really liking the pattern, but I’m not sure what I’m going to do with it now that it is done.

I ran this mystery project for the Guild. This was a free quilt-along so all the clues were already online. I got permission from the designer to use her pattern for the Guild program. I’ve been a fan of Meadow Mist Designs for a long time and have purchased and downloaded several of her patterns. 

It was a fair bit of work to remove all the information in each clue that could lead the members to the online page. If they saw the quilts it wouldn’t be as much fun in seeing the quilt come together as each monthly clue was released.

There was no place in the house that I could lay the quilt out for a good photo so the photos were taken bit by bit. It wasn’t until it was bound and on the bed that I saw the entire picture.

Quilting was not easy. I knew it had to be straight-line stitching but even at that there was a lot of turning necessary and by the time it was finished my shoulder and arm were quite sore.

I used two different design stitches on my sewing machine for the centre portion. Then I mimicked the magnolia block and quilted it in purple thread for a bit more contrast although it doesn’t show up much on the finished quilt.

Finally, both edges of the quilt were done in a variety of straight lines. In some cases I had a plan but while I was stitching I found a different way to do the lines that would avoid burying in ends. Some of the designs I like better than others and some were done just “to get it done”.

I’m very happy with the results and I think most of the Guild members were as well.

The designer will have a new book out at the end of the month and I’m on the list for a pre-order.