Guild Quilt Show

Posted on October 19, 2014 by Norma Hanson

Our quilt guild’s bi-annual show was this past Friday night and Saturday (October 17 and 18, 2014). I was once again on the committee that hung the quilts. We were very organized this year and had the quilts hung in record time.

I was also doing demos again this year. Unlike some other quilt shows, our guild does not just do demos at specific times during the show. Our demos are on-going through the whole show. This means that the people that are doing the demos are doing lots and lots of talking. 🙂 There were four of us doing demos this year. We had the most perfect spot with perfect lighting against this bank of windows.

This was my home for a day and a half while I demonstrated how to make string/crumb blocks using a stabilizer. I use used color catchers as my foundation, but any other stabilizer product such as muslin or paper could be used. If you use paper, you will have to remove the paper before quilting your quilt. This is one reason why I use the color catchers–there is nothing to remove; the color catcher is not removed and stays in the quilt. Granted the quilt is a bit heavier because of the additional layer.

The woman doing demos beside me was demonstrating another technique for using up scraps–making those fabric wrapped bowls that are so popular now. We were very complimentary to one another with our demos as we were both showing how to use up scraps that some people put would put in the trash.

The quilts that I entered in this year’s show were:

And lastly, my entry into the challenge for this year’s show; Roses are Red, Violets are Blue.

I was very tired by the time I got home after quilt show take down last night. …but ask me in two years if I am ready to do this again and my response will be a definite, Yes!!!

Thanksgiving

Posted on October 8, 2012 by Norma Hanson

Today is Thanksgiving Day in Canada. We had our turkey dinner last night. I like to have our turkey on the Sunday of Thanksgiving Weekend so that the kids do not have to worry about fighting traffic when they go to head home at the end of the evening. Also, it is nice to have the holiday Monday to relax after the preparation of that big meal the day before.

We have had exceptionally good weather for quite some time. Chilliwack has recorded the driest August in 82 years and the driest September in more than 133 years since the start of weather records in 1879. In September we had just 6.6 mm of rain which all fell overnight on September 10 and 11. The 30 year average for rainfall for August is 64.8 mm and for September is 112.7 mm. The last day of significant rainfall for us was July 23. Further temperature records that were broken were 31.8 degrees on September 8 and 30.5 degrees on September 17.

Because of the fantastic weather, we were able to enjoy our Thanksgiving dinner outside. This will likely be our last picnic in the backyard for the season.

The weather forecast is supposed to continue through the week with a change in the wind for next weekend. We have enjoyed this unusual run of dry weather.

Yesterday, while waiting for the turkey to cook, I put the last of the stitches in the binding of my fall rail fence quilt. This quilt finished at 68″ x 86″.

Happy Thanksgiving fellow Canadians!

Project Progress

Posted on July 20, 2008 by Norma Hanson

This is my Halloween All About Me quilt–finally finished to the flimsy stage. In this picture, the quilt is hung from our deck. I have left my bike in the picture so you get the perspective of size–this is a large quilt!

This is a closeup of the spiderweb fabric that forms the border of my Halloween quilt. I think this border print made the quilt.

This is my first attempt at the Wonder Wallet. This prototype has been claimed by my DD. I modified the pattern to include a zipper–you can see the zipper pull poking out of the left side of the wallet in the picture. My daughter is using this for her i-Pod. She thinks that i need to make a couple of modifications to this prototype for earphones, charger, etc. Hmmm….she has me thinking.

This is my latest project. This pattern is Warm Wishes from the Quiltmaker magazine. I love this pattern and have made it several times. I had the fabric to make this quilt for years and decided that it had aged long enough and it was time to make this quilt. This is approximately 1/3 of the center of the quilt. Of course I will add borders. The final size of this quilt will be determined by the amount of fabric I have.

Halloween At Mom’s House

Posted on October 24, 2007 by Norma Hanson

I stopped by my Mom’s house on Sunday to deliver a quilt I just finished for her. This is a picture of my Mom on her front step holding BQ#1.

This quilt was inspired by a quilt I saw at the Lynden Fair in August 2006. If you take a look at my post from August 16, 2006, you will see the quilt that inspired me to search for the pattern for this quilt.

On September 18, 2006 I finished BQ#1 to the flimsy stage. I mentioned in my post on that date that I cut out two of these quilts at the same time–one to be finished for my mother and the other to be finished for myself.

If you look back to my post of October 6, 2007, you will see my quilt, BQ#2. It only took listing these quilts on my side bar and making them part of my finished quilt goals for 2007 to get them finished–a year and half later! I wanted them finished for Halloween, I didn’t say which Halloween! LOL

My Mom took pictures of all her fall/Halloween quilts on Sunday and e-mailed them to her friends with the following message:

The” Quilt Lady” (Norma) came by today with a new quilt for me. (the one
on the dinning room table) The other ones she made me last year. I am real proud of my Halloween / Fall assortment.

These pictures are included here as well for your viewing pleasure.

And finally, a picture of Jack smiling at you.

Fall is Here!

Posted on October 6, 2007 by Norma Hanson

Fall is definitely here! Some days, I think we have moved past fall and into winter. This was what we woke up to Thursday morning. That snow is awfully close!

These pictures were taken from the deck of my parents’ house.

I love to decorate for the changing seasons. This year, I have included the entrance in my decorating. This is the front door of our house.

A wreath in fall colours.
A mum to welcome visitors.

Before we go inside, there are a few plants still thriving outside that I want to show you. Soon the cool evening temperatures will force the end of these plants, but for now they are here to enjoy. I am not sure what this plant was called, but I just love it. I will be sure to plant this in my hanging baskets again next year.

This is my husband’s Castor bean plant. He brought it home in a small 4″ pot at the beginning of August. It is extremely fast growing. Since they aren’t hardy in our climate, we will have to plant one again next spring.

The flower / seed pod.
Once inside, there are two quilts hanging in the entrance. This is “Moonlight over the Pumpkin Patch”. This is a quilt that was just finished last weekend. Finishing this one allows me to cross another UFO off my list on my sidebar for this year. The quilt pattern was BQ. I started this quilt over a year ago. I first saw a quilt made from this pattern at the Lynden fair. Although it is a simple pattern, I was distracted and didn’t finish until now.

Does the pumpkin fabric look familiar? I used what was left over from this project to make the latest 4 patch stacked posies quilt that I have been working on.