Trip Around the World Lap Quilt

I can't believe how many quilts I made using this pattern! I made this one in 1992 and believe it was the first one I made using this pattern, before teaching it to my friends and introducing them to quilting. It was tied (not quilted) and we still use it to this day on cold winter nights while watching TV. About 48" x 60".

Asian wallhanging

I made this wallhanging from a kit I bought in 2010 at our guild quilt show as it just appealed to me. It's about 45' x 60". It was very simple to put together and then I machine quilted around some of the birds etc. The back is made up of the leftover fabrics -a great way to use up fabric! My daughter now has this one as she loved it.

"Seasons of Wonder"

This quilt was a 'block of the month ' class held at Wineberries in 1998 from a calendar pattern called "Piecemakers". I love this quilt and am going to hang it in my new home very soon -have a wall chosen for it. It was mostly hand appliqued. The stars at the top and butterflies were machine pieced. I finished the top in 1998 and finally had it quilted by Rose Momsen in 2007 as I knew I was never going to get around to it myself. I had planned on hand quilting it-what was I thinking? She did a beautiful job and now I can enjoy it. Each block represents a month of the year and/or season.

Floral wreath (black background)

I made this wallhanging (about 30" sq) in 1998 as a sample for a class I was teaching to my quilting friends at our annual "Quilt Day" in May 1998. I also made it in a lighter colour. I did discover that using the black was a lot harder to match up as you have to match the background colour of the floral fabrics, but from a distance it's fine. I actually just quilted this one in 2009 as the top had been sitting around for a long time.

Wade's Sampler Quilt

I made this quilt for my son, Wade, in 1986. It was a 'sampler' quilt, meaning that each block was a different pattern - a great way to learn how to quilt. I started it in 1984 and it took about 2 years, working on it on and off. The blue has faded a bit , but the colours are in vogue again now, which is interesting. It is machine pieced, hand appliqued and mostly hand quilted. I machine quilted the straight lines in the border but the rest are all hand done.

Terry's 'Storm at Sea"

Hey- a label! Yahoo! Made this one in 2002 for my husband, Terry's 54th birthday. I attended a class with Brenda Brayfield to learn her technique of sewing the fabric to paper (paper piecing) and then sewing the blocks together before removing the paper on the back. It gives you much more accuracy.
About 40" x 48". I love the backing fabric -it's called "Dogs in Chinatown" (I'll take another photo as this one is blurry). Terry loves the ocean, dogs and is Chinese -how appropriate!

Christmas Wreath wallhanging

Made this quilt probably in the late 1990's (no label again). I love the depth of the red coloured fabric. About 30" square. Still use it at Christmas time. Can't remember where I got the pattern at this time (will ask some friends).

Blue/Brown table topper

This is a small quilt, about 36" square that I made in the 1990's. I made two quilts using this pattern which only uses 2 blocks. When we lived in Burnaby (1977-2001) we had an area by the stairs that we called "the fish tank"(the fish tank was long gone, but this was where it had sat for many years), so this was made specifically to cover this area.  Might be the first time I used batiks in a quilt -now they are an obsession!

Garden Tulips

Found this pattern in a book many years ago and added another row of tulips to the bottom -not sure why, but probably had a reason at the time. No label, but probably made it in about 1988.
About 36" x 48" . Machine pieced and HAND QUILTED (one of the very few!) I hand quilted it every 1/4 " -must have been crazy!  Haven't hung it up for a long time, but still looks pretty good (colours are the same).

Christmas Bears

This was one of  the first quilts I made from my own  pattern. Just fussy cut the bears out of one fabric and then added the green and red fabrics. This one was made in 1986. I actually sold one like it at a children's store in West Vancouver, but that was the only one as people didn't want to pay $75 for a handmade quilt at that time.
The fabric is starting to wear, but we still bring it out at Christmas time. It's a lap size, so about 36" x 45".

Christmas Tree with red lights

This small wallhanging was made in the 1990's (again, no label as it was mine). The tree, ornaments , stand and 'ground' are all made from the same size pattern piece.
Machine pieced and quilted. About 30" x 36".
You can tell by the fabrics that it was probably early 90's. (I'll check some old photos and see if I can pinpoint the date.
Still hang it up at Christmas time. 

Trip Around the World Wallhanging

This is a small (30"sq) wallhanging that I made during a class taken at Wineberries in the 1990's (no label, so I'm guessing here!). We were to add different textures, so there is some lame', corduroy, and wool in there, plus some buttons here and there. Not one of my favourites, but it did help to 'push the envelope' during the class. Always a good idea to try different colour combinations and play with different fabrics. You might not like them, but at least you've tried.

Terry Sunflowers

This is a Sunflower Stained Glass wallhanging that I made for my husband, Terry, in 2004 as a birthday gift. I"m so glad I put labels on my quilts that were gifts, as otherwise I really can't remember when I made them!
This quilt started out as a large piece of black fabric, to which I then applied(ironed on) a heavy duty interfacing called "Bond' . Then I cut around the black "lines', glued the fabric to the back of the  'bond' and then put the coloured fabrics into the "windows", to give that stained glass effect. Then it was machine quilted. Apparently there are now a lot of easier ways to get this effect, but at the time there wasn't.
Terry loves sunflowers and this small (30" sq) quilt often hangs on a wall at home.

Pineapple Log Cabin Tablerunner

This is a table runner done in alternate Christmas colours of blue & white. I actually made it as a class sample and taught it at a quilt store in Burnaby. It's machine pieced and machine and hand quilted with a couple of little seed pearls sewn in the middle of each square. I made it around 1998.

Tumbling Blocks in Colour

This is a small wallhanging (30" square) that I made in the 1980's when I took a colour class at Wineberries Fabrics. My husband, Terry, hung it in his office for quite a few years and I was surprised that it didn't fade. The photo was taken recently (Sept. 2011).

Wade's Quilt

This was one of my first larger quilts made in the 1993 when I didn't know how to machine quilt so just tied them. I made this for my son, Wade's bed and it was a queen size. Right now it's residing on the back of Robyn and Mike's sofa in Toronto as they love the 'retro' colours.
The pattern is called "Trip Around the World" and was the first pattern I used to teach some of my friends how to quilt -some of them are still quilting to this day!

Terry's first lap quilt

I made this quilt for my husband, Terry, in 1995 to use while watching TV. This photo is the quilt now (2011)-the blue colour has faded considerably and is now starting to fall apart from use. I tied it and it's been washed many, many times.  It's been well used, that's for sure (by Terry and the dogs!)