Happy Halloween

I'm glad I'm not the only one months off from holidays. Sigh. The life of a quilter. 

Now, to be fair to Sandra, she is always sewing with a Halloween vibe. Her grandson is Halloween crazy. This isn't the first black and orange piece for him and I'm sure it won't be the last. 

She has been doing a good job of working through her stash and whipped up this lovely top. I mean, super spooky, scary top. She chose the spider web panto for Rodney and its perfect. Sewing these wicked weavers made me wish for a computerized machine this week! 

I used Quilter's Dream Blend batting and So Fine thread in black. I love how it turned out. Sandra is the best panto picker and always inspires me to get digging into my own stash. Maybe I have a scrappy Halloween quilt in me next month! You know, spiders and goblins in time for Valentine's Day. 

 ~Sheri 

Bee Well

Cindy brought me this lovely top and two others to finish up for her. She has been busy sewing up her stash like most of this year. This quilt is making me long for spring. 

She did such a lovely job piecing, adding some applique, embroidery and added the sweetest little glass bead bees. 

Cindy was not fussy about backing, panto or thread and just requested some 'magic' I hope I delivered. 

There is no clear 'home' for her quilts so I chose a more gender neutral pattern for the quilting. This pattern is called 'Carefree'. 

I had a piece of ivory 'end of the roll' cuddle that fit the quilt perfectly. So Fine thread in 401 Snow is always my favorite go-to thread and it looks lovely here. Quilter's dream blend batting on the roll made the quilt sandwich complete. 

  Happy quilting friends. Bee well. 

 ~Sheri 

Sweetness

Sandra brought this sweet scrappy top for me to quilt and it just brightened my day to have it on the long arm. Its for her grand daughter and I'm sure she will love it. Her aunt Heather made her dress previously with the cupcake fabric and Sandra took the leftovers. She dug deep in her scrap pile and spent an afternoon sorting and pressing. 

After a bit of back and forth with pictures, Sandra chose the panto 'Sweetness'. Nothing else really compared. The backing is a soft pink Shannon cuddle. 

I used Quilter's Dream batting and So Fin thread in baby pink. 

Below is a shot of our planning stage. I lay the quilt out and prepare it on the longarm and take a few pictures of patterns that look good. 

Sandra has inspired me to dig into my own scrap box and get to the terrible work of ironing! How easy it is to just throw it all in a bin. 

Sew your stash friends. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is the special occasion! 

I have a few quilts on the go but also taking some deserved 'me time' ... guilt free! This is a new thing for me. The weather has been unusually warm - like strangely warm. It was -2 today when it is usually -27 in northern Manitoba! I was happy to play hookie today from work to hit the ski trails. 

Sweet alone time. Sweet quiet. 

 May you find some sweetness in you day and have the light shine a soft trail for you to follow. 

~Sheri 

Dallas

Dallas brought me this lovely rainbow top to quilt before Christmas with 2 others. I just adore this quilt. 

Dallas claims to be a beginner quilter but her tops are always on the mark. Straight seams and not a thread out of place. She actually brought me 3 tops to quilt. Sadly, when I take pictures with peanut butter smears on the lens, they don't work out so well! Little fingers .... 

Dallas wasn't fussy about the backing I chose, thread or panto. I love that she let me play. 

I had the perfect fitting piece of cuddle in this rich amethyst color so used a light lilac So Fine thread on top and bottom. The panto is one of my favorites, 'echo blossoms' 

My rest week is over and I'm happy to start taking your quilts again. When the stars align, I can do a pretty quick turnaround in a day or two. 

 ~Sheri 
 

My Greatest Gift

We are still acting fairly lazy around the McPhee house and loving every minute of it! 

To say 2020 has been stressful, is an understatement. I am slowly decompressing from it all and taking a short break from work, quilting and housework! Just kidding. The house is always upside down. 

I have been very busy this year and thank you all for the wonderful support. I have, as many of you know, looked seriously at selling Lucey and folding my hobby business but do love it so much. More batting, thread and fabric is on its way and I will be game to take quilts again January 1st. I have been busy tackling my own pile of tops over the last few weeks. It feels good to finish! 

Finished is better than perfect. 

The decorations all seemed to migrate down the tree. Darby again, lined up her dinosaurs around the tree. Its the funniest thing. She got two for Christmas 2 years ago and they were sitting, unwrapped under the tree, gifts from Santa. She may think they belong there every year. Its sweet. As soon as we put the tree up in late November, she scrambled to arrange them all underneath (6 dinos and one dragon)

She is now, and forever the greatest gift. 

With her surgery behind us all, we are taking some big steps in the new year. Guidance nursery 3 afternoons a week and ski lessons on Saturdays. Can't wait. 

No Santa visits this year so this is our substitute picture. I think its great. 

 Happy Holidays everyone and may all of our wishes come true in 2021! 

 ~Sheri 

The Prettiest Ornaments

Okay, now its the last one! I couldn't say no to Sandra when she called and asked for me to quilt this sweet Christmas throw for her. When the stars align, I can work pretty quickly and we were lucky this week.

The fabric is new from Bonnie and Camille. It has the sweetest tiny rainbows. 

Sandra wanted a white cuddle. I love cuddle and of course, have lots on hand. I used quilter's dream blend batting and blizzard So Fine thread for top and bottom. I had sent Sandra a few pictures of patterns laid on the top and she chose Becker's shooting star. It is a very fun quilt.

 May your dreams be merry and bright! 

A few more days of real work and some odds and ends for me to finish in the studio and then its my time to quilt, quilt, quilt! I can't wait to tackle some long forgotten projects and to hell with my fabric diet, I have been buying up a storm from my favorite Manitoba quilt shops! Happy quilting.

 ~ Sheri 

Rae

 I quilted this lovely, scrappy quilt for Rae. It is so lovely. 

She had previously made this pattern in blues and yellow. I'm not sure which one I like better! 

Rae wanted something cuddly and bright for the back so I chose a soft and warm Shannon cuddle. We settled on the Mimosa pattern after some virtual back and forth which is perfect. I used a moss green So Fine thread which is my go to thread when working with blue, especially denim.

Rae tells me she has a bit of a fabric stash (I don't believe her!) she whipped up this sweet baby quilt with some fabric she had stowed away. 

I used dream puff batting to give the quilt some loft and used the quirky panto to keep it gender neutral and So Fine thread in bright white. 

I have 4 quilts left to work through before Christmas and then will take a small break. My own poor tops have been neglected for months and months. I was just reading a blog by a longarm quilter who only quilted 3 of her own quilts in 13 years! I am quickly heading down that road and need to finish up a few things. I have a bookcase where tops go to die. I finish them and have them as ladies in waiting that never make to Lucey. Sigh. Things could be worse! 

Happy quilting

 ~Sheri