Frenchy's Find

For those of you living outside the Maritimes who don't know what Frenchy's is, a little explanation. Easy...it is a chain of secondhand clothing (mostly) store, great place for books too. Everything is in big bins, they must be a good 4'w by 6' l and about 1' deep. They are labelled "ladies pants", "babies", "household", "boys 7-14" etc. The bins are all a jumble and it takes some time to sort through and search for the bargains but it is always worthwhile. In the 35+ years I have been searching I have found a few odd quilts...nothing much to write home about until a couple of years ago when I saw something in a small plastic bin under the table, a bit of overflow. I was calm and slowly pulled it out. At first I thought it was maybe a "cheater"style quilt or sheet. But I soon discovered it was a real top and as I pulled it out I had to contain my excitement. It was an unquilted top with hundreds of 30's and 40's fabrics all foundation pieced.

I really wanted to hand quilt the top but all my very best efforts to baste it failed. It would not lie flat. I mentionned it to Debbie Vermeulen who has a log arm and she was happy to accept the challene to machine quilt it for me. She did a wonderful job and I am thrilled with it. I had to lose a lot of the points on the outer stars when I bound it, there was no seam allowance. I used a reproduction print for the binding as well as for the backing. There are 5 different prints on the back. I am thrilled with the results and it has found a happy home with my daughter and her family, close enough that I can visit!

Some of the blocks are perfectly pieced, others are off quite a bit. I did try and re-sew one to see if that would help to make it lie flat but by the time I got to the last seam it was way off. I wonder who pieced it? Why did someone not quilt it? Why did it end up at Frenchy's? Most of Frenchy's stock comes from New England. It is a mystery for sure but one I was happy to rescue and you can't beat a $2 bargain!

The Quilt Mafia Meets Again

The Quilt Mafia, a name given to Polly's quilt friends by her beloved Dan, we get together every few months to share a day of stitching, talking, eating and laughing. We vary greatly in our fibre art from traditional to art quilts, from hand stitching to machine stitching, from bed quilts to dolls and everything in between. Some of us were able to meet up at the Maritime Fibre Arts Retreat in early April. On this day we gathered in Chester at the beautiful St. Stephen's Church Hall. 

Polly Greene's Storm at Sea

One of the best parts is sharing works in progress and finished pieces. There are more pictures in the Flickr link on the sidebar. It is just so inspiring to be with these gifted fibre artists for the day. As well as sharing we did get some stitching done and we all enjoyed our take out lunch from the Kiwi Cafe in Chester.

Plans are to get together on a more regular basis at St Stephen's, some of us will be at the Quilters Retreat at Pictou Lodge in September, a trip to Cape Breton to meet up at Anne Morrell Robinson's studio in the spring and also to go back to the Maritime Fibre Arts Retreat next April. Can't wait!

Whirligig Garden

About the same time I learned my niece was pregnant, I saw this pattern and I knew I had to make it for her. Alexander was born April 19 and we are delighted to have him in our family.

The pattern came from Melly and Me and Australian sister team who design quilt patterns and softies. The quilt is a "Sew Little Pattern" called Baby Pinwheels. It is machine pieced, hand appliqued and machine quilted by Debbie Vermeulen, who did a super job!