Wonky Stripes Baby Quilt

The first time my friend Lisa told me about her experience of adopting a child from Ethiopia, I struggled to keep the tears back. Her adoption story was so beautiful and touching I think it would be impossible for someone to not be moved by it. She's such a energizing and selfless woman who was clearly changed forever the day she brought back her little girl. When Lisa recently told me she was going to back to Ethiopia this winter and was organizing a fundraiser for C.H.O.I.R. I knew immediately that I wanted to help.

The fundraiser is in the form of a shopping event featuring handmade artisan gifts with a child in mind. I've clearly had children on my mind for quite sometime now so it felt really natural to make another craft intended for a child.

This is the first quilt I've made for someone else other than myself and I must say I'm pretty sad to have to see it go! Good thing I can just make another one.

If you live in the Halifax area come check out Handsmade for Helping at Alderney Landing in Dartmouth on Thursday November 3rd at 6:30pm. This quilt will be for sale as well as pottery, textiles, rugs, jewelry and so much more. 100% of all proceeds will go to C.H.O.I.R.

Log Cabin Pillows

Do you ever get a little too excited at those first few signs of spring? While I'm proud to say I'm not one of those weirdo's who starts wearing shorts and sandals in May, I do however have occasional delusional thoughts that as soon as the sun comes out it must mean that summer's just around the corner and I'd better start outfitting my home for it today. But of course in typical Nova Scotia fashion the sun disappears for another few weeks only to be replaced by rain, rain, fog, drizzle, and clouds.
Which perfectly describes today, the day I've finished some summery pillows for my patio seating. I know I should really just stuff them in the closet seeing as how they won't be used for another few weeks, but how can I hide my pretty new creations? (This is what I said to my husband when he asked why the couch was suddenly overrun with pillows)

Long and Narrow Patchwork Quilt

This quilt has taken me far too long to complete.
You see quilts are just so...BIG, that after that initial excitement of creating something new dies you're just left with the daunting task of spending hours (and months) finishing it. Am I the only one who would rather push it aside and pick up something fresh and fun, something that can be made and enjoyed so much quicker?

Quilted Pot Holder

AKA a mini quilt!

These were really fun, and I think I'm going to end up making many of these to try out patterns before starting a large quilt.
Can you tell the first photo was my second and most recent attempt at this project? Definitely improved drastically from my first pair in the second photo.

Interested in learning how to quilt? Check out "Quilts" by Denyse Schmidt. It's probably my favourite quilting book I've found so far.

Simple Patchwork Quilt

So here it is! My first ever quilt!

It's certainly not perfect, but I made it myself so I love it all the same.