On April 4 the Crocus Quilters had their regular April meeting and we were happy to host a guest speaker, Tannis Fahlman, from Regina. Tannis loves designing and creating her own quilt patterns. She provided a number of wonderful tips along with her Trunk Show. One of her suggestions is to make practice blocks of each block in a quilt, and make blocks larger than needed and trim them down to make them more accurate. To her, a pattern is a guideline! She showed a number of her placemats, bags and quilts that she had designed, including the quilt below (plus with variations). Some of our members made this pattern as a Mystery Challenge. It is called “Typsy Diamonds”.
Another sample design that Tannis showed is her pattern, “Crack the Code”, that is the same block rotated various ways that gives an interesting design.
Show and Tell
Below are six of Tannis Fahlman’s “Typsy Diamonds” made with a variety of colours.
Jill made hers as a wedding gift and it has Mickey Mouse fabric in the squares. It is a larger version of the pattern.
Leeann M. showed two “Typsy Diamond” quilts that she had made with very different fabrics. She fussy cut the flowers in the orange squares.
Judy showed her quilt that she made and it will be a gift. She did her own quilting.
Val has pieced the top of her quilt and she appreciated help given at the Retreat!
Leanne A. showed a second “Typsy Diamond” quilt that she has finished piecing. Like other members, Leanne enjoys making this pattern.
Another of Tannis Fahlman’s designs is the quilt top below that Leanne has pieced. It is called “Jazzy Jelly Roll 2.0”. This pattern can be made in a number of sizes, and Leanne’s is the larger size. Great for Jelly Rolls!
Marlene showed a lovely child’s twin-size quilt, “Farm Life”, that she hand embroidered the farm animals and scenes in the blocks. Marlene had made a quilt for a grandson previously and she stamped a second one so she could use up some of her fabric. All she bought to finish this quilt was the fabric for the border. The fence design on the top and bottom is very appropriate. Marlene started this quilt three years ago and this winter decided she should finish it. Terry Whitman did the long arm quilting.
Barb H. took a Dresden Plate ruler class while she was in Arizona this winter. She felt it was outside her comfort zone but she finished her table runner there, and she did the free motion quilting. It is lovely, Barb!
Another class that Barb took in Arizona was a Paper Piecing one and she made this “Log Cabin Neighbourhood”. The log cabin blocks have very small pieces! By the end of making this wall hanging she felt more confident with paper piecing and she did her own quilting. She felt it was fun!
Marg showed a “Welcome” bag she made for the Care Homes. She added an appliqued sunflower to the front of the bag.
Charlene loves to combine different techniques. The pattern of this wall hanging is called “Snowflakes” and she did the hand embroidered snowflakes. Charlene purchased the pattern in Houston, and she bought the fabric on a “Sisters” trip with Mary Jane. Angela did the long arm quilting.
The second quilt that Charlene showed is a beautiful “memory” quilt. The design is “Storm at Sea” and the pattern is “Our Hearts Will Go On”. Charlene bought the pattern /kit in 2014, and then she sold it in 2020. She then got the pattern back and bought fabric in Manitoba. She started and stopped it several times and finally finished it. She used a thicker batting. Terry Whitman did the long arm quilting and she added hearts and waves in the quilting as well as adding the written names of Charlene’s loved ones, Phil and Brad, in the center of each of the two large blue hearts. What a beautiful keepsake for Charlene!
Adeline showed a practical “Mondo” bag that she made while she was in Osyoos, BC this winter. It is made with 2.5 inch squares and the strap has leather on one side. Adeline added a key clasp inside the back and it also has a pocket inside.
During a vacation to Kauai, Hawaii in November 2022 Peggy visited a quilt shop. The ladies mentioned their upcoming Quilt Show and Mini Challenge in February 2023. When Peggy was told anyone could enter the challenge she was excited. With the registration fee Peggy was given a fat quarter. Conditions were that they had to use as much of the fabric as possible and make a mini quilt no bigger than 18 inches square. Peggy decided to make as many mini log cabin blocks as possible and made a design from that. Her quilt is 12 1/2 inches square, and the log cabin blocks finish at 1 3/4 inches and the logs finish at 1/4 inch. There is very little fabric left unused.
Peggy was over the moon when she got her quilt back and found that she had won the “Judges Favourite” mini quilt award. Wow! Congratulations, Peggy!
While in San Pancho, Mexico this winter Bonnie volunteered at Entreamigos, a non-profit community and educational center working everyday to provide educational opportunities to local children and young people. The center houses a library, classrooms, play space for children, a second hand store, a recycling center and much more. Jill also helped on a project while there. What a wonderful opportunity to help others!
May 2 will be our year end wind-up and supper!
There are executive and committee positions available if you would like to be more involved with the Guild, so just give Shelley a call.
Happy Quilting! Enjoy the spring!
Weyburn Crocus Quilt Guild 