Happy Birthday, Canada

My Sesquicentennial Quilt, otherwise known as Canada 150, is finished. Actually it was finished a week ago, allowing me plenty of time to show it to my kids and grandkids and to take a few pictures.

Joanne Kerton of Canuck Quilter Designs gets all the credit for the beautiful pattern and easy to follow instructions. I added fabric and sewed. The quilting is mostly stitch-in-the-ditch with some outline quilting and a few stars thrown in.

The border fabric is full of tiny white stars. They bring to mind the fact that day after day 36 million-plus Canadians work and play, laugh and cry, love each other and raise families, all under the same bright stars. Something we all have in common. We are not perfect, far from it, but then neither is my quilt.

Lulu the Sheltie is my very unwilling model in some of the pictures. You will need to look closely, though, to see the pained look on her face!

                Saturday, July 1st is Canada's 150th birthday. Happy Birthday, Canada!

Sandy

Following "Love's" lead and my Sesquicentennial quilt project

Way back on March 14th, "Love" of I Just Love Quilts posted a photo of a great looking block she had made. She had been inspired to join a new block of the week, Moda Block Heads, after seeing Ruth of Country Log Cabin's first block. Long story short, I decided to sew along as well. I sailed through the first three blocks and then hit a roadblock -- no pun intended. Appliqué! I have done a little appliqué, enough to know that I don't do it well. So, my block four Bee Skep is just a little wonky but I was able to use some fairly old bee fabric so I am okay with it.  More appliqué for blocks six and seven! I decided to  switch the appliqué in block six for a snowball block, and made a very simple basket for block seven. I guess I will end up going my own way with these blocks!

My Sesquicentennial Quilt project started with an amazing pattern from Joanne at Canuck Quilter Designs. My fabrics are very different from the fabrics Joanne used for her quilt, and I was a little concerned that paisley and polkadots might not be right for my maple leaves, but I love them. I am about to put this quilt top together, and I can't wait to see how it turns out. Joanne is the best pattern writer, by the way.

I hope to complete this quilt before July 1, the 150th  anniversary of Canada's confederation. 

Sandy