Long Weekend!

I have completed the first quilt top on my new Janome. It is also the first full quilt I've designed using EQ7. I'm pleased to report it actually turned out like the design! Most of the fabric I used, was fabric I picked up in a kit at one of the quilt shows - it was very reasonable. But I didn't like the pattern they were using - so I made up my own. I mostly used quilt blocks that were in the EQ7 library.

This quilt will be named "Icons of Canada."
So why is this quilt "Canadian"?

Log cabins - Canada has log cabins. In fact, our friends Marla and Marlow live in one - although it's really a large house made of logs... Log Cabin quilt blocks and more realistic log cabins on the Debbie Mumm fabric.

Maple leaves - maple leaf on the Canadian flag. Many maple trees in Canada (although most of them are in the east).

Loons - the black/white/yellow block is called "Crazy Loons". There are many loons in Canada. They have an amazing call. There is also a loon on the swatch of Debbie Mumm fabric on the left.

Pine/spruce trees - Canada has many pine/spruce trees. Forests full of them, in fact.

Stars - on a clear night, it is possible to see many stars in the Canadian sky.

Mounties - or more formally, Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The name says it all - only in Canada.

Inukshuk - (means likeness of a person) an icon of Northern Canada.

This quilt is intended for Craig's fiance, Rhonwyn's mother, Lynne. Lynne is Australian and apparently was smitten with the Mounties portrayed in the 2010 Olympics Closing Ceremonies. I looked high and low and asked about fabric with Mounties, or a Mountie quilt block - something... The closest I got was this "Greetings from Canada" Thimbleberries fabric (the border fabric) that has minuscule Mounties in a small part of the overall design. So I ended up in the library, found a kids book with illustrations that could be turned into an applique - hence the Mountie block (see a few pix above).

I'll be loading Icons of Canada onto Harley shortly.

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Elvis ... I found this panel a year or so ago and picked it up. I added the "piano key" border and corner blocks and the blue/white/black outside border.

I also had some "Elvis" fabric - not enough for the entire back, but when cut up and reassembled, it will be a fine back. I was going to hand quilt because I want to quilt around the design and my skills with Harley aren't good enough for that! But now that I have an 11" arm on my new machine - I will use my Janome to quilt this one. It will go to Eric, my musician son. Haven't decided on a name for it yet.