Postcards from Muskoka

Many moons ago (2014) I posted about a shop hop I went on with my friend (Part 1 and Part 2 posts). Well, I finally finished all of the blocks.

The quilt pattern, called Postcards from Muskoka, was designed by Joni Newman of Quirks and Quilts. Here is what her original version looked like:

Image taken from Quirks and Quilts blog

I love the look of stained glass and have done a number of stained glass projects now, but this is one of the ones that got me started. Joni has a tutorial on her website for how she does the stained glass technique that is very helpful.

Beach umbrella

I decided to complete each block separately instead of finishing them as a single wall hanging.

Muskoka chairs

I also decided to do a little experimenting about how I finished the quits.

I tried a blanket stitch as well as a zig-zag stitch (both in black and in a thread colour that matched).

I also experimented with whether I stitched just through the top and then quilted separately or not.

Pine tree

In the end, I decided that my preferred method was a straight stitch in a matching colour that went through all 3 layers to both stitch down the pieces and provide the quilting.

I did a few of these - enough to get my feet underneath me, and then I moved on to a few other ones that had purposes and timelines.

Heart-shaped in the sky.
Fabric just worked out that way.

I dusted them back off during covid and continued to work on the ones I hadn't done yet.

Northern lights

Speaking of covid, when we were set home over 2 years ago, for what seemed like it was going to be a short amount of time, I decided that I didn't need the shoes I kept at my desk (and my winter boots), but I did take these wall hangings that I had completed off the wall at work and brought them home (priorities :D). 

Cabin

They're a great project because they don't require a lot of planning (just picking fabric) and are a fairly quick finish (if you own the right thread).

Loon

I used batiks for most of the panels, but I did find on the loon that I wanted a few black and white fabrics and didn't have a batik that fit the bill. Instead I picked a couple fabrics out of my gramma's stash when I was up there :) (that's starting to be a theme of my blog :D)

Campfire

I like all of the blocks, but I think the campfire and canoe are two of my favourites.

Canoe

I used some of my more plentiful batiks for the backs of the projects.

I haven't decided how exactly I'm going to hang them (especially since I no longer have a wall at work to put them on). But here is the whole set.

Shop Hop Continued

Postcards from Muskoka at Thimbles and Things

Each store had their own completed version of the quilt. They generally used the same colours for things, but would use different fabrics. We enjoyed comparing all the different versions. The blocks we looked at the most for the comparison were the campfire and the northern lights (not seaweed like I originally thought).

After leaving Orillia, we headed to Barrie. Our first stop was Simcoe Sew & Quilt. This store was how I heard about the shop hop. I found it when I was out for lunch one time in Barrie, and I have been back a number of times. They had the most gorgeous blue fabric they used for their water, but they were out when we got there. There kits did give enough to complete the tree block (which is one of my favourites).

Northern lights and tree blocks with
two blues, a green, and a brown fabric

The second stop in Barrie was at Elite Quilting. This was a lovely little long arm studio. They had a small selection of fabric - along with some delicious chocolate chip cookies. 

Campfire block

Brown(with gold), yellow/red, red, and blue fabric

Our last stop was at Country Concessions in Cookstown. This store was quite surprising. I wouldn't have guessed based on it's name, or small town location, that it would be so large, but it had a huge amount of fabric and supplies. The quilt designer was here showing her quilts and giving demonstrations. This was a good spot to end our journey. Unfortunately, it was so popular they had run out of kits. We put our names in and are expecting a package in the mail. This was also my favourite block, so I'm really excited to get the kit. I will post a picture whenever it arrives.

It was a lovely day with some beautiful scenery, good food, and great company. We'll have to see what the quilt looks like for next year's shop hop.

Shop Hop in Muskoka

This past weekend, my friend and I drove up to Muskoka to participate in a shop hop that was taking place. There were 6 different quilt stores participating and at each one you could get the pattern for one or two of the blocks, and you could also purchase a kit of fabric to help you make your block.

The quilt pattern was designed by Joni Newman of Quirks and Quilts. Here is what her original version looked like:

Image taken from Quirks and Quilts blog

I love the look of stained glass quilts, which is why I decided it would be worth the drive (plus I've always thought it would be fun to do a shop hop - and this one was doable in a day).

We drove to Barrie on Friday night so that we could get an early start on the day. We were up bright an early on Saturday morning, and after some breakfast were on our way. We could not have picked a better time of year to do the drive - the trees were absolutely magnificent.

Our first stop was 3 Gals and a Quilt Shop in Huntsville. Huntsville is a lovely town if you have never been - it's downtown core is right on the water and it is surrounded by beautiful scenery. We arrived just after the store opened (as did a large number of other people). After looking around for a bit, we got our patterns and kits and moved on.

Loon and Beach blocks along with orange and brown batiks

We had some car troubles (that's a different story), but managed to sort them out and made our way to The Muskoka Quilting Co. in Bracebridge. Bracebridge was also celebrating Colour Fest while we were in town, but we managed to avoid all the street closures. They had just run out of kits when we got there, but they managed to get some more whipped up in no time.

Cabin block along with green, brown, and black batiks

Our third stop was at Thimbles and Things in Orillia. Don't worry, we made sure to stop at Webers for a burger on the way. This was a lovely quilt shop - mostly in the middle of nowhere, but very spacious with lots of fabric and some great looking projects. I wish I lived closer. Instead of just a package of fabric, the kit included an insulated lunch bag, a water bottle, a piece of chocolate, a pen, and some fabric. They also had delicious samples of Fraktals chocolate (which I highly recommend).

Muskoka chairs block with red and blue fabrics

The red fabric was really cool - it went from a really
dark red at the top to a light pink at the bottom

That seems like a good spot to stop this post. I will write about the other three stops another time.