Thursday, February 16, 2017

The Canadian Sampler - are you sewing along?


I was invited last year by Sew Sisters Quilt Shop to participate as one of the designers in The Canadian Sampler to celebrate Canada's 150 Anniversary. This block of the month consists of 20 blocks designed by Canadian designers to create a red and white quilt that expresses our love of our country. Participants receive 2 block patterns a month for 10 months, giving us 2 months to finish the quilt before the end of the year.

My block is second row from the top, second from the left - the one with the three triangles. I am not sure which month my block will come out but I will tell you more about my inspirations for it when it does. I also want to say that Sew Sisters Quilt Shop fairly compensated each designer for their contribution to this quilt, gave plenty of time to design, and were wonderful to work with. I was not sure I would sew along with the block of the month until I saw the quilt, and I have to say I am so proud to be included in a quilt designed by such talented Canadian quilters - I cannot resist joining in.

If you want to join, the registration is open until the end of February so act fast - go here to register.

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That fun toque block, called Keep'n Warm is Block 1 and it was designed by Sandy Whitelaw from Upstairs Hobby Room. This block shares a representation of the typical Canadian toque, which is a knitted hat with a rolled up brim and a pom pom - I expect most every Canadian has owned one in their life, and probably still does.

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Block 2 is called Pacific Stars and was designed by Daphne Greig from Patchwork Studio.  I love the star in star created with this block. I must say that I found that my precision piecing skills are rusty after so much focus on improv work, so it took me a bit longer than it should have - but it was well worth the effort.

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Here they are together, all blocks in the sampler finish at 12" square.

The February block patterns arrived yesterday in my mail box - I expect that I will have time to start them soon.

Best,

Leanne

2 comments:

Brenda said...

Both of these blocks are fabulous! The hat reminds me of growing up in Wyoming and for four years in North Dakota...those hats are worn by everyone also from birth on. Just in the past year have I really learned the HST and found how fun they are in creating so many other blocks. Star blocks are always fun. Thank you for sharing and have a great day!

Karen said...

This is such a delightful quilt! You Canadian quilters (I live in Maine, US) are just so talented--with a great sense of humor, too. I love the fabrics you've chosen for your version--they really POP!