Wins at the Napanee Fair 2024

My two winning quilts at the Napanee Fair.

Oh My Stars and A-Tisket, A-Tasket (my name)

They are both Pat Sloan patterns which are available on her web site 

I love to make quilts 

The two quilts I entered were at least two years old but not finished.

Ha!

I made the Oh My Stars in Florida two winters ago from Walmart Fat Quarters.

I spray basted it and brought it back to Canada but never quilted it.

The Fair was my incentive to find it and finish it.

Here is where I set up to do my machine quilting... the garage!

Thanks to Dave for getting down the work horses and topping them with a recycled teak headboard.

It is a great open space to work and the table is huge.

I use gardening gloves when I quilt. 

I switched out my ¼ inch foot for a clear embroidery foot and my needle for a special quilting needle because I was free motion quilting in a meander pattern.

I actually had to use two needles as I broke one.

I used the cut offs for the binding but didn't have enough 2 ½ inch strips so I did what Pat Sloan does and make 1 ½ inch binding.  

You have to press ¼ inch on one side and sew it to the back of the quilt.

Here I am rounding the corner, doing my miter.

I switched to my walking foot to put the binding on.

TaDa!

Dave holding my finished quilt...

upside down!

Here it is right side up.

You can see the sail boats.

If you would like to make an Oh My Stars Quilt

here is the link to the pattern

I made a second top using some of the same fabrics - it isn't finished yet!

The Basket quilt also began as a Pat Sloan pattern but was modified.

I changed out the centre for a large basket with a bird and I added the large borders. 

I plan on one day adding words...

A-tisket, a-tasket

My little yellow basket...

I love Ella Fitzgerald's song, of the same name, by Chick Webb and his Orchestra.

This quilt top has been sitting folded up for two years.

It needed a good press... in the dining room.

It also needed to be bigger to enter the Fair.

I decided on this blue striped fitted sheet for the borders.  

If you look closely you can see the corners.  

You would think that there is a ton of material in a twin sheet, but the reality was that I had very little left and actually had to piece two of the borders to get the width I needed to do the mitering.

Mitering was Dave's idea.

It took way more time than expected as I was on a steep learning curve.

Off to Youtube to watch a video or two...

Pinning on the kitchen counter...

Sewing in the garage.

Look closely....do you see a saw?

Well, necessity is the mother of invention.

I needed something straight and thin to stop the fabric from moving and keep the angle straight.  

It worked a treat!

I marked the seam line with my finger nail and had to squint a bit to see it.

Honestly this was a lot more work than adding four borders.

Cutting off the excess and crossing my fingers.

TaDa!

What a beautiful quilt!

If I do say so myself.

The pattern for the original pattern by Pat Sloan is called Baskets of Love.

It is free and available here 

I also entered flowers from my garden and some baking.

The hydrangea competition was fierce.

The winning entry! My pink!

My daisies also took First Prize.

 Third Prize for my Black-Eyed Susans otherwise known as Rudbeckia.

My scones came second.  

To put everything in perspective - my Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Drop cookies were disqualified and my Purple Coneflowers didn't place.

All in All

I did my happy dance!!!

_______

A quick update on what else I've been working on.

Starting to quilt my Hawaiian.

Here is a close up of my stitches.

They look better in the pictures than in real life.

I think I'm going to go for finished rather than perfect; especially if I want to enter it in the Etobicoke Quilt Show next March.  

__________

Here for your viewing pleasure are a few fun birds from the Napanee Fair.

Finally one more picture...

Free Zucchini on the side of the road.

People are lovely and generous with their bounty 

whether it is sharing quilt patterns or an excess from their garden.

Thanks for reading

Happy Quilting

Pam