Category: Awesome

The year 2020 in review!

One thing is certain, the year that just ended will have been full of twists and turns for most people. We’ve all had to face unimaginable challenges. It has also been a somewhat forced way to reinvent ourselves, to rethink our priorities and to find pleasure in the little things in life.

For me, the year 2020 promised to be full of new adventures long before the pandemic hit. It was on March 1st that my divorce was officially pronounced and that I could finally turn the page on many mediated meetings and put my finances and life goals in order. I was celebrating with my new love in Mexico! AH! But I’ll save this story for another time 😉

Here is my year 2020 in the field of quilting :

Continue reading “The year 2020 in review!”

Me Made May Garment Sewing – Aurifil Artisan May Challenge

All right! Here’s one challenge I was sure not to take part of as an Aurifil Artisan. There was just no way I would sew a garment ever again! The whole point of quilting is to never have to sew anything else for anyone. But you know how I can’t refuse a good challenge now, so I just had to participate in the Me Made May Garment Sewing.

Continue reading “Me Made May Garment Sewing – Aurifil Artisan May Challenge”

A special summer reunion with Lennoxville and Vermont Quilters

Now with everything that’s happening in the world, I finally have time to work on my projects which include a few blogs! Especially one about a special summer reunion. I had so many things to talk about last summer but I never got the time to post. So I am playing catch up. Hoping you’ll enjoy them.

Last summer was an exceptional one for me!  You know what usually happens every summer: your weekends get booked even before summer has started and you end up in fall without having done anything meaningful in this short twelve weeks of hot weather and late sunsets.

Well last year I decided to work it out differently. I promised myself I would find time to roam the roads and find fellow quilting friends and see what they’ve been up to during the long winter. My goal was to explore strange new locations, be part of special summer reunions, to seek out new quilters and go where no quilter had gone before!

Continue reading “A special summer reunion with Lennoxville and Vermont Quilters”

Winning best of show was quite a BIG surprise!

If you followed my social feeds over the weekend, then you know all about my big SURPRISE! I received the Best of Show ribbon in Chicago for my Remembering Sochi Quilt.

Claire Haillot quilt
Remembering Sochi is the best of Show at Chicago International Quilt Festival 2018

It was totally unexpected and I appreciated every moment of the International Quilt Festival! After spending two years in my quilt cave figuring out the math on this quilt, it was nice to simply share my obsession with everyone who wanted to know more about the quilt.

For those who are not aware, here is a brief recap:

Continue reading “Winning best of show was quite a BIG surprise!”

MY BEST NINE FOR 2016

At first I thought I was going to skip this year all together simply because, as Queen Elizabeth once said about 1992, it has been an Annus horribilis. But after carefully reviewing my year objectively, I realize that it started off pretty amazing and although I went through a rough time, it ends pretty great too. Continue reading “MY BEST NINE FOR 2016”

STEP 11: THE BINDING

12 steps to successful quilt making
Step 11: The binding

The binding is one of the last things we do on our project, so it is quite natural that it is one of the first things we forget.  That’s why I believe it to be our 11th step in the 12 steps to successful quilt making.

I often suggest my students to prepare 6 to 12 place mats in order to practice the binding. Usually, at the end of the twelfth, the steps are memorized. Continue reading “STEP 11: THE BINDING”

12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

Dancing Diamonds quilt pattern by PlumEasy Patterns
12 designers of Christmas

OK, some might think that this one is a bit bias. But it’s my blog 🙂

If you have an addiction to beautiful fabrics and have tons stashed in your house, this is the best pattern to showcase them all!  You don’t even have to use much of each. In fact a 1″, 1 1/2″, 2″, 2 1/2″ strip is all you need of each piece.

I wrote this pattern trying to make my dream quilt.  PlumEasy Patterns believed in my project and helped me create a template to sew my quilt with ease.  And the rest is history as we say!

So like and share this post with all your friends who are wondering what you are going to do with all your stash!  Don’t forget to leave a comment below so that I can keep track cause come December 25th, I will be randomly selected one lucky winner who will receive a copy of my pattern as my Christmas gift to you!

Please share from my blog on your favorite Social Media!

And don’t forget to leave a comment below

 

12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

12 designers of Christmas

There are so many things I love about Victoria!  Of course she makes beautiful quilts but she is so much more!  She is very active with the Quilt Alliance, writes inspirational blogs and holds a Hats & Gloves drive for kids in NYC… that’s just to name a few things.  She also got me to do some soul searching every January to find the key word for my year and turn it into a quilt!

And she has so many gift ideas to choose from:  I would love the Star Storm Quilt AND her new Aurifil thread collection.

12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

12 Designers of Christmas

If you have many Jelly rolls laying on your shelves collecting dust: This is the absolute best present you can ask for!

Marti has been in the quilting industry for over 40 years and is always finding ways to keep right on track with what we need!  We all love to get the 2 1/2″ strips from our favorite fabric collection but sewing strips together can become a bit boring.  These 3 templates will help you create more intricate designs.