Festive 2011 Issue

My "Batik Beauty" bed quilt is featured in this month's issue of "A Needle Pulling Thread" magazine (that's it in the bottom left corner of the FRONT PAGE). Once again Carla and John have put together an amazing issue and have made my quilt look even better than it does in real life!! I spent a long time collecting fat quarters of batik fabrics before I had the courage to CUT any of it and this was my first project using some of them! I love the quilt so much, and would love to put it on my bed BUT I would just hate my DOGS to be sleeping on it! Check out this month's issue of A Needle Pulling Thread magazine - available now!

Free patterns from Fairfield Road Designs

Tomorrow, October 30th, is the day of our facebook fan draw! One lucky winner will get FIVE FREE PATTERNS of their choice from Fairfield Road Designs. Please visit our facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/#!/FairfieldRoadDesigns and "like" us to have your name included in the draw. If we make it to 100 fans by tomorrow night, I will pick TWO LUCKY WINNERS. So tell your friends. Good Luck!!!

Free Pattern Download

Check out the free pattern available to download called HAPPY HALLOWEEN on my website http://uppercanadaquiltworks.com/fairfieldroaddesigns/index.html

Cornerstones

One of my new patterns (yet to be published) is called "Cornerstones". This pattern uses one Jelly Roll to make a lap sized quilt. I'm having trouble deciding which version I should use on the front cover of the pattern. These two versions use Stone Strips from Northcott, but I have made other versions using Bali Pops batiks - and they turned out BEAUTIFUL!!! Which of these two versions do YOU like???

Jewel Tones - Stones-3

Brights - Stones-4

Wow - where did the summer go???

I can't believe that I last posted in JULY!!!! But I do have a good excuse. In addition to family vacations, kids home all summer and working, I have been taking an online pharmacy course from the University of Waterloo since August 3rd - it has been very intensive and just now I am feeling like my head is once again ABOVE water :) It goes until the middle of December, but I have been able to fit in a little quilting here and there. I have also been writing LOTS of patterns as I will have 2 projects in the Spring 2012 issue of A Needle Pulling Thread, one project in AP&Q "Quilts and More" next spring, one project in "Create and Decorate" in April 2012 and finally one project in the new magazine "Primitive Quilts and Projects". All of these projects are already made (thank heavens) but now the instructions need to be written. Wish me luck!!

Sunset on Coastguard Beach - Cape Cod - Our summer family vacation

Full Bloom

Here is our new pattern called "Full Bloom" in which we used the Emma line of fabrics from Northcott. It uses two different blocks and the large flowers are done using fusible applique. Even though this design is only a wall hanging size, we think it would be lovely made as a large quilt too. The pattern is available in quilt shops or on our website:

http://uppercanadaquiltworks.com/uppercanadaquiltworkspublishingco/pages/patterns.html

Emma

Here is another new line of fabrics from Northcott - called Emma. It is super cute and the colours are so fresh!!! We just LOVED the little birds and teal and chocolate brown are one of the colour combinations we really love. We just can't wait to get the fabrics!

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Paisley Picnic

Here is our new pattern design using the Pinfeathers fabrics from Northcott - we called it Paisley Picnic and the pattern has directions for both a table runner and table topper. The pattern will be available soon at your local quilt shop, or online from our website:

http://uppercanadaquiltworks.com/uppercanadaquiltworkspublishingco/pages/patterns.html

Pinfeathers

You may have seen this fabric line in one of the latest quilting magazines - it is called Pinfeathers and it is just beautiful! Recently Nellie and I got to design with both it, and another line called Emma - both from Northcott. We can't wait for the fabrics to arrive so we can get sewing!!!

A Needle Pulling Thread

Now that the mail strike is over, our mail is slowly trickling in. So today I was very happy to look in the mailbox to find the summer issue of A Needle Pulling Thread magazine. My

Scrappy Hearts quilt pattern can be found on page 14. For this quilt I used some of my favourite country colours in two alternating blocks with a wide border. In the border I appliqued hearts that I made using crazy quilting. I just love it and hope you will too!! Look for the summer issue in book stores and quilt shops NOW!!!A Needle Pulling Thread's website is: http://www.aneedlepullingthread.com/

Woolen Sunflowers

This morning I finished writing the instructions for my Woolen Sunflowers tablerunner that is going to be in the April 2012 issue of Quilts and More by American Patchwork & Quilting. I'm so excited that I am going to have a project in that magazine!!! Can't wait to see it - I'd post pictures but I'm not allowed to until the issue is released!!! I've sent them pictures of a few other projects as well, so hopefully this is just the beginning....

Stone Circles

I just loved using my new "Winding Ways" die that I wanted to design a project that I could teach in the fall. Here is what I came up with - I just love the look of the Stonehenge fabric and how you get the circle secondary designs! This pattern will be available soon at a quilt shop near you, or on my website http://www.fairfieldroaddesigns.com/ !!

Garden Path

Here is our lastest pattern "Garden Path" designed using Northcott's "Mums the Word" line of fabrics. What do you think??? It will be soon be available at your local quilt shop or on our website - www.uppercanadaquiltworks.com !!

Mums the Word

The latest fabric line we received from Northcott was their "Mums the Word" line. Here are a few of the fabrics in the line - as you can see they are just gorgeous!!!

My newest Accuquilt die

I recently purchased a new die for my Accuquilt Studio cutter - the Winding Ways #2 die.I have always wanted to try curved piecing, but the idea of making templates, and cutting the shapes by hand turned me right off. So when I saw this die in the catalog, I wanted to give it a try. Each of the shapes has a small notch on the curved side to make pinning the blocks so easy and sewing them so accurate!! Here is my first block - I am so happy with the results!! I can't wait to make a quilt with it!!!

Fibre Friends Round Robin

This year some of the members of our Fibre Friends group decided to participate in a Round Robin Challenge. We each created an 18" square quilt centre and each month we will pass that on to a new person, who will add whatever they want to it! After everyone has had each centre, we will get our quilt top back - ready to quilt!!!

Here is my creation - I can't wait to see what I get back!!!

More ten year olds...

After my first pattern was published, I had many more ideas for quilts and decided to make them all similar in size so that I could have one nice display space and rotate the quilts to match the season - my "Changing Seasons" quilt series was born! Here are "Butterfly Spring" and the ever popular "Cold Weather Friends" which incidentally was designed on one of the hottest days in July AND remains one of my best selling patterns EVERY YEAR!!! They are both available for sale on my website http://www.fairfieldroaddesigns.com

Ten Years Old!!!

My son, Carson's, birthday is coming up at the end of the month and he is going to be TEN YEARS OLD. And he isn't my only baby to be turning ten this year - my business, Fairfield Road Designs, was started ten years ago while I was on my maternity leave with Carson. Boy how time flies!!! Here is the first quilt that I designed and published as a pattern and it is called "Everlasting Harvest".

Baby Blocks

Here is our newest pattern, designed with the "Teddy Bear Dreams" fabric line from Northcott. It is called "Baby Blocks" and is available now on our website!!!

Teddy Bear Dreams

If you are looking for fabric to make something for a new baby you should check out the "Teddy Bear Dreams" line of fabrics from Northcott. The prints are too cute - I just LOVE the one with the rubber duckies all over it!!

New patterns have finally been added!!!!

I have been a busy girl tonight! Our three new patterns, "Skating Party", "Snowed In" and "Sandstorm" are all now available on the Upper Canada Quiltworks Publishing website. Check them out at the following link:

http://www.uppercanadaquiltworks.com/uppercanadaquiltworkspublishingco/pages/patterns.html

Sandstorm

Here is a picture of our newest pattern "Sandstorm" designed using Northcott's new fabric line "Stonehenge - Mother Earth Skins". The pattern will be available soon in quilt shops and on our website http://www.uppercanadaquiltworks.com/uppercanadaquiltworkspublishingco/index.html

Stonehenge - Mother Earth Skins

Now, animal prints are not usually my thing, but I am super excited about the newest quilt pattern that Nellie and I have designed for Northcott - here is a sample of the fabrics that we used from their new line "Mother Earth Skins":

Top secret quilt

One of the ladies in our quilt guild asked me to quilt her cross-stitched sampler quilt for her. She is planning to "unveil" it at our guild quilt show next year, so she asked me not to show anyone the quilt. But I am quite proud of the quilting I did for her, so here is the back of the quilt.

The front is mainly done in browns, but the backing she gave me was a teal blue. Not wanting any blue pokies to show through on the front, I decided to use brown in the bobbin - and I'm glad that I did because it REALLY shows off the quilting! Can't wait for everyone to see this quilt - it is AMAZING!! She must have spent thousands of hours doing the cross-stitched pieces.

Carson's Turtle Quilt

One Saturday morning, I was in my studio loading a quilt onto my frame. Carson came in, was looking around and asked if I had a quilt that had turtles on it. I told him "No" and of course, the next natural question (from Carson) was "Can we make one today?". So I abandoned the quilt for the morning and we got busy! I showed him how to draw his design onto paper, then transfer it onto fusible web. He picked out the fabrics, then I ironed all the pieces for him. I cut and sewed on the borders for him, then he got to work cutting and organizing all of his "turtle parts". He used the AccuCut machine to make some flowers for the background.

I showed him how to use a Teflon sheet to assemble his turtles - then we were ready to adhere them to the quilt. We used fusible batting and some invisible thread to quilt/applique down the turtles - Carson did most of the quilting.

Then he finished quilting the background with some nice bright variegated thread and I sewed on the binding. Here is his finished quilt - as you can tell, he is quite proud of himself!!