Icefields is my tribute to the Canadian Rockies and the Icefields Parkway. In the summer of 2018 I took a 4000 mile, 3 week road trip camping through Banff, Jasper, the Icefields Parkway, Edmonton, Glacier National Park and Yellowstone. Thinking about 3-4 weeks without sewing lead me to take along my little singer featherweight MJ on the adventure. MJ was powered by a small generator “Sparky”, a Goal Zero 150 watt generator. You can read more about my adventures in previous posts.

Amidst the Canadian Rockies I saw and felt the jagged peaks, waterfalls and crystal blue lakes as I hiked and explored the region. But those mountains jutting out of the earth got my attention. The pure grandeur was diminishing and yet uplifting at the same time. I had to create. I started making layers of mountain. My supplies were purposefully limited to 10 fat quarters and one charm pack of Kona Cotton Snow. There is a detailed gear list in this post. I believe setting boundaries like using a small palette of fabric works to free up creative juices to flow easier.

The journey was amazing! I must confess, I did not sew as much as I thought I would, but it was a comfort to have that outlet along on the trip. Upon returning home my little MJ and I went on a few more adventures and continued to sew mountains for Icefields in fabulous locations.

The mountain blocks stayed on my design wall for the better part of a year. I would arrange and rearrange then ponder. With the addition of the small triangles the design really started to come together. Add a few more triangles and some strips to finish out the main portion of the quilt then off set borders and a stream along the side.

The quilting needed mountains, water and pebbles. I wanted to echo the mountains in the center. The border design will flow around the mountains. I do all my own quilting on my home sewing machine using free motion. The straight lines are free motion as well. I find I get straighter lines with less puckering this way.

Painters tape gave me the lines to follow without marking up the quilt top. Once I established the lines with a few rows of stitching I removed the tape. The border was fun and easy to quilt. Free flowing water and pebbles wherever they felt needed. If there was one thing I would do differently it would be to use a solid off white thread in the center of the quilt. The variegated thread works but I think I’d be happier with a solid.

A few weeks ago I took the Icefields quilt out for an overnight camp trip to Fort Flagler which is a turn of the century military installation. The Viking and I hiked, walked on the beach, lounged in hammocks and I kayaked in the bay. Such a treat to have sunshine. The rain is coming to the Pacific North West. Time to snuggle in and dream about the next adventure.

You can sew anywhere! Happy sewing!

~Diana