Once Upon a Time

My, oh my, does the time fly! It has been a busy year and I realized that I haven’t posted to my blog for a LONG while! So, today is the day!

I do a TON of stuff – videos, patterns, online classes, in-person classes, etc. – which is all quilting related and I do quilt on real quilts from time to time! The past few months I have been working on some AMAZING quilts and now I want to show you some of them.

This first quilt I am going to highlight is a quilt I made for my Granddaughter Maddie Tong. As with each quilt, there is a story!

This quilt was made from a kit that I found (on a great sale) while visiting with my sister in Illinois. We went “shop hopping” in her area and I found the kit.

Click on any image for a larger view.

I did a little research and this was offered in 2018 by Moda. I purchased the kit in late 2019, pieced it 2021 and finally quilted it earlier this year, 2022.

The quilt is WAY too cute, WAY too much fun to piece and WAY, WAY too much fun to quilt!

Here is the finished quilt! It is a larger twin size.

Here are some of the quilting details –

I quilted a feather cable in the outer borders and a combination of continuous curves, ribbon stipple, swirls and other fill in patterns to complete the quilting, The batting is Warm Company, Soft & Bright and I used an assortment of Signature 100% cotton, machine quilting threads.

For the center Castle block I did straight lines (free hand), wavy cross hatching, continuous curve, landscape stipple and swirls in the hearts.

Here is the back of the quilt and you can see a lot of the quilting detail even though the backing fabric is a fairly busy print

And of course, here is one HAPPY Granddaughter!!

I know she will use and enjoy this quilt for many, many years!

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Snowflakes and Feathers

It has been a wild last few weeks! It seems like the more I stay home, the busier I become! Of course, I’m not cleaning the house or anything like that. I have been sewing, quilting, knitting and creating many new things!

I just finished this quilt for a customer, and I can’t tell you how much fun I had quilting it!!

The pattern is Snowflake, by Modern Hand Crafts. (For details on the pattern Click Here) and it was perfectly pieced.

Click on any photo for a larger view

This quilt is 60 x 72 inches. I quilted swirls in the background with silver high sheen poly thread. The snowflake has a combination of feathered wreaths and feather.

Here is a close look of the snowflake.

And here is a closer view of the “middle” of the quilt.

We can’t forget the back of the quilt.

This is a spectacular quilt and I love the fabric that my customer used!

Here is one more quilt I recently finished. This is a quilt my sister pieced a while ago and she wanted to gift it to a friend. She sent it to me and I went a little crazy with feathers! Which was totally appropriate for this quilt. All the feathers are free hand and I did have to make some (many) registration lines for the outer feather borders.

Click on any photo for a larger view

I can’t remember the exact size of this quilt, but it was about a Queen Size. My sister did an excellent job with the piecing!

Here is a corner of the quilting. I used a cable feather in the outer borders, wavy lines in the inner borders and all over, free hand, feathes and swirls in the body of the quilt. I used Soft & Bright batting and Signature 100% cotton machine quilting thread in the color Linen.

Here is the other corner of this quilt. I LOVE the texture of the quilting!

And, of course, you got to see the back of the quilt!

My sister gave the quilt to her friend and her friend LOVED IT!!!!

Stay healthy, keep busy, keep quilting!!!

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Ric Rac Rabbit

Oh my goodness, it has been a (long) while since I have written on my blog! A lot has been happening and I finally have a few moments to write.

It was a busy late Summer, Fall and early Winter! Where does the time go??? I have been teaching, traveling, quilting, knitting, designing and in all of that, I had the floors replaced is 75% of my house!

Here is a quilting update –

My latest finished project is a quilt for a customer, who is going to be a first time Grandma. She is so excited!! Her daughter in law picked the fabric, my customer pieced it and I quilted it.

The fabric is from a line called Ric Rac Rabbit from Andover Fabrics. The quilt is 35 x 42 inches and it is way too cute!! I used Soft & Bright batting and Signature 100% cotton machine quilting threads for the quilting.

Click on any photo for a larger view

Here is a close up of the center of the quilt. In the background I used a grid design that is based on diagonal half square triangles quilted with wavy lines. ( I LOVE wavy lines!!) Around the rabbit I did echo quilting and then quilted some detail on the star.

Here is a photo of the back of the quilt where you can see most of the quilting detail.

Flower Basket Quilt

Every New Year’s Day for the last 11 years I have done a New Year’s Day Mystery Quilt event, and this New Year’s Day was the Flower Basket Quilt.

Here is what I started with – pieced baskets, lots of background fabric and lots of borders. I know, it’s going to take a LOT of quilting to make it look good!

When it was finished, it looked like this! What a transformation!!! There is a TON of texture in the background, lots of feathers in the borders and the flowers and basket handles are appliqued with the longarm!!!! 

You have got to click on the photo to see all the detail!

Here is a closer view of one of the baskets. Notice that the background quilting in this block is the same as the Ric Rac Rabbit quilt above!

And here is a closer view of the feather border, which is done free hand!! In fact, ALL the quilting on this quilt is done free hand!

The Flower Basket quilt is an online class and is open for registration. You can get more details by Clicking Here

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and that 2019 will be a fabulous year for you and your family!

 

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Pebbles and Feathers

I have been working on a couple of HUGE quilts lately and I finally have some time to post photos!

The first quilt is 106 x 106 inches and it is gorgeous!! It is the Labyrinth Quilt pattern by Debbie Maddy. My customer did a great job with the piecing.

Click on any photos for a closer view.

The photos don’t do justice to the color of the fabrics. In real live the colors are more vibrant.

I quilted the “fabric” and didn’t put any other pattern on it.

There were small circles or dots on the light teal fabric and I quilted pebbles on this fabric! It was slow going because the pebbles were fairly small and dense.  (click on the photo and expand the view to see the pebbles.)

Here is what a section of the pebbles looks like from the back.

It has been a long time since I quilted pebbles like that, and it may be a while before I do them again! But they do look wonderful on this quilt!

Here is a closer view of the center of the quilt.

And here is a view of the back of the center of the quilt. The backing fabric is actually a very rich dark chocolate brown.

The other quilt I have been working on is a Star Sampler quilt. This customer started making the star blocks and then built the quilt around the blocks. She had no specific quilt pattern when she started the piecing. This quilt is 94 x 116 inches!

I have the quilt hanging on my clothesline to take the photos, but I still couldn’t get the whole quilt photographed!

Click on any photo for a larger view.

I love the large borders and I quilted feathers in the outer border, but you can’t see them.

In the green border I quilted a 4 inch Double Cable and then feathers (some of which you can see) in the inner borders.

I kept the quilting fairly simple in the blocks. I also hope you can see the feathers in the light background behind the block.

Here is a small portion of the back of the quilt. Here you can see the quilting in the large outer border and the cables.

One more photo of the blocks and hopefully you can see the feather work in the light background areas.

I had WAY too much fun working on both of these quilts and both my customers were THRILLED with the quilting!

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Swoon, Swirls & Birds

It has been a while since I have posted quilt photos. So here are some of my latest projects.

Swoon Quilt – My friend brought me this quilt called “Swoon,” perfectly pieced in Civil War reproduction fabrics and she said “do what you want.” I love those words! (For the Swoon pattern Click Here)

Since the fabrics were traditional, the quilting is somewhat traditional with feathers.

Click on any photo for a larger view.

These blocks are large, 24 inches square with sashing. The whole quilt measured 84 x 96 inches.

Here is a close up of the feathers in the “center” which is where the blocks and sashings come together. Believe it or not, most of the feathers in this section of the background fabric were quilted with one start and one stop!

Here is a close up of the block quilting. I used the same “football feather” in the center of the block and in the  piecing around the star. The thread is Mother Goose by Signature and the batting is Warm & White.

The top and bottom Pinwheel border was a challenge. There are lots of different things I could quilt in it, but …. , there is the issue of bulky “seam joins.” This is where all the seams come together and there is so much bulk that you can’t get your needle/hopping foot over the seams and you can’t get way into the corner to quilt points. So, in keeping with the traditional theme, I quilted a Double Cable design over the Pinwheels – which turned out really nice!

Here is another view of the Cable on the Pinwheel border.

Squares & Swirls – This is a totally different quilt from a customer

A more modern quilt and very nicely pieced. Another big quilt 84 x 94 inches and a lot of fun to work on.

I used the All Over Swirls free hand design for the quilting. I love the “flow” of the quilting on top of the straight lines of the piecing.

Birds Through the Door Quilt – This quilt was a little more of a challenge to work on. It was originally going to be a wall quilt, then my customer added extra fabric to the bottom to make it into a lap quilt for a friend. What do you do with the extra fabric at the bottom of the quilt? We turned the quilt into a “door” and you can view the birds through the windows in the door! Now, how do you quilt a door?

I found a free hand “wood grain” quilting design and I did some practice quilting on muslin.

Then I did some research on how a door was constructed and then “constructed” a door on the fabric.

I even made some panels on the bottom.  This quilt is only 39 x 52 inches, but there is a fair amount of quilting on it.

 

Here is a view of the upper half of the quilt. I did a lot of “detail quilting” on the birds, the tree and the nests. You can’t see it, but it is there! Also check out the texture of the wood grain quilting in the green and beige fabrics.  (Click on the photos for a larger view)

 

And here is the bottom of the quilt. I hope you can see the panels in the “door” and all the wood grain texture.

This quilt was a challenge, but a lot of fun. And it is beautiful!

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Blindman’s Fancy Quilt

December FLEW by in a whoosh! I have been sooooo busy – which is a very good thing – I haven’t had time to post!

I have been working on several AMAZING quilts and will be posting photos of them over the next few days.

This quilt, Blindman’s Fancy, was an incredibly quilt to work on! I did a Google search to find out who designed the pattern, but couldn’t find anything specific. There were more than a few photos of the same “style” of quilt with somewhat similar fabrics. But only a few of the photos showed the quilting on the quilt.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get a whole view of the quilt I did, but here is a photo from The Quilted Pineapple blog of what the whole quilt looks like.

Click on any photo for a larger view.

The quilt I did for my customer, Karla S, looked very similar almost the same colors and fabrics.

I quilted the blocks all the same with feathers, feathers and more feathers. This photo does not do the quilt or the quilting justice! There is a feathered wreath in the center of the block and more feather “swags” surrounding the wreath. There is contentious curve quilting in the Flying Geese blocks and more feathers in the corners of the block. There is a TON of texture on the quilt from the quilting. I used a matching thread throughout the quilt. In the photo the colors are a little washed out. They are much more vibrant in real life!

Here is a photo of the back of the block quilting. Again, the color on the photo is really washed out. The fabric is really a medium dark gold with a brown print.

I went a little crazy in the border! It was huge and I quilted my Amish Swirl Feather border design.

This is the corner of the quilt and you can really see the quilting here! A lot of work, but well worth it!

Another view of the border, away from the corner.

One more photo of the border from the back of the quilt where you can see the detail of the quilting.

FWIW – to quilt this border I used the 8 inch Circle Feather Guide from Longarm University.

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My Aunt’s Quilt

My Aunt Esther, after many years of pain, had her knee replaced a few weeks ago. When I was visiting with her – and the rest of my family – earlier this year, I told her that if she got her knee replaced, I would gift her with a quilt.

Before I put her quilt in the mail to her, I took some photos. I LOVE how her quilt turned out! I had pieced the top a few years ago while on vacation. (Don’t laugh, I know of MANY quilters who bring their sewing stuff with on vacation!)

My Aunt loves traditional quilting, and this quilt delivers it!

Click on any photo for a larger view.

I quilted feathers all over the quilt! In the “open” spaces, I quilted feathered wreaths with a slightly contrasting thread. Then I quilted curved feather “fill in” stitching with a matching thread. Lastly, I quilted Continuous Curves in the 9 Patch – 4 Patch blocks.

I went wild on the borders! I used the Single Small Cable Template for the inner border and the Triple Cable Template for the outer border. Again, the feathers were quilted with a slightly contrasting thread.

I can’t wait to hear what my Aunt Esther says about her new quilt and I am wishing her a speedy recovery from her surgery!

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Tonga Batik Quilt

Here is a quilt I just finished quilting. It is a FABULOUS quilt and I enjoyed every minute of quilting it.

It is a large 93 x 104 inch Block of the Month and it is very well pieced. My customer, Karla S, from Texas, did a great job! I LOVE the fabrics and it quilted up really well.

Here is the details about the Block of the Month –

Tonga Batik Back To Nature Block of The Month

Quilt Pattern by Wing and A Prayer Design

Fabric Collection by Timeless Treasures

Here are the photos – click on any one for a larger view

The quilt is hanging outside on my clothesline and it is so big that the bottom of the quilt is on the ground!  the fabrics! I haven’t trimmed it yet – I’ll do that tomorrow! The batting is Soft & Bright by Warm Company. I love that batting!

Here is the upper corner. Click on the photo and you should be able to see some of the quilting. I quilted a Triple Cable in the outer border, feathers in the Log Cabin areas and a lot of custom quilting in the individual blocks.

Here is the center of the quilt. Isn’t it amazing! Great job, Karla!

I am hoping that you can see the Triple Cable in the outer border. I also quilted feathers in the green, inner border. I used a variety of Signature, 100% cotton threads.

One last photo – this time the back of the quilt. You can see the detail of the quilting a little better. Click on the photo to see all the quilting.

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December Quilts

Wow! Has time flown by!! After staying with my daughter for six weeks after my second hip replacement surgery, I was able to move back home on November 23.  It feels SO good to be back in my own space and sleep in my own bed.

When I moved back home, I was “back in the game” and have been working hard ever since. I have been piecing quilt tops, quilting many quilts and working on several different (long-term) projects at one time. I have even been able to quilt a few customer Christmas quilts.

At this time last year, before I had both of my hips replaced,  I could only stand and quilt for about 20 minutes at a time. Walking around the quilting machine was painful and I had an AWFUL limp. Now, it is a totally different story! Last night, I was standing and quilting for nearly TWO HOURS!!! I was in the “quilting groove” –  the Christmas music station was playing on my SmartPhone, earplugs were in my ears and I was focused on my quilting. I didn’t even realize that nearly two hours had passed by – and I didn’t hurt, anywhere, at all! I even felt that I could have quilted for a while longer, but I didn’t want to push my luck. Plus, it was nearly 10 pm and I was getting tired. And I felt SOOO GOOOOOOD!!!!

Here are some photos of the customer quilts I have completed this month (December)

This quilt, Eagles and Stars,  was made by Sharon C. and it is huge – 110 x 110 inches and very well pieced. This eagle panel is in the middle of the quilt. There are four other smaller eagle panels that are placed around the center panel. I quilted a lot of feathers – in the blocks, in the borders and around the eagle panels.

Click on any photos for a larger view.

It has been very stormy and rainy the last few days and I can’t hang this quilt up outside to show the whole quilt. If the rain stops and things dry out a bit (in my dreams – this IS Seattle in the winter!) I’ll try to get a large view of this quilt. These photos are taken with the quilt draped over the quilting machine. I had to work with the overhead lights off so I could get some of the details of the quilting to show. I apologize in advance for the darkness of the photos. If I have the big lights on, you can’t see the quilting. With the big lights off, you see the quilting but the photos are dark.

Here is a photo of the stars in this quilt with the big lights on. You can see a little bit of the quilting detail, but not much.

Here is a photo with the big lights off and you can see the quilting a whole lot better.

Here is a photo of the back of the quilt and you can see most of the quilting. The backing fabric is a beige with white print fabric. You can also see that I quilted the Feather Cable in the border. This was a fun quilt and I really enjoyed working on it. I can’t wait for my customer to see it!

The next two quilts were made by Chris W. She does such a nice job with the piecing and I love her fabric colors.

The first quilt, Black & Beige, is a simple quilt about 68 x 80 inches.

I wanted to do some fancy quilting on it, so I quilted feathered wreaths in the large blocks. In the spaces at the corners of the blocks, there was enough room for small feathered wreaths.

With the printed fabric, it is hard to see the feathered wreaths, but they are there! I used Soft & Bright batting which gives a bit of loft and texture to the quilting.

For the border, I quilted the “Amish Swirled Feather” design. I used the Feather Guide templates from Longarm U to make the feathered wreaths and the border designs. For info about these templates Click Here 

Chris W had another quilt, again, simple piecing, but fabulous fabrics. As you can see, it is four patches with sashings and a border. Simple, but extremely elegant!

I quilted feather plumes in the four patches and a swirled feather design in the sashings.

The border was a bit of a challenge. Every kind of pattern I wanted to quilt, feathers, Sashiko, etc., just didn’t look right. So, I quilted on the design already on the fabric. The quilting really doesn’t show (I’m OK with that) and it gives texture to the border area. I do love the look of this type of quilting.

You can see the detail of the quilting on the border in the photo above.

All of these quilts were fun, fun, fun to work on and it feels soooo gooood to be able to quilt again!

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Two Customer Quilts

I have been busy, busy, busy the last few weeks, working hard at the quilting machine!

There are two new customer quilts that I finished and want to show to everyone. The piecing was great on both quilts and I had a ton of fun quilting them.

There are many quilting “things” that I do. One of them is being a contributor to the “Fresh Ideas” column in the On Track magazine. OnTrack magazine is produced by the International Machine Quilting Association (IMQA). In this column, a drawing of a pieced quilt top is sent to me and two other contributors, who then “quilt” it as if it were our own, or a customer’s quilt. In the last issue, the quilt top pattern that was sent was a Log Cabin quilt. One of the quilting options I submitted was the design below.

I know that his may look like a very un-assuming design, but, when it is quilted it is spectacular!

Then, a few weeks later Shari R, brought a beautiful, King Size, 106 x 106 inch Log Cabin quilt to be quilted. I KNEW exactly what to quilt on it! The same design as above! And here are the results – Click on any photo for a larger view.

This is four Log Cabin blocks with the light part of the cabin in the middle. I used Signature 100% cotton, Camel in the light areas and Walnut in the dark areas. The batting is Soft & Bright by Warm Company.

This is an (almost) full view of the quilt. There are 9 “medallions”, made from four Log Cabin blocks. The quilt is too big for my clothsline, so I folded 1/3 of the quilt to the back. I love the fabric that were used in this quilt!

Here is a photo of the medallion and the border and corner. The border was made using the Longarm University, Triple Cable Template set and the corner was made using the Longarm U, 6 inch Circle Feather Guide.  I LOVE the way the cable and feather border, and so did my customer!

A few weeks later, Cynthia H. brought a quilt that was made using a Fat Quarter collection. (I don’t know if there is a specific name to this quilt.)  I quilted Free Hand Feathers & Swirls as an all over, edge to edge pattern. I love the texture that this quilting design makes. Click on any photo for a larger view.

This quilt measures 58 x 70 inches. This photo is not the best. I took the photo early in the morning and there is too much sunshine. (Is it possible that there is TOO much sunshine in Seattle!)

Here is a close up of the piecing and quilting on this quilt. I used Signature 100% cotton thread, Praline Pink and the batting is Warm & Natural.

Here is a closer look at the quilting. I love the texture and the swirls give a lot of “movement” to the quilting.

I had a lot of fun quilting both of these quilts and both of my customers LOVED the finished quilts! And through all of this, there was a lot of sunshine in Seattle!!

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