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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New Year, New Quilts!

My oh my!! I don’t believe it has been six months since I have posted to my blog! Where does the time go? These last few months HAVE been busy. Even though I have been somewhat housebound – thank you Mr. Covid – there is still a LOT of quilting to do, patterns to create, instructions to be written, samples to be made, etc., etc.

On New Year’s Day 2021, I hosted my annual Mystery Quilt Along class on the Longarm Classroom website. This year, the quilt was “Winter Stars” For more details on this quilt and online class Click Here 

Click on the photos for a larger view.

The quilting, which was done with contrasting thread, was fairly simple feathers, but when they feathers “came together” they formed some secondary patterns. 

       

When the dust settled from the Mystery Quilt Along, I began working on some customer quilts. 

This quilt, Prairie Points and Pinwheels, 37 x 44 inches, was impeccably pieced by Connie M, and it is FUN to quilt! 

I quilted a feather border and had the feathers dip in between the Prairie Points. The body of the quilt is quilted with an all over, free hand feathers and swirls pattern. Click on the photos for a larger view. 

   

And today, I finished this quilt, 56 x 73 inches, for Shirley R. Again, an impeccably pieced quilt! This is the Boomerang Quilt pattern. You can view the pattern details by Clicking Here Click on the photos for a closer view

     

The quilting is all free hand with the matchstick quilting in the main part of the blocks and a diamond “spiral” in the smaller part of the blocks. The quilting was going along smoothly with no problems. Then, when I was finished and turned the quilt over, Oh NO!!!! I had the dreaded “big loops” on the back of the quilt. This has not happened to me for a LONG time!!! It started from when I put the last bobbin in the quilt. The quilting goddess is keeping me VERY humble! 

So I took the quilt off the machine, took out all the bad stitching, put the quilt back on the machine and re-quilted the area. All the time checking the back for the big loops. Thankfully, the big loops disappeared and the back now looks wonderful. Check out the photos below. 

Here are the dreaded big loops!

 

And here is the back of the finished quilt. I LOVE the texture on the back! You can’t even tell where I took out the stitches! 

I am going to believe that my “big quilting mistake” of the year is now over and done with, and that all my quilting in the rest of the year will be problem free! 

Now, on to the next quilt! 

 

 

 

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Batik Log Cabin

My oh my! It has been a while since I have posted to my blog! I have been busy the last few months, I have been traveling, visiting family, designing quilts, making quilts and of course quilting quilts! (That is a lot of “Q” words!)

Here is my latest customer quilt. Karla did a wonderful job of piecing this Batik Log Cabin quilt. This quilt is HUGE! It is 110 x 132 inches and each block is 22 inches square!

It is so huge that I could only photograph half of the quilt as it is hanging on my backyard clothesline!

Click on any photo for a larger view

The colors of the fabrics are fabulous and I love the center of each block (which is 10 inches square!) I used NINE different colors of high sheen polyester thread. Yes, it does take time to change each color, but it is worth it!! Here are the threads!

Here is the quilting on the blocks –

The photo is in a large pixel format. Please enlarge the photo to see the quilting detail an the thread colors! I quilted feathers along the diagonal from the corners to the middle of the block, stopping the feathers at the edge of the center block. Where the colors of the fabric change in the corners, I changed the colors of the thread. I love the overall texture that the feathers give the quilt.

Then I quilted the centers individually, following the lines of the printed design in the center block and filled in around the center with echo quilting and ribbon stipple.

Here is a photo of another block, in a large pixel format. I hope you can see the detail of the quilting.

It is amazing how a simple Log Cabin quilt can be changed / adapted to become a fabulous quilt!

 

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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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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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Running Horses Quilt

I just finished quilting this piece for my customer, Shirley S. This is an original design made with fusible applique and Shirley did a great job on the piecing.  It is 56 x 36 inches and will be hanging on the wall in my customer’s home.

Double click on all photos for a larger view.

This is a wonderful quilt and I enjoyed quilting it! There is a flange of the background fabric between the binding and the border.

Here is a close up of the quilting and the quilt. I did landscape stippling in the background with copper, high sheen polyester thread. The horses are quilted very simply, adding some detail to the horses. I matched the color of the thread to the color of the horses. The cactuses are quilted with green variegated thread.

Here is a photo of the back of the quilt. You can see the original design I quilted in the border. The backing fabric is a grey-black solid fabric.

Another view of the back of the quilt. You may be able to see the quilting on the horses.

This was fun quilt to work on and I loved quilting it!

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Sally’s Scrap Quilt

What do you do when you have some time and a lot of scrap fabric? You piece a scrappy quilt top. What do you do when you have a friend who is going through a rough time and you want to offer them some encouragement? You quilt the scrappy quilt top and give it to them as a gift.

That is exactly what I did with this quilt. I loved piecing it a while back and knew then, that it would be going to a good home someday. And today is the day. It is a combination Christmas and “everything is going to be all right” gift.

Here are the photos – click on them for a larger view.

I think there are scraps from nearly piece of  fabric in my stash – and then some!

A close up of the piecing and the quilting. Quilting is simple, free hand, ribbon stipple.

Another close up.  The blocks and the sashings were quilted indvidaully with Signature, Victorian varigated thread, and then I went back and quilted in the black fabric using Signature, Shadows varigated thread.

A look at the back. The fabric is kind of a tie dye with blue, black, beige and white. It is perfect for this quilt!

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Santa Fe Strip Quilt

The last customer quilt for Christmas is finished! Chris W brought this quilt a few weeks ago and I LOVE it! I love the colors and the pattern and piecing is wonderful! I got the feel of the Southwest when I looked at it and was thinking of quilting Southwest images on it. But when I looked for Southwest designs, they were either to cartoon-y” or had a ton of detail which would have been difficult to quilt. I was also afraid that too much detail would overwhelm the piecing.

I liked the contrast between the light background and the darker inside. So I went with simple quilting in both, letting the piecing and the colors stand out. The background is quilted with a high sheen poly thread that is a yellowish beige and almost disappears in the fabric – which is what I wanted – and you see only texture. The quilting is the darker middle of the quilt is free hand swirls, a totally different design than the background – again, what I was aiming for. The swirls are quilted with copper high sheen polyester thread and you see them more on the lighter fabrics than the darker fabrics.

Here are the photos of this wonderful quilt. Click on the photos for a larger view.

I LOVE the colors in this quilt!

A closer look at the quilting. I love the contrast of both the colors of the fabrics and the quilting “lines”.

A close up of the free hand swirls. You can see them really well on the lighter fabrics, but the disappear in the darker fabric. I did some Continuous Curves in the small Flying Geese triangles.

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