Merry Christmas!

December 21, 2014December 21, 20142 Comments

I am hoping that you will have a Merry Christmas! Here are some

of the projects I was trying to finish up last week. The fabric

postcard above, was sent to me from Mary. Didn’t she do a great

job? I love getting these in the mail. I was surprised that the

buttons didn’t break or get hooked in the mail sorting machines.

This cute quilt was made by Anna, for her grand daughter.

There were 20 blocks in each quilt and they were all hand

embroidered. Anna is very talented when it comes to hand

embroidery.

Who can resist these cute animals?

The sunfish looks kind of tired though.

I used a purple and white polyester thread. In the blocks,

I stitched around all the embroidery and the block. I thought

that the space needed some extra stitching, to hold the block

down, so I quilted in some swirls. When the whole quilt is laid out,

it looks like flowers. In the sashing, I stitched leaves and added

more swirls to finish off the flower.

Here is what the backing looks like. The purple fabric

blends well with the top of the quilt and the stitching

stands out really well too.

Here is the second quilt that Anna made. She was one

busy lady this past year. I love the green fabric too.

In the sashing, I quilted a wavy line. I wanted to quilt

this one a little different from the first one. These 2 quilts

were going to sisters so I wanted them to be slightly different

from one another.

I also used a white and green polyester thread and again

stitched around the embroidery and the outside of the block.

This time, I quilted hearts in the corners of the white blocks.

The backing is a solid green color and the stitching shows

beautifully as well.

Again, from our house to yours, have a Merry Christmas!

A Christmas Tree Skirt

December 11, 2014Leave a comment

Here is Dale’s Tree Skirt.

Don’t you just love the fabrics- all metallic and Christmasy?

The black poinsetta section received straight lines. I used some

new 40 weight Metro Embroidery thread that I had just

purchased. Because it is embroidery thread, it has a bit of

sheen to it, I thought it would complement the

metallic fabric.

In the star area, I outlined the star, in the grey area but in the

middle black area, I quilted in an orange peel. If I had quilted

nothing there, it would have stood out a bit so it needed some

loving too.

This is the center of the Tree Skirt. I wanted it to

look really special. Dale had mentioned that she wanted

Holly Leaves and Poinsettas as a design element so I

looked around for what I had. I do not own a

computerized longarm but I have to look for

design elements myself. I have a series of books and CD”S by

QuiltMaker that have tons of design elements in them.

The CD”S are great because you can print

any design element in whatever size you prefer. No

enlargements on my part. I found this design in

one of the books-Volume 6, maybe. It has a Poinsetta in

the middle surrounded by Holly Leaves. It fits the bill

perfectly.

I used the same design element but changed up it slightly for

the grey blocks too. I used normal printing paper to print

off the design and I pinned it on the block and stitched right

over it. No marking at all on the quilt top. The metallic

fabric wouldn’t pick up the chalk I use anyways. I am very

particular about marking on someone’s else quilt. Usually

I use chalk on dark fabrics, it just brushes off. On white fabric, I

use a disappearing air marker, SewLine, is the brand. If I

mark 2 blocks at once, the second one disappears before

I even quilt it. The only draw back to this approach, is

picking off all that paper. It can get messy. I used a tweezer

to help me with the small pieces. I also used 12 stitches to

the inch, it helps the paper tear off easier.

In the grey area, beside the center red section, I quilted in more

Holly Leaves. The same leaves were quilted in this area but

in a different layout. It is amazing how much you can use

the same design element but in so many different ways.

This is the back of the Tree Skirt. Don’t you just love it?

It is a great fabric because it hides all the different thread colors

used and you can not see all those pesky stops and starts.

Have a great week.

Traditional meets Modern

December 4, 2014December 4, 20146 Comments

This quilt belongs to Susan. The piecing is phenomenal on

this quilt. Everything is straight, square, and flat. What more

can you ask for?

Don’t you just love the border? Intially, when I first looked at

it, I thought it was pieced. But no, it is actually a print! We decided

to quilt right along the lines. A blue polyester thread was used for

this border area. It looks like cross hatching when you turn the

quilt over.

A close up of the blocks and the border area. Susan wanted feathers

in the blocks, both in the cream area and the blue print area. It

seemed appropriate due to the log cabin strips that make up the blocks.

In the dark blue star, I quilted an outline 1/4″ inside of it. I also

quilted in the square and inside of the square, an orange peel. I also

outlined around the outside of the star as well.

Around each block there was that outer dark blue log. Instead of

incorporating this into the sashing, we kept it as part of the Log

Cabin blocks themselves. In one area of the quilt, this meant that

one part of the outer log would not be incorporated into the

block. No problem. I used that area to quilt in a swirl design and

it helps this traditional quilt have a modern twist to it.

The backing always tells a story as well. This is what one block

looks like.

This is the whole quilt. As you can see, I did use a cream polyester

thread too. It is easier when you use the same thread color on the top

and backing-less tension issues. However, if you don’t like this look,

then you have to consider more carefully the color of your backing.

Dorothy made this quilt for a little guy, who recently announced that

he would like to have his own quilt.

Dorothy whipped this cutie up pretty quickly.

I had so much fun looking at all the squares of fabric. Some of it I had

never seen before.

For instance, Thomas The Tank Engine, I haven’t

seen that before. What young lad wouldn’t love this?

And the Berstein Bears? Where did this come from?

And Mario, where did she find this? My boys would

love this.

And who could resist Spiderman?

You have got to love the plaid fabric for the backing.

I used a dark blue polyester thread for the top and the

backing. A panto called “Quirky” was used the

quilting.

I am positive that this young guy will absolutely love

this quilt for Christmas.

Have a great week.

Stitching Impressions

All aspects of longarm quilting

Month: December 2014

Merry Christmas!

A Christmas Tree Skirt

Traditional meets Modern