Christmas is almost here…

November 30, 2016November 30, 20162 Comments

I have been catching up on the quilts for my customers. Here are

some of the quilts that I have completed recently.

Anne made this lovely table topper for Christmas. The Poinsettas

really stand out and the pieced border adds alot of interest.

SONY DSC

Anne’s table topper.

Anne wanted the outside border to be quilted in an all over design

whereas the center received more attention and detail.

I used a monofilament thread to outline the fused flowers and

then a thin white thread to fill in the background space with small

stippling.

SONY DSC

The back of the table topper

The outside border shows up the quilting nicely. I think the

name of the panto, on the outside border, is “Snowballs.”

I really love how it looks like a blistery cold winter’s wind.

SONY DSC

A peach quilt

It’s been a while since I quilted this one. I think

that it is a sampler quilt.

All the time and effort it takes to create such a quilt top amazes me.

We used a light peach polyester thread for the top and the backing.

SONY DSC

The backing

“Flirtatious” is a popular panto I use alot; it gives so much

movement to the top and the backing. It is a lot of fun to stitch

out as well.

Nathalie created this huge quilt for someone special. I really

love the colors and the pattern itself.

The blocks look fairly simple to make but all the piecing sure takes

alot of time.

A light taupe polyester thread was used for the top and the backing.

I loved pieced backings, almost like having 2 quilts in one. Sometimes,

though, if there is alot of piecing on the backing, it creates alot of drag

and bumps for the hopping foot, on top. So, please keep this in mind

when you are deciding to add pieced backings to your quilts.

Again, the piecing astounds me.

I think that Lynn created this quilt top. She is a very talented

quilter and always has the best fabric around.

We used the panto “Flirtatious”once again.

The backing of the quilt.

Jeanette made this quilt and it comes with ATTITUDE.

The inside area is really a panel with fun fabrics for the

outside borders.

Each block has a different Scripture verse on it. I really

love it!!

Even the border has fun fabrics on it. And the colors are

pretty wild as well.

Jeanette chose a vibrant yellow flannel for the backing; although

it looks more like orange on my monitor.

SONY DSC

A bright yellow backing

Here you can see the fun panto we used. “Splat” is the

name of the panto and its name even depicts fun.

Jeanette also created this Christmas wallhanging.

Nancy Halvorsen is the designer and she designs

lovely Christmas Nativity scenes.

SONY DSC

Jeanette’s wallhanging

Blocks were used to create the outer border and what

better way to dress up a panel?

Stars were quilted all over the top and suits it just fine.

The pieced blocks even have Christmas prints in them.

SONY DSC

The backing

The backing also carries over the colors from the front of

the wallhanging.

This is another one of Lynn’s quilts. I was at her house

visiting one day and she showed me all of the quilts in her

closet. WOW!! I hope she doesn’t get mad at me for

mentioning this.

White polyester thread was used for the top and the backing.

A floral panto was used for the quilting design.

SONY DSC

The funky backing

Lynn made this quilt for one of her grand kids that likes

music. I love the pieced piano keys for the border.

SONY DSC

A musical quilt.

Some of the blocks in the quilt. “Lyrical” was the name

of the panto; I thought it was appropriate due to the musical

nature of the quilt top.

The piano keys border.

SONY DSC

The backing

The backing is even comprised of musical instruments, violins

to be exact. Quilters are so generous with their time, talent, and

fabrics. It even took time to search out this fabric. And I am

sure that she didn’t find it on the first trip out.

Another fun quilt by Lynn. I love the bright colors.

This is a huge quilt as well.

SONY DSC

Lynn’s quilt

I can not imagine how long it took to create, piece, and finish

this baby.

More pictures of the piecing in this top.

A large overall panto was used for the quilting design

and a white polyester thread was used for the top and

the backing.

SONY DSC

The backing

You will notice how large the motifs are on the backing.

When a quilt is large, you can use bigger motifs because

it fits in with the size of the quilt.

I hope you enjoyed all the pictures. Have a great

week.

Check out the Canadian Needle and Thread Network.

A Rough Day

November 24, 2016November 24, 20162 Comments

This past week has been one of those weeks; whatever can go wrong,

has gone wrong. To summarize, my rocker switch finally died 2

weeks ago and instead of ordering the part when I noticed it, I thought

that I would wait. Not quite sure for what but anyhow, I did. The

switch arrived fairly quickly but still I lost several days of

quilting. At this time of the year, that is not good.

And last night, our dishwasher finally decided to spill its guts

all over the basement floor. Yup!! That did not make me a

happy camper. All is well now so on to better and more

exciting things, like quilts.

Mary Ellen sent me this quilt, way back in May or April. She wanted

alot of curved cross hatching. I really love it when a customer tells me

exactly what they want; then I don’t have to fret about whether or not

they will like what I choose to quilt on their quilt.

On the Dresden Plate petals, Mary Ellen wanted the infinity symbol, kind

of like a large number 8. And feathers in the outer border area. I love

feathers, so this was not a problem.

Lots of curved cross hatching. That can be a nightmare when only using

rulers to stitch them in. I have done them before so it does get easier.

I used a white cotton thread for the top and the backing. It is really

thick in comparison to using polyester thread. I quilted in straight

lines on the red outer border so that it helped the border stand out

a little more as well.

The backing was white, sorry about the lighting. The quilting really

stands out on a solid backing.

I can’t remember who made this quilt but the owner decided

that straight lines would add some more dimension to it and I

agree.

Polyester thread was used for top and the backing. I really love

straight line stitching right now .

Carol made this quilt for a charity draw.

It is amazing how much a Log Cabin

can change in relation to how the blocks are laid out.

SONY DSC

Carol’s Quilt

Again, straight lines were chosen, even though this is a very

traditional block and quilt.

Cream was the choice of thread color and it works well with

all the different colors in the quilt top itself.

Here is a close up of the block and the quilting on it. Again, the

quilting brings the blocks to life and adds so much dimension and

texture.

SONY DSC

The backing

I love the straight lines and the backing looks so different from the

front.

A close up of the backing for you.

SONY DSC

Dorothy’s quilt?

Again, I am unsure of the owner of this quilt. It has been

several months since I completed this one.

Flirtatous is the name of the panto used for the quilting.

And a light tan polyester thread was used for the top and the backing.

The backing looks like wood; really cool, if you ask me.

A close up of the backing; I’m wondering if this is cotton

or flannel.

Have a great week and I hope your week is better than mine.

Seasonal Fall Quilts

November 16, 2016November 16, 2016Leave a comment

Here are several seasonal fall quilts that I completed a few

weeks ago.

Judy created this strippy quilt for the fall. I love the colors

in this quilt.

She also added some leaves on the outside border.

SONY DSC

Fall leaves

Can you see the brown thread on the leaves? Judy wanted a panto

in the center of the quilt but wanted to quilt the leaves herself. No

problem. I basted the outer border and quilted in the panto as I

rolled the quilt along.

What a beautiful color on the back. You can also see the design

of the panto as well.

Pieced backings are a favorite of mine but sometimes, if there are alot

of pieced blocks, it can cause the hopping foot to jump and move to

another area. For the thread, I used a polyester orangey brown for the

top and the backing.

Jeanette made this fun quilt. I love the fabric in this as well; it

resembles a town or city and all that happens there.

I used a light brown SoFine thread on the top and the

backing.

“Splat” was the name of the panto that was used.

The backing shows off the quilting nicely.

I am in love with fabric postcards and this is one I received from

Judy Stupak. Isn’t it adorable?

I have also been making some for the upcoming Christmas season.

The school bus represents September and back to school. The snowman

represents November, although we haven’t seen any of the white stuff

yet. And the ornaments are for Christmas.

I fused the ornaments onto the postcard; it was some fabric I picked up

at Lens Mills and thought it would work. The snowman is cut from a

panel I also bought at Fabricland a few years ago.

The school bus is actually inked onto a white piece of fabric and then

I cut it out after I had colored in the school bus.

It is alot of fun making these postcards and you can try out new

techniques without committing to a long time period.

If you want to join a fabric postcard exchange, check out Brandy at this

link and you can get signed up to make and receive one, or two, or three.

Make sure that you email her first and mention that you would like to

take part in the fabric postcard exchange. She will then email you and

confirm that you are registered. Have fun and enjoy!

Have a great week.

I have to name this post-this is my title.

November 3, 2016November 3, 20164 Comments

Here are some of the quilts that I have recently finished for

customers.

Can you guess what the theme of this quilt was?

Donna loves bees; and I love the fabrics that are in this quilt.

Color always draws me first into a quilt. It may be color for

some quilters, or pattern, or texture for others.

Donna added so many little hand embroidered bees all over

the quilt top. What a great way to dress it up and make it even

more special.

I had to show some photos of the fun fabrics that are

interspersed all over this quilt top.

SONY DSC

Corner block

Even the corner blocks had fun sayings in them.

Another corner block. I used a gold polyester thread for the

top and the backing.

The gold backing. Donna wanted small loops all over the

top and I added some bees, here and there, to dress it up

a bit.

I love the color of the backing as well.

Laura brought this fall themed quilt. The colors are

quite stunning.

SONY DSC

Laura’s quilt.

Each block had some picture of fall in it. Laura chose a

light cream polyester thread for the top and the backing.

And there were leaves and acorns stitched all over it.

The backing has roosters on it. It does look fall like but

why not add fabrics that you love best?

I can’t remember who made this quilt but it is lovely.

A butterfly panto/ design was requested and it worked really

well. I used a pink polyester thread for the top and the backing.

SONY DSC

The backing

You can really see the butterflies on the backing. Almost makes

it look like 2 quilts in one.

I am linking up with the Needle and Thread Network, a Canadian

site dedicated to artists of all sorts. Take a peek.

Have a great week.