Month: December 2017

Merry Christmas to you…

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Before I get into this blog post, I want to wish everyone a “Merry Christmas!”

Have a great relaxing Christmas and don’t eat too much turkey or chocolate.

Connie’s Quilt

This is Connie’s beautiful quilt;  it is very modern and lots of empty wide open spaces

for quilting and texture. Connie designed it by herself and did a great job.

Angela Walters is a favorite quilter of Connie’s so that gave me some ideas and areas to

look into. I love it when my customers tell me what they like and don’t like;  this helps

me to know how to make sure they like the finished product.

I used a monofilament thread to do all the stitching around the blocks;  I used a

light white So Fine thread for the back of the quilt.

In the honeycomb area, I simply stitched the shape in straight lines, on

both sides. The texture is amazing. The 9 Patch area was just stitched around. I did

stitch in a straight line in the grey area framing the 9 Patch though.

In this picture, I followed the print in the aqua blue  print and straight lines

were added.

This is the center of the quilt so I added  more detail to draw the eye somewhat.

I did a elongated loop in the grey area inside the block. In order to make the design

a continuous line, I angled the design in the corners but in retrospect, I would not

have done that now. I really don’t like the look of it.

In the grey open area, I made some loops to add some interest to the area and

to break up the space.

The two houses were stitched in the same thread color as the fabric and I merely

followed the lines in the print. Why fight with it? Connie must have liked the fabric

so it is easy to quilt in that area.

The back of the quilt shows off the quilting but because it is a print, it is a little harder

to see but it is there.

More fantastic texture. The quilt does look better in person than in pictures.

This is the block in the middle of the quilt.

More lovely texture and straight line quilting.

Well, I hope that you enjoyed this beautiful Christmas

quilt. Connie picked up her quilt yesterday and loved it. That makes

me happy and gives me an early Christmas gift.

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Happy Skiers and Snowmobilers….

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In my small corner of the world, we have snow. It fell quietly last night and

amounted to about 4-5 inches. The skiers and snowmobilers are going to be

very happy from here on in. As for me, it makes me happy too because I

can stay indoors and sew and quilt all day long. There is now no temptation

to go outside. What about you? Do you like the snow?

This quilt was quilted in the early fall so I don’t remember who created it.

The yellow really plays nicely with the black and grey colors.

This block stood out to me, not quite sure why but I do like the

transparency of the inner block inside the yellow.

I also found the 4 patch and white block interesting as well.

“Flirtatous” is the name of the overall design stitched onto the

top. I used a light cream color for the top of the quilt and a

black polyester thread for the back of the quilt. Beware of

tension issues when using a light colored thread on the top of

your quilt and a dark colored thread on the backing.

The backing

As you can see by the photo above, the backing almost looks grey but in the

photo below, it is actually black.

Again, I can’t remember who created this quilt. I do like the piecing, very effective

visually. So much so, that I pieced together a baby quilt using the same pattern.

A close up of the blocks; I was pleasantly surprised how quickly these blocks

go together. Mind you, mine didn’t have so many pieces in the individual

blocks.

“Swirl” is the name of the design quilted onto the top. I used  a grey

polyester thread for the top and the backing.

The backing has gorgeous fabric on it and I think it reminds me of Lynn.

A close up of the backing.

 

Jeanette or Anne made this quilt from a panel. What a great idea to add

blocks to enlarge the panel. And it adds to the theme and color of the panel

as well. Quilters can be so creative. This is one aspect of my job that I love;

seeing how others come up with their own designs.

A close up of the blocks and fabric used for the quilt.

The backing

This backing isn’t cotton but a thin polyester fabric. It worked well on the frame

and didn’t give me any trouble at all. Feel free to use other fabrics than cotton

on the back of your quilts. Just remember to consider how stretchy the fabric

may be before you purchase it.

Leaves were stitched all over the quilt and a light blue So Fine Thread was used

for the top and the backing.

Lynn made this quilt as a result of a BOM at her local Guild. I love the colors and

Lynn went bold in her choice of thread color-teal.

An overall swirl was quilted and one of her lucky grandkids will be

getting this baby.

Hope you get out and enjoy the snow, if you have any in your corner

of the world.

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Details, details…

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The days and weeks leading up to Christmas  Day is always a busy time. Are you

discovering this phenomena? By the time that Christmas Day finally rolls

around, it is a huge relief to have all the details taken care of. Here are some

details that I have been trying to take care of lately.

Carol’s Quilt

Carol is a very generous person and has taken lots of trips to Jamaica, if I remember

correctly, to help out the locals there. In doing so, she raises money by making charity

quilts. This particular quilt is made from scraps that were left over from a previous quilt

that she had made before. Did I mention that she is pretty clever as well?

I used a monfilament thread to stitch around all the blocks. Carol didn’t know what she

wanted in the background section so I decided to stitch in straight lines. As I was stitching,

I noticed that the pattern was really a  2″ wide square. How cool was that? By the time I was

finished, it almost looked like a plaid fabric.

The backing

The backing fabric was really interesting;  lots of words on it.

I used a cream polyester thread on the back of the quilt. Carol was pleased with

the result and so was I.

Dorothy’s quilt

Dorothy made this cute little baby quilt. I love it when my customer’s

decide to be creative and make their own designs and quilts.

 

I tried to mimic all the designs on the quilt itself so I added some waves for the

water and some more grass on the quilt top. I also added another daisy and outlined

the petals.

Here is the backing. You can really see the pattern on the back of the quilt.

Jeanette made this panel quilt. She added some 9 patch blocks on the top and

the bottom of this panel. She chose an oak and leaf pattern for the stitching.

Here is what the 9 patch looks like. You can really see the stitching in this

block. I used a brown polyester thread for the quilt top and the backing.

The backing

I love the green flannel on the back of the quilt.

Here is a close up of the back of the  quilt.

A floral quilt

I can’t remember who made this quilt but it is definitely for a little girl.

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

The overall design used on the quilt top was called “Rose Vine.”

The border section of the quilt top.

The backing

The green fabric is really nice and suits the quilt nicely.

Once again, it is nice to see a close up of the backing fabric and the

stitching. Hope you are taking some time to enjoy  this Christmas Season.

I am linking up to The Needle and Thread Network.