Month: June 2018

Tools And Fabric…

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As promised, I have some photos of some new tools I recently purchased.

I needed some new needles so when Connecting Threads was having a sale, I

bought some John James needles. I haven’t opened them yet but I know they are

there when I  need them.

There is also a seam presser, the long white shinny tool on the left. The heart shaped

tweezers look interesting as well. They have a sharp tip and hoping to put those to good

use. I also purchased a needle case but not sure that I like the one I bought.

Any one out there using any of these tools? Please let me know if you like them or not.

It seems like I have a thing for scissors lately. I have lots of pairs but they seem to dull rather

quickly on me. I like the small ones, very portable and fits in a small sewing case.

One of my  Olfa rotary cutters fell apart on me. I guess 20 years of usage does that to a rotary

cutter. 4th and 6th Designs mentioned that the Gingher rotary cutter was their favorite and

was also the Cadillac of rotary cutters. I splurged and bought one.

The case is pretty cool but for the price, is should be. They retail for about $70.

The other side of the cutter. I must admit that they are very comfortable to hold in in your hand

but there is a lip on the bottom of the cutter that takes some getting used to. And I noticed

today,that my blade is becoming dull. I am a little disappointed with this fact because I

thought it would last a little longer. I do use  my rotary cutter daily though, so there is a

lot of wear and tear.

McKenna Ryan designed this piece of fabric and I had to have it. Love, love. love the colors.

My son is graduating high school tomorrow and I wanted to make a quilt for him for

university.He really liked one of my customers’ quilt (pictured below) so again, I

splurged and bought the same. It is called “Composition” by Moda. Have I ever

told you that I love Moda fabric? It took a long time to find it online, as this line

is sold out almost everywhere. I did find some though, a fat quarter bundle and

a jelly roll. Have you ever had that feeling that you didn’t want to cut into new

fabric? Well, I had it with this fabric but I bit the bullet and cut anyways.

Laura’s Quilt

Laura made this quilt for a young man heading off to university in the fall. My son loved the

fabrics that depict math, writing, music and geography all in its compositional stages. Now,

all I have to do is make the quilt by the end of August. It doesn’t look too complicated though.

Laura picked a grey polyester thread for the top and backing. Boxes were quilted all over

the top due to its modern feel.

A Baby Quilt

You have got to love this adorable giraffe. I quilted around the giraffe and then decided to create

a home for him/her on the savannah. I quilted in a tree, on the right hand side and some hills,

on the left hand side. Clouds, sun and some tall grass completed the top.

Here is the back of the baby quilt. Minky was used for the backing. I always get nervous with

minky because it is so stretchy on the frame. Be careful of which way the stretch goes when

working with minky. And make sure you buy extra, due to the stretch.

The backing

I used a grey polyester thread for the top and the backing. Minky is incredibly soft and cuddly so

I understand why we love it so much, just be careful.

Dorothy’s BAby Quilt

Dorothy was exercising her creative muscles once again when she made this cute baby

quilt. The elephant looks so happy that I had to quilt in some lines depicting him spraying

hearts all over the place. I also stitched in some butterflies to fill up space and some more

grass under and all around him.

Hearts being sprayed all over the place.

The grass under the elephant and all around him. Flannel reallys shows off the quilting

nicely.

Grandson’s Quilt

I can’t remember who made this quilt but she made it for her grandson. Strips were sewn

together but in different color ways. Waves were quilted all over the quilt and the thread

color varied depending on what color I was working on. In the darker strips, I used a darker

blue thread and on the lighter fabrics, I used a lighter thread color.

Here is a close up of the waves all over the quilt top.

I hope you enjoyed my shopping excursion and all the baby quilts. Have a great

week and check out the Canadian site called “The Needle and Thread Network.”

 

The Heat is Here….

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I am not sure where you live in the world but in Ontario, right now, it is hot. It sure

makes quilting less appealing, as I would love to be outside and basking in the

sun,  just for a little while though.

Here are some finishes from the last month or so. Maybe next week,I will show

some pics of some recent tool purchases and fabric bundles.

Baby Quilt

Evelyn is becoming very talented in the area of creating baby quilt patterns from scratch.

This is one of her creations and it is so cute!!

Yes, my cows are upside down;  I wanted to see how many of you caught that!

The backing

I love the black and white cow print. I used a light lime green polyester thread for the

top and a white for the backing. The overall design consisted of swirls. It adds some

movement to the quilt top.

Evelyn’s 2nd Baby Quilt

Evelyn was on a roll when she made this second baby quilt using the same fabrics as the one

above.

We used the same swirly pattern but switched out the thread for a grey color. Both were used

for the top and the backing.

 

Dale’s Quilt

Dale always has the most interesting quilts . She is also very fast  putting them together.

I think that I may need to take some lessons from Dale in how she manages to do this.

What do you think Dale?

A close up of the blocks that were used in the quilt top. Because this quilt felt so modern to me,

Dale chose to have straight lines stitched across the top. I think it works great. I used a

monofilament thread to SID around all the blocks.  A dark blue thread was used for the

straight line stitching.

The backing

Even the backing fabric matches the top of the quilt. Great way to use up all the fabrics

when creating a quilt.

Ruth E. made this “Trip Around The World” Quilt. It was huge!

Flying Geese Border

I love Flying Geese and Ruth made the border out of these.  It adds a nice touch to the quilt.

The central square. A small swirl was added in this block.

Swirls were added on each side of the Flying Geese. In the Geese

triangles, I did a quick swirl as well.

The backing of the quilt was a cool relaxing tan color. You can see the lines from the top.

I used a monofilament thread to go around the Flying Geese and the center blocks.  A light

tan polyester thread was used on the rest of the quilt.

I think Laura made this lovely quilt. Stars and swirls were stitched all over the top. A l ight

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

Laura’s Quilt

The backing

Please consider if you want your stitching to be noticeable on the back of your quilt. If you don’t

want the stitching to be noticeable, then use the same color as on the top. If you want the

stitching to be more noticeable, then use fabric that is a different color from the quilt top.

I know, so many choices to make.

Black & White Quilt

I can’t remember who made this quilt but it is quite eye catching.

A grey polyester thread was used for the top and the backing. Dragonflies and Hearts were

stitched all over it as well. I really love some of the graphic prints used in this quilt.

The back of the quilt.

I am linking up to The Needle and Thread Network.

Have a great week and stay cool.

 

 

 

Lots of color…

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These next few quilts are full of color.  The longer that I work on other peoples’

quilts, the more I realize how much color affects me and how much I love it.

Lori Rose made this beauty for her daughter’s wedding; she actually made it

ahead of time and had it ready for the wedding. Way to go Lori Rose!!

I really love the colors of this quilt. And the dragonflies are gorgeous!! The fabrics are

Kaufman’s “Dance of the Dragonflies.” I looked all over the Internet and had a hard

time finding it. It is available on Amazon but it is a crazy amount.

Another colorful block. Hilde Morin makes fabric bowls and I wanted to make one

using this fabrics. After looking for weeks, I called Lori Rose and she graciously gave

me the leftover from this quilt. What a generous person she is! Thank you Lori Rose.

I will post pictures of the fabric bowl when it is completed.

This is the backing fabric. Again, the blue matches the intensity of the colors on the top

of the quilt. Lime green polyester So Fine thread was used for the top and the backing.

Dragonflies and hearts were stitched all over the quilt. Hope your daughter loved her quilt.

Northcott made this quilt for Quilt Market. I really like the colors too. I would never

have guessed that orange would become one of my favorite colors.

“Pick a modern design” is what I was told so I chose “Modernish” by Urban Elementz. It has

a fantastic website of quilting designs to choose from.

I used  a variegated thread by Superior  Threads  for the top and the backing.

The backing of the quilt.

A close up of the back.

Another Northcott quilt. I love this quilt too. The lines, the colors, the pattern, all work

for me. What about you?

I was surprised to see that the black blocks on this quilt were fused on, I stitched around them

to ensure that they would not come off at all. It sure saves time to skip the piecing.

The Batiks in this quilt also speak to me. Too bad that there is not enough hours in

the day to create all that I like.

The fused blocks

For the stitching, I used a monofilament-smoky color- to stitch around all the black squares. In

the white areas, I followed the lines on the printed fabric. In the grey areas, I stitched in straight

lines. The print on the fabrics was used as the quilting and stitching designs.

The backing

This is what the backing looks like.

Close up

A Batik was used on the back of the quilt too. So Fine and Superior Threads were used for the

quilt top. Check out The Needle and Thread Network.