The Last One & Merry Christmas!

December 22, 2016December 22, 20161 Comment

This is the last quilt that I will be completing for 2016. Yes, I am

cutting it close but at least it is finished and before the end of the

year.

Sherri’s Modern Quilt

Sherri brought me this quilt and told me” Play! Do what you want,”

Those words struck both fear and exhilaration in me. Fear because

I had no clue about what to stitch on it and exhilaration because I

felt that I could try something new.

To be quite honest, I kind of went nuts on this one. At one

point, I was waiting for a customer to arrive and I got so

involved in what I was doing that I didn’t hear her come in.

My son opened the door and let her in while I was quilting

away. I started complaining about how I didn’t like what I

had just stitched out; thinking that my son was in the room

with me but was ignoring me, I said it again. When I looked

up, to my horror, there was the customer. She said’ You

looked like you were really concentrating on what you were doing.”

The whole thing made me laugh uncontrollably.

Pebbles and straight lines

Sherri only gave me one stipulation, I had to use pebbles and

straight lines. To be quite honest, I love pebbles and straight

lines so my only thought was “how many ways can I stitch out

pebbles and straight lines?”

These pictures give you a small glimpse of that.

Usually, I like to design or come up with 3-5 designs

of what I will stitch onto the top, even before I put one

stitch into the quilt.

Sometimes though, I fly by the seat of my pants. I start with all the

SID work . By the time this is completed, I have stared at the

same quilt so long that some type of inspiration hits me. I prefer

the first method instead of the second one; it is less stressful and

I know what the end result will look like.

I chose to cut loose, play, and have some fun. Because there

were so many circles on the printed fabric, I knew that I had to

incorporate some circles into the stitching. And the piecing

depicted boxes or squares, so I had to add some of those as

well.

Because the background is white, the stitching would show up

really well so I decided to place these shapes randomly, all over

the quilt.

The inside “crosses” all received the same treatment and the outer

border was stitched using pebbles and boxes/squares. I thought that

it would help calm the quilt top and stitching down a little.

I do have alot of pictures of this quilt. I apologize for that but

there is so much to look at. Sherri hasn’t seen it yet so I hope

that she likes it.

Some of the designs were taken from several of my favorite

long armers: Judi Madsen, Jodi Robinson, and Cindy Needham.

The middle section

I used monofilament thread for all the SID work and a thin

Bottom Line for all the quilting. It is so thin that you don’t get

alot of thread build up and the texture is amazing.

I love, love, love the texture of this quilt. With all this stitching, the

quilt does get somewhat stiff but it does soften up eventually.

The prints were so graphic that I knew I had to make the

stitching match and support it.

More texture and matchsticks.

I think that the circle on the right looks like a pepperoni

pizza to me. I must have been hungry when I stitched that in.

The overall quilt.

More pebbles.

And who can forget the back? Again, more graphic fabric;

this is a great choice if you don’t want to see the stitching and

all those stops and starts.

On a different note, here are some Christmas fabric postcards

that I received. I love getting these in the mail.

Hope you are ready for Christmas Day. I only have to pack

some Christmas cookie tins and wrap some presents.

Have a Merry Christmas! Maybe I see you again this year

but definitely I’ll see you next year.

Almost there…

February 10, 20166 Comments

Isn’t this quilt gorgeous? To me, it is a work of art.

Although this quilt is not an exact replica of the one I have

on my frame, it is not far off. There are only 2 blocks that differ

between the two. This one was quilted last summer.

Darlene, has been patiently waiting for her quilt and I am

almost there. I finished all the background fills for the 16

blocks yesterday; today I worked on the border.

After 4 hours of quilting, I only had 1 border completed.

This block has 2 feathers quilted at the base of the vase. I filled

in the feathers using Judi Madsen’s style. Once again, the pebbles

around the outside of the block looks quite classy, to me.

A double teardrop was used in this background fill. They

are actually quite small. This quilt seemed to have a

mind of its own, in that all the motifs seemed to stitch

out on the small side.

Swirls were used in this block. I tried to use a different

background fill in each of the 16 blocks. It makes it more

challenging and fun for me.

I decided to try a different fill here. It is a half circle that is echoed

2-3 times. It is a more modern fill but I think that it looks ok.

What do you think?

The top of the same block. I know that some of the pictures

are a bit yellow. I have 2 different lights above my frame and

now I think that I have to get more Daylight LED lights. I have

some LED lights but they are the soft light. It does make a

difference when I stitch and take photos.

I decided to quilt in some circles here. A thin cream

polyester thread is used for the stitching because it doesn’t

create alot of thread build up, only texture. And I love

texture!!!

Cindy Needham has alot of background fills that I love, love,

love. This one is made up of scallops and then filled in with

small lines.

More texture. I think that this background fill may be

my favorite of the whole quilt. Basically, I marked a diagonal

grid on the block. Stitched in lines around each edge and then

scribbled in the center so that the lines pop off the block.

Another pictures of the same block. Do you see how 3D the

rose bud looks, in the upper left hand corner? Gorgeous!!

All I can see in this photo is feathers. I threw in alot

of these, all over the quilt.

Again, this blocks looks similar to the one above but the

scribbling has not been added.

Do you see the 3D rosebuds? They are gorgeous and

are just popping off the block. I had to be careful going

around these because my foot kept getting caught on them.

MctAvishing was used for this background fill. I love the

texture it creates but it does take alot of time to quilt out.

The mighty eagle, he received a tight miniature stipple.

It really makes everything pop. I must add that I used

2 layers of batting for this quilt too.

The top batting was wool and the one beneath it was

80/20 Hobbs. Using 2 layers can be tricky but the

rewards are well worth it.

I hoped you enjoyed your tour of the 16 blocks. I can’t

wait until Darlene sees it. Pictures really don’t do

justice to the quilt.

Have a great week. Happy Valentine’s Day too.

Quilt Market- pt 2

October 28, 2015October 28, 20154 Comments

Here are the remaining pictures of some of the quilts I completed

for Northcott and Quilt Market.

Flights of Fancy by Christine Stainbrook of Project House 360

Even though this quilt was pretty small, it was fun to work on.

I SID around all the flying geese, stars and straight lines. Once

that was completed, the fun could begin.

The stars were outlined on the inside edge 1/4″ and then filled in

with a nice swirl. A variegated thread was used for this quilting so

that it would add some interest to the stars. The flying geese had the

the same thread used on them as well.

In the white sections, I used a white Glide thread (40wt) for the

straight lines. This quilt felt modern so thus the reason for the

straight lines.

Back of the quilt. I used a 40 wt white thread for the backing.

Christine Stainbrook of Project House 360 also

designed this quilt “Oasis.”

It is pretty funky. The first order of business with me is to

complete the SID. Once this boring but oh so important step

is completed, then the fun can begin.

I quilted in the all the wavy lines in the center panel and then

straight lines were added in the colorful border. I used a variegated

thread for the colorful strips and the flying geeese. In the

black sections, I used a 40 wt black embroidery thread. It is very

thin and works well on these quilts.

The backing is very neat. I used a black 40 wt thread here as well.

This little baby is a printed panel. How cool is that? Even though

it is small, it still sucks up alot of time to complete.

In the background section, I quilted in swirls and circles-thanks

to Judi Madsen. The flower petals received half circles and the

blue/cream sections-straight lines.

The circles also received half circles.

Using the same motifs on the quilt helps to unify it.

The inner cream border was divided up into 2″ squares and then

straight lines and arcs were stitched in. The border is one of my

favorite parts of this quilt.

The outside border received double straight lines, kind of like a

frame. The only problem with that, is that the border now buckles

a little due to the fact that all the other sections of the quilt were

heavily quilted and this section was not. I would do this differently

if I could.

The backing.

This fabric looks really rich. I love it!

I used a light brown 40 Metro thread for the backing.

Another section of the backing. I used 3-4 different shades of 40 wt

Metro thread. The thread colors were a light cream, medium browny

gold and a tan color. For the aqua blue/greeny border, I used a

Sulky variegated thread.

Cream and aqua quilt.

I am unsure of who designed this quilt but I absolutely love the

colors in this quilt. The batteries in my camera died the morning I was

taking pictures of this quilt so I only have the before picture of this

one. Sorry guys.

I quilted around every shape in this quilt. In the outside aqua border,

I quilted in straight lines and then filled in every other with the

matchsticks design. It took me 4 hours just to do the outside

border. It did look good when done though.

I quilted in some modern feathers( in the style of Angela Walters)

in the triangle areas around the pinwheels. In the open spaces,

I added some squares. It helped to fill in some empty space and

it took me less time to do the background fill. The background

fill consisted of circles and straight lines.

I used a 40 wt Glide cream thread and a variegated aqua thread for

the outside border. Again, I apologize for the absence of pictures.

Have a great week

Guess who I saw last week?

July 8, 2015July 8, 20154 Comments

Guess who I saw several weeks ago?

Yes, that is Judi Madsen. The picture of me is terrible but who cares

when you are standing next to Judi. There were 2 days of classes at

The Quilting Bee, in Fonthill, Ontario.

It was a fun 2 days and Judi is so funny and crazy when she teaches.

Besides that, life is back to normal. Here are a few of the finishes I have

had lately.

Anne’s Quilt

This is Anne’s Elephant Quilt. She made it for a friend who loves elephants.

I think she will love it. Anne chose a panto that was called “Elephant Safari” by

Anne Bright. And she chose a rich browny gold thread color for the front and

the backing.

The backing is a very rich looking as well.

elephants on the backing

Although the print on the front is busy there are

elephants on the quilt; they may be shy and hiding but they are there.

Arlene made this adorable Alphabet Quilt for one of her

grandkids. She bought the panel at Lens Mills and the backing at

Fabricland. Looking at both fabrics, you would think that they came

from the same place.

The backing has a cream background color and has red children and words

written all over it. Perfect for this quilt. Arlene wanted a light panto so she

chose “Happy Times”. And we used a cream polyester thread for the front and

backing.

Arlene cut up the panel and added pictures to correlate with each letter of the

alphabet. Borders, in cream and red were added to make the quilt bigger.

The backing

Overall, a very cute quilt indeed.

Helene made this great 3D quilt. Can you imagine staring at this

while piecing it together? Any teenager would love this quilt.

And look at all those pieces? Wow!

I can’t remember how many blocks were in this quilt but Helene

does deserve a medal for this one. We used a monfilament thread for the

top and a black polyester thread for the backing. Helene didn’t want the

color of the thread to take away from the design of the top. Who could

blame her? I would want the piecing to be the focal point as well.

That is why we chose the monofilament thread. Usually, I use it for

stitching around applique so I don’t have to change thread colors

constantly but it works in this situation as well.

We used a really open panto called ” Swirl” by Norma Sharp.

It worked well and the piecing does show up first. The monofilament

thread worked well and I had no tension problems at all.

The backing was black and the texture looks good as well.

back of Helene’s quilt

I have also managed to complete my July block for the

Oceans BOM,over at Quilt Art Designs.

Enjoy your week and keep on stitching.

Quilt Market-Part 2

June 11, 20153 Comments

Although Quilt Market has been over for almost a month now, I still

have several quilts to show you. I will try to fit the remainder of

the quilts in this post.

Patti’s Runner

Patti Carey made this runner; she wanted alot of quilting and she really

likes Angela Walter’s style of quilting, so that is the look I went for.

Negative space usually freaks me out but I dove in on this one.

Looking back, I would quilt it differently now but every quilt

teaches you something and builds your confidence level.

In the blue sections, I quilted 2 different motifs. They are hard to see here

but one consists of tight swirls and the other was teardrops. I used a blue

40 weight variegated So Fine thread for this section.

negative space

In the white negative space, another Angela Walter’s design. Large

swirls that are surrounded by teardrops that are echoed.

Between the white area and the blue runner, I quilted in matchsticks.

I love those things but they do take time to quilt in. And a little

bit of a zig zag was added for interest.

back of the runner

The backing looks so cool too. I love the texture on the back.

French Braid

This quilt looks so intricate in its piecing but you will be pleasantly

surprised to know that the French Braid seen here is actually made

up of 2 strips of fabric. Each braid is actually 2 strips of fabric, cut

apart and sewn together with another strip of the same fabric. Isn’t that cool?

It makes a quilt come together even more quickly now and less time

consuming.

In the French Braids, I SID around all the color sections.

I used a monofilament thread for the ditch work so that I

didn’t have to keep changing thread colors and it almost

disappears in the fabric.

border area

In the circles, in the outside border, I used a Judi Madsen

design but changed it up a bit. It looks like an orange peel but

more straight lines or modern looking.

flames?

In the yellow area, in the border, I again followed

Angela Walters and stitched a squiggle on a diagonal. It

almost looks like flames to me.

backing of the quilt

This is what the backing looks like. Pretty funky and fun

as well.

Stonehenge

This is a very classy looking quilt. I wasn’t quite sure what to

do with it but feathers came to mind. I wanted to keep the stopping

and starting to a minimum so I decided to carry the feathers around

the blocks on the diagonal.

Here is a close up of the inside of each square. I used a brown 40 weight

thread in the blue section. It show up nicely. I quilted 1/4″ inside the

square and then divided into fourths and then stitched the curved lines. There

were 52 of these squares so it took a while to complete.

Borders are one area that I struggle with but I think that I am improving

somewhat. In this border, I continued the shape of the circles in the center

of the blocks and quilted in the same design. I think that it works well.

Tile Quilt

I call this the Tile Quilt, although that is not its real or official name.

But when I looked at this quilt, that is what it reminded me of. So, I tried to

keep the quilting simple so that the piecing would be shown off.

In the large blocks, I quilted in 2 straight lines to show off the block itself

and in the middle square, I used an old pattern I have called Chantilly Lace by

Norma Sharp. I traced the design onto paper, laid it on the quilt, increased by

stitches per inch and quilted out the design.

Chantilly Lace Design

In the larger blocks, I used the same design but it was changed up a little.

Here is the border of this quilt. Chantilly Lace was used again but this time as

a repeat in the border. I did take off the quilt and reload it onto the frame again

when 2 of the border were done. It makes it easier to stitch in than constantly

rolling the quilt.

backing of the quilt

Here is what the backing looks like. You can see the brown thread showing

through but overall, not bad at all.

Thanks for bearing with me in this long post. Have a great week.

Baby quilts

May 7, 20146 Comments

Winnie the Pooh

This is the first baby quilt of 5 that I will be working on. What better way to

celebrate a baby than with a quilt?

The Pooh panel was picked up at Fabricaland. I quilted it by outlining

the shapes and writing in the names of Piglet, Pooh, Eeyore and Tigger

in the outside border areas.It hepls hold the batting and quilt together,

especially since it will proably be washed alot.

Comfort quilt for my Guild

Here is a Comfort Quilt that my Guild pieced. Our Guild has donated

over 1,000 0f these Comfort Quilts to our local hospital. Isn’t that quite

an accomplishment? I think so. Yeah for us!!

I wanted to practice some free motion quilting so I tried

a swirl followed by feathers. This design came from Judi Madsen,

over at The Green Fairy.

Back of the quilt

This shows the backing and the quilting.

Stayed tuned as the baby quilt saga continues.

Isabelle’s quilt

Isabelle brought me this quilt. I love the colors and the pattern itself.

She wanted an overall design so I thought that the “Blowing in the Wind”

Panto was appropriate. Alot of the prints have wheat on it so the swirls

of the panto add alot of movement.

I used a golden colored polyester thread for top and the backing.

Border area and close up

The border area is full of different colored wheat.

Back of the quilt

A green colored fabric was used for the backing but the golden

thread adds a nice touch. When you turn the quilt over, you have a

totally different looking quilt-2 for the price of 1.

Fabric on the quilt top

This is one of the fabrics on the top of the quilt. What great

color and line.

More wild fabric

Another piece of fabric that is on the top of the quilt. I love

how funky, bright and fun it is.

Flower mini

I am unsure about you but once Spring hits, I am overtaken by

an urge to clean everything I see: cupboards, quilts, bed linens,

floors, etc. Does anyone else suffer from this? I only wish that it

would hit everyone in my house and not just me. Can you imagine

what could get done?

After this cleaning spree passes and the warm weather is here, I only want

to be outside. Piecing and quilting kind of go by the wayside. So, I have

come up with a solution for this problem. Coloring and painting some

blocks for a quilt.

Prismacolor pencils and Inktense coloring pencils are the mediums I have

chosen to experiment with right now.

Close up

This flower was traced and colored with my Inktense coloring pencils.

I colored the flower with the fabric dry , sprayed it with water, and then

used a wet paintbrush to bring the color to life.

The only thing I didn’t like about this piece and process is that a bit

of the color ran around the leaves. Next time, I would not pre spray

the piece before I use the paintbrush. I like how rich and vivid the

colors are though.

My carrots

This second piece was colored using Inktense pencils too. I didn’t

spray the piece but used a wet paintbrush that had Fabric Medium on it.

I like the vivid colors again but one area ran. Next time, I think that I will

only use the paintbrush on one area, let it dry, heat set it and then color the

next area. Maybe that will solve the problem.

Close up

Close up of the carrots. It is fun learning how to shade, lighten and

darken certain areas.

Colored flower mini

In this piece, I used Prismacolor Pencils. I

don’t think that the colors are so vivid but I don’t

mind how it looks. Again, a fabric medium is added so

that the colors don’t wash out. It did make the fabric feel

a bit “rubbery” but otherwise it is ok.

What new techniques are you trying out?

Linking up the Freshly Pieced as well.

Stitching Impressions

All aspects of longarm quilting

Tag: Judi Madsen