Cathy's bright batik sampler

This is Cathy's batik sampler.  I really like all the bright batiks she used in the blocks - they inspired me to use Glide thread in bright colors to match and contrast.

 

 

 

 

 

 

That is a thin green flange around all the sampler blocks - it does look nice but what a pain to quilt around!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The quilting shows up nicely in the morning sun while still on the machine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stars on Mars

This is a quilt that I collaborated on with Gail Stepanek.  I actually finished the quilting last May or June but waited until it had been to its first show to post the pictures.  It just returned from Road to California with a big fat ribbon for Outstanding Innovative quilt and both Gail and I are thrilled!  Here is a link that shows all the winners.

I love everything about this quilt, especially the name Gail came up with: Stars on Mars.
I told Gail this quilt was telling me it didn't need lots of feathers and she agreed. 

She even agreed it needed some bling so I got to use metallic thread, lots of it!
The big scrolly vine and the triangles around the edge are all silver metallic. 

 

 

 

 

I hated to cover up all the intricate piecing on the stars, so tried to fill in the blanks with thread.

MQS is doing a charity raffle quilt again this year and I agreed to quilt it.  People donate quilts to the charity committee to be quilted and given away and Tricia, the committee chair, chose one for me to quilt and be raffled off.

 

 

 

 

 

The proceeds go to Victory in the Valley and Harry Hynes Hospice, both of which were a huge help to Peter and I while he was dealing with cancer.

 

 

 

 

 

I have to admit  I wasn't inspired by the top.  It is well pieced but made from some old kinda dingy batiks. 

I kept putting off working on it - but once I started quilting I kind of got into it.



Now I'm working on Mayleen's quilt, which is the ultimate SID quilt - wait until you see it!
I'll be quilting it today instead of watching the Super Bowl.  Actually - I would rather spend the day picking out stitches than watch football!

Yummy blue

I just finished quilting this big quilt for Annette.  She made the quilt for her lucky daughter.
It's a yummy blue - not as electric blue as in some of the photos.

I quilted it with blue and white So Fine thread and it has a white backing.  Annette requested blue thread on the back which is not my favorite for a white backing; it shows every start and stop.  It turned out looking okay but you notice I did not take a picture of the back!

As I lay the quilt on my machine to get it folded up it looked so pretty in the sun.

Two versions of pink and green

I worked on Cecelia's quilt during the 'polar vortex' and it was a pleasure to have such a cheerful, spring-like quilt to look at while it was so cold and gloomy out.

 

 

 

 

 

This is a busy quilt which makes it hard to give the quilting some impact. Luckily, Cecelia had me use my favorite  wool batting which has enough loft to give the quilting a nice definition.

 

 

I have quilted several quilts for Eddie over the past few years.  She made quilts for her grandchildren -usually  huge bed quilts, always precisely pieced and well made.  Here and here are a few of her quilts. She always had me save her a spot in December for two or more quilts.  Last summer she called to cancel her scheduled spot and not long after that died of cancer.  A few months ago her husband called and asked me to quilt the tops she had finished.  Eddie was a prolific quilter - we found five unquilted tops and I have been fitting them into my schedule.

This Dresden plate is one that her husband says she had been working on forever.  She only took it out when they traveled so it took her years to finish. They are hand pieced as well as hand appliqued. I was trying to guess when she started it; judging by the fabrics I'm guessing the early 90's - do you agree?  I remember when every hotel lobby and restaurant bathroom were decorated in that mauve and green.

I kept the quilting simple but I think the repetition of the feathers and Dresden plates is pretty.

I'm glad that her quilts will be finished and appreciated by her family.

The Pink Lady

This is the large amazing quilt I mentioned in an earlier post.  Russ made this quilt using a cross stitch pattern; he allowed a half inch finished square of fabric for each stitch.  It is machine pieced, has over 17,500 pieces and took him 2 1/2 years to finish. 

 

 

The original pattern was designed by Nancy Spruance and shows an historical Victorian house in Eureka, California called The Pink Lady.

He really did an amazing job - I think this is a case of a project that took on a life of it's own.  The finished quilt is 83 X111 inches, that is before trimming and binding.  It is so large that it drags on the floor below my design wall.

The black details are done with what must be miles of embroidery .

 

 

 

It was fun to quilt.  I designed a border inspired by Victorian fretwork.

 

Quilting over a million seams took it's toll.  I had to switch to an 18 needle and even then went through 3 or 4 before I finished the quilt.



It is quilted with mostly So Fine thread and I used a poly batting because it seemed the lightest choice.  This is one heavy quilt!

Thanks Donna

Doing edge-to-edge or pantograph quilting is probably the best way to make a profit as a longarm quilter because the work goes faster than custom quilting.  However I'm rarely asked to do that type of quilting, my customers come to me for custom work; it's what I am known for and also what I like to do best.  One of the perks of doing that type of quilting is I get to quilt some really gorgeous quilts.  People bring me their best work, the quilts they want to have quilted specially.

 

 

 

Donna's quilt is a good example of this.  She spent a long time making this quilt and her workmanship is wonderful.  Her applique stitches are so tiny!  Smaller that the sewing machine stitch by far.  This is a pattern called Fantasy Flowers by Pearl Pereira of P3 Designs.

 

 

 

 

 

I usually do a minimum of marking but since this is a smallish quilt, I was able to put it on my design wall and chalk in the feathered border so it would be symmetrical.  The chalk I use is just plain old schoolroom chalk - it stays on long enough for me to quilt the stems and then brushes off with a damp cloth.  It's amazing what a difference the lighting makes - this photo was taken with the normal ceiling lights, the rest use photography lights.

Donna's color choices are so pretty - I love the spark of the bright blue, in the swag border especially.

 

 

She made a nice wide border and requested lots of feathers - she also mentioned that she likes curved crosshatching.  Hey - so do I!

 

 

 

I really enjoyed quilting this - Thanks Donna!

A Merry Christmas quilt

This is Ann's Christmas quilt.  I like that it has an understated Christmas look to it.  Ann's quilts are fun to do - her workmanship is excellent, she likes wool batting and she lets me loose to do lots of quilting.  She used a green flannel for the backing so this is a very warm snuggly quilt.

 

 

 

 

 

It's always a challenge to come up with a quilting design for a busy border fabric.  My usual choice is something like a piano key border - just plain straight lines, but I tried something more complicated on this quilt and like the way it turned out.

I've been working on a huge time-consuming quilt since my last post but decided to wait to post pictures until the customer picks up the quilt after Christmas.  It's an amazing quilt, so check back later!