Suitable for Framing Quilt

This is Stacey’s quilt, the pattern is called Suitable for Framing and designed by Cheryl Wittmayer.  She used Japanese fabrics with different textures and a Black Cuddle backing.   It is a gift for a guy so she asked for a masculine quilting pattern.  I showed her a few of my favorites for guys and Plush was the winner!  I used grey So Fine thread.

I like to suggest clients use Quilters Dream Puff batting when a quilt has Cuddle for the backing and is going to be used as a couch lap quilt.   The Puff has more loft and is lighter than the regular Blend so give the quilt a very soft feel.   So that is what we used on this quilt and it worked wonderfully!

The Farmers Wife 1930’s Sampler Quilt

This is Sonja’s Farmers Wife 1930’s Sampler quilt and it contains One Hundred and Eleven 6” sampler blocks!  Sonja said she worked on it, off and on, for one and a half years and used Kansas Troubles fabrics from her stash.   Some blocks were more intricate than others and took a whole day to piece while others were assembled in less than an hour. She will be hanging this quilt in her homes two story foyer. I’m sure it will look stunning there!

Sonja asked for traditional custom quilting and at that each block be quilted with a unique pattern.  So I used different combinations of CC’s, loops, swirls, feathers and straight lines in the blocks. Some are completely stitched in the ditch, some have a bit and some have none just depending on the designs in each block.   I quilted a feather motif in the setting triangles and a flowing feather in the outer border.

I used three colours of So Fine thread on top and a beige Bottom Line on the back.   Batting is Quilters Dream Blend.

This quilt measures 84” x 104” so I a bit to big for my family to hold up for me in a farmers field…yes I asked and they said I was crazy! LOL!  So thankful for my large deck!

We have been busy around here with a new garage build…well actually we hired someone so more like busy watching it go up!  So excited to have a warm place to store my car next winter and for my husband to have a work area for all this tools. 

Interview with APQS

A few weeks ago I was approached by APQS to do an interview on ‘Running a Longarm Business’.  I quilt on a 2008 APQS Millennium so was happy to contribute to this series of articles.  They published the article on their blog here last week so thought some of you might be interested in reading it, especially  if you are considering starting a longarm business in the future.  I share a lot of information on how I got started and what my business has grown into over 9 years.  I took a few pictures of my studio which is still a work in progress.  The walls are still a bit bare so I taped up a few quilts on the wall, shhhh that’s our secret! LOL!

I haven’t done any quilting this past week as I had a trip to Winnipeg and then a weekend trip to the States with Tim for our 23nd Anniversary. I did discover a few new quilt shops to me and even picked up this colourful collection of modern fabrics for a new project.   I can’t believe how I am really starting to like these modern and bright fabrics, I’m usually so drawn to batiks but sometimes a change is good!

And now that the weather is feeling more like summer I have been enjoying riding my new bike around the area.  Love the big seat on my Verza Cruz and I even have matching shoes when I go riding! LOL!

Twinkle Star Quilt

This is Gail’s beautiful Twinkle Star wall hanging and it is a paper pieced pattern by Quiltworx.  You can find the pattern and kit here at Keepsake Quilting.  The fabrics are all batiks and this is a great project if you are looking to try one of Quiltworx patterns for the first time.  I just love the teals, green, cream and white combination for colours.

I quilted it with swirls and feathers and CC’s in the star diamonds.  Used white and beige So Fine thread on top, beige Bottom Line on the back and Quilters Dream Blend batting.

I thought it would be neat to share the Before and After pictures of this one. I love how quilting brings a quilt to life! 

Oh, I shouldn’t have hung it in my kitchen.  Gail I might just hang on to this one a little bit longer…

Stars and Four Patches Quilt

This is Shelly’s Stars and Four Patches quilt and it is a pattern by Moda Fabrics.  You can find the pattern here. Shelly used all solid fabrics in shades of purple for this quilt and it has a beautiful modern feel.  We ended up deciding on just straight lines for the quilting and I think it really was all this quilt needed to keep that modern look.

I used white So Fine thread and Quilters Dream Blend batting.

Last week we had a glimpse of the Northern Lights again and I took this photo off my deck.

Jamaican Star

This is Barb’s batik Jamaican Star quilt and it was designed by The Quilting Company.  The pattern is available for purchase here.  I believe Barb made this quilt as a graduation gift for her granddaughter, I’m sure she will love it!  I quilted it with the Bayside pantograph, used Quilters Dream Blend batting and beige So Fine thread.

I am really enjoying this new location for pictures, especially on a calm, sunny day!

Labyrinth Walk #2

Thought it was a perfect Sunday morning to take a drive and find some new photography spots for Gay’s Labyrinth Walk quilt.  She used shades of greys with a black background for this stunning quilt for her grandson’s graduation gift.  We first stopped at a park on the highway created by the Rainy River First Nations.  Think I’ll be stopping her more often over the summer as it greens up, love this little bridge.

I quilted Gay’s quilt with pebbles, water meander and diagonal lines.  I stitched in the ditch around all the seams to really emphasis the cool 3-D effect in this pattern.  I used Quilters Dream Blend batting and grey and charcoal So Fine thread.

Then we drove down to Barwick and discovered this cute lighthouse on the Rainy River. 

They also had a very nice dock so will definitely be coming back here too!