Pieced Baltimore

This one was intimidating to say the least. Florence had this kit all cut before she passed away and Blanche did a beautiful job at piecing these blocks together. I think i'm getting more confident with my free hand feathers but i still feel i have a long way to go. I am very happy with how it turned out and more importantly so is Blanche.

Skål!

Miss you Dad!
Skål is one of the few Swedish word my dad used around the house, it means Cheers!

Flowers it is!

I took Yvonnes advise and did flowers. This is going to hang in my Shack for the summer so the flowers fit perfectly. I did the borders separate...small flowers and loops in the outer border, curls in the small border and then the center i did a teardrop flower with loops.

Need Some Help!

Here is a picture of my new magnetic bowl that i bought at Princess Auto for $5.99. I just love it and it sits nicely on the metal rollers on my frame so my pins are never far away while i'm pinning on a quilt top.
Now to my problem. Well it's not really a problem but more like 'quilters block'... :) This is my quilt and i just loaded it on tonight and i don't know what design to quilt on it. The quilt is all batiks and i have a purple variagated thread. I know i want an all over design but i want to try something new. I think it should have a swirly feel as the piecing is so geometric but with it being a batik the quilting really won't stand out too much.

So please share your ideas with me. I'm afraid i might end up stuffing my face with chocolate all weekend if i don't have something to quilt :)

Happy Easter!

Back at it...

I had a good time in Wpg for Spring Break...even went on a date with my hubby! That doesn't happen too often so jumped at auntie's offer to take the boys glow golfing so we could go out for supper.

The only quilt related shopping i did was at Princess Auto....yes that's right...i dragged by boys to Princess Auto and finally found the magnetic bowls that i have been looking for to hold my pins. I was very excited to find them. I'll post a picture of it on my next post.

So this weekend i worked on a quilt for a client that is going to be a wedding gift. Love the colors in this quilt and the use of two fabrics in the card trick block instead of four. I quilted it with free hand designs and a little SID around the card trick design. Changed the original plan of 'loops in the sashing' to 'tiny leaves in the sashing'...the client didn't mind :)

Spring Break

Well it has been a great first 3 months, 32 quilts in total... and 5 were mine :)
I want to thank you all for your support and encouraging words. To those of you that put your trust in me to quilt your quilts while i was just getting to know my new machine THANK-YOU! I also really appreciate the fact that you are all great piecers and that makes my job so much easier :)

I'm off to Winnipeg with my boys for Spring Break. Wish it was Mexico....where some of my friends are going (you know who you are)...but the sloppy, flooded streets of Wpg await!

Thimbleberry Quilt

Here is the very large Thimbleberry quilt that was a BOM from Faktors. Yes it's fits on my frame!! I was able to play on this one and try some new techniques from all the books i have just bought on feathers.

I made up this design using my plexiglass sheet and just keep drawing until i made something i really liked

The client wanted 'diamond' panes in the windows and flowers in the flower boxes. I added bricks to the chimony and panels to the door.

This feather is free hand...no stencils....and i'm so happy with how it turned out. You can also see the continous curves on the green and beige squares...those are much quicker than in the ditch and give the squares a whole new look.

Happy client, Happy quilter!

New Design Tool

Just wanted to share my new design tool with you. I learnt about it on the APQS chat site i lurk at. It is a 18" x 24" sheet of plexiglass that i use for practicing and 'auditioning' quilt designs on quilt tops. I put blue electrical tape around the edges as they were sharp and that way i can easily see the edge of the glass. I use a dry erase pen and off i go drawing away until i find a design i'm happy with to put on the quilt. It is also great for just practicing a free hand design before you start quilting so you get the scale of your design right for the quilt your working on. It will save on using a lot of paper too.

It really came in handy on this quilt as 99% of it is all free hand work, i only used two tiny stencil for center motifs. It is also a good place to set my scissors, stitch ripper, and ruler while working.

I'll post close up pictures of this quilt soon, i'm taking it to the client today and want her to see it first!

Turtles

I finished my turtles for the guilds next comfort blocks. They went together fairly quickly but i think mine might be too small, the blocks are 10 3/4" , they are probably suppose to be 11"....what did you get? I did end up pinning my curves and found they turned out more accurate.

This pattern is from the Quiltmaker magazine from a few years ago, don't know the issue.

I just received some books on free hand quilting and free hand feathers so i'll be busy drawing out those designs before i try them on fabric. About half of the free hand designs in the book i can already do but it's those feathers i really want to learn.

I'm just loading a large Thimbleberry quilt onto my frame and should start that one this weekend. I"m heading to Prince Albert tomorrow, the boys have orthodontist appointments....that's a 4 and a half our drive just to take the kids to an appointment....life in a northern town.

Whats Happening to Me?

Usually when faced with a situation where public speaking is involved i get very nervous. Over the years i have gotten more comfortable with it as i have done many programs at our guild meeting but still always have that nervous stomach feeling even if it doesn't always show. Last night when i had to run the guild meeting for my first time i was expecting to get that nervous stomach feeling...but i didn't, not even a bit! If this was a year ago, i would have been worryed about the meeting all month long. What has happened to me? When did i grow out of this 'shy disease' i have delt with all my life.
Lori's theory is that it's all her doing (which of coarse it is... everyone at the guild knows that) but then she said that 'her work is now done and she can move on"......NOOOOOO! She can't move...what if i have a relaps who will pull me out of my shell again, who will remind me to take my medication :) Yes, i am in deep denial about her future move but until i see a moving van in her driveway.....i'll just skip along in my happy little world with my fingers in my ears singing"..... LA LA LA LA" when i hear " has Lori heard when she's moving yet".

The Quilter Magazine

Okay, i promise this will be the last time i mention the Northcott Challenge (on my blog) but the new Quilter magazine is out and it has the pictures of the winners.

This week I have been meandering some baby quilts so that is why i haven't posted any quilt pictures, you've seen my meander and it always looks the same. I also had a day where i had NOTHING to quilt (i'm waiting on a thread order) and i didn't realize how lost i would feel. I ended up baking (and eating) all day so we can't have than happen again :)

Got my haircut today but as always it turned out nothing like i hoped... you know shiny, thick and gorgeous....LOL. Guess i'm stuck with what i got until i find that magic potion.

The 'Well Travelled' Quilt!

Yes, this quilt has quite the story as to all the countries it has been to before it's completion but i'll let Trina comment on that if she wants :) But i will say it started and finished in Flin Flon!

Trina pushed my comfort zone and made me quilt a design i really wasn't sure about at first. But i want my customers happy and it was very important for her to have a Maple Leaf on the blocks. So i drew out a leaf and used my laser light to follow the design and it looks fantastic!!! I was so worried it would distract on the piecing but it didn't.

Here's the back!

5 days and 5 quilts later...

Yup, that's right, it's March 5 and i have already finished 5 of my 10 quilts for March. I think i need to learn how to pace my work better.

Anyway here are the second and third Stack and Wack quilts i worked on for clients. I did custom quilting on the wildlife quilt and was very happy with the 'leafy-loopy' design i created for the pinwheel.

This floral Stack and Wack is done with a Pantograph called Belladonna. It tulip pattern goes well with the floral fabric which i noticed later had tulips...i mean i noticed the tulips then picked the panto :). I debated about thread color with this one as the pinwheels are blue with flowers and the background it red...so i went with green thread. Why green...well it worked as a neutral on this quilt, i find greens work great if your stitching across high color contrast.

I just loaded a 105" square quilt onto my Millennium tonight so that should keep me busy for a few days. I think this is the largest quilt i will be able to quilt on my machine.

Dragonfly Pond

Stack and Wacks seem to be a very popular quilt this month. I have three to do and just finished the first one with the Dragonfly pantograph. It worked very well with the butterfly and dragonfly theme fabric used in the pinwheel.

Now I have a comment about extra wide backing fabrics. When you get it cut off the bolt there is a good chance that it will be quite off square because of the two folds. Buy extra to accommodate this, like 8" extra, as i just cut that much off on a clients quilt backing when squaring it, luckily she had bought extra so there was no problem attaching that backing to the longarm frame. Those of us in Flin Flon have been very lucky over the years to have Marg cutting our backing, she always made sure it was straight but now that her store is closed we are finding other stores are not so careful.

This picture shows how off the edge was. (Note: the cutting mat is not square to the fabric, i just threw it under so i could cut.) I rarely use my mat for measuring, I always use my rulers for squaring.

Batik

While I'm waiting for my next thread order to start my March quilts i took this opportunity to finished my second batik quilt. I had enough fabric left over from the quilt that is hanging in my shack, to make another one. This one i quilted with a swirly vine free hand design.

I have caught up with all my quilts that needed quilting so i better get piecing again. I finished 4 of my own this month plus 8 client quilts.