Scrappy Bear Paw

I really love the colors in my clients Scrappy Bear Paw quilt. I used the Maple Syrup pantograph across this one which gives the geometric piecing a softer element. I actually quilted this one in January and my client had not seen it until this week. She has just returned to Flin Flon from being down south all winter. I don't think she was expecting to see the snowfall when she returned, matter of fact i don't think any of us here would have believe we would be getting this much snow in MAY. Good thing i have my quilting to keep me sane.

Chenille Baby Quilt

A client of mine made this cute little baby quilt which has chenille strips on the front and chenille on the back. I was very pleased with how well the Daisies Galore pantograph showed on the chenille backing. I'm sure you won't be surprised when i tell you that when she showed this quilt to a friend they said 'can you make me one' and she did (and i got to quilt that one too!).

Color Blend Quilt

The Double Plume pantograph turned out beautiful on my clients color-blend quilt that was pieced with a pastel fabric collections. This definitely will be a wonderful Mother's Day gift and i'm sure she won't mind it being a week late.

Twirly Whirly

Last week i finally got to watch the DVD i ordered awhile ago in how to quilt feathers using a longarm. The DVD is called Twirly Whirly Feathers by Kim Brunner. This is an excellent DVD for anyone who wants to learn how to do feathers even on there home sewing machine. I found that Kim taught the feathers in a way i could really understand and was able to quickly produce the feathers you see above .....my first try on a quilt. I spent a day just drawing the basic feathers over and over again until i got the pattern in my head. I think i quilt them better than i draw them and black thread on black fabric is very forgiving. I can't show you this whole quilt as it is a client's quilt that will be a gift but if your a follower from my guild you will be able to see it at the meeting on Tuesday. My client was very kind in letting me show this quilt before it is sent away. I'll post the pictures of this one at the end of July.

Oriental Quilt

My client made this quilt with beautiful oriental designed fabrics. I free-motioned a water motif across the center and added a swirl in the outer border. I'm sure she will have a few family members fighting over this one :)

Mystery Quilt

The guilds Mystery Quilt project turned out to be quite successful and here is the first one that i have had on my frame. I used the Dragonfly Pantograph and i worked nicely across the quilt with a medium green thread. My pictures don't do the colors in this quilt justice.

Bright and Fun!

Since it is a snowy miserable day out i thought i would post a picture of this bright and cheery quilt that belongs to one of my cleints. I quilted it using the Bombay Blossom pattern with a Rainbow blue/green varigated thread.

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.

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 :)

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.

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.