Sampler Quilt

Today's finished customer quilt is a very striking black, white, and turquoise sampler quilt.

I think she said this was for her son.  She wanted an all-over pattern, just "anything."  Well, that leaves the decision process wide open, doesn't it!

Often, longarmers will choose a pantograph, which is a long paper pattern that fits on the longarm table and can be traced with a laser stylus.  I did a lot of those when I first got my machine in 2003, but never use them any more.  I like being at the front of the machine, actually seeing what is happening with my needle.  Working some of the pantograph designs actually makes me seasick sometimes!

However, I have a big Rubbermaid container full of pantographs.  I decided to look through them yesterday for inspiration.  This quilt didn't lend itself to my frequently-used flowers, or fancy spirals since it is for a man.

I pulled out a Linda Taylor pantograph, called Feather Meander.  I propped it up behind the quilt and used it as a reference while quilting.  I enjoyed this process so much more than just following the design by stylus.

Gertrude chose a dark gray thread called "Dolphin" by Signature.  It shows up nicely, but is not overwhelming.

I think Gertrude participates in a block-of-the-month club at our local Bernina store.  There are some great traditional blocks in this quilt, often enhanced by further subdividing block elements into square-in-a-square or adding additional patchwork in the backgrounds.

The backing is a bright turquoise with a slight pattern of dots.  You can see the giant curly feathers better on the back.

Add lots of echoing and curvy designs for a fun freehand design.

I think this is my last day with my granddog, Roo, as his parents are returning from Florida today.  I found a great place to walk him in a new neighborhood nearby.  The roads are paved, but there is no construction yet. 

It is still very colorful and beautiful here with the autumn colors in full blaze.

Right in front of these three sycamores, a great blue heron emerged from a pond nearby and flapped his big wings just a few feet from us.

The daily walks have been very good for me, and Roo has enjoyed all the delightful new smells and experiences!  When he got into the weeds, he looked like he was wearing his camouflage hunting suit!

Cute Quilt for a Little Boy

Here is a baby quilt for a little boy. My new customer, Melissa, made this top for her baby nephew. It is only her second quilt! I think this will be a lovely gift for the little fellow.

She was not sure of the pattern, but a closer look reveals that it has both large and small rail-fence blocks. Here is the large


and here is the block with the smaller, narrower strips.

This looks like a great quilt top for a beginner! Since the fabrics are fairly busy, we chose a neutral tan thread called "Baguette" by Signature. For the free-motion quilting design, I picked up on those spirals and the sort of sunburst motifs in one of the blue fabrics.

The backing is a cute perky polka-dot print.

Colorful Quilt for a Little Boy

This is the quilt that I finished this week. It is filled with things that little boys like...

Snakes...

and Snails...

And Puppy-Dog Tails...

Some Fish...

Some goofy tadpoles...How about a frog?

Or a turtle?Some of these critters are based on the book by Laura Lee Fritz, 250 Continuous Line Quilting Designs. Others are just "drawn" freehand with my sewing machine.

We are going to the mountains this weekend and I will deliver this quilt and two others to my nephew's new baby and new stepchildren. We are also celebrating my father's birthday, a little late. I made two big pans of lasagna and am ready to go!

Two More "Quilts on Wheels"

I am amazing myself with my own productivity this week! Yesterday I quilted two more of the "Quilts on Wheels" charity quilts produced by members of my local bee. The first one is my own top, another Yellow Brick Road pattern using the black and white donated fabric mixed with some from my stash. Lots of polka dots here!

I love doing these short and fast projects. I timed myself on this one. I found a backing and a batting that were the perfect size with no trimming, a thread that worked and already had wound bobbins, and I mounted, quilted, and trimmed this little guy in 50 minutes!

I also did Sharon's other Quilts on Wheels. This one will be perfect for someone in the rest home that fondly remembers growing their own garden and canning their vegetables. Isn't this a great way to make a top utilizing large prints? It almost looks like a glass-front cabinet filled with luscious fruits and veggies.

I quilted this one with pumpkins, vines, and a few apples and carrots thrown in. Very fast!

Today we head to South Carolina. We are hauling our trailer with pressure-washer. While the men are pressure-washing our son's house, I will enjoy entertaining my little grand-children. I hope you all have a lovely weekend.

And here is a big shout-out to my brother Jeff in Florida...HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LITTLE BROTHER! I hope your weekend looks something like this!

Another Quilt for a Baby Girl

Yesterday I quilted this pretty quilt for a new baby girl. My friend Carolyn asked about the colors for the baby's room, and was directed to a retail store that carried the furnishings she picked out. When Carolyn went to the store, she was given a wallpaper border sample to help choose colors and designs. When she brought me the quilt, she gave me the sample to use as quilting inspiration if it would help. Didn't she do a great job picking out fabrics to match the wallpaper? Lots of polka dots and flowers.
Carolyn added some machine-embroidered motifs to some of the fabric blocks.

Here is the whole quilt laid out on my kitchen table.

I was able to incorporate the flower and leaf designs into my free-motion quilting.

I did not want to sew through her embroidery, because it was very thick- must have stabilizer behind the stitching. So I just went around.

The quilting shows up well on the woven pink-and-white stripe back. I used a light pink Signature cotton thread, and Warm and Natural cotton batting.

Next up: one of the charity quilts for Quilts on Wheels that Carolyn made at our sew-in day in July. I think hers has snowmen! Hope they don't melt, since it will be in the nineties again today.

Sunlight Serendipity

This morning I was in my kitchen when I suddenly noticed little circles of light EVERYWHERE! All colors! Ceiling, floor, walls, living room... what was this?

I have little sun-catchers, glass bottles, and even a prism machine in the kitchen windows, which face three directions and really get the light. I tried moving each item to see what was causing the neat prisms...it was none of the above!

The cause turned out to be this little lampshade from Yankee Candle that has little bits of mirrors in the shade. Now, I have had this all summer, but never once saw the delightful orbs of light it created until today! How magical!

This afternoon I thought I would get all caught up on customer quilts...and was doing great on this pretty stars quilt until I ran out of thread with only about nine inches to go from the bottom. Bummer! I just ordered a new cone from Superior, but between the king-size log cabin and this much smaller quilt, it is gone. Since we leave tomorrow for our mountain place, this one will have to wait until next week.



Beautiful fabrics and colors, yes?? This one is a wedding present for a couple moving to California. What a nice gift! The quilt top was made in a mystery class.

"Taking A Peek" at my Gammill

Yesterday, I almost finished quilting the king-sized log cabin quilt for Eileen. I would say I have about one more pass to go. I worked on it until 6:30 PM, but was just too tired to keep at it. Whether sewing on my Bernina or on the Gammill, I often get back and shoulder fatigue. Better to stop when tired!

Anyway, this is such a large quilt that I have been taking extra precautions to make sure that there are no pleats on the back. The first thing I did was repair my side straps and clamps. I have these long black Velcro strips with clamps on the end. They wrap around the side frame of the table, which has the other half of the Velcro on the top. The clamps attach to the lining and/or batting on the quilt. They help keep it taut. As Linda Taylor taught us in her classes, the clamps are not meant to torture the quilt like the medieval racks- just keep the backing from easing up.

I have managed to break my Velcro straps and even one or two clamps when jerking the straps off to roll up the quilt. So, before this quilt, I stitched the broken sections of Velcro together. For the clamp that was broken in half, I found this fun replacement at the Target store. It is supposed to clamp your towel or beach shirt to the back of your beach chair. I like the fun look it gives to my set-up!

Something else I use to prevent unwanted pleats on the back is this cheap door mirror. Placed on the table, it gives you a view of the underside of the quilt. Look at these wrinkles which could have caused pleats on the back if I didn't check the mirror.

But the best feature of my Gammill for checking the batting and backing is the pivot access.

One of the bars on the front of the machine can be released to pivot up. As my favorite OB/GYN doctor would say before disappearing behind the drape, "Let's just take a peek."

That's what I think of when I lift the top and push the canvas leaders out of the way to see what's underneath the layers. Then you can see the batting layer and smooth it out, and remove any stray threads on the top or batting. This quilt was my first experience with Hobbs Tuscany cotton. It is a very soft, clean white batt. However, I found it to be a little stretchy, and apt to retain puckers. I was able to straighten and smooth the batting before quilting.

Then you can lift the batting to see the lining, or backing layer.

When I took this picture, I had reached a seam in the backing. I do like my backing seams to be wide and pressed open. I prefer the selvage to be removed . I think it adds stretch and can cause puckering. Anyway, here are a couple more pictures of the free-motion quilting on this log cabin.


This afternoon will be a treat. My hubby and I are going to downtown Raleigh to see the new Batman movie "The Dark Knight" at the IMAX theatre. I have never seen a film on one of these huge, sense-boggling screens. Should be fun!