Machine Quilting: Scrappy 1930's Stars

Ruth brought this massive quilt to me to finish. It's so cheery and wonderful with the variety of fabrics and the pieced sawtooth border, I couldn't wait to get started.

 Ruth wanted an all over simple pattern with a touch of density to it. We chose these swirls to soften the appearance of the quilt and work within the style of the quilt top.

 Normally I tend to quilt the density of the pattern relative to the size of the quilt and it's components. This one however was quilted a bit denser on request. It doesn't look that dense in the picture above, but those stars are much smaller in real life than they appear here. I'd say most of these lines are about an average of 1/2" or so apart.

 This quilt was so large that it almost didn't fit on my machine! I only had a couple inches of space left on either side of the leader bars - my machine is 12' long! We almost had a hard time getting batting large enough for this quilt. Most manufacturers stop somewhere around 122"-130". This quilt was 99" x 128" in the end... That's big.

 I love the texture and had so much fun looking at all of the fabrics as I worked.

 I haven't played much with these fabric as of late, but I think I need to bust into my stash and make something. This quilt just gives off a light summery vibe.

And I'm happy to report that Ruth posted this picture of the quilt in it's home and it fits perfectly! All of that length was needed to hang just right and tuck under the pillows. It already has that crinkly-loved squish to it!

Thank you, Ruth! Your piecing was spectacular and I had so much fun working on this quilt for you!

Since that seemed to go so well...

I'm entering another quilt!!! Please take the time if you can to join the Blogger's Quilt Festival and share what you've made. It doesn't have to be perfect, it doesn't have to be grandiose, it has to be something you enjoy. Really that is all a quilt show should be (even an online show) is sharing what you've done with people. Yes there are prizes to be had, but if you win, it's just icing on the cake, don't you agree?

So for more information on the Blogger's Quilt Festival put on by the amazing Amy Ellis, you can find all of the information needed to enter or to vote (voting begins this weekend!) by clicking here. 

For my second quilt, I am digging out one of my most nostalgic quilts that I've made to enter into the Hand Quilted Category.

 This is an older pattern of mine called From Grammy With Love. I made this quilt very traditionally with 1930's reproduction fabrics and I used solid white as both the border and backing.

 I quilted simple lines withing each of the pieces and then I quilted butterflies into the border. It's simple but sweet. As soon as the binding was done, I washed and dried this quilt and now it really has that crinkly vintage vibe to it.

 Here's how the quilt looks overall, it's been a fun small quilt to make.

I actually have had several people ask where I got this antique quilt from. They cannot believe that I actually made it myself with how it turned out! I think that is one of the biggest compliments for a quilt like this. It makes me think that all of those hours of quilting were worth it. This was my first hand quilted quilt and it was a doosy. I used Warm & White batting (not knowing any better) and it killed my fingers (and a few thimbles) to finish this quilt. It wasn't the batting I should have used, but now I know.

I'm glad they kept the hand quilting category in this years Blogger's Quilt Festival and I love the other entries thus far. Remember you too can enter your own quilt into one of the many categories through tomorrow, Oct. 31st! Voting begins Nov. 1st and I'd love to see your quilts entered! For more information about how to enter or how to vote, visit Amy's blog post here. Otherwise, if you'd just like some inspiration, head on over and take a gander at all of the quilts entered! There's so much to see, there's something for everyone!

Have a great weekend and a Happy Halloween!!!

Machine Quilting: Snickerdoodle

I just love that name. I find the hardest part of designing quilts usually for me is naming them. However, this quilt and it's name are just soooooo adorable!

 This is the Snickerdoodle pattern by Cotton Way (you can purchase the pattern here). Judy made this and brought it to me with the request to have fun. She wanted the quarter circles to stand out a bit but I couldn't quilt over the raw edges (you'll see them here in a bit).

With this task in mind I contemplated and searched ideas and contemplated some more... And even though this quilt is traditional in 1930's prints, it didn't feel traditional.

 Plus, Judy has this absolutely adorable grandson that I could see snuggling up with this quilt when he came to visit Grandma, so with that in mind I started quilting. I was able to combine the straight lines with the swirl to fill the circles while avoiding the raw edges. The quilting goes right up to it without touching it allowing the edges to fray and puff once washed. It gives it more of a modern flair, but it works. It doesn't look out of place.

 You can see the raw edges better here. Judy said it washed up beautifully and she just loves how it looks. To keep it simple and keep the interest on the quilt rather than the quilting, I repeated the same line design in the first border and then combined the last two borders with a swirly design to mimic the swirls in the circles. The more I quilt, the more I realize less truly is more sometimes.

 It always makes me happy too seeing the back of the quilt as I'm still working on it. It's the same design, but without the seams and fabrics, it has another variance of the character of the quilt. Here you can see I was still working on the inside border. (The sun was beginning to set, giving me great lighting to show the quilting, but it tends to disappear quickly this time of year so I took pictures early in case it had truly set by the time I was done)

You can see what I mean here, by the time I got to the other side of the quilt (minutes later) the shadows were much longer and the beautiful sun was almost gone :( But it makes the quilt look awesome!

Luckily I did finish with just enough sun left for a few good pictures. When I called Judy to tell her the quilt was done, I also yelled at her. Not harshly, but now thanks to her I NEED to make one of these quilts. Out of flannel. And like yesterday. Just so I can quilt it like this. And I can curl up because these frigid temperatures never seem to go away. So, thanks to her I have another project on the never-ending list of quilts to make. I may just have enough flannel in my stash to get started... But a trip to the quilt shop may be in order :)

By the way, don't forget you still have time to enter into a chance to win a copy of Kitchen Stitches! Click here to hop on over for your chance to win!

2012 In Review

So this year has been one for the books and I have a feeling 2013 will be even better! How about we take a trip down memory lane and revisit some of your favorite posts from the past year?

Recipes

1. House Seasoning Recipe

2. Side Dish Recipe: Sauteed Kale

 3. Best Coleslaw Recipe EVER 

 4. My Famous Glazed Kielbasa

5. Incredibly Simple Asian Slaw

 

Tutorials

 



1. You Zig I'll Zag Mini

 2. Easy Peasy Curtains

 3. You Zig I'll Zag Quilt

4. Wiggly Whimsy

5. Santa's Cookie Mat

 

Back to Basics

1. Quilt Sizes

 2. Binding - Stitching It Down

 3. Binding - Sewing It On

4. Thread Bunnies

5. Binding - The Prep

 

Machine Quilting

 1. Batik Hunter Star

 2. Batiks Galore!

 3. Semi-Custom Hunter Star

4. Grinch Quilt

5. Machine Quilting

 6. Baby Quilt

7. Blueberry Crumb Cake

8. Machine Quilting

 9. Snowflakes

 10. 1930's Hunter Star

 11. Mariner's Compass

12. Down Under Quilt

 

Whew! What a list! Oh, and just one more reminder of exciting news from 2012:

My Book! I can't believe we're just over a month away from it's arrival! February 12th will be here before I know it. I will keep you posted on book signings and review some of the quilts in the book in the future. (Remember to reserve your autographed copy by clicking here)

 

If you click on the title for any of the posts listed above I have them all linked to the original post.

 

To start off the new year we're planning on bowling with family, dinner with friends and I get to have a mini retreat with some friends sewing at the quilt shop! I'm really looking forward to the quote-unquote "relaxed" pace these next few days. It seems spending time with friends and family gets harder and harder so I'm trying to make a conscious effort to slow down and enjoy when I can.

 

Well, I wish you and yours a wonderful, healthy and happy New Year! Thank you soooo much for stopping by and being a part of this crazy journey of mine. Who woulda thunk? I never thought this is what I would be doing at this stage in my life but I honestly couldn't be happier with how the journey is going. 2013, here I come!



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Machine Quilting - 1930's Hunter Star

Mom has had this sample around the shop for some time now and the top was getting a bit ragged from all of the abuse. It was time to be quilted...

 It's funny, I drove to the house with a plan in mind on how to do the quilting. I had been planning this for days. I honestly don't know how or why it happened, but my plans changed once I walked in the door and I love this even more. I started with adding loops to the points of the stars and then adding feathers to the outside of the star. Then to finish it off I echo quilted around the feathers.

To fill in the area around the stars and in the borders, I added in some dense loops playing off of the loops within the stars.

I'm working on getting the binding done right now, but it will be back at Cottonpickers very very soon. Either that or you can see it at one of the various shows this Fall we'll be attending. I'm also finishing the quilting on the Civil War version of this same quilt and will show you that one too once I get more done.

To see other versions of Hunter Star quilts I've Free Motion Quilted, click here.

It's Official

I just finished the insides of the pattern today and dropped them off at Cottonpicker's this afternoon. From Grammy With Love is officially on the market. I hope you enjoy this pattern as much as I do. I promise you it is as simple as they come with a few tips and tricks that you may find helpful in other projects.

Here are some more pictures of From Grammy With Love. I had so much fun doing this photoshoot that I hope all of my future shoots will be as enjoyable. I took these photos at my Nana's house (how perfect!) and I couldn't have asked for it to go better. My Nana has wonderful floor to ceiling bay windows on the front of her house. Now I'm not so sure about everyone else, but around here in Northeast Ohio we don't get many sunny days in winter which seems to last 8 months out of the year. I hoped and wished on a prayer that I would just go and take the photos and things would turn out and they did! The sun was perfect and as soon as we stopped taking the pictures, the sun went away.

I think this also in a weird way was almost like a wedding. Here, see if you can follow my thinking. I borrowed my mom's antique crib for the photo shoot (something old) to hang the quilt off of (something new). I borrowed the animals from Nana (something borrowed) and used Gpa Joe's blue blanket in the bottom of the crib (something blue). I just thought it was fun. My mind just works this way, I can't explain it.

I made the color option quilt out of fun bright bug fabrics. I absolutely love love love the 1930's fabrics, but you have to admit, it looks girly. I wanted to see what this pattern would look like in brighter primary colors and more boyish. I have loved this bug fabric since the day it came into the quilt store and I needed to do something with it. I hope you like it, it's definitely not the typical color scheme I've done in the past, but it was a fun change. Especially in the winter, I think I make some of my most colorful quilts when everything outside is white and grey.

Like I said before, this quilt is currently hanging at the Lake Metroparks Farmpark Quilts 2010 Show. The show just opened last week and it is marvelous as ever. Don't forget to make it out to the show and also try to make it out there for vendor weekend (March 6 & 7). There will be atleast 14 vendors there with all sorts of goodies that I'm sure you'll want to gobble up. Make a day of it, bring you're friends and have lunch at the cafe, the caterer is phenomenal!

Alright, what else is going on? Still working on other up and coming quilt projects. A little applique, some small things, other big things. Basically I like to hae multiple projects going at the same time, each in a different stage of the quilt making process or a different technique because I love them all so much and it's hard to pick just one to work on. And it works out most of the time so if my time is broken up or like last week when my machine had to go to the doctors, I had a backup project. And let me tell you, I forgot how much I enjoy applique! I haven't done any of it for about a year and I am enjoying it so.

Let me know what you think of From Grammy With Love and if you've made it out to Farmpark to see it and the other 200 some quilts hanging there. Thanks for all of your support and hope to see you soon!