Machine Quilting: Feathered Star

Judi sent me this Feathered Star to quilt for her niece (I believe, it's been awhile) for a wedding present. The theme was all about snowflakes so I kept that in mind while designing the quilting.

 The blues used in this quilt were very icy and bright which made it all the better. The way the colors and fabrics were laid out made my job so much easier.

 I'm not sure if you can see in the pebbles there, but I quilted it like a snowglobe (or so I like to think). Every so often in a pebble I quilted some simple snowflakes and it just adds a bit more to an already fun texture. Then I quilted the spikes in the border like icicles. Both of these designs work well in these spaces to fit and fill these non-square shapes but they are very forgiving too - the spiky border for instance are all different sizes and widths in order to round a curve so some pieces have more down-and-backs than others.

 Here you can see more of the snowglobe quilting.

 The center is always fun for me. It's the heart of the personality of a quilt like this and it's naturally where your eye is drawn to so it has to look good. And this is where you can play and try new things.

 Basically I try to keep the quilting plan simple (if you can believe that). With a quilt like this with several shapes and areas to fill, I try to stick to a few basic quilting plans and use them throughout the quilt. Here you can see the "icicles" again in the white, some simple lines in the light blue and some swirls. The straight lines were used in several areas of the quilt and the swirls were used in the dark fabric around the outer edge of the quilt, so this brings it all back around.

 Keeping the pebbles going in a slightly new way, I stacked them to fill the other side of the spiky border.

 I really wish some of these quilts look as good in photos as they did while I was staring at them. I honestly try to take really good photos, but it's just not the same as the quilt in your face. And under your hand. So you can pet it. And squeeze it. And name it George. Hahahaha. Don't mind me.

 Here's some more photos once it was off the frame and the sun was hitting some of the fabrics.

I love this quilt! Any Judy Niemeyer design challenges me in ways some other quilts can't because I rarely encounter a square or a rectangle in her designs. It's all shapes and curves unlike any other. But in this case challenging equals fun.

Thank you, Judi!!! This quilt was fun and amazing and I hope it is being well loved at it's new home!

Last Market Post & Feathered Star

I almost forgot to write this post! How possibly could I? This is the last post I will write about Spring Market and then I will move on. I think. No guarantees at this point. I think I need more coffee.

Oh, and I almost forgot - there's still time to enter in my latest giveaway. Remember you can enter up to once a day, it's really simple - just click here to head on over and enter to win!

Anywho, my Mom made this quilt to hang in the Timeless Treasures booth and I had the pleasure of quilting it:

 This is the Feathered Star pattern by Judy Niemeyer (Quiltworx). This is the smaller size, but there is a version in a queen size. I also quilted a queen size version not too long ago and you can see it here.

 This quilt features the new Tonga Punch line of fabrics that should be coming out in stores later this year.

 I loved seeing how the lighting in their booth showed off the quilting details.

 And here's some pictures I took when I finished quilting it. This quilt had tons of texture.

 I find that quilts of ours that are going to travel around a bunch, and possibly will live folded up in boxes or suitcases hang much better if they are densely quilted. I think I went a little overboard with this quilt...

 Maybe not, I tried to keep the range of motifs simple and tried to tie in all of the quilt elements together.

I really like how this center turned out. I tried to combine the straight lines and swirls to fill the space and mirror the other spaces in the quilt.

I've been quilting up a storm and I will try to share more of those pictures with you all. Until then, gotta get back to the machine!

Machine Quilting: Feathered Star Queen

Now this quilt differs slightly from this one and this one. Same basic pattern, same designer, same principle. However, this one is the Queen size and then some.

 Now, this quilt actually has less in the star itself than it's smaller counterpart, but has this awesome pieced border. Then in true Doris fashion, she added borders to make this quilt bigger than usual. When I asked her what she wanted, her reply was, "lots and lots of feathers."

 So with that in mind I got started. Every so often I try to take in-progress photos and they're fun to look back on.

 Plus it helps with a design like this that is so large. Usually by the time I would get to these same pieces on the sides, I might forget some crucial detail and the reference helps to keep it all the same.

 And before you know it (or a few days later really) it was done.

 I added in feathers where I could on the larger pieces. Since the pieces in this size are MUCH larger than those of the smaller size, I could add in a TON more detail, like these feathers.

 I kept the overall plan simple. It was basically feathers, stippling and tendrils.

 The center of this quilt was HUGE! I actually had to quilt it in sections it was too big to quilt all at once in the span of my machine. I was puzzled on how to fill this large area without detracting from the overall design. And then it hit me, a feathered wreath in the feathered star with some tendrils. I love how it turned out. It filled the center nicely and adds to the design I think.

 I love the colors for this quilt. Granted the movie is so popular right now, but when I look at this quilt, all I can think of is Frozen. Am I right?

 And here's more feathers...

 Oh and the one border was extra big so it got a TON of feathers quilted in it. I swear I never quilted so many feathers before.

And because you can actually see it, the backing shows off the quilting nicely. 

I know this one might be a little harder to see the details, but that's because it has all of the details. This is a shot of about half of the back of the quilt. If you click on it, it should make it larger to see more details.

Thank you again, Doris! Your quilts are beautiful!!!

Grape Jamboree!!!

Every year a local town, Geneva, celebrates the Grape Jamboree the last weekend of September. Geneva just so happens to be the heart of the Grand River Valley for grape producers and wine makers and this event celebrates all things grape and purple.

The jamboree shuts down Main Street and Downtown Geneva and is filled with many local vendors and food stands, many of which you'll only find here. Many of the menus have grape juice or fresh grape pies, but I know one of the most popular items happens to be a "purple cow". It may sound weird, but it's grape juice and vanilla ice cream kinda like a root beer float. I prefer the shrubs myself which replaces the ice cream with rainbow sherbet. They're yummy and refreshing when the weather is a bit humid and toasty.

So what does this have to do with quilts? Well, you all may remember this amazing Feathered Star that Darlene made way back when:

Well, at the Grape Jamboree they have other events included like an art show and a quilt show. Now, with the quilt show all quilts have to have a good portion of the quilt being purple (I think it's 50% or more). Darlene entered this quilt and she called me the other day to let me know she won FIRST PLACE!!! Congrats, Darlene! Your colors and fabrics were (and are) amazing and you deserved it!

This quilt was so much fun to quilt and I am so glad it won an award for Darlene! She did an amazing job!

Machine Quilting: Feathered Star #2

Here's another Feathered Star by Judy Niemeyer that I was able to quilt:

 It looks just a bit different from the other Feathered Star I quilted...

 Marge asked for "just enough" quilting, but something to make it look it's best. Going off of her fabric choices, I chose many rustic type patterns and textures.

 I tried another new design for the center snowflake of the quilt and I love how it is similar enough to tie into the rest of the design, but is unique enough to stand on it's own.

Marge chose this wonderful Jo Morton print for the backing and when you look straight on, you can't see any of the quilting. Heck, you can barely see it in this picture. This just goes to show you what the difference will be when you choose a back if you want the quilting to show or not.

Thanks, Marge! I hope you enjoy your quilt! It looks fantastic!

Machine Quilting: Feathered Star

Darlene made this awesome Feathered Star:

 This is a pattern by Quiltworx (Judy Niemeyer) and I just love the colors Darlene picked out. I helped her with choosing some of the fabrics and it was exciting to see it come together.

With this particular pattern you have several "chapters" that you work on. You start in the center with the feather wedges and then work your way out to the edges. Each new chapter made it interesting to see what she had done so far and which fabrics to choose for the next pieces. Darlene had a general color scheme in mind, but I think the end result is outstanding. This picture really does not do the quilt justice - in person it looks like it glows. It is truly breathtaking.

 I was brainstorming on how to quilt this and I had a few ideas in mind that ended up being perfect when Darlene told me she was naming this the "Peacock Feathered Star". So I started marking the purple areas in the border and background. I saw this design Miss Angela Walters did and altered it to radiate out from the center of this quilt. It just screamed peacock feathers when done in this manner.

 And this is how it turned out! Don't you just love it?!

 With the different shades of purple batiks Darlene used I chose a thread called Crushed Grapes that has a very subtle variation to it from almost a magenta to dark purple.

 Then Darlene and I talked about ramping up the peacock influence even more by quilting these plumes in the outer feathers. It was the perfect opportunity since they had a bit more background fabric.

 Here's a shot of when I was about half done with the quilting.

 The center turned out really cool. Also here you can see some of the other details I quilted.

 And then it was finished! All in it's peacock glory!

 If you have the chance, this is Darlene's Lake Farmpark 2013 Entry and will be available for viewing this February through March at the show in Kirtland, OH. I'll keep you posted if (when) it wins awards in the show. I'm sure she's going to win something with this stunner!

Darlene did a great job with her piecing (as she always does), especially with these non-traditional shaped pieces. Here in this shot you can see the details as it will look hanging in the show. I cannot wait for this year's show! It promises to be incredible!

For more about Darlene and her amazing quilts, head on over to her blog I Quilt Scarlet and Gray. Did I mention she's also probably the biggest Ohio State Fan I know? Hence the title of her blog.

Thanks Darlene! You did an amazing job and I can't wait to see what inspires you next!