Congrats, Judi!!!

Let me set the scene for you...

You make this amazing quilt and you love it. You enter that amazing quilt into your first quilt show and you come home with the big prize winning Best of Show...

Sounds like a dream, right?

Well, I think we all need to pinch Judi to wake her up from this dream, because that's exactly what happened!

She sent me this picture yesterday with the ribbon for the Glacier Star I quilted for her last summer. Her quilt was amazing and I had so much fun playing with it, I'm so honored she shared this special award with me!!!

To see more of Judi's gorgeous quilt, you can see the original post about her Glacier Star quilt here.

Thank you, Judi!!! Congrats don't seem like enough, it's with beautiful pieces like yours that let my creativity blossom!!! Congrats!!!

Machine Quilting: Another Glacier Star

Judi contacted me about quilting her Glacier Star for her and when she sent me the pictures, I knew it would be fun. I asked her if there was anything she wanted or liked that I've done before and she told me she liked this one Doris made. I also asked Judi what she was inspired by for this quilt. I had tropical in my brain when I saw all of the vibrant blues and purples, but Judi threw me for a curve when she said Northern Lights.

This quilt is so much more vibrant in person and it's just gorgeous. I personally have never seen the Northern Lights so this was a fun little challenge to me. But then again, you can tell I've been brainwashed by the Caribbean when that was my first thought :)

 The biggest challenge for me was the high contrast of this quilt. It went from white to black and every shade of blue in between. With that large of a contrast I have to be super careful with the thread choices I make and where to quilt.

 I quilted the majority of the quilt in a light blue and white thread. That way the quilt and the quilting gets noticed and not the thread color.

*A common mistake in quilting is that bold thread colors will make the quilting stand out more. It's actually the opposite, you see quilting much more on plain areas when the threads match. Otherwise the threads can be too powerful and that's all you'll see. You'd see thread first, quilting next, and the quilt last. You want the quilting and the quilt to work together, not fight for attention.

 I kept most of the quilting simple and organic keeping the Northern Lights reference in the back of my mind.

 I did add in some sharp lines here or there because let's be honest, in the places you normally see the Northern Lights, it can be chilly. And icy. And cold. Plus with a design like the Glacier Star, there's so many sharp lines and points that some quilting can bridge the design of the quilt and the softer designs in the quilting.

 I switched to a darker thread in the black areas and you can barely see it here. This is actually a batik called raven I think... It's black with subtle hints of blue but reads mostly black. I used a dark blue/purple thread and quilted large chains of circles throughout these weird shapes and used back & forth lines to fill the areas. I wasn't quite sure what to do so I took a chance and I like it!

 Overall I tried to keep the quilting soft and I had to add in just a touch of feathers. It just called for it. It was hard trying to mimic the look of Doris's quilt and apply those same items to Judi's because Doris's was done for Florida. Judi's is not.

 It all worked out and then I got to see the back. I love how you can see the main star and pick apart all of the areas from the front of the quilt.

In the bottom right ish of this photo you can see the chains of circles that I quilted in the dark areas on the front.

Overall the quilt went together smoothly and it turned out better than I imagined. I was worried it wouldn't have the same vibe Judi was looking for, but I'm glad to report that she loves it!

Thank you, Judi! Your piecing was wonderful and your colors are so cheerful, this was a joy to work on.

If you have a quilt you're interested in having quilted, please either e-mail me at rubybluequilts (at) gmail (dot) com or check out the information on my Machine Quilting Information page. I'm always up for a challenge.

Also, please remember that if you have any quilts you'd like for Christmas gifts, it will be here before you know it so please plan ahead. You can always call and get on the schedule if you're not finished with your project yet, but want to make sure you've got a spot reserved. I have plenty of spaces available at this moment, but it can book up fast!

Have a great day and if you're starting your weekend a bit early, have a great Labor Day!

Machine Quilting: Glacier Star #?

I've honestly quilted so many of these I've lost count. Sorry. But still I try to quilt each one a little differently than the others and it's really easy to do with this pattern because each person colors the various pieces differently or emphasizes a different part of the quilt. It just adds to the personality of each person that made this quilt and I only hope that I can help to emphasize that personality and give the quilt the same dedication and attention as the person that made it.

 Anne made this quilt and in the process she started it, changed it up, redid parts of it, and she couldn't be happier with the results. My instructions were to quilt it "over the top" and she added she really liked pebbling. I always ask each customer before I quilt one of these quilts which part are they drawn to the most. Sometimes it's the feathered star, sometimes it's the flying geese, for Anne it was the center star. With all of that in mind I got to work.

 Now as I mentioned how everyone colors this quilt differently, Anne was the first person in the extension sunbursts to use the same background fabric for all of it. I was a bit perplexed on how to tackle this area. Normally it's anywhere from 2-3 colors so I have barriers and defined edges. Not with this one!

 To keep the colors popping (it's so much more vibrant in person) I kept the quilting in the background of the flying geese and let the colors shine.

 Here's a hint of that pebbled center. Once again I left the flying geese alone so they popped out against the dense quilting.

 I've been playing with rulers more and more and added in some geometric quilting into the lone star portion of the quilt to break up the more organic quilting designs and define this area.

 Some areas are similar to other quilts I've done in the past and others are new, but my main goal with any of these quilts is to make it all work together.

 Again I played with straight simple lines to mimic the designs in the lone star and set this center star apart from all of the pebbling that surrounds it.

 I can't even begin to tell you how many bobbins of thread went into this quilt. With this grunge green for the backing, it really shows off the quilting well. Here's a bit of the center...

 Here you can see some of the New York beauty blocks, the flying geese borders, the lone star. I love how you can see the different areas and know what is what by looking at the back. I would show you the whole back, but this quilt was massive and I just couldn't get a detailed shot that large.

 Here's the back of one of the extensions. So as you can see, this quilt was jam packed with swirls and feathers and lines and pebbles and fun! I had a bunch of fun planning this quilt. I'm not going to lie, it was a challenge, but I'm up for a good challenge from time to time. :)

Now, as I mentioned before, I went through a ton of thread. Actually when I finished the quilt, this was all the thread I had left on this cone for the bobbin... It's amazing how heavy a quilt can be after it's densely quilted which makes no sense because thread doesn't weigh that much.

Anywho, thanks to Anne for letting me play with your quilt! I know she loved it and I couldn't be happier knowing I have a happy customer.

If you have a quilt you'd like me to finish for you or give you a quote, please e-mail me at rubybluequilts (at) gmail (dot) com. I'm currently running about 4-6 weeks out (possibly a little less for all over designs) and I'd love to quilt for you!

Machine Quilting: Super Duper Large Glacier Star

Doris is this absolutely adorable woman who originally is from the Ohio area but now resides in Florida. When she was home visiting relatives earlier this year she stopped out to Cottonpickers and wanted to make the Glacier Star quilt with extensions. Since she was visiting, she was short on time so she asked Mom to pick out a kit for her with blues and greens. This was how it turned out:

 Disclaimer: This pattern with the extensions is large enough, but Doris decided it needed to be a bit bigger to fit her bed, so she added borders around the whole quilt.

 When I asked Doris what she wanted, I was told to keep it youthful and fun and she liked feathers, so with that in mind, I went to town.

 I love this center. Judy's snowflake center allows for some pretty awesome quilting results.

 Most of the designs I used combine a mixture of curves and points so if it wasn't a feather, it felt like a feather and they all played well together in the grand scheme of the quilt.

Doris called me after she got the quilt and I loved her message on my phone so much I saved it! Thanks, Doris, this quilt was wonderful and I can't wait to see what you come up with next!

If there's a Judy Niemeyer pattern you would like a kit of, but don't have the time or energy to pick out the fabrics, contact Cottonpickers as Doris did and we can help you out! Just let us know which pattern and what colors you'd like and we can get it done.

Machine Quilting: Another Glacier Star!!!

Karen was working on this quilt at one of our last quilting retreats and it was so spectacular then, but it was even better the second time around!

 Karen's color choices are so unlike any other Glacier Star I have seen in person. She has this unique way of taking a stack of fabric that I'm honestly not sure how it's going to all work together and turning it into a beauty like this one.

 When I asked her how she wanted it quilted, the only instructions I got were to "make it pretty".

 I had so much fun paying with this quilt and deciding how to quilt each area.

  Karen has this wonderful personality and I tried to reflect that in as many areas as I could.

 I told Karen when the quilting was partially done that I didn't want to give it back! :)

The center is almost always my favorite part to do. It's the focal point of the quilt and I have done each one a bit differently to reflect the person that created it. This one is my favorite so far!

And here's how the center looks on the back of the quilt! The lighting was just right on the day I finished this quilt to snap these pictures. With a busy back like this, it's sometimes hard to catch the details of the quilting.

Well, how do you think I did? Do you think it's pretty? I was told when Karen came to pick up the quilt, she brought it down to a class Mom was teaching for this same pattern to show it off to the girls down there too. I guess she didn't open it up until she was in the class and they decided to put it up on the design wall and take a look... It moved Karen to tears, which made another woman cry, which made another cry, and before you know it they were all teary eyed! Hearing this story made my day since I tried so hard to reflect Karen's style in this quilt. That was the best compliment I could ever get!

Thank you sooooo much Karen for letting me quilt this for you! And just remember, if you ever get tired of this quilt, I might have room at my house for it! :)

Machine Quilting: Mom's Glacier Star

So, early last week I worked on Mom's sample of the Glacier Star pattern by Judy Niemeyer. Mom's been busy teaching these classes and starting on two more versions of this quilt (I think that's all she's started). I honestly don't know how the other versions are going to top the looks of this first one...

This quilt is gorgeous and the colors are simply amazing. The crazy thing is... these are NOT Mom's normal colors. She's never played with these before really. She's more of an earth tone kinda gal, but we love the results!!!

With some of Mom's quilts, I really get to try out new ideas and patterns. I played with an adaptation of an oldie-but-goodie pattern and used it for some of the darker areas and the center. 

I used several types of either pointy or swirly designs and used them in a way to break up areas of the quilt. 

 It's hard to see the quilting in certain areas due to the thread choices and pattern of the fabrics themselves, but this outer fabric was a huge inspiration for the quilting designs.

 Here you can see a little better how I changed it up from pointy to swirly designs and back.

 With the centers of many Judy patterns, I spend a ton of time thinking about how to quilt them as they are complex and similar from one pattern to the next. This is the area I try to link many of the other designs going on in the quilt and tie them all together, even if it's just a loop or small detail.

 One of my favorite moments after finished a quilt is flipping it over and if the light is just right, you can really see the quilting details. The lighting on this particular day was just right!

 Here you can see the center and how the quilting looks on the backside.

 It's funny with this backing, we chose it due to it's busy texture (busy backs are best if you ask me!) and looking straight on, you can't see any of the quilting, but turn just a bit and the details come to life.

Mom's currently making other versions of this quilt as I mentioned before and if you sign up for one of her classes, I'm sure you'll see those in progress too. Oh, and if you're in Big Rapids, MI this weekend for the One Stop Shop Hop, we'll be there with this quilt and many others too! Stop by and see us!

Getting Back in the Groove

It was so nice to get away, but it seems like it's taking me so long to get back into the groove of things after retreat.

Over the weekend, this was my view:

 It was absolutely gorgeous and I couldn't have asked for anything better. I even got to watch a man with his team of horses plowing some of those fields while we were there!

Basically, our retreat was in a hotel (Carlisle Inn in Walnut Creek, OH) that sits on the top of a hill. Everything in Holmes County is either at the top of a hill, built into a hill, or at the bottom of a hill. Just look:

 This is the view out the front of the hotel. I snapped this just as the sun was starting to set. It amazes me how far you can see!

 Now, in true retreat style, we weren't lacking for snacks. We had everything from chocolate to crackers and fruit and everything in between. Most ladies would get up, have breakfast, sew for awhile, and then do a late lunch/early dinner so you have more time to sew! We could've been here in a blizzard and be perfectly fine!

There were 19 ladies in our group and they worked on all sorts of projects. 

 The lighting in this room is phenomenal! It's wonderful to be able to see what you're working on. Even at 1:30 in the morning...

 The greatest thing about these retreats is the companionship. Sometimes if you're working on a project that you're stuck on, you can bring it here and so many people are willing to give you their tips and tricks or just a second opinion if you need it. Many friendships have been created at our retreats.

 Mom was able to finish her version of Judy Niemeyer's Glacier Star pattern. I love how the colors turned out and as soon as she gets the papers out of it, I'll be quilting it up so you'll see it again soon!

 Karen also was able to finish her Glacier Star, however she came with her own celebration :) Karen had an app on her iPad that made fireworks. She cracks me up, we had such a great time!

And here's Karen's Glacier Star. I love how her colors are much more vibrant, yet are grounded by the earth tones in certain spots. It gives this pattern a whole new look and I can assure you this picture does not do the quilt justice. She did a great job.

Unfortunately I have nothing to show you that I worked on :( I wasn't able to finish a thing while I was there. I made a bunch of blocks for a pattern proto-type, I forgot pieces I needed for the border of another pattern :/ And I wasn't able to finish another project because I completely underestimated the time needed to press all of these little pieces... But it was a few days of nothing but sewing and I'm happy with that. Once I get some of these things finished I'll show them on here, but it might be awhile.

Now it's time to get ready for a few big shows coming up including Spring Market and I have a TON of baby quilts that need to be quilted for the bumper crop of babies around these parts! Speaking of which, gotta go quilt! Later!