Pam’s Centennial Sampler Quilt
This is a wonderful assortment of 5″ blocks made in reproduction fabrics. The pattern is Centennial Sampler by Judie Rothermel. Some of the prints were sooo cute!Simflex expanding tool used for marking equal spac…
Category: custom quilting
My Amish With a Twist 3
Nancy Rink has designed 3 versions with the same name for 1, 2 and 3. I loved #1… never got around to making it. I really really loved #2. Had the good fortune to quilt #2 for a client. You can see photos of that gorgeous quilt HERE. Then, I started seeing photos online of #3 and while attending a local show, The Quilt Room nearby was offering this kitted as a BOM. I signed up. for them to mail to me each month. I was not going to go for strike 3 on this one. I made the quilt during my annual August retreat, put it on my schedule to quilt in December… but that didn’t happen. Slid it into March of this year and it was a scramble getting that 108″ done… but I got it done and mostly stayed on schedule. I had entered it in St Mary’s non-judged show for April and was sewing the last 3′ of binding while my husband drove me to the drop off location. Whew… I cut it close! Still not a proper photo shoot but it’s been 2 months… I need to post and move on.
This quilt is so large, it really creases hard at the center.
I changed thread on those multi colored blocks.
In progress on the frame
Notice, the quilt is all dark, the batting is Hobbs Midnight Black 80/20. I had issues right off starting with my tension test on the side. I was getting white dots on the back. From where??!! It’s all dark. Apparently, the lighter thread color from the backing… see below.
I will wash this and see if the white specks are less noticeable.
See those flecks. I use titanium, FFG – light ball point needles as my main needle, I tried “R” which is a sharp… did not make a bit of difference. I was already using a 16 and did not want to try a smaller size needle. I had to resign myself to my quilting schedule and move on with this backing. I would have lost a day to go shopping and reload the back. It seems I have the worst luck with my quilts, rarely ever issues like this on a clients. My last personal custom was my Gravity in January of 2016…. I had Sew Fine #408 shred and shred, Even used 2 cones, they both would shred… but the 20 other colors I used had no problems. I am resigned to the fact that if it is my quilt… it’s going to give me fits.
Helper day. Kadie is the black heap under the frame, Gizzy in his little diaper belt and Kricket with toys beside her. Talk about trying to watch my step as I moved across the frame…. They don’t usually hang out like that with me but for some reason they were showing me some love that day.
In progress pictures. I take photos so that when I get to the other side, I know what I stitched!
So… not only the white spots… but my navy bottom line bobbin thread created numerous snarls that had to be unpicked and re-stitched. Ugh. Why me??
Then, as I’m nearing the finish… I realize where the heck is my binding strips for this quilt? I never did find it. A good friend had the same quilt in her projects to be done and “loaned” me her binding and even cut it for me with her die cutter.
And a couple of pics from #2 that I quilted.
I think next time I choose a quilt pattern that I want to make so I can quilt it…. I want it to be about 60″ Whew this one is really too big to hang at our show @ 108″ wide. I’m not going to put on our bed after all those hours of quilting. I don’t remember the total and not pulling my notes. I had budged 25 hours… but it took a lot longer than that. There is just so much of this thing to quilt. Done, off my bucket list. Moving on!
Alice’s Thankful Thanksgiving quilt
I’ve been saving this one because Alice wanted to wait until after a recent local show to post pictures. She hand pieced most of the blocks using up her stash of novelty thanksgiving theme fabrics. Fabrics left over went on the back!Alice r…
Star Bright Glacier Star
Photo overload on this but I do have some step by step processes on this one. This was my most bold thread attempt I think I have ever done. I wasn’t even sure if it would work but I was willing to try out one set of rays and rip it out if I did not like it.
Lou Ellen is a good friend of mine, fellow WWIT bee member and a master at piecing anything. She had a vision for this quilt. Diane Phillips “supernova quilt” had caught her attention. She wanted to do something a little on the wild side and play with crystals. She requested long extended points behind the compass rays. I thought, those all look like crystals added to that quilt. What if I quilt in thread colors to match each rainbow section? I had not done this before, wasn’t sure I could pull it off but I was intrigued. I pulled my threads.
But first I ditched and was able to do some fills before working on each color. I do love The Quilted Pineapple curved rulers! #8 was a perfect fit for these units.
Unquilted on the wall – Lou Ellen and I were trying to decide which way was going to be the top. It can really look different as you turn this quilt hanging the top at each of those 4 locations. This was our favorite version that seemed balanced.
Crawling underneath the frame looking at the backing
#8 Curved Ruler and Superiors Micro Quilter 100 wt thread. I loved that thread for ditching this quilt.
Trying it out. First I had to draw in a design that I liked that gave the appearance of overlapping rays. Next was the problem that I had so many starts and stops. Using Glide threads, those end must be buried. I find if I were to just snip those, they often fray at the edge and there is no getting rid of that bit of fuzzy end. Because of the design I chose, I could not backtrack to get to the next section because it was high contrast thread. I did give up on the small compass detail and backtracked in that curve. If I had not, I would have had 20…. Yes TWENTY starts and stops on that tiny section. As the old saying goes… Time is money…. so I backtracked. Just no other option.
I even changed thread color for each of those rays.
Starting to look nice! I also allowed space for Lou Ellen to be creative with her crystals.
Looking down from my sewing room (Previously my longarm room)
Oh those colors made me happy to see them each morning
Backing side
Blue Ribbon at Greater Houston Quilt Show
At quilt retreat this past week, several had black and rainbow quilts for show and tell. Lou Ellen made #1 and #3. #2 is Denise Green (Holly Dee Quilts – Judy Niemeyer CI) and #4 is a Ann Moore (local DSM quilting instructor). and on the table unquilted is another by Denise Green.
I know, way too many pictures. I love this quilt and I am so happy that Lou Ellen challenged my skills to create something very “out of the box” for me. Lou Ellen picked up it up on Friday, bound it over the weekend and then had to deliver on Monday for that show. Next local show will be in the fall so she has time to work out the next phase of her transformation. I cannot wait to see what she does with this!
Joy of Quilts 2017
I went to the Quilt Guild of Greater Houston’s quilt show… Joy of Quilts today. It was a lovely show and I had a few quilts hanging with my name attached as my own or quilted by me. A couple of these have not been blogged about yet so this is the first you will have seen them.
Let’s just start with the best. 1st place! Pieced Wallhanging – Large. Lou Ellen Hassold’s “Star Bright quilted by me! Lou Ellen had a vision for this quilt and thankfully I was able to step up to the challenge.
2nd Place – Group Quilt – Pam Heine Double 4 Patch. This one makes me really happy as this is an e2e design. I think our shows need to include a category for e2e quilts because they may be impecabbly pieced and have great color composition but if they are not quilted to death they lose points to those more elaborately quilted pieces.
3rd Place – Modern – 5th Grade Primer – by ME! I really did not expect to ribbon on this… it was a small practice piece – a challenge for our longarm group. I decided at the last minute to enter this one because it is rather interesting. Much to my surprise it ribboned! There were 6 in the category too so it was not by default. I’m happy about that.
Now I was rather hoping to maybe come in 3rd on this one… This is my quilt “Gravity” which is considered a Block of the Month. I don’t understand why these have to be in a separate category…. and unfortunately this style quilt cannot compare to the detailed applique quilt BOMS… and it appears that any applique trumps just pieced. More points I suppose. 5 in that grouping and the 3 that ribboned all had applique, the 2 that did not ribbon… were only pieced. I don’t even understand why something labeled a BOM has to be separate. I bought the pattern as a booklet… and the designer had 2 blocks a month for 9 months and a 10 month to assemble. I pieced and quilted in 3 months.
Lastly, Alice Sadeghpour entered her Thankful Thanksgiving quilt in Mixed Technique – Large. It did not ribbon either but it looked pretty hanging there. I’m not sure what this show defined Mixed Technique as… but I call that category as having applique, piecing, maybe embroidery or painting… something with 3 or more distinct techniques that make it unique. She has hand piecing, machine piecing and some panels used. That’s not really mixed JMHO. Now on my end … it WAS mixed LOL! I used a combination of computer custom designs and some hand guided quilting too but that should not have dictated entry into this category. Another odd thing, this show only splits Large Pieced quilts into 1 or 2 person quilts… everything else is judged together regardless if pieced or quilted by someone considered a professional or master or someone less skilled. Probably because this guild has so much talent that it is pointless to try to separate! Anyway… here is Alice’s quilt which also has not been blogged about by me. She asked that I wait until after the show.
Fun show, many thanks to the guild and their volunteers for putting on yet another fantastic show. You do not have to be a member to enter a quilt at this show which is held on the other side of Houston from me.
St Marys Quilt Show 2017
This is the 3rd annual event St Mary’s Catholic church has held and next year’s dates are already scheduled as a 3 day event instead of 2. Visit their site to learn more about the show and see photos of the beautiful grounds, the vendors, the café, the outdoor pavilion. The painted church and the quilts makes for a lovely day trip. Check their website HERE.
It has been so exciting to see that a client’s quilt graced the altar again this year at the show! Kathy Yeldezian’s Sedona Star. Not only front and center, but another client’s quilt hung off the banisters center stage as you were leaving the church. Lou Ellen Hassold’s Paradise in Blooms. Both of those quilts were awarded Sponsor ribbons (businesses donate a certain amount of money to help fund expenses with the show then they get the privilege to pin a ribbon on any quilt of their choosing as their favorite for whatever reason in the show).
My Amish with a Twist 3 debuted at this show. Lou Ellen’s Ring Cycles that I quilted was also displayed at this show.
The weather was beautiful, my husband and I went together and of course ran into many quilting friends to wander the grounds with. It’s only 45 minutes away from the city from my house. I just finished 3 “show” quilts in a row, barely getting the last one off the frame in time to headed out to the show with quilt in hand to present to it’s owner that I was meeting there. That afternoon was the perfect fix for all the hours I have put in on those past 3 quilts!
That is Lou Ellen’s Paradise in Bloom, The colors were perfect to match with the church!
My Amish with a Twist 3
Such a surprise to find an online longarm friend’s name from Canada in a small quilt show outside Houston, TX!
The outdoor exhibit this year featured Red White and Blue quilts. That is my husband Bob pointing to the quilt I made for him when he deployed to Afghanistan.
I did not take as many photos as last year! Do check out St Mary’s facebook page or their website. They will be highlighting quilts through out the next few months. They create beautiful books for purchase and this year there were cards for sale of last year’s show (I had 2 quilts on the pews and then Lou Ann’s amazing Paradise in Blooms on the altar). I had to purchase those cards too! I already own the book, of which a 2nd printing has already been done. This has become a very popular venue.
Many thanks to St Mary’s for supporting our quilting needs and providing us with this lovely show. Proceeds from the show stay right there locally helping those in need in that community through one of their programs.
Pink Floral Computer Custom Quilting
Yes, I have been trying to teach myself how to use the custom quilting features of my Innova Mach 3 Auto Pilot computer system! I’m jumping out of order and showing this one that uses some set in blocks and borders. This is an adorable guild quilt for donation somewhere. The fabrics used were so cute and PINK! I love pink.
These were a actually X and O block with hearts, except on these busy fabrics they really did not read that way. I used a flaming heart border and a modified block for the cornerstones. This was my first real quilt using set in blocks and a border. No ditching, only computer guided designs. I think it turned out really cute.
As usual, so many times we deal with situations that make the task harder on these charity quilts! Barely squeezed it in there on that backing. Normally I like at least 4″ extra on all sides for a total of 8″ longer and wider at minimum, 10″ is better”.
You can see the X and O pattern on the screen, it just doesn’t show on those busy fabric but you do see the hearts and scrolls.
While I have lots more to learn… I am on my way to custom quilting with the digitized designs! I have since done 1 with a Judy Niemeyer digitzed design for one of her quilt patterns on my own personal quilt and it worked out great. I am starting with client quilts in April! I am so excited to be able to offer this service. While still very labor intensive, I can offer much more quilting detail inside spaces without intricate marking and I am also able to complete these designs much faster than my hand guided work. I find so far that I must set up the custom and work it continuously, unlike setting up edge to edge where I can go back to my hand guided custom while the computer stitches out a row on the other machine. Time will tell, but with designs not being continuous andplaced in individual sections, I pretty much have to stand there for starts and stops. But I still should be able to complete more than 2 Judy quilts a month for those clients that want digitized designs. They are beautiful. You can find them on the Quiltworx website. Meanwhile, I’ve had a few waiting since they heard I was getting a computer! I can’t wait to get started.
Sally’s Amazing Lancaster quilt
I had the pleasure of quilting another of Sally Coble’s applique masterpieces. This one is a Sue Daley pattern called “Lancaster”. The clamshells are needle turn but they are long strips, not individual little clams which you might th…
Dainty Darling Tulip Quilt free pattern
Lindsay at The Cottage Mama recently blogged again about one of her quilts done in her fabric line “Dainty Darling” that I quilted. Riley Blake is offering a free pattern for this and she included a link back to me! These were completed for Market here in Houston this past fall.
Information about her blog can be found HERE. Check out the link for the free pattern for the Darling Tulip quilt HERE. These were so much fun to work on! Pink and feminine, I don’t get many requests and pink just happens to be a favorite of mine. Having 4 boys, not a color that has been used much in my life though!
Dogwood Winter
Kathryn Zimmerman has been busy again creating this feathered star appliqued piece that she had custom quilted by me. It is back in her hands again getting blinged up a little. I look forward to seeing the completed project.
Do note that this piece did arrive with rouched trim and flowers, stuffed flower centers and some beading already on the top. These embellishments to make it difficult to quilt. Note the placement of the ruler over one stuffed center. Very difficult to press hard enough on the ruler to get a flat edge anywhere on this top. Pressing that hard with my shoulder injury creates problems for me for the next 6 months when it gets aggravated and I have no breaks in my quilting schedule to heal. Or the potential to hit the ruler with my needle breaking it and messing up my timing.
Shortly after this was quilted, a friend was at an applique class and posted pictures of a beautiful flower arrangement in raised 3D applique. This made me wonder how the heck DO you quilt a quilt with that many embellishments and raised detail. Many flowers appeared to be 1″ or higher, there was a separate ribbon and bow winding through one piece. I’m not even sure as the maker I would want that rolled onto the bars of the longarm. I suppose those are reserved for the hand quilter?
Thank you Kathryn and good luck with this piece. If you are in the area in March, you can view this in the Pigeon Forge quilt show, their 23rd annual event, A Mountain Quiltfest 3/21-3/25. This was the first larger quilt show that I ever attended and took classes back in 2001. I had no idea they were that new in the quilt show world though. They all were new to me!