Monday, December 21, 2015

Debbie's Leaf Row Quilt


This amazing quilt belongs to Debbie and it was the last customer quilt that had a pre-Christmas deadline for me.  It was the biggest one that has ever graced my machine at a whopping 109" x 126"!  This is Debbie's first bed quilt.  She did an amazing job getting this together!


This quilt was part of a row quilt that our Nimble Thimbles group of Gilbert Plains & Grandview participated in.  We were given instructions once a month for 7 months, for a block with suggestions on how to put the row together.  How you put the rows together into a quilt was up to each quilter.  I was doing a great job keeping up from the beginning, but fell off the wagon after row 4 (you can see my progress here.)  I hope to get back on track in the new year!



I love the variety of leaves.  I tried to keep the quilting simple as the leaves were so pretty on their own.  Lots of pictures, as I love them all!








All of the sashing pieces got swirls, and the outer border got oak leaves and a picket fence to fill the 12" area.



Debbie's quilt was too wide to fit on my wide backing so she made it wider by adding one row of blocks to the back.  Debbie didn't like how this row looked in among the others, but wanted to include it in the quilt somewhere so this was the perfect solution.


I love how this quilt looked on my bed.  Inspiration to get my own done!


Debbie just sent a picture of it where it will reside. Looks great don't you think?








Saturday, December 12, 2015

Two for Patrice

These two quilts were made by Patrice for a daughter and her boyfriend.

The first is a fun and bright one. 


Check out this wild backing!


Patrice chose the Popcorn panto, and left the thread choice up to me.  I used a bright orange Magnifico thread and love the result.



The second one is a little more subdued, but equally as nice.  


And a another great pieced back!


Patrice chose the Ebb & Flow panto, and I love the texture. My favorite blending green - So Fine 489 was the thread of choice.



















Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Chinoiserie



Oh where to begin!  This stunner was made by Pat for one of her twin granddaughters. This is the second quilt I have had the privilege of working on for Pat this fall, you can see the equally stunning quilt for the other twin here.


The pattern is Chinoserie, and originally came from a Fons and Porter Love of Quilting magazine.  It is now available as a free download in the book Free Asian Quilt patterns.  Fabric selection can sure change the look of a quilt, here is the original quilt.


This pattern is not for the faint of heart!  All of the curved pieces are had stitched down, with the exception of the center petals.  The instructions said to baste them down, and the attachment would take place during the quilting process.  Pat checked to make sure I would be okay with this idea, and I couldn't see why it would be a problem.


Pat did a very careful job basting them in place.


My 12" Quilted Pineapple Curve template was the perfect fit to stitch 1/4" from the edge of the petal.




I did a small branching curl to fill all the odd shaped sections around the center of the quilt.


For the outer wide border, and the center sections I did the curve echo border treatment.




For the wide background sections I used a curling "Nemeshing feather".  



I really could have just happily let this one live on my bed!


And a few shots of the back because light backs are just so pretty!








Puppy Panel Quilt


This quilt was made by Gwen using and panel and lots of creativity.  She gave herself a challenge with her directional main fabric, but did a great job getting it going the way she wanted it to!


 I chose a variety of motifs for the different sections of the quilt.  Over the sections with the dogs, I did a cross hatch with a fine thread so it wouldn't take away from the fabric.



Double loops in the sashing, piano keys in the border, straight lines, and a loopy design in the large squares and Some of the sashing got some paw prints just for fun!







Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Let it Snow


This adorable quilt was made by Cindy for her new granddaughter.  It uses the "Let it Snow" flannel collection by Northcott and a pattern designed for the line called "Snow Fun".

This fabric is just so cute, I had a smile on my face the whole time I was working on it. 


  It was a hard decision between the "Snow Winds" and "Bora Bora" pnatographs. Cindy left the final decision up to me. I chose the Bora Bora pantograph as it had a feeling of blowing winds, and the scale seemed to be a bit of a better fit for the fabrics.



Quilter's Dream Puff batting to keep it light and lofty and our first bit of snow to help with the ambiance!