Kyla's Quilt

This is a quilt that I started for my daughter Kyla way back in 2010.  I participated in the Sister's Choice block swap hosted by Shannon at the Piecful Kwilter. We made 12 blocks that were identical using bright batiks and Kona black. All the participants were to sign the front of their block discretely with their name and where they lived. We sent them to Shannon, she shuffled them up and sent us 12 back, including one of our own.  My block is in the bottom left corner of the picture below.

I knew I wanted to do some custom quilting on this one, but didn't want to quilt it within an inch of its life so it would still be soft.  Kyla, now 16,  had a lot of input into the quilting designs.  She really wanted me to use variegated thread on the black.  I was a little hesitant, but glad I went for it as we are both really happy with the results.

The blocks were framed with this motif in the sashing between the small blue stars.  The thread is a blue/green/purple Lava.

The blocks themselves had a mix of continuous curves, loops and swirls in a So Fine thread that blended fairly well into the block fabrics.

Kyla requested feathers in the outer border.  I added a curl every so often for to break it up a little. It was very scary getting started on this as I knew I couldn't hide anything, but things went really smoothly with my favorite "less stress feathers".

Here is a shot of the black back that shows the quilting (as well as some lint!).  I used Quilter's Dream Midnight Poly batting and Kona black for the back.

Simple and Striking

This quilt was sent to me by Trina.  She made it for her son who just graduated and is off to University in the fall.  He didn't think he needed at quilt at first, but Trina wore him down and decided on a simple pattern. After seeing the first couple of rows, Chris asked if Trina could add a little bit of red, and her layout took shape.

The backing in pieced in a large scale version of the front.  Keeping with the simple theme, the "Dazzle" panto was the choice. 

Trina asked for one bit of personalization in the quilting, which I always love to do.  The request was for the number 14 to be quilted into a corner in red thread. 

 

After completing the stitching on the front, I used my template on my pantograph at the back of the machine to show me where I needed to stop so that I wouldn't stitch through the numbers.  I repositioned the template as I advanced the quilt.

 

Here is the end result with the panto surrounding the lettering.  This is the first time that I did something like this is the midst of a panto, and I was very pleased with the outcome.  And it really wasn't a lot of futzing about either!

Pedal to the Metal 2.0

When I was up in Flon Flon for the North Star Quilt Guild Show in April, Mami's Country Quilts was there as a vendor with acres of batiks to drool over.  Kathy and I  decided to treat ourselves and make another version of our Pedal to the Metal quilt.  This time around it was Kathy's turn to piece and quilt our sample.

My favorite part about this version of Pedal to the Metal is how the diamonds extend in to the border of the quilt.  

We had been wanting to redo the cover of Pedal to the Metal for a while now.  Our first attempt was okay, be we were rushing to get it done, and it just never felt quite right.

Here is version 2. 

We decided to let version A be the focus so that the woven look that we like so much could come through. Quilts B & C play a nice supporting role from the quilt ladder.  I am still a little surprised that we ended up with an indoor shot of the quilts, as Kathy is usually known for her outdoor shots like the one below.  It is good to mix things up every now and again I guess!

 Pedal to the Metal (2.0) is available in our Etsy shop.  

Wholesale inquiries can be directed to highway10designs@mymts.net.

Sweet Dreams

This is Vanda's "Sweet Dreams" Quilt.  The pattern came from a recent issue of Quilter's World Magazine. I love the fresh modern color palette that she used, and I am sure the young graduate who will be receiving this quilt will too.

 

We decided on the "Fascination" pantograh, white Magnifico thread and Quilter's Dream Puff batting.

 And since it is summer, it is once again time for our family tradition of the girls taking on the planning/cooking/cleaning up of supper one night a week.  Kendra had the first week on her own while Kyla was at camp and made a Chow Mien Casserole and salad but I forgot to snap a picture before we dug in. This week we were treated to steak, baked potatoes, green beans and our first picking of garden lettuce. This tradition is by far one of my best parenting moves ever!

Paper copies, progress and a recipe

It was a great mail day here yesterday as the paper copies of "Quarters Sections" arrived from the printer.  They are available in the Etsy Store or if you are close by,  just give me a call.

 I also made a little more progress on the "Yellowstone" inspired quilt top.  Reached the halfway point, which is always exciting!

And every once in a while I like to share an interesting recipe that I come across.  I have tried this one about 3 times now, and it was a big hit with the whole family.  Nothing healthy about it, but it was a real treat and super easy to do.  The recipe for this One Pan Easy Fettuccine Alfredo can be found on the No. 2 Pencil website.  Thanks Melissa it was delicious!

This and That

Summer is here and things are as busy as ever.  I did find a little bit of time to work on my quilt top with my "Yellowstone inspired" fabrics.  All the blocks are in rows and I have 4 rows together. It is kind of a slow process as there are a lot of points to match, but I am happy with the results so far.  

Two bloggers that I follow - Michelle at mmm quilts and Vicki at Field Trips in Fibre both mentioned a tool a couple of weeks ago that I hadn't tried.  They both use a seam stick (a 1/2 round piece of hardwood) to help press seams open.  Since I need to press the long seams open between the rows of this quilt I wanted to give it a try.  I asked my hubby if he had something that would work - enter the broken handle from one of our homemade paddles.  (Good thing he hates to throw anything away!)

I have to say I was impressed.  The seams fall open much more easily when placed over the seam stick.  You can buy them commercially, but you can beat the deal I got on mine!

We really enjoyed being at home for Canada Day yesterday.  Here is a picture of Nolan chauffeuring Safety Bear in our local Agricultural Fair Parade that took place on the weekend.

 And here is part of yesterday evening.  I needed some quilted fabric for a boot bag I am making for Nolan, so I loaded the machine and a panto and had my two helpers give it a go.   They were not impressed with their results, but I think they did okay.  It was fun to have some company in the studio.