Kathy's Round Robin

My friend Kathy is set to arrive at my house today for a bit of a visit ahead of the retreat we are hosting at Fabriculous in Swan River, MB this weekend. To coincide with her visit I thought I'd share photos of a wall hanging that I  quilted for her earlier this summer.

This wall hanging was the product of a round robin exchange with the North Star Quilt Guild in Flin Flon, MB.  I owed Kathy a favor and she decided that my quilting this would make us even. I tried to pick design elements that were different from what Kathy would normally quilt herself.  I only quilted on the background fabric and in the ditch around the blue fabrics.  I decided on geometric elements in the center block, and first border and like the look a lot.

To add a little interest to the pebble background behind the flying goose border, I added three "ghost geese" at the corners to keep the flow going.

Behind the Celtic elements, I used a combination of pebbles and "Nemeshing" to add a bit of whimsy.

The outer border had me stumped for the longest time, but I decided something simple to frame the center was all that was required.

It was great that Kathy sent a light and fairly plain back as it is awesome to look at.  It was a bit odd quilting for a friend and fellow longarm quilter, but it was fun too, so I look forward to trying this again in the future.

Baby Boy Quarter Sections

Kendra and I made this quilt together for a pair of special teachers who welcomed a baby boy in the spring.  I can't believe I haven't shared pictures of this fun quilt until now!  

My go to pattern for a baby quilt has become our Highway 10 Designs "Quarter Sections" pattern.  You only need 5 fat quarters and some yardage for the border and binding.  

It goes together really quickly and lets us enjoy the cute fabric prints.  The fabric collection is by Northcott and is called "Whale of a Time".

When it came time for the quilting, my daughters suggested quilting fish on it, so I started doodling and came up with something I thought I could manage and was continuous.

I love to personalize quilts whenever possible, so I added the baby's name in the least busy fabric.

We had a very nice visit with the new baby back in the end of April.

Full Spectrum 2.0

This quilt was made by Bonnie for her granddaughter.  The pattern is called "Full Spectrum" by Rebecca Boline. I quilted this same pattern for Bonnie last year.  She used a slightly different backing fabric and I changed a bit of the quilting, but kept much the same.

I used a variegated thread on the rainbow stripes, and Maginifco on the black.  This is such a happy quilt that I'm sure there will be smiles all around when it is received.

Mona's Stack n Whack

This fun Stack and Whack quilt was made by Mona.  I love how the technique creates so many unique blocks.

I used the "Plush" panto and a mossy green thread that blended well into all the colors in the quilt.

Mona chose one of my Stonehenge wide backings and Quilters Dream Blend batting to complete her quilt.

Pastel 10 Minute Block

This quilt was made by members of the Crocus Quilt Guild in Dauphin, MB to be used a one of our "comfort quilts."  These quilts are given to individuals in our community that have experienced a loss or illness and could use a boost.  We used the 10 Minute Block Tutorial that can be seen here.   The guild provided the green fabric in the center of the block and guild members were asked to add the pastel fabric and return the blocks to be made in to a quilt top.

We are lucky to have a number of ladies with longarms as well as some domestic machine quilters who graciously offer to quilt these at no charge.  I decided it was my turn to take a quilt and as there was an immediate need, I wanted a pretty but quick design so that we could get the quilt into the hands of the binder.

Here is a short video of how I quilted the flowers motif with a single thread.  I quilt on a longarm, but this design could easily be replicated on a domestic machine.  I did draw a circle to help keep the centers consistent, but for the rest, I was able to use the piecing lines and avoid marking.  And just like in your garden, no two flowers are exactly alike!

I love how the back looks too.  I opted not to quilt anything in the green diamonds this time around.  The batting didn't require the area to be quilted, and since many quilters were involved in the making of this top, I didn't want to draw attention to the differences in how the green diamonds were finished.

In the areas where there wasn't room for a complete flower motif, I opted for some swirls instead. 

Winter Wonderland

The exquisite quilt belongs to Gail.  The pattern is "Winter Wonderland" by Crabapple Hill Studio.  Gail's mom did the embroidery in green rather than the red of the original pattern and Gail pieced the border blocks and put the top together.   

I must say the embroidery was impeccably done and it was truly an honor to get to work on this one!  I looked online for other examples of how this quilt was quilted, and found most to be densely custom quilted.  When I shared these with Gail, they didn't mesh with her vision for the quilt.  We discussed many options, but in the end, a simple pantograph called "Bora Bora" was Gail's choice.  I can see a cold north wind blowing across the quilt, and it lets the embroidery be the star.

I used Superior's Microquilter thread which a fine, but strong 100 wt. thread to quilt across embroidery and all.  I am very pleased with the results.  

 This is definitely a quilt that will remain a family treasure!

Pineapple Quilt

It has been over two months since I have added anything new to this blog!  I have been quilting (among other things) and I hope this quilt makes up for the long silence.

Reneta made this wonderful quilt top from a tutorial by Jackie Padesky .  (Reneta did change the pineapple tops slightly.)  Reneta loved this quilt top and decided it deserved some "super dense over the top fabulous quilting".  No pressure! How to handle the pineapples came fairly easily, but it took me a long time to decide what to do as the background spaces in the quilt were not symmetrical.  Once I had the idea to include the "hibiscus like" flowers the rest fell into place. 

I used two layers of batting to make the quilting really pop.  A layer of Quilter's Dream Blend on the bottom, followed by a layer of Quilter's Dream Puff on top.

Reneta had a pieced backing, and although things turned out fine, I wouldn't recommend this much piecing on a back with dense quilting on the top, as the risks for a pleat or a messy looking back are high in my opinion.

I have quilted many quilts for Reneta and she always has a vision and often challenges my creativity.  This time she challenged me to step outside my box to complete her vision and I am really glad that I did.  I think I might need one of these for myself!