Amy's Scrappy Homerun

 

This is Amy's latest scrappy quilt.  When I asked the pattern name, she said that she made blocks based on a demo from her local quilt guild, and used a layout idea from the Alternate Routes pattern she just finished and came up with this.  I think she hit this one out of the park!

This quilt was just a scrappy stash buster, but it was calling out for something other than a panto.  I asked Amy if I could play, and she said to go for it.  I came up with a plan that didn't involve any rulers or thread changes to keep it budget friendly.

The grey linen background areas received some fun feathers, and the blue scrappy strips received my branching curl fill.

 

I am really pleased how this one turned out.  It really makes me want to make one of my own!

Broken Star

This beautiful Broken Star quilt belongs to Gay.  It is very special to her as the top was made by her dear friend Ann who recently passed away.  I was honored to be asked to help make this treasure into a finished quilt.

Gay knew that she did not want dense quilting, as she wanted the quilt to have a nice drape when it was done.  She also knew that she wasn't fond of the continuous curve design that is often quilted on the coloured diamonds.  So the design plan became feathers, feathers and more feathers (but nice open ones.)

Each large diamond sections received a open feather plume in peach thread.  

I quilted a feather wreath in the background squares and flowing loose feathers in the corners in a cream coloured thread.  

 

When the quilt was on the frame and I was only seeing small sections at a time, I was worried that I might have missed the mark on the size of the feathers.  They seemed really big, but I trusted the vision.  Once I pulled the quilt off the frame I loved the result, and was pretty sure I had fulfilled Gay's request.

And a few more pictures, because I just love it so much!

 

Pretty Irish Chain with Applique

  

When Lori sent a photo of this quilt top asking for custom quilting (and especially feathers), I couldn't wait for it to get to the top of my list!

The recipient of this quilt loves feathers and more traditional quilting, so feathers wreaths were the request for the open white spaces.

I added continuous curves in the chain section, and because of the white in all the prints, I was able to use white thread for all the quilting.

The pretty flower details in the border were all hand appliqued.  I stitched around the applique and added a simple stipple backfill.

Finally simple loops the the small turquoise borders completed the look.

Lori provided a white on white backing and the quilting is so nice to look at on the back!

I really must put an Irish chain quilt on my to do list!

 

Glorious and Free

I was very lucky to get the opportunity to have some free motion fun on this fabulous quilt made by Gail.  The pattern is Glorious and Free by Quilter on Fire.  Gail adapted the pattern slightly to make it fit her size requirements.

I knew the maple leaf needed to be the star of the show so I used a curls for the veins.

The remaining red section got a complimentary curling design, and the blue background got a wood grain design.  Horizontal "wind" fill in the white and to top it all off a nice leafy feather in the outside border.

The blue minkee backing really shows of the quilting very nicely. We used Quilters Dream Puff batting and threads that matched each of the fabric colors.

Cookie Cutter

I recently had the pleasure of quilting this gorgeous quilt for Leslie at Keystone Modern Creative.  The pattern is called Cookie Cutter by Jaybird Quilts and the fabric is Pedal Pusher by Camelot fabrics.  This quilt has such a different feel than the original cover design that features a white background with rainbow colours.

Leslie let me pick the quilting design, but I did check to make sure she was okay with feathers!

   I used a bead board design on the outer border to frame the quilt. 

The coloured diamond got continuous curves and a twirling feather motif filled the center.

Last but not least I had lots of fun filling the background with flowing feathers.

It was hard to say goodbye to this one - I just loved the whole thing!

Allie Owl

I quilted this cute owl wall hanging as my first project back to make sure my longarm was working properly after the move.  My friend Reneta pieced the top for me.  The pattern is by Elizabeth Hartman and is called Allie Owl.

The quilting on the owl was pretty easy for me to figure out, but how to handle the back ground had me stumped and ripping a bit.  I am really happy with the final design choice now!

I was asked by my daughter to make a travel pouch for her new wireless head phones.  I came across this "Multipurpose zipper pouch" by Peggy Sews that was just the right thing with its tapered shape and flat bottom.  It comes in 5 sizes with a free easy to print pdf.  You can find it on the Peggy Sews page  here.  I used Soft and Stable instead of batting and added a few quilting lines, but otherwise I followed the instructions and will definitely make it again.

Scrappy Irish Chain

I recently completed this beauty for Reneta.  It is really hard to appreciate the scale of this quilt from pictures.  I have lovingly been referring to it as "the beast" while it has been in my possession as it measures 112" X 122"!

Reneta made this as wedding present for her niece who has a king size bed.  Here you can see it covering my queen bed.  If you are curious or want to recreate this quilt, just cut 5,832 - 2" squares and you are off to the races!

Reneta is normally a "no feathers" girl, but when she brought this out to me, she thought it actually needed some, so I was happy to oblige.  The color placement in this quilt is the reverse of what you most often see, so the quilting plan needed to be a little unique as well.  We decided on straight line in the colored squares and black chain, with feathers in the beige.

I like the pattern that emerged on the solid backing.

This quilt was truly a labour of love and I'm happy I got to play a part in its journey.