Another Quilt Top for Ronda

I finished stitching this quilt top just in time to take it out for a photo shoot at the college on a beautiful summer evening.  There is something so magical about the lighting at this time of day....

Thanks again, Ronda, it's always a pleasure stitching for you!

T-Shirt Quilt #2 for Jessica

 Jessica discovered a few more of her mother's T-shirts that she wanted turned into another quilt.

There were just enough to make a small throw!  I also incorporated scraps from the infinity scarves we had made to fill in the empty spaces. 

Jessica had me incorporate business cards from her mom's previous businesses into labels for the back of the quilt; I simply scanned them and printed them onto fabric with my inkjet printer as before.  

I usually machine tack my T-shirt quilts with the button stitch on my Bernina, but this time I decided to try a large stipple.  I can't decide which look I prefer, but it's actually quicker to machine quilt a large stipple than it is to do the tacking stitch!  If you do the tacking stitch, you have to clip each and every thread tail which can be tedious and time consuming, especially if you use an invisible thread.  (Trust me, I know!)

Love this backing fabric I found at Good's....  It's has a vintage feel, but the colors are bright and clear enough for the primary colors of T-shirts .  

Fortunately there was enough left over to add into my stash.  :)

And, a polka dot binding in a pretty shade of blue ties everything together!

My First Metro Rings!

I finally worked up the courage to tackle a Metro Rings quilt!  

(I took the picture indoors, as it will be quite a while 'til outdoor pictures are feasible again thanks to last week's blizzard!)  

I certainly wouldn't have attempted this pattern by now, but it was custom piecing job requested by one of Kathy O.'s customers.  Needless to say, I dragged my feet on this one since it was a totally new concept/process.

The key tool is this Quick Curve Ruler.  It allows you to make a quilt similar in style to the traditional Double Wedding Ring pattern, but without the tedious cutting and piecing of the small wedge pieces.  The QCR allows your to strip piece, then slice the curves with the ruler. Even so, it still takes a bit of time to piece one of these beauties!

I must say, I went from "I will never, ever make one of these quilts again" to "I need to make one for myself now!"   (I have a Jelly Roll of Jen Kingwell's Gardenvale fabric that will be perfect for mine!)  The piecing is a bit tricky.  And, I had a terrible time getting my blocks to lay flat until I steamed and starched them heavily.  (I didn't think to take pictures of the before and after.)  I'm still now sure why; I'm pretty sure my piecing was accurate.  The grain line ended up distorted as a result, but you don't notice it in the final product.  When all is said and done, it's pretty impressive how everything turns out!

Some tips:

This video was helpful in explaining how to position your hands when stitching the curved pieces.  Be sure to take care when lining up the ruler; if you line everything up correctly, your triangles should match perfectly.  And, make sure you have plenty of starch on hand before you get started!

You can purchase the Quick Curve Ruler here and the Metro Rings pattern here.

This quilt was custom made for some professional cowboy hat makers - how fun is that?!  The red and block center triangles are right on!  Kathy and her friend picked out fabrics that were perfect for the cowboy theme:

Can't wait to see what magic Kathy works with her long arm stitching!

PS - Now I want to make this quilt with the QC Ruler!!

You can order the Chic Country pattern here.

Liz's Lovely Quilt

I had the lovely privilege of machine quilting this quilt for a customer.  

All it needed was a simple stipple so the fabrics and pattern could take the main stage.

Love it, Liz!!

Stats:

58x88"

Batting:  Warm & White

Thread:  Aurifil 50 wt, color #2610

Antique Quilt Photo Shoot

I had the pleasure of finishing another antique family quilt top for Mr. Landis.

The colors were so lovely, and the quilt so nicely designed and constructed that it deserved a photo shoot.  (OK, I'll admit it - I believe that every quilt deserves its own photo shoot!)

According to Mr. Landis's careful historical records, the quilt was stitched sometime around 1880.  He's right on the money as far as I'm concerned; his family records match my conclusions after I compared the fabrics in the quilt with the photos in my Dating Fabrics book: 

I debated and debated about how I should finish the quilt.  Since it is a c. 1880 quilt and was pieced by hand, machine quilting was out of the question.  I really wanted to do it justice and had planned to hand quilt it with a large utility stitch, 

but at the last minute I saw this quilt at an antique fair and concluded that simply knotting it might be be acceptable after all.

I used Hobb's 100% wool batting and knotted it with perle cotton #5.

As always, it's oh so important to document these antique quilts for future generations.

I thought this quilt was absolutely beautiful, so some of these pictures are for my own enjoyment and remembering.

:)

(Thanks, Linda, for suggesting this lovely spot at the college for photographing my quilts, and for tipping me off as to the perfect time of day when the lighting is best!)

Comfort Quilt for a Pastor

I had the privilege of machine quilting this special quilt for a customer who lovingly stitched it for her pastor who is going through cancer treatment.

  

She purchased the quilt pattern and Scripture motifs from the Log Cabin Quilt Shop in Bird in Hand.  

Since the Scripture blocks needed to be the main focus, I did a simple stipple in the body of the quilt.

Then, I did some squiggles (need a name for this design!) in the inner border, and piano keys in the outer border.  (I find if I practice on my white board first, it saves me from having to practice on a quilt sandwich, eliminating waste.)  

:)

I'm thinking I need to do a similar quilt for myself!  I had purchased a quilt kit to console myself during my cancer journey 8 years ago, but never got around to stitching the quilt.  These Scripture blocks would be perfect for incorporating into that quilt, as they remind me of all the time I spent dialoguing with the Lord re: my bewilderment....

Below are closeups of each Scripture block before they were quilted:  

Trusting that this quilt will bring comfort and healing!