Thread Tales From A Scrappy Quilter

I had a request to make quilted placemats for my oldest son.  They wanted a dog theme and washable for daily use. We didn't discuss in  detail about what that theme should be.  I started looking at patterns and really wasn't seeing what I wanted.  They have a black lab so just any dog wouldn't do! After much searching, I decided to go with a traditional quilt pattern from Quiltworx called Broken Daisy and use animal theme prints.   I needed really small prints for this one. This definitely was a labor of love.  I'm still trying to recover from my total knee replacement and having a very difficult time.  I learned to run the machine with my left foot.  I realized that it was not possible for me to stand to do all the cutting and trimming needed.   I ordered a nice adjustable height stool for my cutting table which is open at the bottom so there is space for my legs.  I had to do the same in the kitchen but it is more awkward b...

Here is version # 5 of a  Vintage Rose  pattern that I have now quilted.  All so different!   I love that this quilt is so versatile.  Kathryn did an amazing job as usual with her version.  I went a little dense in some areas, light custom in other areas but did use double batting with wool on top to get a stronger take on the dimension since quilting itself can be so hard to see on these gorgeous Kafe fabrics. Isn't that a fun version?!   I used a hot pink thread for most of the quilting.

Pat was referred to me by Sandra Kollath in Minnesota.  We met several years ago at one of Denise Green's Judy Niemeyer retreats.   Sandra became a certified instructor for Judy Niemeyer as well and Pat was one of her students.  Pat's quilt is really special because she told me it was her 97th bed sized quilt and she was 87 when she pieced it!  I choose to accent her beautiful 2 color Vintage Rose with some digital quilting designs.  Most are by Carrie Barone of Peak to Prairie Quilting, some are by Nancy  at Wasatch Quilting and ditching and some designs are my own hand guided designs. Such a pretty quilt!  What an accomplishment to be able to work on complex designs like these in your 80's. This was Vintage Rose #4 that I have custom longarm quilted.   #5 has already been quilted and shipped as well.   I have a few more in my line up for this year, each very different from all t...

Belinda's gorgeous Fire Island Hosta that she requested to be longarm custom quilted very lightly. The quilt will be used as a bed quilt. They did not want dense quilting or thread build up.  Light and airy but not an edge to edge.              I struggle with light custom, I find it a very difficult task for a quilt with lots of skinny points, triangles and wedges. Areas are too small for light and airy designs and pointy areas need structure.  Blender fabrics like these are very hard to get quilting details to show without lots of quilting.  I hope I succeeded with her request!

Cathy's beautiful purple and beige Vintage Rose with the full pieced borders.  There are several variations of this quilt for the borders. Lots of purple in this one!  I do love purple too.   Cathy wanted matching thread to the fabric so I choose only 1 thread  for most of the purples.  The lights in the small pieced border did get a lighter purple, but that still made 3 purples that I used.   Invisifil for ditching, the one lighter purple for that border then all the rest I used Damson Glide.  I knew those solid like colors would look awesome with Jessica Schicks design for Vintage Rose in those borders and it did not disappoint.  I used some digital designs from Jessica, Wasatch and some hand guided longarm quilting to customize this quilt. This makes #3 VR that I have quilted, I have 4 more in the line up! All 4 very different from the 3 I have quilted.   3 I alread...

Lou Ann creating this beautiful quilt using one of the colorways debuted last year from Quiltworx  Red and Black campaign.   I named this quilt "Red Hot Diva Rose" while quilting her this past summer because that pale gray on gray demands so much attention to create each segment of the quilt.  And yeah, I made mine white on white so I have had that issue 2xs now.   Tossed over bed with pillows for a quick photo     I was once again challenged by not being able to mark designs.  I took a Qtip dampened with water and rubbed on a red fabric on the outside edge.  My Qtip turned red.  She would not be soaking or washing and we could not take a chance on any of the reds bleeding due to the removal of blue markers.   Of course in Texas high humidity, it is impossible to mark all your spines prior to loading with an air eraseable marker.   Plus I generally don't trust those, ...