I'm still here!

I've been absent from blog-land for a long time now -- still quilting, still taking photos, just not at the computer. You know how life sometimes gets in the way!

But I'm still at it!

It has been over a year. Yikes! About the time I was posting the last quilts I was also getting two quilts of my own completed and ready for entry at MQS 2013 (Machine Quilter's Showcase). I pieced and quilted both of them and shipped those babies off to Wichita (at the last possible minute, of course.) I know many of you know the outcome of that show, but the photos never made it here, so that is where I am going to pick up.

The first quilt, Let Your Light Shine, was one of those designs that danced in my head for a while before I cut into the first piece of fabric. I wanted to play with the water color effect of lights and darks and chose to build that around a cross. I really had the quilting in mind before this was even pieced. I wanted rays coming out from the center and a quote quilted into the border.

Once the main body was pieced (quick squares and strip piecing) I made the asymmetrical border. I actually traced the lettering on before it was attached. I printed my quote, "Within each heart is a spark of the Divine" on my computer the exact size I wanted it and taped the multiple pages together. I then used a blue water-erase marker to trace that onto my white fabric. This may not have worked with any other fabric, but the white was translucent enough to see through. It was then attached to the main body of the quilt and ready for quilting.

I started in the cross and drew rays towards the outside of the quilt. I then alternated different fills between the rays. The cross itself was quilted like wood grain.

I used four different shades of blue thread and worked lightest to darkest from the center outward. (This is more evident on the back of the quilt.)

The color gradation spilled onto the white border where I outlined the lettering and then pebbled around that. Just F.Y.I. Pebbling. Takes. Forever. It is also much prettier (in my opinion) if the thread color matches the fabric. Mine did not.

This photo was taken after returning from the show. Originally, the lettering did not show up near enough in the quilting so I painted it a pale yellow. That is how it went to MQS. Several months after that I went back and made the yellow darker and added the navy shadow effect. It is still a little subtle and the font I chose made the quote difficult to read. I'll know better next time.

To finish the quilt I added a gold flange at the edges to complement the gold in the lettering and gold rays (very subtle) in the quilting. It seems to get lost in the busy fabrics, but I made the binding gradated as well. It is lightest at the top left and changes to dark in the lower right. That was one of my favorite features but is hardly noticeable unless it is pointed out. Again, I'll know better next time.

I'm glad I completed this quilt and that it hung in a major show. It definitely forced me out of my comfort zone. I knew going in it was nowhere near the amazing quilts that hung around it. The whole process taught me a great deal. And isn't learning and growing what it is all about?

Sorry this got so long. In the next post I'll share quilt number two that went to MQS!

Raw edge cabbage roses

Have you tried raw-edge applique? I haven't yet, but loved the look when I got this top to quilt. Even better, it a quick and easy technique. The applique pieces are sewn directly to the background -- no fusing, no turning under, no hand work! Allison at Cluck Cluck Sew has a great tutorial here.

I may have to give this a try!

The customer wanted a loose meander around the flowers and minimal stitching within them. The flowers were made of four layers, so I did a free-form line through the first and third layers. This pushed the fabric down just enough to make the raw edges pop up a bit. After washing, they will become even more pronounced as the edges fray. The batting was Hobbs 80/20 and thread was So Fine off ivory top and bottom.

I loved Kitty's use of all the different floral fabrics. This gave it a very feminine, vintage, cottage look. What fun!

Colorful Double Irish Chain

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

The luck o' the Irish brought me this cheerful Double Irish Chain quilt. The customer requested shamrocks in the open spaces and feathers in the chains using green thread. In the outside borders I put a wavy line and an alternating heart. The batting was Hobbs 80/20 and the thread was So Fine top and bottom.

Hockey jersey quilt

I recently finished a commission quilt for a customer using a collection of her son's hockey jerseys. She requested irregular piecing and that the "battle scars" on the jerseys be included.

She couldn't remember if he was kicked with a skate blade here or hit with a stick. Ouch, rough sport!

This quilt got an all-over meander in a medium grey. The batting was Hobbs 80/20 and the thread was So Fine top and bottom.

Great memories preserved!

Heirloom wedding dress quilt

This project, quite frankly, scared me to death. A customer brought in her wedding dress and wanted it made into a quilt. Her only request was that it be preserved in the largest pieces possible.  ***Insert panic attack here***

It is kind of scary to cut up someone's wedding dress! I looked at it for weeks before devising a plan. Once you make that first cut, there is no going back! It was a two-tone satin dress, ivory and champagne, and had beading, embroidery and lots of buttons. There were three main sections I wanted to use, the lace-up corset back, the beaded and embroidered motif on the front of the skirt, and the bottom of the train. To keep the biggest pieces of the dress intact, I decided on an asymmetrical layout because I really didn't want to divide up any of those sections.

Here is what the dress looked like before I went into attack mode.

First, I cut apart the main panels of the dress. I ended up not using the bodice as it was quite plain, very narrow, had boobs, and had very thick beading. Not a workable combination for me!

The bottom of the dress was quite dirty so I had take out the hem, cut enough off to lose the dirty areas, and put back in another hem.

Then I began the process of fitting the pieces back together. It really was a big make-it-up-as-you-go puzzle. The only place I had big enough to lay it out and work with it was on my king-size bed. When my husband arrived home and asked, "what are you doing in there" and I replied, "cutting up a wedding dress!", he thought I had completely lost my marbles. Lucky for me, he is very handy and offered up his assistance when I was trying to wrangle and pin these large, very slick pieces back together.

And you know, once you get into a project like this, you realize you just don't have the right tools for the job. But instead of going to the local quilt store, I found myself at Home Depot. My friend Ida of Cowtown Quilts had posted a while back about using a laser square to block quilts (square them). You can see her in action here. I knew that was exactly what I needed. The guy in the tool department, however, concurred that I must have lost my marbles when I told him I was going to use it to cut up a wedding dress and make it into a quilt!

FYI: if you go looking for a laser square, they are used by floor layers to get straight lines when laying tile. I have found that not all Home Depot guys are up on the use of their tools in the quilt world.

The laser square worked like a charm. I spread out my pieces and was able to get perfect 90 degree corners. I ran one red beam down the straight edge of the fabric and it shot a line across where I needed to mark and cut. My six-year-old wanted to know if it was the kind of laser that would blow up stuff. He quickly lost interest when he learned there would be no exploding wedding dresses or older brothers!

I also cut apart the plain panels of the skirt and used them to frame the beaded motif from the front of the skirt.

Once I got all the pieces put back together, I placed a sheet of plexiglass over the top and marked on it to get an idea of what I would quilt. To me, feathers always look feminine and formal, and this begged for heirloom quilting, so that is what I went with. I did free-form feathers throughout, a feathered cable framing the back panel, and swirls and peacock feathers around the front panel motif.

I had never quilted on anything other than cotton fabric, so the satin was a little intimidating. I used Hobbs 80/20 batting and So Fine ivory thread top and bottom. The back of the quilt was an ivory sateen. I found, however, that is quilted up beautifully. The sheen of the satin really let the quilting shine. The trickiest part was dealing with the beading and buttons on the take up bars.

The customer was more than thrilled with the final product. She said she never imagined it would be so beautiful! She plans to drape it over the bed in a guest room for now, then someday pass it down to her child.

I really think I'm going to dig to deepest, darkest depths of my own closet in search of my own wedding dress...

Sweet 1930's inspired baby quilt

This cute little quilt was made from 30's inspired reproduction fabrics. Isn't it cheerful?!

I quilted continuous curves in the nine-patch squares, swirls in the border, and meandering around the puppies and kitties. The batting was Hobbs 80/20 bleached. Thread was SoFine white top and bottom.

Christmas stars table runner

This fun table runner was the direct result of me browsing Pinterest (a great resource for all things creative.) I saw something similar and loved the pattern and the cheerful colors, but there was only a link to a photo, no pattern or resources. So what is a girl to do? Just wing it and make your own, of course!

I didn't do any math or even make a formal plan. I just started cutting up fabric and sewing it together, and this was the result. I love how it came together.

I used Glide super white on the top and So Fine white in the bobbin. Batting was Hobbs bleached 80/20. I put a snowflake in each of the white squares, continuous curves with a swirl in the star points, pumpkin seeds in the center squares, and continuous curves throughout the squares in the border.

If you have already found Pinterest, you know what a fun resource it can be. If not, BEWARE, it is very addicting. It is a virtual pin board where you can archive absolutely anything you may come across while surfing the web. There is a red Pinterest button in the right column where you can check out all of my boards and set up your own account if you choose. I have many boards, most of which are quilting related. I use it regularly to find inspiration and ideas, as well a tuck away projects and recipes I hope to get to someday. Hope to see you there!