My Mexican Stars

A few years ago, a friend gave me this pattern - called Mexican Stars by  Southwind Designs. It took me a while, but I finally got it cut and pieced this summer - it is an easy pattern with a great 3-D effect.

So, once it was pieced, it waited . . . and waited . . . and waited until I finally decided to quilt it.  Lisa Calles classes gave me the inspiration to get going on this.

First, I drew out design ideas on tissue paper laid on top of the quilt top itself.

Some were better than others, and actually, I chose the final designs once the top was on the frame and I had the hands on the start button of Freeda . . .

Here is the finished product . . . .

and the backing . . .

My next task of course is to get the binding done . . . it is all cut and ready to go . . . maybe by Christmas (!)

Thanks for stopping by the Little House - next time a few more customer quilts to show off!

Urban Cabin with some "glam"

Another custom quilt from this past summer....Brenda made the Urban Cabin pattern by Atkinson designs.  Some of the fabrics had a little gold in them - so both Brenda and I thought it needed something to give it some "bling" . . . or "glam" . . .


I started with just plain circles in the "cabin" rows . . .

Then overlapped the circles . . .

Then added feathers and curved cross hatching . . . do you love it so far???

Next came the vertical sashings . . . a double swirl that kind of looks like hearts . . .

Brenda was thrilled . . . she said she didn't love the quilt til it was quilted!  Thanks, Brenda, that means a lot to me!

Here's a picture of the backing - I used Hobbs Wool Batting - I'm always happy with how the wool batting shows off the texture of the quilting . . .

I love the colors of autumn, too . . .

 So, that was a bit of September . . . more coming from the Little House!

Marsha's Whimsical Bloomers

When I do a full on custom quilt, I like to do a blog post about the quilting process . . . from start to finish. . . . Marsha made the quilt top using a Kim Diehl pattern - Late Bloomers.  She named her quilt "Whimsical Bloomers".  It's both machine pieced and hand appliqued - and very well done, I might add!

First, I audition a few designs using clear plastic laid over the areas to be quilted.  I sent a few photos to Marsha with design options ..... she chose these . . .



 We also auditioned a few thread choices . . . I used a variety of Superior So Fine.  I like So Fine for more dense quilting - it's a 50 wt polyester thread that looks like cotton.  It suited this quilt perfectly.

So here, I go . . . starting at the top and working my way down to the bottom of the quilt. I stitched as close as possible to the appliqued elements with Invisifil thread.  That makes them really stand out on the quilt.  Then some echoing and filler .

 

 

 . . 

 Cross hatching and other design elements . . . 

and the backing . . .

So, here it is finished . . .

or was it????  There were a couple of areas in the quilt that I wasn't sure of - one was the large center squares in the star blocks, the other was the "jelly bean" centre of the appliqued flowers . . . I thought they needed a bit more quilting - and so did Marsha.  So, back on Freeda she went!

Here are a couple of before and after pictures . . . I hope you can see the difference that little extra quitling made.




before



after



before



after

before - I don't have an after close up, but you can see it needed something.  I added a double cc.

I did a lot of SID in this project - I really like the way SID keeps those seams flat, and adds to the total look of the quilt.  It's a bit more work, but totally worth it - in my humble opinion  :)

So there you have it!  Marsha put this in the Cochrane Quilter's Guild show this fall . . .

 

 



More August quilting coming up soon from the Little House . . . 

Summer of 2015 - July - Part 2!

Summer - July - Part 2 . . . am I kidding!  How have I managed to become so far behind in my blog posts . . . . I don't know! 

 

Let me try to remember a little bit about these next few pictures - :) 

 

When we are out of town (which seems to be a lot lately) someone has to look after our dog and two cats . . . I made this quilt for Trish to thank her for being such a great pet sitter.  Trish lives on our farm, and is a horse lover - actually, she's a lover of all animals.  Freehand swirls, Hobbs 80/20 batting, Glide thread.

 

 

Horse quilt - back

Violet - one of Trish's horses

Heather made a twister quilt for her mom. I used that back and forth quilting in the background, and those twisters just popped.  I think her mom will love it - her mom's also a quilter and as Heather said, "quilters don't often get quilts as gifts" - she's right about that, isn't she!  Glide Thread; Hobbs 80/20 batting.

Barb's quilt is made from a variety of Christmas fabrics.  I put Dave Hudson's Snowflake panto on it . . . it's a fairly large scale panto - not sure if I love it, but really like the snowflake shapes.

Snowflake Panto - close up

Brenda's been at it again - making quilts for her grand kids!  This first one is a Super Heroes quilt for her grandson.  Bauhaus panto; Glide Thread

Super Heroes quilt- backing (flannel)

This cute one is for Brenda's granddaughter.  Love the large scale print!  Daisy Chain panto; Glide thread.

Backing (flannel)

and then the Dinosaur Quilt-  Brenda made this using a panel and adding borders.  I think there's plenty of little ones that would love this quilt to snuggle with!!  Come Dance With Me panto; Glide Thread; Wool batting. 

Well, I think that's about it for July.  Considering I was away for two weeks, I think I did pretty well!  Until next time, Happy Quilting from the Little House.

sneak peek . . .  Whimsical Bloomers . . .