Spring is in the air! . . . finally!

It must be spring because my little goose couple has returned to the hay bales at the top of the road.  The female has been there for many days (maybe two weeks) but honestly, the weather has been so poor and winter like, the opportunities for picture taking were scarce.  Today, the sun is finally shining so I stopped on my way home from Addies to check her out.  I'm not sure she was impressed . . .

..... but, she has a "million dollar view" don't you think?

(our house is about mid point on the right side of the picture - we, unfortunately, do not have that million dollar view)

I don't normally post pictures on my blog until after the customer has picked up their quilts.  I have six sitting and waiting to go to their rightful homes, but all of the following have been picked up and most likely bound by now!

This first quilt was #1  on my to do list after coming back from Mexico.  You might have a bit of trouble figuring out the front from the back of this quilt - Linda pieced the back using 2 1/2 inch strips.  I admit, I was a bit nervous when I was loading the quilt on Freeda, as I wanted to be 100% sure that it was straight.  Even one cm difference would have shown in the backing - but thankfully, Linda is an excellent piecer, and the strip on the bottom of the quilt backing was as straight as the first strip on the top!  Whew!  (Glide thread; Flirtatious panto; Hobbs 80/20 batting)

Linda's quilt - front

Linda's quilt - close up of backing strips

Linda's quilt - backing
 

I put together a little baby quilt to practice my 3s and e's using the eazy peazy method called "Strip and Flip"  by Cluck Cluck Sew - if you want more information on this technique, go here .   My 3s and e's are OK, but have a ways to go to compete with Nancy or Andrea . . . I'll need more practice, practice, practice . . .

Strip and Flip baby quilt

Strip and Flip baby quilt - close up of 3s and e's

These next two quilts belong to Stacy - who has been a busy mother with a new baby and a 3 year old!  Somehow she still finds the time to quilt!

Stacy's quilt - Hearts in Bloom panto



Stacy's Deloa quilt - backing



Stacy's Deloa Quilt - Starburst panto

Spring in the Little House . . .

You've seen quilts done by Louise before . . . here ,  here, and here . . . she's one busy quilter.  These two are for her granddaughters.  One of the great things about Louise's quilts is the beautiful choice of fabrics, but another feature are the innovative pieced backings that Louise puts together!  Pieced backings can sometimes cause a problem for longarmers (don't ask me how I know this) . . . but Louise's backings are beautiful and square and add another dimension to her quilts.

Louise's quilt - appliqued

Louise's quilts - hanging with Freeda (excuse the out of focus pic)



Louise's quilt - backing close up

Louise's quilt - backing

and just one more for this post . . .

Another repeat customer, Eleanore - this quilt is made from a selection of tan/gold/brown flannels.  It is for her son's fiancé, so she wanted it to look a bit more feminine - I think we accomplished that! (Glide thread; freehand swirl/feathers; Hobbs 80/20 batting)

Eleanore's quilt - backing



Eleanor's quilt - hanging with Freeda

oops . . . one more!  Joan is a new customer who made this quilt for her for her daughter.  It is a "Around the World" type pattern made from a beautiful selection of blue/grey batiks.  I used my favorite freehand design - swirl feather - using Glide thread - Graphite color.  I love that color of thread!

Joan's quilt - hanging with Freeda

Joan's quilt - backing

 

Well, that's it . . . for now!  I finished a stunning hand applique quilt today, and have six quilts being picked up in the next couple of days - so will be posting more soon!  - OK, here's a sneak peak . . .

 

 

 

 

Now for news from the Little House - I have decided to move my Freeda back home and continue quilting for my customers from the comfort of my own home studio.  I have gained a ton of experience and exposure being at Addies over the past year and am so thankful for that - not to mention the great people that I have had the pleasure of meeting.  The decision to move my machine home has more to do with my lifestyle than anything else.  Also, I want to concentrate more on improving my custom quilting skills, and to do that, I need to have a more flexible schedule to practice, practice, practice.  And, did I tell you I spent two days at Sparrow Studioz learing from Judi Madsen (Green Fairy Quilts) - a wonderful experience.  I'll post pics later . . . So for now . . . Happy Spring from the Little House!

Missing my long arm!

I've been away now for almost two months and am really missing my long arm.  Maybe it's because I know I'll be home in a week, but I have quilting on my mind a lot these last few days.  Don't get me wrong - I have loved Rving in Mexico these last 8 weeks, and have to admit, do NOT miss the winter weather at home, but it's time to get back to my Freedom!

I was busy before I left, and have just now found the time to post a few pictures of what I'd been working on in January - life really can be busy in an RV park in Mexico!  I've been working on a little hand applique project that I brought with me, and I have to say, I'm not loving it.  The piece itself is great, but I've got a long way to go before I tackle anything bigger.

Here's my January catch up . . .

First  - a beautifully pieced quilt for Trish's grandson . . . all those little pieces were perfectly square!  What a pleasure to quilt!  Filtec Glide Thread; Wisteria panto by Patricia Ritter.  This quilt will be going to Casa Grande to be bound and then to a "show and tell" with a group of quilters there - I sure hope they like it as much as I do!

hangin' with Freeda



Back showing Wisteria panto pattern

I also want to show you Barb's amazing Butterly Wall Hanging - each butterfly was appliqued on - and after the quilting, it almost looked 3-D!  Filtec Glide Thread; All over freehand Swirl/Feather design.

Sheena made this Disappearing 9 patch for some friends living in the United States . . . we chose the panto "Maple Syrup" - very fitting, don't you think?  It just brought a new dimension to the quilt top - perfect choice!  Filtec Glide Thread; Maple Syrup Panto.
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Fran always does beautiful piecing - this quilt was made from some fabric that she had that she wasn't particularly fond of - so she cut it into strips and made the square patches.  A lot of work, but so worth it as it turned out to be beautiful - I think this is what you'd call "synergy" (Synergy is the interaction of multiple elements in a system to produce an effect different from or greater than the sum of their individual effects) - wouldn't you say?  That's how this quilt was to me.  Filtec Glide Thread (Canteloupe); Terry Twist in the squares, freehand swirl/feather in sashing and borders.



hangin' with Freeda

Fran's Quilt - back

almost done . . . Betty's modern quilt.  Her daughter bought the pattern and fabric and asked Betty to piece it for her.  I quilted it with straight lines some parts, and soft swirls in the main body.  I was very pleased at the effect of the straight line quilting.  My Freeda does not have channel locks to keep the lines perfectly straight, so I used a binder clip on the carriage so it would not move as I quilted across the top - who needs channel locks!!!

hangin' with Freeda

Betty's quilt - back

and finally, a simple, but very cool quilt that Diane put together.  Three pieces of fabric - that's it!  I used "Pretty Paisley" panto by Jodi Beamish; Filtec Glide Thread - Sand.  Simple - but very effective!

So, that pretty much kept me busy until the end of January!  I'm already booked up for April and looking forward to a great summer..... and really excited to be going to Sparrow Studioz to take two days of classes from Judi Madsen (Green Fairy Quilts)  I know I'll be coming back with a lot of great ideas for quilting those more modern quilts!  Once again, thank you to Sparrow Studioz for raising bar for the quilters in the area.

This is my first quilt to tackle once I get home . . . another stunning hand appliqued top!

Nothing says "Welcome to the first day of spring" better than this!  Happy Quiting everyone - and will see you soon!

Here's to 2014 - starting out pretty great!

2014 - wow - how did we get here?  It feels like we just turned the millennium just a couple of years ago . . . how time flies, eh?

I was so humbled when Betty asked me to quilt her applique quilt - Betty is an incredible quilter - and could have had this beauty done by any number of long armers . . . so, I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to quilt this one.  The only thing Betty knew she wanted was feathers in the sashings . . . so we built the design from there.  The sashing feathers add a whole new element to the quilt, don't they?  The rest was simple - swirl/feather/feather - in the blocks and the borders. 

I did quilt closely around each piece of applique - which makes the design stand out even more.

Thanks again, Betty for giving me this opportunity.  This quilt will be displayed at the shop as it is being offered as a Block-of-the-Month at Addies Creative Fabrics.



Hearts in Bloom - hangin' with Freeda

Hearts in Bloom - close up feathers in sashing

Hearts in Bloom - feathers in sashing close up

Hearts in Bloom - close up of swirl/feather/feather filler

Hearts in Bloom

Hearts in Bloom - close up

I also completed this beautiful batik quilt of Eleanor's this week - it was quite a process acutally.  I completed it (or so I thought) before Christmas, but when I took it off Freeda - I just wasn't happy with the quilting in the large circles.  I had tried to quilt a oriental type floral motif (actually Gingkos) in each of those circles - and it just didn't work. . . . . so . . . . I called Eleanor, and explained that I needed a bit more time - as I picked out every stitch in those circles and re-quilted it.  Yes, it was a lot of work, but so worth it!  Eleanor did such a great job piecing the quilt - I couldn't let my quilting take away from that.  The pattern is Afternoon Delight by Elisa Wilson made in a nice selection of black/grey/caramel batiks.
Glide Thread - medium brown; Hobbs 80/20 batting; Freehand design



Afternoon Delight - hangin' with Freeda

Afternoon Delight - close up

Afternoon Delight - close up of border

Afternoon Delight - close up

Afternoon Delight

 I searched out this pattern, and have already ordered it and the templates for making the circles - another quilt on my list!

It's a bit slow at the Little House - so I finally got my Prairie Star on Freeda and have begun quilting it over the past few days - so far, I'm about 12 hrs in - and figure I have another 6 - 8 hrs to go.  As this is the first Judy Niemeyer quilt that I have quilted, and the fact that it is my quilt - I'm doing a bit of trial and error.  Some of the quilting designs work - some not so much - so I'm changing as I go.  I can hear Claudia's voice - "Think before quilting - don't think while quilting" . . . but I'm afraid that's not exactly how it's happening with this one.  I have the basic design in my mind, but if it doesn't work in an area - it comes out before I move on.  I've done a lot of SID (stitch in the ditch) to stabilize the quilt - and it's surprisingly square - this is  great experience for me!

Prairie Star - on Freeda
 

I will be working away to get this one completed, and I have customer quilts to finish before I head to Mexico at the end of the month . . . cheers - from the Little House. 

PS:  I'm not even talking about the weather - we have it relatively easy compared to a lot of our neighbours to the east and the south . . . stay warm and safe everyone.

Looking forward to 2014!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!  I hope everyone has recovered from the busy holiday season and ready to get back to their normal routines.  As I looked back on the quilting part of my life from 2013 - I can honestly say - whew . . . busy, busy, busy!  And that's OK - but I also realized that I missed posting a few quilts.  If I've missed yours (even now) I'm really sorry - sometimes they leave the studio before I get a picture - but I truly enjoy each and every one.

Here is a few that I missed posting . . .



Chris's Sock Monkey Quilt - isn't it the cutest???



Chris's Sock Monkey - peek-a-boo!

Diane's musical notes quilt

Diane's Musical Notes Quilt - Effervescence Panto; Glide Thread; - really works well

 

 

The colours in this next quilt are way off (took the pic on my phone) - it really is a beautiful deep brown tone . . . 

Sheena's Hopscotch Quilt - beautiful flannels  El Passo Panto

Sheena's Hopscotch Quilt - El Passo Panto 

Sheena also did another Hopscotch quilt in purple tones - but sorry, no picture :(

Remember when I went to Greece in June - well I made this quilt for my friends who were just the most gracious hosts and "tour guides" for us while we were there. 

Mikonos Pattern
 

Mikonos Quilt - Close up

That's all the pictures I have on my camera right now - but like I said, I think I have missed a few.

The first quilt of 2014 was finished today - here's a peek . . . I'll post more about that late in the week.

and . . . . I've just purchased a Quiltazoid . . . which is a fancy name for quilting templates - that can make the most amazing designs . . .

like this, for example . . . (not my pics, by the way) . . .

I am looking forward to playing with it, and seeing what I can create - it doesn't take the place of pantos or freehand quilting, just another "tool" to use to enhance the quilts.

Wishing you all the best in the coming year - 2014 already feels good!