Summer of 2015 - June

Summer of 2015 is pretty much over now . . . you may think that I've not been very busy, but in reality, this has been a whirlwind summer.  We were spending two weeks each month in beautiful Kimberley, BC - which gave me plenty of time to piece quilts of my own, but limited the time I could spend with Freeda and customer quilts.  But, looking back at all my photos, I really did get quite a bit done.  Let's start with the month of June . . .

I am trying to do one "custom" quilt per month (well, actually this summer it's been per 2 weeks!) - so in June, the custom quilt was Bonnie's Double Wedding Ring (last post). 


Jill's baby quilt - such cute fabrics!!  This was quilted using freehand 3s and es - a simple pattern but so practical on a baby quilt that's going to be washed, dragged around and cuddled in.  Glide Thread

Jills's baby quilt - 3s and es

My customer, Alice, was busy again!  She put together this gorgeous mix of pastel batiks in a quilt for her granddaughter.  Dragonfly pond panto; glide thread; Hobbs 80/20 batting

Alice's Dragonfly Pond

Alice's Dragonfly Pond - close up

Alice's Dragonfly Pond - flannel backing

 and another Grandma hard at work - this is Julie's Dr. Seuss quilt that she made for her grandson.  I love the polka dot fabric she used for the sashing!  This was quilted using a variety of freehand designs - I just 'winged' it and quilted each block differently and bubble sand swirls in the sashings. I never get tired of Dr. Seuss!! 

Gale's quilt is for a wedding gift - lucky couple!  I quilted one just like it for her a couple of years ago - you can see that one here.  The appliqued flowers look great on the black and white background.  I stitched around each of the appliques, and then freehand swirls in the rest. 

Louise's also made a quilt as a wedding gift - this one is made from a the Downton Abbey Collection of fabrics - such great colors!!!  Glide Thread; Antique Lace panto; Hobbs 80/20 batting.

Louise Downton Abbey quilt

Louise Downton Abbey Quilt

Louise Downton Abbey Quilt - backing

 Quilters are very generous . . . . another grandson quilt - this time made by Jean.  It's a monster truck panel, so we went with the Bauhaus panto - great choice as it kind of looks like roadways.  Glide thread; Hobbs 80/20 batting.

Jean's Monster Truck - backing

 ..... and last, but not least, another one of Jean's quilts - this time for her granddaughter.  It's a fairy princess type fabric - simple design using a 16 patch block - really cute!  Dragonfly Pond panto, Glide Thread; Hobbs 80/20 batting.

Jean's Fairy Princess quilt

Jean's Fairy Princess - backing

Well, that pretty much takes care of the month of June . . . July's up next!  Happy Quilting from the Little House

Double Wedding Ring Quilt . . . a different kind of piecing

Bonnie had always wanted to make a double wedding ring quilt - but not the traditional pieced way - she found a pattern that appliqued the rings onto plain blocks.  WOW - it turned out beautiful! 

Bonnie, her daughter and I tested out a few designs before landing on the final choice.

The last two designs were a perfect choice! 

Here we go - start at the top and work my way down the quilt.  I stitched around each one of those rings to make them stand out more on the fabric . . . .

and a few days later . . . here's the final result!

Double Wedding Ring - bead board border
 

Double Wedding Ring - back

 So, there it is . . . another custom job off to it's rightful owner.  I've got a few more custom jobs coming up . . . Happy Quilting from the Little House.

Custom Quilting . . . .

I've had a few custom quilting jobs on Freeda over the past couple of months.  I love custom quilting, but have to admit, it's stressful and takes a lot of time . . . but the results are worth it - in my humble opinion!

Heather made this quilt top in reds, whites, and beige colors - just so awesome.  She did a wonderful job of piecing!  When we talked about what she wanted, Heather was very clear that she wanted it peaceful - and didn't want the quilting to overtake the piecing, but rather work with the piecing.  She chose the stencil design for the plain blocks, and I quilted each of the pieced blocks differently - but remained simple.  I "ditched" around each block, and added an extra 1/4" border in each of the plain blocks . . . I love how it turned out! . . . and so did Heather - I think between the two of us we captured what she wanted for her quilt. Here's a bit of a photo journey of the process . . .

just starting out - stitching around each block in the "red" .... see how the SID makes the block stand out?

 

 

 ...moving on to the cross hatching in the setting triangles . . .

....working down through the quilt -

done . . .

backing . . .looks as nice as the front! 

See why I love custom quilting???  Lots more coming . . . from the Little House . . .

Happy Palliative Care Week!

This first week in May is dedicated to all the wonderful, intelligent, and caring individuals who dedicate their time to help ease the suffering for those patients and their families at the end-of-life.  They are an amazing group of people!  Each year, the Palliative and Hospice Care Service in Calgary hosts a Palliative Care Conference for health care professionals and volunteers - The Mary O'Connor Conference - to learn more about Mary, click here.  and, each year, I donate a quilt for raffle at the conference - it's a fundraiser, but also, I think a nice "take away" for the holder of the winning ticket!  This year, the quilt was an Elisa's Backporch Designs - Afternoon Delight . . . assorted Hoffman Batiks, Hobbs 80/20 batting, Bauhaus panto . . . 

 

Mary O'Connor Conference Raffle Quilt - 2015

I've had a few other quilts on Freeda this month . . . Rose made a Cowboy Quilt - also going for a fundraiser.  I love the Spirit of the West feel of the fabrics.  Hobbs 80/20 batting; Stars and Loops panto

Rose's quilt - backing

Rose also had a "First Saturday" quilt - I've done a few of these for different people.  Rose is taking this quilt to Germany as a hostess gift - how special is that!  Hobbs 80/20 batting; Dancing Daisies panto; Glide thread - Nickel

and finally for this post, is Tricia's gorgeous teal/aqua quilt for her granddaughter.  Last year, I quilted another one for Tricia - for her grandson (here) - they are twins and will both be receiving their quilts on their next birthday.  We decided on the Dragonfly Pond panto with a nice Teal thread - it fits this quilt perfectly - lots of Granny love going on here!

Tricia's quilt - backing

Next post, I'll show you a couple of custom projects I've been working on . . . it's been a busy month of April, to be sure! 

Until then - cheers to all the wonderful people involved with Palliative and Hospice care . . . you're truly some of the best - from the Little House.