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.

..... and now on to 2015

It seems I had a few quilt tops waiting for me to get back to work! 

One of my first finished quilts was Myrla's beautiful Joannie Morrow quilt called Wisteria Medallion.  The fabric and piecing is very "busy" - so I quilted it with a simple modern panto - Bauhaus.  I think it worked!

Another amazing part of this quilt was the backing - old flour sacks - the quilting shows up well in the backing - Myrla does great work and it's a pleasure to quilt for her.

I've quilted a few quilts for Karen - here's a couple more.  Karen used a plush backing - I love the way the quilting stands out on the backing!  Karen's first quilt was a 25 patch - Glide thread; Diamonds are Forever panto

Karen's other quilt is a bright colored chain type quilt.  I pulled out the Dragonfly Pond panto - and perfect match! 

I also worked on one of my own quilts - the pattern was originally called Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend - but I changed the name of this quilt to Diamonds in the Sea.  I wanted to practice some cross-hatching, Stitchi in the Ditch and some ruler work.  I'm really pleased with the result - especially because this one is for me!!

The above picture was taken BEFORE and Stitch in the Ditch (SID) around this diamond  - and the picure below, is a similar diamond but after I've stitched in the ditch all the way around - see what a difference that makes in the finished look of the block.  I've been doing a lot of SID lately and plan on doing a lot more.  It's worth the extra time and effort (imho).

Diamonds in the Sea - backing

Diamonds in the Sea - finished
 

  I've been thinking of making it again - Diamonds in the Forest, Diamonds in the Snow, Diamonds in the Fall, Diamonds in the Flower Garden . . . the possibilities are endless - and I do have fabric that would be perfect!

More coming soon, from the Little House . . .