Laura's Ladies

My customer, Laura, from Ft. Worth, made these ladies from her grandmother's clothes.  Her workmanship is just outstanding.  According to Laura, she took just one class on applique and I would say she mastered it.  Laura cut out all the fabric behind the ladies dresses to reduce bulk...nice!  I measured once, but now can't remember exactly, but I believe each lady is approximately 12" wide  25" tall.

 Each lady is holding a different object, from a book, to a mirror, to a kitty cat.  They're just so sweet.

Just in case you wonder about me placing my customer's quilts on the floor so I can photograph them, I will share that I always mop the floor immediately prior to doing this.  In this case, I had to hurry out the door and couldn't wait for the floor to completely dry, so I placed a sheet on the tile so the quilt wouldn't become damp.  I never let my dogs near my customer quilts either.  In fact, I don't let them in the studio just in case my customers have allergies.

 I love the way the back looks on this one, don't you?

I used a mere five different ruler templates, two different marking utensils, three different threads, and listened to the entire 17-hour audio version of Catherine by Anya Seton (as well as started a new Louise Penny audiobook).

I sure hope that Laura is happy with this gem - I think it will definitely become a family heirloom.

Surprised

This is Laura's quilt and I love how it looks.  That's not what surprises me.  I just didn't realize how great it would look with an edge to edge (even though this is my favorite new panto), and how beautifully this greeny/goldy Glide thread shines and looks super gold stitched out.  I know I ask this question from time to time, but I'm really hoping that if anyone is reading, you will tell me your new favorite pantograph. Where did you first spy your favorite?  I saw mine on Teresa Silva's blog... quilting is my bliss.

Spiderweb Quilt - Perfect for Scraps

I finished this quilt for my friend, Elizabeth late Thursday night... and I mean late... 11:30 p.m.  I was out the door for work by 6:00 a.m. on Friday morning with this quilt in hand.  I love to shoot my quilts on the dining room table to get the best light, but there was no time for this one.  I ran around my school early in the morning looking for good lighting and did the best I could.

Elizabeth made this top over 12 years ago and had intended on hand quilting it, but let me have some fun with it instead.  She gave me a lofty poly batting, and I used Glide thread.

These pictures do not do it justice.  This quilt was done with light to medium custom quilting.  I did have to use a ruler a bit which would take it from light to medium... the circles in the middle of the feathered x's and then the chris-crossing needed a ruler.  I did my best straight stitching around the actual spiderwebs.  The scrap strips were not all equal sizes so I couldn't use the seams as a guide.  My feathers were what I call "easy feathers" as there was no backtracking.  I needed to keep this as light as I could.

I can't wait to make one of these for myself now.  Thanks for looking!   Thanks, Elizabeth, for letting me quilt this for you.

 

Early Morning Quilting

This sweet spiderweb quilt is getting a bit of traditional feathering...

What is your favorite time of the day for your quilting/piecing?

I am infatuated with the spiderweb quilt now, and will have to make one soon with my scraps!  What is the one quilt you MUST make next?

Kaffe Fassett Beauty

I quilted one of my favorite pantos on this pretty one that Angi made. What a fun quilt.  Her choice of striped fabric for that narrow border is brilliant.   I love Kaffe Fassett's fabrics.  

I have a jelly roll on the shelf that I bought back in January at Road 2 CA, and  I plan on pairing it with Kona black.  Maybe Christmas vacation?  Who knows?  Until then, I am happy to have a few customer quilts to work on - they sure provide variety to my day.  That is definitely one of the benefits of quilting for others, wouldn't you agree?  

The panto really shows on the back - fun!

Marianne...An Opportunity

I met this pattern's, http://www.fabricconfetti.com/shop/HappNstance.htm, designer, Vanessa Fromm, in St. George when I attended new owner classes.  Honestly, I was exttremely honored when she asked me if I could help by quilting this sample.  Her 83 year 'young' uncle did the appliqué and piecing.  This bed runner will hang in her booth at the Houston Market in the fall.  

I was inspired by Bethanne Nemish, of Allentown, PA.  I studied her quilting creativity, and applied it with my own style.

I love, love, love feathering!

The pattern is so beautiful, and I love Vanessa's choice of fabric.  I know nothing about embroidery, but it's my understanding that she is digitizing the 1939 hand embroidery patterns for machine embroiderers, as well as making fusible appliqué patterns   Gosh, I hope I have used all the correct terminology.

PS, my second attempt at blogging from my iPad via the blogger app.  It's pretty easy once you have downloaded  and resized your photos.