Batik Summer Sampler Series - BOM

This is Carolyn's quilt, and I am honored she trusted me with it...when asked which panto she would like, she told me, Mary, you pick, your quilting is awesome!  Yes, that put a big smile on my face.  This quilt came about after my daughter, Diane, and I dreamed up a new project for our quilting group, Loose Threads, to do together, each month.  

Carolyn is a super speedy piecer and whipped hers up first, even before we completed the monthly blocks.  I used Celine Spader's panto, Commas, on it, and love this new panto!  What a gorgeous quilt.  Thanks Carolyn!  This is a king sized quilt, 104x 104, I believe.

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.

Adorable Flannel Baby Quilt

This cute baby quilt was such a pleasure to do!  My machine just loved the thread and the flannel, and so did I.  It is done freehand - my favorite.  This is Cathy's gift to a lucky little one.

 After it is washed, the raw edge of the flannel will curl up and give the flowers dimension.

 the back...

I Think I May Make It

This quilt has become so popular on all the popular online sites and  so many people want to know the name of the pattern.  (I posted it further down in the blog post but I thought I would add it up here in the first paragraph.). The pattern is called Rising Stars by Cozy Quilt Designs..

Well, I finished this quilt just in the nick of time. I am taking a break from doing the hand binding, and hand stitching the casings on four quilts so they can be hung in my guild's quilt show tomorrow. This is a UFO that sat on my shelves for years, at least the jelly rolls did, and then I started this quilt back in January. I wasn't quite sure just how I was going to quilt it until I just happened upon an IMQA calendar that had this same pattern in it! Wow! I loved the way Debbie Treusch had broken down the elements in this by framing each 16 patch. I contacted Debbie and let her know that her quilt inspired me and she wished me luck with my quilt! She is one talented lady, and has won many awards in the quilting world.

The pattern is called Rising Stars by Cozy Quilts. Be sure to tell them I referred you :) 

Of course I had to put my own creativity on it, so I changed up the fills, the sashing, the feather style, as well as the cc's in the 16 patches. I am a bit disappointed that I did not use a contrasting thread in the white. The stitch definition shows up beautiful in natural light, but in artificial light it gets lost. In the future I will use a slight contrast. After all, why do all that custom quilting to have it get lost? This will most likely be my last personal quilt I work on for quite awhile, as I have a few customer quilts that I am really excited to start on!