EOCQ-Gallery

1930's charity in blue

2012-01-30T06:11:00.000-08:00

Let's see, when did this quilt get started? About 2009 I believe. My friend Matthew from Weight Watchers offered me a box of fabric since he was moving the Boston for grad. school. Okay, great. Several boxes and bags later, I was overwhelmed with fabric! I made Matthew and his partner a queen quilt using 1930's fabrics that they had given me. In the process of cutting out squares for their quilt, I way overcut squares. Stuffed them in a bag to use "someday". One of my resolutions for 2012 is to clean out the closet in the sewing room of bags of projects that have been started, but not finished. This is the first of 2 quilts from Matthew and Earnest's leftovers. Simple piecing, simply quilting, but one less bag in the sewing room closet!

Double Wedding Ring

2012-01-30T06:09:00.000-08:00

Maybe, someday, a long time from now, I'll be brave enough to tackle one of these quilts. In traditional Michael fashion, this is a scappy quilt, so lots of different colors and fabrics. I love the green background though. Traditionally, these are a white background, so nice to see something different.

Birds and Log Cabins by Sylvia

2012-01-30T06:08:00.000-08:00

And the second quilt from the same panel. This time with log cabin blocks to set the bird panels. Quilted with leaves and swirls in an edge to edge design

Birds by Sylvia

2012-01-30T06:06:00.000-08:00

Sylvia must have really loved this panel, because she made two quilts from it. First, just the birds set with sashing and cornerstones. Quilted with an edge to edge design of swirls to mimic the swirling branches that the birds are sitting on

Flying Geese by Jerri

2012-01-30T06:04:00.000-08:00

Aren't flying geese so much fun? There are so many ways of making them. Numerous rulers, templates, etc. I don't know how Jerri did hers, but I do love the fall colors. I think my favorite part is the border treatment.

Asian French Braid

2012-01-17T06:00:00.000-08:00

I know, this quilt looks awfully long and narrow. That's because it's designed to drape over a fainting couch to keep the dogs from getting hair all over the upholstery. Easier to was a quilt than to clean the couch. I can't believe that they had enough fabrics in their stash to make an entire quilt. I've got an extensive stash, but mine would probably end up being a lot scrappier and not nearly so organized as theirs. I'm sure the pups will love to have a place to leave their soft fur without too much consequences.

Ron's T-Shirts

2012-01-17T05:53:00.000-08:00

A couple of years ago, I had given a gift certificate for quilting to a fundraising auction for a cycling group. Dot bought the gift certificate with the intent to make her husband Ron a t-shirt quilt. In order to save some money, she was going to do the piecing work, and I was to quilt it for them. Time went by, and no word from Dot about the quilt, but then there was an e-mail from Ron asking if I could make the quilt, as Dot was just too busy. All the shirts had been cut down, and they had given me this great giraffe print fabric. No direction on how they wanted the quilt, just a queen sized quilt. With such a great opening, I was a little apprehensive that they might not like what I did with it, but I guess I was wrong. Sashed with the giraffe fabric, and black cornerstones to set them off. Too many shirts to end up evenly on the front of the quilt, but how do you just not include them? You don't! You put them on the back of the quilt! I love all the bike shirts, and the "Have you petted your therapist today?" one. But Boris and Natasha, from the Bullwinkle cartoon of my childhood, has got to be one of the best!

Cats by Michael

2012-01-17T05:48:00.000-08:00

Wouldn't it be wild if cats came in all these colors? This quilt is rekindling my interest in paper piecing, but I've got a few projects to finish before I get to start anything new. Wouldn't it be fun to give the cats Mohawk haircuts and have their spines be spiky with the opposing direction of the spikes match the background? Oh the possibilities! Michale asked for a cat quilting design, and we found "Flat Cat" online. Very fun! This is the back of the quilt.

Fiesta by Grace

2012-01-17T05:45:00.000-08:00

This is one of those quilts that the minute I saw it, I knew how to quilt it, and even what type of thread to use. I didn't know what color it would be, but everything else was clear right away. Turns out I used a thread color called "Pinata". Seemed appropriate with the Hispanic theme of the quilt top. The quilting design is called Sunfire.

Butterfly Applique

2012-01-06T17:04:00.000-08:00

I bet that Greta's mom and I would have gotten along really well. These are blocks that appear to be from a block swap with friends. All are hand appliqued and hand blanket stitched down. They appear to my untrained eye to be original 1930's prints. The blocks were all finished, but never got made into a quilt top. Greta found time to set them and made this lovely quilt for her sister. It's a surprise, so don't tell!

Pink and blue Irish Chain

2011-12-30T08:31:00.000-08:00

I can't quite decide if this is an Irish Chain quilt or not. Either way, it's really turned out lovely. I believe that Evelyn said that she got all of the fabrics from a thrift store, so doing a good deed by supporting charity, and getting a good deal of fabric as well.
She chose and all over design of Clamshells, and I think it really works on this quilt.
While sad, I love the forethought that Evelyn is using. She has many grand-children, and probably greats too, and wants them all to have a wedding quilt from her. Knowing that she won't be around forever (that's the sad part), she is making them ahead of time so that they'll be ready for the kids as they are needed. Isn't that just cool?

Drunkards path

2011-12-30T08:25:00.000-08:00

The name of this block is called a "Drunkards Path", and I must have been intoxicated when I chose these colors to go together! I remember that the plan was a scrappy yellow and blue quilt, allegedly to be a 12 block, block of the month. I made 4 blocks before giving up on it. Now I see why I stopped! This one will be a dog bed, and we'll surely hope that dogs are color blind. It certainly looks better to me with my eyes closed!

We'll try this quilt again in the future, but we'll stick with 2 distinct fabrics, not go for the "scrappy" look this time. Horrors! However, this is one more "PhD" (project half done) that is out of my closet and on to a better home.

Colleen's Betsey-Tacy #3

2011-12-20T08:20:00.000-08:00

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Last grouping. All of the panels were outlined with a tight meander, and no quilting in the design itself. The top left photo shows the binding before I got it sewn down. I love bias binding when it's a stripe. Makes it look to pretty.

Betsey-Tacy part 2

2011-12-20T08:17:00.000-08:00

Here's some shots of the back of the quilt. Aren't I mean? Colleen was so excited to get her quilt, but I didn't want to show her the whole thing until the binding was finished. Besides, she'd seen the front of the quilt before it was quilted. So I sent her these photos of the back to show off the quilting. I think it turned out great!

Betsey Tacy for Colleen

2011-12-20T08:15:00.000-08:00

This is going to be in several posts because I have so many photos, I can' fit them all at once! Colleen introduced me to the Betsey Tacy books when she brought a quilt for her friend to be quilted. Then she was able to find more panels and had a bed quilt made for herself. I just had a great time playing with the quilting on this quilt. We chose a poly batt to give it some loft, and because Colleen is sadly, allergic to wool.

Dr. Seuss by Deanna

2011-12-20T08:09:00.000-08:00

Quilting this quilt really took me back to reading all these great books. They are all here from "Horton Hears a Who" through "The Sneeches"and of course "The Cat in the Hat." Well done Deanna

Wine Logt Cabin by Sylvia

2011-12-20T08:07:00.000-08:00

What's not to love? Wine, log cabin blocks and a quilt? It's perfect! Another lucky Christmas recipient here!

Christmas quilt by Michael

2011-12-20T08:04:00.000-08:00

It's not a scrappy quilt from Michael! Love the traditional Christmas reds and greens, and the snowflake design that he chose to have quilted in it.

Michael's Stars

2011-12-20T07:58:00.000-08:00

Michael and I share a love of scrappy quilts. I love to work with and look at scrappy quilts and remember the project that the fabric was initially purchased for. This quilt will be a Christmas gift for some lucky person, so Shh! Don't tell!

Hummel Figures by Carol and Joyce

2011-12-20T07:55:00.000-08:00

Joyce is Carol's mom, and she did the machine embroidery of these Hummel figures in the blocks. Carol then put them all together into this lovely Irish Chain quilt. Then I got to play with continuous curves in the chains, feathered wreaths around the embroidery, and just fun border designs. I bet it's gorgeous on the guest room bed.

With a LIttle Help from my Friends

2011-12-20T07:50:00.000-08:00

This quilt has had a quite a history. The two primary fabrics in the top came about after Wendy asked me to piece a quilt of her design for Lars. Either my math was off, or her computer program, but I ended up with a bunch of blocks that were the wrong size. This was in about 2009. I gave those to a woman in Australia after the fires in Christchurch. In Dec. 2011, I've decided that I can't start anything new until I clean up abandoned projects in the sewing room closet. This quilt top is made from leftover fabrics and partial blocks that I had stuffed into a ziploc bag about 9"x6". Lots of corners that were cut off from making snowball blocks. While this quilt will never win any prize at a quilt show (there's not a single corner that matches I don't believe), it will keep someone warm. The entire quilt came from my stash and all of it came from former projects for friends. Even the wool batting was leftovers that were pieced together. Plus, I've got one less project in my closet!

Hexagons

2011-12-20T07:48:00.000-08:00

I needed a hand project to do, so I figured I'd make another English paper pieced quilt. I've lost track of how many of these I've done. This one is mostly pulled from those 5" squares of fabric that I collected for some time, but never did anything with. I could get about 4 hexagons from each square, so many of the fabrics are repeated, but it was still fun. Wool batting for extra warmth, and a chance to practice my continuous curves.

Laverna's Stars

2011-11-23T16:38:00.000-08:00

Laverna has the best eye for color. I love the purple and blue, and she's got a great color combo going on here. The background is a light blue batik, and the stars have a purple center with navy blue points. Well done!

Rainbow Log Cabins

2011-11-20T15:58:00.000-08:00

Michael is rekindling my interest in log cabin blocks with the past couple of quilts that he has brought me. I love how the layout of the blocks makes you want to just fall into the quilt visually.
Now I have to confess. Michael chose a rainbow colored thread to quilt this quilt with, but I grabbed the wrong one! I ended up using the same purple thread as we used on his fossil batik quilt, and I think that it really works, but I'm still annoyed that I messed it up. Next time, read better!

Fossil Batiks by Michael

2011-11-20T15:56:00.000-08:00

This is a really fun quilt. The green batik looks like it's got fossilized skeletons in it, so that's what I called it. Since it's so organic looking, we went with a leaf quilting design, and then I had fun and put some with leaves in the leaves instead of just a spine. Really, a fun quilt to play on.

30's quilt by Grace

2011-11-20T15:54:00.000-08:00

Grace and I share a love of 30's prints as well as a love of quilting in general. This is a small quilt, only 42"square, but still really fun. Grace said to quilt it with "just a meander", but I thought it needed something more, and did my favorite pantograph design, "Tangles" on it instead.

Pinks and greens "big girl bed" quilt by Grace

2011-11-20T15:52:00.000-08:00

Grace has 3 grandchildren, this lucky little girl is getting a new big girl bed since there's a new baby taking her little bed. Grace chose minky for the backing, and I quilted it with a lime green thread. The green was perfect and it shows ups just enough.

Map Quilt

2011-11-20T15:41:00.000-08:00

Isn't this the best way to learn the states? I remember the my brothers and I had map floor puzzle when we were kids, probably very much like this, not not as soft and cuddly. Grace told me to "have fun" with this, so I just played and did different designs in the various states. I must admit, that my US geography still needs a lot of work.

Christmas Lone Star

2011-10-31T06:47:00.000-07:00

One of my many wonderful sister in laws, Nancy, asked me to quilt this quilt for her church as a fund raiser. Wow, what a stunner! The red in the photos shows way too orange, but poor lighting where I could get photos taken. We chose continuous curves in the star, a meandering feather in the white background, and in the widest outer border. Molar feathers in the red border and regular feathers in the green border.
I believe that this quilt will be raffled off, so if you are interested in tickets, drop me a line, and I'll put you in touch with Nancy.

Fig Tree Quilt

2011-10-31T06:45:00.000-07:00

Don't you just love the softness of the colors of this quilt? The pattern is by Fig Tree Designs, but I don't know the name of the quilt pattern. Laura chose to have leaves across the body of the quilt, and in the border, then a tight meander in the green border and setting pieces. Very nicely done, Laura!

Winding Ways by Carol

2011-10-21T06:12:00.000-07:00

Carol and her precision piecing just astounds me. She would be able to show you that her points don't match perfectly, but I surely can't see any issues. Looks gorgeous to me.

T-shirts by Wendy

2011-10-21T06:09:00.000-07:00

Now this is just too much fun. Story is that the recipient of the quilt is currently serving in the Peace Corps. I'm taking a wild guess that he does something with medicine based on the "Wildcatheters" shirt to the left. I think my favorite is the one at the bottom of this though. Maybe I should try to find one for Randall?

Log Cabin waves by Michael

2011-10-21T05:46:00.000-07:00

How could I not love this quilt? It's made in blues, it's a log cabin, and it makes me think of waves and water. I love the way the design seems to stack on itself when seen from a distance. Michael, you are amazing!

More of Michael's T shirts

2011-10-20T14:51:00.000-07:00

Here's another t-shirt quilt by Michael. The man certainly does travel a lot. Australia, Hawaii, Portland, you name it, they are all covered in here.

Dresden Plate by Evelyn

2011-10-20T14:49:00.000-07:00

This one is, in my opinion, the best one that Evelyn has left me quilt yet. I love the applique work, and of course I do love blues. The plates are all stitched in the ditch only to allow them to be showcased. Then feathers in the sashing strips and borders. Oh so pretty!

Hawaiian Baby quilt by Susan

2011-10-20T14:35:00.000-07:00

This quilt is actually going to go to Hawaii for the where the baby lives. Same fabrics and pattern as Susan's previous quilt, but a totally different part of the world.

Dillon's T-Shirt Quilt

2011-09-22T06:38:00.000-07:00

Where do these kids find the time? They play baseball, hockey, and study too?
This one was fun for me because I got to add fun things to the shirts. His letter from high school is on there, patches from other shirts, even 2 bits of a baseball that he took apart with the intent to make a bracelet out of them. The narrow parts across the top are/were sleeves from a shirt, and we've even got his hockey jersey in there.
Way to go Dillon!

Vintage Double Wedding Ring

2011-09-22T06:34:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, there's a reason that a quilter didn't finish quilting her quilt top. Colleen found this one in an antique mall for $20. As you can see in the first photo, it's pretty friendly. Quilter's code for not laying flat because it "waves" at you in a friendly manner. The safety pin in the first photo also marks where a seam has popped and I need to be sure and catch it when I'm quilting it.
Yes, this quilt had a few puckers when it was finished, but I'm still pretty darn pleased with how it turned out. Colleen seemed pretty thrilled to boot. I just love to make people happy!

Flannels by Joni

2011-09-22T06:32:00.000-07:00

Joni contacted me after her usual quilter wasn't able to complete her quilt on the timeline that she needed. I was pleased to help out on such a fun quilt. All made of flannel, so extra cozy warm, and then quilted with the log cabin panto, so cabins, bears and tress.

NW scrappy

2011-09-22T06:30:00.000-07:00

As quilters, we always end up with this little scraps that we don't know what to do with. Michael made 16 patch blocks, then sashed them in blue, and added a print of NW postcards that he had in his stash. Fund to see all the places that I had visited in the NW, and a few that I haven't made it to yet. Also fun to try to see how many fabrics Michael and I have in common in our stash.

Log Cabin made of logs

2011-09-22T06:28:00.000-07:00

How creative is this? A Log Cabin quilt made only of wood prints. The green in the center square and outer border is a small leaf print. How appropriate since trees have leaves, at least sometimes. Michael chose to have it quilted with a wood grain meander, continuing the theme.

Laverna's Double Wedding Ring

2011-09-08T14:47:00.000-07:00

Someday, maybe, I'll suck up the nerve to attempt a double wedding ring. For now, I'll have to satisfy myself with quilting them for others. Like me, Laverna loves scrappy quilts, and it was pretty fun to try to recognize fabrics from my own stash in her quilt. There were quite a few!

Harvest Table Runners

2011-09-05T07:08:00.000-07:00

These are 2 different runners that Grace made using the same fabric collection, but a different design for both of them. That meant that I needed to find a different way to quilt them both too. The longer one has leaves in the blocks and vines in the borders and background. The smaller runner has a landscape design and bamboo in the border. Who knows, now that Grace is retired, maybe she'll quilt more! Of course, she's got those grandbabies that she loves to spend time with too, so...

Birds and Trees

2011-09-05T07:06:00.000-07:00

Grace made this quilt before, but then gave it away. I think she regretted it greatly, so made another one for herself. I love all the batiks she used to make the birds, and we chose to quilt it with leaves and vines so that the birds are hiding in the trees.

Asian Dragon

2011-09-05T07:02:00.000-07:00

Grace goes in spurts for her quilts. I don't hear from her for months, then she arrives with 5 quilts at a time that need to be quilted. All beautifully pieced, I might add. This one is a collection of Asian fabrics, and she chose the Asian dragon panto for it. I think it's perfect.

Wendy's quilt

2011-09-05T06:54:00.000-07:00

It's been about a year since Wendy passed. To honor that and to hopefully benefit someone else, the Weebledog quilters decided to make a quilt which would then go to the Humane Society. We all chose dog fabrics and shades of purple and green, Wendy's colors. Shayrle set the blocks and made the darling pieced border, I quilted it, Diana bound it and Rachel made arrangements to donate it to the Humane Society.

Crazy Circles

2011-09-05T06:52:00.000-07:00

Michael is a man after my own heart. He loves to make scrappy quilts out of whatever is left over from other projects. The amazing part for me is that he then pieces them into curves and such. I have a hard enough time getting flat pieces of fabric cut into curves. This quilt has so many types of fabrics. Quilting cottons, polar fleece, shirting, even some drapery fabrics. Wow!

2011-09-05T06:47:00.000-07:00

Stephanie came to me after her usual quilter wasn't able to get her quilt completed in time for the wedding. This is a really big Irish Chain, and just lovely. Quilted with an edge to edge design of shamrocks. How appropriate since the bridal couple has a connection to Ireland.

Tennessee Waltz

2011-09-05T06:43:00.000-07:00

I used to see this pattern at the quilt shop, and never got around to making it. Such a lovely quilt done in Christmas fabrics. Carol has graciously promised to allow us to hang this in our booth at Quilt Expo 2011.
Quilted with a traditional feathered wreath in the blocks, feathers in the border and a Ribbon Meander in the print borders. So, so pretty!

Log Cabin by Michael

2011-09-05T06:40:00.000-07:00

It seems that every time I tell Michael that his quilt is ready, he tells me that he's got at least one, if not 2 more quilts ready for me to quilt for him! Yeah Michael! I love log cabin quilts, so traditional and so fun to use up your scraps with. he chose a panto called "Log Cabin" with an actual cabin, a bear and trees in the design. Perfect for this quilt. He's promised me two more, so I can't wait to see what he brings.

Hard Rock Cafe t-shirts

2011-07-18T06:42:00.000-07:00

It seems that Michael is a world traveler, or he's got friends who collect shirts for him when they travel. All but one of these shirts is from the Hard Rock Cafe, several from Hawaii, but also across Europe and Asia. Wish I could travel that much! Since these are all music related shirts, Michael chose to have them quilted with a music notes pantograph. I'd never used a panto on a t-shirt quilt before, but I really like how it turned out.

Tumbling Blocks

2011-07-18T06:39:00.000-07:00

I get the feeling that Michael is a much more prolific quilter than he would admit. This is the 3rd quilt from him, and soon I"ll post photos of the 4th that he has brought to me. I do love the tumbling blocks design, even if it does make my eyes a little wonky to look at. He chose to have clouds and stars quilted in the border, which I love how it turned out. There are continuous curves in the blocks, and I love those as well. All using my favorite type of thread, King Tut.

Day At the Beach

2011-07-18T06:37:00.000-07:00

Here is Joan's version of Wendy's "Day at the Beach" quilt. This quilt will go to one of Joan's sisters, and she chose an all over design of clamshells for the quilting. I really love how it turned out, and I had forgotten what a fun pattern that is to quilt!
As usual, great job Joan.

Postcards from Hawaii

2011-07-18T06:34:00.000-07:00

Lucky me! Susan found me on the internet, and chose me to quilt her lovely baby quilt. It's all done in lovely soft batiks in shades of blue, green and teal. Since it's called Postcards from Hawaii, we chose to quilt it using the Seashells pantograph. The last photo is of the backing that she made using all of the leftover strips of fabric from the top. She didn't even have enough left to bind it with, so was off to the fabric store after picking up her quilt to purchase binding fabric. Hopefully to show off her lovely quilt while there, as well!

Evelyn's Irish Chain

2011-07-15T06:58:00.000-07:00

This quilt is a real beauty! Too big to hang up for photos like I usually do, so I had to lay it out on the bed. The colors that Evelyn chose for the quilt are from a painting that hangs in their bedroom.
Evelyn chose to have a feathered wreath quilted in the background, a very traditional look for an Irish Chain, and continuous curves in the chains. Oh so pretty!

Michael's Pharoh's Fans

2011-07-15T06:55:00.000-07:00

Michael is a new customer for me. I got an email from him about quilting his quilts, and then he brought me these two beauties! Both are the same pattern, but done in such different colorways that I think they don't look much alike. He chose to use a waterlily pattern for the purple quilt, and ginko leaves for the gold version.
These quilts are paper pieced and appliqued. Both techniques freak me out just a little bit.
It seems that Michael liked how his quilts turned out because soon there will be two more quilts of his to look at and drool over. More fun for me! I get to quilt them!

Norma's disappearing 4 patch

2011-07-15T06:52:00.000-07:00

5

Norma started with a collection of charm squares. Fabrics that are pre-cut into 5" squares, and her background fabric. She made 4 patch blocks, then cut those up to make them disappear. She chose to do a leaf theme for the quilting with leaves and vines in the body of the quilt, a leaf border design, and then my favorite, feathers in the outer border.

Fascintation

2011-07-15T06:46:00.000-07:00

This quilt was made for my friend Gary after he had an accident riding his bike. The pattern is my friend Wendy's "Fascinated by Monet", and I quilted it with the "Fold" design using my favorite thread, King Tut.
This quilt was actually lost before it was completed and then found again! I'd taken it to work to finish the binding by hand. Stuffed it into my bike bag, but didn't strap it in. I rode home about 5 miles, and when I got there, the quilt was gone! I rode as quickly as I could back across my route, but couldn't find the quilt. My thoughts as I was riding ran along the lines of "Oh well, someone must need this quilt more than Gary." , "at least I can make another quilt for Gary." and "Gosh I hope it didn't fall out when I was crossing over the freeway, and then landed on someone's windshield, blinding them and causing many accidents!" Thankfully, none of this was true. I was home for about 30 min. when I got an e-mail from a lovely gentleman who lives about 2 miles from us. He said that he had found a quilt with my name on it, and did I know anything about it? He said as well that the quilt was a little dirty, but otherwise fine. It looked as though the quilt had tumbled out of my bag, landed on the ground and stayed there for about 3 seconds before he picked it up and took it home. Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord as well, although Gary has a long and difficult journey ahead of him, he is doing well with his rehab.

Colleen's Betsy-Tacy quilt

2011-06-23T07:45:00.000-07:00

I'd never heard of the "Betsy-Tacy" books before Colleen arrived, but now she's kindly given me a copy of two of the books! Needless to say, I dove right in to that!
Sadly, the photo I took of the entire quilt top was really blurry, so there's only the one photo of the block. Solid black backing really made the quilting stand out though.
Now I can't wait to see what happens in the books.

Robert and Claudia

2011-06-13T14:01:00.000-07:00

My dear friend Ursi was an exchange student from Austria when I was in high school (oh so many years ago!) Through her, I also got to meet her darling brothers, Robert and Georg. Just when everyone had given up all hope that Robert would ever find someone he loved, Claudia arrived on the scene. I've not had the pleasure of meeting her in person, but I'm sure that she's just a wonderful person, like the rest of the family.

I had initially planned on making all star themed blocks, but couldn't find enough to make the quilt the size that I wanted, so I expanded to blocks that I liked the name of. I do love sampler quilts anyway.

I tried to stay with organic, earth toned fabrics since I remembered how much Robert loved the garden in Modling. I had also recently made a quilt for Ursi and Veronika, so I wanted to use some of the same fabric ins this quilt. I quilted it with free hand ferns and swirls to keep the garden feel to the quilt, and used wool batting. It gets cold in Austria after all!

Wishing them both many years of happiness together, and I can't wait until I get to make them a baby quilt!

Funny Bunnies

2011-06-13T13:58:00.000-07:00

I'm embarrassed to admit that I don't keep up with the family blog like I should, and didn't realize that Katie was married, let alone pregnant with her first child until I got the baby shower announcement. Ooops! Quick, make a baby quilt and get if quilted even faster. I really like how it turned out though. I'd seen the bunny applique pattern in a magazine years ago, and then chose a block design that I thought went well with it. I used wool batting, and did my first attempt at trapunto behind the bunnies to give them more "fluff". I'm quite pleased with how it turned out.

Log Cabin

2011-06-13T13:56:00.000-07:00

This quilt is HUGE! It's also so pretty. Sara usually does her applique by hand, but tried out machine applique for this one. We chose to quilt it with an edge to edge design called Log Cabin, and it's got bears, trees and log cabins to complete all of the same designs in Sara's piecing. The backing is flannel, so it'll really be warm.

French Brights

2011-06-13T13:54:00.000-07:00

Way back when at Heart to Hand, this was the block of the month. Most of us chose the more subdued sage and rose colorway, but Natalie opted for something bright with the French Brights color way. The quilt will go to her mother, lucky mom! The quilting design is called Dresden Fan

#4 from Natalie

2011-06-13T13:53:00.000-07:00

I do remember that this quilt is going to a baby of Asian descent, so this quilt got Ginko leaves quilted into it. Natalie loves 1930's prints even more than I do!

#3 from Natalie

2011-06-13T13:52:00.000-07:00

I think that this quilt has hearts quilted into the body of the quilt so that the baby will know that someone loves them.

Baby quilts #2

2011-06-13T13:51:00.000-07:00

Here is the next one of Natalie's. Still more to come!

baby quilts by Natalie

2011-06-13T13:49:00.000-07:00

Natalie has been a busy lady making baby quilts for lots of lucky kiddos. I won't try to keep track of where they are all going. Just knowing that there are more babies out there being loved and receiving such great quilts warms my heart.

Starburst

2011-06-13T13:46:00.000-07:00

Isn't this gorgeous? I love the colors, and I love the design. Laverna chose an edge to edge design to quilt it called Star Flower. (it's called something else, but I can never find it by it's real name) The quilting shows ups great on the black background and the backing fabrics

Peaceful Beauty

2011-06-13T13:44:00.000-07:00

Laverna does it again. She makes these beautiful quilts that are too big for me to hang up and get good photos of, so I have to make do. This one is called "Peaceful Beauty", and it's done in one of my favorite color combos, blue and white.

Double Wedding Ring by Carole

2011-06-13T13:09:00.000-07:00

I'd say isn't this the most amazing thing, but this is "only" the wallhanging that she made. Carole had extra blocks left over from the double wedding ring quilt, and made this wall hanging for herself. I'm not sure I'll ever make one of these quilts, and even if I do, I sincerely doubt that I'd be giving it away to anyone!

This is a photo of the backing to show the quilting.

Turkish Delight

2011-03-17T07:04:00.000-07:00

The Turkish mystery quilt from Heart to Hand. Custom quilted with wool batting. Yummy!

Welcome Home

2011-03-17T07:02:00.000-07:00

This quilt is the 2011 Block of the Month that my friends and I are doing. I got mine done early so that people could see it. I've wanted to make a blue and white quilt for some time, and finally did! Heirloom quilted, and using wool batting.

Seashells by the Seashore

2011-03-17T07:00:00.000-07:00

Here's a quilt that I made as a mystery quilt through Heart to Hand. Sadly, I've forgotten which mystery it was by now. I've called it "Seashells by the Seashore" since the yellow focus fabric has small shells printed on it, and I've quilted it with a seashell pantograph.

Scrappy blocks

2011-03-17T06:52:00.000-07:00

Laverna has done it again. and made a gorgeous scrappy quilt. When I was quilting the quilt, it was nice, but nothing special. Then when I hung it up to take the photo of it, Wow! I don't know the name of the blocks, but it's just lovely. Quilted with the feather pantograph in white thread.

Danish Modern by Grace

2011-03-17T06:49:00.000-07:00

This quilt was huge! So big that when I tried to hang it up to get a photo, my clips couldn't support it. Sorry, but the best I could do was to lay it over my machine, and try to get some decent shots that way.

I believe that Grace made this quilt as a gift, and these are not her colors or design. I love how the swirls quilting design really made it come to life though. Lucky Grace, now she gets to ship it to Europe.

Modern by Sharyle

2011-03-17T06:41:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I don't know the actual name of this quilt, but it's sure fun. Oranges and pinks and circles and rectangles! Quilted with the Maze board makes it really fun. Sharyle even found the perfect thread color that matched all the colors in the quilt top.

Log Cabin

2011-03-17T06:39:00.000-07:00

Isn't this a great log cabin quilt? It has inspired me to make one myself, but I can't talk about that any more just yet.

I believe this layout is called "Fields and Furrows", and she made 2 pillow shams to match as well. Quilted with my well loved Baptist Fans

Hawaiin quilt #2

2011-03-17T06:37:00.000-07:00

Here are some additional photos of the Hawaiian quilt. It's difficult to see, but if you really look, and know what to look for, you might be able to see the dragon in the top right photo. The bottom photo shows the gingko leaves in the border. We used wool batting so it's got great loft, and is so light and warm.

Hawaiin Quilt

2011-03-17T06:34:00.000-07:00

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I believe this is to be a wedding quilt for some really lucky couple. The quilt top was a group effort with people piecing the top, and another friend doing the Hawaiian style appliques by hand. The body of the quilt is quilted with the Asian dragon pantograph, and the borders use the ginko leaves panto, plus echo quilting around the applique. Gorgeous!

Friendship Chain

2011-03-17T06:23:00.000-07:00

I've got to say, you meet the nicest people at Weight Watcher meetings. My friend Matthew was one of the few men in my meeting, and we'd talk after meetings sometimes. He is going to grad school right now, and because of this, moved to Boston. He sent me an e-mail one day asking if I'd like a box of quilting supplies that he had that he couldn't take with him. Sure! was my thought. When I went to pick them up, the box turned out to be 4 boxes and a couple of large trash bags, and full of wonderful goodies! I went through the boxes and sorted out what I wanted to keep, then invited people over to take what they wanted, and donated the remainders. In all, Matthew's generosity helped more people than he could probably imagine. Matthew had watched me work on my Traveling Stars quilt for some time, and this is how he knew that I liked to quilt. He also commented that we had some of the same fabrics in our stashes. After digging through this wonderful treasure, I knew that I had to make a quilt out of some of his fabrics. He has a desire to go and study in, or eventually live in Ireland, so when I found an Irish Chain pattern, I knew that this was "his" quilt. Most of the fabrics in the chain and stars are from him, with a few from my own stash thrown in to fill things out as needed. Quilted with a pantograph called "Feathers" in white. Even my darling husband Randall called it "very nice" and left me a note on the quilt when I had it hanging up.

Sometime, in the distant future, look for a "beginning end ending" quilt. When I was cutting the fabrics for this quilt, I used a friends AccuQuilt cutter. It cut the fabrics so quickly and easily, that I ended up cutting WAY too many small squares of the white and orange fabrics. I've been using them as I piece other blocks as a beginner and ender for chain piecing. Someday, they'll get made into a quilt, but for now they are mostly 4-patch and 9-patch blocks that are slowly piling up.

Swedish Mystery

2011-03-17T06:18:00.000-07:00

Here is Sharyle's version of the Swedish mystery quilt. I love log cabin quilts, and especially the barn raising design that Sharyle has done here. Quilted with the swirls design gives it lots of movement.

Traveling Stars

2011-03-17T06:05:00.000-07:00

Here's a quilt of my own that I am going to keep for me! It's an extra long twin, since I'm so tall. Hand pieced and hand quilted. 3 years in the making, but worth it! So much fun to have it done and be able to enjoy snuggling underneath it. The pattern is actually called Grandmother's Stars, but I've taken it so many places with me, that it needed to be called Traveling Stars. It's been to Roseburg, Oregon for the family campout, to Des Moines, Iowa for the APQS rep rally at least twice. I've taken it to more Weight Watcher meetings than I could possibly begin to count but everyone has seen it grow from small pieces to the completed quilt. I used 1930's reproduction fabrics for the stars, and muslin for the background. The batting is wool, my new favorite! Quilts by hand like a hot knife going through butter, is so light, yet so warm, and washes and dries beautifully.

I should have taken a "before" photo of the backing, but I thought there was lots of time. During the spring of 2010, I was riding my bike to a Weight Watchers meetings. I got caught in an absolute deluge at the beginning of my 30 mile trip. I called my darling husband asking him to come and get me several times, but just kept leaving him messages. With each phone call, I was getting colder, and more frustrated that he wasn't answering either the home phone or his cell. I'd ride a little farther and call him to let him know where I was when he arrived to come and get me. I finally ended up at a tire store waiting room, dripping like a drowned rat, and oh so close to tears of frustration. He came and got me, and I came home to dry out. After I had him take me to my meeting so that I could weigh in! A few days later I got my quilt out to show my mother in law and to work on, and I found a large orange-ish stain on the back of my quilt. Seems that the rain had soaked through my quilt bag that had been strapped to the back of my bike, and leeched color from the wooden quilting hoop onto the white backing of my quilt. My initial thought, that lasted for about 2 seconds, was to toss the project, it was ruined by this stain. Remembering that I'd been working on it for 2 years at this point reminded me that it probably wasn't ruined after all. I'd go ahead and finish the quilt, and hope that the stain came out when I washed it the first time. If not, the stain added to the authentic 1930's look to the quilt. I don't know if it was simply washing, or the "Grandma's Secret Stain Remover" that did the trick, but the stain is gone!

Since I discovered that stain, I went out to the fabric store and purchased myself a piece of gore-tex waterproof fabric. I made a quilt bag cover that has an elastic cord around the edges so that I can have my project on the bike without fear of additional water soaking into it. While the old tried and trues of cotton quilting fabrics and batting are great, you've got to love the new technology and the fabric that it creates too.

College Life, Library Stacks

2011-03-17T05:59:00.000-07:00

The amazing ladies at Needle and Thread Memories have been at it again. Here is Library Stacks from their College Life series. Can't you just see the books at the library? They've told me what college these colors represent, but I simply can't remember them all. Sorry.

Spanish mystery by Diana

2010-12-16T07:39:00.001-08:00

Another fun mystery quilt from Heart to Hand. This is Diana's version of the Spanish mystery, you can see mine by looking for "Espange". Although the pattern is the same, Diana chose different fabrics from the same designer, so it gives it a different look. Diana loves leaves, so we've got leaves all over this quilt. In the border, the leaves and berries of the fabric are outline to give it texture. A leaf border design flows over the two narrow borders, and then a viney swirl meander through the body of the quilt. Another quilt with my favorite King Tut thread, and So Fine in the bobbin. This time, the thread color nearly matches the top and backing, so you get texture on the quilt, but don't really see the design.

Moda Oz by Norma

2010-12-16T07:30:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure where the name for this quilt came from, but that's what Norma told me for the name. I'm guessing that it started out as a jelly roll and maybe a layer cake. For the non-quilters out there, a jelly roll is a collection of fabric cut into 2.5" strips and rolled together to look like a jelly roll. A layer cake is a collection of 10" squares of fabric stacked together. I guess quilters tend to like to pastries as well as fabric.
This quilt is for Norma's grand-daughter and with a flannel back and wool batting, she'll often be wrapped up in a warm hug from grandma. The quilting design is called Dresden fan, and we used a King Tut thread in the top, and a green So Fine in the bobbin that really lets the quilting show on the back.

Stack and Whack #2

2010-12-16T07:27:00.000-08:00

I thought I had included a full front shot of this quilt in the previous post, but I must have been mistaken. Cool quilt!

Stack and Whack

2010-12-16T07:22:00.000-08:00

Again, not exactly the correct title for the quilt, but that's the best fit for it. Stack and Whack is a type of cutting where you carefully lay out several layers of fabric and match the design up perfectly. Then when cut out the triangle shapes, you get the triangles placed in different areas of the original fabric and therefore different looking stars on your quilt top. The focus fabric in this quilt is actually all the same fabric, but because of how it's cut, it looks completely different.
This is one of those quilts that you don't want to finish because you are having so much fun quilting it. Mary and I decided that doing continuous curves in the stars of the quilt, and then a design I call Mimbari for the background. Ferny feathers in the borders complete the look.

Christmas Star

2010-12-16T07:19:00.000-08:00

The actual name of the quilt isn't really Christmas Star, I'm not exactly sure what it's called. However, it's a star pattern, and Mary's giving it as a Christmas gift, so that title made sense to me.
The quilt is made of flannels on the top, and a fun batik for the backing. Mary chose the Swirls pattern for quilting and some of my favorite King Tut thread. It's even got wool batting for extra warmth for someone special.

Roses for Ursi and Veronika

2010-11-23T12:29:00.000-08:00

I don't know about you, but I have a collection of quilt tops that I've made that have yet to be quilted. Yes, I know, I have the longarm quiting machine, but still. Sometimes you have made a quilt top for whatever reason, but haven't decided on it's home, so it doesn't get quilted. This quilt was the 2008 (Oh I'm ashamed to say it's been that long!) Block of the Month from Heart to Hand, called Everything's Coming up Roses. I added a few extra blocks because I wanted my quilt to finish at queen sized.
After learning that my dear friends Ursi and Veronika were going through some changes in their life, I finally realized that this was their quilt. Suddenly, I couldn't get it finished fast enough. The blocks are all quilted with feathered wreaths, and that is repeated in the sashing and border. In the outer border I finally got brave enough to use my cable board from R&S Designs, and it's just perfect for the quilt.
The batting is wool, so very light and warm at the same time. I even dried it in the dryer on low, and its turned out great, so no more needing to dry them flat on the floor.

I didn't quite have enough backing fabric for the entire quilt, but was able to find some more of the green from the quilt top in my stash to even out the sides of the quilt.

Here is a hug for my friends to wrap up in, and to know that they are loved.

Fundraiser quilt

2010-11-23T11:36:00.000-08:00

I love doing quilts for fund raisers. This one was for one of my wonderful sisters in laws son's classroom. Let me specify, I have many wonderful SIL through Randall, and Nancy's son Nicky is here holding the quilt. The kids in the class made the quilt blocks by using water colors to represent different aspects of the Bible. I believe that the teacher then set the blocks and sashed them, I got to play and quilt it. The quilt was then auctioned off to raise funds for the school. Great job kids!

Sharyle's Pink Elephant

2010-11-23T11:29:00.000-08:00

How cute is this! From the book "Lickety Split Quilts for Little Ones". Sorry, I don't recall the author, but I believe it was published by That Patchwork Place. The design is so simple, but so sweet! Sharyle chose Laurel Burch fabrics, including pink flannel for the backing. Rainbows thread from Superior and a swirly quilting design to try to mimic elephant hair. This is one lucky little girl that's going to receive this one!

Laverna's Stars

2010-11-23T11:24:00.000-08:00

Laverna has done it again. I want to be like her when I'm in my 80's. Her sewing room is a former 2 car garage with more sewing machines and sergers than I can count, and she still sews clothes and quilts. Plus she gets out to walk daily for her heart. Doctor's orders, you know.
This is a pattern by Jinny Beyer called "Moonglow". Most people would paper piece, or foundation piece this. Meaning that you would actually sew the fabric to pieces of paper, and then trim them to size. Makes for perfect points. Laverna made templates out of cardboard or cardstock, and then pieced the quilt. A much more difficult manner to accomplish. She chose and overall design called "Earthquake" for the quilting. Well done again, Laverna.

Margaritas anyone?

2010-11-11T16:46:00.000-08:00

Here is Rachel's version of the Mexican Mystery quilt from the Heart to Hand quilt shop. She chose the "Margaritas" color way, and I love how it turned out. Since it's called "Margaritas" she chose to have it quilted with fun stemware. Darned if I can draw them! I ended up tracing a design my friend had drawn up for me from the back of the machine, and then connecting the designs with loops. You'll notice that there is one cocktail shaker on the quilt.

I love her pieced backing, makes it fun on the back of the quilt too. The best part about this quilt is that you can really never have too many quilted margaritas!

Student Union

2010-11-07T15:47:00.000-08:00

Doesn't this just make you think of the Student Union? Not that I ever spent much time in there, but it still makes me think of it. You'll notice the outdoor scenes in several of the photos for Needle and Thread Memories. That's because we did a photo shoot for their website with their quilts.

Marching Band

2010-11-07T15:35:00.000-08:00

This quilt is designed to simulate the formation that a marching band might take on the field at half time. Quilted with a music notes pantograph

Rainbow Blessing

2010-11-07T15:31:00.000-08:00

This quilt is HUGE! Really lovely though. A donation quilt designed and pieced by Lisa of Needle and Thread Memories. Quilted with a rainbow colored thread, in the "Fold" design from R&S designs.

Square in a Square

2010-11-07T13:57:00.000-08:00

I took a class at a recent trade show, and this is the quilt that we made. The class was designed to market a wonderful ruler for making Square in a Square blocks, and we were given the fabric as a part of the class fee. The quilt is quilted with a new pantograph that I found called "Herald".
Soon after I finished piecing this quilt, I heard from a friend that I had lost contact with for some time. She is facing a lot of health issues, and I suddenly knew that this was her quilt. I just love it when you know the purpose of a quilt. Sometimes you make them because they are fun, you get the urge to use certain fabrics or something like that, but the finished quilt has no "home" decided for it. Then, something like this will happen, and you suddenly know where that quilt is supposed to go. That's what happened with this one.

Joan's 1st Saturday

2010-10-11T15:15:00.000-07:00

I know it's hard to believe, but this quilt is made up of the same blocks as Norma's in the previous post. Amazing what different fabrics and a different setting can do for a quilt. I certainly can't say which is my favorite because I love them both! I love 1930's fabrics, so I love Norma's, but I love the setting that Joan chose for hers. It just makes the blocks stand out so beautifully. Hard to see in the photos, but I did try to show it. The quilting is a feathered wreath in the blocks, and a single row of stitching between the blocks. The outer border is done in continuous curves, and I love the look that it gave to those blocks. Well done Joan. She says that it doesn't have a home yet, but I'm sure that anyone would be thrilled to have it for their own.

1st. Saturday, 2009

2010-10-08T07:10:00.000-07:00

Here is Norma's version of the quilt from the Heart to Hand quilt shop, 1st Saturday club, 2009. Wendy and I chose the book "Better by the Dozen", and we all made the same 12 blocks, but chose our own colors, and settings for them. Norma did hers in oh so sweet 1930's prints, and set them with log cabins. Let me tell you, those are tiny little logs! I believe that this quilt is destined for some lucky person in her family, but I can't say who, that would spoil the surprise. Merry Christmas whoever you are!

2 quilts by Sylvia

2010-10-08T07:04:00.000-07:00

Sylvia and her husband are snowbirds, so they live in their RV in Oregon in the summer, and then back to Arizona for the winters. I can't imagine creating so many fun quilts in such a small space, but she makes it work.
This is a pink flannel quilt and it's quilted with ginkgo leaves.

This one is the same pattern done in greens and browns and salmon pinks. I think it gives it a completely different look with the different colorway. This one was quilted with vines and leaves. See you in the spring Sylvia! Keep on quilting!