Two by Susan

 Here are a couple of quilts that Susan recently finished.  I call this one "ZigZags" because of the design in the fabric.  Quilted with white King Tut thread and the Vanilla Cream pantograph.  Pictures just don't do it justice.  It's really cool in person. 

Another one where the photo doesn't do the quilt justice.  It's actually done in jewel tones, lots of purples and teal, plus some rust thrown in for fun.  I believe that this one is a wedding gift, so don't tell.

Mark's Stars by Shelley

Shelley contacted me about quilting her quilt for her, and Mark dropped it off.  When Mark arrived, he had a couple of questions for me to ask Shelley, so the two of us spoke on the phone, and we came up with a plan for the quilting.  I wrote up the check in sheet that we would use this thread, and quilt this design, etc.  I showed it to Mark for his signature and he commented "What's this?"  Silly me.  It's Mark's quilt, he gets to choose the quilting design and thread!  Mark chose the Mariposa pantograph, so there are lovely butterflies flying across his quilt, and the wool batt gives it great loft.  Such a pretty quilt, and I learned the lesson that you need to talk to the person who is dropping it off to see what they want, not what the piecer necessarily wants.

Green Quilt by Helen

 Here is the 3rd quilt that Helen brought to me.  This quilt is the same pattern and size as the blue one, and planned for another daughter. 

Although it doesn't show as well as I had hoped, I love the green variegated thread on the black border.

The green backing really shows off the "Mariposa" pantograph that Helen chose.  Wool batt gives it a great loft.

Funky Monkey by Michael

I have to ask again, where does he find the time?    This is a quilt that will go to a charitable organization through Michael's work at Providence Hospital.

The quilt top is made from cotton fabrics, solids that pick up the colors in the print of monkeys and lions.

 Backing is a soft flannel of more monkeys.  To continue the monkey theme, he chose the Funky Monkey panto.  So sweet and soft, and more to come!

Carpenters Star for Ollie by me

Do you ever wonder how you got so lucky to have such great people in your life?  I surely do.  My darling husband is one of 9 children, and I love all of my wonderful siblings in law and their spouses so very much.  Ollie and Dee are the parents who started this huge clan.

Ollie's profession was as a contractor building houses, and one of his hobbies in singing in a Barbershop Quartet.  I saw this pattern in a catalog and just knew that I needed to make it for Ollie.  I used a wood texture fabric for the background, then just raided my stash for the rest of the pieces.  It is quilted with a music note pantograph to reflect his singing.  I used wool batt for the warmth and loft that it gives the finished quilt.  

This is a bit of overkill for their house as Dee is a lifelong crafter as well, I'm sure that they have a multitude of afghans that she has made, but I still wanted to do this little thing for him.

"For the love of Teal" by Helen

 I don't know the actual name of this quilt, but "For the love of Teal" is what Helen called it when she dropped it off for quilting.  The quilting doesn't show since we matched the thread color to the color in the quilt, but trust me, it's lovely.

This is the backing fabric.  So pretty.

"Dr. Seuss" by Robin

 Robin is expecting her first grandchild this month, and this will be for the baby. 

The quilt is reversible with "Green Eggs and Ham" on one side.

 "The Lorax" is the opposite side.

Quilted with Rainbows thread and my Swirls board from Circle Lord.  Somehow, swirls was just the perfect quilting design for a Dr. Seuss quilt.

"Rangers Pride" by mom

Mom, also known as Pat to the rest of the world, is making quilts for all the grandchildren. They get their choice of color and theme.  

Zachary is the musician in the group and his colors are black and red. 

Love the guitar that she appliqued in the center of the quilt.  It has strings that are stitched to the quilt top, and buttons sewn on for the string pegs and tuners.  The most amazing part to me is that the panto I chose had the perfect amount of open spaces, and they fell in just the right spot so I didn't have to take off any of the buttons for quilting!

 Mom's fabric choices included skulls, so I used a "Skull" panto for the quilting  Doesn't show on the front of the quilt, but the backing with red thread shows it well.  I used black and white variegated thread on the front which doesn't show well on the print fabrics, and fades in and out on the black border.  Gives it kind of a "ghostly" appearance.

"Chrissy Down Under" by me!

Finally I got this quilted!  

McKenna Ryan designs these amazingly detailed patterns, and I've been working on this quilt for about 4 years or more.  Frankly, the primary reason that I got it quilted was because Judee wanted me to quilt her "True Nature", and I wanted a chance to practice on my quilt first.

This full quilt shot is before it even got taken to the basement for quilting.  Then I got started and really had a great time.  The title of the quilt comes from the fact that these are Australian animals celebrating Christmas.  I know what some of them are, but not all of the animals!

Assorted little critters sitting on Christmas ornaments.  Each piece is appliqued individually, and then outlined to hold it in place permanently.  A tight background fill makes the appliques stand out.

I think that these are possums.  Momma and baby.  Clouds in the background were outlined for texture.

Koalas with bubble background.

Baby Kangaroo wears the Santa hat, while momma gets a scarf.

The bird is an emu, but I don't know what the bear looking critter is.  See the waves in the ocean?

This is a Tasmanian Devil, but he looks more like my cat Hamish than the Tasmanian Devil I remember from Bugs Bunny cartoons.  I love the texture of bricks in the chimney, and siding in the house.

Parrots with a peacock feather meander for the background.

I just started to quilt, and ended up quilting a ribbon background filler to mimic the ribbons on the bells.

Not too much quilting on the houses, but I love the sand that the kangaroos are standing on!

Flannel quilts by Sara

 Here are two lovely flannel quilts that Sara made.  The floral is for the daughter of her hair dresser as a high school graduation gift.  (Lucky girl!)
Sara chose an all over design called Hydrangea, and it is just perfect on this quilt. 

This one is for her grandson. I love the masculine look of it, but it's got Minky fabric on the back, so it's extra cuddly.  Guys need something soft to wrap up in too!

The quilting design is called "Stairs", and has two rows of undulating lines with a row of stair steps in between.

"True Nature" by Judee

 Here's something to test your mettle.  I received an e-mail from Judee who lives in Tillamook, OR.  She has this lovely McKenna Ryan quilt top that she has made.  Here's what Judee had to say about the quilt.

 "My son, who is a fishing guide, and my husband, Doug are involved with the CCA (Coastal Conservation Association), which is an organization trying to save and protect the salmon and steelhead.  The Tillamook Chapter of CCA holds a banquet in the spring to make money for the Oregon Chapter of CCA.  This banquet has a auction, which is mostly fishing gear relates, but also has art prints and other items.  The banquet is attended largely by fishermen and their wives.  I was asked by my son, Travis, who is also the banquet chairman, last year if I would make a "guys" quilt for the auction in 2014."

How can I possibly turn this down?   I had my own McKenna Ryan pattern quilt top ready to quilt, but hadn't worked up the nerve to start it yet.  This project got mine finished, so that I would feel like I knew what I was doing for Judee's.

 

 All of those little tiny bear faces are cut out of individual pieces of fabric, and then appliqued to the background.  The backgrounds have shading, but everything else is applied individually.  Wow.

While initially rather scared to take on Judee's project, I had SUCH a good time working on it.  I was so fearful that she wouldn't like how I quilted it, but she gave me free rein.  I received a lovely note from Judee as well telling me how much she loved the quilting, and this was before she even got the quilt back.

I hope that the quilt will raise a lot of money for such a great cause.  Although I haven't yet met Judee in person,we have a plan to meet at the local fabric store when either she is in Portland, or I am in Tillamook.  I am sure that she is a lovely person to make such a beautiful quilt, and then to give it away.

Updated on Mar. 23, 2014.  Be sure to check out the comment on this quilt.  Judee got some great and exciting news about the quilt!

Blue by Helen

Welcome Helen!  Helen is new to the Portland area, but not new to quilting.  She brought me three lovely quilt tops, and this is the first to be completed.  This quilt is for one of her daughters, the other daughter will get the same design, but in green.

Helen chose wool batting, my new favorite for bed quilts.  I also love the hydrangea pantograph that she chose.   These photos don't do the quilt justice.  It's pretty here, but it is just lovely in person.