Vacation!

I finished my last customer quilt over a week ago.  It is amazing what you can get done when you're not working!  I've been baking, shopping, decorating, gardening and writing Christmas cards.  There are only 10 days until Christmas!  What?  It feels like the days just vanish ... I can't explain it!

Here's the last customer quilt .. I used a pantograph, which I rarely do.  Love this line of blues and taupes ... I can't remember the name of it.

A tight feather pattern .. 

Beautiful quilt!  I hope the recipient loves it as I believe it is a gift for a special person!

... Speaking of special someone's ... This guy decided to clean up after my cookie baking last week ...

I have no idea how he got powdered sugar on his face!  Haha ... I think he liked it!!!

I'm here ... I really am!!!

Oh my I have neglected all you friends and I am so sorry!  This happens to me every year after Halloween ... The time just disappears!  I have been so focused on getting my quilting work done so I don't have to work in December that I have ignored most everything else!  I have my last customer quilt of the year to do today!  I hope you are enjoying this season of blessedness and joy.  I live in Southern California ... close enough to San Bernardino to have felt even more the terror of this last week, combined with the terror in France a month ago.  I console myself knowing most of the world is full of good and decent people.  Especially this season when we celebrate     family, joy, and for many, a savior and his birth ... I won't let evil people destroy my peace!  

I just have to finish this last quilt and I am putting up my Christmas lights, and decorating my house, sending my Christmas cards and joining all the rest of those crazy shoppers and spending some money!!  I love you all!!!  Please stick with me ,,, I promise I'll get better again at my blogging after the holidays.  But for now ... Here are a few pictures to keep you going!

A quilt I quilted on Thursday for my friend's granddaughter.  

All this sweet embroidery could not be covered up by quilting!

Look at some of those stitcheries ... They are all adorable ... The puppy!!!

This is my friend who loves super tight stitching ... I free handed a tight double flower pattern.  Omni thread in top and bobbin in Cream color.

I can't wait to hear how loud her squeals are on Christnas morning when she opens this special gift!!!

Merry Christmas from this sweet little munchkin!!

Falling in fall

My falling was catching a major cold from my hubby last week -- I had a cold a couple weeks ago, but mild.  This last one knocked me out from last Friday and I am still fighting it!  Yesterday was the first day I could get off the couch ... Lucky for me I didn't have a lot going on!

I had the pleasure of longarming this adorable quilt a couple weeks ago!

It was for someone that does hound rescue!  I just loved looking at the tshirts as I was quilting.

This was one of my favorite shirts ... We have a beagle in our house, and this is perfect for describing him!

I have never made a tshirt quilt, and was admiring how she the shirts out.  I just wanted to hold the quilt together with lots of texture, so we chose a meander.

Look how cute the back is!!

This was such a joy to do and I know it's owner is going to love all the memories this quilt will bring!

Slow down

If I could just make time go slower right now, I surely would!  I love this season and time of year ... I guess October is my favorite month ... I never thought of it that way but here's why:  it's my birthday month, it's fall, it's weeks ahead of the time of year where I feel crazed from too much to do!!  Fall to me means apple cider, turning leaves, a chill in the air ... Except when you live in Southern California and it has been in the 90's for the last week.  I am sick of the heat ... Bring me some snow!!!  Ok ... I'll take rain  instead ... I'm about ready to figure out how to do a rain dance!!  I can feel wrinkles sprouting on my face from lack of moisture in the air!!

I have been busy busy ... Finished the quilting and binding of a quilt I started years ago.  It is a Donna Yackey pattern and the Thursday girls at the Country Loft will surely remember it!

I love it and have decided to teach it in my October stash class, Friday, Oct. 30 from 10 to 1.  I requested permission from my dear friend to teach it!  She is a doll!!

Been longarming as well ... Here is a beautiful quilt that I worked on last week 

This was a stash class from a couple of months ago and she put the pattern on point and added some appliqué.  The idea here was to use what you had ... She did!  What a great way to use up those 5" charm squares

I wanted to make the texture on this quilt special ... Been working on feathers, and it seemed like a good quilt to get more practice on.

I used Glide thread in the top in a color called Vegas Gold ... Isn't that a great name?  It is a caramel kind of gold and works so well on many quilts where there are light and dark colors.  I hate putting a light thread on a dark fabric, but even worse, I don't like a dark thread on a light fabric.  This thread color worked great and the low sheen on the thread makes it look a little special!  I used Omni thread in the bobbin.

Her appliqué is only partly done ... She wanted me to put some texture on the leaves before she added flowers!  Beautiful quilt, and a pleasure to work on.

Moving into October

I am slowly getting my quilting business organized.  I thought a couple of weeks ago that here it is almost October ... If you're a quilter, you are thinking that your Christmas quilts or ones you want finished by the end of the year need to get to your longarm quilter!  I didn't have any new quilts for a while, but over the last couple weeks I have had at least 8 come in ... That's a lot for me.  I realized I better get myself organized and stick to a schedule!!  

I quilted a 108" x 108" quilt last week.  It took me 4 days because I would only work on it about 2 or 3 hours a day.  Longarm quilting puts you in a position where you are always leaning over the quilt.  I quilt from the front of the frame, so I lean over the quilt and tend to have poor posture, because I am leaning down to see where I am quilting and making sure it looks beautiful!

This was a flannel quilt made by a young lady for her boyfriend... To keep him warm.  No fancy quilting here ...

Just a medium stipple for texture ... And it will hold up well during all the washing and love the quilt will provide!

The quilt is a great pattern for a fairly fast quilt ... An alternating solid block with a four patch ...

I had a bit of a hard time picking a color that I thought would go with the light and dark fabrics, but finally settled on a cotton caramel brown color thread by Gutterman; I used Glide in the bobbin in a complimenting color.  Don't like to use the heavy cottons in the bobbin -- because the thread is so bulky it doesn't go as far; it also tends to be really linty and the Glide is not linty at all.

Slipping in a couple proud grandmama pictures ... Daddy took her to the aquarium for the first time ... 

She found Nemo!!

Cotton and Steel

Most of the people I quilt for are friends/customers I have had for some time.  I am a part time longarm quilter, so my calendar is usually pretty full.  I had the opportunity and pleasure to quilt for a new customer ... I met her so we could discuss thread color, pattern, etc and I was so excited when I saw her quilt.

The quilt is for her young son, and I am in love with the color combination ... That salmon and navy ... It sings to me!

I recommended a fairly close together stipple since it was going to get washed and loved a lot!  I am always impressed, especially by young quilters, who take on challenging patterns.  I love her color interpretation, and even after quilting for many years, this is a pattern I would be intimidated by!

I used Omni thread in a taupe color.  It blended well with the dark colors, but not too dark in the light fabrics.

What a lucky son she has to have such a talented momma!

Loved doing this happy happy quilt!

... A sneak peek at what I'm working on ...

September and back to school!

Have I said how happy I am that school is back in session ... There is such a peace that comes over me in the fall.  It is my favorite time of year and reminds me that routines are good, and a necessary part of life.  I have been busy ticking things off my to do list ... I'm currently working on my September stash class quilt ... Here's a sneak peek ...

I am loving these little stars ...

So cute!!  Stay tuned for more!  I am hard at work because it needs to be finished by Friday.

I quilted a huge quilt ... 108 x 108 ... 

I was really happy to get to the end ... It took me several days.  The customer wanted a basic pattern, so we decided on a traditional stipple.  This quilt is probably the best pieced quilt I have ever had the pleasure of quilting!!

Every seam matched, and all of her pieces had the seams pressed open!!  In the past I have never been a fan of opening seams ... but I have changed my mind!    What a pleasure it was to quilt over all those flat seams!

Look at some of these lovely blocks ...

I could just go on and on!!  I used Omni thread, and free motion quilting.

I could certainly learn some piecing techniques from my customer ... And she has only been quilting a few years!  I told her when she starts teaching. I'll be the first person to sign up!!!

Happy Labor Day

The end of summer ... That's always what Labor Day meant when I was a kid, and when our kids were little.  As much as I always dreaded the end of summer, there was a part of me that enjoyed getting back into the routine ... The routine of school and friends, and as a mom ... The routine of my kids being back in school and me being able to get something done!  Now that we are empty nesting, it was a nice day to spend together.  We walked the dogs in a beautiful area of downtown San Diego by the harbor, and got some home/yard work done. 

When I flipped my calendar to September in my sewing room, this is what greeted me!!  In San Diego we always look forward to the end of summer because the tourists go home and we get the beaches back to ourselves!  August is usually when our weather starts getting HOT and it goes through October ... We've got a scorching week ahead of us ... Don't you feel sorry for me??

I longarmed a quilt for a friend last week ... I won't even tell you how long I had it ...

Isn't it beautiful?  I was a little thrown by the light background color ... Cream, but with a lot of yellow in it.  Once I found a taupy-grey thread in my stash, then I was happy with the results!

I have played around with feathers before, but never on a customer quilt.  I decided sometimes you have to bite the bullet ... I did and I am really happy with the way it came out.

She really liked it too!!!  I wanted to keep the quilt ... But she wouldn't let me!  It is now finally back with it's owner and if I'm not mistaken, she already has the binding sewn on!!!

Now to sneak in a pic of my sweet g-daughter ... With her daddy ... Their first carousel ride together ... Their faces are priceless!!

I ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ these two!!

Happenings

I have been spending a lot of time in my quilting/sewing studio. I showed you my mystery quilt but I wanted to prove that I actually did finish the binding.

It is hanging back at the Country Loft ... That's a quilt that when it comes back won't have to go in the pile "to be quilted."

I had another quilt of mine in the to be quilted pile - I dug it out, along with the back that was already made and quilted it!  I am teaching it this Friday from 10 to 1 at the Country Loft.

It's a 16 patch with some alternating framed fussy cut blocks.  I made this for me ... It's my grandma quilt for when my grand babies come to visit .. It has minky on the back and will be wonderful to snuggle under!  I know Kylee will love it when she comes!!

I did a technique on the quilt called dwirling ... You echo the previous pass and throw in some design elements for interest ... I really wanted to get this quilt done fast, so my pattern was spaced farther apart.

If I'd had the time, I would have made the design tighter and smaller since the quilt is not huge .. But I love that it is done!

 I used Glide thread in top and bobbin.  I have the binding all cut and and after class on Friday, I'll bring it home and bind it.  This quilt is just screaming to be washed so it will crinkle up.  I'll make sure I take a picture so you can see the finished product!